dbattman

That man never stops amusing me. Here's your jacket Jessee. I'll be right behind you. Can anyone think of one time the race pimp had has his ass really hanging out there to try and help another human being? I can't, but then again I'm only 32.

Go Rocket!

Turn it into the National Wildlife Mosquito Preserve.

There is no shortage and the pipeline is not busted. The pipeline is wired for power with flatbed generators and is expected to be back at full capacity next week. There is plenty of gas in the storage tanks around Atlanta but it will take some time to replenish the filling stations that were run yesterday. Nothings changed from Monday or Tuesday except some people on the radio Wednesday morning flapping their gums about gas running out. This morning I hear a soundbite from some interview with a trucker this morning who says every station in Gwinnette county is officially out of gas. Good grief- where do people get this stuff? If you want to help the temporary gas 'crisis' as the refineries get going again check you tires for proper inflation and then add a few extra pounds. Being a few pounds low can significantly eat into your mileage. I keep mine at 35 even though it's placarded for 29 and I get about 5-10% better mileage. I also don't have wear patterns on the outer edge as much leaving me to think Nissan underrated their tire pressure for some reason.

After it is up and running for awhile, I'd be interesting in seeing a report on it's performance, maintenance, jump costs, etc. Is there anyone around leasing these to DZs yet?

You are probably reaching up after deployment to immediately grab the risers. I used to do this when I was first starting out and had the same types of bruises. Try not to do that unless you have twists. When you reach up like that you are also shifting in the harness and changing the pull of the risers on the opening which can cause other issues like the line twists you are trying to avoid. Pitch out, keep your arms out to the sides and go limp in the harness after the snatch unless you need to grab the risers for a twist or malfunction. Not only will you help the bruising, but your openings will probably be better.

Sorry- I thought you were still going pops and could tell Spence. I don't need to drive to NC to be miserable- I can do that at home. Everyone else have fun, though.

And again, where did I say that they can't kill you? Sure, a guy died from an RSL on a 1:1. I've never suggested it can't happen. Let's look at THE REST of the section where you have taken a fragment and singled it out. Did I correctly state that they are NOT substitutes, that they are NOT to be relied on? Yes, people fuck up- you said it yourself. I don't know why those two guys didn't pull silver- maybe the handle got knocked out of the harness and he couldn't find it. Maybe his glasses got knocked off and he couldn't see where he was or if he was on his back before he pulled. No one knows why but the two deceased, but the simple fact remains that they fucked up and they were trained to know better.. A good reason to not have an RSL is they can kill you. They can and have caused problems and I have not read anyone with acceptable experience in this thread suggest that they CAN'T cause a problem. Fine. Do they not have an upside as well, considering that we all fuck up? Sure, but as I closed my post it's a personal decision to have one or not.

I'm sorry Ron, but will you kindly point out where I said they can't cause problems? Perhaps I missed something in my own post. Sure, it can kill you on a 1:1 if you have a really bad situation and a streak of bad luck. It can also save your dumb ass when you have fucked up multiple times in a row and are now chopping at under a grand over the high voltage power lines.

You'll be fine. Just do us fellow skydivers a big favor and be discrete about it. Don't go screwing with your audible on climbout, either.

Finally, there we have it. It only took THREE pages for someone to finally point out that the RSL/NO RSL argument should be dependent on the situation, not on the possibility of it could help you or it could cause another problem. You do CRW? Fine, no RSL. You jump a camera? Fine, no RSL. You jump a tiny VX? Fine, no RSL. You jump a square at 1:1? Why not have one? You do a lot of big way stuff where you can get sucked low tracking for air? Why not have one (small canopy, maybe ?) You're a new jumper working on awareness and learning the sport? Why not have one? If I'm not mistaken, we lost two people at WFFC from low cutaway/no pull. Yes, the RSL is NOT to be depended on. Yes, the RSL is NOT a replacement for acting appropriately in executing your procedure. Yes, we DO NOT rely on electro-mechanical devices, AADs, altimeters to be accurate, or RSLs to pull our handles for us. BUT- if the shit is really going down, they can throw the odds in your favor. Do you have a GOOD reason for NOT having an RSL? Fine, don't have one. If you DON'T have a good reason for taking it off, perhaps you should reconsider. It's a personal decision and we should not push people in one direction or the other, but give them enough information to make an informed choice.

Careful. don't confuse 'racial' with 'racist.' 'Racial' is refering to racial characteristics. 'Racist' refers to the belief that one race is superior or inferior to another. Native Americans were proud. They had dignity, they were resourceful, and they were charitable by teaching newcomers to the Western world how to survive. And when they got pissed off with the same newcomers pushing into their land they kicked ass too, wearing red war paint. Hmmmm, 'Redskins' sounds like a pretty pround, strong, domineering, ass-kicking name for a football team to me.

Well, that depends. Mascots and team names, IMHO, are often picked for characteristics (real or figurative) that we would like to see 'transfered' or associated with the team. Raiders, Bears, Bengals, Pirates, Buffalo, Giants, Vikings, Mariners- all strong, dominant themes that fans like seeing transfered to their sports teams. When I was in University from '91-95 the school team was the Miami Redskins. For those that don't know, Miami Universtiy is in Oxford, OH and is named for the Miami Tribe that originaly inhabited that area. In fact, a wealthy individual purchased two large parcels of land in what would become Florida and named one after his home city of Dayton (Daytona) and the other after his geographic region the Miami Valley (Miami). There's a long history of how the team became the Redskins starting with early references to Big Red and such, but when it was adopted for the athletic department the University continued their long tradition of working with the Tribe to design the dress, imagery and logos (none of which were extreme characitures like the Cleveland Indians). The mascot wore traditional ceremonial dress, spent several weeks during the summer living with the Tribe absorbing the culture and practicing the dances for the games and I never, ever, saw him doing a big jumping split during a game. Any member of the Miami Tribe is admitted to the University free of charge which had been going on for a long time. So, what about 'Redskin'? When the European settlers were pushing West (invading Indian lands, admittedly) and the Indians would attack they wore red war paint, so the settlers called them 'redskins'. Again, a dominant aggressive theme that people associate with a bunch of people battling it out on the gridiron, or the ice, or the diamond. Racist? I wouldn't go nearly that far but then again we live in this new 'ultra-sensative' world where you can be charged with assault for wearing too much cologne because some people might have strong allergies or sensitivities to odors (it's happened in Canada). As far as the Miami sports team, the new name is the 'Redhawks' with their mascot 'Swoop.' Disgusting. If they had to bow to PC they should have changed it to the 'Miami Tribe' and kept the strong ties to the indigineous Miami Indians. I can see where some people would be upset with the logos of Indians with oversized noses, or comical characitures but just blanket- targeting anything with an ethnic orient is going overboard. Oh, and a group of Colorado students, trying to call attention to this issue with the old 'reverse psycology' of "how about the 'Cleveland Paleskins'? How would you like that!?" did have an intramural team named the 'Fighting Whities.' Their idea backfired when they were swamped with phone calls and emails by white folks wanting to know how they could buy a T-shirt.

It's not the flying conservative part that will kill you. It's the guy who cuts you off at 200 ft. It's the out landing where you need to snake it along the treeline before cutting a 90 to set it down in grandma's back yard. It's the oh shit panic turn that dives you sideways. It's reaching out with that hand to break a fall and turning into the ground. Downsize into a semi- you'll have plenty of fun. Come back in about another 500 jumps and start thinking about a medium load elliptical.

Has anyone suggested a bonus payout to all the employees that generated that cash flow to begin with?

When I was taking flying lessons, I'd fly a chair in my room practicing stalls and such. Then I'd go out and practice landing patterns around the coffee table. What fun!

Not quite sure how to handle the parents- mine were always cool with it since they know I'm not going to run off and do something reckless. If it's local, have them come out for a Saturday afternoon and see for themselves. If you still want to be active in the sport learn to pack tandems and rigs and bust ass on Saturday. You will earn more just one day a week at the DZ than 20+ hours as a student worker (I know- I spent more time working than I did sitting in class). Recruit at the college and bring in tandems for a referal fee. Bust ass Sunday night thru Friday on your studies and cut out every candy bar, vending machine Coke, student union coffee, every newspaper and magazine. Once they see you are handling your college finances to the max they might soften a bit. Otherwise I wouldn't fight them too much on it- I remember being your age and it turns out my parents really did know what they were talking about.

I'm not saying don't do it, just work out the economics. Just having a bunch of locals knock out a 182 would probably work for what you want to do. There could already be a cargo 182 in the area ready for jumping. To spin a turbine you'll need about $180 minimum per load just to break even so you'd probably need >20 fun jumpers committed just to get an operator interested. That's not including the ferry costs. Sure, you could line things up a month out and get some tandems, but then you need to consider airport approval, waivers, video dubbing, tandem rig rentals. Spence has extensive experience in this area- used to bring in a 182 to jump into his yard a few times a year. Maybe you could do the legwork for a 'RoamingDZ Augusta'?

In either case. let us know about your coworkers experience. I'd be interested to hear if she had a good flight and experience or if the glider side is the same as the skydiving side.

Good luck with the economics. Better off just driving and camping in the hanger.

Have all four been confirmed dead? Reports say they are still looking for two.

If you are not getting full flare either your lines are too long for your size or you are not getting full extension with your arms. Have you spent time playing with the canopy from 13k down? Take it up there and practice flaring. See how the canopy responds. Then take some extra brake line in your hands (consult your staff for the best way to do this- I'm not a big fan of wrapping the line around your hands) and do it some more. This should give you an idea of what the issue could be. A few inches of brake line can make a huge difference. Also check out your stall point- it should be right around full extension or just past it. By full extension I mean both elbows locked and you arer pushing down farther with your shoulders. If it is too high you can stall much easier which is a big no no when you are getting near the hard deck. Don't give up yet. Seek out a good canopy coach- you probably just have a technique issue to sort out. Try taking this to 'canopy control' forum. Also consider that the Spectre is a seven cell with a different approach profile than a nine cell.

Sure, keep it clean. The only words of advice I like to give to new students is: 1- Listen 2- Comply 3- Confess Follow those and you should be good. Oh, and be careful who you take advice from for the first few hundred jumps and back everything up with multiple sources. Opinions and mileage vary.

Static line rocked- nothing like climbing out on a strut and looking ALLLLLL the way down to jack up the pucker factor. Your first clear and pull off the rope will be an amazing feeling. I had mine on video off a wing cam and when I started critiquing myself the instuctor said 'Hey, Dave, you did great- you pulled! You didn't give us a heart attack like some people out here.' Enjoy it- it only gets better from here.