wolfriverjoe

One of the instructors at my DZ says "now you know why the birds sing". Yes, I've seen those pictures and that video a bunch of times before. All well done tandem videos are about the same. That doesn't lessen my enjoyment of the thrill on your face after landing, or the "it's starting to feel real" at 7k. I'm glad you had a good time and are coming back for more. "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 did the FJC (static line) on Saturday. We couldn't jump because it was too windy. I came back on Sunday and did my first jump. The minute I landed, I knew how badly I wanted it. I did the second jump 2 hours later. And I have been back at every opportunity ever since. "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

Best use of that song was Full Metal Jacket. "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 guess I'm not all that surprised. How many people are in danger of losing their homes, but still have cable, internet, 2 cars, cell phone and land lines, and on and on and on?? The simple concept of living within your means seems to have gone out the window when "easy credit terms" came along. How many of the commercials for some of the ridiculous loans had the phrase "the credit you deserve"? When your credit rating is based on your past history of paying your bills, it is the credit you deserve. And of couse you can't not let your kids have everything they ask for, can you? You know the penalty for not being one of the "cool kids" don't you? "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

Don't laugh too hard. I just heard about this from another truck driver. The picture of his house shows his neighbor's car parked in his driveway. Apparently, the neighbor has been parking one of his cars in the drive to keep from having to move them back and forth. "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

The first one made it?? Cool!!

Don't worry too much about the time off. In Wisconsin, we take that much time off in a bad winter (one reason my numbers are so low). You obviously will have to do a recurrency jump, and probably a couple more solos to knock the rust off, but it should all come back pretty fast. Good luck healing.

Should we have the lawyers waiting on the ground, or give them a better view by deliverying them from a higher altitude? The word "tandem" does not imply the use of parachuting equipments, it just means "two at the time" In that case, attach one lawyer to one executive. Keeps nature in balance. "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! We would take the bailout money and use it to help the aircraft industry. And the parachute industry. And of course, the BEER industry We'd spread all that wealth and restore the economy in no time. "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

Statistics simply state what has happened. You can use them to predict the probability in the future, if the circumstances are the same. But it is only probability, and only valid across large samples. Using them to predict individual outcomes is as accurate as betting on a single roll of the dice. For example, if you toss a coin and it comes up heads 10 times in a row, what are the odds it will come up heads the next time? There are also too many variables in skydiving based on individual choices for the "chances of getting hurt or killed" to have any real validity. For example, the "odds" of a malfunction requiring a cutaway are about 1 in 300 or so. I know jumpers with over 1000 jumps and no cutaways yet. Then there are the CReW guys who might have one every 50 or so. "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, that 182 could do it. Is it still flying? And I forgot about the P206. A turbine could do it. Still, with the altimiter and the short freefall. I tend to be suspicious. "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

Whether or not we "should" share is moot. There's no way the public would allow the government to "give away" our vaccine. I would bet a large amount of money that even reports of smallpox being used as a weapon anywhere in the world would result in mass panic and overwhelming demand from the public to be vaccinated right now. Look at the panic around the SARS out break a couple years ago. Our vulnerability to these kind of attacks is frightnening. Moreso psychologically than physically. And no, I probably wouldn't get vaccinated. If there was an outbreak, I'm isolated enough, and able to be self-sufficient enough that I think I'd be 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

Read the "Balloon Jumps" thread started by Ryan_d_sucks. Its about 3 pages back. It turned into a discussion on filing NOTAMs. AFAIK, as long as the airspace is legal, you file the notam and have permission from the land owner, there isn't anything illegal about it. You are accountable for yourself, but have to let ATC and the rest of the people in the air know ahead of time. You say "landing on the beach". Public or private? On the public beach, trying to convince the cops after you land?? That might be a different story. "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 are far too many people that are guilty of that charge. The courts are already backed up and the prisons are overcrowded. Fortunately, the stupid ones generally get caught for something else. "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

Come on? Don't you know that the best way to get the car at the front of the line to speed up is to tailgate the guy right in front of you? The closer you get, the faster the front guy will go. "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, I'm not going to judge a man by one mistake either, but this was not PB's first major error in judgement. Also, this incident was not just one mistake. He had an expired FL carry permit. That tells me he took the class and should have understood the do's and don't's of legal carry. #1 New York City has very strict and well known rules on guns. #2 Carrying a gun and going out drinking (unless he was only drinking soda) don't mix. Ever. #3 Sticking a loaded pistol into the waistband of your pants is not a safe way to carry. Sweatpants is even stupider. #4 Grabbing a pistol through clothing so that it doesn't go off isn't too difficult if you know your gun well. Glocks only go off when the trigger is pulled. I only know what I've seen on ESPN, but if it slipped, and went off as he was grabbing it, he really needs some basic gun handling training. I'm fully in favor of responsible, trained individuals being allowed to have the means to defend themselves. I don't see this as a "gun rights" issue. I see this as a criminal issue, and a stupidity 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

I'm not seeing the "lump". Do you mean where the white riveted footwell plate bends up into the wall? You don't see that on a lot of jump 182s because many have a "backboard" to protect both the dash and the rig when the jumper sits backwards there (student slot). Also, keep in mind 182s go back to the 50's. Ours is a 58 (I think). You can get more altitude this time of year (colder denser air), but that's not a new plane, and if it is a 182 I still doubt 18k. "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

$249 -$169 = $80. Unless they charged extra for the "high altitude" video. Did the pilot use Oxygen?? It's required at those altitudes. Did the TI or Video guy use oxygen? That looks like a C-182 to me. Dashboard and control locations, ashtray on pillar, step and wheel (door on 206 is a lot further aft) Anybody out there got a 182 that'll go to 18k?? If you post more of the video, better conclusions can be drawn. "Certificate"? We print them up too. One student broke Joe Kittenger's record-jumped from 120,000 ft (typo- was reprinted) I think it's appropriate to not name this DZ so far, but the more I see, the worse it looks for 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

I fly a Triathalon 190. I've borrowed a 170 Sabre2 a few times. The difference isn't huge but it is there. As long as you pick a good day (medium,steady winds; low traffic in the pattern:big open landing area), practice flare up high, play with it a bit to get a feel for it, and don't do anything radical, I would think you'll be ok. Standard disclaimer: not an instructor, ask your instructor ect, ect. "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

Use a can opener. "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

Of course, this risk profile can change dramatically for part time instructors. Step 4 becomes even more pressing. _Am Hmmm..... Was this jab at part time instructors??? Part time instructors usually have "real" jobs, homes, cars, ect. And insurance policies. IOW assets. That are attractive to PI attorneys. "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

Now admit it; Don't you fantasize about having your own minions? I could see Billy sitting there in a gray suit, wearing a monocle, stroking a white cat... How did you know? I am getting a white cat in the next couple of days. Colleague of my wife's at her office found a deaf cat, all white long hair with a blue eye and green eye. He can't keep it, so we're taking it in. This is going to be interesting.... Are you going to call it "Mr Bigglesworth"? "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

Orlando isn't really "local" and driving in Orlando traffic makes it really not local. Ok, I looked at the closest city on your location map. You don't list a home town, but there's at least 4 in Deland. My point was (is) that these places are everywhere, I'm sure there has to be a couple within reasonable distance from you. FWIW I'm in favor of supporting local small businesses over sites like E-bay whenever practical. "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 find it hard to believe that there are no coin shops in central Florida. I found 30 just on the Yellow pages website for Orlando. Pick up the phone and call around. Most of them will have stuff in the display cases already priced so they won't be able to jack the price up just for you. You might pay a bit more than at a coin show or something similar, a bit more because of the season, but if you shop around, you shouldn't get hosed too bad. "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's what I meant about relapse. Take it easy, even when you start feeling better. Taking an extra week after you fell mostly better is very important to getting all the way better. Pneumonia is very persistent, as others have said. "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