AndyMan

I try not to, unless I'm in a jump-ship, then I let it go with pride. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Actually, it was talking with Bram last summer that got me thinking about ratings again. Both he and Elly are excellent teachers. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Unisex bathrooms is one of the last anachronisms of the modern age. I find it odd that they keep hanging around. Make all bathrooms unisexual, but make the partitions floor to ceiling. Nobody will care. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I wear a Suunto on my wrist that I rarely use. I'll be adding a Neptune to my chest strap, on a triangular pillow. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

As a solo jumper, a faster decent rate with no forward groundspeed is easy to deal with, and has was done countless times when people were jumping rounds. PLF. There's a commonly given piece of advice that even goes so far to say that "you do not need to flare when jumping in high winds". Personally I believe that advice to be flat wrong, but there is a grain of truth in it - as long as you do a good PLF. A fast decent rate combined with forward speed is more complicated since it's more dificult to PLF with a high forward speed, unless you've got some martial arts training in rolls. Of course, I have no idea how a tandem pair would even attempt a PLF, never mind a roll... _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I start my gear-up procedures at 10,000 feet. My SOP involves popping the flash on my digital rebel and taking a shot. I use the flash to give me a visual indicator that the camera is working. I pop the flash and take another shot on jump-run, which again reinforces that the camera is functioning and hasn't entered power-save mode. I have once removed the helmet on jumprun, replugged the tongue-switch, and had enough time to put the helmet back on. Most issues that would prohibit the camera from firing are pretty simple to troubleshoot and fix. I agree, a visual indicator of shots taken in freefall doesn't seem that valuable to me. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

How hard the course is depends entirely on the course director. Expect 2-3 full days of classroom instruction, and you'll may do the jumps on your own time. The only advice I can give is to completely swallow your pride. Expect to be treated like a dog by your course director, and allow them to have as many ego trips as they desire. It's what they do. My advice is ignore what the SIM and IRM say, and pay attention only to what the course director teaches. Throw out every piece of knowledge you've ever learned and be prepared to repeat back whatever the C.D. tells you verbatim. Hopefully this isn't applicable to your situation, but be prepared. Personally, my experience in the coach course completely turned me off ever getting any more ratings. Since then I've met a few better course directors who've made me reconsider. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Strong Dual Hawk owners manual: http://www.strongparachutes.com/PDF_Files/DHTman98.pdf _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Jumpers should be wary of any airplane that uses the ENTIRE runway. When that plane is is 60 years old and has engines that burn more oil than gas, even more so. One of the sciariest jumps I've been on involved a fully loaded CASA with very tired engines, on a very hot and humid day, with a 2600 foot grass runway. There's really nothing like looking out the back of the tailgate and seeing a mass of shredded cornstocks flying aft. To get this thread back on track, I'd put a lot more faith in diverDriver's explanation about the Otter than my (admittedly) idle speculation about Skydive Chicago's long runways. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

JumpRun!, the most commonly used DZ manifest software already does this, I think... IIRC, when you print load sheets the total reported weight is printed on the bottom. The problem is that this depends on jumpers to accurately report their weight at the start of the year. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Prediction: In six monthes, the church will decide that the New Pope thing was a mistake, and will bring back Pope Classic. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

you suck. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

1: Dial in my canopy piloting 2: Get REALLY good at tandem and 4-way video 3: Finally Get my riggers rating. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Sounds like it's gonng be a fun couple of days! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

http://media2.big-boys.com/files/itstoobad.wmv Right click on link above, click "save target as..." Should work. Can't test it since I'm at work. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Kick ass! Gonna be so cool to finally meet you! _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

In the case I saw, it resulted in a reserve ride. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I have a friend who had a tandem reserve blow up a few years ago. He suffered back injuries and the passenger broke her leg. I believe he eventually got back into the sport but doesn't throw drogues anymore. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

Skydive Chicago runs both of their -27 Otters with two people in the hole. They even installed seatbelts back there. I'm not sure why they can do it but everyone else can not. It may have to do with their 3000 foot paved runway. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You can also easily view the EXIF information in Windows Explorer. Right click on the file, select "properties". Select the "Summary" tab, and hit the 'Advanced' button. All the EXIF information is displayed. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

You're stressing too much. First, even with hearing people, Everyone gets trained in a way that assumes the radio doesn't work. Doing a jump without a radio in the first place just isn't that big of a deal. Second, keep up that email conversation with Gan. They're good people there, they know what they're doing. If I remember correctly, they were one of the first DZ's to even come up with the idea of doing AFF in the first place. Even if I'm wrong, I know that they've been at this game a long time. Make sure to ask any question of them that you want to, keep asking them questions until you feel comfortable. As you prepare to do your jump, the most constructive thing you can do is have a good dialog with your instructor. I've seen a handfull of deaf people do AFF with the instructor using water-noodles as signalling devices. It doesn't really matter what the instructor uses as long as you can see it from a few hundred yards away. To answer your previous question: If practicing the signalling on your tandem makes you feel better, then do it. I don't think its necesary, though. All A/PFF students get trained to fly the parachute without external input. Flags, radios, or any other tool is only used as backup. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I saw a drogue-in-tow malfunction on a Strong rig over the weekend. After landing the TM said the rig appeared to be packed and assembled correctly. Both drogue release handles were pulled, but something kept the mechanism from opening. Video showed the drogue fully inflated, with no aparent misroutings. I didn't get a chance to ask the Rigger his thoughts. Is there a common packing error that would cause a drogue in tow on a Strong? _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

I've never heard of jet-exaust causing those symptoms. The stuff is pretty nasty, though - Jet fuel does contains benzene which is a known carcinogen. I understand It's especially bad when the engines are allowing unburnt fuel to pass through the exaust, somethign that happens when the engines are cold. I do try to avoid it as best as I can. I find it odd that I perceive a large number of people with assorted cancers in skydiving. I suspect that the causality goes the other way - that a lot of people with cancer try skydiving and like it, but every once in a while I wonder if maybe we're sucking in a bit too much jet exaust. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

If I'm working I'll often use a packer. When I'm fun jumping I'll pack for myself 90% of the time. I only use a packer when I'm working since I only work when it's busy. I'll be short on time, so I have to choose how to spend it. I can better utilize my time by doing other things, like taking ground shots of the students as they gear up. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

No. From 150 to a 117 is a HUGE step, not recomended for even expert canopy pilots. Never mind the change shape. Do not ever downsize because of a Great Deal(tm). Great Deals(tm) come along far more frequently than you'd think. Wait and get a properly sized Great Deal(tm) when it comes along. _Am __ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.