indyz

The way I've seen it done is to use two contoured metal plates, one on each side of the strut, as sort of a clamp. Then the camera is attached to that and a wire for the shutter release is run into the cockpit.

Para Gear is about 30 minutes north of the city in Skokie.

It feels more cramped than a Grand Caravan to me. I think the cabin is smaller, as is the door. The straddle benches (which I hate in any aircraft) probably help make the cabin feel smaller. If I were jumping one regularly, I would prefer a padded floor and tobggan-style seating. With fifteen people, I was pretty squeezed in the floor seating section at the back. Getting into my wingsuit was a major PITA. On the plus side, it does seem to climb quite a bit faster than a Caravan. It should be noted that there are a whole lot of things that I have done out of the Grand Caravan that I didn't get a chance to try in the PAC: Climbing out to the camera step, floating from various positions, taking off a chunk, being a late diver on a 10+ way (one of the reasons I hate straddle benches), riding up near the cockpit on a crowded load, and so much more. Once I've done all of that, I can feel comfortable deciding which one is "better".

Which is unforunate, as I found last year's showers superior in almost every way, especially privacy, cleanliness, and location.

OK, this is going to be my last post on the subject because if I don't make myself clear by the end of it, I don't think I ever will. First and foremost, I am not arguing for or against go-arounds at the Convetion. Even before I walked onto the airport at my first WFFC, I knew full well that my options with a bad spot were to either get out anyway or eat the ticket. I have gotten out several times even when I knew that there was no way I was going to make it back (soccer field, corn field, bean field, in that order). I am merely at odds with Betsy's blanket statement that go-arounds at the Convention are unsafe. Secondly, I think we are working on two sides of the same argument. As far as I can tell, you acknowledge that go-arounds can be done safely, but that they are enormously incovenient for everybody involved, not to mention expensive. I agree with that 100%, and that is the point that I have been trying to make: A safe go-around can be accomplished at the WFFC, but they are generally not done because the hassle and expense are simply not worth it.

actual 3 way? or just a launch and track? i've done some 4 way launches at 3000 and less from a cessna, those are fun jumps! As I saw it from the ground, it tumbled and they spent far too much time (read: greater than zero) trying and succeeding in getting it stable again.

I believe I asked a question, and not as you put it. I never said it wasn't possible. I'm sorry Bets, I inferred that because a go-around is unsafe, that it why it is not possible to get one. Anyway, I stand by my argument that if it is safe to take off, fly a big circle while climbing, and get into the pattern, then it should also be safe to fly a big circle while maintaining altitude and get into the pattern. If the WFFC or the aircraft owners don't want to give go-arounds because it is inconvenient or not profitable, then those are their rules and I can play by them or go home. But I maintain that the pilots and ground crew at Rantoul absolutely have the ability to arrange for a safe go-around.

You know what they say about assuming. Think of the number of planes in the air, multiple jump runs, ground speeds and all the variables. Consider too the type of jumpers e.g. wing suit flyers. Go arounds are not a good idea at any large boogie with multiple jump runs and aircraft. Betsy, I was responding to the part of your post where you said that it is not possible to safely give go-arounds. If that is the case, then I simply to not see how it is possible to safely put any aircraft on a jumprun. I never said that it was easy, that it made good financial sense, or anything beyond that it is possible.

Seeing as how there are 3 jump runs and aircraft running 2 minutes apart do you really believe go arounds are safe? I'd rather walk five miles than crawl five feet. Having another group dropped on top of me isnt my idea of a good time. I would assume that a plane could arrange to get back into the pattern for a go-around the same way that they get into the pattern for their first pass.

Dropzone.com will use Verdana if you have it installed, otherwise it will try (in order) Geneva, Arial, and Helvetica. If all of those aren't available it will use your browser's default sans-serif font.

The men's showers were disgusting by Monday. I'm not sure if anybody cleaned them during the entire time I was there. The drains were jammed with clumps of hair, bars of soap, band-aids, and god knows what else. Icky. I actually preferred last year's porta-showers to the new prison style shower room. Somebody already mentioned the free soda was missing. Last year it took a little bit of effort to find, this year I couldn't find it at all. Bring back CRW organizing. I heard an announcement for CRW on (I think) the first Saturday, and I made sure to wander through the CRW tent a couple of times a day, but I never found anybody there. I can just barely afford one skydiving vacation a year, and next year I might have to choose between WFFC or, say, Crazy CRW at Perris.

At least I'm not alone. I woke up Saturday morning with a pretty decent cold and it's still going strong.

Does that girl in the pink jumpsuit live around Milwaukee? I could swear we jumped together a couple of years ago, but I can't recall anything beyond that.

Depends on the draw, but at the 2003 US Nationals the top three teams all averaged between 21 and 21.3 over ten rounds.

Some random pictures courtesy of freefall.com: - Indyz first flight - RoadRash and Casie on a golf cart - indyz + the deadly pocket bike (post wipeout) - HALO Lou - HALO Zeemax - HALO Wendy (Taffy)

"Bo, you're in the bean field." *BOOM*, cart bottoms out: "I think that was a ditch."

Are you using Windows? If so.... InterActual is pseudo-spyware that Warner Bros (and possibly others) put on some DVDs. The last time I saw it, it would autorun when you put the disc in, but the user still had to agree to install it. You should be able to uninstall it through the control panel. Two ways to stop it from running again (after you have uninstalled it from your system): 1) Use something like TweakUI to disable AutoRun on the DVD drive. This will stop anything from autorunning on the drive, which you might not want. 2) Hold down shift while inserting the disc. This disables AutoRun temporarily. I have heard that some rental DVDs won't play unless InterActual is installed. Dunno if this is true or not.

A few years back there was a great WB cartoon called Histeria, it was absolutely fantastic for adults, especially history buffs. One episode that stands out is the "sitcom" My Buddy Joe, about a kid and his hijinks with his best friend Joe Stalin.

Well, with an attitude like that... OK. how about some good advice... Bring a few rolls of your own TP. Don't ever count on any campground to have enough.

Airtec GmbH Cypres AAD Power Consumption -- Brian

0:8:0 Some good RW jumps including a night 8-way.

I once wrote a Proxomitron plugin that acted like a killfile for DZ.com. It worked but it was pretty kludgy. I've been wanting to get my feet wet writing Firefox extensions. Maybe I'll try recreating that old plugin.

Arby's Chicken Cordon Bleu, large order of potato cakes, and a Pepsi. Good stuff.

I don't look forward to going to work, but I don't dread it either. I don't really have much to do, and most of what I do do (that's awful but I don't feel like re-writing it) isn't that difficult. The management style is pretty much, "Here's what I need, here's when I need it, if I don't hear from you I'll assume everything is going fine." That suits me.

Eruption? Hot for Teacher?