bmcd308

>>i press them gently against the roof of my mouth with my tongue and hold them until the chocolate inside is warm and soft.

>> I do not aspire to be an instructor. That's a job, and I do not wish to make skydiving work.

>>But I have my own set and I can play with them ALL day long

>>Apparently not in Tennessee

I agree absolutely. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

>>Research what happened to the National Guard troops who shot and killed four American students during a protest at Kent State University.

I can't believe she has not paid you whatever it would take to have those taken down. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

Andy2 - Please do not take this the wrong way: You have three months in the sport. Pull higher. Float in brakes. Land last. You'll have the whole landing area to yourself, and it is more likely that someone will actually watch you land and talk to you about your landings. With three months in the sport, you really do not need to be worrying about what the guys 20 feet from each end cell are going to do on final. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

I've watched this thread / this entire debate over several threads develop also, and to be frank I'm not sure how I feel about it. I will say this - at 200 jumps and with a wl of about 1.1, there are lots of times I want to downsize. I can't fly with the cool guys on hop and pops, because they are about to stall while I am wearing my arms out on the front risers just to stay near each other. That makes me want a smaller canopy. I have good landings most of the time under my canopy, which makes me think I can handle something smaller. However, every once in a while, something happens that makes me abandon the idea of a smaller one. Just this past weekend, poor planning under canopy put a King Air load of us all landing in a very short amount of time. We have a large landing area, but I was still nervous with all the folks around me. As I was making small turns very low to avoid other people landing, I was once again reminded that sometimes it's nice to have that big hunk of fabric up there, because when you need it, you really need it. Would I have crashed under a smaller one? I don't know. But the big one definitely helped give me the control necessary to watch out for other people and land where I wanted. The other thing I am constantly reminded of is Billvon's canopy progression checklist, which is periodically reposted or linked to all over this site. I watch guys at my dropzone downsize because they want to land faster, but they never do any sort of induced speed landing under the canopy they have. I think it is silly for people who want to land faster to land their canopy as slowly as it can possibly be landed, then downsize to a new one so that they can land it faster (but still as slowly as it can be landed). When I see the Mullins boys swooping half the landing area, I really do wish that I could do that. The thing is, I am just now getting the time in sport to realize that equipment is only part of that. The ability to use the equipment is far more important. Jeff Mullins flies a very small canopy loaded pretty high (no, I do not know exactly). He can lay a swoop all the way across the landing area that will send the tandems' families scattering. I have also personally witnessed him trying to land on a lawn chair without putting his feet down first, and if he had a heavier chair, he would have pulled it off (it tipped over as he stepped into it). Before I fly a wl like his, I am going to ask myself whether I would tell everyone on the dz that I was going to land standing on a chair and invite them to come watch. I bet that many of the people who consider themselves ready to downsize would not. I know this is kind of an odd example of a test, but I think it is critical for people to understand that people who are really good swoopers have skills well beyond dragging down on a front riser until they are scared and then flaring. I despise regulation. However, as I sit at my own dropzone and watch people land at the edge of control then say that they want to demo something smaller, it makes me wonder whether they have any brains in their heads at all. This post will reach no conclusion, because as I have said, I am not sure how I feel about the whole wingload bsr thing. However, I will say that I see plenty of people around me every weekend (sometimes myself included) who could benefit from more, not fewer, square feet of canopy. As John Le Blanc says (paraprhasing), learn to fly your current canopy before you downsize. And remember that learning to fly it does not just mean having a few survivable straight-in landings. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

>>You expect some guy from NY to know his way around your neighborhood?

I liked it. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

Dude. Those chicks have got to be underage. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

>>White sleeves, that kicks ass! in 2nd place is the white logo... the first one is too dull/dark.

I've ridden it down once. My allergies were acting up a little, but I didn't think it would be too bad. At about 10 grand, I wound up with a gusher of a nosebleed, so I figured it could not possibly be good for me to have that fast of a pressure change with my nose bleeding. I also did not want to bleed all over myself on a hop and pop. Best compromise was to ride it down. The ride down hurt like hell because my ears could not equalize due to my nose being full of blood. I am 100% positive that I would have damaged my eardrums in freefall had I gone. It was my only "observer ride." Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

I know not many of you probably use studio flash, but there is lots of discussion elsewhere about 10Ds getting fried through the PC port when hooked even to modern studio flash units. Approach with caution. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

>>Price is no object. Looking for best quality video. (color and clarity)

According to Kevin, his FXC did not fire and his reserve handle was still in place. He thinks he must have snagged his gear on the way out and the pin worked loose at 25K. Note that markharju's account differs slightly from Mike Mullins', who says that Kevin landed 12 miles from the dz. Although in terms of choosing an out, 12 miles might as well be 100 miles - think about whether you know of any outs more than a mile from your dz - I don't. I'm going to try to get on a 30K load at some point this summer - I'll give a report whenever that happens. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

I'm prepared to deal with the flames from the traitors Deuce and Quade, but keep in mind that with digital you will never get the absolute best aspect of photography - that great smell when you open the film canister. Of course, that smell is pretty expensive if you want to shoot 400 frames per day like Deuce. Of course, Deuce's camera body cost a TON. I'm kind of kidding here. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. For whatever reason I just love the IDEA of film over digital. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I am really into shooting film. OTOH, at the stage in my film career when most photogs are buying an enlarger and building a darkroom in the back of their house, I am gonig to use that $ for a quality PC, photo software, and a killer digital body. I think you'll be happy either way. What's important is that you capture moments that make you happy, and either format will do that for you. Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

Hey, Phree - For some reason my PC has horrible problems with AVI files - it plays the sound but no video on about half the ones I try, and it just refuses to try to play about another quarter. About 25% of the time they play fine. I am using the Windows Media Player, which I keep updated. Can you suggest a different (free) player? Brent ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

LMFAO! ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

>>FYI - I'm pouting!

Good luck to your pup. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

See, Skymama? It's turning into a great thread! ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

I have been in a sit on level with and about four feet away from someone with freefly friendly gear when I suddenly saw a burst of color. About the time I realized it was a pilot chute, they were gone. It is a freaky thing to have happen. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com

There is no engagement ring section in the Classifieds. Plus, we took the ad and turned it into a post whore thread, so it is okay. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com