dterrick

0:4:1 "Opening weekend" at WSC. My gear ... grounded cause I killed another slider so I was loaned a Sabre 210 (about 1:1). The case o beer is for the 'first' time I've ever done a decent in a jumpship - jump #2 we got hosed by clouds at 7,000 and our new pilot continued to climb anyway. The hole never materialized and we dropped down ... the slow way... to 7k. Strange feeling. That same jump (was to be a full altitude hop n pop/canopy drill dive) could also be for the 'first' time I've seen over the tail of a canopy

K Peter, here's one for you. My sister's cat, Dalwhinnie, not only gets up on the counter but has a thing for people food. See attahed photo. Dave care for some extra flat pizza? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

"otta - waaaah" ??? Hockey doesn't matter much to me anymore. We lost the Jets and since then I've paid little attention. Of course, even when we DID have the Jets I was a bit of a fairweather supporter. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Um, wow, Bill great essay. Yes I did read it all and I may go looking for 'the book'. At our wee DZ at Gimli, Mb, we have wacky wind conditions. It's flat like a pancake but we're 3 miles off a Great Lake sized lake (L. Winnipeg). As warm summer conditions also brings storms, and they typically circle back on us from over the lake, we also have the treat of WWII sized hangars causing turbulence about 500 ft from our landing area. Oh ya, and the general gust range is about 10 mph from base windspeed ... so 5-15 is common and 15 gusting 25+ grounds almost everybody with a conscience. Thankfully I haven't seen anyone actually collapse a canopy at low altitude but I know I've flown through distrubing burbles as low as about 100-150 ft and it makes for some excitement. It's too bad there's no good way to practise being in such conditions and surviving them -except not to be in them to begin with. Book learnin is great but it sure is no match for experience in these types of conditions. Yes I read lots but when my mentors decide to sit out due to conditions.... I take the opportunity to ask for a story and I learn even more! Thanks for telling yours. Keep it up Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Dave have you ever even SEEN ice??? ...and we know hockey isn't a sport anymore ... just a business with a bunch of whiny-assed millionaires who, as kids, were not daring enough to jump off their roofs into waiting snowbanks . Dave PS: it's spelled Toronto unless you were attempting a correct phonetic spelling in which case it's Tuh-rann-ah ... and yes they think they're the Centre of the Universe Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

DUCK!! ...and cover Yup, and about as effective. Now we Canadians know the PROPER uses of duct tape and plastic sheeting ... makeshift beer coolers!! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hi Heather! As Garfield might say, "I'm not overweight, I'm under-tall!"

that's what I generally see at our 182 DZ when I chase tandems Two of our TM's are fairly big guys themselves and I think you've hit on about the only 2 exits possible. I'm sure 1st person stories will follow soon Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...um, in a word, yes. It took great talent and efort, but I DID manage to spin up my Raven II (220). Once. I haven't tried to be that stupid in quite a while. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...is that anything like parasailing or parachuting?... (stop me before I get too silly plllease! This always happens when I'm in a good mood) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hey Peter! You can PM me on this one if you like - I doubt you have serious 'performance issues' but so much of skydiving is psychological... When I went through progression I found that some instructors were better at 'getting inside my head than others - and still are. That's just the way it is. And, don't think that some of us "veterans" (hah! 130 jumps a veteran???) don't still have issues at times - especially at season's start. Anyway, congrats on getting back in the air after the winter layoff and snowboarding chow - see ya at DZ soon Dave T Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

na na na, Mr. Quade, sir, it's "lies, damn lies, or statistics!?" Still, an interesting point. Those who point at skydivers as death crazies are ALSO likely the ones who golf - or fish in a metal boat - during a thunderstorm. I bet they don't get the same charge out of their sport (sory for the really baaad pun) as we do !! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

muwahaha back atcha! A big chunk of my progression was done with a Bullitt strapped to my back. I'm rusty on my rig history, but Ido believe it is essentially a modified Wonderhog. Adjustable harness that fits "none", special "invisible" riser covers, and an FXC 12000 poking into your back. ...and as a student I thought it was Grrrreat! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...well Misskriss, I have a happier one for you... I went to the inaugural Formula 1 race at Indy in 2000 with 3 other gearheads in a rented van. We drove nonstop both ways (20 hrs +) from Canada. on our return we stopped in Grand Forks (75 miles south of the border) for a McDonalds break. Keith, the long haired rock'n roll type (actually worked as a sound dude at the time) left his fanny pack at the McD's and didn't realize it until we got to the dutyfree - over an hour later. In that fanny pack was ALL his ID, perscription shades, cell phone and over $2k in CASH (long story, not relevant, just a fluke). Anyway, two hours later we finally found a woking phone at the border and managed to get in touch with the McD's. One of the cleanup crew had noticed it and given it to the manager - all was recovered intact. THAT was a happy story. Dave PS: Keith had wanted to continue through to Winnipeg (another hour) and return on his own rather than delay 'the rest of us'. So I ask him "Keith, what do you suppose the chances are of a longhair driving a balck Porsche 911 being let into the USA with a story of a lost wallet with a lot of cash in it???". Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

YOU have a 1982 rig??? Daamn I thought I was the only one to have gear so old. Mine's an original Racer... yours? (what else was in production back then?) When I paid a visit to Hollister, some who didn't know me (but noticed a few grey hairs) thopught perhaps I had been jumping for a very long time. I got a kick outta that ...nobody even BORROWS my rig at home, never mind fight over it. And, since our C-182 DZ itself is not really freefly friendly (from 9k??) who cares? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

This comic is cool It is always the season to bug little sis *** Car plans this weekend Beemer bits all over floor First fix then go jump Blue Skies everyone!! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

That's a very interesting perspective on the issue Terry. I'm particularily fascinated with the "old days" angle regarding new jumpers. I'm a "new" jumper - with only a year and a half and 130 to my credit. I bought my gear at jump #25 and it's as plane jne as you can get - original racer, no Cypres, no RSL, raven main. All the money is in the reserve - a 3 year old Strong Stellar. On jump #20 I had my first (and so far, only) reserve ride. THAT experience radically changed my persepctive on the sport in two ways. First, a round reserve was no longer an option for my own gear. Think the 'almost dead AggieDave' thread but under a round. Second, I had the Epiphany of self-mastery. A Very Real fear of death hit for a brief second and 'not today, never like this' came to mind in the slow-motion time lapse that we experience in a very dangerous situation. since that time I have had only one other potential reserve ride (frozen hands = missed handle) and I was already thinking 'not out, once more, then to the handles'. Pull #2 was successful but I was already drawing down to the Lifesavers when the snatch force hit. *** Counterpoint: I would be what you'd call an "old sports car racer" ... I started ice racing in 1988. Back then, a 'rubber-to-ice' class car was a stripped out econobox (Think Ford Fiesta, 70's Honda Civic) run on modified road tires with no safety equipment except a helmet. None. No rollover bar or roll cage. No fire suit, gloves, or nomex shoes. your safety harness was the standard seatbelt and the seat was the standard seat. On a mile long circuit with 4-5 foot snowbanks on either side I would regularly hit 90 MPH entering a corner and then pitch the car into a lurid slide... alongside a competitor doing the same. Never did I roll a race car over and never was I injured. Cars did roll and were written off but no people were injured. [This would be the 'good ol' days of skydiving] I progressed through Improved Touring (RX-7) and Grand Touring 2 (300 bhp Datsun 240Z on slicks) and acquired the modern safety gear piece by piece. But, tiring of the ever-increasing cost I stepped back and competed in Vintage Racing with my Triumph GT6+. That car took me 2 years and $10k to restore and it was destroyed by someone else's 100 mph spin 'happening in my space'. Only chequebooks were injured, thankfully. Vintage Racing cars also have minimal or no rollover protection. Driven as road cars, they also have minimal crash protection. [This is a big way or freefly with no AAD and audible] Then I started skydiving. I've done 2 or 3 guest drives since the 1998 accident, and still instruct and practice on a regular basis. The love for the balls-out wheel to wheel combat is gone, though. I wonder whether my love for skydiving would likewise wane if (when?) a friend - or me - were to be seriously injured? [I'm guessing that would be 'my crash'] After all this analysis of the things that seem the SAME about racing and skydiving, an interesting point remains different in my circumstance and you said it well: It did not attract me TO the sport, but is has kept me. Every time I jump, and until now that has largely been solo or 2 way, I rely on myself. I'll jump my old racer until I can afford a container + AAD at the same time. but I never want to lose the feeling of self-reliance. Free as a bird, but only until pull time. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Did sebazz violate those poor innocent BEERs standing in a LINE by the fence? ...again....? Nice pix, simon... Dave T PS: got 3 hop n pops in on Sat out of our teeny tiny Cessna (about as long to 3k as the King is to way more than 3k). If you remember my 'THUMP' landing from a month ago I've determined through trial and error that I can simply NOT use my brakes anywhere on final ... at all ... next stop - swoop lessons and then something slightly less porus than the cheesecloth I fly now Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

?:3:1 I'm not telling. 3 jumps, opening weekend at Gimli. 1 not really dumb-ass but not really smart landing Opening weekend at Winnipeg Skydiving and we had a classic accuracy competition .. except that the bowl was covered in snow so I guess it wa more like a para-ski without the ski. At 3k the temperature was about 15 farenheight so not a lot of extra jumps were made by anyone. My Raven simply 'falls out of the sky' at anything less than full flight - this I can now quantify with 2 butt plant landings 25 metres short of the target when I was set up long ! Third time I pulled a 360 degree toggle turn to sink in rather than sashay. I was THAT much too high and I all but had a guarantee of enough altitude to safely pull the spin off. It wasn't a swoop but it pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone and I liked it. Dumbass! Being "rewarded" with bonus lift and an adrenaline rush is gonna get me in trouble one of these days ... but then again it's been a slippery slope since my FJC...

didn't Sebazz say "beer"? I'm glad you lot have gotten over the "where we gonna record bust". Just get on with it and post the photos. Cypres weenies - don't worry about the landing area - every local will ensure you have your cypres and alti set correctly Low timers. The landing area is Huuuge - just watch out for the "killer cows" ... and ask to see the Jim McCormick slide on "landing area frowny faces" Beer line violations are enforced. Right Sebazz? I think One of the shuttle van drivers is related to an Andretti - at least he drives like it Everyone is far too friendly - and for those inclined, French jokes seem to be tolerated (right R2?) I learned all this in just one day. Imagine what a whole weekend full of dot commers will be like... Dave PS: there's nothing slow about that Kingair either. Send the Cessna 15 minutes ahead!! Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...sorry...brain fart ... Eloy, Perris, whaaaatever. It's very south from me, it's very much warmer ... and I think it's just a mountain range away, right? Enjoy Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...one better... Gabba Gabba HEY! to you Jess Now that you mention, it HAS been a while since I've seen you chime in. ISTR you were moving you, furniture, and cats, right? Did all 3 arrive alright? I'd love to join you in sunny CA but I'm stuck in Winterpeg Manitoba - the forecast calls for 20 cm of snow tonight - and we have an accuracy meet/safety day at the local DZ this weekend. Make sure you visit Sebazz & co at Hollister for the "we're gonna kick Raeford's record" dropzone.com party - there's cyber-beer waiting for you there

I'll be there in spirit Sebazz. Sounds like an absolute blast. Why not add the Cessna and do a formation load? Send it up 20 minutes early And then toss the base ...and then? Dave PS: accuracy meet at home here this weekend. No snow left but it's sub-zero on the ground. At least the skies are blue Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Have a look at the url. ...and the Zapruders did NOT get their $16M for the Kennedy film. someone did a real nice job on this page but for the bad address. I guess it was still April 1 somewhere in the world Dave PS: on a related (and true) note, in MS Word 97 there is some funky spellcheck... if you type in "I wish Bill Gates was dead" one of the spellckeck options responds "I'll drink to that". Office XP doesn't do it - Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...you missed the time cutoff. Still, Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)