wolfriverjoe

Since when are people 'allowed to enter the US illegally and given the same privileges as legal citizens'? Keep in mind, your 'favorite' President (Obama) deported more illegals than his predecessors and your current hero. Legal immigration is at it's lowest level (as a percentage of people) in the entire history of the country. The claim that we are 'a country without borders' is garbage. I understand how you see what you see. But it's a lie. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Analog vs Digital is mostly a personal preference. I prefer analog, I wear analog watches. Don't worry about an analog affecting getting an audible. You wear the audible in your helmet, not on your wrist. Do check with your instructors about getting and using a full face. Some places don't want students to wear them, for a variety of reasons. If you want glasses instead of contacts, you can get the bigger 'over-the-glasses' goggles (dork goggles). There are also options for goggles/tight fit sunglasses (gatorz among others) that can be had with prescription correction. Gloves can be a good thing (I almost always wear them), but the selection is important. You need enough 'feel' and dexterity to be able to grab & pull what you need to when you need to. One suggestion I like is that you should be able to tie your shoes with them on. I've used 'mechanic's gloves', baseball batting gloves and 'skydiving specific' ones (the white ones with fabric back and leather gripping surface). As far as your question, I started buying my own stuff fairly soon. Maybe ten jumps. Altimeter, gloves, goggles & helmet (cheap ProTec). "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Bill has refused to remove someone who has admitted that he only posts to draw responses - the dictionary definition of a troll. This is what happens. If people would stop responding to him as if he is going to engage in a meaningful way, if people would stop asking him thoughtful intelligent questions, expecting anything more than a "Nuh-Uhhhhh" in response, then the S/N ratio would become much more reasonable. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

We've been 'there' for a long, long time. This isn't new. Its just not been socially acceptable in most circles to say it out loud. Trump just brought them out of their caves and out from under their rocks. I have found that a lot of my friends feel the same way. They just wouldn't admit it out loud until recently. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

He came back on under the user name "Clipped wings."Hmmm I cant find anyone named that on the forum. A search turns up nothing. Try harder. Member Profile (found through the "who's online" and then searching the member directory) Posts Post where he owns what he did "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yup. I know an instructor who starts off her Carry Permit classes by telling the students: "Write a list of everyone you are willing to die for. Now write down everyone you are willing to go to prison for the rest of your life for. Now write down everyone you are willing to give up everything you own for; house, car, savings, everything. The reality is if you use a gun to defend someone, those are very real possibilities. Be very careful using that gun." "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Private citizens should have more leeway than police officers. Professionals should be held to a much higher standard. "It was a stressful situation and I was fearful for my safety" should carry no weight with a jury when it comes from a LEO. It was known that the job was stressful and dangerous prior to taking the role. In the US, both private citizens and cops have far too much leeway. You don't understand the reality of a private citizen being involved in a defensive gun use*, do you? General rule is if the gun is drawn and pointed in public, but not fired, plan on being arrested and plan on spending ~ $5k for your lawyer. If the gun is fired and the attacker shot, plan on $20k minimum. A while back, AggieDave noted that the average cost in Texas for a "no bill" citizen shooting was around $50k ('no bill' meaning the Grand Jury didn't issue an indictment). Cops automatically get paid leave, a few days to think it through and get their story straight and a union lawyer. *"Use" in this case meaning using a gun to threaten someone, with or without actually shooting them. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Anyone here have an issue with the trend of people secretly recording interactions with the President of the United States. Fair use in an open forum is one thing but recording devices behind closed doors is entirely different. Nope. Not in the least. Trump is a lying con man. He says something, denies he said it, accuses the people who repeat what he really said of lying, all that. Gaslighting and then some. The Trumpettes fall for it, but not a whole lot of other people. The President used to have a team of stenographers to document everything that was said. Both for accuracy and for posterity. Trump (somehow not surprisingly) didn't know they existed, and largely refused to use their services. So they quit. Now, the serial liar has no documentation of what he said, so he can tell his supporters he really didn't say that. It's textbook demagougery. Also stupid as hell. Someone else can say "Trump said..." and there's no proof one way or the other. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

That all sounds like good reasoning, logical choices and good judgement calls. Congrats on losing the weight. That's a very difficult accomplishment. Congrats on making a few jumps. That's something that very, very few people actually do (solo jumps). "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

He doesn't want to believe it, therefore it isn't true. Facts, reason, reality; all that and more are irrelevant. The way he cherry picks the Obama statements that he believes, the fact that the statement he is using has nothing to do with the interference but was in reference to the voting machine hacking, all that. Of course, he posts in a manner that makes a 5 year old look like a genius too. He's not that dumb. He screws up on occasion and writes a grammatically correct sentence. I don't understand why anyone tries to reason with him. He refuses to engage in a rational manner. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Marked classified documents? Wasn't that 3? And again, doesn't the crime of receiving classified documents seem a bit like a trap to you? BTW, exactly when did Comey stop saying stuff you trust and start being a lying stooge? You are slooooooowly coming to see the facts. And she set the illeagal erver up. How is that a trap? The most repeated promise of his entire campaign was "lock her up". Yet with his own attorney general, he has refused to fulfill this promise. WHY? 'Cuz he's full of shit? 'Cuz he makes promises he has no intention of even trying to keep? "Cuz the 'Trumpettes' were stupid enough to allow their hate to overcome their common sense? Although it's pretty apparent that the Trumpettes don't have much common sense, or critical thinking ability. 'Cuz he hasn't been able to circumvent the legal processes and simply 'lock up' people he doesn't like... Yet? Ya know, like his puppet master, Putin. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I don't disagree that there have been some jumps where 2 instructors were a factor. I don't disagree that, in general, 2 instructors provides a safety margin. But ChrisD claims that the stats show that 2 instructors is safer. He claims a lot of stuff that simply isn't true. So I wanted to see if he had any data to back up his claims. Apparently, typically, he has nothing. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Interesting situation. First off, the fear is not unusual. Most of us went through it. Also, fear is not rational. The simple fact that moving one hand just a bit will not send you tumbling, and even if you did go 'kaflooey', you wouldn't accelerate to Mach 1 or better. In fact, it would take far, far more skill than you possess to out fall your instructors. None of that info will change your fear. If you choose to continue, you will simply have to keep going despite the fear. In time, you will work your way through it. Don't take the 'this guy falls like a rock' comments from the instructors personally. They need to adjust and alter their 'neutral' fall rate to be as close to yours as possible. They call it 'dressing for success'. The harder they have to work to fall with you, the harder of a job theirs is. For a 'feather butt' student, they will wear a big, baggy suit, even adding a sweatshirt over it to add drag. For a 'big fella' like you, they will go tight and slick with the suit, perhaps even adding weights to help. It simply makes their jobs easier. And 'easier' for an instructor means 'better' for the student. But the real question is: should you continue? I honestly think not. As I said above, the fear is there for all of us. Those of us that continue for any time have enough love/desire/need for jumping to continue despite those fears. I'm not 'hearing' that in your post. You are doing it for your wife, not because you want to. The time commitment, the money involved and the risks are such that going into it without the desire is not the best idea. You gave it a fair shot and it doesn't 'move you' the way it does many of us. Most land after the first jump and say "I have got to do that again. That's fine. We aren't all the same. As was suggested, try some tunnel time. You and the Mrs can share some time. Kids love it too (be careful with that, they may love it a bit too much ). Perhaps you need to get used to being about 2/3 your previous size. That can take some time. We often say 'the sky will always be there' to jumpers who have to take a break for any of a variety of reasons. If you change your mind, you can always come back. You know what it's like, you know you can do it. Remember, courage isn't the absence of fear. That is either stupidity or insanity. Real courage is being so scared you want to puke, yet going forward anyway. I give you a huge amount of credit for even trying it. For a lot of jumpers, even getting a spouse or S/O to try even a tandem is virtually impossible. I would expect most other jumpers to feel the same. We understand it isn't for everyone. The fact that you gave it a fair shot and decided it wasn't for you won't make you a pariah or an outcast at the DZ. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Which comes as part of a USPA membership, which is almost mandatory if you jump in the US. Blue Skies is the "alternative" magazine, covering topics in a way that the "Official Publication of USPA" can't or won't. Also covers topics that they won't. Far less serious, although there are serious articles. It's available as a 'paper' magazine. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Hmmm... Where might one find an article (or several) about exit order safety. Hmmm... That's a toughie. In all seriousness, hope that helps. Sometimes its easy to forget that there's a lot more to this place than forums and for sale ads. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

I went back to the beginning and read the first page or so. I'm pretty sure you are asking about Sangi. If you are, he's paralyzed for life. He came back on under the user name "Clipped wings." "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

How many packs on the reserve? What sort of environmental conditions was it stored under? Primarily temp conditions, but pest infestations, light and humidity can also be a factor over that time period. Properly stored, it may well be fine. A good inspection would be in order, obviously. A bigger concern for me would be how appropriate a 126 would be for someone coming back after a year layoff. But that's a different issue. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

It's a movie. A story. The real story is an interesting and compelling adventure. But it's a lot different from the one the movie told. I real life, Seal had to try a couple times to become an informant. He wanted to do it to reduce or eliminate his prison sentence. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Yeah, it's pretty cool. Civilian supersonic is not common. And, of course, somebody had to screw up the headline. Newsweek put out a story claiming twice the speed of light, not sound. It's been fixed, but the internet saves everything. Link is to Reddit, but I saw a bunch of posts of FB showing it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

What do you expect when our diplomacy is being run by a narcissistic amateur? Well, the Mango Mussolini has shown his maturity again. Iran President Rouhani made a speech, criticizing the US for going against all the other signatories to the nuke agreement (including France, China, Germany & Russia) and withdrawing. So Trump tweets a pompous, rambling threat. All caps too. Iran basically said "yeah, you've said that sort of garbage before, what makes this any different?" And an Iranian General responded with the same basic threat: We will destroy you too. Much of the rest of the world also responded to the buffoonery. Mainly mocking him. In many cases with song lyrics. Some of them are pretty funny. What isn't all that funny is that we've reached the point where threats from the POTUS are met with mocking and dismissal. The threats are simply idiotic and juvenile. The responses are appropriate. The office of President has become a joke. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Joe Kittinger is 90 today. His "big" jump was over 58 years ago. I was unaware he spent 11 months as a POW in the Hanoi Hilton. Joseph W, Kittinger Jr, "the first man in space", retired Colonel in the United States Air Force is probably best known outside of the parachuting, ballooning and military community as the capsule communicator for Felix Baumgartner's Red Bull Stratos project and his record-breaking 128,000 foot freefall from Earth's stratosphere, exceeding Joe's 1960 freefall record of 102,800'. Colonel Joe has lived many daring and heroic lives. Born 90 years ago on July 27, 1928 in Tampa, Florida, and raised in Orlando, Joe was educated at the Bolles School in Jacksonville and the University of Florida. Daring and fearless from a very early age, navigating the Everglades he hunted alligators as just a child, soloed in a Piper Cub, and raced speedboats as a teenager. He joined the U.S. Airforce as an aviation cadet in March of 1949, receiving his pilot wings and second lieutenant bars in March of 1950. Assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, he flew the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre. In 1954 Joe was transferred to the Air Force Missile Development Center at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. He flew the observation/chase plane that monitored flight surgeon Colonel John Paul Stapp's rocket sled run of 632 mph (1,017 km/h) in 1955. Joe was impressed by Doctor Stapp's dedication and leadership as a pioneer in aerospace medicine. The admiration was mutual, calling Joe "the bravest man alive." Impressed with Kittinger's skillful jet piloting, he recommended him for space-related aviation research work, high-altitude balloon tests and stratospheric stargazing. In 1957, as part of Project Manhigh, Joe Kittinger set a balloon altitude record of 96,760 feet (29,490 m) for which he was awarded his first of five Distinguished Flying Crosses. Joe participated in Project Excelsior in 1960, setting a world record for the highest skydive from a height greater than 31 kilometres (19 mi). Joe's first high-altitude jump, from about 76,400 feet (23,300 m) on November 16, 1959, was nearly fatal; the drogue chute wrapped around Joe's neck and caused him to lose consciousness. The automatic parachute opener saved his life. He inadvertently set a record, attaining a rotational velocity of 120 rpm and 22 g's during a uncontrollable flat spin. On December 11, 1959, Joe jumped from about 74,700 feet (22,800 m). For this leap, he was awarded the A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal. On August 16, 1960, Joe made the record setting high-altitude jump from 102,800 feet (31,300 m); he fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of 614 miles per hour (988 km/h) before deploying his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). The pressurization seal for his right glove failed during the ascent; his right hand swelled and was unusable but he continued the mission without notifying the ground of the malfunction. The adventure was chronicled in the pages of LIFE magazine. At Holloman Air Force Base, Joe took part in Project Stargazer in December 1960. He and astronomer William C. White rode an open-gondola helium balloon containing astronomy equipment to 82,200 feet (25,100 m), where they spent over 18 hours performing observations. In 1965, Joe was approached by parachutist Nick Piantanida for assistance on Nick's Strato Jump project, an effort to break Joe's 1960 high altitude record skydive. Joe refused to assist in the effort, considering Nick too reckless. Nick Piantanida was killed in 1966 during his third attempt. Joe served three tours in Vietnam. Volunteering for his third tour he said he wanted to go "because I want the war to end so my own sons won't have to go." Flying a total of 483 combat missions, just one week before his tour was to end,on May 11, 1972, while flying an F-4D, Lieutenant Colonel Kittinger was leading a flight of Phantoms approximately five miles northwest of Thai Nguyen, North Vietnam, when they engaged a flight of MiG-21 fighters, when Lt. Col. Kittinger's Phantom II was hit by an air-to-air missile that damaged his starboard wing, setting the aircraft aflame and causing it to break apart. Kittinger and weapons systems officer Reich ejected a few miles from Thai Nguyen and were soon captured and taken to the city of Hanoi. News came to his family several months later that he survived and that he was a prisoner of war. Joe Kittinger spent 11 months in the Hoa Lò Prison (Hanoi Hilton) where he was put through rope torture. Colonel Kittinger was the senior ranking officer of FNGs (newer prisoners of war- those captured after 1969). Joe was freed and returned to American hands on March 28, 1973, having been promoted to full colonel while in captivity. Following his return, Colonel Kittinger attended the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. After completing the Air War College, Col. Joe became the Vice Commander of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, where he again flew the F-4 Phantom II. In 1977, he received an assignment to Headquarters, 12th Air Force, at Bergstrom AFB, Texas. Joseph Kittinger accumulated 7,679 flying hours in the Air Force, including 948 combat flying hours, retiring in 1978. After working for a short time for Martin Marietta, He became Vice President of Flight Operations for Rosie O'Grady's Flying Circus, and set a gas balloon world distance record of 3,221.23 km in 1983. From September 14 to September 18, 1984, he completed the first solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic, earning Joe a second story in National Geographic Magazine. Joe participated in the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning in 1989 and 1994. Joe Kittinger was CAPCOM for Felix on Baumgartner's October 14, 2012 free-fall from 128,100 feet (39,000m); his reassuring voice was heard by millions during this successful jump. The F-4D Phantom II that Lt Col. Kittinger achieved his MiG 21 kill, while commanding the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron is on display at the USAF Academy. In 1997, Joe Kittinger was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. On January 23, 2007, the Civil Air Patrol honored Joe by naming the Texas CAP wing's TX-352 Squadron after him. Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Trophy, the museum's highest honor, was awarded to Col. Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. in the category of Lifetime Achievement. He has received the Distinguished Flying Cross on five occasions, two for his balloon work and three for his combat tours in Southeast Asia. In 2010 Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger, B-6215, joined the inaugural class of the International Skydiving Museum Hall of Fame. "Self-mastery is the key to the portals of the universe" ----Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger Jr. http://joekittinger.com/recordsawards.html Text and link taken from FB. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

There has been more recent discussion on it. This sort of gear is commonly called "Big Boy" gear. Search that term for more stuff. HERE is one thread. It says that Taft has a rig that will take students up to your size. But that was 5 years ago. Things change. Good luck. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Wanna bet? Any clue how often this happens? Helpful hint: A lot. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

What statistics are those? Can you show some stats that show a 2 instructor AFF jump being safer than a one instructor (all other things being equivalent)? I know my DZ does a 'tandem progression'. 2 tandems and 10 minutes in the tunnel (with one of the DZ's instructors). If all goes well, then the 1st AFF jump is with one instructor. If it doesn't go well, the instructors have the option of: Another tandem. More tunnel time. 2 instructors on the AFF jump. If it is different instructors on each jump (and it often is), the communication between them is pretty solid. Making sure the student gets the instruction they need to make a safe jump is paramount. Keep in mind, having a good student safety record is not just good for the students. It's really good for the DZ too. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

Ultra fine sharpie is what I've used. A light touch and a few minutes to dry before handling are a good idea. Someone has said that the pens AirTec gives out (CYPRES Logo) are also good. Don't know, haven't tried it. "There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo