Tonto

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/mylai/64344.stm For those unfamiliar with My Lai........ t It's the year of the Pig.

Would those be the chemical weapons supplied by the US to Saddam? t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm sorry. I had no idea that was going on. t It's the year of the Pig.

No. That's not OK - but I don't think that's been done in Iraq. In Japan, plenty though. t It's the year of the Pig.

Not the only one... I had about 550 tandems when this happened... I had a relatively big student out of a C-210 front door on exit, he pulled his legs up straight, so was bent forward at 90 degrees. We ended up on our side, drouge down. I fought it for about 6 seconds, but we were going really fast - and I was worried about losing the camera - and I threw the drouge. It hit me on the right shoulder and stuck there. About this time, we started to spin VERY fast. I tried twice to clear the entanglement and failed. (Video at this time puts our turn at about 6 rotations per second, or about 90 degrees per frame) I didn't think I'd survive that disorientation very well for much longer and fired the reserve, hoping it would clear the mess on my back. It did, and we ended up at 8000ft (After an exit from 10 000ft) with line twists most of the way up the lines. It was interesting to note that mentally, I was struggling to grasp the concept of fighting for my life 6 seconds out the door and felt well behind the curve. I cocked up hugely by throwing the drouge at the time I did. I sent the video to all the Tandem evaluators in South Africa - and its shown to every new TM out here - so others have had the oportunity to learn from the mistakes I made. The student? LOVED the dive. Go figure... t It's the year of the Pig.

Agreed. But the world court does offer increased accountability. Knowing you could never be charged with crimes against humanity might be cause to be a little less humane. t It's the year of the Pig.

2500 - 3000ft t It's the year of the Pig.

No hip rings on my rig... That may be it. My right leg is a half inch longer than my left as the result of a broken left femur many years ago... t It's the year of the Pig.

Isn't that called "being a law unto one's self?" t It's the year of the Pig.

Well... with a wing suit that gets done on the ground. No way am I undoing my suit on jump run to adjust legstraps. I also sat in different positions in the kite on the 3 dives, and the only consistant factor I have is the turn. I hear you, and agree that it's a lack of symetry somewhere - but I'm insistant that I and others were looking for it for the whole day - and didn't find it. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm no expert here, but I would imagine if it were non governmental and non military then normal criminal law would take effect. Civilians are not signitories to the Geneva convention, are they? It's governments that sign up on behalf of their militaries behavior, I think... t It's the year of the Pig.

Yes. But I'm not qualified to answer that question. I'd like to carry on with him, but, I'm not a doctor or a pharmasist. I'm an AFF instructor. If the doctor who prescribed the meds feels there's no problem, he'll be on the 1st load. If he feels there is a problem, he won't. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm not American, so Kerry probably doesn't want me to see anything, or doesn't care about what I do see. My answer also refered to Bush, and me not caring that he never turned up for guard duty. I still say - it's who we are now that matters. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm with pajarito on this one. Since the US do not recognise the World Court in The Hauge, it's essencial that their military police themselves. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's really cool. I've always applied those rules when entering into a relationship with someone, and I imagine thats what most American voters are doing. It's who we are now that matters. t It's the year of the Pig.

Very light. About 10 kts. When I first felt it I thought I may be "weathervaning" into a different layer, but it happened all through 180 degrees on both right hand and left hand turn outs. t It's the year of the Pig.

You're wrong there. It was under 12 hours. I know. I was the coach. Vana will have the details. t It's the year of the Pig.

That could be an issue - but in the Porter which runs in REAL slow, and leaving last, I literally have about 45 seconds between 1st exit and when I get out which is plenty time to feel if things are not right. Anyway. I'll probably find that it's gone away next time I jump that suit. I'll be back on a Classic this weekend and that should be a blast since they've always been so good to me, from the 1st second of my 1st wingsuit dive. I'm learning, and from the replies I've got this far, we all agree that something is assymetrical somewhere, and that's what caused the turn. I don't think it was me, as I have some awareness out there and would fix the problem. It may be the suit - which is fine cos its not mine. It could be the rig and the way it was hooked up incorrectly in some way no one could notice - but I'll probably get it right next time. I do appreciate the experience I've gained at controlling something beyond myself - and was reminded of a few Tandems I've done when you correct a student's turn by doing your own thing. I'm learning. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm not saying anything. I asked a question because I had no answer or experience in this field. I'm a little disapointed by the extreme responses from both sides of the fence on this one. The student in question is no different from 100's of others I've trained, and is in this position simply because of his honesty and a desire to solve whatever problems he has. Sure, he gets a little tense in the door. That happened to me too as a student, and at the World Meet 1000's of dives later. I think this is between him and his doctor. If the doc thinks its OK, I don't see a problem teaching him. t It's the year of the Pig.

No video I'm afraid. All 3 dives were solo's. The 1st one I did a right turnout (Porter has a Right door exit) and needed to pull the suit past the centreline which took quite a bit of input. After checking things out on the ground and making sure things were even on both sides I went for the second jump. Again the suit went off to the left, but I had briefed the pilot I would be doing a left decent, and allowed it to go where it wanted to, correcting only for the straight line sections of my flight. Much checking on the ground and debate followed, but on the 3rd flight the suit again moved to the left. I wore a proTrack on only the 1st dive, but my vertical speeds were about 10mph HIGHER on the GTi than they normally are on my Classic - so I was obviously arching quite a bit more out of insecurity. I have flown this suit once before in rather crappy conditions, in near darkness when I had fewer wingsuit dives - and it flew straight then. Maybe cos its getting cold now (Southern Hemisphere winter coming) I had more clothes on this time and that had some effect. What amazed me was how consistant it was, and how exacting (and uncomfortable) the gimpy foot positioning was. Driving home Saturday night I was getting cramps on the outside/back of my right calf muscles I'd been using to trim out the problem. I must add that all other Birdmen on the DZ were overjoyed that I'd run into a problem! They've been having a far more exciting learning curve than I have thus far! t It's the year of the Pig.

My TM rating is no longer current, but I have 750 tandems. When I had about 100 tandems, I'd do anything. As I gained more experience, I wanted to do less and less unpridictable stuff. Get out, get stable, get the drouge out. Watch the clock, pull, land safe was all I wanted to do. t It's the year of the Pig.

I don't think it's a brand thing. I have a G4 and don't need it at all. I think it's an articulation thing. In my experience those that complain about it have articulated harnesses. (and those that complain about leg strap "slippage" have stainless steel hardware) Those options cost more than price, in my opinion. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yup. That's what I've been doing for the last 19 years with everything from my Wonderhog, an Invader, a Vulcan and a Contour. I have also hand washed in a tub with Woolite, etc. My Mirage has only about 170 jumps on it and has yet to fall over or reach it's 1st reserve repack, so it'll be a while before I wash it. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey Chuck. Absolutely certain. I had the guy who owns the suit, and 2 others with wing suit experience check it out both on the ground, and when I was wearing it after the 1st dive had revealed the problem. It literally got down to people saying, "Well, there's an empty hook knife pocket there... could that do it? Maybe the LQRS?" The suit owner jumped it like that without changing hookup or rig. (And of course said he had no turn issue whatsoever..but still ended up with line twists which is something I have yet to get) The turn was consistant and slow, maybe 3 degrees a second, so easy to correct for. Felt a bit like a wheel alignment problem. Everything looked straight, felt straight, but it went skew - then when I did the gimpy foot thing, it went straight. 100% sure the rig was symetrical. I did 3 dives... and was obviously quite keen on solving the riddle. I'm completely mystified... t It's the year of the Pig.

Thanks to all for the speedy response. I'll see if I can find out product and dosage and post that. Just need to add here that this student is as normal as can be - and was just wondering why the L3 didn't go as well as the other 2 and thought the meds may have had something to do with it. If he had not mentioned he was on medication - I would never have known. t It's the year of the Pig.