goose491

I have fixed the inaccuracies in your description of my landings. Funny, I don't recall describing them like that. The info I have striken out is all you. I described my landing technique and truthfully, you have butchered it. None (I don't snap a 180)... But to answer your question with a question, what signal do you give someone above you to tell them that you are about to turn onto your base leg?... because my 180 CARVE is initiated only a matter of seconds after I would initiate that turn. Once again, you have butchered my posts in trying to paraphrase and it even hurt a little. This is not what I said at all. But I invite you to view my pretty pictures a second time (I think I did a pretty nice job

Okay Bill, I think we have misunderstood eachother and have different scenarios painted. First off, I do not "snap" anything. A quick review of my posts will reveal what I describe as a smooth, continuous carve through base and final turns on the fronts.... but whatever. Fixed that one. It is not considered "smart" of me to simply follow another jumpers pattern. If I am "smart", then I realize that different canopies have different flight characteristics and different jumpers have different wing loadings. It is unreasonable to expect my canopy to perform the same way as that guy in front of me. This is the part I think we are misunderstanding eachother on. I do not think I have ever caused someone to think I was landing downwind when I wasn't. I have drawn some lovely pictures for you since I am at... work. lol In the first one, you've got a nice, predictable left hand pattern. Note that point X is where you would initiate your turn to base leg. The second shot is what I do now. Note that point Y is where I would initiate my carve through 180. Admittedly, point Y would probably be 50 to 100 feet lower than X but do you note the wind direction? Do you note I'm running out of field to the North and I'm still at about 500 ft? lol. Tell me that you are above and behind a jumper approaching point Y and that you think he/she's landing North... I will tell you you need to re-think it... that's not skygod complex Bill. The only difference between X and Y is roughly 50 to 100 feet vertical! Please explain the difference in perspective if you are following me in the first scenario versus the second. What makes you so sure, in the second scenario, that we will both be landing North? My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I think it's a joke though tigra. lol Too funny! Being in insurance, I have to deal with customers who are upset that we are concerned with "labelled breeds". Now I can just refer them to this site, make your pit bull a poodle, problem solved!! (actually, aren't poodles pretty vicious?) My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

At skydive burnaby, we have a twin Otter dropping 22 jumpers and we are all landing in the same area. Same thing applies though, a 180 will be initiated only a slight bit lower than the two 90s this student will should be anticipating when they find themselves above and behind you. Ah, well there I see an issue. I see what you are saying... But if that is the case, do we point our finger at the guy doing 180s or do we talk to the one that took that lightly loaded student off of radio? My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Hey Wendy and Bill, I hope my posts do not come off the wrong way. I'm starting to wonder if I was missing something. Please humor me a moment and see if we're on the same page. Your intention is to do a 180 prior to landing. Your turns to base and final are to be done in one continuous motion. You are nearing the end of your downwind leg. You are at say 500ft. I am above and behind you. Given the situation I have described, if I am not aware that you are still planning to turn yourself around, do I not have some awareness issues deciphering what's going on? Should it not be expected of me to understand that you shouldn't be where you are (if your plan is to land in the direction you are now facing)? And if I am convinced that you are on final, shouldn't I see that given your current position, you will be landing off? And downwind? Should I not then, decide it's a bad idea to simply follow you and not make plans of my own to get myself turned around... into wind and onto the landing area? Please let me know what you think. I myself do a 180 carve on the fronts before landing and I don't see how this could confuse someone above me. I would, of course, like to understand fully, how my actions could cause someone jeopardy. Nick My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

At our DZ we have a bit of a theory which goes "Follow the first jumper down... but don't be an idioT!!!!" In other words, the first jumper down is in no way responsible for YOU. If you're 400 feet above me instead of 1000... well listen, that should make it even easier to see that I'm preparing for a 180 or two more 90s because it's easier to see that I'm too high to call this a final... and that I'm at the other end of the landing area at some 450ft plus. You mentioned a "greater than expected turn radius" but you didn't address this extra altitude. What is this person doing here and this high if not preparing to turn around and land the other way? If I'm setting up for a 180, I'm facing downwind and you are following me and thinking that I'm on final, then you are following blindly. You have not considered that you will be landing downwind and off given your position. Doesn't this make some sense? Follow the first jumper down does not mean stop thinking about how to land safely and become a sheep. What if the first guy down wants to do a downwinder? Not to say it's the best decision he/she could be making on the spot, having not told the rest of the load beforehand... but when you collide with him, all that goes out the window... you are both losers. Everyone needs to THINK about what's going on and what every canopy in the pattern looks to be doing. Again, if I mistake someone setting up for a 180 as someone on Final... I have some issues to address before I put myself in traffic again. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I have to disagree with you here Bill. That person 1000 feet above you should have a head on their shoulders too. Lower man has right of way and while that doesn't mean he/she can become erratic and unpredictable.... Are we not at risk of making this a "Save me from myself" type problem when we tell someone 1000feet above you they don't have to understand the possibilities? Doing a 180 is fine providing of course, you are not cutting anyone off. If a jumper is some 1000 feet above you and sees you flying North... he/she may be thinking one of three things: 1) this person is on final and landing North, or 2) this person is going to do a turn to base and then a turn to final and land South, or 3) this person is going to do a 180 and land South The lower canopy has right of way. If I'm 1000 feet above you, you are flying North and I can't decipher if you are going to be landing that way or turning around... I think I will need to speak to a few canopy coaches about my lack of skill in deciphering what goes on in a pattern on any given day. I do 180 carves on the fronts for my landings. I'm in no way a skygod or whatever but If I do one and then someone lands later telling me: "I was 1000 feet above you and I thought you were landing one way and you surprised me by turning around and landing the other.".... I will refer them to a coach to watch a few more loads land. There is no way someone 1000 ft above me should not understand what is about to take place given where I initiate my 180. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

That's too funny! Invent some cooky thing and all sorts of people join in!... I'm going to spend the day thinking of all the different things I can pile on my poor felines when I get home. [And on this morning, at this moment, they both shudder at home, not knowing why] My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

We did a most fabulous 20-way tracking dive on Saturday night. We do large tracking dives at sunset quite often at our DZ as a means to get everyone together in the air. This was one of the nicest ones I have ever been on. 20 of us and we managed to keep it real tight while still keeping it relaxed. We were lucky enough to have Steve Curtis lead the dive and he made it a decent speed to keep us all together. Formed a nice big V. For a great cause... had a great jump. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

"EEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" What?... that's what it looks like he's saying! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Dude! That is one Fugly Pup! ...Nasty! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

It's an Intellevision! I have one of those at home! Frogger, Burgertime, Asteroids... The fun never stops! My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

And the sign said anybody caught trespassing would be shot on sight So I jumped on the fence and yelled at the house, Hey! what gives you the right To put up a fence to keep me out or to keep mother nature in If God was here, he'd tell you to your face, man you're some kinda sinner ... Now, hey you Mister! can't you read, you got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat! You can't even watch, no you can't eat, you ain't suppose to be here Sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside Uh! -1970, Five Man Electrical Band My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I understand that a canopy cannot fly sideways. lol. But that has nothing to do with it deflating. A solid wing cannot fly sideways either. Remember a wing flies within a box of air and does not care what that box of air is doing. My point is, it never experiences a "Push" from the side if there is a crosswind. It merely travels sideways with the wind, if said wind is coming from the side. Careful here, the "relative wind" will always be equal the airspeed of the canopy and opposite it's direction of flight. What the winds are doing relative the earth is irrelavent. As canopy pilots, we can only mention a "cross-wind", when we know the winds to be acting perpendicular the desired flight path. At this point, pointing the canopy into said crosswind is very much a deliberate act to keep on your desired flight path. Don't unstow your breaks. Don't do a thing. Point yourself in one direction. You may not continue to fly in a straight line, towards say a fixed target on the ground, but your canopies heading will not chage when your crosswind component does. Just like that boat in the river, I was not stating that it would be traveling sideways along the water... it travels sideways with the water and relative the shore. Changing the speed of the waters flow will not alter the heading of the boat. That's all. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

My wings didn't have riser inserts. I bough myself a pair of the metal ones for $15 CND. Both nice rigs, I'm sure you'll be happy either way. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

A gust is no more than a significant and sudden change in wind speed. Flying North when a sudden increase in the winds from the west is observed will not turn you to the East any more than flying North with steady winds from the west. It's like a Kayak placed perpendicular the flow on a river. It's got a roll stabilizer at the back which is no more than a fin. If the kayak had a pole passing right through it's center (top to bottom) which went right to the bottom and into the ground, the fin would catch moving water and would spin the boat about said pole to face upstream much like a weathervain into wind. However, without anchoring it's vertical axis like this, the boat will simply travel downstream, remaining perpendicular the river. This holds true if you slow the rivers flow down, if you stop and start it again. It does not matter the speed or consistency of speed of the moving water. Note that a weathervain turns into wind by pivoting around an anchored vertical axis. In the absence of this anchored vertical axis, the weathervain will merely fall over in the direction the wind is blowing. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I once held the door open for a lady at a shopping mall. She got all sour and said "I can open the door for myself thank you!" I said "Oh yeah?", walked in myself, pushed the door shut as she tried to follow me through it, and turned the lock. Of course it was only for show. She only had to use the door right beside it, and I unlocked it again before going inside. "I'd of offered to hold the door for you even if you were an ugly man... get over yourself." I said. I hope she got the picture as a few bistanders had a good laugh at her expense, that being nice is good. Being rude is not. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

We have to 'crab' to maintain a particular flight direction when flying in a cross-wind. That in itself shows that the canopy does not turn because of cross wind... it merely 'strafes' for lack of a better word. It is no different than any other wing. Point yourself North with a wind from the west, your canopy will fly North-East... but it will not point itself East, it will maintain it's Northern heading. You as the pilot, must point it sligthly West if you wish to continue flying North. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Have you confirmed that both sides of the cutaway teflon are the correct length? The right side of mine was too short and would come out of the keeper upon opening. It was a little eerie sometimes to look right and see the tip of it only a few inches from the shoe-string. Wings sent me a new one immediately once I brought it to their attention. Another wings jumper told me he had the same thing happen. A few wings containers were just matted with cutaway handles designed for smaller rigs. The teflon cable should do it's job and have a good length left to be stored behind the riser. Check for that. Nick My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

I also voted for A. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Hey, I may not agree with many things I see in American culture. The right apparent responsibility to bare arms used to be one of them. Then I realised, NOT baring arms is newer as a concept then carrying. As human beings, forming part of each and every culture, we have always been armed. It has always been the norm to own and know how to operate a means of self-defence. I am of the mind that yes, everyone should be armed. Weather you take that to mean you should have a gun, or just be a ninja like me (lol). My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Me too! The crossbracing is not what adds performance, it's one way to deal with the added stress on a canopy when you build it to perform a certain way. It's like saying a particular car is not going to be dangerously fast because look, it doens't have a five-point harness. Crossbracing is indicative of a HP canopy... the lack of crossbracing is in no way indicative that it is not HP though. My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!

Congratulations and thanks for sharing. I was a pleasure to read

Ticca, Michelle and Rebecca, I am happy that you are beginning to see what it is I am saying. But it is not: "Don't take drugs!" It is: "Understand that one day, we will not have to. And that this day will not come until most of us do. And if you don't believe, you are a hindrance to this day ever dawning." Furthermore: "Now that they (drugs) have helped you back on your feet, understand that they are an ugly cane. You now have the ability to get around, to live a normal life... if your head is 'righted' by these drugs, then use it now and change your mind. Know that you can. KNOW that you can so that you can teach your children that they can and not doubt yourself in the least as you do. That they might grow up confidently with this knowledge." At the very least, I hope you are all entertained

In my analogy, I went from bed, to walker, to crutches to cane. In terms of dealing with mental disorders... I guess: -"Oogga-booga-Oooga.. Eek arg!", combined with the frenzied clubbing and stoning of the poor Neanderthal whose social skills just never quite seemed to fit the bill for the rest. That was the hospital Bed -"That person is possessed by demons!", and the efforts put forth to exile the different one or to exorcise said demons via different techniques or . That was the walker -Lobotomies, plain pain, life in a cage, and later, stuff like unnecessary shock treatment. Those were the crutches and, Drugs... drugs are the cane. Today, we all walk around very well. Some do so with the aid of a cane, some without. Some of us lean hard on that cane because we cannot get around without it. Some of us use the cane only because we think we need it. (Heck, some of us only use the cane on the weekend for a little fun!) One thing remains constant though, there is a definite lack of minds beleiving we will ever be a people who can all walk proudly, independent of external support. I should be shouting this stuff out on my street corner My Karma ran over my Dogma!!!