BikerBabe

Me too, eeneR...me too. We'll be arriving on the 12th. However, I've heard that if they get it early, they are just going to go bigger! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

I know it sounds really bad, but I've lost 10 lbs so far by trying a low-carb diet. Not really Adkins, since I still eat a few carbs a day, but I've definitely cut back. The first week or so was really hard...all I wanted was a roll or even a sandwich! But after a month or so, I find myself missing the carbs less and less. I've also discovered a local nutrition store that sells low-carb bread, pasta, candy bars (which are really yummy), and just about everything you can imagine. Plus (sorry to all the vegetarians on here), I lOVE meat. red meat. steak. And I don't feel guilty eating it any more. I'd like to lose about 10 more lbs, then start adding the carbs back in to see how many I can eat and still maintain. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

One thing that might help (sort of along the lines of what Luminous posted) is something I didn't learn until I had hundreds of jumps. When you get down to do the debrief, before you say a single word about what went wrong on the jump, pick out the things you did well. Tell your JM that you want to do the debrief this way. For example, you walk into the debrief room and sit down. Watch the video (if you have it) once through without saying anything. Then point out the GOOD things you did. "I think my PRCT's were really good this time. My exit was good too, I was nice and stable. And I had a kick-ass stand up landing!" Now it's time to move on to improvements. Not "things you screwed up" but improvements you want to make next time. You may not know why you started spinning, but that's where your JM can help you out. And be specific on the improvements. "I want to work on not spinning" is a little too vague. If your JM says you dropped one leg, for example, then say, "I want to work on not dropping that leg next time". I think this is an incredibly positive debrief style, and you learn so much. I learned this style of debrief from the best...it's the structure that Arizona Airspeed uses. Here's some wise advice from Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld, one of the best skydivers in the world. On every single jump there is something good. Remember what that is, and forget the bad stuff. If you can replicate what was good, you'll be doing your best. That's why teams make "Best of" tapes as a training aid. So on the ride to altitude, think "I was stable on exit and during my PRCT's...so that means I CAN fly stable. What was I doing then that I wasn't doing when I started spinning?" See what I mean? Get caught up in what you're doing RIGHT. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

jtval, I agree with you, and I think you should do something...whatever you decide to do will hopefully make a difference. I remember one time I was on South Padre Island and I saw a group of girls sunbathing. Get this....they had a garrison-sized flag (that's one of the huge ones) laid out on the sand and they were all laying on it! And this wasn't a towel printed with the flag...this was an actual, no-shit, flag. Well, I marched right over there (with some of my friends) and told them what was what. I don't think I'd ever been so angry. Ignorant bitches... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

There are tons of FF-ers around that will probably be willing to help you out. I think the Sugar Gliderz are going to be hanging around as well...they are great gals and incredible freeflyers. But call Eloy first and ask...you never know what AFI and AZ Freeflight have available. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OK, I'm not PRO rated, but I was a member of the Air Force Academy Demo team for 2 years, and I've done a lot of smoke jumps into large demos. You'll need to find a bracket that you can strap to your boot (and DO wear boots if you're going to do it) that will keep the smoke canister secure, but is easily releasable in case of an emergency. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend NOT wearing baggy pants/freefly suit/booties. the extra material can catch on fire. If you have a Nomex flight suit, that would be the best. Nomex is what military fllight suits are made of...it's very fire resistant. The way we always deployed smoke is by tying a piece of 550 cord or other some such non-flammable string to the trigger on the canister, then leaving a long enough line to be able to tape it to your upper thigh. Leave a loop in the end to grab. Then when you exit, you just reach down and yank on the cord, and it pulls the smoke. The tape is just to hold it there, you'll have no problem pulling the cord. We'd pull the smoke just after exit, and it would usually last until sometime in the middle of the canopy ride. We were jumping big slow canopies, so it was a slightly longer descent than under normal sport canopies. When we'd land, we'd have our ground crew remove the entire smoke bracket from our foot, put down our gear, and do a line-up. Basically, it's important to have an experienced ground crew as well, just in case of emergencies, and to help you when you land. You'll definitely want to remove the entire bracket BEFORE you take your rig off. Finally, when wearing smoke, take SPECIAL care to never EVER overfly the crowd, because you never know when that hot canister could fall off your foot, or the slag could fall into the crowd. One other thing...if you use colored smoke, be prepared to have a tinted canopy! Hope that helps a little...but your best bet would be to talk to someone (in person) who has experience. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Enrique, you might want to check out the Southwest skydiving league web page. I think they are doing a team network thing this year, where you can put an ad out for a 4th. IF not that, you can email Eric, the SSL director, and he might be able to help you. I'm not sure of the link, but you can get there from the NSL website, just click on "Southwest" on the side. www.skyleague.com Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...I was thinking the EXACT same thing! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Actually, the survey/test they gave the kids was not like the one posted above. Check it out: http://cranede.nationalgeographic.com/geosurvey/templates/question_1.html basic multiple choice questions. And the test DID allow them to answer all of the questions, even if they got the first one wrong...It even gives the stats on the different countries' scores on each question. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...OK, if you don't want to go to Florida or can't afford it, try the surgical gloves. That's what I use, and it works. I've also seen people wear those thick neoprene scuba diving gloves, but since I'm super-paranoid about not being able to pull because of big/thick gloves, I use the latex (or that latex-alternative) gloves. Or...just go to Florida. Or Arizona...both are rather warm this time of year! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Oh, no, that won't work. I know them too! Seriously folks, Gordo will do us proud! He's a great camera flyer (er...videographer ) as evidenced by his over 1000 jumps THIS year... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

We'll just see about that, now won't we? Well, if you take me out on these loads, there will be a heck of a lot more people mad at you! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Take a look at The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Sort of a first person shooter/RPG/Adventure hybrid that has really good replayability and will take HOURS to finish. It's a really great game, and very open, meaning you can do whatever you want in whatever order you want. And the game world is VAST. Tons to explore. I'm on my second game, and it's completely different than the first based on what type of character you choose to play. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Texas...figures. Actually, it's a state by state thing...Ohio requires both plates. New Mexico only requires the rear plate. Obviously Texas requires both... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

As a tail flyer myself, I tend to agree with you. Not that I can't outface when I want to, it just makes more sense to me from a continuity standpoint to keep the tail facing in. Of course it all depends on your continuity plan... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

OK, I may sound archaic, but one of the easiest and best ways to learn how to spot, IMHO, is to go up with someone who knows how to use them and throw a set of WDIs. Of course I'm talking from a small-DZ perspective, I understand that having a WDI pass at a large DZ isn't really feasible, but most DZ's that size are GPS equipped, anyway. I continually see bad spots, and people that don't know how to spot, and I still wonder why people don't use WDIs anymore. Especially at non-GPS DZ's. When you know all the info (winds aloft, etc) and use the WDI's, it will only take you a couple of times to figure out how the winds affect the spot, and you won't need to use them ever again. There's a reason we use them at demos... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

*sneaking in from the RW forum...* This doesn't only apply to freeflying, you know. The best FS teams will tell you that they score the most points when they are the most relaxed...and they all do some deep breathing on the plane... OK, I'll go away now... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL! I know...I just happened to be flying point that day...luckily! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Try this: As you are turning away from the formation, start de-arching through your hips. Do this BEFORE you bring your arms back and extend your legs, so you don't go into a dive. Once you're de-arched, bring your arms back, roll your shoulders forward, and press your feet and lower legs down against the air. I look where I'm going or all around me for other jumpers, depending on the size of the formation. Finally, I've learned that if I can feel air on my chest, I'm not de-arched enought through my chest and shoulders and my track isn't as flat as it could be. If I can't feel air on my chest, then I'm doing it right. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

LOL...I already have it narrowed down to 2 names. C'mon guys, formation loads are a rush! And I've seen those Airspeed guys (and gal) put together big ways that work, even with people who have less than 100 jumps... Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Well well well...I'm guessing in my head which Airspeed member will be doing this... I dunno about Gordo, though...he has a penchant for doing 5-ways... What day were we planning on doing this again? Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

Breakfast food? Dessert? Where's the choice for: "Random J in the IPC Dive Pool"? It's honestly what I first thought of...I'm a skydiving geek, I know. Makes me think of that list "you know you're a skydiver when..." Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

2:2:0 Hubby and I were actually home together for a change all weekend! 2 jumps on a slow day at the DZ...studying for a test today. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

bleah...NASCAR...bleah 2-wheel racing is where it's at. Formula 1 is good, too! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

YAY! You have to come, Michele, so we can jump together! Only 39 days to go! Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!