MB38

I've been taught to steer with the rear risers of the front canopy. I've always wondered, however, what would happen if one unstowed all four brakes and simply held two in each hand. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Comparing iMovie to After Effects is like comparing a nail clipper to a garage full of tools. They aren't even designed to do the same thing. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

You could always build yourself a simple IR array from $30 and a trip to Radio Shack. Mount it right on the front of your helmet... it could work. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Wrong. A 170 lb person is about 190-195 out the door. 190 exit weight on a 190 sq ft main = 1.0:1 wingloading. My mistake, I read "weight" as "exit weight". I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Coming off the hill takes place in the first 5-10 seconds of freefall. It's when you're adjusting from the relative wind coming from in front of you [the front of the plane] to below you [the ground]. A transfer from standing up to belly to earth... and from about 90mph to 120mph. Funneling = being generally unstable while coming off the hill. Floating = being stable while coming off of the hill. I think. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Eh, I was put on a .93 wingloading on my 6th jump. A 190 would put you at .89. It's still like driving a bus, I imagine. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I'm only speaking from my experience here. A suit is required AFAIK. When the flight begins. Everybody enters... the room is pressurized and the fan is brought up to speed. Then the timer starts and the first flyer enters. The room is pressurized for 30 or 60 minutes. You're in there as long as it's pressurized. Flying for 15 minutes straight would be so exhausting that taking a few minutes off [to discuss the previous flight and to plan the next one] will be helpful. I doubt it... there's a high risk of parts flying off of the helmet and into the fans above. I'd hazard a guess that they won't allow it in the antechamber either, but I don't want to say. Remember, this is all from my own personal experience and does not necessarily represent how it will be for you. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Here's an excellent chart... Choosing A Canopy Ahhh, it was on Icarus' site, not PD's I really don't know what I'm talking about.

As far as I can tell... just stalling it. At least that's all I can think of. Come to think of it, I hit some strong turbulence on a .9 loaded canopy at 3,000 which caused it to collapse temporarily. The center cells dropped down and the canopy went into a big "U" shape. I lost probably 50 feet before I was under a fully inflated [and panic flared] canopy. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[remember to take my posts with a grain of salt... look at the jump numbers] 1 of 44 reported deaths this year [from the Safety section of this site] came from a main/reserve entanglement. As for a double mal... think about it. Most pack their main canopies in less than 10-15 minutes. A reserve repack will take 90+ minutes by a certified rigger. Reserve partial or total malfunctions are rare. Figures? Maybe somebody knows them, but not me. Technically, the reserve could get stuck in its freebag. I've seen only one video in which this happened http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=1974 Chris Grissom cut away his main canopy which became entangled with his foot. The reserve PC became entangled with the main and the freebag didn't come off of the reserve chute. Technically this isn't a reserve total or a true baglock, it's just two-out entanglement. He somehow managed to pull in the reserve and physically pull the canopy out of the bag. The reserve ended up with a line-over malfunction... but I doubt it was packed that way. By that point it had enough air in it that he was able to turn crosswind and land well enough that he walked away. So... it could happen. Anything could happen. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I was much less nervous in the plane than I expected. I was in the last seat next to the door on an Otter, and sitting there staring out the open door only made me excited, not nervous. This was something that I had wanted to do for 10 years and here I was sitting in a plane next to 20 people wearing parachutes and staring out an open door 13,000 feet to the ground. The exit was smooth, the skydive was stable and fast and I was under canopy before I knew what hit me. Sure, I was nervous. Not for injury or death or failure or anything else... just the fear of the unknown. Just as I drove out of the dropzone, I found myself laughing and crying at the same time. I had just lived my own personal dream and I knew that I was never going to be the same. I had just become a different person. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I read a website a while back that had a fairly clear description of the implications of different wingloadings... I believe it covered .8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6-2.0 separately. I thought it was on PD's site, but I can't seem to locate it. If anybody knows what I'm talking about... this thread could use a link to it. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

I noticed that after about 500 feet under canopy today, my legs were falling asleep. I just switched from an Icon to a notably smaller Javelin, so the leg straps were of both a different size and design. The only way I was able to keep them awake was by crossing my legs and bending my knees 90 degrees until about 50 feet above the ground. Nonetheless, fast turns hurt enough that I yelled out on a few occasions. The funny thing is that by about 3,500 feet, all I could think about was this thread. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Light a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Nice arch, chicken! I really don't know what I'm talking about.

In my first jump course, I was the youngest at 20. There were four 26-28 year olds and two 50+ year olds. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

www.apple.com is where you'll find what you want to know. It's the Motorola ROKR phone with an iTunes client built in. It holds 100 songs. It's basically an iPod shuffle fused with a cell phone... not much interesting going on here. The iPod nano [the mini's replacement] sure is cool though. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

They do... they go skydiving I really don't know what I'm talking about.

It's OK...you'll be corrupted sooner than you thimk! Plus... you get an extra control surface! I really don't know what I'm talking about.

http://www.arri.com/prod/cam/d_20/d_20.htm D20 or 20D? http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=10464 I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Look at my jump numbers and take the appropriate grain of salt. It's not necessary, but it's recommended. Depending on the kind of jumping you're doing, it changes many factors. Freeflyers use baggier suits which give them more control in the wind. RW jumpers use tighter suits with grippers on them. Many jumpsuits have booties, which add more control power to your feet. There are several brands of tracking pants out there which enhance tracking and can also assist in holding one in a head-down position [more drag up top]. Camera flyers will often use jumpsuits with small wings to give them more control. Beyond all of this, of course, lie wingsuits. Those are self explanatory. You can jump without a jumpsuit, yes. Jumping with a jumpsuit will give you a more even control surface [same amount of bagginess everywhere] and adds grippers [which your instructors need]. There's a lot more info than what I've posted here... and I may have made mistakes. Please correct me if I have. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Now there's a story I wish I could hear. I really don't know what I'm talking about.

The beginning of some BASE video I saw recently... as well as I can remember it: "Think of it this way: If you jump, you're probably gonna survive. It's just air, you'll fall right through it." I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Certain IR interfaces require surprisingly abnormal range for a device to interface with another. Some it's less than an inch, some it's upwards of a foot. Read through the instructions that came with the adapter to make sure that you are attempting to connect from the appropriate range. And it's "Mac," not "MAC". I really don't know what I'm talking about.

Do tell... I really don't know what I'm talking about.