Aviatrr

Naw, I can't comprehend opening the door and jumping.. I want the door opened for me, DAMMIT!

Well, being a pilot, I know I would get fired for doing it...but you might not.. Then again, since BASE is illegal in most places, they may fire you for breaking the law at work.. Mike

You have almost 5 months until Quincy.. Plenty of time to get a B license.. Oh, and don't count on jumping the jet.. 1999 was the last year that Amerijet provided a 727 for the WFFC.. They sent a letter to the WFFC organizer after '99 stating that they would no longer be able to supply them with a jet.. Unless the have found a replacement operator, don't expect a jet.. Mike

I only have a few jumps on Sabres, and I was really whacked on opening twice.. I ended up buying a Hornet.. Very easy to pack, great openings no matter how I pack it, and good performer.. Flies like a Sabre, but a little snappier in the turns, possibly slightly higher forward speed in full flight.. Good landings, even a bit of a surf at moderate or higher wing loadings.. I got mine from Roy at Rigs-n-Things (www.para-service.com).. Great price and quick delivery times on custom orders as well.. Mike

Just make sure that after your out landings(trust me, there will be plenty), if you hang around for a bit, call the DZ and let 'em know your ok.. Several of us spent over an hour looking for some bozo we thought landed in the swamp when he actually landed in some back yard and was invited to eat dinner with 'em.. Dumbass never bothered to call anybody and say he was ok.. We were pissed.. We missed sunset load.. Mike

At my old home DZ a while back a girl cutaway a good main.. When asked why she cut it away, she responded that "the lines were too short, and the canopy was too close".. She realized what she did as soon as the reserve came out and wasn't any further away..

Big cajones and a rig.. If you want to beat the 'biggest cajones of all' record, you need to jump something smaller than (I believe) an Icarus Extreme 79.. Isn't that the canopy that somebody took off the bridge in 2000? I know it was an Extreme, and very small, and I think it was a 79.. Maybe a 74.. Just the pics from that guy's jump are amazing.. Mike

DOH! I guess I was either tired or just not thinking when I wrote that message.. I meant to say Hybrid or all ZP.. Sorry.. 7 cells?! Damn.. I knew I should've learned to count somewhere along the line.. Once again, I'm gonna plead tired..

Ah, well.. I stand corrected.. I guess I have only seen the older Dolphins.. The last sitfly I did with a guy jumping a Dolphin had lots of riser out there flapping around, and a bit of bridle too.. That pretty much ended our sitfly - about 20 seconds after exit.. Mike

Haven't tried that.. A buddy and I did try something fun, though.. It was inspired by a thing we saw on Senseless Acts of Video.. The one where Troy exits the plane with skis, deploys after a short freefall, then lands on the slope and skis down.. Well, we didn't go quite that far.. We just put on the skis and rig, and started skiing.. Got the canopy inflated pretty well, but had to hold half brakes or so to keep it inflated well.. We each tried it about 5 or 6 times - had a great time doing it.. Luckily snow is soft so we didn't end up with injuries..

French? That's funny.. My Hornet was made by PISA - Parachute Industries of South Africa..

It shouldn't affect opening at all.. It would basically be the same as jumping in 100% humidity.. Just remember one thing, though.. Hold your breath.. Everybody knows skydivers can't breath in cloudes.. Mike

Well..As far as which canopy would be best for you, none of us can answer that question.. We don't know your abilities or experience level.. I can, however, comment on types of canopies.. Any of the ones you listed would be good first canopy.. A couple more you should consider are the PISA Hornet and the Icarus Safire.. The Sabre, Safire, and Hornet are all ZP.. The Sabre is pretty slippery ZP material when new, but gets easier to pack with an increasing number of jumps on it.. I have never packed a brand new Safire - but a Safire with 100 jumps was a breeze to pack.. The Hornet is a very easy canopy to pack - whether brand new or worn out.. I currently jump a Hornet, and it has been easy to pack since day 1(I bought it new).. It is similar to the Safire(slightly elliptical).. The Triathlon is offered in Hybrid(ZP top skin, F111 bottom) and all F111.. Either way, fairly easy to pack.. The Silhouette is also a Hybrid - but I am not familiar with it.. All the canopies listed thus far are 9 cell.. The Spectre is a ZP 7 cell.. I only have one jump on a Spectre, but it flew great and was easy to pack (with only 1 jump on it).. Talk to your JM's regarding your canopy type/size choice.. It seems to me that container type is somewhat dependent on geographical area.. Some containers are dominant on the West coast and rare on the East coast, and vice versa.. Most are good containers.. If you go with any of the major container manufacturers, you shouldn't have any problems.. Mirage, Relative Workshop(Vector), Rigging Innovations(Talon, Voodoo), Javelin, Dolphin.. I recommend getting a freefly friendly container if you want to freefly - or may want to in the future.. Most modern rigs - with the exception of the Dolphin - are freefly friendly.. Some of the older containers may not be.. Check with a rigger on that.. For your first rig, you should probably buy used.. Unless you have lots of money to waste, that is.. You will probably want to downsize within a hundred jumps or so, and if you buy new you will lose quite a bit on your investment.. If you buy new, be sure to buy a container that you can downsize canopies without buying a new container.. Good luck.. Mike

Whoa....half mile per 5mph of wind? That's a bit excessive.. In freefall, you will be pushed half a mile in a minute in a 30mph wind.. How far you will be pushed by the wind under canopy depends on opening altitude, canopy speed, whether you are running or holding, etc.. If the winds are so strong that you are pushed more than .5 mile under canopy(assuming you open at typical altitudes) while holding - you probably shouldn't be jumping.. In my opinion, your spot should never be more than 1.5 mile from the DZ.. That is assuming strong winds.. Mike

I would assume they do that based on the proximity of Brown Field to the border.. If you were landing on the DZ, and landed 1/2 mile south, you'd be in Mexico.. If you landed at the airport about a mile south of Brown Field - which has an East/West runway just like Brown Field - you would be at Tiajuana International.. Mike

I think they're used to us landing on the golf courses there by Sebastian.. I've landed there a few times myself.. Seems that most of the golfers are entertained by it at the beginning of the day....but after having to stop their game for the 10th time, they are not very happy.. Mike

I'm not sure what I am anymore.. I used to be a pilot.. Now I'm kinda a cross between a computer operator and a pilot.. Eventually, I'll be strictly a computer operator and only be called a 'pilot' to make the pax comfortable....ya know, thinking that the guys up front actually have control when the computer really does.. Hey, it's not far from happening.. There are already some airplanes that the computer has the final say - not the pilots.. I've seen those airplanes do some wierd shit....scares the hell out of me.. Mike

When/where is Lost Prairie? I feel another road trip coming on.. Hmm.. Quincy and Couch Freaks.....Maybe Richmond and Lost Prairie.. Sounds like a busy year.. Mike

I am definitely going to Quincy.. It'll be my fir....err, pre-second time at Quincy..

Honestly, I don't think it really matters much.. I have a lot of friends, in all different types of work, that skydive and have never had a problem during an interview when asked about it.. Just be honest about it, but brief.. Don't go overboard - if so, they won't hire you because they know they'll have to listen to you talk about skydiving all the time.. If I am at an interview, it may be viewed different for me than for somebody in another field of work.. I'm a pilot.. If they ask me why I skydive, it's something like.... "Well, if you see the way I fly, you wouldn't have to ask why I am intimately familiar with parachutes.." Mike

My doctor told me not to jump for 12 weeks - I told him he was nuts.. I countered with a week.. We agreed on 4 weeks..

I used to have 20/400 vision, and wore soft contacts(-4.50).. I had one pop out in freefall 2 separate times.. I was always paranoid about both coming out at the same time.. Well, about 4 months ago, I went up to Toronto for LASIK.. I lived in Cleveland, so it wasn't very far, plus the surgeon up there is one of the most experienced in the world.. Plus, he did LASIK for 3 friends of mine(all pilots), all with excellent results.. Being a pilot, my vision is, of course, extremely important.. It took me a long time to make the decision, and I'm happy as hell that I did.. My vision is now 20/15 in each eye, and I can read the 20/12 line with both eyes.. It's great not having to worry about contacts, not being able to see without 'em, etc... Oh, and my LASIK was $999 for BOTH eyes.. I know it is much cheaper than $2500 per eye here in the US - I have seen it for $2,000 for both eyes all over the country.. Look around, you should be able to find someplace.. Make sure it's a good, reputable place, though.. LASIK is not something you want to skimp on - you just need to find a good place for a good price.. Mike

This is pretty consistent with what I have seen. Most experienced jumpers give themselves a thorough gear check prior to gearing up, and usually several after gearing up. I, personally, use the 3-3-3 checks. 3 rings, 3 handles(cutaway, reserve, hackey/ripcord/POP depending on type of deployment), 3 fastening points(2 leg straps & chest strap). Once after gearing up, once prior to entering the plane, and again prior to jumprun/exit. I always try to get a reserve pin check prior to exit, but not a main pin. With the type of main closing flap my rig has(2 tuck tabs to secure it), I run the bridle under one of the tuck tabs(rather than between the two) to be sure the flap will open correctly. Unless somebody is very familiar with the exact system, I will NOT let them touch my main flap. Plus, I don't want somebody exposing more bridle than absolutely necessary due the the fact that I do a lot of sitflying. I have noticed that a lot of people look others over in the plane and check their gear visually. I do something unusual with my chest strap after threading it, and at first glance, it always appears to be misrouted. You would be amazed how often I have people pointing that out or asking me about it. I get tired of explaining what I do with the chest strap, but I would much rather have somebody say something if they are unsure of the safety. I have caught several misrouted chest straps, excessive bridle or PC hanging out, and even once a reserve pin that was about to extract. When I jump with a regular group, I always have somebody give me a gear check. The one thing that I cannot stand is somebody pawing at my gear without being familiar, or, even worse, without asking. I don't even ask for a gear check if I do not know the person and their familiarity with my gear or similar. Unfortunately, I have seen too many people giving gear checks when they are unfamiliar with the pins, flaps, or deployment type, and not asking about it. If I am not familiar with a setup, I will certainly say so if somebody asks me to give 'em a gear check.

Not true. First class requires vision CORRECTED to 20/20 - that's it. It USED to be 20/100 uncorrected, correctable to 20/20, but that was dropped a couple years back. I have had a first class medical for the past 5 years, and before having LASIK, I had 20/400 uncorrected, but corrected to 20/20. I had a waiver that allowed that vision with a first class medical. Waivers were very common before the 20/100 thing was dropped. Mike

I just want to clear something up here.. The RSL and Cypres have NOTHING to do with each other.. The Cypres is an active device, the RSL a passive.. The Cypres will fire your reserve if you reach or exceed 78mph vertical speed between approx. 130'AGL and 1050'AGL (designed to fire at 750AGL, but may fire up to 300' higher in certain situations according to SSK).. The RSL will deploy your reserve after a cutaway - regardless of altitude, body position, speed, etc.. Don't confuse the two - they are meant for two totally different purposes.. Mike