PiLFy

I was typing other replies when you posted your gender. You could put that much in your profile, though. I'm glad it's coming together for you. We've got another 4-5wks before it gets too cold. Get busy jumpin.

I haven't taken offense, Shawn. I typed that tongue-in-cheek. If I say something in error that might get someone hurt? I want to be called on it. Hold on a tick?! I had to land & PLF in half brakes. I was told it was to simulate landing off where the grass might be four feet high (by surprise). DZ variation, I guess?

I didn't think you were aware of the PMs. No Worries. Fair Enough on Newbies reading that the wrong way, though.

Wow... What do you have against ragtops? I just don't think they're sports car suitable. I don't see where you get parades in the month of June from?

Different strokes for different folks, Bill. So long as you don't park it in the fast lane? We'll all get along swimmingly.

"So, Kenny, You sayin' you never want more than one fast car at any given moment?" One love at a time, Lisa. One bike...one car. I wouldn't want to try & drive an F1 McLaren on the street. (Ok, I would but could never afford one.) Lopping the top off is too much of a compromise for the Purist in me. Convertibles are nice. I just can't get into ones that think they're sports cars. Case in point. I saw a recent Ad for a new Nissan. It was their SUV Murano, as a convertible?! It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen.

Ooh, that sounds pretty

Jeeze, Let's all pile on the new guy, huh? I don't remember all the particulars of the earlier PMs. I think the OP was struggling, & afraid of slamming in on a landing (again?). I mainly offered words of encouragement. At the end of the message, I had said something like holding it in half brakes & PLFing is something he'll have to do for his A, anyway. When in doubt, he could do that. He was having trouble judging when to start his flare. I think he had slammed his back pretty hard before. I told him to discuss everything w/his instructors. I'm nowhere near having a rating. I know that. Thank you. P.S.: PeteJones?! Ouch.

Glad you liked it, Andy. Maybe you can PM them about Audibles???

Student canopies are generally configured so that they can not be stalled. As a low experienced skydiver talking to a student skydiver, please don't offer advice as it could well be wrong (as in this case). Again, I was referencing an earlier PM to the OP. In that PM, I had prefaced the advice by telling him to go over everything w/his instructor. I appreciate the need for you to say that, but you've misunderstood. I'm not a 60-jump wonder wannabe instructor.

You're taking my comment out of context. I had made it as part of an earlier PM to the OP. He was afraid of flaring early, & stalling @30'. I had said something to the effect of "If you start your flare too high? Just hold the flare to half brakes until you're @the right height. Worse comes to worse, you can always hold it in half brakes, & PLF." It wasn't BS, Thank You. It was advice prefaced w/the need to go over everything w/his instructors.

I'm also glad to see that the difference between the two is understood. Sorry Lisa, but I never bought that approach to sport cars. Full-race cars are too extreme for the street, yes. Making the extreme compromise of structural rigidity & safety for trolling main street never made much sense to me. Go-fast cars should go fast. Poseur cars are like the fat guy who sucks his gut in when the pretty girls go by...

You mean sports cars are only supposed to pose as race cars?

Oh. Maybe I assuuumed he meant near storm cells. I take it it's a much more pronounced phenomena when near storm activity? He had said it helped protect the plane's electrical components from atmospheric electrical charges.

Wouldn't the set altitudes, & any off-sets, still have shown on the LCD during start up?

No, that was one of the units from that other company.

I once asked a pilot what all the little springy wires were trailing off the edges of the Caravan. I was told they are for helping to dissipate the atmospheric electrical charge near storm cells... I'm no meteorologist, but wouldn't you be more at risk from all the funky winds surrounding the storm cell? Whether by wind shear or electrical charge, it doesn't seem like a good idea.

I'm not trying to out your particular DZ. This isn't about them. it's about you. I didn't realize you're outside the US. So, it's a moot point anyway. Filming landings is a big help. Frankly, it should have been offered to you before this. You've already been struggling, & gotten hurt, for a while now. One common mistake is having your legs pointing out forward, instead of pointing straight down. This will leave you w/an incomplete flare. What has your instructor said about it all? I think I suggested the following to you before (?). When in doubt. Put it in half brakes, & PLF it. It beats the H*ll out of stalling it @35 feet. It takes you as long as it takes you to get better @landings. Do it safely.

When the guy...?! Oh, Jennifer. Let's give Major Kong his props, huh? DOOOR!!!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlSQAZEp3PA You'll eventually come to love the exit. It's a fun part of the dive cycle.

You should be glad she can't drive it. She can buy a Subaru if she wants to drive a stick. They've got that hill-holding feature on some of 'em. P.S.: Ooops. More high tech crap. I guess they're really not sticks then, either...

Didn't you post a thread about your DZ not having radios before? Everyone ripped them for sacrificing student safety by being so cheap. Where are you located? Aren't there other DZs for you to choose from? I'm glad you're afraid of getting hurt on landings. You should be. You can get seriously F'd up on them. There are a multitude of teaching techniques that can be used to help you by your instructors on-site. Acceptable landings don't come overnight. It doesn't sound like you're getting the help you need @that DZ, though. Just my humble opinion. Others may take issue w/it.

Don't think of it as falling, Jennifer. Think of it as accelerating up to flight speed. Once you reach terminal velocity. You can fly your body most effectively. Alternatively, you can simply think "Yee_Hawww!"

"If it has a lid on it Shah, it's NOT a SPORTSCAR!" Err, Pops? Last time I checked. Convertibles have less structural rigidity than their hardtop brethren. As such, they are less of a sports car, not more. True sports car appreciation isn't about posing in front of a Starbucks. It's about hauling Ass, & the mail. Hardtops get around corners better than too-flexible ragtops.

1) F1 cars are semi Auto from first to sixth and clutch on the way down. Any man worth his gas tank on a bike understand that you can race up a gear box on a motorcycle with a flip of the wrist and a tickle of the toe. And that's what an F1 gear box is. A crash box transmission. http://www.f1technical.net/articles/66 "Each gearchange is controlled by a computer, taking between 20-40 milliseconds." 2) How can it put this with out insulting all the guys in the financial world who drive around in slush-O-matic 911's...... Learn to drive like a real man! Shah, F1 trannies don't also function as full-autos because they'd never be used that way. You're contradicting yourself. Traditional old-school racers learned early on how to properly use the heal_toe shifting technique. Doing so smoothly while pulling Gs through a turn takes considerable skill. Flicking opposable thumbs while safely ensconced within your F1 cocoon doesn't even come close. You're pointing that out yourself. The overweight, under-endowed Porsche driver's thumbs, & those of the hot F1 racer's are doing the same thing: flick, flick, flick... The technical difference is trivial. The Purest part of me disdains the newer techno wizardry as much as you do. The Purest part of me also appreciates a better & faster way to carve corners. Championships won't be lost due to a missed shift in the heat of battle, anymore. Technology marches on. On the bright side, look @the deals you'll find on slightly used manual Porsches in a few years. Let the girly-men run to the dealer for new cars every couple of years. Real men can do their own engine work. P.S.: I guess this is my fault. I should have remembered how many PAs you tend to draw. I like you, Shah. I should have prefaced my last post w/that. It's all in good fun, man. P.P.S.: That being said. Freud would have found all your manly references & this "Get in, get seated, place your right hand on the only part of the heart of your car that you can touch with the hood still closed. Close your eyes and feel that heart." vahrry intahresting, ja_ja...

I look @helmets from a motorcyclist's viewpoint. They're there to protect your noggin. I'm not impressed w/many of the bling_bling helmets I've seen @DZs. They're flashy, but not very protective. Dunno about the Ozone. I own a Benny I'm very pleased with. The pad sets are nice & thick (unless you wear a size XL). It's comfortable, & fits me very well. I also have an Optima in it. You don't have to take it out, except to change the batteries every couple of years. I mounted mine w/good quality velcro. Almost forty jumps later, the audible hasn't budged @all. I mounted mine w/the screen facing my ear. You can easily see & change set altitudes. The thing is up to 120dBs loud. You'll hear it. The Benny is quiet in freefall (though I can only compare it w/tired DZ Protecs). I wear earplugs when I jump. Freefall is whisper quiet w/them