Tonto

Hi There, I did 3 dives on a borrowed GTi on Saturday. I swear it had a turn to the left. The suit may be a little on the short side for me. The only way I could get it to fly straight was by pointing my left toe in and pushing out sideways with my heel in a gimpy kind of way... Then it flew great! Could a too tight suit cause this? It was consistant through 3 flights - and the suit/rig was assembled symetricaly. I have 40 something wingsuit dives, and this is the 1st heading control issue (1st any issue actually) I've had. t It's the year of the Pig.

I know nothing about drugs... so forgive my ignorance. I have an AFF student who told me only after failing L3 that he is on anti-depresant medication. His dosage is designed to make him "normal." The dive was mayhem - but no worse than some other L 3's I've seen. Is it OK for him to carry on? Are there AFF students out there who went through the AFF program on meds - or Instructors with some experience in this regard? Feedback apreciated. t It's the year of the Pig.

Unfortunatly... the 1st two paragraphs are true. I was quietly arrogant. I listened, but took direction poorly. This trait still exsists. I understand that wearing a helmet would be sensible. That NOTHING but a helmet would protect my head in a plane crash like the one I witnessed in 1992 at Perris - but still I refuse to wear one. I have taken part of the advice though. "t. Don't bash your head." "OK!" t It's the year of the Pig.

I don't give a fuck about money - but right now a Skyflier 3 would be nice, so if you give me money, I promise not to keep it! t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm still sceptical, dispite what you saw. I'm glad you stand up for your brother. It's what brothers should do. t It's the year of the Pig.

Did I read all that to find out they're sitting on the fence? t It's the year of the Pig.

I never listened to my instructors because they were all stinky old farts who were so scared of my blinding talent that they were always BEGGING me to slow down, claiming I was at risk of injury. It was simply a matter of time before I made complete fools of them and showed just how stupid and conservative their advice was. Unfortunately, an injury resulting from a low turn put me out of the sport for nearly a year due to a femur broken in 9 places. They all acted SO concerned, although it was clear to me that they were releived. They claimed this relief was because I had not killed myself - but I knew it was because their senior position would remain unchallenged. The injury created a major setback to my learning curve, and those stinky old instructors still seem to have the edge on experience I so nearly had within my grasp. t It's the year of the Pig.

I remember that too - but these days I NEVER follow out a SL student. The JM's are doing AFF, Tandem, Wingsuit jumps, 4 way, freefly etc. t It's the year of the Pig.

Me too. What really happened was someone was dumb - prooved it - and now is trying to cover his ass. Don't pull triggers unless you want to hear "BANG" Don't even put a finger in the guard unless you intend to pull the trigger. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey Ed, Only one jump. I know it'll take well over 100 before that rag is "mine" and I know how it will react in most situations. I always work with the same packer - but will pack myself for a while so I have an accurate frame of reference. Thanks so much for the great customer support. I do apreciate it. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, but very light elipticals that require LONG periods on the risers to complete turns, rather than the "snappy" Stilleto, Heatwave etc ilk. t It's the year of the Pig.

What! You've got friends like that? I'd take then to the DZ. People like that make the sport statistically safer for me. t It's the year of the Pig.

Um... Parafin (Jet A1) is already a manufactured fuel... Avgas will have a problem... but oil from coal allows 300 years worth of reserves at current usage, so it's a long term problem. If you live longer than 300 years... there's always base, baloon jumps, paraglider jumps etc. t It's the year of the Pig.

I agree with you here. Most pistols I'm familiar with would require the trigger to be released and pulled again if the slide were released while the trigger was held to the rear. Any other mode of operation (without the sear being tampered with) would result in a full auto pistol. t It's the year of the Pig.

Birdman Inc offer an option of 100 inch bridle and 28 inch kill-line pilot chute. I use 120 inch bridal and 30 inch kill line pilot chute. t It's the year of the Pig.

Tell that to the 16 dead people after the Otter crash at Perris in April 1992... t It's the year of the Pig.

What's a stun gun? Is it like a Tazer? Over here, a gun's a gun. Next step down is pepper spray, I guess. t It's the year of the Pig.

At about 1200 dives, loaded to about 1.6 on the world's 1st production eliptical, a Jonathan 120 by Airtime designs... After 650 on 220 F-111 type 7 cells 150 on PD type 190 - 170 9 cells 200 on "21 cell" Excalibur type 150's 200 on ZP 9cell 145's It must have been. I jumped Jonathan 120's for the next 10 years (1500 dives excl Tandem, CRW etc) and only moved to a Stilleto 107 (1.78) at about 3600 jumps. My next canopy won't be an eliptical. It'll be either a Velocity/VX/FX around 100 sq ft for AFF, and I'll probably stick with a Safire 120 for wing suit dives. t It's the year of the Pig.

Thanks for the reply. Dave was at the DZ this weekend, but had already left by the time I'd hooked it up and jumped my Pilot. It was over 1000 ft. My Stilleto 107 takes 450 - 600 ft from a Terminal opening, the Safire about the same, but slower in the begining and faster towards the end with a strange "head shaking" type motion that ends up on heading 95% of the time. On this dive, I pulled (Not started to wave..) at 3600ft, waited a bit, looked up. Canopy was out the bag, shaking itself out, slider clear, but right against the stops. It stayed there for 3 -4 seconds, I glanced at the alti, just below 3000, so I knew I was slowing, looked back up and thought.. "OK, manual deployment time" and was reaching for the back risers when the slider started its (rather slow) decent. I was fully deployed, brakes still stowed at 2400ft. The opening reminded me of a Cruislite/Unit with 1500 dives on it, back in the 80's. I hear what you're saying WRT packing. I didn't pack it as with AFF I prefer spending my ground time with my students breifing/debriefing. The packer did roll the nose a bunch - and I've told him to leave it open in future. I never jumped it again, prefering the predictability of my Stilleto/Safire for the remaining 15 dives I had for the weekend. I'll do a wingsuit dive on it this weekend on my own packjob and see how things go from there. Aside, my AFF partner for the weekend (Jumping an Icon) also had one of her legstraps release completely to the stop on one of our AFF dives. This put her in a bit of a spot - canopy turning, chest strap to her neck. I'm guessing Dave has already heard about that one. Later, t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah... But what religeon is he/she? Just kidding... I get your point.

It was simply an editing issue. The real point, of course, is that another 9 soldiers died today, in scattered incidents unrelated to this issue. t It's the year of the Pig.

Are they really supposed to take 1000ft to open? I'm starting to think I'll be doing a lot of walking if my AFF student takes me down a bit... As for wing suit jumps - I'll easily be able to undo both arm zippers before the canopy opens. Right now.. I'm not so sure if that's a good thing. t It's the year of the Pig.

Does that read.. Maj Neal O'Brien said the unit surrounded the house and used an automatic weapon to capture the two Iraqis? Ambiguety is everywhere it seems... t It's the year of the Pig.

Brutally direct translation... "Fearfuckall" t It's the year of the Pig.

Put down that you've been dealing with everyone's problems from weather, to "I need to leave in an hour for my Mom's birthday and want to do 4 loads from altitude NOW" and have managed really well. You've certainly helped me rack up 600 odd AFF dives (weekends only) in the last 2 years - and still found those freefly and wingsuit dives to squeeze in at the end of the day! Thanks a ton! t It's the year of the Pig.