wolfriverjoe

The FAA "approves" parachutes, not skydivers. A parachute is either "approved" for use, or it is not. But isn't the approval limited to operating within the TSO? The FAA approves airplanes, but operating over max gross weight is a violation of the FARs, wouldn't operating a parachute over TSO max weight be the same thing? I'm not trying to start an argument, I just want to get my facts straight. "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

And there's nothing wrong with asking for help. Part of what I like about this site is seeing questions that I hadn't even thought to ask. Another is seeing where my answers are either incomplete or incorrect (really!). I want to know the correct answer, even if it means admitting I was wrong in the first place. I just gets a little annoying to see the same question asked over and over (and over and over) when it's been dealt with quite thoroughly before. That's why I just linked you to the other thread instead of writing out a long, detailed reply. Just don't be surprised when you hear "We can't tell you how to do that over the internet". Most of what you need to learn in this sport is "hands on". Skydivers are incurable smart asses. Most of my replies include both a serious part and a smart ass part. And searches are your friend. You say you searched, but where and how much? There's loads of packing videos on YouTube and Skydivingmovies.com. The thread I linked in my first reply to you was less than 12 hours old. It was still well up on the first page of G&R when I linked it. Did you look there at all? I understand that you are thinking of this as "training", but it involves gear too. Keep learning, keep asking questions, and work a little on your search skills "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

Do your homework and cite the FAR. Speculation is "hillbilly." 105.43 - "No person may conduct a parachute operation...unless that system has at least...one approved reserve parachute, and one approved single person harness and container..." Going over TSO weight is going outside "approval", isn't 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

Pointer #1 - Get live training. Reading books or watching video will help but is no substitute for hands on, supervised instruction. Period. Video and text links in this thread in Gear and Rigging For a 288 Manta, long arms and a stool to stand on might be of help. "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

Tadpole! Lucky Charms!!! KY Hillbilly (I think of Kentucky, not KY jelly) "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 am not an expert. Double check with them. I am guessing multiple beam projetor unit. If it isn't then all this is useless. Are all the projectors working? If one goes out it can produce that effect. Did the projector get bumped? My second guess would be alignment. Some of the old projector units had adjustable alignment (kind of like aiming headlight beams). It might be in the owners manual. You saved it right?? "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 saw a brand new camo Vector III in May. Black and tan trim (the tan looked almost gold) with desert camo on the main and reserve flaps. Not what I'd choose, but it did look cool. "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

Ok, I misunderstood your OP. I thought he cut you off. I now see that you chose to not cut him off, which put you too far out to make it back (please correct me if I still have it wrong). Again, erring on the side of caution isn't bad, not cutting off other jumpers in the pattern was the polite thing to do. But as has been pointed out, there were ways you could have made it back without causing a traffic conflict. And yes, I understand the problem of not thinking of these questions until after you have already left the DZ. The only criticism I have is the "trying to make it over the trees" and waiting until 50' to decide not to. I've landed out because I wasn't absolutely sure I was going to clear the trees. I wasn't willing to put myself into a hole I couldn't get out of and took an out while still above 1000'. Far, far better to miss your spot by (in my case) half a mile than to land in a tree. "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

This might be way off but do you have rear drum brakes? Reason I ask is because the same thing was happening to me and it ended up being a locked wheel cylinder and it caused the drum brakes to eventually grenade itself. But it klunked for a little bit before they finally gave and had me scratching my head about it. No, it's discs all the way around. And it's the bearing. 99% sure. I've torn apart the rear hubs more than once. It isn't all that complicated, but I'm tired from the weekend and lack motivation. And I got started and found the brake rotor stuck (rust) to the hub. But this is truly a minor problem compared to some of the others mentioned. I hope your dad heals well Lucky. I was looking forward to meeting you at Summerfest. "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

Well I appreciate your concern, but I don't think an OB/GYN knows a whole lot about rear wheel bearings in a Porsche 944. It gives out a nasty Klunk! every so often. I can't find a pattern. It doesn't depend on speed, accelleration (up or down), side loading, or anything else I can think of. I know how to tear it apart, I just don't feel like it right now. And my dog is feeling poorly. He went to the vet this morning (that's when the car started making funny noises), got a thermometer shoved up his butt, and a shot. Just his annual check up. Right now he's sulking. He usually takes a day or so to recover, mainly the injection site is really sore. And he's mad at me for putting him through it. But thanks for asking "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

Not an instructor, but I am a pilot. 1 - Low man has right of way. Remember, there's no way to do a go-around on these things. 2 - It sounds like he would have had a smaller canopy than you, moving faster (assumption on my part). His going in front of you would then be the better thing to do, going faster, opening space. If he had fallen in line behind you, he might have caught up to you. 3 - From the OP, he was 100ft below and a couple hundred feet in front. Although this is nowhere near adequate seperation for planes, it is fine for canopies. As a student, keeping more space than needed is a very good idea. As you progress, you will find yourself more comfortable in closer proximity. Your off-landing was probably not absolutely necessary, erring on the side of caution was a good idea. What did the instructor say about the whole thing? What did the other jumper say? He may not have even seen you. You did discuss this with the instructor and the other jumper, right?? "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

0,5,0 2 H&Ps Sat. Low cloud ceiling. Fun, but I forgot how slow subterminal openings are. Smooth and sweet, but a bit slower. 3 3ways on Sun. Nothing special or spectacular, but lots of fun. We had a big cloud right over the DZ on the 2nd one, had to spot about 3/4 mile out. No wind, so we all got back ok. "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

Because there is a section in it on packing a square main Page 75 "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's some good links here, but one I don't see is the FAA Rigger Book. I agree that these should be aids to learning how to pack, not substitutes for a live teacher. But you seem to understand that

I live in Kaukauna, about 1/2 hour north of Oshkosh. It'd be great to get together with some of you guys. More importantly, Wolfriver Skydivers is in Shiocton (W34) about 45 min north of Oshkosh. Far enough to be away from all the traffic in the sky. 3 jumpers gets the 182 up, depending on pilot availability. I'm going to be at SDC until Tuesday afternoon (woo hoo Summerfest), but I'd love to jump with you if you can fit it into the schedule. And if we can't find one of the other pilots, I'd even love to fly the plane on a DZ.com load or two. Feel free to PM for contact info. "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 get that. The only difference between a hop and pop and a regular skydive is how long you spend in freefall. The landing is just the same. True to a point, but hop'n'pops are jumps devoted entirely to canopy flight. Especially for students, not having the "distraction" of freefall tasks keeps the focus on the canopy part. Shah - Don't make any serious decisions quite yet. Let the hurt fade, and the newness wear off a bit before you decide if you want to continue. The sky will always be there. Whether or not you will have the ability or desire to go up again is a different issue. Follow the doc's advice, watch your weight, stay focused on your recovery. While I disagree with you personally on some things, I'm sorry to hear you got hurt. "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

First off, sorry to hear about your mother. I hope the stroke wasn't too severe, and that she has a good recovery. I was always taught that customer service isn't about never making mistakes. It is about owning responsibility for the ones you make, and correcting or making amends for them. This guy just had the bad luck of catching several of them. You could have hidden the fact that you mislaid the order and just blamed the manufacturer for the delay... But you didn't. You could have blamed the manufacturer for the color pattern screwup... But you didn't. You were the one who kept communications open, and made sure the customer knew what was going on. (owning responsibility) You are offering a discount on future purchases. (making amends). If you weren't so far away, I'd feel very comfortable ordering from you. Based on what I've heard about you on here, but more what I've heard from you. You don't try to hide your mistakes. You don't blame others for them. You probably don't make anywhere near as many as your posts imply. Everyone screws up. Not everyone has the balls to admit it and make it right. "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

To emphasize what he said, I go 150-155 on the scale stepping into the shower. I go 195 on the exact same scale with all my gear. Jumpsuit, helmet, altimiter and rig (Talon with a 190 Triathlon, PD 176R and Cypress). Especially with larger gear (like lower experience jumpers should have) the weight of the gear is more than you might expect. "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

No, you aren't alone. Some don't drink for religious reasons. Others are in recovery. It is a pretty prevalent activity, but I've never seen anyone belittled or ostracized for not drinking. One of the advantages is that it's usually pretty easy to get on sunrise loads because everyone else was up late partying. "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

You want a poster of my avitar? They printed that picture HUGE in the new Blue Skies Magazine that just came out. Did you see that? Yes. Autographed if possible. If you put a lipstick "kiss" on the poster, even better.

Where in the article did it say he pointed in anywhere? And as far as I could see, there was not a prosecution, just an investigation. That determined that the brief time the TV guy held the gun didn't count as "possession". I'm not real familiar with Japan's gun laws, I just know that they are very restrictive. If they are so strict that simply holding a gun during a TV show taping is illegal, then he should be prosecuted. Apparently that isn't the case. And no, pointing any gun at anyone you aren't willing to shoot is unacceptable. Most incidents I know of where someone was shot accidentaly was shot with an "unloaded" 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

How about a poster sized version of Mrs V's avatar?

First, clarify some terms for me. When you say "trying to turn over" do you really mean "trying to fire"? Turning over means (to me) when the starter is cranking the motor - turning it over to get it to start. If it's behaving normally other than not starting when you turn the key, then the battery and starter are ok. If it's sort of firing, but not staying running (runs just a little bit while cranking, or runs for just a second then quits) then the first thing would be fuel or spark. If it runs fine after it starts then I would check the plugs first. If it stumbles when it's running (especially under hard acceleration), then I would think fuel filter. How long has it been since the plugs and fuel filter were changed (last tune up)? Spark plugs are usually easy (as long as you can reach them). Fuel filters can be easy, medium or mechanic only depending on where they are. A good investment is a shop manual. Haynes or Chilton are the most popular. The factory book is best, but those aren't cheap. Knowing a bit about how the car works is always a good idea, even if you don't want to do the work yourself. And for a poor 18 year old, it can be priceless. "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

"Theme" lunch box would be "Hot Wheels". But I was way cool in 6th grade when I got a black plastic "adult" lunchbox that I used through 9th grade (end of jr high back then). "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

A serious question. Why are boobies so wonderful? Is it because we remember where our first nutrition came from? Is it because here in the US, they are usually kept hidden, and become more attractive because of scarcity? Or is there another, deeper reason? Or are they wonderful Just Because?