Aviatrr
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Everything posted by Aviatrr
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Bad spots, stupid decisions, etc.. The various fields, backyards, golf courses, and soccer fields are just bad spots.. Those were the alternate landing areas near the DZ.. The Wal-Mart thing.....well, we were flying along at altitude with our heads out the door.. There was a solid layer of industrial haze at about 10k.. It was very thin, and clear below, but we couldn't see through it.. We finally saw through it, saw a big store and parking lot that is next to the DZ, and out we went.. As it turned out, it was not the store we thought - it was the one about 2 miles away.. Out of the 8 way we launched, 7 of us landed in the Wal-Mart parking lot.. 6 of us landed out where cars were few and far between, one of the guys(with 9000+ jumps on a Extreme VX hankerchief) swooped in front of the main entrance.. He said he was trying to get close enough to set off the motion sensors and open the doors..
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Ya know, I always used to think Kalamazoo was just a fake name.. A couple years ago, I was BS'ing with some chick at a resteraunt, and she asked where I was from.. I was joking, and said Kalamazoo.. I figured she would know I was joking.. Her response? "HEY! MY DAD LIVES THERE!" I went home, looked at a map, and sure enough....Kalamazoo exits! HOLY SHIT!
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The video(and some others) can be downloaded directly from 'www.toxicsoda.com'.. Click skydiving then video.. Mike
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I've jumped CASA's plenty of times, not a real big deal.. I wanna jump the -34 powered Super Otter they have up at Aerohio.. It's gotta give Mullins King Air a run for its money on the climb to altitude.. Plus, they have those nice comfy benches.. I hate sitting on the floor! Mike
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If it's well planned out, and both pilots are good canopy flyers, it isn't any more dangerous than flying in the pattern with other canopies.. I've got some video of a Twin Otter coming head on and passing about 100ft off my left side.. The pilot and myself pre-arranged it, and I dumped high so there would be no other canopies nearby.. It looks pretty damn cool on video.. After he passed, I made an immediate left turn to keep him in frame, and flew into the wake....whoops! That was an interesting few seconds watching the canopy do its funky dance.. Mike
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I just looked at your profile here, and the name doesn't ring a bell.. I may try to make it up there for the Halloween boogie.. I haven't seen most of those people for almost a year.. You know Seth - one of the TM's that's also a pilot for Continental Express? If so, you know what he's flying for CoEx now? If you remember next time you're out there, tell Seth and Mark(the regular pilot there) to drop me a line at Aviatrr@aol.com.. Just tell 'em Mike that flies for Flight Options - they'll both know exactly who you're talking about.. Mike
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Yea, you definitely have a point....but all of the pansies I jump with are afraid to get anywhere near anybody else under canopy.. At the CReW camp I won't even be under my own canopy, either....it'll be a demo PD Lightning.. Maybe I'll be able to get one of the other CReW guys to do some close up flying with me under my Crossfire, but I don't know how the speeds/descent rates will compare.. A Crossfire at 1.5 to a Lightning at 1.3.. If nothing else, we can just keep flying head on several times for some good video..
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I've landed in corn fields, golf courses, somebody's back yard(there was a barbecue going on next door, and they invited me over), soccer field, and a Wal-Mart parking lot.. Oh, and of course, the plain 'ole open fields at the edge of the DZ I used to jump at up north.. Mike
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Most of the time, yes.. There is a video floating around out there(the same one Phreezone mentioned) of a PC1 that gets knocked off during deployment.. They recovered the camera, and the tape was salvagable.. Go to 'www.toxicsoda.com', click on skydiving, then video.. There are several there to download, including the PC1 in freefall.. There was a guy that went in several years ago with nothing out.. The video survived.. At around 2k you could see guys tracking away, and the guy with the camera fell stable until impact.. He was just looking around at the other guys.. Watched 'em deploy and everything.. Mike
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I don't think I've ever seen a picture of myself under canopy.. I've got plenty of video of me in freefall, but not under canopy.. I guess I'll have to give my video camera to somebody on the ground, do a hop&pop, and have 'em get my canopy flight on video.. Maybe I'll get some over Labor Day weekend.. I'm going down to Sebastian for a beginner CReW camp with the USA CRW team..
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Definitely let us know when you nail the dates down for sure.. Space Center is my "Home DZ", but I also jump Deland, Sebastian, Z-Hills, and Palatka(every now and then).. If ya let me know when you're gonna be at Deland, I'll be sure to be there.. Mike
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I assume you mean Space Center - not Spaceland.. Spaceland is in Houston area.. Both are cool DZ's.. Sebastian has a bigger group of regulars, and a mix of types of flying(RW, freeflying, etc).. Space Center - my home DZ, by the way - has a decent size group of regulars, but is 90%+ freeflyers.. Hey - on the bright side....if ya jump at Space Center, it's almost guaranteed you'll be in at least 3 or 4 videos..
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For a Spectre to open that hard, you had to have had one of two things.. 1) Line dump, or 2) Slider not set or improperly set.. Was the slider collapsed after opening, or did you have to collapse it? Mike
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I know somebody that broke 4 ribs and fractured the collarbone on a hard opening with a Sabre 150.. It can happen.. Mike
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Hey, Matt - how long have you jumped at Aerohio? That was my home DZ up until around late October of last year.. Actually, the Halloween boogie was the last time I jumped there.. Definitely go to the Halloween thing this year - and do the pumkin drop.. It's pretty fun.. Mike
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I think BOC throw out will continue to be the market leader.. There are just so many of 'em out there, and that's what most people use - so that's probably what they will continue to use when they buy a new rig.. Hell, some container manufacturers won't even make their rigs in pull out.. I will keep a rig with BOC throw out for certain things - such as BirdMan flying...but, I think for most cases, pull out is the way to go.. Mike
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Actually, with my canopies, I think not doing anything would evolve into a downplane - or at least something wickedly spinning.. My main is over 70sqft smaller than my reserve, flies over twice the speed of my reserve, is a 9 cell, ZP, elliptical.. My main is around a 1.5 loading, reserve about 1.0.. When you get two very dissimilar canopies together, bad shit happens.. From what I understand, that's one of the reasons many container manufacturers don't make rigs to hold very small mains and decent size reserve combinations.. Mike
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BOC throw out.. It works well, but I feel that pull out is the safest.. It's the same basic movement - grab handle, pull to full arms exension, and throw.. The only difference with pull out is that you are physically pulling the pin, THEN releasing the PC - rather than releasing the PC to pull the pin for you.. Mike
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In one of my psychology classes skydivers were profiled.. I don't recall ever hearing ADD mentioned - but the study said that most skydivers have a short attention span(doesn't necessarily mean ADD), high intelligence, and are very outgoing.. It was also stated that skydivers typically have very low adrenaline levels during most activities that other people's adrenaline soars to incredible levels.. Even during jumping, the experienced skydiver had very low adrenaline levels.. What was really interesting was a study done on stress for skydivers.. They took students and experienced jumpers and fitted them with heart monitors.. The results were that for students, their heartrate was the highest from just prior to exit until just after pull time.. For experienced jumpers, the heart rate was highest just prior to pull time, and just prior to landing.. Mike
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That's exactly right.. If a canopy doesn't open for ya, it's the ugliest damn thing ever.. It it does open, it's the most beautiful canopy you've ever seen.. This is ESPECIALLY true when it comes to reserves.. Mike
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Just like parachutes, they normally only kill the stupid pilots.. Taildraggers are easy to takeoff, land, and taxi if you know what you're doing.. For somebody that has never flown a taildragger it may be tough, but just like anything else, with a little experience....it's not at all hard.. Mike
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We don't HAVE to do that....it's TOTALLY by choice!
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It all depends on the instructor.. My water training lasted about 3 hours - but mine was taught by an ex navy rescue swimmer.. He taught us a hell of a lot more than the minimum required.. Other than just water landings, he taught us extended water survival, rescue techniques(in case you go in the water to save somebody that has landed there), etc.. I have taken SCUBA rescue diver training, and I still learned quite a bit from this guy.. I've seen it take as little as 10 minutes.. I jump near water(ocean, lakes, rivers, and swamps) so I want to know everything I can be taught.. Mike
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As a student, it's all on the DZ.. If you are licensed(or off student status) and renting gear, it may be different.. It will depend on the DZ and the circumstances.. If you cutaway because YOU screwed up a packjob on a rental rig, and lose the main/freebag, they may try to make you pay for it.. As a student, no decent DZ would even consider trying to make somebody pay for anything like that.. If you are a student, the rig was most likely packed by one of the DZ's packers.. If they packed the mal(and it's a packer induced mal), they can't make you pay for it.. Any other situation, who knows.. Better ask each DZ their policy on this if you are renting gear.. Mike
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Is that what you jump, Carl? I've put a few jumps on a friends rig that is a pull out, and in my opinion, it's the way to go.. No worries about PC in tow.. Many people seem to be afraid of it, though.. I guess people fear what they don't know.. Mike