Tonto

Yes. The US has a record of going about spanking small nations, none of which are capable of invading. Sooner or later, one of them will get a nuke to you, and use it on a "mixed" target. What are you going to say? "Unfair!" Well? You started this thread by saying the US should invade Japan for having lent the US money. What you're proposing isn't exactly moral, is it? Why do you think you should have the moral high ground? t It's the year of the Pig.

Apartheid sucked. It was, in my book, a crime against humanity that all people should be educated about. Unfortunately, that's not even happening here. Young voters, who were perhaps 7 years old when the first free elections were held here in 1994, don't understand the cost some of their elders paid to secure that democracy. I'm well aware of Japan's history both pre WW2 and during the conflict, and agree their marketing of their country has done a good job of sweeping a mountain of attrocities under the rug. My Grandfather was a casualty of that conflict, but fell in a different arena. Having said that, the entire human race has spent the past 20 000 years in conflict, and without exception has raped, pillaged, burned, murdered, subjugated and tortured their way across history. The US, however, remains the only country ever to have used a nuclear weapon in conflict. That's history. It's very difficult to justify in today's world regardless of how nessesary it may have been then, and unfortunately has cost the US the moral high ground. t It's the year of the Pig.

Yeah, I know... but I couldn't get any green flashing LED's. I'll work on it for our next adventure. We only got one dive in ahead of an aproaching thunderstorm, but there's something about seeing your wingman sillouetted by lightening with the white light reflected off the top skin of their silver wings that's kinda unforgetable.. Can't wait for the next one... t It's the year of the Pig.

Fantastic. What happened to identifying your target? Or did you just shoot your kids in this hypothetical situation? t It's the year of the Pig.

Well, you nuked them last time cos you were afraid of invading them. What's changed? t It's the year of the Pig.

Eeeeee! Taya and I are doing night jumps again! We have a 2 way and then a 5 way planned for later tonight. We've come a long way since I last revived this thread and have gone electrical with PLENTY lights in wings, back of front risers (in the event of a cut away, makes main recovery more possible.) red bike lights on rear of heels, flashing lights for wing tips etc. I like night dives, but I LOVE night wingsuit dives even more! t It's the year of the Pig.

Every girl wants a bad boy who will be good only for her. Every boy wants a good girl who will only be bad for him. t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi John, I took this out of incidents because you've chosen to discuss the media in the UK, and not the incident. Please use this thread for media discussion, and leave the incident thread to discuss the incident. Thanks, t It's the year of the Pig.

Cos work is closed and the DZ is open. t It's the year of the Pig.

It kinda took me by surprise. He was in a flat spin on his back. I was expecting him to ball up - as I'd taught him and attempt to recover. There was no main deployment, only the reserve, and my position in the flock would have made dumping out potentially hazardous to others. t It's the year of the Pig.

So how many Blouwildebeest (That's blue wild beast, or "Gnu" to you..) did you eat? t It's the year of the Pig.

He. There's that supply and demand thing again.. Everyone wanting to be an African for Christmas... t It's the year of the Pig.

It had a happy ending. The 9 other flockers mounted up on three 4 x 4's and started searching. The clouds were higher than the reserve deployment, but made looking for a white canopy pretty difficult. The jumper was found uninjured and given a ride out to the DZ by a local and got in about 50 min after we landed. I just expected more from the Duty Instructor, who probably thought we all had it under control. t It's the year of the Pig.

Not if it's a wingsuit dive with an exit 2.5 miles out and a high white layer of cloud above 11000ft exit altitude.. The glide ratio of the reserve should easily be better than the flock, so he should have been able to make it back - but when he never did, we (his fellow flockers) launched our own search. The DI continued operations as normal. t It's the year of the Pig.

Here's a Senario. A jumper reports they witnessed an unstable reserve deployment at 9000ft during a dive. 45 min later there is still no sign of the jumper. At what point do you think the DZO or S&TA should become involved in looking for the jumper? t It's the year of the Pig.

It's true. t It's the year of the Pig.

Tandem sidespin recovery and Wingsuit flat spin recovery both recomend the "Ball-up" technique followed by the arch. Aggiedave has made 2 important points. 1. Discuss this with your instructor. 2. "Hard arch" is not what you need. You need chin up, elbows high, hips down and legs slightly positive. Good luck. t It's the year of the Pig.

I went to my 25 year about a month back. It was fantastic. There were only about 25 of us out of a class of about 120. One of my teachers mistook my GF for my daughter, and we all had a good laugh about a bunch of things. I think 10 years is a tough one, cos it's all about the money. Past that and it's more about the memories... and whether or not you're still alive. I'm naturally competitive, so I want to outlive them all. t It's the year of the Pig.

Well... having jumped a Boeing 727 at WFFC in 1992, and having "survived" many, many 200 MPH exits from C-130's and Antonov 26's and 32's, and having done a bunch of jumps on round canopies with from mounted reserves, and with about 50 night jumps.. I struggle to beleive the guy died. I think the "He died!" crew are a bunch of Whuffos who cannot grasp the fact that we do things a million times more demanding and dangerous than this every year - and video it for our friends. Dead? Maybe now, 32 years after the jump - but the day after? I don't think so. t It's the year of the Pig.

I liked your reply.

I jump a Stilleto at 1.8 - and anything more than that is too small. t It's the year of the Pig.

I'm 100% with you here. Although I only have 1800+ AFF dives, I have yet to come across the student who does not pull - or be pulled out by the hard deck on a skydive. I'm fortunate that my build and weight allow for a great range of student weights from around 100lbs to 220lbs, and speeds from the high 90's to the low 140's. Dressing for success is the key. That, and being ready for the unexpected. t It's the year of the Pig.

He.. When I jumped the J-52 I liked the wind down windows... and the wooden stick that shows how much fuel you have, bobbing in and out of the wing.. and the pilot's "sunroof." Loved that kite! t It's the year of the Pig.

Hi. My S3 had a base PC pouch that I used exclusively from about jump 30 on. I'm using a 32 inch F-111 PC with birdseye mesh, so it packs quite big and was very tight in the pouch. Pulling at 90 deg was never an option, but the deployments were always super clean and on heading. I've since sold my S3 and ordered an S3-S, and I'm borrowing an S3 till my new suit gets here. The borrowed suit has all the options my old one did, but interestingly, the same PC bounces around the inside of the pouch which is MUCH bigger. 90 degree deployments have been routine on the 12 dives I did on the suit last weekend. Of course, I can't speak for the Vampire, but this indicates some degree of latitude WRT manufacturing tolerances from Birdman, although both ends are completely operational. Good luck. t It's the year of the Pig.

I think one of the toughest things about being an instructor is remembering what it was like to be a student. We should be constantly challenging ourselves to leave our comfort zones and learn new things. Nothing prepares us to work with students more. Glad you "clicked!" Enjoy! t It's the year of the Pig.