mnischalke

I was looking at my cable housings last night and thought "How do I clean in there?" never struck me to use a rifle cleaning kit!! Gunmate (of Michaels of Oregon) manufactures a thing called a bore snake. That would be perfect to run through the tubes. Thanks for the idea!! mike

I was advised to clean the cables monthly with WD-40. It takes five minutes to slip the cables out, rub off the grime and stick em back in. I was surprised how much crud piles up in just a month. I hate WD-40, so last night I used Tetra Gun lube, which is a flouropolymer-based lube that impregnates the pores of a given material. You apply the lube on a rag and wipe it off. It feels dry to the touch, but is still slicker than a greased pig. I have used this stuff on the o-rings on paintball guns for a couple years and it has never degraded the rubber. If anybody knows of a better micro-ground teflon lube, let me know. Mike

Mark my vote with Chuck and Lisa. I have an Infinity and absolutely love it. It's my first rig, but I can say for sure I like it much better than the VectorII I used as a student. I almost don't notice it in the air and it's really comfortable to hang out in under canopy. Very well designed with an RSL standard. Add that to the fact that Kelly at Velocity is incredible when it comes to making his customers happy. Then again, that's not too hard with such a great product. The last thing I'd like to add, something I think few people think of is price of replacement parts. I think you'll find that Velocity's prices on parts like handles, risers, freebags, etc. are less expensive to replace than others out there. Check it out for yourself. I did. Hope this helps, Mike

Sell the stang, get a Kia. problem solved. I feel for you my friend. I know the loss of a loved one. I came home from bootcamp to find I no longer had my trick '89 Trans Am. Just gone. No note...and no insurance. And I was making nowhere near the money I was making when I bought it. I bought a used Chrysler Laser turbo (actually faster than the TA), drove it for three years and sold it for more than I paid. The upside, you didn't have to use your .45 and get on your way to a nice cool jail cell. mike

Download the new SIM from the USPA. It has great info on spotting. Also, sit in on a Cat F class if you can get a chance. mike

Jeeze, I never saw that part of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. Where was that again? I am not saying that criminals should own guns. As a matter of fact, I think criminals should be in jail. I doubt I am stretching on that. mike

Good 411. Thanks.

Phree, You live in Ohio? I can never find the gentlemen's clubs in Ohio (I go up to Camp Perry almost every year). I have heard stories, but can never find them. I always end up drunk on Put-in bay asking for free shows and winding up with a hangover and palm prints on my face. Any suggestions? How about DZs in the area? All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. mike

Just topless?? I want it all off my friend. No pasties. No panties. I am not coming unless the girls try to sit on the bridge of my nose.

nets on the walls, a disco ball, nickel beer nights, table dancers and a vip room. That's all I can come up with, mike

Two tickets to your son's first football game... $100 Sharing that first Coors Light with your son... $5 Seeing the expression on his face when he gets up close and personal to an overzealous Brown's fan on their first decent season in years... priceless had to add this.

AggieDave, Just re-reading this thread and I missed something. You are going to be a lieutenant of Marines? Congratulations! Semper Fidelis my friend. When you get to Quantico, you have to jump at Skydive Orange. It's a great DZ and there are about 5 or so of us current- or ex-jarheads who jump there. mike

I got a copy of his book on my desk. Very well done and hard to dispute. I guess I get so fired up over the lies and crap a few people have spread to brainwash thousands. I end up feeling like I am doing something wrong. I have a healthy appreciation of the lawful and safe practice of firearms use. I am tired of people (antis in political office, on tv and even the troops on the street) telling me there's something wrong with me, my hobbies and my beliefs. If you want to get on me about something, how 'bout this: I willfully propel myself out the door of an operational aircraft. That's crazy. We're all nuts!! mike

I know it's just TV, but that exit on Fox's 24 last week was cool. Shape charge around the door jamb, the girl sits ten feet away on the floor, crossed arms and ankles, head tucked. Blows the door and is sucked out at 30k. No O2 or anything!! Awesome. I wish I could track like her with depleting oxygen in my lungs. Oh wait, wouldn't her lungs burst the moment the pressure dropped? Bet her ears hurt at least. mike

Even with the suppressor, the UMP is kinda loud. I only took my peltor's off for three rounds. I like hearing stuff. Start reloadin' mike

What facts? Please enlighten me. I have looked and looked. Just can't find anything other than somebody plucked that idea out of their fat ass. It stuck though. Just like every other fable we were taught as kids. Please use John Lott's book "More Guns, Less Crime" for your future research. It is well-founded and documented by a Yale scholar. mike

Sorry, you just pushed my hot button. I have been shooting for 25 of my 30 years, and I have never seen a gun jump up and shoot something all by itself. Some criminals prefer this method. The CDC has been trying for 8 years, under the urging of anti-gunners in the Senate to label guns as a disease. Come on. The CDC ranks in anyone under 25 as children. Except, obviously... Let's not forget that gang bangers realized a long time ago that troubled youths will do anything to be part of something and would suffer far less than an adult if convicted for drugs and/or murder. Recruiting of middle schoolers is being replaced by recruiting of primary schoolers, just like the neighborhood gun is replacing the personal gat. Name another country with this going on. Please don't forget that the public school system is a joke, Hollywood pushes violence and gang leaders drive Lincoln Navigators with 22" rims. If you really want to do something about those numbers you parroted so well, become a Big Brother to an inner city youth. You will know in five minutes of talking with one of these kids what the real problems are. mike

I just walked off the range five minutes ago. (God, I love my job.) I just finished firing four magazines through a suppressed HK UMP in .45. So much fun. Why can't we all own such wonderful things? Gun control is dead. Politicians who want to stay in office have backed off the subject. Even the liberal media are covering shooting classes and soccer moms shopping for a nice .38 Special. We now know security is not a phone with 911 on speed dial. Security is a Colt 1911. And please, don't respond with the "a gun in the home is twice as likely to kill the owner" crap. These anti-gun myths are ALL unsubstantial lies. My favorite is the recent claim by the gun-banner VPC that Osama Bin Ladin bought 25 M82A1 .50 Cal rifles from Barrett. Truth is, the Mujahadin did take possession of 25 Barretts in the mid-80s after the United States government bought them and shipped them over there. (They were our friends then.) On the other hand, this one is a verified truthful statement: More children under five drown in five gallon spackling buckets than are accidentally killed by bullets. Learn to shoot with an NRA-certified instructor. You're fears will be replaced with knowledge. Teach your kids about firearms and they will not play with them. Your child doesn't have to stick his hand in a fire for you to teach him about burns. peace, mike

I have no idea why I never see anyone jumping this canopy. I absolutly love mine. I am by no means an experienced pilot, but I am so confident under it, I know can become one. It packs super easy. I put three rolls in the tail and Wolmari Pack it in no time--slides right in my D-bag. Openings couldn't be much softer and always on heading. My exit weight is 225 and my silhouette is a 210. At that wing loading, it glides forever, yet is snappy and really responsive to toggle and riser input. Landing is just dreamy. You can probably get tip-toe landings every time. I did have to open the heck out of the pattern I used under Spectre 230-equipped student rig. You really can't compare those two PD canopies. It's like comparing night and day--actually, the Spectre scared the hell out of me on several occasions. The silhouette, it's...well...incredible.

I just made jump number 13 yesterday. I was using my 210 Silhouette (I love that thing, but that's another story) loaded just a little above 1:1. When I showed up, students were grounded due to boarderline 14 mph winds, but I hung out for a while to see if it would clear up. I was sketchy about jumping #13 anyway (3.5k hnp) and could go either way. Several new A license holders were sitting it out too. I watched a lot of jumpers come in with very little glide, a lot of bumpiness that made canopies look like accordions and a bunch of rather harsh landings, since turbulence from the hanger was just about perpendicular to the final. An hour later, the winds were down a bit and I was cleared to go on the next Otter load. I went out at 3.5k and was open by 3k. I pulled a riser turn, collapsed the slider, grabbed the toggles and started burning off altitude since I had already drifted quite a ways from my spot. I immediately noticed a difference in my turns in higher wind especially in a reverse turn. Cruising to my pattern entry point, I found my first really good example of crabbing--about 45 degrees off from my true heading. I went into brakes to try to knock off my braked pattern/landing requirement. My Silhouette glides forever normally (my first jump on it, I overshot the peas by like 60 meters or better on almost the exact pattern I came up short with a Spectre 230) and I opened my pattern up a bit more than usual. I made my last braked turn into the wind and about 60 or 70 meters from the Peas. As soon as I faced the wind, I think I actually gained a piece of altitude and just hovered there. I began to descend slow and a little bumpy, but still in the brakes. I let up a little left and a little right, slow and gentle input--both toggles together a couple times. I had one big bump at about 80 feet AGL or so and suddenly started to glide forward and down at good clip. I flared and walked in the landing about 9 or 10 meters short of the peas. Granted, my stomach dropped when I felt that last big bump, but I am glad I got the practice. In the my brief jumping experience, I have seen winds really change from the time the Otter took off until I got under canopy. I feel much more comfortable in my ability to deal with those changes. Once I get my license, will I throw caution to the wind, so to speak, and jump conditions I am advised against? Nope. I think two of the most important things one can have in this sport are common sense and having around those way-more experienced skydivers out there who instill common sense. Thanks for being there, y'all, mike

I wanted to throw my two cents before this thread became an antique. I jump with SealSkinz gloves when it's cold. They are waterproof, quite thin, tight, have a hundred rubbery bumps on each paw and transfer the sense of touch amazingly. Just my two cents. mike

Chuck, I would never substitute my ProTrack for my Logbook. If I get down the details in my own writing, I can figure my state of mind on each jump later on. The ProTrack can't do that. I like the idea of augmenting my Logbook with the digital stuff. In the long run, I think I will learn more by analyzing the numbers that little box spits out in relation to what I actually did and logged on specific jumps. And, the chicks dig it. thanks, mike

All, Thanks for all the input. I took Tee's advice and just sent an email to L&B. The reply from Mads Larsen follows: Dear Nischalke, I am sorry that it is not clearly explained in the instruction manual, but the Pro-Track needs 6-7 sec of freefall time in order to record the jump in the logbook. If you make Hopnpop you must afterwards manually add one jump (and a few seconds) to the totals. Best regards, Mads Larsen LARSEN & BRUSGAARD Mosevej 3 4070 Kirke Hyllinge DENMARK Phone: +45 46 48 24 80 Fax: +45 46 48 24 90 L-and-B@L-and-B.dk www.L-and-B.dk >>Well, I guess that's that. I suppose I was asking a bit much out of it. I forgot to ask if I could program it to go pick up lunch when I'm at the DZ. thanks again, mike

I have read and re-read the manual, but I can't find a thing about hopnpops or how to reset the seven second FF requirement. If you have something I don't, please let me know. Thanks for your time and advice, mike

I just got a Pro Track. I figured it would accelerate my learning curve. I made my first hopnpop from 5k and the Pro Track didn't log it. It beeped on the way up and beeped once under canopy, but no joy on the jump number advance. Am I SOL on recording my next 3.5k hnp, or am I doing something wrong? Thanks! Mike