Tonto

Well... that misses Easter, and gives you only one weekend! Maybe you should change it to 8th to 26th April, that'll give you 3 weekends and the easter boogie... t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey! Easter boogie will be 9, 10, 11, 12 April... that's Easter.. Do you want to fly down to Durban with the Porter, or get a lift? Speak now... I may be able to swing it for you.. And bring the Wingsuit.. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh yes, damned Christian terrorsts.. It was mentioned in the "Invasion of Zimbabwe" thread when someone said there were no real christian terrorists, until others pointed out the IRA, Lebanon, and the ETA... t It's the year of the Pig.

Nah.. I went the personal security route. The cars are more comfy, and the fights short, and you're a hero for running away, as long as you take the principle with you when you do it. Last contact I had with "those people" they were looking for "snipers" to go to Bosnia and had a dollar rate for men, women and children... Doing it for the money is one thing... but kids? Nah. Not for me. t It's the year of the Pig.

It's a mammal. Small rodent? Tunnels underground? Feared on most golf courses? He had one on his face. or a breakwater or causeway built out into the sea... mmm, don't think that's it.. or a spy established within an organisation... Mmm.. Interesting... Ahh. A small dark spot on human skin.. That must be it! t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah.. Nice bloke for a Balding whuffo with such low self esteem that he had to resort to surgery before the age of 30... t It's the year of the Pig.

As you're doubtless aware, Koevoet and 32 Battalion shared a similar philosophy. I'm very glad that in those early days of the New South Africa, I never went the Executive Outcomes route that several of my friends chose... t It's the year of the Pig.

All Hail the Tank Commander! (And women... make sure you're trim. The Tank Commander doesn't like time spent in the bush... But doesn't mind a runway) I got to admit, WRT the Selous Scouts, that there are an awful lot of people who say they were one... I have a friend who was in the RLI (Saints) and he swears that most times he bumps into one of his old brothers in arms, discovers they must have been transfered to the scouts the day after he left on the last day of the war... Just back to the origins of this thread, I see the "64" now 65, are all former members of the now disbanded 32 Battalion... and we all know what that means. Or at least those of us that did our National service for South Africa during the 1980's do. That makes them seem a little too over qualified for security guards for a mining company... t Reason for edit: Although I posted a link to the 32 Battalion site, I don't agree with the political views expressed on the site. From a strictly military history perspective, few would argue with the content. It's the year of the Pig.

Glad to hear Dom is doing OK. I was one of those that picked up the peices before they casavaced him out after he femured himself at my DZ. Thanks for the feedback re the ICON. I recently went with Mirage, but the ICON's have since arrived at our DZ and are looking like great value. The bridal is good info. I'll mail Dave in a few weeks and see how it's coming along. Good to know Aerodyne are proactive WRT customer suggestions! t It's the year of the Pig.

Well, one in 1300 AFF's isn't exactly high risk now, is it? And the student passed. I don't charge for rejumps anyway, but if the students body position is so marginal that a bootie sneaking out would make them turn... maybe they need to repeat that level anyway. t It's the year of the Pig.

You say that like it's a bad thing. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hey Aubrey, I've ordered a Pilot 132 as a Birdman canopy on the ASI program here in SA (I'm an AFF, SL and TM I.) Do you know if Aerodyne will build the Icon with the dynamic corner mod and supply a 100 inch bridle, etc? t It's the year of the Pig.

That's good advice, and I'll follow it in future. The reason the pull altitudes have been coming down is because I've never had an issue, and wingsuit flight is so small here that we're pretty much making it up as we go along. The main I'm jumping is very conservative WRT both wing loading and design by comparison to my normal gear, and that combined with the very stable behavior of the Classic has probably contributed to my complacency. (That and the ground rush..) I'll take it back up to 4000ft, and will go higher when I move to a more radical suit in the future. Thanks (Chuck too) for the feedback. t It's the year of the Pig.

Congratulations! Enjoy your years together, t It's the year of the Pig.

I don't have many wingsuit jumps, and only jump a Classic at present. I'm seeing some people pulling VERY high on wingsuit jumps. What altitude do you throw the pilot chute at when you do a wingsuit jump? If it's higher or lower than normal, please try and explain why. Adding what suit you're using, main wingloading and type (Square, tapered etc) and how many total dives vs. Birdman dives would help too. I have 4000+ dives total, maybe 40 birdman dives, jumping a Safire 135 loaded to 1.34 and feel comfortable pulling around 2500ft, and I'm usually fully deployed by 2200ft. t It's the year of the Pig.

Just fold them up inside the leg. I do this with all my AFF students. I've seen one sneak out once, but the student never noticed. Never had the need for duct tape or rubber bands. t It's the year of the Pig.

Oh God... A fashion victim... t It's the year of the Pig.

It's your life, not his. My Dad was a very succesful electrical engeneer. I wanted to skydive. I'm a very succesful skydiver ( I'm still alive!) It took about 15 years for him to come around to the idea and do a tandem. My kids can do whatever the hell they want as long as they're happy, and not harming anyone else. t It's the year of the Pig.

Truth. Politically we're worlds apart - but you're objective, and I like that. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh. Positive thinking! Or maybe they'll die first. Sometimes the ground keeps pushing too. It's not fast, but it's patient. When you fuck up, it'll be there, waiting. I've told some students I won't jump with them anymore. Sometimes they simply cannot do what I say. Others, they're always uncurrent, going two or three months between AFF dives. Usually, I'm the "last hope" as I have a reputation for "finding the key" to unlock the bits that make it work. If I can't solve it, I don't keep trying forever. My slowest student graduated the AFF program in 23 dives.(They paid only slots and pack jobs for 13 of those.) If they're trying, I'll try, but when it becomes more of an exercise in motivational speaking and psycology than one about skydiving instruction, I pull the plug. When you have a student on L6 or L7 that's never pulling, and they pull once... would you pass them to solo's? I don't trust Cypres enough for that. t It's the year of the Pig.

No. In both Bosnia and Somalia the US was part of a UN force. It's when the US goes against UN procedure and invades sovereign states (Granada, Iraq, Haiti etc) that I comment on it. The US is currently involved in a World War. It's fighting everywhere. 40% of the world arms budget is spent by the US. There's a problem there. t It's the year of the Pig.

No Oil. I'm not surprised. If they had oil, you wouldn't be able to keep the fuckers out. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ditto. One at a time, so there's always one hooked up. I release them completely only after landing. t It's the year of the Pig.

I always have the student help. Many of them convert to AFF and mentioned that they felt increased confidence knowing that they had "landed" a canopy prior to their 1st AFF, I don't think it's a strength issue. I can do it alone, my volumes are low with only 2 or 3 a day max, although in the past I've managed 12 in a day. I feel letting them flare is of more benefit to the student further down the road. t It's the year of the Pig.

I forget. A Baglock, Pressure knots, broken brake lines, colapsed drouges in tow.... 7 or 8, the last of which was followed by a reserve mal, a pressure knot which I managed to clear. (I posted the story in incidents.) And that for 700 tandems. My Tandem chop rate is higher than it was for competition rotation CF dives. I don't own or pack the gear - for those who want to point the finger. Right now - I feel like Tandem sucks, and I don't want to do any more. Maybe later - but I doubt it. Why would I want some sweating slab of meat oozing arenaline strapped to me while I act as a biological AAD? It would be wrong to resent the students desire - so I stopped doing tandem and have taken up the slack doing AFF. t It's the year of the Pig.