Trae

in reply to "It was suggested to me that I read Poynter’s " ............................. Yep agree..nice idea . there are quite a few semi-historical info books available, They are all pretty good basic knowledge resources. New stuff is often the same old thing just rehashed. Our pioneering skydivers learnt the hard way and many lessons were often accompanied by their friends deaths or injuries. Some things have changed a bit eg ZP HP canopies can have different characteristics to the older f111 7 cells. Some handle turbulence better at full drive than with half brakes. Most of the basic info has not changed at all just been refined a bit. New folk sometimes think that the old fogies didn't know what they were doing. Nothing could be further from the truth. The pioneers were often struggling with difficult gear that made everything much more extreme than present day relatively refined equipment. It's a very good idea to show these pioneers the respect they deserve otherwise we all risk repeating the lessons they learnt the hard way. PS shutting down a f111 7cell by extreme stalling it was a fun way to lose altitude quickly if the situation called for it. Don't try it on a modern ZP elliptical though or it is most likely you will give yourself a malfunction. have fun learning AND sharing what you learn

That's reel phookin' crool Walt. Love the racer onya back Some-ones really got to get that place open somehow so we can all have a go. How about total BASE site overload. How many rangers are there? If Every base jumper that could get there went and jumped off the thing all at once (closish anyway ) surely most of yous would get away and what a good story it would make. If there were no incidents it could ..... yeah I know ...not the image to present ...aw...shucks. One of the best BASE sites in the world but no go. You yanks have legalised medical marijuana why not medical BASE.

Bit of a side issue....... but is the modern Racer basically the same design as the original?

in reply to "So can Spiderman. Bet you didn't know that. " ....................... That's one my brother nose.

Them shuttle cocks are real stable too. Student wondering where the I's have gone and dumps?

Had a l bit of a chat round and abouts re this peripheral thing and came up with the following. Some older helmets eg Protec , Gath, Frap hats (leather ) don't restrict vision so much. Many newer designs (especially some full facers) do. Any helmets or goggles that restrict your peripheral vision may contribute to collisions especially if its compounded by others lack of peripheral vision. Idea ...make helmets out of clear see through material . The idea of a transparent helmet could help overcome the peripheral vision issue. Could look good too....& we'll all get to see the inner workings of the helmet. (patent pending.) I'll accept any reasonable cash offers for this 'NEW' idea.

in reply to "Are you sure it was Rutherford in early 80's? " .................... Pretty sure . Corowa is flat as a tack and I believe that's the edge of the hunter valley in the background of photo. You'd remember a lot more DC3 stuff than me. They were getting a bit thin on the ground in the 80's but you 70's guys got to have lot more fun in them earlier. I'd love to get back in one again. No complaints from me about the time to height. Couldn't believe at first how that dunny in the back just dumped fully into the atmosphere. Some places got a bit more fertilised than others.

I've seen a tandem passenger so huge and the T.pilot so compact that when connected the passenger could walk lugging the T.pilot and rig with the pilot/rig suspended fully off the ground. Without any apparent exertion They were both soldiers ..... with some skydiving experience.

in reply to "Serious question, why do we fall at different rates?" .................. FRICTION MAN / Surface area/ weight/lift /drag/thrust variablesetc etc I just love how an ant can land running from its terminal velocity.

in reply to "If it was freezing cold and you touched the metal muzel then I might stick to your gun." .............................. Duck as in keep yur head down or duck as in innocent boid? ......or just quack? Sort of back on issue .... Here's some of the things that may occur in such a bribery type situation. *When you don't repond to money, kudos or threats you may have the lives of those close to you threatened . * you may find that every-one else (eg at a work place ) is already compromised by taking a similar bribe to the one you've just been offered. * when/if you go to any authorities you may find that they are not interested unless you have already got all the proof needed for action to be taken. ie they may not be interested in investigating your claims * when/if you go to any authorities you may find that they were expecting you and already have a set routine of handling such expected complaints as it is very unlikely that you are the first one . * the authorities that you may expect to help you may actually victimise you. * you may have your sanity &/or job suitabiltity questioned * it may be easier to take the money and run.

in reply to "I am wondering if you can shed some light on something else I've been wondering about. " ....................... Just be a bit conscious of not basing all the decision here on money. Sure you may be spending more on rental but you get to jump a canopy(s) very suited to your experience level. You also may have the option of trying a few different types so you'll get to know what you like and what suits you. This is better than buying something and not being sure and then persisting with an unsuitable rig 'cause it's yours. It's a bit sad but people trying to sell gear often place their own financial gain over the safety of the purchaser. Another option .....Some experienced skydivers may have a second or 3rd rig that they'll let you jump at a reduced rental rate if you hunt around a bit. Just ensure both canopies are well within your experience level and abilities. Being conservative is a good survival tactic when starting out.

in reply to"It is a slow process, at best. I just know that it happens - maybe once a year - with much behind-closed-doors negotiations." .................................. Perhaps it's these very processes that need changing. The secret behind closed doors stuff looks very much (as far as can easily be seen ) like keeping it all in a select group og semi-invisible politically minded control folk. Perhaps some form of much more public sharing of disciplinary action process is called for .eg some type of internet based fact seeking /judgement making & ....warnings. The powers that be may have many reasons not to include the general skydiving community in such public/open/transparent actions. Some of these reasons may be valid others just ensuring their own job security.

Mr Muenkel, you shouldn't have emptied my bank account first In reply to some of the other answers...well yes I have been in this position and more than once. The first time I was a wee little lad and would have ended up in the slag at the mill if I hadn't been a good little boy. More recently it hasn't been quite so simple a decision. I've found it hurts a lot in unusual ways to make your stand but it sure feels better. Plus a bit of spider sense gets developed. Thanks for all the great replies DZ.commers have got the goods. Stay safe out there.

inreply to "None of the suits are made to automatically fly themselves. " ................................... Sure but some are just a whole lot easier and more natural to fly. I've found the BM suits (Classic Gti Skyflyers ) and the PhF (Phantom, V1 ) to be very intuitive ie easy to fly without thinking too much. ie it just seems to happen naturally. If relaxed these suits almost fly themselves . In the GS1 if you relax the suit takes over and does all sorts of undesirable tricks. This has just been my experience and others may feel different about it. I just think the GS1 needs more work for it to be more fun and easy to fly.

in reply to "If the USPA is nothing more than a lobby fund then call it that, I'll send you a few bucks to help furnish the headquarters with something shiny and don't bother me with meaningless license requirements again. " .................... Beaurocratic cronyism incompetence and chest puffing ineffectiveness. spreads to the lower ranks and often comes from there to start with. If an incompetent member can't skydive properly or scares themselves a bit odds on they'll go for the board.

If some-one offered you money to be quiet about something obviously unjust would you take it and shhhhhhhh .? eg if you knew something unjust was happening or had happened to a person/victim and you were offered money to 'look the other way' would you take it? What if instead of money you were offered a nice job with more prestige than you currently have...would that be more attractive to you than just being paid off? Say this was to do with systemic corruption and you had the goods on the powers that be . Under what circumstances would you 'stick to your guns' ? If you were subsequently threatened with violent retribution as a second option what would you do then? Take the money ? or job? or go to a higher potentially more corrupt power seeking a just solution.?

After flying the GS1 a bit it seems there are a few issues that still need work for it to become more pleasant to fly. The more standard BM and PhF suits practically fly themselves up to a point . The GS1 does too sort of but not in a intuitive way.The GS1 needs a lot more pilot input to get it going well. Was your GS1 made for you or is it 2nd hand? Any body size/suit size matters may be interfereing with its correct inflation.

in reply to "That may be true, but I know I am not willing to gamble my life on it. Say you dont kill him... now he has the chance to kill you. Which would you prefer? To risk a mistake and go home, or be sent home in a box because you guessed wrong? " ........................................... Howdah This reminds me of maharaja's talking about shooting tigers with their howdahs from a'top o' elephants. They protect them tigers now cause they're threatend with extinction. The boomer looks up to the job though Sounds like those fiesty naughty OS tigers really got you guessing . Is it a civilian? is it a soldier ?what the phook....... boom. Stay safe .....(and human)

Apparently nuns can do the auto eroticise thang thinking about God and the archangels and perpetual lurve.

Not a good deal if it's too small and too fast. If it doesn't have an AAd and you want one the price could go up significantly. It's a buyers market out there and there are LOTS of good deals around. No need to rush . check things out at your pace. There appears to be lots you don't know about gear so spend a bit of time educating yourself ( like you're doing here) but check out the info for a while otherwise it could be a bit like the man and his donkey story. You're the one to keep happy not any potential seller.

Does that mean automatic tandem licence loss???

Pardon the tardy reply. .....was having DC3 dreams and woke up. The triple turbine is not photoshopped but is lifted from a book. Here's a photo (just refound) more like what I was used to . It's in Oz at Rutherford in the early 80's. This one started blowing smoke on the runway but it wasn't picked up till after TO. The load (55+stowaways) hopped and popped. From memory the brakes had gone as well and the pilot ground looped it to stop it . Every-one I jumped with loved the thing even though it was always breaking down. After cessnas the rest of the time it was like going to height in a cruise ship. The DC3 was the first aircraft ( not the last) that I saw some-one pack in while it taxied out( coil of death and a real trash pack ). The naughty wild boys had a semi-permanent party going on in the dunny down the back. If you were a bit sneaky it wasn't too hard to stowaway occassionally at risk of a biffin'.