pilotdave

I dunno... if it's taking 5 seconds for your PC to pull the pin on a hop n' pop, something's wrong and you should be worried. Your pilot chute should be working correctly at hop n' pop speeds. You will get a slower opening, but your bag should be coming out with no delay. I don't do hop n' pops too often, but when I do them, I like to take very short delays and not build up speed. My canopy takes forever to open, but not a whole lot of altitude. I did have a couple pilot chutes in tow (once I pulled the bridle, the second time it was a "hesitation") on my old rig before I had my pilot chute replaced. I had multiple experienced jumpers and riggers look at it before a master rigger was able to determine that my kill line had shrunk. Get it checked out! Dave

Ooops, somehow hit the wrong reply button. Fixed it though! But ok, you're exactly right too. I don't know about what, but I agree with ya! Dave

That was my point in my first post... It makes no sense that you can do them with a B license regardless of your night vision, but you suddenly can't do them when you get a restricted D. But I do think that's the idea. It just makes no sense. What would you have to do to remove the restriction against night jumps? 2 night jumps? Of course! Then you've demonstrated that you can do night jumps so you deserve an unrestricted D license. So you're exactly right. The restriction should fall on the B license, removing the jumper's ability to be allowed to do night jumps in the first place. But it can't, since there is no B license requirement to be able to do night jumps. Dave

Or study a bit using the SIM's study guide, then take the test. (write your answers on scrap paper, not on the license application, in case you fail). If you do fail, take it again next weekend. No record of your failure is kept. It's really not hard. You can get a whole lot of them wrong on the D test and still pass. I don't think there were as many hard questions as the number of wrong answers you can have and still pass. Or spend $25 and study and guarantee you'll pass in one try.

That's in the SIM. I just read it today.

Yeah I didn't really do any organized ground school (a couple hours hear and there with my instructor) and it took me 50 hours to solo and 100 hours to get my private. Ok so I was 16 when I soloed and 17 when I got my private... Dave

Want inexpensive? Look into the Sport Pilot license. It's new. License to fly small 2-seat aircraft in as little as 20 hours. http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airmen_certification/sport_pilot/ Comparison between different licenses Dave

I happen to love night jumps (I think I have 9 now and can't wait to do more), but I do think they're sort of a strange requirement. Licenses give privileges and show competence. But you only need a B license to do night jumps. So anyone with a B should be prepared for night jumps. Seems like if you can't/won't do night jumps, you should have to get a waiver for your B license, not your D. I guess the difference is that once you've reached a D, you are expected to be competent at night jumps whereas a B license holder is only allowed to do them. I think it's time for a USPA E license... one that someone like me shouldn't be anywhere close to being qualified for. A true overall expert license. Or maybe something like the FAA's Wings program for pilots... a way to get credit for training beyond anything required for licenses. Canopy courses, freefly coaching, CRW coaching, wingsuits, etc. Dave

Hmmm, thats strange. 3.68% of visitors use safari and this is the first complaint of it not working I've seen. Just go to http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php and it should work fine. Dave

I don't really understand the problem you're having in movie maker, but what you want to do doesn't sound hard. To make music fade out and background audio fade in, then vice versa: Split the music track once, fade one side out, the other side in. Split the video track (with background audio) twice, so that the part you want to hear is in the middle clip. On the clip that contains the background audio you want to hear, fade the audio in and out, and mute the first and last clips that you don't want to hear. Then drag the split music clip to where it needs to be to fade back in as the background audio fades out. Or did I totally misunderstand your other post? Dave

Hmm, don't know what's wrong. Your password is still "ILoveSangiro" (case sensitive!). Don't know why it's not working. Just kidding. Send me your username or email address and I'll get your account working. Edit. I agree with cookies. Send me cookies and I'll fix it. Chocolate chip. Dave

How would this one look on an Otter? Dave

Yeah, why not... Dave

Don't know the first DZ (small airport in new jersey an hour from manhattan with a 206). The article says the second DZ was z-hills. Article is in the members only section on the AOPA website: http://www.aopa.org/members/files/pilot/2006/feet0608.html (don't want to copy/paste the whole article) Dave

Sorry... I decided not to approve it. I generally don't approve videos that are marked by other sites. This one's available at consumption junction, and all over the internet. I've had it emailed to me a couple times already by coworkers. Here's a video of a square canopy successfully being towed by a van... http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2804 Dave

The PT6 has to be the most common turboprop engine there is. I wouldn't worry about them. This lawsuit is small potatoes for UTC's legal department. They get sued after MANY plane/helicopter crashes. They'll probably just settle since it might cost more to prove they didn't do anything wrong. Dave

So being dependent on AADs isn't, in itself, bad. So why argue whether or not people are dependent if that fact doesn't make one bit of difference without knowing why or how they are dependent? You previously said: "Relying on ANY device is foolish...to INCLUDE an AAD." So wait a minute. "Being dependent is not necessarily bad in and of itself," but "relying on ANY device is foolish?" Now you've lost me. Well, no you haven't because I've read your argument enough times that I think I understand it, even though I personally find it to be complete, illogical bullshit. Relying on a seatbelt isn't bad in and of itself (ie wearing it EVERY time you drive). But assuming you can crash into brick walls safely because you have a seatbelt on is bad. Two different kinds of reliance on the same device, wouldn't you say? Choosing to wear an AAD on all skydives vs. choosing not to pull your reserve handle because you've got an AAD. Two different kinds of reliance on the same device. One isn't in and of itself bad, the other is. You start to lose me when you suggest that someone SHOULD be willing to make any skydive without an AAD that they would with an AAD. That's a silly litmus test because there's usually no good reason to want to make a skydive without an AAD. What does that mental test prove? I know you aren't recommending that anybody actually go out and shut their cypres off for a jump just to prove they have the balls. You're only suggesting people should be willing, in their own mind, to make the jump. Should somebody be willing to drive on the highway with no seatbelt? If they aren't willing, should they automatically be told they shouldn't drive on the highway? Is highway driving too dangerous for that person? Or is that person aware of the benefits of seatbelts and chooses to wear one, since not wearing one has no benefit. I agree that AADs aren't magical safety devices that make skydiving safe. But I don't agree that choosing to use one on every jump is a sign of some sort of poor thinking or something that is wrong. BTW, for the record, I'm 26 and normally jump with an AAD but will (and have) jump without it when it's out for service. Edit: I may not meet that definition of AAD dependent, but I've never made a jump without: A container, a main, a reserve, clothing, glasses, shoes, and a hard helmet (other than tandems). What's that say about me? Should I be willing to make a jump without some of those? Dave

Looks to me like it's optimized for higher resolution than I can run at work. Forces my browser to full screen (which I HATE), and then I still have to scroll left and right to see the whole page. Smaller (or at least narrower) would be much better. Looks nice though. Dave

In case anyone's interested in a history lesson, here's something I scanned and posted a while back... A Review of Para-Foil Applications http://www.skydivingmovies.com/parafoil/ (Originally published in 1968) Dave

Trade ya for my PD150! Dave

Let me just clarify myself... I don't think your instructors are necessarily WRONG in their suggestion. It's aggressive, but not insane, and not in accordance with the suggestions from the manufacturer or top canopy coaches (or maybe that does make it insane). You can choose to take the advice of your instructors, but this is a case where you can also choose to go bigger. It's never wrong to go with a bigger canopy than recommended. They recommended the smallest you can go. There is no danger in ignoring their advice and being more conservative. You don't have to ask your instructors for permission to go bigger... it's a choice only you can make. Dave

I'm not a big believer that 15 lbs on a spectre 135 makes THAT much of a difference, but they have to draw the line somewhere and they have to be very conservative to cover their asses. The numbers are the same for the Sabre2 135, which I load at about 1.1 (and started on it around 1.05 at about 150 jumps). A 12-lb weight vest doesn't affect the canopy enough for me to feel a difference. I'm sure it flies a little faster and turns a little faster, but not enough for me to notice. I PMed you a while back about canopy choices... I was in the same boat as you. My instructors recommended a 135 to me when I was looking for a rig at 40 jumps. I went with an F111 150 instead (after reading some good advice on the internet, and happened to have the 150 nearly fall in my lap). Put ~100 jumps on the 150 and downsized to a sabre2 135. I'm pretty sure I would have survived if I skipped those jumps on the 150, but whats the rush? After 600+ jumps on the 135, I still have no interest in going any smaller. I definitely recommend going big. My opinion is that it's impossible to have too big a canopy. Ok, I've jumped a manta 288 loaded at something like 0.45... that's too freaking big. The biggest difference between a sabre2 150 and a spectre 135 is just how much faster things happen. At your wingloading, the spectre isn't exactly radical. You're not going to dive at the ground if your toggles are a tiny bit uneven when you flare. It's not as unforgiving as maybe some people that haven't jumped a spectre 135 at under 1.1 wingloading assume it might be. But it flies forward fast and descends fast. You have less time to make decisions. You have to plan farther ahead. You have to think faster. If you put yourself in a bad position, you're going to hit the ground harder. And you're much more likely to find yourself in a bad position over your next 100 jumps than after you gain more experience. Make the mistakes on a 150... Dave

1 door actually. Luckily on the right side, so you won't need to climb over the pilot to get out.

Which model cherokee is it? There's a huge difference between a cherokee 6 (PA-32) and a cherokee (PA-28). I think most people here are talking about PA-32s, but you sound like you're talking about a PA-28. It's listed at http://www.uspa.org/publications/SIM/2006SIM/section9AC105.2C.htm as being able to be operated with the door removed though. Dave

Probably here: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1003 Dave