Aviatrr

For me...it's called head down.. I get on my head, tuck my arms and legs in, and I'm long gone...plus I have lots of control to avoid other meat missles trying to avoid the carnage(or part of the carnage). Mike

Ok dude.....during Mardi Gras....we'll make sure to DD ya at least a few times...who knows, maybe every day.. hell, we may just call everybody on the list! Mike

Oh yes....definitely...I'm thinking that this boogie will be more epic than Eloy was.. Mike

What's that? Haven't done one of those YET! Magic carpet rides? Hell yea, count me in! We did a 9 way at Eloy....it'd be nice to put together like a 12 or 15 way(they get really wild when they are not square). Hope everybody has a helmet... Not a good jump for newbies, either....gotta be able to get out of the way when the shit hits the fan(and it does when the carpet breaks apart).. Mike

Damn, you're movin slow woman! I left Cali(Edwards AFB) at 8am Pacific time on Monday, pulled into my driveway in Orlando at 1am Eastern on Wed night/Thurs morning. 2600 miles, 40 hours of driving, 40 hours of non-stop XM music(it's great not having to search for radio stations every hour), and 340 gallons of fuel used(shitty mileage, yes...but, hell, it's a big 'ole boxy RV).. It was great being able to drive til I was tired, pull over, sleep, then do it again. Mike

I'm driving up from Orlando on Monday the 23rd, returning the afternoon of Sunday the 29th. I'm taking my RV, and have room for a couple of people if anybody needs a ride. Pitch in a bit for gas, and have a dry place to crash during the boogie. PM me if you need a ride(I may not see it here - I don't have a lot of free time when I'm at work to keep up with the thousands of posts per day).. Mike

Hey...count me in for that! Mike

Well, I'm outside that age range(27), but I feel that if it is necessary to keep our country safe, I'm in favor of it. Hell, I have tried to get into the ANG as a pilot(as well as the Reserves flying helos), and they're full and have waiting lists. If they enacted a draft, and called me....I'd do whatever it takes to get a slot as a pilot, but if it didn't happen, I'd do whatever was required of me to protect my country. Mike

That really sucks man, sorry to hear it. I had one of my guns confiscated once(but not the rest of them) as "evidence" after an incident...but they told me I'd never get it back. I got a lawyer(called the NRA for a recommendation) and had my gun back within a week. Call the NRA. Mike

I didn't see the original post, but I know what it was about based on the responses here. The guy is a pilot on a corporate jet. Here is what he posted on another public message board. Hey, Chris, can you email me the pics at Aviatrr@aol.com? I still haven't seen 'em yet...but talked to quite a few people that have. I'm sure you know which major aviation website I'm talking about...it's in the "Fractionals" section, titled "Oh the pain".. Mike

How do you waste 5 years? Read all Clay's posts. To date. Not the ones he continues to spew forth. That would be a never-ending venture. Mike

By how much? According to Airnav.com...updated last on Dec 25, 2003.. Runway 15/33 Dimensions: 5100 x 50 ft. / 1554 x 15 m Surface: asphalt/dirt, in poor condition N 1900 FT DIRT POOR COND; REMAINING 3200 FT ASPH FAIR COND. Runway edge markings: /33 NON-STD SIZE NRS; DASHED CNTRLN ON PAVED SFC ONLY. No published weight limits there...but I'm sure there is in the A/FD. In any case, it's a very small runway for a DC-9....which may be why they're planning on 60 jumpers - to limit weight for performance reasons. Mike

Oh, yea....being allowed to drink on the job rocks.. I love it...my co-pilots and passengers, however......well, they don't quite feel the same about it.. Mike

Nope...he decided to be a bum and back out...something about not wanting to jump with "all the losers".. He said he was gonna tell everybody he was going on some other trip so he couldn't come to Mardi Gras, but he told me the real story.. Mike

I was thinking about that today as I looked down at the North Atlantic from 39,000 ft. I thought...."Hmmm....a parachute wouldn't do me much good. Just prolong the suffering." The chance of surviving a ditching is much lower than that of surviving a landing in the water under a canopy(especially a round). I had full water survival gear - INCLUDING a drysuit(wearing it the whole flight). I would much rather take my chances by bailing out(especially since I was in a fixed gear single engine airplane) than ditching. Mike

Agreed....my point exactly...somebody with 500 jumps(according to the new D license requirements) may not be qualified/competent for a 2.3 or 2.5 wing loading on a crossbraced canopy. Mike

I haven't done the "official" return yet, but I estimate I should get back about $3500.....not bad considering I paid in over $17,000 this year. I hate income taxes....it should be a consumption/sales tax. All these laws are a pain in the ass to figure out. I'm only getting money back because of home interest deductions.. Mike

Dude...just remember...when you take out a loan for a million bucks, you have to figure in the interest you pay before you figure your net income.. Mike

Dude, are you kidding? She can't swoop() the drainage ditch at Sebastian with that.. Mike

Pretty impressive. What type of aircraft have you done those crossings in? I've done quite a few crossings of both(probably 30 Atlantic, 20 Pacific) but they were with 2 or 3 engine jets or 2 engine turboprops. I did a Pacific crossing once in a single - in a turbine Thrush. I took a bailout rig with me, because I didn't plan on ditching...I figured if I lost the engine, I would bail out with my survival gear to increase the probability of survival. Mike

I can't say I disagree at all...but, Bill, what kind of recommendations(wing loadings and canopy types) do you have for those limitations? You state that "D" licenses should have limitations as well for wing loadings....but would that also include jump numbers associated with those limits - or would D be "unlimited"? Mike

Friday night I found out that UPS lost a $2500 package of mine. It was supposed to arrive on Thurs, and when it hadn't by Friday I called. They tracked it, said it left the sort center Wed night - and had not been scanned since. Nobody knows where it is. They tell me I have to wait 30 days before I can file an insurance claim. This is the second package of mine they have lost, and in addition to that, I received one that was mutilated beyond recognition(it WAS a canopy before UPS got ahold of it). When I questioned them about an insurance claim, they said it was tagged in the system as "insufficiently packaged" from the origin point. Why the fuck would they take it then?! It was in a box. A new box. It had padding around the canopy, which was in a bag. I refuse to use UPS anymore. If I sell something to somebody, and they insist on UPS, they take the risk. I assume no responsibility whatsoever. I will not deal with UPS if something is lost - the person that it's being shipped to will have to deal with it. I'll stick with Fedex. Mike

I haven't worked full time as an instructor since early '97, but I still give instruction occasionally. I haven't done primary(ie private) training in 4 or 5 years, but I do occasionally do instrument, multi, CFI, etc. for friends...and I generally don't charge anything for it. Some people say I'm taking work away from full time instructors, but I don't see it that way...I don't teach just anybody, I only teach friends. Mike

Airline Transport Pilot AMEL with type ratings in HS125, BE400, MU300, BE1900 Commercial pilot ASEL & Rotorcraft Helicopter CFI/CFII/MEI Somewhere around 6200 hours of flight time right now..give or take 100(haven't done my logbook in about 6 months, but the company keeps the records I use to update it).. 300 of that is SIC jet time, the rest is PIC(I went the cargo route, flew single pilot for my first nearly 4000 hours).. 4000+ turbine, 2500 or so jet. Currently PIC on the Hawker 800/800XP. Started flying in 1994 Started skydiving in 1996. Took a few years off due to injury. Somewhere between 800-850 jumps now(haven't logged in a while - let the pro track do it). Did a short stint flying jumpers in '96 at a small cessna DZ. I've flown larger jump planes on occasion, but try to avoid it...I fly for a living, when I'm at the DZ, I want to jump. Mike

XM Radio is a beautiful thing...I'm taking mine with me(one of those Delphi portables) for my trek across the country on I10 next week. I'll have nonstop music, and no commercials.. Mike