bob.dino

Very interesting read. The original decision was based on the fact that the pilot and skydivers did not share a common purpose (one wanted to fly; the others to jump), meaning that the shared-expenses exception did not apply. On appeal, the decision was upheld on the basis that while all people on board the aircraft including the pilot paid an equal share of the costs of operating the aircraft, members of the public were allowed jump without becoming club members. What isn't clear is whether the reasoning behind the original decision was allowed stand.

Everytime you mention Chuck Norris, someone makes a vaguely racist joke.

Google now does currency conversion for you. Just search for 500 AUD in USD.

My personal opinion, not backed by any hard evidence other than the canopies I've jumped (Spectre 190, Samurai 170): Brake fires are just a nuisance, as long as you deal with them promptly. If you wait a couple of seconds before reacting, they become much more difficult to sort out. It's usually easier to haul down on the opposite rear riser to stabilize the canopy before finding the blown toggle and pulling down on it to put the canopy back into deployment brakes. Then you have time to release the stowed brake as normal.

Usually stays connected. Do a seach for posts containing "skyhook" by "billbooth". He laments the loss in income he'll be suffering as a result of selling a lot less freebags!

It was a pretty straightforward subpoena. Not much YouTube could do other than comply. The resisting that Gizmodo mentioned was in regards to a mass data grab of questionable legality. Very different cases.

Will retrofits to existing Icons be possible, or has that been determined yet?

I'm not sure I'd call the Beaver with 10 "easy". Nine or less is lovely. Ten requires three on the back seat, which can be cramped. But then, I'm 6'3".

Anything sponsored by an energy drink company.

The APF will not issue a Sporting Licence unless the bearer has met currency requirements (from memory 6-12 jumps in the last year). Those that don't jump any more can still stay as associate members.

Ask piisfish, he was the cameraman on at least some of these jumps.

That's normal. People can be frustrating, huh?

My favorite thing to do on Saturday or Sunday mornings.

It's only silly US CDMA networks that have that problem. HSDPA (3.6Mbps) is a development of W-CDMA (~384kbps), which is the successor to GSM (bugger-all kbps). These are the standards used pretty much everywhere in the world bar the USA, South Korea, and Japan. Devices such as phones and modems have a SIM card that plugs into them. The SIM card provides your identity to the network. If you change carriers, you just need to get a new SIM card. SIM cards are basically free. So, you wouldn't need a new laptop. You'd just need to change a little card that's about twice the size of a fingernail.

He works for Qualcomm. When it comes to 3G you won't get much help from them - they've caused a ridiculous amount of problems with regards to licensing some of the basic patents they own that cover W-CDMA. There's lawsuits flying left, right, and centre, and a proposed EU investigation into Qualcomm's failure to licence the patents in question on reasonable, non-discriminatory terms.

My Irish has gone to pieces in the last decade or so, but if Ted can't help, I'm sure I work it out. Failing that, my brother is fluent.

What's wrong with the PT6?

A 750XL can take 16 if you put one in the copilot's seat, ten on the floor and five on the step behind the pilot. This isn't bad if there are no tandems or wingsuits on the load. 17 requires good friendship between all concerned.

Your exit weight will be just about 200lb. Size-wise, for your first rig, you'd most likely be looking at a 190-210. Some good canopies: Sabre2, Safire2, Spectre, Pilot, Triathlon, Sabre. However, as Bill says, you may have to do some jumps on the student/rental gear at your DZ when you get back in the sky. It'd be worth talking to the CCI before making any hasty purchases. He or she will have a good idea of what suits you, particularly as they've seen you fly. Welcome back

My attempt at an explanation: They have different effects, but both can be really dangerous close to the ground. One fundamental: speed is lift. If the canopy is flying slowly, you don't have much lift in reserve. So, if you realise you're low and bury the toggles to avoid hitting the ground, the effect will be dependent on the airspeed of the canopy. Low airspeed = not much happens = ouch. Toggles When you pull down on a toggle, one side of the canopy decelerates. If you pull down on the right toggle the right hand side of the canopy slows down and pitches up a little. The left-hand-side of the canopy then overtakes it, and the canopy turns to the right. The canopy also dives, because the right hand side is now producing less lift than the left (remember: speed = lift). You build speed from the pendulum effect - pulling down sharply on a toggle moves you out from under the canopy, and as gravity swings you back under the canopy you (and then the canopy) speed up. The danger with this approach is that the canopy is moving slowly and has bugger-all lift during most of this maneuver. So, if you misjudge it close to the ground, you're in serious trouble - bailing out is difficult. Risers Pulling down on a front riser pulls down the front edge of the canopy. This accelerates it while reducing the amount of lift it provides. The canopy starts to dive and turn. The significant difference is that in a front riser turn you don't slow down at the start. This means that if you make a mistake and turn too low, as soon as you let go of the front riser and bury the toggles, the canopy will start to respond.

Lifetime guarantee relates to the life of the item sold. For harness/container systems, that's normally 20 years.

Aerodyne do Skype (well, at least Sandy does), but probably not while their internet access is down .

That's a cracked LCD. Probably needs replacement. Contact Grant at Total Control - he can sort you with a loaner/rental while yours gets fixed. Or, Airtec may just tell you to install a new control unit. Either way, TC is your first stop.

Cheese and Rice..............I wouldn't try that unless you are n the market for some federal charges, an ass whoopin, and a cavity search. Of course..........99.999999999999999% of the timeyou'll get away with it. Guess what happened to the guy that created the site? Do some searching. Not so much the land of the free anymore.

Are there any network drives mapped on the laptop? Particularly just above the last physical drive (eg. E:, F:, etc?). If so, unmap them, remove and reattach the SD card reader and you should see the card reader. Windows isn't smart enough to check if a network drive already has a drive letter before assigning it to a removable device, and if the letter happens to be already used the device becomes invisible.