pilotdave

Do Mirages come with that attitude, or do people with that attitude buy Mirages? I'm not even kidding. I can often pick out Mirage owners just by the attitude of their posts. I don't know if I have some sort of supernatural skill or if there really is correlation there. Ya never see a Vector owner say things like that... Oh I can pick out the racer owners a lot of the time too from their posts. They're the ones saying ANYTHING positive about racers. J/k Dave

http://dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=1192698 Dave

1.91 and creeping upward. And I'm not shrinking.

I think it'd have to be an off landing near the DZ. I picked a long, narrow field that was aligned almost perfectly into the wind. I S-turned to put myself onto final and I had it made. Then noticed people at the far end of the field. Lots of them. At probably 300 feet, I realized they were all running toward where I was about to land. I touched down before they got there, and seconds later found myself surrounded by cheering, screaming kids. They asked all kinds of questions and one kid just stood there yelling "YOU'RE COOL!" over and over. Finally an adult made her way through the crowd and asked if I needed a ride. I said sure and we started walking to her car. I asked what everyone was out there for. "Tractor races" she replied. I didn't know what that meant until we reached the parking lot next to the track. A freaking lawnmower with a number on the side drove by. I couldn't believe there was lawnmower racing going on around the corner from the DZ. A little too close to where I grew up. On the ride back, I came to the conclusion that skydiving is safer than lawnmower racing. Dave

Did you watch the video? That's real live head down, done on purpose, freefly style.

I've seen some videos of tandems going head down for a few seconds before throwing the drogue. You can see an example in http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1720. I think it's "normal" or at least usual for certain TIs at certain DZs, but I don't think it's normal in general. Dave

I don't think you could find a way to justify it financially, but if you can afford it, sounds like fun. Definitely get an instrument rating though, even if you only fly VFR. When I was in college, I had no car but lived a 12 minute walk from my flying club's plane. Instead of a 2 hour car ride, I had a 45 minute flight. But someone driving could still beat me there a lot of the time. Get a weather briefing, walk to the airport, preflight the plane, wait a few minutes for some morning fog to burn off, fly out there, tie the plane down, put a cover on it, etc. But it sure beat driving! Dave

How about a sneaker instead? http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3673

There are a few clips of style jumps on skydivingmovies.com. I don't know all the rules, but it's basically just timing how fast someone can do a few turns and flips... but with very specific rules. Sounds easy until you realize how fast the top guys are. They leave the plane downwind of the DZ facing the camera (on the ground), dive really hard to pick up as much speed as possible, then get into a tuck and begin the style set. The tuck lets them turn and flip a lot faster, like a figure skater bringing in their arms. But it's a really unstable position. You can see short style clips in: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=957 http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2562 http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3226 Dave

Not saying it won't work, I'm saying it'll be easier to learn with a real RW suit that fits properly. And I'm sure they're sturdy when in good shape, but I've literally seen one shred in freefall. Grippers aren't for you, they're for the people you jump with. People like grippers for RW. And of course nobody NEEDS booties, but they can make things a lot easier. People used to wear big balloon suits for RW. Just because it can be done doesn't make it a good idea. Dave

Don't have a case number, but the SDA complaint is at http://homepage.mac.com/tbaiello/.Public/SkyrideComplaint.pdf. Dunno if you can go by a title or name or something else... Dave

I don't think lawsuits generally have updates until they're over. It's not over yet. I'm more interested in skyride's suit against USPA though. I wonder if skyride was awarded $10+ million if USPA would have to hand their keys over to em. That'd be interesting...

There are a few guys doing style where I jump. The black rubber suits in the summer don't exactly attract a lot of newcomers. Actually they held a style camp at the DZ last year or so. Really interesting to watch (judging/spotting from the ground and all) but I don't have any interest in trying it. Looks hard! Dave

BASE forum here for more information. I didn't approve it for SDM cause it was watermarked by another site. I'd prefer an "original" copy from the originator. Dave

It'll work, but it won't be ideal for RW. You'll learn much faster with a proper fitting suit with grippers (and preferably booties, in my opinion). I've seen people wear flight suits (and tear the crap out of them since they aren't meant for 120 mph wind for very long), and they do much better with real RW suits. Dave

It's funny... it's the opposite for a pilots license. It's technically a pilot certificate. But the USPA does issue licenses. But no, it doesn't bother me. They're the same thing as far as I'm concerned. Dave

If you want one of the major brands, try to find a local dealer (ask around at your dropzone). They'll have material samples and be able to measure you and all that. Trying to choose colors and all that over the internet is very difficult. Also, just take a close look at jumpsuits you see around the dropzone. That'll give you a better idea of what the options are as far as colors and patterns. Dave

Altimaster field service members have a supply of grease to re-set the seal. Makes it much easier. Dave

Hehe I hear the students suck too but I've never met one. J/k Dave

I just got my MBA recently taking classes at night 2 days a week. Thought about online programs but decided there was no way I was gonna motivate myself to sit at my computer and take classess. I needed to have to be in class. My program was held in a hotel near work, and dinner was included in tuition. Books were brought to us before each new course too. Couldn't have been more painless... except for a few of the professors. And since my company paid for it, and I'll be getting a big stock award for graduating, it was definitely worth doing. I've never been to the campus... don't even know how to get there. It's a small school in new haven, CT. You mighta heard of it... Yeah, that's right, the university of new haven. That's what you were thinking, right?

How about a ringsight quick release that leaves no snag hazard when the sight is removed? Dave

I just don't really understand the problem. I break locking stows all the time. My dbag has 4 locking stows. I assume (but don't know) that they break when they get pulled, which happens one at a time (I think). Instead of the lines sliding out, the band breaks. What's the difference? I can see why it might be a problem if they broke out of order... you'd end up with a bunch of line coming out all at once. But it's my understanding that stow bands just keep the opening in order and don't control the speed of the opening. As I said, I break locking stows much more commonly than the non-locking stows. Never had a hard opening on my current canopy (~525 jumps or so). Can you just describe how a broken locking stow is likely to cause line dump? Would all of them have to break? Dave

Just trying to understand what you mean (not disagreeing). Are you talking about different features, or component quality, or what? Dave

It's important to know the rules of skydiving. If you're ever offered the chance to jump at a dropzone more than 25 NM from the departure point (in an otter for example), you should know you'd be breaking the law. It's the pilot that really needs to make that call, but skydivers should be aware. Dave

Rotor RPM is pretty much constant in helicopters, not something the pilot manually adjusts. Generally they just try to avoid long vertical descents and come in at shallower angles with more airspeed. Safer in case of engine failure too. Dave