wolfriverjoe

Pffft. "Socialism" has turned into a conservative buzzword that means "I can't define this word, but it means stuff I don't like".

Many DZs offer Hop & Pop jumps for swoopers. That puts them in the pattern all by themselves (or at least with only a couple others and decent separation). I agree that a flat turn at 50' in a busy pattern is a good way to get your ass chewed (as it should), but do you have the ability to get alone (er) in the pattern for stuff like that?

I thought that in 2016. HRC was a poor choice. Trump was a horrible choice. If there was any election that 3rd parties had a chance of making any sort of showing, it was then. Yet the 3rd parties got almost the same, minute number of votes that they always do.

Brian' chart and Bill's checklist are good references. Different people progress at different rates. Unfortunately we are often the worst judge of our own skills. That's why an objective set of skills to demonstrate (Bill's list) and an outside observer are really good ideas. One thing to remember is that the W/L stuff is most suited for average sized jumpers. You are more towards the 'big' end of the spectrum. Aerodynamic performance doesn't scale in a linear manner. For a variety of reasons, bigger jumpers can be safe under higher W/L than 'standard'. Not a lot higher, but somewhat. At the other end, smaller jumpers will be less safe under the 'standard' W/L.

You can argue the semantics of it as much as you want (If you really want to do that, spend some time in Speaker's Corner... Or maybe not ). But if you've got what it takes to gear up, get on the plane, go up in the air and then leave the plane, you are a jumper.

Yeah, Trump will just pay him off to make the charges 'go away', just like he did in the past. It seems like one of the main reasons he thinks he can get away with just about anything is that he HAS gotten away with everything in the past.

If that's what you want to do, go for it. Keep in mind that S/L is somewhat of a dying discipline. Not a lot of DZs do it anymore. But if you can find one that does, and does FJCs and student jumps on a reasonably regular basis, then you should be fine. You really need to ask them and see what they think of your idea. At my original DZ, we had a few folks who would come out and do a S/L jump once or twice a year. At that level of currency (or more accurately, lack of it), they went through the FJC every year. Which made it fairly easy to teach the course to them. And they were far less nervous in the plane and out the door than the first timers. The instructors comments about them were far more along the lines of "Oh, these guys again. Cool. They mostly know what they're doing" and I never heard anything disparaging. They were usually invited to jump more often and more regularly to get licensed, but they really didn't have much interest (or ability to afford it). After you've done a few S/Ls, try a PCRP. Don't do it thinking of 'pass/fail', do it more to see if you can. And. most importantly, do what you want. And have fun doing it.

Do you know what your exit weight with a rig with a 190 in it (along with an appropriate reserve)? Rigs with bigger canopies aren't light. Just an estimate, but I'd guess you'd be somewhere above 1.2:1. Take a look at Brian Germain's downsizing chart (sticky in the swooping forum) and see how many jumps you should have before you go there. Get gear you can jump safely NOW. Not in 6 months. What are you currently jumping?

I wear glasses. I use the big 'over glasses' goggles, and wear a 'croakie' strap on the glasses too. I've had goggles blow upwards a couple times (usually when the elastic was getting worn out). I've pondered getting scrip wrap around glasses (Gatorz or similar), but haven't bothered yet. I've done a fair amount of Hop & Pops with just glasses (with a strap). Works ok, but I have fairly big glasses.

Fair enough. I guess I was wrong about it. Not the first time, won't be the last. I do remember the "malfunction flashcards", both from my FJC and from a safety day a couple years ago*, and I don't remember a 'streamer', nor do I remember that many of them. * - Fun Safety Day game - Put jumpers in a hanging harness, bounce and swing them around and show one of those flashcards above them. They have to ID the mal and take proper action.

Well, he'd 'maybe go to the FBI', and then ask them to stop investigating. 'Cuz if there was 'something wrong', it's more than likely something of his own doing.

Ok, that's funny. However, I don't think you will remove yourself from existence by putting yourself on the ignore list. Putting other people on that list doesn't make them go away (which is something of a shame). It just hides their posts so you don't have to suffer them. I would think that putting yourself on your own ignore list would simply make your posts invisible to you. But they would still exist and other people would be able to see them. Functional equivalent of the three year old pulling a blanket over themselves and saying 'you can't see me!!!'

Because something in them needs it to be false. It doesn't matter if it's something like 'they work in the fossil fuel industry and need it to be false for their job' or 'they hate liberals and cannot stomach the idea that the environmentalists are right about anything' or they want to believe that the 'climate types' are fabricating the entire narrative in order to control us and take our money (this type generally believes the 'illuminati' garbage too). It's not all that different from the religionists that 'need' evolution to be false to maintain their belief that the Bible is factually accurate. I keep remembering the 'debate' between Ken Hamm & Bill Nye. They were both asked what would change their views. Hamm said "nothing". Nye said "evidence".

Ok, I don't recall ever hearing the word 'streamer' associated with a square. But it's been a while since my FJC. The slider is supposed to interrupt air to the nose of the canopy. It also 'chokes' it off (holding the lines close together. If it didn't, you'd have VERY hard openings. If it stays up, then there's a problem. For your exit, ground speed is irrelevant (disregarding exit separation - it matters there). While it's true that a 70kt airspeed on jump run will be different than a 110 kt, the same plane will normally fly the same speed on jump run. 70kts is 182 speed, 110 is King air speed. A 182 can't do 110 on jump run, you can't open the door at that speed (door open is limited to 100 IIRC). And a KA won't do 70 on jump run because it would fall out of the sky. Headwinds will give a lower ground speed on jump run (requiring longer exit separation), but that makes absolutely zero difference in how you exit or the 'feel' of the air out the door. The best example I can offer as to how ground speed is irrelevant for 'in air' stuff (free fall or canopy) is to imagine tossing a paper airplane inside the jump plane. Or try it if you are allowed. Will it matter if the plane is flying in the air or sitting on the ground? Will the paper plane fly any differently if you throw it front to back compared to back to front? When tossing towards the front the ground speed is "airspeed of the paper plane plus ground speed of the airplane" figure 5kt for the paper plane and 90kt for the plane. 95kt ground speed. If you toss it front to back, the ground speed becomes 85kt... Backwards. But because the air is moving 90kt backwards (respective to the plane), the plane flies normally at an airspeed of 5kt forwards. And regarding the last line. Terminal is terminal. That's the speed where drag equals the pull of gravity and you hold a steady speed. You don't reach a higher terminal from a higher altitude. For hop & pops, you don't reach terminal. It takes the 7 - 10 sec and 1000' you mentioned to reach typical belly terminal (~120mph). Pulling before that gives the 'subterminal' opening, which is usually softer and slower than terminal. Because the opening is slower, any slider issues or asymmetrical opening issues will be amplified. Which is likely what happened to you.

First off, what's a streamer on a square? I've always equated streamers with round canopies. Did the slider hang up? Not super uncommon on sub-terminal jumps. How? How can ground speed be a factor when you are completely independent of the ground?

Meh. You saw something that looked 'funny', so you asked. As it turns out, it was nothing to worry about. What if it had been a mistake? Being concerned about those lines on that canopy isn't 'paranoid', IMO.

Well, he either caves or walks out on the discussion. North Korea, China, the government shutdown, infrastructure, Mexico, the "wall", the list is endless. His accomplishments? Huge tax cuts for his rich buddies, at the cost of skyrocketing deficits.

With that fairly low level of experience and that much time, the missing logbook shouldn't matter all that much. It's largely up to the DZ, but I would expect you would end up sitting through a FJC, then doing at least one jump as a one instructor AFF jump. How that jump goes would largely determine what more will have to happen. At least that's what I've seen happen in similar situations.

Here you go. Cutaway cables are 35 cm & 94 cm measured from base of crimp connector. Reserve ripcord is 63 cm measured from handle to base of pin.

I have been to more funerals for car accident victims than anything else (other than natural causes). But everyone either drives or rides in a car. So the 'base sample size' is far, far larger. I know a fair amount of 'motorcycle type' folks. I can't think of any that wear 'colors' (vests with club patches) that don't have at least one of the 'RIP' patches. I've lost a few of those friends too. The micromort stats are just that - statistics. They show that overall, jumping is pretty dangerous. Other stuff is too. Some more so, some less.

What canopy are you jumping? Size and type. How big of groups are you jumping? How good are you at tracking? Since you are fairly new, I'm guessing you are jumping a reasonably big, docile canopy. If you are jumping a sub-100 cross-brace, there are other issues that are more important than your packing. For something that won't point you at the ground and spin you into unconsciousness, the problem with line twists is that you can't maneuver until you are out of them. So if you are jumping in bigger groups, where traffic issues may be present immediately after opening, or if you can't track well enough to get good separation, then line twists can be a very real problem. There's a whole laundry list of issues that may cause line twists. Most of them involve symmetry. Make sure your risers are even when you start. Some folks tie the big rings together with a pull up cord to make sure. Make sure your line stows are even. If they are uneven, the bag can twist as it goes to line stretch. Maybe stow the lines like you usually do and then pull them out. Pull with the bridle. See if the bag does anything odd. Make sure the nose is as symmetrical as you can. If one side inflates faster, that can induce twists. Same goes for wrapping and cocooning it. You might want to find a packer who is willing to watch you pack. See if they can spot any issues. The best time to do this would be the end of the day, and make sure you have some beer to offer ("hey, can you watch me pack to see if I'm doing anything obviously wrong? I have a couple beers you can drink while you watch")

You sell packing slaves on a Thai ripoff of Amazon? Amazing.

I'm going to disagree with this. I think that most jumpers understand & accept the risk. They take steps to mitigate it, but understand that it will never be 'safe'. They try to learn from other's mistakes, yet understand that they are not immune to making them. As an example, look at the ratio of "It's not dangerous" to the "Yes it is" posts in this very thread. It's just that the 'I'll be fine' folks seem to be more apparent than the 'it's risky but I can make decisions that make it less so' crowd.

How about multiple attackers? How about getting cornered? How about people who are unable to run? Or run fast enough? The idea that if nobody has guns, there won't be any real crime is really simplistic. There's a regular at the range I'm part of. He's down once or twice a week, practicing with a pistol. He used to be moderately anti-gun. He mainly didn't see the point of civilians having guns, let alone carrying them. Then he was cornered in a parking ramp stairway by three teens. They demanded his stuff. He complied, didn't say anything back or any thing like that. The good old 'give them what they want and they won't hurt you.' He didn't realize that he was putting himself at the mercy of thugs who had none. For no apparent reason, they decided to beat the crap out of him. No weapons, just fists and feet. He could have died. He ended up with a skull fracture, multiple facial fractures, broken ribs (not quite a 'flailed chest' but close) and a number of other, lesser injuries. Multiple surgeries later and his face still isn't 'quite right'. And never will be. He made the decision that he wasn't going to allow himself to be put in that situation ever again. So he now carries. He understands full well that what he went through was a 'lightning strike' and is unlikely to happen again. He's unwilling to take the chance.

I tried one last year (?) at Summerfest. A very experience lady was using it and said it made packing a newer canopy a LOT easier. I found it helpful (on an older canopy).