hackish

All the DZ's around me are closed and it's getting cold here. In December I'm going down for the PRI conference in Orlando. So I looked it up in MapQuest and Deland isn't too far away. Hell ya I want to go jump there! Not being from the area is the beginning of December likely to have blue skies or will it be just a shot in the dark? I called and asked about gear rental and if my CSPA solo would be good there. Asked about the weather and they only said it'll be cold. Can anyone explain what cold is down there in December? Do the regulars jump? I'd be very interested in talking to any locals - especially since I'd love to do my RW coach jumps if anyone has their C2... -Michael

So I'm reading Poynter again... I'm not sure if this is a typo or my not understanding... P. 83 in the poynter II manual under 4.0.56 Cotton Thread It says: Thread numbering: The numbers on the spool indicate the size of the yarn used in the thread. "24-4" is made of four number 24 yarns. Lower numbers indicate heavier yarns. For example 61-4 is heavier than 24-4. I figured for sure this was just a simple typo so I looked in the lady's thread box and located some thread stamped 244 and some 604. Sure enough the 604 was like twice the size. I did some searching on these forums and found nothing. Asked my friend google and it came up with a variety of different answers. The local fabric store was completely useless and their threads were labelled only T1-T12. So which is correct? -Michael

The upholsterer is someone who isn't really in the "industry" it's just the guy (or gal) you call in when you need those seats recovered. I'm expected to hammer and weld things all day... On another aside I'm getting frustrated with the locals... Figured I'd fix my zipper on my winter jacket so I went shopping at the local craft/fabric stores. I wanted a quality seam ripper - they only had 1 type and had never had anyone who wanted anything other than their $0.99 chinese piece. I asked if they had any "E" thread in nylon. They had no idea so I asked if they had any size 69. Don't ask how I remembered that commercial equivalent. Again - no idea - they said well we have different colours. I went through the rack and they seem to be labelled completely differently size T1-T12. No idea what that means... I asked for Cordura and they'd never heard of it. So I asked about Duck. No idea either. So I asked about pack material still no idea. Same type of experience at 2 different stores. Am I just asking the wrong questions or are they dummies? -Michael

Ok, so I tune engines for a living. You'd think the 50th honda civic with the same engine and a turbo attached would be just another tuning job. It's not - everything has it's own little differences and quirks. Different uses (drag racer, street driven, customer who beats on it constantly etc etc etc). Different setups, (big turbo, small turbo, stock engine modded engine etc)... I've said many times that when it becomes just another engine then it's time to move on and find something different to do. I often hear people talk about my type of work as "just another..." but really it's not what you're doing it's how you approach what you're doing that makes the difference. I think if you truly enjoy what you're doing as I do you'll spend the time to find details and prevent anything from becoming monotony. -Michael

I have a rare opportunity to travel down to Florida in December so I think I may book a few extra days and go try to find Deland... Maybe there will be a canopy course around that time... Unlikely but I'll check. Aside from that I may be up for a PST trip through the winter... -Michael

I work in the auto industry. I can't imagine anyone finding out that I'll learn to sew. I don't think I'll get any flak for it they already think I'm crazy... (That guy over there - jumps out of airplanes!!!)

To answer your question, yes arnprior. The wind was going from left to right. The uppers were so strong the spot was about 2 mi over the bridge (not in the picture). We were a little short on the first jump. The first 2 out the door were retrieved somewhere off the right side of the airport - I didn't see. The lower winds were more toward the background. I managed to make it down about 20m from the short grass with the building and airplanes to my back. Too bad for crappy jumping conditions this weekend :( I like MH but the water scares me! -Michael

I wouldn't class titanium as a great material for making these. Titanium isn't really that strong - it has an exceptional strength to weight ratio. The key to making one of these powertools so it won't bend is going to be in the heat treatment of the metal. -Michael

So I extracted the data from my altimeter. On front risers I was descending at a rate of 16mph. I must have let up on the fronts earlier than I thought because at 100ft the descent rate dropped to a steady 11mph until the flare/landing. -Michael

At 200' (63m) you probably crossed the cutoff velocity and the unit decided to fire. As for the reserve not coming out that strikes me as a far more serious question to ask the rigger when the reserve system is inspected. Maybe incorrect loop material was used? Maybe the cutter was defective, maybe the PC spring wasn't in spec. -Michael

My first and only cutaway I peeled the tab and gave it a tug with my wrist. I followed through by pulling it all the way out and throwing it away like I should have - muscle memory at that point. The flick of the wrist released the main and the RSL beat me to the silver but I still pulled it all the way out (as per training). Didn't realise it was still in my hands until I flared for the landing. I think the big risk is to have a partial disconnection by not pulling the cutaway far enough. I believe the cables should be set by the rigger so one is about an inch longer so the RSL side is pulled by the last riser to leave. -Michael

Of course I caught hex's sarcasm - was just adding to it... I've asked around a lot between Brian Germain's and Scott Miller's canopy courses. Most of the people who have taken both referred me to the latter. If I ever make it down to Deland I'll make sure he's there giving a course at the same time. I was looking for some more challenge under canopy but since my DZ closed I started going to a different one. It's surrounded on 3 sides by water and I think some high winds were enough of a challenge for now. I also asked around about canopy coaching and was met by blank looks. -Michael

I assume you got your numbers mixed up and meant something sub-200. I've still got lots to learn on this 210 thanks. -Michael

The thing that's difficult to explain on the interweb is that a lot of things are usually considered before deciding to do something - especially when my ass is on the line. I try to explain thoroughly what was considered before the choice was made. This may sound like I'm making excuses or trying to justify something but it is not. I felt that front-risering down was the best choice and at a reasonable altitude the risers were no longer being held and I transitioned to flaring. Maybe front-risering down was a bad choice but it didn't seem dangerous nor did I feel like I had achieved a dangerously high sink rate. Maybe I'll see if I can get the sink rate out of the altimeter. -Michael

If I hadn't front riser'd it down I would have never made it back. The real situation had to do with the actual landing, not the extended front-riser approach. It seemed to me the right thing to do given that I wasn't moving forward at all. As for going again I waited about 4h between jumps... waiting for the winds to die down and watched as people came in. They appeared good and things would have been ok. I just screwed up the second landing and decided it was best to pack it in before getting hurt. On the second jump, landing approach and penetration weren't really a problem. An hour or so later the winds picked up again and they stopped jumping. -Michael

I figured it was the high horizontal speed that was causing all the broken femurs and other things from front riser landings. I guess that I ended up doing pretty much the right thing. Unfortunately there wasn't really anyone paying attention to criticize it. The second landing of the day was a few degrees off the wind line during 15mph winds - it was a hard PLF and I decided to pack it in. Thanks for years of getting thrown around in aikido. Shortly thereafter they stopped jumping. -Michael

If the driver could get me up to 13k in 9 minutes as some DZs advertise then I suppose the wallet would run out faster in the weekend than the daylight. This past weekend I got to... erm had to front-riser a landing a bit. I still had a good standup but it was one of those jumps that was dodgy at best. Upper winds were about 70mph and the lower winds had gone from 5 on takeoff to 20 by the time I landed. I got set up for final at about 1000' drifting backwards over the landing area so I held the front risers hard enough for no penetration. Wow my triceps are sore. Now for the question... I had absolutely 0 ground speed but eased off the fronts about 25' above the ground and went for a flare to reduce the sink rate. The trouble was this made me swing forward and obviously start moving backwards. I know this was far from ideal and I landed walking backward and nearly got dragged off my feet shortly after! Is it better in a situation like this to stay at full flight or a bit of fronts and accept a fast sink rate rather than try to run it out backwards? Bear in mind too that I'm flying a sabre 210 so it's no rocketship. -Michael

From talking to a number of DZO's I think that you reach a critical point where you'll be considered an experienced skydiver by pretty much everyone despite the local "licensing system". Certainly if you achieve your "A" license that should meet the minimum criteria for everywhere. I know I called around a few US dropzones just thinking of a winter trip and when I said that I had only a CSPA solo they asked how many jumps. When I said 40 they usually said "sure, you'll be just fine". -Michael

I think the cost associated with the travel would far outweigh the benefit of a few more seconds of freefall time. -Michael

Yes, I found only a vague mention of using it to seal a main shut and the sealing method for a 2 pin system was also covered. -Michael

The rigger is the one who certifies the packjob and the equipment. If the yahoo did a supervised pack and the rigger whom you trust and find to be very particular supervised it then I would suggest it should have been done as well as if he had done it himself or it wouldn't have been sealed and delivered to you. -Michael

Interesting point. I'll have to see what poynter vol 1 has on it :P -Michael

Never heard of the slice network. Of course I'm in Ottawa not TO. I do know there is a lot of conflict with some skydiving families but I've found the right woman and there is never any confict. Sorry no good TV material for me... Unfortunately this request comes at the wrong time of year... Most of the skydiving places are closed now. Maybe go down to a dropzone - get your network to pay for a tandem so you can understand the sport you're going to do a show on... -Michael

I got the altitrack after having tried most of the popular mechanical ones. It's far cooler... I love the fact it tracks my freefall time and shows opening altitude plus speed and all that. -Michael

I got the clear soares and that is what my instructor asked that I get. Don't hesitate to ask their opinion and advice. In the big scope of things goggles aren't that expensive so you could also get one of each - you can decide for yourself which you prefer and also have a backup pair. -Michael