dterrick

You need some sort of friendly wager involving a similar $ value to an AFF1 dive (if you can do that right away) or a tandem. They pay for their dive and you reimburse them if they don't think it's better than riding (or 'other things') - but the proof has to be in the video of them grinning (or being scared shitless)... and THEY have to declare which it will be. I defy ANYONE not to be overwhelmed on their first jump so if someone says 'ya, I can handle that' then put 'em to the test. they fail and you make them sign up for their next AFF dive... (or pay for yours) I bet you create a skydiving buddy and the rest of the crowd soon follows I used to ride dirt a bit and still have a road ticket. Skydiving aint like any bikin' I ever did ... or sports car racing in a GT2 240Z that hit 130 mph on the strait... or downhill skiing.... Dave PS: any 'juice' for me on this sucker bet? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ummmm. go find some rapids and REALLY enjoy the raft?? Seriously white water rafting is as much fun and likely more dangerous than a raft dive. I highly reccommend the experience. I will, however, defer to others on how to get one to 'float' in the air. Happy 100th ... and don't forget to bring clean clothes for after the pie-ing Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

There's no 'depends' I didn't vote. I can see both sides of the arguement. A GLARING fault (like an unstowed toggle on an eliptical) would concern me more than the cost of the repack (I'm pretty anal about my packing and I'd be harder on myself than anyone else). A QUESTIONABLE fault (spin up on opening, etc) would require discussion over beers. A 'shit happens' fault, well, where do you stop? I might offer my rig as a loaner until the repcak was done as a friend (like anyone wants to jump my Raven anyway...). What about a hard opening? My rigger/DZO packed my main for me right in front of my eyes promising that 'I'd have at LEAST one nice opening this weekend' - and that pack job slammed me to the point I had to quit for the weekend. Shit happens. No ill will, but as a rule I pack my rig, student rigs (per DZO perocedure), and any rig that I am loaned - only. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

No you don't Brian - I DO Now, to REALLY stir you up, on the back of some cards there is a bio. From card #85 (Carrie Fisher quote on her character): "she's great! She's not some cream-filled damsel in distress. She can do it on her own" Seriously. Oh my twisted mind... Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

My parents were cleaning up the atttic over the last week or so and got me to come over and cull through all the "junk" I left behind. And what did I find??? 84 STAR WARS trading cards circa 1977!! So Dave thinks to himself "woohoo, jump tix for this weekend if I can find the right buyer". So off I go to the great online library we call the internet and I find http://www.starwarscards.net/vintsw2.html. Fuck. Thirty bucks for a complete set??? How much of this crap must still be out there? So much for funding a season o' jumps. Oh well, it brought back some memories (y'know how Eric Foreman of That 70's Show is a Star Wars Geek? Welll....think of a 9 year old being plunked on that set as the geeky neighbor kid who turns into a wacko skydiver 25 years later). Anyhoo, you can bet I'll have some interesting Avatars in the future as my scanner gets a workout. And, BTW, anyone who cares to trade me a new main for the illusive card #67 is welcome to PM me May the Force be with you all Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

well, ONE of you is dyslexic The dyslexic agnostic believes "There is no Dog" Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Frodo: PM me for more infor than this list can digest. I've been a sports car racer since 1987 (starting at autoX)and have built, restored, and raced many things since. I can offer driving tips (In sports car circles I'm a TM/AFF/JM/Coach/videographer... you get the point). I see PhillyKev chimed in - I too quit sports car racing in favour of plummeting but I still teach and thrash when I need a ground-bound adrenaline rush. What he says is true - go to SCCA.org and read read read. Plan to stay stock to start, etc. Actually, the discipline is a lot like learning skydiving - start under a manta, become consistent and safe, then worry about speed and image Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I still do and it's back on YTV !!! I'm lovin the flashback myself ... waiting for the Japanese excahnge bear episode ... and trying to figure out what's happened to my video card so I can screen grab for an avatar

re the messenger windows: you are running XP right? Follow the clickys : start control panel performance and maintenance administrative tools services While at 'services' double click on 'MESSENGER'. Set startup type to 'DISABLED', then click 'apply' and 'OK'. No more "windows messenger alert" ads that tell you, for a small fee, how to get rid of the very ads they are sending you . I've run this config for about a month thanks to Peter Rodriguez (DZ.com 'Magistr8') and nothing bad has happened or quit working.

Igor, earlier you said thet you didn't read the article because it was in French. Here's a rough translation of the good bits: "Crazydude" was working on a film for Salomon ski company and the 2 skiiers you see in the video were originally to ski down the mountain with the birdman. Unsuitable snow conditions made that part impossible. The wing jump was made from a helo at about 1000 ft above the mountain peak. A dive for max speed, then level out - the angle of decent was similar to that of the ski hill until a flat(er) spot on the mountain forces the end the run. The angle of flight is similar to that of a ski jumper! All along the mountain skim there was an 'out' to the left where the ground clearance was much greater and at the end of the video he turns and deploys over the glacier with lots of clearance. Apparently there is some kind of 'ground effect' at about 10 feet but my technical French is not good enough to catch the drift of the meaning in one read. Either way one hell of a jump, er, flight. Wonder when the first survivable landing will be??? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

dave yuou got a problem with spending the whole afternoon in the air??? I don't... in fact clear and pulls from the top - Cross country style (think of a 5 mile + spot) - near sunset are among my favorite jumps. It's cool when the plane beats you back (another) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

I'm "being learned to freefly" by a 71 year old - only freeflyer we have at Gimli. Pat was an Army rigger in our very DZ hangar in 1950 and kept jumping. He either jumps a big-assed 9 cell (PD-260) or a Stiletto 150 ... depending on his mood. My Hero...

The original Italian Job (OK so I'm a car guy too) Playboy rich guy/criminal driving through the Italian Alps in a Lamborghini Miura (can we have a drooling icon plllease?) with some cheesy 60's lounge type music that goes with the scene of a drive in the mountains... all is so peaceful and then... the car enters a tunnel and there's a cut to the other side where BAM!!!!! he drives straight into a front end loader that the Mafia have set up to get him. They then push the car off the edge of the road and it freestyles down into the river. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Yes I think it is...and it's badge of honour... wear it like one. You did as you should Annnnd you have an experience that will REALLY scare the Whuffos ( if you want to) "...ya I blew up my main canopy once and ..." I was suitably moved by my first (and as yet only) chop on jump #20 (student, just before my Solo CoP) that I mixed a 67 minute CD I entitled "Terminal Tunes - The Mal Mix". It's one long cut and has everything from Platinum Blonde's "It Doesn't Really Matter", House of Pain's "Jump a Round" , Holst's "Mars" from the Planets suite ... etc. I think it was the fact that, it was only after the weekend was over that I truly grasped what I had accomplished and the music just happened. I still listen to it on the way to the dropzone, a drive that coincidentally takes about 67 minutes!! By the way, I was back on the plane within an hour - just enough time to get out of the "1 parachute rig", get to the off sale and buy the case-o-beer, get back and into a complete gearset and make the sunset load. Best thing I ever did. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Nuh-uh.... A Century is still a Century - and #100 is THE cetntury... you'll get yours when you least expect it now that they know Dave PS: mine was 'hot turkey pie' garnished with whipped cream and banana Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hi Mocha! ditto for me on the flare thing - flying tired F-111 at 1:1 .. .and a 7 cell at that !! (yecch). You have two options to solve your issues and I think a demo on a similar sized ZP is the best idea. Since I'm broke I've had to soldier on with my nearly dead Raven and have begun to learn high-performance landings with it (you know, front riser onto final, double fronts, flaaaaare!) under the tutilage of a canopy master. I too have demo'd ZP from Sabre 210's down to eliptical 170's. The immense flare power difference is an eye opener and, were it not for my belief in the BillVon canopy downsize treatise I'd likely be jumping the 170 eliptical. I'd also likely have several more reserve repacks to my credit considering I can (and do on occasion) fly the big square 7 cell hard enough to spin it up in flight (kids, don't try this at home). DO NOT become discouraged - you're "stuck" on a little plateau of skills that likely has more to do with your gear than you. Get your confidence back under a suitable demo/loaner, then either replace your main or do as I do - learn to fly it at 11/10ths and keep your rigger and chiropractor as good friends Dave PS: what flavour was YOUR pie??? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Daaymnn! From the issue description and photo I KNOW I used to have that one. Our cottage was burgled several years ago and many of the full size issues disappeared never to return (some were, believe it or not). There had to be SOMETHING making me think there was skydiving in MAD - but I never found what I was looking for - that was it!! THANKS Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

What, ME worry? ...I'd love a jpeg if you've got one... must be good Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

0:2:2 RW weekend, being Father's Day and all. So instead I play hookey from nothing in particular (Friday Afternoon) and head to DZ. Fresh Velcro and a few freefly tweeks to make my ancient racer ff-friendly AND I get to watch Hutch stuff the Stellar into the freebag and container. I dunno whas the big deal about Racers and riggers - there was no swearing or violence required. Then our sole resident freeflyer (a spry 70-something gent) shows up for a load and I can't resist the opportunity to join in with Pat. Case o beer for my first 2 way freefly dive (

...from your twisted friends at MAD Magazine ... In the early 80's I collected old Mad Magazines as cottage reading and I had a chance to revisit them this weekend. I found THIS ONE proving that Whuffos had a sense of humour about the sport even back then.... Enjoy Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

[imagine] My favorite project? Well, I built this bar-b-q that I take with me on the DC-3's climb to 20,000 ft and I cook lunch in the plane for the skydivers. Then I attach it to rig I modified with remote control toggles and ripcords so that I can deploy and steer the bar-b-q to the intended landing site. I'm working on a beer cooler tandem harness next [/imagine] Be outrageous and maybe a bit sinister and you're in!! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

JM Soon? maybe late next year... have my coach 1 theory and the practical is slated for early fall. A season of coaching, another hundred jumps or so and I should be there. Interesting point on the ground procedures (again, all that stuff in which to be formally trained). Yes, I jump HutchAir. Is he Famous, or Infamous? What good stories have YOU heard Mike? (I'm curious, PM me if it's apropriate) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

In Canada, the BSR REQUIRES the jumpmaster to be present at all times when the student is in the plane. This, of course, means an automatic ride down with them if they are unsuccessful at "escaping via the open door". End of issue for us and I bet somewhere dep in the SIM is a similar policy. It just seems unwise to have a student onboard, in gear, and no JM. A/C emergency? Then what? Dave PS: not a JM (...yet) so I can;t/won't comment on the coping issues. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

ALPINE all the way. DO get the MP3/WMA capable machines # 9811/9813/9815 (depending on $s). I had a conventional CD head unit and 6 disc changer (that was pinched a month ago) - also a good setup but once you go MP3 (especially with the remote) you'll never wanna go back. Each CD you burn is like a 10 stack or better

[whisper] I'm being vewwy vewwy quiet cause I'm hunting skydivingmovies and I found them. Quick downloads, all the stuff I remember is there. Nice work Dave /whisper] another Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)