Aviatrr

While I'm not going to comment on the actual accident itself, I will comment about this statement. When flying a helicopter, it is smart to attain a certain airspeed before lifting the helicopter out of ground effect(10-15' max). That speed is generally what is known as translational lift. I have no time in the 412, but in most helicopters this speed is around 35-50knots. If the helicopter had only moved 100' forward, and the pilot was not being overly aggressive and have a light aircraft, he probably had not attained translational lift in the first 100' of forward travel. Different pilots fly different ways. I fly a twin engine helicopter a little different than a single engine....but, if I am able(time and space permitting), I will attain translational lift prior to leaving ground effect. Mike

A Skyvan that TallGuy could probably stand up in.. Mike

This is perfect for a 4-way fun jump, I'll just get my friends in it with me... what's the worst that could happen? the ffers kick us out the door? AND have 12 different points of video of you guys getting thrown out the door! Mike

You only love the snow because you live in Texas, and you don't have to deal with it every day all winter long! I hated every second of winter when I lived up north...now snow is only something I have to deal with when working.

Dude....think of it this way....midget guy...woman...face....crotch....hair....get it?! Mike

Suuuuuuuuure...keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll believe it one day! Mike

DAMMIT! I heard on a radio talk show they were saying mid to late November of this year....but after reading this, I checked out some movie related sites with release dates....and you're right, Feb 10. It also says it's gonna be 3 hours long.... If I knew part 2 wouldn't be out until Feb, I would've waited a couple months to see part 1...this is gonna drive me nuts! Tarantino, that evil genius bastard! Mike

Saw it last night....AWESOME FUCKING MOVIE! It really sucks that they leave you hanging for part 2...but at least it will be out soon! I hear mid to late Nov. Some awesome fight scenes...and the animation is impressive as hell! My date didn't quite appreciate it as much as I did....she thought it was too gory...I guess I won't be taking her to part 2. Mike

Same here. Oct 26-31. Mike

A friend of mine is planning on buying a new container to replace his third hand, 8 year old Jav....and the Wings is at the top of the list so far. One thing we have not been able to determine for sure is whether or not they offer the fully articulated harness(meaning with chest and hip rings)? Based on the order forms and all the pics I've seen of Wings containers, they do not. If they do not offer chest rings at all, how does the comfort compare between the Wings and a rig with a fully articulated harness? Mike

And for those that don't believe it.....watch a video of somebody deploying while the videographer is still in freefall. The jumper will fall at the same rate until the canopy STARTS to come out of the bag, then they are yanked upright and it looks like they damn near stopped. That's just the initial deceleration...it continues. Mike

Care to cut and paste? It's requiring an AOL screen name to sign in and read it....and while I have one(I'm ashamed to admit), I don't enter the password on the web.. Mike

Hmmm....note to self....be sure to liberate the keys to the drop shop for a place to crash(with AC) after the drinking has gotten out of hand.. Mike

I've had an HP notebook computer now for almost three years. Luckily, I purchased the 2 year extended warranty, so I have a total of 3 years of warranty(expires in late Jan). So far, in those 3 years, the thing has been in for repairs about 12-14 times. The keyboard has been replaced 6 times(yes, 6 times - groups of keys just stop working), the monitor 3 times, the hard drive 3 times, the DVD-Rom twice, both 128mb memory cards have been replaced numerous times, the touchpad has been replaced once, the motherboard replaced twice, and the processor replaced once.....I'm probably missing a few things, but that's the major stuff. This is the biggest piece of shit computer I have ever seen. I tried to get HP to replace the computer in the first year(the manuf warranty period) since it is obviously a lemon, but then I found out by talking to others with the same or similar models that it was pretty standard stuff for an HP. The extended contract provider threatened to cancel the remainder of my contract with them after only 6 months due to the inordinate amount of money they had already spent on the thing....but I had a buddy of mine that is a lawyer write a response for me, and they never replied to that. Since then, it's been in half a dozen or more times. I'm sure they've spent $3,000+ on a $1000(when it was brand new) computer, when I only paid $150 for the 2 year service contract. Well, enough about all the troubles with it...here's what I'm seriously considering doing. Once the warranty expires, and this POS has another major failure, I'm gonna take it skydiving. I'll have it open during freefall, in use, clearly demonstrating the failed item. If it won't work at all, I'll just do it with a shot that you can't tell it's not on, and fake it. Get several points of video. Show my disgust with the POS toward the end of freefall, close it up, and chuck it straight down. Deploy. Get as much video as possible of the thing rapidly approaching the ground, and hopefully see an indication when it hits. Then get video of the remains on the ground. Send this to HP to show them what I think of their products. Maybe even send it to some stations to play it on tv if they so desired. I would love to give HP as much bad press as possible. I hate those shitheads. A friend of mine tells me to ebay it right now. I think I can even transfer the remainder of the warranty to a new owner. Let them deal with it. Of course, I wouldn't lie to 'em about past problems...so I probably wouldn't get much...but my buddy thinks people will think the opposite, and figure it's got all new parts. Who knows...I haven't decided what to do yet. Mike

Well....I was standing a couple feet away from a rig sitting all by itself on a picnic table when we heard a POP and the reserve PC went flying by. Nobody around was using any kind of cell phone or radio, and the Cypres did have the RF shielding. That was a few years ago...never found out what the official response from Airtec was, but they sent the guy a new Cypres. Mike

Based on the price for energy at my home here in Orlando(don't know if the business price for energy would be more or less), I came up with under $100 an hour for 1352kw/hr(the highest power draw on the chart). It's about 7 cents per kw/hr here, including all taxes. Mike

Check out.... http://www.skyventure.com/investor/ and click Products. Mike

Let go of your wing to see the altimeter? I just don't understand this. I have no problem whatsoever seeing my altimeter on my left hand. I'm flying a Classic suit right now, but I don't think it will be any more difficult to see it when I get my SF3. I like the mudflap mount idea....but would avoid mounting an altimeter on the chest strap. Remember the guy that got killed when he face planted on landing and his wedge altimeter on his chest strap crushed his airway? Mike

Chances of somebody pulling this off successfully when at terminal are one in a million at best. If two people survive the opening, will the canopy? If the canopy does, will they survive the landing? If the main doesn't survive, will a cutaway and reserve deployment be possible with somebody hanging onto the front of your harness? If so, will the reserve blow up on deployment? When I did a Mr Bill as the one hanging on, it was very hard to hold on during opening - and the canopy was deployed less than a second after exit from a Caravan going 55knots. The canopy was packed for a long, slow opening. This was the third attempt. The first one, he didn't deploy within the first two seconds due to our stability(or lack thereof), and that was our time limit. After two seconds of freefall, we wouldn't try it, and just turned it into a normal freefall jump. The second try he deployed after about a second, but I just couldn't hang on. Mike

I definitely considered it a little twitchy...but, that was also back when they were made in Brian's garage. I have not jumped one that was manufactured by PD. Since everything Brian made before that was hand made, they were all just a little different and flew a little different. Mike

I think he meant how high from the rocks to the ground......think BASE jump, JT. Mike

Wow....you guys are making me feel like I'm taking it low since I open at 4,000. I'm under a good canopy by 3.6k when I dump in full flight, and have everything unzipped, slider stowed, and unstowing the toggles by 2.5k(usually closer to 3k) on a Sabre2 loaded at 1.5. Mike

A buddy and I did a Mr Bill a couple years ago on a VX89. Overall wing loading was about 4.5. It opened briskly, but I was able to hang on. After flying it for a few thousand feet, he pulled one toggle down about 8" while leaving the other up......I held on for one full turn, then was flung off. It took me a good 1500' to get stable after that. Gave me a good idea what Luigi would feel like after chopping a spinning mal on the VX46. Mike

Have fun....those guys sure as hell work for their money when taking whuffos in the tunnel....but, I doubt you guys will have nearly as many there as in the tunnel here in Orlando. You guys will probably see 75%+ skydivers. You'll get to train with Carlos...he's one of the Orlando instructors that is going out to train you guys. That boy can fly like you won't believe in the tunnel....and he's got well under 100 jumps! He's one of the true "tunnel rats". I watched him do some freestyle and damn impressive freeflying/carving last night. Mike

Wow...I guess if you think a Lotus is twitchy, a Stiletto or Vengeance would probably scare you to death. Granted, I only have 3 jumps on a Lotus, but I found it very controllable and not very "twitchy"(at a 1.5 wing loading). I did find the Samurai(at 1.5 and especially at 1.7 wing loading) twitchy, but definitely controllable and quite fun. The only thing I don't like about 'em is the larger pack volume due to the airlocks. Mike