pilotdave

A canopy is not just a flat plate shaped like an airfoil free to weathervane in a gust. What gust factor are you modeling in your calculations? I'm sure a canopy will do some very interesting things in strong gusts including change shape, but we try not to jump in those kinds of conditions. Geometrically, the front half of a canopy's airfoil does have more surface area. But what is the axis upon which a crosswind will create a yawing moment? It'll be the aerodynamic center, right? Where does that lie? How does the 3-dimensional shape of a canopy compared to the 2-dimensional airfoil shape change the situation? What happens when you touch down in a crosswind and let go of your toggles while your canopy is over your head? Does it, without any input, yaw downwind? Dave

You've done the calculations, right? What is the maximum realistic turn rate of a canopy due to wind gusts? How long would it take, under worst case but jumpable conditions, for a canopy to turn 180 degrees purely due to the yaw moment caused by a crosswind component? I simply don't believe gusts cause canopies to turn downwind... at least not enough for it to matter. But assuming you are right, you'd still prefer an unconscious downwinder into an open field with 20 knot wind than an upwind/crosswind descent into a tree? Dave

Hehe. Some 182s have retractable landing gear. You don't see those flying jumpers though...

That's cause one's in your helmet and the other's on your wrist! Just kidding. My neptune is so freaking loud I need to make sure the speaker faces away from my ear, not toward it. A protrack might be louder, but it sure wouldn't need to be for me. Dave

Connecticut RW: 41 Set last weekend. http://www.philroberson.com/ctrecord05.html Dave

Field service members have an adequate supply of new o-rings and grease.

I've never used a protrack but I've seen a lot of other people use em. First of all, lots of people that own them have no clue how to use them. They read the manual once, set the audible altitudes, then never touch it again, not even to check the fallrate on the last jump, because they can't remember how and don't want to bother looking it up. I'm sure it's not so hard once you learn how to do it, but you do need to learn how to do it, unlike on a neptune. The other thing I noticed about the protrack is the batteries. First of all they're much more expensive. I bought neptune batteries for $1.83 each (it takes one). The protrack has a couple tiny springs that come loose when the battery cover is removed. Easy to lose. With the neptune, the local field service member (me) has spares for all the lose parts...battery cover, all the screws, helmet mounting stuff, etc (even a few altimaster 2 and 3 spares). I use my neptune as an audible, but I switch it to a visual altimeter using the backlight for night jumps. Works great (just don't use a very low battery for that...lesson learned the hard way). I'm definitely happy with my neptune, and even the people I know that have had problems with theirs love it too. Dave

0:17:too many First formation load, CT state record 40-way, broke the record again with a 2 point 41-way, and lots of other fun. And that was only friday. So tired... Dave

There's one here: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=2313. Dave

As you can see, clearly nobody has any clue. The pressure won't likely be distributed evenly along the bottom of the board. So I guess the question is why do you want to know? Maybe theres a better question to ask to get the information you are looking for... Dave

Yeah, a bunch of air traffic controllers trying to organize a skydive. I'd like to see that. "Ok, now you turn heading 090 and maintain your fallrate. Be advised traffic will be 3 o'clock, 3 feet, white jumpsuit. Maintain visual separation...." Dave

Ok, back up. No problems. Dave

Sure it does. Well it's the manufacturer that has to do it. The engine gets certified separately, but the engine/aircraft interface is part of the aircraft certification. This includes the structure, the engine controls, etc. The aircraft is certified for a particular engine (or various engines). I'm going through this very thing at work. Existing helicopter getting a new engine with a new engine control system. It requires at the very least an STC to retrofit, but we're going for a completely new certification. Dave

No news yet. But no news is good news, right? I dunno what the problem is, but this is unplanned downtime. Should be back soon as far as I know. Dave

Humm the website seems to be down, darn. Try again tomorrow... should be back up soon... I think. Dave

And please don't call delaware a northern state. Anything below CT is the deep south as far as I'm concerned. Dave

What kinda headset?? Dave

The plane you choose should be based on the type of flying you want to do (and can afford). Those are three very different planes there. Start narrowing down what you want your plane to be able to do. Cross country machine? Aerobatic? Number of seats? Don't even look at whats available yet. Decide what you want to be able to do with your plane. Then see what you can actually buy to do it. Dave

For anyone curious about that site... I've been emailing back and forth with them for quite a while now. They'd like to work with SkydivingMovies.com to get some DVD quality skydiving/BASE video. Seems like a pretty cool project they're working on. It's basically a technology demonstration for free distribution of high quality video (encoded with DivX) using Bit Torrent. DivX Networks has a pretty big stake in online video distribution, so this is a way to promote it. Not sure what the possibilities for my site are as far as they go. I don't have DVD quality video, and I don't have a need to promote my site to non skydivers/base jumpers. Their site is going to feature all types of extreme sports, not just BASE. Still open to ideas from them though... Dave

What about gas stations? Dave

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/cruise%20takes%20mother%20skydiving Dave

Connecticut Parachutists is ~3 hours or so from NYC... probably a bit less depending on exactly where you're coming from. And I have very quick access to get silly videos online. Super otter, people that like beer, and always people to jump with, especially if you bring beer and don't fart in the plane.

He is alive. Until recently he worked at a fried chicken place just outside of the university of maryland campus: http://www.diamondbackonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/10/42804ee74691f?in_archive=1. Used to see him all the time when I was in college. They say he's a lookalike, but we all know its really him... Dave

Fasten your seatbelts, things are about to speed up. Site is down to install the new server! Back online soon... Dave

Hahaha. You big people wish you could get thrown like that (it's a lot of fun, btw. Highly recommended for the other little people, as we like to be called these days.). And yes, I can stand up in an otter. Ok not quite straight up, but close enough. You know you're jealous. Dave