howardwhite

More specifically re Poynter book: http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/parachute/information/ratings.cfm plus pages on the two-volume "Poynter Manual," which you will probably want to have. Para-Gear also sells them (page 202 of the brand-new catalog.) HW

Again: A DZ does not need to seek a waiver or require any action from the full board to allow a 16-year-old to jump with notarized consent. It would need such action if it sought to allow a 16-year-old to jump without such consent. The FB notations mean that full board action is required to obtain a waiver from the published BSR. HW

So, it would take a waiver from the full board and more importantly, the willingness of the DZ to seek a waiver for the underaged jumper and accept a release a liability from them. The BSR you quote does not require that the full board approve every decision by a DZ to let a 16-year-old jump (if that's what you meant.) It simply says only the full board can issue a waiver to these items. I know one jumper who started at 16 at a GM DZ; both his parents are active jumpers. He's now 18 and was in at least one 30-way this week. HW

One of the first fatalities I cleaned up after as an S&TA many, many years ago was a 100-jump wonder who had a little still camera attached to his wrist. It got snagged in his lines, and to make a long story short, he went in feet first under a tangled mess of main and reserve fabric. Good call. HW

You're prolly right. I sent the picture to Ted. Here's part of his answer: "It was 1984, maybe ‘85 in Deland. My passenger’s first name was Mary, I don’t remember her last name.She was a skydiver and fearless. We must have been humming at least 170+ mph. "It took us three day/tries to get the picture. We were weathered out the other days. Once we got in the air it was on our first jump. We called it a 2 X 2. Norm Kent took it." HW

Agreed. I talked to a newly-minted A-license jumper Tuesday after his first T-shirt and shorts jump. He said he thought in freefall that a legstrap had come loose or some such. It hadn't, of course; it was just his shorts flapping against his legs. Sure, it feels different, but -- with the cautionary notes already suggested -- do it. HW

Possibly Gloria Chace Mabry. Ted gave a talk at the Pioneers reunion in Utah a couple of weeks ago on early tandem jumping and mentioned her as an early passenger (she was in the audience.) HW

Thirty seconds of Photoshop makes it even prettier. HW

Probably not this one, either. HW

Jumptown in Orange, MA is also open Thu-Sun and has lots of welcoming freefly types. Dave Brown of Team Mandrin will be available for freefly coaching and organizing this weekend. HW

Still time Tuesday if you're in New England... HW

Me neither... HW (who never heard of you, either)

It's from a Russian company, Polyot. They are members of PIA and have exhibited at PIA symposiums. They have a fairly complete current line of sport gear. HW

Lots of fun, and the scenery from 13 grand looking at the lake and the mountains was in itself worth it, aside from the jump. And we were on local TV. Like DSE, I have zillions of pictures and we'll figure out where to put them. One is a setup for Parachutist, with Jake Garn, DZO Jack Guthrie, DSE and me, with a copy of the magazine. And I sat in Jake Garn's lap on his tandem load. Here's Jim Arender's Camel ad. He was also on a huge billboard in Times Square, with Camel smoke blowing from his mouth. He was also the color commentator for national TV coverage (Wide World of Sports, etc.) back when that happened in the sixties. (There will probably be other posts in History and Trivia.) HW

Dunno how long it will be on line, but here's a TV news story on the Pioneers (a.k.a. Old Farts) skydive Saturday. A video will be on line elsewhere later, plus more pix and news. Ten jumpers | ~42,000 total jumps among them | average age 64.8. http://www.myfoxutah.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=C8767FFE76E2F4093A9F71F675BC23AC?contentId=6871662&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1&sflg=1 HW

Does this make it easier? HW

For those who have never seen how a Delta II is packed.... HW

It was developed by Irvin in Santa Ana, CA, and was the subject of a paper by Michael Ravnitsky of Irvin at the 1989 Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems Technnology conference. The paper begins: "Manta-Ray's center section was constructed from a single layer of cloth, providing a continuation of the upper surface of the airfoil from the forward section. Suspension lines were not attached to the center section; sufficient shaping was provided by the side flaps. "The aft section of the canopy consisted of a series of panels with fullness built into the trailing edge of each panel. Thrust was provided by airflow through upper surface sail panels which were aligned by a series of flares attached to the lower side. Attachment of the suspension line to the center of the flares minimized the lateral surface area of the flare for improved turn control. Early Manta-Rays resembled Ringsail parachutes with their louvered sail panels. Later versions deleted many of the sails except at the trailing edge wingtips. "The Manta-Ray design thus gradually evolved toward that of the modern ram-air parachute." HW

Geraldo Rivera made a static line jump a long, long time ago -- mid '70-s, maybe-- at Turners Falls, MA. HW

In that case, I can post the pictures of your landing on History Channel day? HW

[replyAlso, there is no OSI (Opening Shock Inhibitor) at the left rear corner. As Beatnik rightly notes, there is an OSI visible, though perhaps twisted at an angle so not as prominent as you might expect. I'm 99.9% sure it's a stock Delta II, and I think the jumper is Randy Thompson, who jumped it in accuracy competition. Anyway, this is not getting us closer to identifying the original canopy. HW

Better late than never... Sorry it's underexposed. I blame it on the Brazilian guy, less ladder-impaired than I am, for switching the camera to "Auto" mode. HW (DSE -- I'm at MHT on my way to SLC)

Damn...there goes the next three or four "What is.." questions. HW (but I really don't know much about this one, except that it was the subject of an AIAA Aerodynamic Decelerators conference paper back in the day.)

Well, the picture is somewhat underexposed, though part of the subject matter is in fact overexposed. I'll get right on it, boss.... HW

Hmm... O great Green One, would the pic (as you understand its contents) meet standards of acceptability for this forum? HW