kkeenan

I've never had any trouble removing and re-useing PD Slinks. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Some things just seem like a sucky idea even without trying them. This is one of those ideas. This is not directed at you personally, but I share the opinion that this is an impractical solution. It has been my experience that newer jumpers, in their enthusiasm for improvement, are constantly thinking up innovative skydiving gear. It is this same lack of experience that prevents them from seeing the flaws in some of these ideas. In just the short time that DZ.com has been around, we have heard from Noobs suggesting electronic cutaway systems, airbag jumpsuits, etc. I'm afraid that the freefall rear-view mirror falls into this category. P.S. Stratostar thinks his little bicycle mirrors are cool, but we're all laughing at him behind his back. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

This is a subject dear to my heart. The beauty of skydiving lies in its diversity. There are so many facets to explore, that you can devote years to it without getting tired of it. Maybe it's my short attention span, but I have tried to do as many types as possible. The rub there is that it really takes a bit of time to get competent in the different disciplines. That just means that you have to jump a lot. Since belly flying is sort of the basis for the design of gear and deployment systems (and an open parachute is the common essential for a happy ending to any jump), I feel that flat flying is what should be mastered first. After that, it's open season. I actually feel that anyone who sticks totally to their "side" is really limiting themselves. Most things that you learn in one discipline can have certain value in others, so you can really help get better in your "primary" field of endeavor by broadening yourself in the other fields. Back in ancient times, a well-rounded jumper was one who was good at both Style and Accuracy. (For younger folks, those were the only forms of competition back then). Now, one has lots to choose from. If you always try to be the best you can in as many areas as possible, it will challenge you for years to come. Just remember that, while the basic safety aspects of skydiving hold true for all disciplines, each one has its unique ways of killing you if you're not careful. Seek out the best practitioners of each discipline to learn from. If your friends aren't much better than you, then you won't learn much from them. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That must be the Ladies facilities that you refer to. For the Men's room...immaculate is not the word that comes to mind. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Unfortunately, that is the extent of the involvement that some packers feel toward the equipment that they work on. No packer has ever been hurt or disabled by the bad opening of a customer's canopy. For what it's worth, I feel that Jan's statement is as valid now as it was the day it was printed. I applaud your honesty in stating "...if you want to feel 100% safe about your gear . . . PACK IT YOURSELF." Even if they don't feel 100% safe, at least they won't have to look far to find the source of their problems. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

This certainly reinforces the concept that, "Booth invents gear innovations, all others simply copy them". At least this way, Bill gets paid for his ideas, rather than getting ripped off by the copycats, as he has for years. Is Bill Booth really God? Probably not, but he looks a lot like Moses. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Whereas, in the U. S., at some busy DZs, unless the ambulance is parked on the runway, they barely miss a beat. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

So much for your strongly held convictions and your righteous indignation. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

I've seen the advance copy. I'm going out last and doing the back-in. Woo Hoo ! Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIjjWXstjZc&NR _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

"Stink" is a rather subjective term. Are you saying that the smell of your urine before eating asparagus is pleasant ? _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

On a bright and sunny morning at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Space Shuttle Atlantis left the Vehicle Assembly Building for the 3.4 mile journey to Launch Pad 39A. The shuttle resting atop the crawler transporter will make the approximate 6-hour trip to the pad -- the next major milestone for mission STS-117. First motion was at 8:19 a.m. EST. Once Space Shuttle Atlantis is safely in place on the pad the payloads will be transferred into the orbiter's payload bay. The launch of Mission STS-117 will be the first liftoff from Pad 39A in four years. The flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station has been targeted for March 15. The Atlantis crew will install a new truss segment, retract a set of solar arrays and unfold a new set on the starboard side of the station. Lessons learned from two previous missions will provide the astronauts with new techniques and tools to perform their duties. Commanding the Atlantis team is Frederick Sturckow, a veteran of two shuttle missions (STS-88, STS-105), while Lee Archambault will be making his first flight as the shuttle's pilot. Mission Specialists James Reilly (STS-89, STS-104) and Patrick Forrester (STS-105) will be returning to the station. Steven Swanson and John Olivas, both mission specialists, join the crew for their first flight into space. The mission astronauts will return to Kennedy a few weeks before liftoff to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. During this time they will practice launch activities, safety exercises, inspect the payload and conclude with a simulated main engine cut-off exercise. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Walt - If they're both boys, that makes you twice as gay. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

That brings up an old question. "Are tandem passengers really skydivers ?" IMO they are not. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Everyone (with any sense) on this forum will tell you that canopy is a very unwise choice. Hopefully, your instructors will tell you the same. Cheers, Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

It was always a hoot when The Herd came to Fla. for the ZHills Boogies. One year they had a carbide cannon made from a set of milk cans welded together. They put the carbide in one of the cans, hammered the 8-10 lb. lid on it and lit it off. It was a pretty exciting cloudy-day diversion. They had to quit that day after they put the lid through a guy's windshield, and later sent someone to the hospital with a concussion after a head strike. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Did you try stopping the turn with opposite brake ? Good job on the EPs. Live to jump another day.

With the AAD, you have to be careful because it quits paying attention about halfway through the jump. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

Happy Anniversary to all the World Team members. That was a magical mission that brought so many of us together from so many corners of the world. It was an experience that cannot really be described. All I can think is, "You had to be there". I'm sure glad I was. Many thanks to everyone who made it all possible for so many to be linked for that 4.25 seconds. It's not what anyone did, it's what we all did.

Although they probably spent time together in Houston in training and other stuff on a day-to-day basis, Nowak and Oefelein never flew together on the same shuttle mission. Kevin K. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

This is actually a great shot to show a lot of our International Space Station (ISS) stuff. This is a very large cleanroom, which is in the Space Station Processing Facility. It is about 5 stories high, and kept to strict temp and humidity levels. The air is filtered and kept very clean. Anyone who is working on the flight hardware wears the cleanroom garments, or "bunny suits", to avoid contaminating any components. In the foreground of the photo, on the right, is the Node 2 module. It is a connection point for other modules, and will be launched in August. On the left is the European Laboratory module, Columbus, which is scheduled for launch in October. In the photo, the S3/S4 Truss segment is moving down the center of the processing bay toward the Payload Canister, which is at the far end of the photo. The canister is a large container that is the same size as the shuttle payload bay, and has big doors on the top like the shuttle. Once the payload is locked into the canister, the doors are closed and the whole thing is kept at the same temp, humidity, and cleanliness conditions as the cleanroom. Then the big door at the far end is opened for it to go to the pad. There is a lot of info on the KSC website. The part that shows ISS payloads is here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/stationpayloads/issprocessing.html There is also a huge amount of info on shuttle launch. landing and every other thing you could possibly be interested in. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

For all you space fans, who are interested in more than the antics of the Crazy Astro Stalker Chick, here's some info on the next shuttle mission, STS-117. The orbiter Atlantis moved today from its hanger to the Vehicle Assembly Bldg. at Kennedy Space Ctr., where it will be mated to the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters. Also today, the next piece of the International Space Station was loaded into the Payload Canister for transportation to the launch pad. This component, (see photo) called the S3/S4 Truss, is about the size of a school bus and weighs about 25,000 lbs. The payload will be loaded into Atlantis' payload bay next week at the launch pad. This piece will attach to the starboard (right) end of the Truss structure of ISS and contains a large set of solar panels just like the ones that were attached to the other side late last year. Atlantis is scheduled for launch on March 15 from Pad 39A at KSC. _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

So, now you have about 1000 times as many individuals wondering about your affairs and looking to find out more about you. Let us all know how that works out, since you seem to be far more interested in broadcasting your business than anyone on this forum. Kevin _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

http://tinyurl.com/3dxkhr _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?

The more you read of this, the more strange it gets... http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/327/7429/1459 _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ?