christoofar

Hmm... that's just one of those things that sucks about our sport, I guess. Ordering a parachute isn't like buying a Dell. Particularly disturbing are the rare cases when a serious design problem rears its ugly head and the nasty business of recalling ensues, especially when it's accompanied with a string of incidents involving the design flaw. If no one was around to manufacture the equipment, there would be no sport like it is now. I'd rather take the risk that I would get stuck with equipment that I'd have to burn or bury it because it was unsafe and the mfg won't buy it back than try to pawn it off or try to sue the mfg out of business. I'll let the FAA figure that one out. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I bet back in the 80's sunshine used to use WAY too much eyeshadow and had those pink and purple arm "scrunchies", 30 bracelets, and spiked highlightes, huh? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

So you've never demoed a canopy/rig before? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

If this clause is in every single waiver a PIA company ever sends you, then there is nothing to worry about. Even so, if I buy a rig then have it inspected, that doesn't guarantee that I will be free from defects from the manufacturer. Recalls and updates are issued fairly regularly. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Please! Stop the aeroexcrementation* in our planes! Perhaps we should segregate these jumpers to the "stinky" plane? Anyone care to eat a nasty looking burrito covered in guac and go on a "stinkyway"? Aeroexcrementate v. intr. 1. To exude noxious gaseos odiferous methane in a closely confined area, such as an airplane; fart. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I'm sure if you take it slow during the "after beer-light activities" you won't be as sore. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Oh you people have no clue what torture I endured for 1st car... 1: 1979 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon. It was green and had been reupholstered once already when it was given to me... in 1992! Had 390,000 miles when I got it... and sadly it kept running for years and WOULD NOT DIE (until I purposely "forgot" to change the oil ). God I hated that thing. What a total buzzkill. 2: 1984 GMC Sierra Pickup, rebuilt engine. Hauled ass. Kept getting "friends" asking me to help move them (don't you just HATE that?) around town. Sold back to parents. 3: 1991 Ford Mustang LX. Bleh. Felt like driving a Yugo. Quickly got rid of this one. 4: 2001 Ford Mustang GT Convertible (silver/black). Whoa! First new car. First leather car! I still love it! A 260hp rag isn't bad for a first purchase, huh? Already paid 3/5ths of it off. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Good save! Yup, flying a highly-loaded sub-100 elliptical ZP with a landing area the size of a peanut isn't one of the wisest things to do. That's where those big air matresses (ahem.. accuracy canopies) come into play. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Maybe RWS's agreement could be amended to include the official return policy? An an aside, who is liable if the rig or parts are damaged in shipment on the way to the tandem fact... er DZ? Or perhaps maybe some sewing is askew? I certainly would not buy a rig nor parts sight-unseen, with no possible recourse if I received damaged goods. Would you? Think RMA. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

A friend at my home DZ had her entire D-bag seperate *after* deployment, which took the PC along with it. She didn't know until after she set her canopy down and noticed no PC and no bag. Her rig was a brand-new Odyssey. Never found the bag or PC since it was all black, including the PC.... ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

This technique is the "split roll." I've seen a lot of Sabre owners do it, and I was trained to do it when I learned packing (on a Sabre). You take the 4 left cells and roll them and push it into the canopy gently, then take the 4 right cells and roll those and push those into the canopy (again, gently). Then, pull out the center cell and push it in with your index and middle finger, then pull out your slider and slide it back in. Now you can finish wrapping the tail around. I'm not sure the technique contributes much to gentler openings on an original Sabre, but probably helps slow the opening a little bit more. I tend to go with what packers say "BODY POSITION!!!" contributes more to better openings. If you own a Sabre2, however, you should avoid split rolling the nose and just leave the nose alone unless the nose isn't even or it's really lopsided. I usually flake the nose a bit, fix the slider, and finish wrapping the tail on a PROpack. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Yeah, I did kinda leave that open-ended. However, I'm not going to retract the statement. Men don't retract as often as we extend our remarks. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Saw this on the news last night. Tragic. Blue Skies ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I guess whatever pilot is willing to pull the nose up highest without the stall siren coming on is the "winner?"

I'll be your house bitch, for $$$ or other concessions ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Pammi: I think the whole gist is that because other media got people "riled up" about the offense, and enough people were protesting about the action, the owners decided to pull it off the air. At first, you might be thinking "Free Speech" violation, right? But you have to put this into perspective, Clear Channel, Viacom and others are paying for this speech. They can choose at anytime to yank it, even if it's popular. If I were the owners, and listeners were banging on my doors to shut down the program, I would do it in a heartbeat. If I ignored my listeners, they might launch a boycott against my ad clients and I might lose business. If some other radio station wants to take the risk of hiring these two shock jocks, by all means let them! Some radio markets are easier to operate in than others. I enjoyed listening to Mancow in the Morning while I was @ WFFC. It's democracy in action. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

What about a wrist altimeter that plays the Mexican Hat Dance at 90 decibles when you reach breakoff alti? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

i still have issues with this... isn't a hop&pop the final requirement of AFF? Or is that just brushed-over at big turbine DZs? *sigh* i have a huge pet-peeve about people who are afraid to exit at 3k but will deploy at 3 or 3.5 at terminal -- especially when it's a product of the training they were dealt. I agree. This one has come up before (people avoiding HNPs). HNPs are useful for several for several reasons, but the most important one is getting used to bailing out in an emergency situation quickly at a lower altitude than normal. You should be totally comfortable with exiting the plane at 5 1/2 and below, tracking for seperation, and deployment. In the real situation, should it happen, don't waste time with your "accessories" (i.e. helmet, goggles, board, tube), leave them in the plane and get the F*** out! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

I see we have a boy who is into S&M here. Like being spanked by a big hairy turkish Sabre, huh? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Oh man... just for kicks I had to go see if the DZ we all "know and love" has anything greeting the visiting experienced jumper on their site. I was greeted with a nasty looking turqouise background and in nice flaming red letters: BECAUSE OF PAST PROBLEMS WITH "FUN JUMPERS" BREAKING OUR RULES; WILL NO LONGER ACCEPT FUN JUMPERS WHO HAVE NOT GRADUATED FROM OUR STUDENT PROGRAM. I don't need to post the URL, you all know where it is already. So I guess 's "experienced" jumpers won't ever do a hook turn at their place, huh? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

That, of course, is very true. This subject has come up LOTS of times in the past here, and I'm neither for nor against tandem factories, they are fine. I prefer to avoid them like the plague instead of wasting my precious time and it's helpful when someone identifies tandem factories** here so I know to steer clear, as no DZO would ever want to openly admit they are solely interested in your wallet. How big and effectual would USPA's "voice" and representation be if all it had were the handful of DZOs out there, JM staff, and all those zillions of tandem students required to register to boost membership numbers? Not a lot. You could have all the tandem students be USPA members and pay for that registration fee, which they will.... once. I don't think a small time tandem factory will ever grow into a DeLand. Would be interesting to see one try. Flame away. **Item of interest: getting bumped off a load for tandems doesn't constitute a tandem factory. A tandem-factory is when all you can ever get is a two-way for months on end and there are more JMs than there are fun jumpers. There are only really a few DZs like this. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Perhaps the best redeeming quality about tandem factories is that they won't get that much coverage in Parachutist, or get much free media coverage; aside from the occasional celebrity that makes the story worthy for news. Even so, when that *DOES* happen, it's all about the student, and maybe 2 seconds the DZ's name might get mentioned. A factory is a factory, when you've seen one you've seen 'em all. Anyone been to any great boogies at Vegas? We all know the bills gotta get paid. We are customers as well and we spend much more money on this sport than a one-jump wonder will ever shell out. I shudder to think how much money I've spent at my home DZ. As a bonus for the DZ, we even come out to jump when it gets cold and the tandems drop off! Many of us also steer tandem business towards the dropzone and have got our friends and relatives to jump. Thinking about the other contributors to our sport, I'm certain PIA wouldn't want to see experienced jumpers muscled out. DZOs work their tandem equipment and don't change it out like yesterdays fashion like experienced jumpers do. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Well said. Safety != voluminous amounts of paper pushing. Ask anyone who works in engineering and has to submit to ISO9000. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Beat me, SPANK me, MAKE me fly a Sabre! HOOSIER DADDY? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.

Okay, that was just WRONG. ROFL!!! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.