Hooknswoop

It doesn't say it is a SB and it isn't listed on Sun Path's web site under SB's. I need to double check the date, but I think it says 29 January, 2005. Derek

I did and still do hear DZO's opposing the ISP. The Instructor's will do what the DZO wants, pure and simple, or as it was explained to me, "You know your options." OK, compare USPA to the APF. Too late Already did. Derek

Try a Sigma. It will give you a frame of reference. Of course you'll never look at a Strong the same way again Derek

How does it help in the airplane? Derek

The problems with chest mountd altimeters are 1) You lose sight of what is going on around you looking at your chest mount, 2) Other people's chest mount can be very unreliable (forgot to zero, constantly gets dropped with their rig, etc) 3) if you look at a chest mount while tracking you can;t see where you are going and it causes your flat trak to not be so flat anymore, 4) it can hit you on opening 5) one jumper died after landing on it and it hit their throat. Once you get used to the wrist mount you'll find it easier to read than a chest mount. Derek

That is cool, never heard of that. I'll have to Google it and see what you are talking about. I put the mini compass on my map case for quick and dirty orientation of the map. Derek

Everest would be cool, but 1) Even very experienced mountaineers die there every year. 2) Doesn't matter how good you are you could easily die or be permanently injured. Id rather dive w/ great white sharks, skydive from 140,000 feet, BASE jump the Eiffel tower, that sort of thing. Mountain climbing is cool and I have a goal to climb a serious mountain here in CO in the winter, but the rush is more from accomplishment than from the rather boring actual climbing. I think that most people climb Everest for bragging rights. Derek

I don't use it for skydiving. It is easy to correct the altitude or barometric pressure. I'm close enough to the airport to use BJC's ATIS or METAR to get the current pressure and with my GPS I got the altitude of the house. If you are constaqntly passing benchmarks you can read the altitude off of or off the map, then you don't need an altimeter....... Any idea of the amount of error for hiking/riding, etc? I wonder if besides rate of change, it also applies a certain amount of change after a certain amount of time strictly to altitude. It does seem to be accurate though. Derek

This has been bugging me for a while now. I have a Suunto Vector watch. It has temperature, compass, altimeter and barometer functions. It has to use air pressure to determine altitude and barometric pressure. My questions, how can it tell you are changing altitude and it isn't just the pressure changing or the pressure changing and you aren't changing altitude? The only thing I can figure is that above a certain rate of change it assumes you are climbing/descending and below that rate of change, it assumes it is a presure change. Seems to me that if that is the case, it could create fairly large errors from a hike that slowly climbs/descends or a rapid pressure change from the weather. Anyone know how it can tell the difference between altitude and pressure changes accurately? Derek

Are they "ASC detractors" or against Skyrides illegal and unethical business practices? Derek

That compass is a bit big to put on an altimeter strap. This is a pic of one I have that is thrown off as much as 35-degrees by a mostly plastic watch. Derek

The question should be; "Why isn't this working at other DZ's?" DZO's at other DZ's could do this, but don't. Why? Because there is no national standard? Because if they say "no", the jumper can take their money to their competetor and still jump? Because most DZO's don't care? Because most DZOs won't put effort into something unless there is $$$ in it for them? Derek

An altimeter has more than enough metal in it to throw off a compass. Derek

Not if the Cypres cutter location works fine if the reserve flap tucks back under itself (like the Vector III/Mircron) and doesn't tuck into the bottom flap (like the Mirage, Javelin, and Talon/VooDoo). Derek

1) The metal of the altimeter is going to throw the compass off. 2) Unless you know what direction you need to go, a compass isn't going to you any good. 3) Time spent looking at a little compass is beter spent looking for traffic and looking for a place to land. Skip the compass, it won't do you any good. Derek

That is an individual member benefit That program was canceled after the DZ where USPA's S & TA jumps failed the inspection. DZO's don't want to be inspected since they will all fail and members suffer because of it. Seems like prosecutions can get that info too. USPA can't get the FAA to do anything. USPA dove tails on AOPA's shirt tails, A subscription to Skydiving Magazine will do the same thing. USPA's mantra of what is good for DZ's is good for jumpers says it all. USPA is a DZO's organization, not a members organization. The USPA GM program creates a conflict of interest between DZO's and DZ's. The Voluntary Inspection Program's failure is a prime example of why USPA is failing to serve its members. A mandatory Inspection administered by an unbiased third party, to become a GM would lend creditability to the GM program. As it stands, it is a stamp that students can be impressed by. They have no way to know that it doesn't mean anything at all, just like they get sucked into the Skyride scam. Another example is the ISP. Instead of making the ISP mandatory (or exceed its minimum requirements as a few DZ’s do), they made it optional. This allows DZ’s with programs that don’t meet ISP minimums to continue with sub-standard training programs. When USPA went to raise the bar to the state of the art, DZO’s protested and USPA backed down. Members suffer for it. Being a GM DZ means you wrote the check, nothing more. DZ's don't follow the BSR's when they don't want to and nothing happens to them. USPA is a joke. They refuse to enforce their own BSR’s and continue to exist because of the misconception of students believing GM DZ’s are somehow better than non-GM DZ’s and because USPA serves DZO’s so they continue to require USPA membership. The GM program should be eliminated in its entirety. USPA cannot serve both its members and DZO’s. Right now, members lose every time USPA must choose between DZO’s or its members. Derek

Does it have the SB done to it? Derek

Those are easy compared to the little ones. Take an Apache pilot, put him in an OH-58C (Jet Ranger), sit back and laugh your head off. It'll look as if a drunk was flying it. Derek

Right. And it is more 'powerful'. With a balloon suit it is wider, but not as strong. Either way, a spring loaded PC can/would still get caught in the jumper's burble. Way back when, when double zippered suits were popular, before balloon suits, jumpers put 2 PC's on their mains to prevent hesitations. One would still hesitate, but rarely both. I wonder if spring loaded PC's weren't required if reserves would use them? It would make AAD deployments a problem. Derek Derek

Before there was a volume II, the first one was called, "The Parachute Manual". I got a copy of the first edition, in a 3-ring binder w/ "The Parachute Manual" down the spine in gold. It is amazing what has and hasn't changed. "Current Regulation (FAR 91.15) require that chair type parachutes be packed within the last 120 days and all other types within the last 60 days. The special requirement was promoted by the manufacturers in the late thirties as they felt it would make the parachutes more acceptable to the airlines……..The USPA has attempted on numerous occasions to persuade the FAA to extend the re-pack cycle to 120 days. The message from Washington has been that while it would be nice, the rule making procedure involves too many people and takes too much time and isn’t worth the effort.” The sport main section lists the pioneer 28’, Security Tracker, and Military surplus 28’, 32’, and 35’ “canopies converted to sport use” It also lists the Para Commander. That’s it, no square canopies. There is a picture of a Silver Cloud 230 and the Para Foil. ‘Ram-air’ isn’t even in the glossary. Or throw out PC’s. “FAR 105.35 Liquor and drugs No person may make a parachute jump while, and no pilot in command of an aircraft may allow a person to make a parachute jump from that aircraft if that person appears to be,- a) Under the influence of intoxicating liquor; or b) Using any drug that affects his faculties in any way contrary to safety.” I wonder why they took that out of the FAR’s? Derek

The faster the fall rate, the larger the 'burble'. Derek

Now try to hover it Derek

I know, that is where I got it. It is applicable to this thread. I wonder why if Airtec was able to get reserves like the Mirage (probably the Mirage) to total during testing, the cutter was placed where it was? Did Airtec OK the original placement of the cutter? Is Airtec’s ‘approval’ required for placement cutter/control head/computer/cable routing of the Cypres system. Why, if it was known that the combination of cutter placement, reserve flap design and loop length and poor rigging could lead to a total reserve malfunction, was the cutter placed where it was or the reserve flap design not changed? If the problem has been known for that long, why did Mirage wait until it actually happend before making a change? Lots of questions without answers out there right now. Derek

Looks like a pilot bail-out rig with a spring loaded pilot chute. Derek

Slowly exhale out your nose to keep the water out. Derek