efs4ever

I got my rating in 1999 and saw a blurb in Skydiving Magazine about Tandem Vector 3 and the disk. I called RWS and had them send me the promo tape. I immediately sent a thousand for deposit and received the new harness right away. On October 13, 2000 I drove to the factory from Texas and picked it up. First jump on it was a waitress from Crestview Florida I met the night before. (Free tandem for her) I fully understood the concept of no out-of-sequence situations with it. My Sigma was the first one in Texas, and it's still going great with over a thousand jumps. I've done major repairs along the way, also. (new harness) I bought it for many reasons, one being that I take it with me when I travel. I've used it all over the place. Another reason is the ability to control maintenance. I replace worn parts way earlier than the DZ does on its own gear. In fact, I've not had a chop on it since 2002. In less than a 100 jumps on DZ gear I've chopped twice! I get paid for using it, but not actual value. The DZO makes more money when my rig is used even though I'm getting paid more. The pay I get does cover maintenance. I've replaced the main canopy twice. Some people own big ass Harleys. For the same price I own a beat up Honda 750, a Sigma and a Womfish Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Good news is that I had my PANTS on. I have a one room office. If it's hot, and there are no appointments, I have been known to "lounge" around without a shirt. I keep the door locked, of course..... Until today. You should have seen the look on they guy's face that popped in trying to sell me office supplies. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I'm a little slow with things. I've been meaning to buy Adobe Acrobat for some time. To those who got the file with no photos check HERE for a download. Remember, this is my specific method for our DZ. I have a different version for the lightweights I pick up in the door. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Deaf Freddy, his nephew, came out with a large group of deaf tandem students this past weekend. He told me that Skippy died in March of LAST YEAR. His ashes are in a can on Freddy's mantle. This picture was taken in 1992 or so. I'm sure he was in his sixties then. He had some interesting tales about his feats with rounds. (CHEAPOS, NOT PCs) Stuff like landing on a barge with a round. Doing Santa jumps into shopping centers with rounds and landing on rooftops, etc. He was a character. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Oh? What did THEY do? Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

The Womfish has over 263,000 miles on her. When this (original with an overhaul) engine gets loose and sloppy I'll order one in a crate from Ford along with new injectors and get it put in. It should probably run about what my last tandem canopy cost. The only bad break down happened recently on the way to Florida. Fuel pump. . Remember, there's a FORD dealer in every town. Comes in handy sometimes. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Thanks. I have to give more credit to the excellent camera dudes who use digital media. Rodney Kennedy (Team Bling) and Clint McClure (Turtlespeed) I was always after them for their good and especially unique shots. My collection paid off. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

This past weekend we took fifteen deaf students for tandems. In preparation for that I created a booklet complete with pictures to have my students read before the jump. Following the deaf dives I turned the booklet over to my hearing students. The reaction was positive from both the deaf students as well as those who could hear. They especially appreciated the illustrations and photos. What other kinds of tandem instructional media are you using? I've seen the lesson incorporated into the video. Do any of you have a booklet like I described? I'll email it to anyone interested. PM me and describe your operation. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I thought our pilot's safety briefing was most interesting. He was very articulate in describing the events up front when one of the rubber bands breaks on a Twin. I feel safe flying with him. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Uh, what about the first entry? Details? Me?

I have about .5 terra worth of stuff. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I've been using ACDsee for years. Lately, however, ACDSEE "PRO" has been crashing and freezing up. The tech support people say my database is probably corrupt, and I need to DELETE it. That means the data I spent HOURS on cataloging and classifying photos is GONE. Anyone else want to recomment a digital photo management program that's RELIABLE??? One that can handle gobs of data. One that's BETTER than ACDsee!! Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

One I haven't been to yet. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Actually, I started with Foxbase, which is a Dbase III type of program. I still USE it, in fact. I just use Excel to import a text file logbook report generated by Foxbase and clean it up. I don't really know 2% of what there is to learn about Excel, but I'm working on it. I still have paper logs, however. My tandem students sign their jumps and comment. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I was fiddling with Excel, and sorted my logbook out into Aircraft order with subtotals. I made some errors in nomenclature that split some totals, (e.g. C206 and C 206) but it's still interesting to see the total number of jumps I've made on various aircraft over almost 29 years. (My log is accessible in my sig line) I'll be changing the order over the next few weeks. Probably sorted out by DZ next. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Thank Gawd, another GPS Geek out there! I don't pick up the signal until I've been in drogue fall for a while. I've tested the elevation reading against road signs displaying elevation, and it's pretty much within +- 25 feet. I keep the unit in a fanny pack inside my suit. External antenna is all I need. I wait until it asks me what I want to do about continuing to acquire signals when it initially can't get a signal in the plane, and then I tell it to keep acquiring.. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I overlayed the images on a Google Earth shot of the dropzone. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

The bundle of heat shrink tape wrapped wires was tube stowed to the unit, and the whole thing was in a fanny pack in front and under my suit. Even the 218 pounder sitting in my lap didn't push the off button. I used the device for the "first" time yesterday. It stayed put. and here are a couple of graphics of three of my four tandems at Skydive Houston. They are overlayed on Mapsource maps. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Ok, folks here are my first tracks from THIS thread. These are JPG shots of my Garmin screens. Measurements show we were almost two miles out. The device had to catch a signal before starting the tracking. The beginning points were probably exit points. More details later with Google Earth overlays. YES, I'm a bored skydiver looking for something to make the dives interesting. Any more Geeks out there??? Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

27. I'm 56 now. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

Gathering more data than a pro track and looking at stuff like the graphic in THIS thread. A bit down the list is a great example of what I'm talking about. Here (And because there's a bit of GEEK in me) Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I approached Garmin about this 2 1/2 years ago with a business presentation on the sport of skydiving to see if it would generate interest. Once they found out how many active skydivers there are, they said they were not interested in pursuing this market. My theory is this: by showing the "regular" world what kind of strange chit can be done with Garmin's product, the interest of the masses will be tweaked. It would stand to reason that would be a true and valid statement. Guess I caught them on a bad day or it could be that now that they have the NASCAR demographic hooked on GPS they feel they have reached the masses. Let's keep after em. I'll post some graphics when I actually USE the thing! Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I approached Garmin about this 2 1/2 years ago with a business presentation on the sport of skydiving to see if it would generate interest. Once they found out how many active skydivers there are, they said they were not interested in pursuing this market. My theory is this: by showing the "regular" world what kind of strange chit can be done with Garmin's product, the interest of the masses will be tweaked. Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com

I'll either sit by the door (Otter) or put the hat and unit up on the "dash" of the plane before jumping. It gets a signal quicker with only a short delay in loss. See if Garmin is interested in this kind of "use" to promote the products.... I'll be the talent in the future commercial.... Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com