dbattman

The 'Firefly' series just showed up from Netflix. Wow- that was a cool show! I like how they keep up the premise that the crew DOES NOT like each other, rather than doing 'happy family in space'

I just don't care any more. Just thought you'd all like to know.

Heh- I'm sure that will happen alot. How often does the plane takeoff and someone asks 'What are the winds doing?' I end up doing that now and again myself.

Here's a thought (take with salt, please). Someone sues you and gets a $10 million judgement. There is no $10 million. So what? Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't there a limit to how much income they can attach? We don't have debtors prison here, either.

Ya know, a better solution would be to have a small aerial of the airport with the jumprun diagramed on it with a dry erase amrker. We have one out on the busy days and it's pretty clear where to fly.

Panzwami has it right. Just keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine. If you have lead weights, put them in your checked bag- they show up solid on x-ray.

It was a pleasure having ya around! Keep working on those tandem packs. Keep flockin' -David

I just finished 'The Gypsy Moths' coutesy of Netflix. If you can get through the 70 minutes of drama, some of the skydiving sequenced are pretty coolt. I liked the special feature about the skydivers themselves on the DVD version. Some of the multi-canopy shots were pretty good, and the tear-away jumpsuit had me laughing hard. Someone told me about a movie where the camera man had a Polaroid mounted on his helmet. Anyone know the name? I'll add it to my list.

HSA's are an extension of the Medical Savings Accounts that have been around for a few years. Congress only 'authorized' a few hundred thousand MSA's as a kind of experiment and HSA's are either new or coming this year. I'd do a search and look into it a little more- there is too much detail to go into here. Basicly you accept the idea that health care is your responsibility and you don't ecpect every little thing to be covered. You carry a high deductible policy (I mean high like $2500+) and put the some or all of your premium savings in a tax free account to cover the smaller stuff. Do some research, but last year an accident/hospitalization through BSBC with a $500 deductible was under $100/month.

Alrighty- I need to go to TN next week anyways and you're probably on my way. I'll need to sneak in some time to hit Rome as well, but I can stop in for a day.

Not true. I've yet to be on a load where intentional downwinders weren't announced - yes I know it does happen - but I've been on FAR, FAR more loads where the landing direction was established prior to take off because of light and variable conditions only to be met by some smart ass saying "I'm landing into the wind no matter what" and hence another DANGEROUS flag chaser is born. It has been my experience (and once again I realize this is only my experience and others mileage may vary) but oftentimes experienced (read: good) swoopers have some of the best patterns, and are very good about announcing (and aborting if necessary) unorthordox landing directions. Blue ones, Ian Well, that happens as well. I've been run down a few times already this season by downwinders and I had a few swoopers scream right past me in the normal pattern as well. At many dropzones experienced jumpers are rewarded witha closer landing area and a shorter walk to the hanger. I'm all for that, but I hate seeing someone do a hook right past my canopy. I liked the patterns out at Elsinore, myself. Experienced area was closer, students farther out, and swoopers had the longest walk where there was the least traffic. Not an option at many places due to space, but I have yet to be on a load where someone said "I'm downwinding the beer-line." Singling out swoopers wasn't intentional, but my point is that 'first man down' rule sucks when your not jumping a 182.

When I moved from 182s to turbine DZs I found that the 'first person down' rule falls apart when you have more than a porter in the air. First one down is probably a downwind swooper, or winds are light and variable so a jumper sets up at both ends (now who's first?), or someone is lurking and wants to go through the windblades. This gets to be a big problem when swoopers and regular pilots share the same landing area. Everyone has a different opinion, but I've never liked 'first man down' and I'd rather have an established pattern on the ground. If you want to swoop downwind through a common landing area, go farther out and walk back. Yeah, I know downwinders are supposed to tell the load but they never do. Just my $.02.

If cost vs. coverage is a definite factor, consider an Accident/Hospitalization plan. Accidents and illness requiring hospitalization are covered, but routine doctor stuff is not. Getting the flu isn't any fun to pay for, but if it's $2000 a year versus $1000 a year that's something to think about. Read up on the new Health Savings Accounts. These are high-deductible insurance plans but you contribute to a tax-free savings/investment account to pay for smaller routine stuff. This might be a good option for you.

Anyplace out there running a DC-3 for the season? I've always wanted to jump one.

Here's to a great injury-free weekend . If you weren't there, you missed out. Flew 20 loads on Saturday. Great RW dives with Guy Wright. The local EMS got a workout when someone called 911 about a plane crash. I guess they got a little spooked when the sunset tracking dive landed about two miles out. If you see Doke, congratulte him on his accuracy- he couldn't have aimed for that pickup any better. Glad he's OK- the side mirror took the brunt of it. And you can change my login to 'GoLowDave'

WARNING: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT FOOD MAKES YOU FAT

Here-here! Everyone stick some paper in the next boot drive they see.

Be easy on yourself. Get a $2 million from Blue Cross and be done with it. A full coverage 80/20 was $125/month, but just the accident and hospitalization was about $75 for me (31 yr non-smoker). That would cover anything like a break or a sickness that required admission, but not routine stuff. Please, don't be one of those guys that screws himself in without insurance.

I'd highly recommend Orange, VA. Just polish up your resume before airing the show.

A dropzone is one of the LAST places on Earth to film a family show. Whoo boy- the phones would be ringing off the hook right after the first moon!

If cost is a definite deterent, look around for and consider a static line program. There are still some clubs around that will dope-rope you out of a cessna for a reasonable price. When I learned they were $35 each.

I had a great time stalling a Cobalt 150 the weekend. I was considering buying it so I put it through the paces. Weird thing is, it wasn't going into a complete stall. It would start to buck a little bit and with a little more toggle pressure it would actually flip into a spin just like a toggle turn Perhaps I was a little uneven on the toggles but it was the strangest thing. Much different from a Falcon or a Monarch stall.

Agh! Beat me to it! COUNT OFF!

I read about this being defeated on the USPA website, but could not locate any further information. Does anyone know what this was about?

I got a video in the mail about 1.5 years ago from AOPA titled 'Lost and Crossed.' It was targeted to address the growing popularity and dependence on GPS in the GA community. It start out with the pilot in his preflight setting up his GPS. Mentions the importance of extra batteries, so here they are. Good for him. Midflight his GPS dies. Spare batteries? In his flight bag back in the baggage hold. Checks his VORs and he's in a dead spot. Whoops. Everything the flight examiner asks during his exam will be targeted to safety. What's the endurance of his 152? Four hours- correct but unsafe. Flying four hours in a 152 will leave a 15 minute reserve. For a short field takeoff use the entire runway and an additional option would be to get out and push the plane back to the edge. If you have to do that, should you even be taking off right now? The examiner will also try and get David flustered and throw things at him that he might not expect. Up until now everyone has been a licensed, experienced pilot. Throw in a normal person and strange things will happen. I walked up to the plane with the examiner and the first thing he did was stick his arm through the prop arc into the cowling. Grab it and yank it back. He starts fiddling with the controls? Slap his hands off. He starts asking other questions and other stuff? Ignore him- deal with the airplane first, passengers second. The practical will be tough. Everything will come at him bang-bang-bang. Maneuvers will be quick and cockpit tasks will be thrown at him in quick succession. He needs to be ready. Chime in pilots- was your practical tough as hell? What happened to you? As far as a 'grad gift' check out the Barry Schiff book series. It's a license to learn, so fill his empty head with knowledge!