fonz

You mean Clay tried and failed (miserably)? And five hundred entirely naked women dropped out of the sky on parachutes. -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Pretty cool! And five hundred entirely naked women dropped out of the sky on parachutes. -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Glad you brought that up! Back here in Holland, it's not at all noticeable that today is your independence day. So I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of you Americans and let's keep out fingers crossed that nothing happens (as in Islamic (sp?) extremists killing lots of people, hiding under the cloak of religion). Now go celebrate! And five hundred entirely naked women dropped out of the sky on parachutes. -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

At the risk of being called an asshole, let's give it a try... This I don't understand. If you don't like American patriotism, then what are you doing in America? I for one despise French patriotism, so I avoid France like the plague and certainly won't emigrate there. As a matter of fact, a similar discussion is going on in Holland. Certain political parties wish to set criteria which immigrants have to meet before they can be admitted. Basically, the requirements are the ability to read/write/speak our language and have a basic understanding of Dutch history and culture. Don't get me wrong, if you wish to live in Chinatown and speak Chinese all day, go right ahead. But I think you should realize that you are in America and that most, if not all, formal conversations (e.g. with banks, store keepers, cops etc.) are in English (or American, in fact) so although I really don't give a damn what language you speak at home, you should at least be able to speak the language of whatever country you live in. This I find interesting because I intend to move to America. I am an atheist. This doesn't mean gods offend me, they're just not my thing. I personally disagree strongly with any religion whatsoever but I do think that anyone should be free to believe whatever they want to believe. Anyway, does this mean I cannot live in America? I hope not. This I totally agree with. Migrating into another country is one thing, but expecting your new country to change according to your wishes and desires is another thing. That I think you just cannot do. And five hundred entirely naked women dropped out of the sky on parachutes. -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Doesn't look like it to me But why would Clay want a dog when he can have sheep? And five hundred entirely naked women dropped out of the sky on parachutes. -- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Basically, just because it's so f***ing addictive

I recently started jumping a Digitude and I absolutely love it! It's so much easier to read than an analog altimeter; just glance at it and you know exactly where you are. The display is very legible from a wide range of angles - and reading deviations caused by parallax are a thing of the past. And no, it's not fragile. I'm still an inexperienced jumper who frequently screws up landings. My Digitude survived all frontloops without even sustaining a single scratch... It's very easy to use - almost foolproof. There's a power switch, a light switch and a zero button. That's all. Once zero has been set (of course it's possible to compensate for elevation differences between take-off and landing sites) you can turn your Digitude on or off whenever you want. Yes, even in the plane or during freefall. Readings will still be correct. Service ceiling is 20,000 feet, which is 2,000 ft. higher than an Altimaster-III. And if you pay attention to the low battery warning, there's no need to fear that it might quit halfway during a skydive. As long as the indicator isn't on, there's still enough power left for an entire jump, including plane and canopy rides. Unless perhaps when you're using the light, but you really don't need that under normal circumstances. Even when wearing tinted goggles on a sunset dive, you don't need the light yet. It's really for night jumps only. The Digitude works on a "normal" AA ("penlite") battery, so no hassles with hard to find flat cells. I noticed that I react much faster to my Digitude than I do to an analog altimeter. Back when I used to jump an analog, I had to search for the needle, see which numbers are there and then interpret that information in order to make a decision. The Digitude is just so much easier. I glance at it, immediately see exactly how high I am and instantaneously act upon that. And afterwards, there's no "I pulled at about 3,000 or something". You can say "I pulled at 3,100." Period. The only disadvantage I've been able to find is that you have to remember to shut it off after landing. Otherwise you'll be kicking yourself for having to make a rush trip into town because of course you forgot to bring a spare battery, didn't you... Maybe some sort of auto-shutoff feature would be a nice thing to add. Other than that, the Digitude is an excellent altimeter. I can definately recommend it. You ought to at least give it a try. And once you've done that, you won't look back and will never want to jump an analog altimeter again. Ever.

jumps 1-15: Navigator 240 (loading 0.7) jump 16: Navigator 220 (loading 0.8) jump 17: Navigator 240 (loading 0.7) jump 18+: Sabre 170 (loading 1.0) Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Told you not to jump that Microsoft rig...

Not sure if the news agency has them, but no doubt the CD/Video/DVD shops do. Ever been in an adult shop? They have things of which you can't even imagine what they're used for. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

I touch my handles three times: once before boarding, one just before jump run and one just prior to exit. But honestly, it's more to check if everything's still in place than anything else. I'm pretty sure I'll pull the right handles in the right order when I need to. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Damn good point you're making there! Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Hey, it's not my name you got wrong. Just thought I'd point it out. That's all. No harm done or anything. Guess it depends on one's definition of distance. I checked and it takes about an hour and a half. Not a big deal

Damn, I really wish I could be there! Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

In fact, I think it's freaky to see someone in freefall when you're already under canopy. I had this once on a S/L jump I did. I was floating around at about between 1,500 and 2,000 ft. and suddenly I see the JM (for those who know him: it was Martijn van Dam...) soar by in freefall. It was quite an impressive sight. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Then read it again. Believe me, it's worth it. The book claims that it puts you "way ahead of your classmates" and it does exactly that. I think the main issue here is familiarity. Compare it with a high school class or college lecture. If you've been there before, it's much easier to follow the second time around. You'll be more familiar with the material covered in class and because of that you'll be able to ask clear questions to which your instructor will be able to provide a clear answer. It also helps to have a basic knowledge of meteorology and physics (particularly aerodynamics) because it tends to really make it easier for your instructor to explain things to you. I noticed this when I was in Perris. Pretty soon the instructors would say "I know you understand a lot about physics and stuff, so I can tell you this. Here's what happens... blah blah bla." I particularly remember one instructor (Mike K.) who would always pause and ask "does this make sense?" Then it helps a lot if it does indeed make sense. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

[Sort of fell right into the middle of this - sorry] First: as far as I know, Schiphol (as Amsterdam Airport is commonly called) isn't very big (on the contrary, I think it's rather compact) and there's direction signs all over the place so it should be completely easy to get around. Second: although we Dutchies love to complain about it, the infrastructure is pretty good. Trains right into the heart of downtown Amsterdam leave every 10 or 15 minutes or so and trains run to other major western cities such as Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht at least once every hour, 24/7. Third: dunno about the cigarettes but no doubt you can get them somewhere anytime. Many Dutchies smoke! By the way: note that currently no alcohol may be served between (I think) 2 am and 6 am due to the homeless alledgedly causing trouble. Fourth: Amsterdam can really suck if you don't know your way around. But if you do know where to find the hot spots, then... well... let's keep it at least a tad decent okay As the great David Letterman would say: "It's a cesspool!" Fifth: I grew up in Apeldoorn, a (for Dutch understanding) major city almost adjacent to Teuge. And although Teuge is easily accessible by train (and a bus for the last couple of miles), no way do you get there in an hour or less (not by train, anyway ). Sixth: Martijn's last name is spelled with one M (van Dam, not van Damm) and as far as I know, he's still a fulltime clown and skygod at Skydive Teuge. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Yeah, I've already been thinking about that. Sounds like some very good advice. Thanks! Thank you all for your opinions, btw. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Somebody claimed (not here) that it was unsafe for students to use Digitudes because they're allegedly more difficult to read than analog altimeters. Is this true, or just a load of bollocks? I'm inclined to think that the Digutude vs. analog question is a matter of personal preference rather than anything else. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Did you get my PM yet? Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Of all stupid ideas Homer had, this was definately one of the worst. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Geez dude, you quoting yourself? Is there really noone else here who has something worthwile to say... Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

I really need both (in the same person). Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Is there anyone out there who a) regularly visits Perris and b) has a PayPal account? Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive

Personally, I find the glossary in Poynter&Turoff to be pretty good. Don't know if it's online anywhere though. Alphons http://www.liacs.nl/~avwerven/skydive