pilotdave

I used to run a "name that plane" website. I should put it back up. Had tons of odd aircraft. Here's one to try out... Dave

Mmmmmm Bassler turbine conversion. I gotta get me one of those. Dave

Interesting. According to PD: "The Spectre flies at about the same airspeed as other canopies such as the original Sabre, the Sabre2, and the Stiletto. Many jumpers do not expect a seven-cell canopy to glide as far as a comparable nine-cell, but at full glide the Spectre actually has a slightly flatter glide angle than some nine-cell canopies, including both the original Sabre and the Sabre2." [from Spectre flight characteristics] Dave

Cool. Very good ($100) piece of info. Thanks for all the other info. I think I'll do without the deluxe backpad. I tried a javelin odyssey that had velcoless toggles. On my first jump, i stuck a gloved finger right through the loop of stowed brake line without realizing it before unstowing the brakes. Not a major problem, just caught me by surprise. With my velcro toggles, I always carefully stow the excess brakeline. I don't see this as a huge reason not to get the trulock toggles since I'd just be more careful with them, but should it be a consideration? I'm ready to order this thing as soon as I get the colors looking right. Why do they have to give so many choices?? Dave

All depends on the DZ. I've done 2 night jumps and only officially have an A license. I was B qualified except for water training before the first one, and completely C qualified including the test before the second. But I know for a fact where I used to jump, they wouldn't let me make a night jump without actually having a B license. Dave

I've seen deluxe backpads on other rigs, but what exactly does RWS do, and is it worth it? What other options are a MUST? Dave

Where are the british people? What is the "politically correct" term for black over there? Do you guys do political correctness or is that more of an american thing? Dave

Hehehe. Only once or twice A WEEK? Keep up that rate and you'll be over an jitters real quick. I was only making a couple jumps a month when I had 20 something jumps. With such long layoffs between jumps (even worse through AFF...sometimes months between jumps), I'd always question what the hell I was doing when I'd go back. Then I'd jump, remember how much fun it is, and realize exactly why I had come back. If you love jumping, just keep at it. Dave

Well, personally I never bothered to get the B. I hit the 100 jump mark before Sept 30th, so I might as well get the C while I can. Then I'm finally (officially) qualified to do night jumps, etc. It took me 5 years to reach 100 jumps. It definitely won't be another 5 to hit 200, but it won't be next month either. Reaching 500 for a D seems very far off to me right now. So, yeah, the C has no major advantages for me over a B, but I didn't have one of those. I mean sometimes there'll be a C license minimum to jump when the winds are squirrely, but having a C doesn't mean I should be jumping then anyway so that makes no difference. Dave

One dangerous idiot does not represent the majority of cypres users. I really don't like Ron's attitude. I would fully agree with him if I thought he was anywhere near right on the attitude most people have toward their cypreses. But I just don't see that. Yeah, he's a lot more experienced than I am, has seen a lot more people, and has a lot more info on the subject than I do. But from everything he writes, all I hear is "I'm a big macho guy that doesn't need to rely on anyone or anything else for my safety because I'm a great skydiver." Ok, maybe for a small minority (or he'd argue a vast majority) of skydivers become so complacent due to the cypres that their emergency procedures are lacking. Are they really more likely to be killed than if they didn't have a cypres at all? More likely to have a cypres fire, that's for sure. But more likely to die? I seriously doubt it. So, as I think kallend has been pointing out, the cypres saves lives. I just can't see how anyone can argue it's a bad thing in general. I've jumped a few times with my cypres off by mistake. I feel stupid when I realize it. I spent $1000 on that thing to save my life in the worst kind of emergency, and I turned it into a couple thousanths of a pound per square foot of wingloading. I've jumped with my visor open on my helmet twice. Felt pretty dumb for not checking all my gear before leaving the plane. But I've never found my chest strap open or misrouted, never forgotten to tighten my legstraps, never made any gigantic packing errors, etc. I know what's important for my survival. The fact that I have an AAD on my back HAS NO EFFECT on those things. I've had two pilot chutes in tow (neither ended in a reserve ride). When I realized something was wrong, my cypres sure as hell didn't cross my mind. I was thinking "I better get something above my head ASAP" (ok, that was after I was thinking "shit shit shit!!!!"). And I don't think my attitude toward my cypres is unusual. I simply don't see people skydiving more dangerously because they have cypreses. Again, maybe Ron has seen a lot of that. What I haven't heard from Ron is ANY evidence. He's got all the same stories as all the other old guys I've heard from. Give me a GOOD reason to lose my cypres. I'm waiting to hear "It'll make you a better skydiver." I don't believe that for a second, but even if it's true, I'd rather survive that one jump where I really need the cypres. And Ron, you can come out of cypres debate retirement for one more... Dave

I found the C much easier than the B. More common sense, less useless facts. The sim says what sections to study. Read those sections and you'll be ready for the test. Try to remember specifics, not just concepts. Dave

My old club at the university of maryland compiled a list of every collegiate club we could find in the country. Didn't find one at ball state, but that doesn't mean it doesnt exist. The list is HERE. If they don't have one, start it! Dave

I have a $100 square1 weight vest and it's made right. It's as comfortable as 6 or 12 lbs of lead can be, the weights are secure, and it's well made. I dont care what people wear under their jumpsuits, but I'd prefer at least some level of quality control if you plan to make a belt you wear outside since it might land on my head. The vest works fine for me, the majority of the weight sits on my stomach just a little higher than where a belt would be. But if i ever need a new one, I'll go with a belt for the reasons discussed by others. I sometimes plan to do a solo and then find another solo at the 5 minute call that wants to do a 2 way. I suddenly need to put on weights, which means taking my rig and the top of my jumpsuit off. A belt could be slipped right on. Dave

Just saw one on "what were you thinking" on TLC. This time the announcer and the student fully admitted it was pure stupidity. Guy has a decent AFF 1. Clearly nervous and everything but he does fine and deploys himself. At 300 feet, under a nice canopy, ready to land, he cuts away. Reserve is snivelling as he hits the ground. Why'd he do it? He has no clue. He was just nervous. I dont think he wins the stupidest student award but thats a pretty good one. He was barely injured, btw. Too bad he didnt go buy a lottery ticket afterwards. Dave

Just take her up for a closer view! Ok, my mom wouldnt jump for a billion dollars either. Dave

I could do that. Course I'd be upside down and bleeding in the next pic... Dave

they said he wasn't injured though so we're allowed to laugh. Dave

Did you write to them to get that email, or did they just send that? I know I was issued a C license because they charged my credit card, but it hasn't arrived yet. I would email and ask but I did before it was issued and I feel bad asking again. I can wait. Congrats on the A! Dave

http://www.cleveland.com/wkyc/wkyc_clip.ssf?zzDoNotCount?/wkyc/wkyc/030911bear.frame Bear (not to be confused with beer) gets shot out of tree, bounces off trampoline. hilarious. Dave

The big thing to understand is that the choice of canopy is very important, but any (safe) container will be fine as long as it fits. The reserve will be chosen basically just by your weight. For used containers, a lot of people say to buy something made in 1996 or later, and avoid velcro. For canopies, read the gear reviews here and the info on the manufacturer websites. What type/size are you jumping now? When you buy, you'll want something not too much smaller or faster. There are lots of choices though. I bought a PD 9 cell when I had around 40 jumps. It's at the slow, conservative end of the spectrum for beginner canopies. A Sabre2 might be at the other end, but reasonable at low loading (aka big). So, read up on various canopies, narrow down your list and bring it to your instructors, and ask which ones they think you should be jumping. Dave

The more jumps you have before the winter layoff, the less you'll have to relearn when you start again. Dave

Just to be clear, skydivingmovies.com is virus and spyware free. I know you didn't mean otherwise but I just wanna be sure. The only executable files available are some codec installers, which have been scanned. But (as far as I know), viruses can't be distributed in any type of video files. And to avoid spyware with kazaa, use kazaa lite! But thanks for the compliments! Dave

The anti-cypres people (old farts) never seem to make any point. They come in all different groups. Some are afraid that an electronic device might fail, others believe that if they dont pull they deserve to die. Some are afraid of the possibility of an entaglement in case they pull low. They trust themselves to pull, but not to pull the correct handle (the reserve, if they're in cypres territory). Cypreses are often compared to airbags. There's a lot of parallels. Airbags have been proven to be dangerous in some situations. What nobody seems to be able to show is that cypreses are proven to be dangerous in some situations. Yeah, a misfire could kill me. When was the last time a cypres misfired? I really think a lot of people just think it's macho to jump with no cypres. They LOVE to tell people they don't have a cypres. Here in CT, there are no helmet laws for motorcycles. Same thing. The cool guys don't wear em. Just because I use a cypres doesn't mean I have any reliance on it at all. Why would anybody think that I (or any other cypres user) take cypres fires casually? If I was having a high speed malfunction, do you really think I'd be shitting myself any less than someone with no cypres? Dave

Cant quite make out the registration but it looks like it could be N445DM, which is a Beech TC-45G. Dave

I read a flier on a bathroom door. Ok, it was a flier for a new skydiving club on my dorm bathroom door my freshman year of college. I showed up for the first meeting, did AFF1, and a few years later I was the president of the club. Skydiving was something I always wanted to try. In fact, before I ever seriously considered doing it, my dad had told me I was allowed to skydive as long as I was at least 40 years old and he was dead. Well, I broke both those rules. I actually got quoted in the Washington (DC) Times in an article about our club. My quote was something like "I always wanted to skydive but my parents wouldnt let me... but they're in Massachusetts and I'm here." Dave