mattb

possibly . . . . . may leave early and drive up to Wisconsin for some fishing on Sunday. -mob

You owe beer. Regardless of the scenario everyone always owes beer. Living in a fantasy world, -mob

My favorite jump was a sunset load I was on that went to 16k. I did a solo and laid on my back and watched the plane fly away and then went into a sit. When I finally flipped onto my belly thinking I had to be getting close to the ground I was still at 7-8,000 ft. (no wonder the dytter hadn't gone off). Really relaxing dive.

I'm no expert so this could be wrong but i think the Voodoo and Wings and anything else with the higher TSO rating are tested at higher weights. Could be mistaken. -mob

When does Skydive Twin Cities open? I drove by there the other weekend but didn't stop since nobody could tell me if they were open yet. wondering, -mob

I've seen both at the same dropzone. Sometimes the thought is put the tandems/students out first because they pull high and can fly back from farther. Think 2 jump runs in a row - no turn/etc just 10 seconds or so in between.

been using it for different e-mail/computer accounts since the later 80s, not original/creative but after a while it just fits

Wings has very good riser and pin protection. As my rigger / salesman told me - the top 5 or 6 manufacturers are all about equal. Which one do you like the looks of? Price? Time to your door? Wings is a newer company and very hot right now - hopefully the resale value will be there in a few years. my 2 cents, -mob ps - the Wings is one of only 2 containers on the market TSO'd to a higher set of standards. I'm not sure what the other one is, their marketing literature doesn't reveal that. Edited by mattb on 4/19/01 06:36 AM.

Extra packing? No thanks. I just got my gear and I brought it home unpacked because I didn't feel like struggling in front of everyone. I practiced pro-packing a few times never quite happy with the results. A friend suggested that I psycho pack it and the second try it went in the bag with no coercion needed and now the rig is sitting in my gear bag waiting to be jumped. I'm on the reward system 1 pack job = 1 jump. -mob

Zennie - I just got a new Wings with the low-profile handle which I think is similar to the Monkey Fist. I like it a lot - it is not at all difficult to find in free fall and it won't get bumped out. -mob

As long as your OK my thoughts are - "cool". Not sure I'd want to do it unless the canopy was gigantic but if nobody's hurt I'm glad you had fun.

I wish I could say my Easter involved jumping, but oh well

pretty scary - http://darwinawards.com/cgi-bin/frames.cgi?/personal/personal2001-14.html?0104

"When you're a tandem student & under canopy, do they let you work the toggles yourself & just talk you through it? Or does the tandem master do all the work?" Tandems at AFP dropzones are supposed to be "Level 0 AFP" jumps. The tandem master when I jumped let me control the turns (fast / slow /etc) and also discussed landing. Regardless of control I was a lot more confident flying under canopy myself having been there once before. I was also lucky to have a dz with a landing area the size of Rhode Island where students land about 300 yards from anything except corn. -mob

I jumped from 3K and it looked really low - I kinda want to try it again! -mob

Don't get me started about the Illinois police . . . especially Chicago trafic nazis - look the wrong way and the ticket costs you 3 jumps. :(

You knew the truth. It is not a constant. It has changed. :)

Leo - After misrouting your break line you want to give packing lessons to me? ;) Just kidding - you know more than I do. -mob

What do you have to do on a recurrency dive? just wondering, -mob ps - quit whining, at least you can flirt your way into cheaper things, imagine if you were a guy!

Chris, The rig is a Wings container with a Safire and PD Reserve. I wasn't on either of those loads - I left early, around load 12. -mob

Leo I won't be there this weekend - Easter is in Minnesota this year. If Skydive Twin Cities is open yet I'm stopping on the way to my folks house. I'll be there in 2 weeks. Any packing tips appreciated - after about 10 tries I finally got it in the bag before work this morning in a condition that I would jump it. Somebody mentioned psycho-packing it and I looked at Precision's website for instructions and I may try that. What happened on your third jump? -mob ps - I had to promise Lori that I would keep a real job in order for her to approve of the trailer.

I only got two jumps in last weekend but I think the story is still worth sharing - In Chicago the weather forecast was anyone's guess - it was supposed to be warm but might be stormy and might be windy. I'm extremely anxious because the equipment I ordered in late November has finally all arrived - for the first time ever I won't have to rent gear. Friday night I am at my girlfriend's house when her dad called - he no longer has a place to store his camper and wants to know if we'll take it to the dropzone for the summer. Yes I'm serious - this wasn't totally out of the blue but we had been wondering / waiting for sometime to see if this was going to happen. Saturday morning comes and the winds are going between 30 and 60 mph. With jumping out of the question we decide to spend the day cleaning the camper and testing everything out. We end up agreeing to purchase the trailer for a nominal fee so we have less to worry about. A trip to Home Depot and Kmart and enough supplies are purchased so that the standard of living is acceptible to Lori. Sunday comes and the weather is beautiful - 70 degrees and sunny with low winds. The dropzone is flooded (a couple of hours to get on a load!) but it is good to see all faces there at the same time instead of the random appearances during the winter months. I get my new rig and jump it twice - a fun 2-way docked sit dive and a solo just to play around. We have to leave early because life is complicated and other responsiblities called but after months of waiting I have my own gear and as an added bonus a trailer to call my summer home. Now if I could just get the *#$@!$#@in canopy into the bag! Smiling and broke after buying a rig and a camper, -mob ps - for those who know me Lori would appreciate if the "thing that can be lived in and towed behind my truck" is called a camper or weekend home and not a trailer.

The authors need to take up skydiving so they have a better use for their time and money . . .

Does anyone have a girlfriend / wife whose mother doesn't mind that you got her involved in skydiving?

Webvan came last night and brought the kind with the red cap. It was the only one they sold. I looked at Wal-Mart and couldn't find it. I'll let you know how it goes.