tdog

You think it is bad tonight... You won't sleep for 6 months... (I actually did have a hard time sleeping for a long time as I was always looking forward to the next jump date....)

BTW. I have used three riggers in the state - in order from most expensive to least. Look at their overhead: 1) One who rented his own very large warehouse for a loft with many machines, and enough room to pack two pilot rigs on two 50 foot tables with enough floor space for another two sport squares, all while 10 people could be operating the machines around the perimeter. Materials and supplies to fix/make anything. Highest ratings, examiner able to test new riggers for their ratings. 2) One who worked for the DZ, and the DZ kept a cut, with access to limited sewing equipment and enough floor space for one rig. Limited materials and repair capacity. 3) One who works out of his basement with limited equipment but is very good at the bread and butter repack. All three have done real nice pack jobs. The cheapest guy does the best packjobs, but the most expensive guy did the most touch up work (replacing some stitching on the closing flap) and provided a few closing loops and pull up cords, etc. He also let me use his bartack machine to make a few new lines for my main. The cheapest gets to keep almost 100% in his pocket, The DZ guy has to share a cut with the DZ but the DZ does all the billing and advertisement, and the most expensive guy has to pay rent for the warehouse and the cost of 10+ machines, plus run the business. I laugh because they all charge about the same amount, plus or minus $15, but the guy who works out of his basement probably keeps the most take home pay. There is another freelancer that I don't use - because he charges the same as the most expensive rigger, but uses any found space he can to pack. If I am going to pay top dollar, I want to use a guy who invests it back into equipment and is a full service loft.

your poll goes 40-50, 50-60... Often riggers charge 40, 50, or 60... So there is no way for them to answer correctly because those dollar values have two options. Since the poll should have been 40-49, 50-59... I recommend people vote the HIGHEST option, meaning if they charge 50, they vote the 50-60 option.... That way it is consistent.

No, that would have been like a good producer, but not this time. He fell in while trying to drink in a drought - and since he was a kid he had to get closer and lower, and fell....

I just watched the most amazing animal story I have seen... A baby Elephant fell into a quicksand like pond. The mother communicated to the group. She knelt down on her knees and used her tusk to get the baby out. A few others came to the back side, and between the group they lifted the baby out. Others set up a perimeter to fight off predators, while others broke the shoreline and made a ramp so the kid could run up. After the baby got out - the parents and friends all made their rounds to make sure it was alright. It looked just like humans teaming up and delegating responsibility. I just never have seen animals team up and delegate like this before...

Sorry to tell ya Keith - the next storm is on it's way - and 21 inches is the last forecast I got... I think you might need more than a plow.

Yes. Buy the time.

I have about 400 openings on video tape - but they have the wind noise of freefall - followed by silence (if the opening is good) or swear words. If you are looking for the sound of a canopy opening, a BASE jumper's ground crew video is probably better - I know in a few minutes at www.skydivingmovies.com you will find something - or you will need a parabolic mike http://www.solorb.com/elect/misc/bige/ from the ground on a skydive - as any video from a helmet cam has so much wind noise... I pulled one of my files of a katana opening... The wind noise just drops 1/2 the volume - as the katana's forward speed keeps the wind noise high even after opening... If I closed my eyes while the video was playing - the only reason I could tell where in the sequence the opening was at - was the noise of the slider flapping then being collapsed...

Then find a friend to jump it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_6q9DcSiM I was singing it today... In a respectful sort of way.

Since I do lighting for concerts on occasion - my sales rep hooked up all the House of Blues with lighting rigs - and he pulled a favor and I was able to see The Godfather in Vegas at HOB, front row center. I never have been so close to a performer for the entire show - as he was not afraid of the audience... RIP

Ummm... Well, you pack, you buy a lift ticket, and you jump! I remember, I taught someone how to pack with my rig. He did a pretty good job packing my rig. I threw the rig on and ran to the plane. He was shocked I was going to jump the rig. He came out to the landing area and watched me have, what he thought, would be a reserve ride... Well, it was the best opening I had in a long time... In another case, I taught a guy how to pack the night before. He was still in the middle of AFF himself. His first packjob that was ever jumped was my rig that I paid him to pack for me as I needed to make a quick turn with another student. It also an acceptable opening. Have an experienced skydiver watch you from beginning to end. Tell them to stay quiet and only stop you for major issues (that would effect opening, not convenience/speed/style)... Then jump it.

You know - sometimes my computer at the office says, "error - contact your system administrator." I yell back - "I am the administrator!" Being an instructor is kind of the same thing - as when you ask someone "how to" - they say "ask your instructor" and I say back - "I am an instructor." That being said, I really like the video I just purchased for myself. http://www.skydiveu.com/products.php The learning to sitfly video is the first, and only, training video in our sport that I felt I learned something from and uses modern technology to illustrate. I wish Skydive U would have started with belly flying instead of back flying - as I would let people borrow it in their AFF... It still could be better, but it is a good start. The video cannot replace coaching and communicating with experienced friends, but it gave me a few things to workon that helped. I have purchased a few other videos, and sorry to the producers, but they sucked.

How is the Euro vs Dollar - and the costs of training. You might find a trip to the USA is in order...

reduced drag. less fabric when you pull it down behind your head (assuming your risers allow it) and coolness factor.

Boys and girls of all ages... I have the perfect solution. Twice I have made "boo-boos" (not my fault, I sware) that have resulted in the power grid faulting. The last time the power outage was from Yosemite to Quebec, Dry Creek to Arapahoe... So, just a small section of the grid in the big picture, but enough to make a statistical sample. Granted, my boo-boos discovered maintenance issues in the grid slightly upstream of my connection to the grid, so we will have to recreate these problems, but the results usually equates to a square mile outage. So, why don't I come to the tunnel and tinker with the grid while someone is flying, and we can see what happens! Perhaps a little more "safe" approach would be just to flip off the service disconnect to the building and watch the results in the tunnel, however one would argue that this is not a true test as the disconnect would provide infinite resistance on the "grid" when turned off, whereas faulting the grid would provide the opposite, near zero resistance... So the only true test would be to allow me to play. Should I call Park Meadows Mall and tell them of the pending power outage the day before Christmas, or do you want to make the call?

If you are going to have a rigger finger trap it - insist they show you how to do it, and do it yourself with their help. Fingertraping lines is a good skill to have. From making your own closing loops to fixing your lines on your main - knowing how to fingertrap is a great skill to have.

So I was flying this morning. I was working on my accuracy landings. Going from the floor to the counter and back... The the heater came on, and I was not paying attention. The vents are those commercial ducts across the ceiling that really blow. It almost became the worst crash ever - but I somehow flew it at full throttle forward to the kitchen and caught it mid flight... Preflight checklist now includes "turn heater off"...

True... But - the point was - I am not to give up trying.

At a DZ that I visited, where the jump tickets were well below market rates, the fun jumpers just filled the plane after students manifested - so the last ones to manifest would be removed if need be. The price was good for an otter load - I did not mind. At the DZ I frequent - if we get bumped - we are asked - and are given a discount or something. One time Manifest said, "hey these two people want to go together. Can you move to the next load, I will give you a few dollars off." BUT - AT LEAST AT MY HOME DZ - Tandems have "Made The Load Go" more times than bumping fun jumpers because manifest is organized and they hold the slots for the tandems before they are released to fun jumpers. I was on a full altitude jump last weekend where there was a tandem and a video and myself - 4 people - on the otter - going to full altitude. Without the Tandem - I would have been grounded... So Tandems can be a GOOD thing - when they allow the plane to fly when otherwise we all would be on the ground!

Like the ride at 6 Flags where the barrel spins and the floor drops away. Jeez, I loved that ride when I was a kid! And when I was a Kid I got in trouble for crawling around in that ride - ending up someplace different than before it started - the time I turned upside down I almost got kicked out of the park - proof that moving while being "pinned" is possible. I don't think you could hook up a student, but you could probably make it to the door as a solo, especially if you were already close.

Picture of Tom taken at this year's USPA Nationals in Eloy. ltdiver Thanks. Yes, that is the guy I remember. RIP....

So here was the plan... I purchased a RC Heli for Christmas. http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH1250 I was going to give it to my mom to wrap and put under the tree for me of course. (It is always more fun to shop for yourself.) But of course on Christmas day I wanted the batteries to be charged. So I opened it then charged the batteries. Well - remember when you were a kid and you broke into Santa's closet and played with your toys before they were wrapped... Well... I have the will power of a 3 year old. So, I flew it... I broke a blade and a upper rotor arm in a special ops mission that went bad into the side of my sofa. Went to hobby store - purchased and installed parts. I got the upgrade from plastic to Stainless upper control arm and new blades. I flew it again. Crashed. Fixed. Charged Batteries. Repeat. Here are the stats: 7 Broken Rotor Blades ($8) 1 Broken upper rotor assembly ($17) 1 Broken lower rotor assembly ($6) 1 Scratched to Sh*^ picture frame (Crash into wall) ($99) 1 Scratched Door Jam (Oops) (Paint) 1 Broken String of Christmas Lights (Crash into tree, wrap up in string of lights) ($4.50) 1 Important paper blown into dog bowl full of water (Priceless) The training video suggested keeping the maneuvers low and suggested a large indoor area like a high school gym. I am a bit more "adventurous". And my loft seemed like a gym, just much smaller. My last mission - take off from the kitchen counter, fly across the loft, land on the eating table. Take off, turn 180 degrees and fly over the "cliff" and skim across the ground. Fly across the loft - down the hall, right turn into bedroom - fly up side of bed and land on unmade bed. Take off, fly to ceiling over fire sprinkler pipe, over half wall, back into hall - and to kitchen. Fly next to faucet and land on stove. It was not until I started to lose battery power (and sluggish controls) that I crashed this time. That is a big improvement. Can you see with "flight plans" like that why I am into 4way. Anyway, who else has a RC heli?

I have been to Eloy a few times for training camps/vacations... Tom sounds familiar, but I am having a hard time putting name + face. Anyone have a picture?

It took me 3 hours to drive 10 miles today. Not because my 4WD 4runner could not go faster, but because everyone else got stuck. I have 5 employees working at one of our customers tonight - a downtown mall - shoveling snow all night long - splitting shifts and sleeping in a hotel room - so Santa won't missout on his shopping when the snow stops... I think this one might tie the storm of 1982, which was the 100 year storm before the storm of 2003 came, which was... But the winds are less - so the biggest drift I see looking out over downtown right now is a few feet. 1982 - and my parents house was connected to their neighbors house with a 21 foot drift between the two rooflines...