pilotdave

sorry, I just told you everything i know. Tried running a mail server but never got it to work... You should be able to find a free email server easily....then just read the directions. Dave

It's not hard to do. I'm not a linux guy but I used to run apache on a windows server. Setup took a while but once it was going, it was going. If you have a static ip address, it's very easy. Go to your domain registrar's website and you just set your dns settings there. Just put in your ip address where they ask for it, and within a few hours or so, hits to your domain will be sent to your server. Apache is free....play around. No need to even set the domain stuff up right away either... Once the server is running, you should be able to connect straight through the ip address. Dave

I can't believe you're defending them. I'm not a fan of 1800skydive either, but at least they only pretend that some dropzones DON'T exist, not that non existant dropzones do exist. Comparing a DZ showing leased planes on their website with what skyride does? Not even showing a picture of a CASA during a boogie or something, but showing a type of plane that has never been used at any DZ in the area (and indicating that it is used at a fictional DZ). Going back to the Adventure Skydiving Connecticut example. CT has 2 dropzones. I don't think either one is at an airport that could support a king air, yet they show a king air on the page. How is that similar to Connecticut Parachutists showing pictures of their full time leased Super Otter? You seem to be ok with them because they bring tandems to Perris. What if they sent all those tandems to Elsinore? Or what if they were sending all those tandems to a 182 DZ 100 miles away? Now that's the same thing that 1800 skydive might do, which is why i don't like them either. But they're at least a legitimate business. (But I'd shut em both down if I was god). They are obviously scum trying to get a piece of the pie that doesn't need to exist. At best they're a useless middleman. 1800skydive at least sort of promotes the sport. Now if they opened a bunch of tandem-only DZs with all the names they use somewhat near the cities they are named for, then fine, that's a business. But right now, they're just fraud artists. Dave

My brother is a lawyer so i just asked him about this... Obviously he doesn't have all the facts, but he said what they do is probably illegal. He suggested going to the police and the Better Business Bureau. You tried either of those? If they're doing something illegal (as opposed to just immoral), the police could investigate. Dave

Now you have me all confused. Is your dropzone related to Skyride too? You seem to have the same logo as ASC. And I'm talking about "Adventure Skydiving Connecticut," a fictional skyride-related DZ: http://www.skydiveconnecticut.com/ Dave

Never been in women's or speaker's. There are things I just don't wanna know. Dave

How about start with the source. 1800skyride.com is registered by CASC, Inc (skydive123.com) Skydive123.com is registered to: Quattrocchi, Cary 1732 Pamela Circle Marietta, GA 30060 ...who also owns: The National Skydiving Association, which apparently certifies only the safest dropzones. Uh huh. More info: http://www.makeithappen.com/jumps/review/cedartown.html So do something about it. If you don't think this person is a scam artist, do some research. Read the testimonial letters at http://www.skydivingalabama.com and http://www.skydivecenter.com/ Some of the same people made their first jump in alabama and atlanta? And Nashville for that matter too. I think not. So who jumps at ASC and knows this guy? Here's a pic: http://www.skydivingalabama.com/staff/s800cary.jpg And what the hell is the Eastern US Skydiving Championship that is hosted in both georgia and alabama? Dave

Why? I'd say you need tandems to support a plane larger than a 182. Dave

When you say they accomplished those things, do you mean the canopy was tested with and without them, and they made a big difference, or are those just characteristics of the canopy? Dave

I'm not an instructor, but I was a small student (exit weight right around 135). First jump was with a PD170. Switched DZs for the rest of AFF and used the smallest they had...PD230s. Made a couple at another DZ with the only thing they had, a Manta 288. But most of my first 40 or 50 jumps were under PD230s. Backing up was a very common problem for me. I often had to sit out when other students or low timers could jump because of my light loading. And the Manta was downright scary for me... just turned so slow I felt like I didn't have much control. My instructors recommended a 135 for my first main. Didn't feel comfortable dropping almost 100 square feet in one step and went with a PD150. All I know is those damn Mantas aren't meant for people like me!

It's a remote control to shut off public TVs (in restaurants, etc). Sends the off signals of a couple hundred different brands. Use http://www.bugmenot.com Dave

Other than purty gear, what's your marketing plan? Gonna wear it all to the office? Or does your company want to advertise to the skydiving crowd? What exactly do they get outta the deal... that's what they will want to know. Dave

I don't care what the marketing says... I don't believe for one second that those are true winglets. Winglets are complex aerodynamic devices. They don't so much disrupt wingtip vortices... rather, they use them to produce thrust. Thrust? With no engine? What?? Yeah, thrust. Winglets are airfoils, set at just the right angle (and maybe even with some twist) to produce a little bit of lift inward and slightly forward, not upward. The forward component of their lift is thrust... or you might call it negative drag I guess. But those things on the canopy are not winglets! As someone else pointed out, they might work as vortex generators...but probably not very effective ones. I think they are most like stall fences. You can see those on planes like the MiG 15. Now I'm not sure what they do on the canopy, but they probably have a straightening effect on the airflow. Planes use them to keep the air flowing straight at high angles of attack. Especially on swept wings. Air flow near stall tends to want to move outward, toward the wingtips. Stall fences sort of force the airflow to keep going straight. You can see the same thing with notched leading edges, which set up a vortex at high angles of attack, which acts like a fence to keep the air flowing straight. Those things might create vortices which can sometimes have a stabilizing effect. But they don't appear to be the type of vortex generators used to energize the turbulent boundary layer on planes. Those would be small, angled to the wind, and probably spread along the upper surface, not just near the wing tips. I seriously doubt those things decrease induced drag at all. But then again, maybe I'm wrong.

I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to do, but I can't imagine that you're going to get better measurements with an accelrometer or barometric altimeter than with GPS. You won't get 2 foot accuracy in altitude, but I don't see any way you can get that kind of accuracy. But I also can't imagine why you'd need 2 foot accuracy either. I mean, how do you plan to make the exact same control inputs into each canopy to make an accurate comparison? You're going to have far more than 2 feet of difference between each trial with the same canopy... Dave

A GPS can do everything you need to do. They measure altitude and position, but the altitude measurement isn't as accurate as the position measurement. But probably accurate enough for your needs. As for what model of GPS though, I have no idea. Dave

But theres one more factor that's missing from the equation. Do your hands get cold? I mean, generally. If not, I don't care what works for you.

I bought a pair of cross country ski racing gloves last winter. First problem was they were slightly big on me, so that doesn't help with dexterity. But I practiced pulling my handles and all that on the ground and figured they were good enough. Second problem was the palm was slippery as hell unless I used a lot of pressure. It was made of a fake leather called clarino I think. Supposed to have good grip, but I guess a skier's definition of good grip is different from ours. But again, with a good squeeze, pulling my handles was no problem. Got on the plane... fingers were already getting cold on the ride up...bad sign. Practiced opening my Z1, which tends to fog in the winter under canopy, almost the whole ride up. It was tricky, but I was able to do it every time. Under canopy, my visor immediately started to fog. And with my cold hands, I just wasn't able to open it. Tried one hand, two hands, every way I could think of. Eventually realized I had to just concentrate on landing and gave up. Luckily the top of the visor didn't fog and I had enough visibility to land. Never wore the gloves again. If you want some cross country gloves, I have a pair for sale. I am convinced that there is no such thing as a good skydiving glove for me. My hands just get cold under canopy. Freefall is never a problem. I have 0 exposed skin in the winter. Nothing bothers me except my hands. And whatever gloves somebody swears by, there's always somebody else that will say the opposite. I have a feeling the people that say latex gloves work great either don't get cold hands generally, or don't jump where it's actually cold in the winter. I gave in this season and ordered a pair of the iron clad cold condition gloves ($30 from amazon.com). I was eyeing them last year and went with the cross country gloves instead. I don't have any confidence that they'll be any better than my current nike football gloves/stretchy glove liner combo that I've been using for the last 4 or 5 years. But it's worth a shot. EDIT: If they didn't require 8 D-cell batteries, I'd give THESE a try. Anyone know what 8 D-cells weighs? Dave

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1760 That Section 8 name makes more and more sense... Dave

So THATS why dogs lick their balls! Sorry. I'll shut up now. Dave

Eh, I don't agree with everyone else. How good a friend is this? Don't want the person to get hurt or hurt someone else? Scream your ass of at her. She might tell you that you don't know what you're talking about. Can you live with that? Give specific examples if you have to. When it comes to safety, what the hell good does keeping your mouth shut do? And talking to an S&TA or instructor is also a good idea. But in my experience, they aren't going to yell at your friend without witnessing these things themselves. But the more people your friend hears it from, the better. I have one friend that I used to think was going to kill himself. I told him that many times. He's survived long enough now to know he's an idiot though.

Joe Jennings gives that a try in http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=974 Dave

I think he's referring to the disciplines in our profiles. Some people only do tandems. You know, those guys who lose all their RW/freeflying skills so they aren't allowed to jump alone anymore... Dave

Check out a lot of dropzone websites and you'll see that the 182 is a top of the line jump plane! Dave

My PC generates more force than my arm. But that's beside the point. Necklaces are for women and men with purple mirages! Dave

Keep in mind that real world factors complicate things a lot. I mean, you can probably get a decent ballpark figure which I'm sure is all you need, but actual forces get very tricky. I mean, just because the PC develops X pounds of drag doesn't mean that X pounds of force gets transmitted to the pin. It's also a dynamic situation vs. static... assuming you don't have a PC in tow. But if you were looking for a realistic number, you'd need to know a lot more than just the drag that the PC can generate. Dave