Tornolf

So you're saying that solar panels will result in more heat being retained since they capture 100% of solar energy, which is more than any other thing (water, ice, forest, house, etc) that could be in its place. The way I'm reading it is that any type of power plant will result in an increase of heat in the system's surroundings (Earth), but solar power will increase it less than current carbon or nuclear based power plants? So q(out-solar) < q(out-other) for each watt of work produced? A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Possibly localized cooling, but I can't see solar panels causing global cooling all on their own. My brain is still fried from the thermo test I just got out of, but it seems to me that heat (Q) in and out of the planet, as a whole and on average, should be mostly equal. If it wasn't, there would be such large temperature fluctuations that we wouldn't be able to survive. Since 2nd Law of Thermo says that energy has a quality, and electricity is a higher quality than heat, using heat to create electricity can't be a 100% transfer. Since 1st Law of Thermo states conservation of energy, and since heat and electricity are both forms energy and thus can't be created or destroyed, we're going to end up with no net change in heat when the electricity is used. So the energy in creating electricity would be something like: q=heat w=work (electricity) q(in) = q(out) + w(out) where q(in) > q(out). Keep in mind that all this time on the larger scale: Q(in) ~= Q(out), where Q is the heat energy entering and leaving the Earth and Q >>> q. Also take into account the amount of energy (heat) stored by the atmosphere and oceans. Anyhow, when the work is expended and converted to the lower quality of energy (heat), we return to having the equal amount of heat that we started with since 100% of work can be converted to heat (but not vice-versa!!!). So unless we just started converting an incredibly massive amount of heat into electricity and storing it in batteries, the global temperature average should stay within normal fluctuations. Basically it echoes what StreetScooby said about the Jet Stream. Since the surroundings around which the process occurs is so large, it can be assumed that the process does not alter the surroundings by any noticeable amount. Other than an increase in entropy, of course. Then again, something unforseen could screw up the heat distribution on the planet causing some chain reaction which wipes out all life. I guess that was the point of your post though. Doesn't matter to me, because I needed something to justify that sleeping 5 hours in the past 3 days and still getting my ass kicked by the thermo test doesn't mean I didn't learn anything That and I refuse to delete all this after wasting a good half hour to make sure I had all of my assumptions properly based on universal laws! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I find reaching for risers causes me to start to move head high, but I also start to transition into a standing position when doing so. It's a habit from acrobatic training that I don't see any reason to change. However before I started training, the same thing happened to a lesser degree. If the opposite is true for you it just might be a dependent upon the individual. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

6'0 160lbs geared up Once I tuned it in I was getting high 40's usually. There were several times where my average was down to 41-43, but that only happened on jumps from 9.5-10k instead of 13-14k. Search for some old threads on body position for flying that suit. I remember there was one thread that gave great tips. Once I read it and experimented a little, I was finally able to consistantly do high 40's when flying for max time. Edit: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=733258 LouDiamond's first post in that thread helped me out tons in flying the suit. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

So how about someone answering my original question? Do base jumpers prefer zero-p PCs because there's some evidence they perform better in sub-terminal deployments? Depends on the jumper. Most I've seen (including myself) use ZP due to increased snatch force which is important in overcoming the inertia of the canopy and lines at low airspeeds. I've only seen a couple of PCs larger than 36" that were F-111. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Did 400 skydives my first year. Started BASE near the end of the 1st year (15 months ago). Since then, I've done around 180 BASE jumps and something like 50 skydives, none within the past 2 or 3 months. All the skydives were just wingsuit getting out low or doing CReW with people to teach them stuff. I think it'd be more interesting to see who keeps skydiving depending what they started skydiving for. I started skydiving solely to start BASE jumping, which is why I'm not very interested in it unless I'm training skills for BASE. I think it'd be more likely that someone would keep skydiving if they didn't decide to start BASE until later in their skydiving career. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Carnage video? Don't show it to everybody, it lessens the effect. Show it to those who want to see it or those who need to. Last time I saw a carnage compilation was because I wanted to, and the effect was extremely powerful because I viewed it so seriously. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Put your hand in front of the horn. If after a min or so you can feel your hand getting warmer, then it's on. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've jumped tandem powered paragliders and trikes (fixed wing). AFAIK the pilot had no license and the aircraft was under 254lbs, therefore an ultralight. Supposedly this is going to change in 07 or 08 though. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Feel free to borrow mine if you're ever around. I find that there is a noticeable difference between time it takes from pitch to linestretch on short (1-1.5s), hand held freefalls compared to my 42 vented from Apex. I only have 1 short stowed jump on the Toxic, but I noticed the same thing compared to short stowed delays with a non-toxic 42. And why did I have to wear that Easter pig costume... A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

On Friday I sprained my ankle fairly badly, as in unable to walk on it very well on Saturday morning. Since it was Bridge Day I just grabbed some Ibuprofen and made 3 jumps off the big bridge. All the landings were nearly tip toe standup landings, but that night my ankle was swollen from mid calf to my toes. Moral of the story? Don't jump until you're positive you won't be making it worse. I'm hobbling around now in marginal pain because of my decision to jump, not that I regret it. Joints are the most annoying things to heal because they're hard to get healed up and will cause you pain later in life if you're not careful. You can never go wrong with boots though. I'm so used to wearing my boots when I BASE jump that I use them when I skydive as well. It's hard to have too much protection. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Yep yep! It was one hell of a fall off a skateboard Just a sprain. No break and the joint is tight. I should be back in the air by turkey time. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Stupid bridge. This is day 6 No pain though! I think that object has banged up nearly everybody I know. edit: pic A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

My vented Fox 245 flies great at 0.6, especially when rocking back and forth from stalling to brakes to sink. I've flown a vented Fox 265 without covers (which means worse flare) at 0.55 in 10-15mph winds and it worked just fine. The 245 doesn't fly much different than an unvented Fox 220 at 0.65. Keep in mind that all of these are 5-15 second canopy rides being open between 100-250ft

If I can't make it somebody needs to bring that guy some rice crispy treats and his awesome dog some biscuits. Seriously, those people are mega cool for letting us hang there. Just no beer, that's bad for the soul A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

Worked like a charm. Thanks! A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

The smile face is one of the main things I remember when I drive to WV.

I flat pack it with clamps, so unless my container sweats on the canopy that isn't it

I have a canopy which basically smells like wet dog. I'm guessing it's because it often gets packed soaking wet or stashed in a stashbag for hours at a time before it gets hung up. I've tried hanging it up but it doesn't seem to be working to well, though it might be because every other day or so it gets jumped and dew-soaked all over again. I read another thread that suggested hanging it up and possibly Febreeze, but I'd rather not spray chemicals on it unless people are 100% sure it will not effect the integrity since it's a BASE canopy. Obviously it's F1-11 since it's BASE, if that makes any difference for my options. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I know one guy who has over 500 jumps and no PCAs or static lines because he doesn't think a jump which requires it is worth it. He's easily one of the most skilled and impressive jumpers I've ever seen. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

THIS is a pretty good example of a violent spin and proof that pulling the arm cutaways is worthless to stop the spin. In fact, watch the speed of the rotations after the arms are cutaway and you will notice an increase in the revolutions. I've had one spin which was worse (the one I described earlier) and one roughly equal to the last part of the video. Both went into full speed pretty much immediately. I had no problem flipping over and flying out of the spins within several seconds of them starting. I agree that cutting away the wings is the wrong thing to do, but it's very possible to flip over and get out of it even if the spin is bad. I do think that twisting over is a better description since all I do is a laid out half twist. Tom's post does make me think that I probably only do it because of my acrobatic background. Also, I don't have much upper body strength at all. I'm 6ft and under 140 lbs so there's very little room for muscle on my skin and bones A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

What do you consider a violent flat spin? The worst one I've encountered (the one I referred to) I twisted out of using the same twisting technique I use in gymnastics/diving. It lasted for 5-7 seconds and I felt myself start to get extremely light headed and woozy very quickly which was one of the scariest experiences of my life. When I got stable, my head felt like I had held my breath for a very long time and had just come up for air. The first second and a half were caught on video by pure dumb luck and and showed me doing 2-2.5 rotations/second on my back. It occured after I was knocked almost sideways during exit on a tracking jump out of a CASA where I was the only wingsuit jumper. The spin was my fault for not considering it a likely possibility when leaving with the group rather than before or after. I don't think I've ever seen video of a faster flat spin, but I don't like having the "honor" of the fastest. I'll see if I can find the guy who got the video. I never copied it over since I figured it'd be burned into my memory forever. I don't think I'd recommend my technique to anyone unless they have some kind of acrobatic background (proper technique goes a LONG way) and are willing to intentionally put themselves into a few spins to see how they like the recovery. It is definitely a bit weird the first couple of times but becomes second nature pretty quickly. I'm curious about spins again. Next time I'm at the DZ I'll see what I can do in my Prodigy since I don't plan on throwing my V2 into an intentional spin Doubt it'll be very similar due to the wing design though. *edited because I should never post just before going to bed. I got a headache just trying to read it A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

I've found that flipping over on your stomach and then flying was much quicker to recover the spin than it was to ball up. I've used that method over a dozen times with two of the spins being fairly violent. Of the rest that occured, I was expecting them to happen and had no problem using that method even if I stayed limp in the spin for 5-7 seconds. Notably, in one of the violent spins, I found it much more difficult to ball up due to the rotation throwing my body outward, so I decided to just revert back to my twist and fly method which had me stable and flying a few seconds after I opened up. All of this experience was on an S1. I miss that suit A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

(120 miles / 1 hour)*(1 hour / 3600 seconds)*(5280 feet / 1 mile) = 176 feet / second 1 mph = 1.46 fps 1000 feet / (176 feet / second) = 5.68 seconds. I can also say that it takes about 10 seconds for the first 1000 feet from first hand experience. Just over 11 seconds is very close to 1250 ft. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ

38 might be overkill, but my point was that a 38 with big mesh will not necessarily produce hard openings. I don't even have to roll my nose at all. A waddling elephant seal is the cutest thing in the entire world. -TJ