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Everything posted by peek
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While driving down the highway? That is fairly well known. But at a red light? Educate us. Point to a web site where guidelines exist. It can be rather chaotic at a stop light can't it? I would rather do less than more, which might cause another emergency.
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I have always used tin snips.... (though I must admit I have always had tin snips around.) Large scissors might work for some of the softer materials. ...and then treated the edges with sandpaper.
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Well, Derek, this manufacturer not only thinks a person need not double stow their lines, but even thinks the last few don't even need to be stowed: http://www.basik.fr/en/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=189&category_id=6&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=28&vmcchk=1 "Anti-Line Twist Main D-Bag" (I saw this link posted by someone else related to another thread.) Maybe one of these days we will be able to put to rest this double stow nonsense!
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In the case of collapsable pilot chutes you are correct! I forgot that detail. I suppose what I was thinking about was back when people used #8 grommets in their bag to collapse the pilot chute. If there were strength or wear issues the canopy manufacturers would have learned about it then.
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Pardon my comments, but sometimes I can't believe some of the things that people choose to worry about. (Not you, her!) It's like some people are trying to find reasons to use something as a solution. Common sense would indicate to any skydiver that the pilot chute pulling on the attachment point during canopy flight is quite small compared to the force of extracting the canopy from the container. Goodness, if there were issues with that, the canopy manufacturers would have seen it a long time ago. With information like that it is apparent that you are going to want to cross check what you are told with a number of sources. Good luck.
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So who exactly told you that?
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I didn't know him like a lot of people did. The only times I saw him were at the WFFC and the PIA Symposium, but that was enough to know he was special, and one of the pioneers of the sport. I will miss him.
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What could possibly go wrong? :) You're not getting me in there, but I have seen a lot of them. It's OK unless someone has a heart condition they don't know about or something like that. I have seen it get down to three people, which doesn't seem very wise to me. And if you are the person holding the "hot" end of the circuit, please don't get so drunk that you fall down and put your other hand on the damp concrete floor.
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I have not tried Nuemans, which Para Gear now has. I might have to because buying gloves you haven't seen is somewhat of a guess anyway.
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Speaking of gloves (in that other thread), can you help me identify the gloves that Para Gear used to sell (quite a few years ago) that they called "Winter RW gloves"? They look like beefed up handball gloves with nice thick (real) leather, and a liner. I don't know what the liner material is, but it is light tan and soft. Common I think. Attached is a picture. Can you see why I need new ones?
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Yes, yes, and yes. And most often I hear this advice given by experienced jumpers who don't know the person to whom they are giving the advice. Don't know their skill level, don't know if they are nervous jumping their current canopy, don't know if they are conservative or not, etc. It's pitiful. Good observation.
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You know, back in the "old days" when someone's toggle came unstowed on opening it used to be considered a problem, worthy of getting one's shit together and getting the gear fixed so that it never happened again. After all, this is a problem that can cause anything from a cutaway to a [who knows what?] (What is worst thing that has happened to anyone with this problem?) Now it seems like it is so commonplace that people have created a cutesy name for it, that is, "brake fire". They throw that expression around as though, well, "everybody gets those." So when did it become acceptable for someone's toggle to come unstowed on opening? I don't know about you, but I find it completely unacceptable, (and easily preventable).
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Should minimum recommendations apply to you?
peek replied to skybytch's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
A very reserved "maybe". I would prefer to see exceptional judgment over exceptional physical skills though. It also depends on if the activity they plan can be aborted if conditions change. (Break a link in the chain.) I never tell anyone that they will for sure be OK, but I try to avoid just outright saying, "No" with the simplistic explanation like "You don't have enough experience." I try to give them the information they need to make a sound decision by themselves. (Teach judgment). I have had people reconsider doing something after I educated them, so I know that in principle this can work. I have been studying, following, and discussing this topic for some time, and have come to the conclusion that a caring education by an experienced jumper/instructor/friend works a lot better than just saying "no" with a simplistic answer. This may take some time. The "student" needs to respect the "instructor". That's why it's important for us to pause and think before we respond to someone asking on these forums about how to do something, or if they should try it at all. (Edited to add more pontification.) -
Of Interest to OLD OLD OLD Spaceland Jumpers
peek replied to efs4ever's topic in Skydiving History & Trivia
Hey, I know some of those people! I even know who Brandi, (and Charlie and Greta) are. Laird looks familiar too. Turoff? Who's he? I visited SPX a number of times shortly after getting my AFF rating years ago, to do some AFF and Tandem jumps for them. I wouldn't be OLD OLD by your description but maybe just OLD. But you know that Russell. Texas was a nice getaway for someone in the St. Louis area in the winter. Nice temperatures. -
This is most definitely a commercial plug for a book written by one of our fellow skydivers. Go to http://www.amazon.com and search for "And They Keep Coming Back", by Steven, B. Barton I have known Steve for a long time. He has jumped with the WFFC load organizers for years. He is the guy that has the aqua colored canopy with Aquaria Pets on it. He is known as "Fish" to many of us. For some years now he has spoken about a book he has been slowly writing, and since I thought the subject was pretty neat, I asked to review the first draft. Then I started prodding him to get it published. The book is about the crazy things people do and ask for at his pet store, http://www.aquariapets.com Here is a review from his local newspaper: http://www.hutchinsonleader.com/node/4326
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It sounds like they are afraid of scaring someone with a slow opening, and not knowing your experience, this makes them uncomfortable. I had PD put Dacron on my Stiletto and the openings are simply phenomenal. I could not tell a bit of difference in flight characteristics.
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DZ web site marketing - how far do you go?
peek replied to peek's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
It was a somewhat rhetorical question I suppose. How about, "How far would you go if you were to make the decision about what to put on your DZ's web site." or "To what extent would you agree with what your DZO puts on their web site?" -
DZ web site marketing - how far do you go?
peek replied to peek's topic in General Skydiving Discussions
I started a new thread to remove this from a number of not so nice things being said about specific entities. So create your own example entities and fire away. We know that "marketing" has become aggressive sometimes in this day and age so I guess it should not surprise us when we see exaggerated claims and misleading statements on the web sites of some drop zones. That's just business, right? And the purpose of business is to make as much money as possible, even at the expense of some other aspects of the sport, right? My question to skydivers is, "How far do you go?" Do you put up a picture of a flag jump and imply that after your initial training that one may soon be doing that? Do you put up a picture of a head-down jump and imply that after your initial training that one may soon be doing that? Do you say that you recommend a particular training method and imply (state in some cases I have seen!) that this is a safer method than some other? Do you say that the gear that you use is safer than someone elses? Who says? Some industry organization or consumer advocacy group? Do you say that the aircraft you use is safer? (How? Because it has a turbine engine?) Do you say that you are located only [xx] miles from [city] when you are actually located [xx] miles from the furthest outskirts? Or only [xx] minutes away (if you drive 90MPH?) Do you say that you have the "highest quality" instructors (when there is no objective way of determining that)? (No there isn't! You may claim their experience, but not their "quality".) Any other examples? How far do you go? -
Derek, I (and I think many others) have described "line dump" as having all the stows release, in which case there will probably be "bag strip" too. To be thorough perhaps we need to describe 3 situations, 1. only the "normal" stows releasing, 2. lines and locking stows releasing, and 3. both of those plus bag strip. But this may cause even more confusion. You know how people are so eager to latch on to some new explanation or answer and then it gets spread around (correctly and incorrectly). Your explanation of reserve freebag stows being released suddenly is a good one, and explains that the locking stows are the really important ones.
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I make basic snug adjustments to everything then have the student tighten them. Only a few students tighten them too much and I tell them they can back off a bit. Most do not make them tight enough and I say, "another inch." When they look at me as if to say, "but its already tight", I tell them the advantages of having it tighter. Most of them understand quite well. For belly band, I tighten us together in the aircraft to the full tightness and reach up to make sure the belly band is, at the very most, snug. Any tighter and is is uncomfortable under canopy. In general: I think a lot of instructors fail to consider how much better a student can make their harness fit (either tandem or solo gear) with supervision by the instructor rather than the instructor just doing it all themselves. People who have worn a harness of some type from an occupation or another sport have a pretty good idea of how the harness should feel and where they "want things". :)
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Perhaps a (traditional) Style and Accuracy forum? I'm thinking the traditional stuff, (e.g. deep brake approach accuracy), where students asking about student accuracy would be directed to Safety and Training, etc.
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I finally got to land on a tuffet. The only other time I had access to a tuffet is when one was brought to the local DZ for an accuracy meet, but there was no wind that day so I didn't try it out. Spent the weekend at Skydive Chicago just to check out that part of the USPA Nationals competition. Got on some practice loads with the accuracy jumpers and they let me shoot accuracy onto the tuffet. They are a nice group, and even provided some tips. I don't have a specific accuracy canopy but I can do OK with my big 9 cell. Talk about pressure! After landing they all pack really close to the tuffet, so when you look down at it from 1000-2000 feet you realize you had better be able to get really close, or else forget about doing it. (It would be really bad form to have to abort your approach and yell, "heads up", or something.) But there was a good wind so I at least flopped on it. It was pretty cool. Makes a person think about getting an accuracy canopy. (You know what I just realized? There is no style and accuracy forum on dropzone.com.)
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Expiry notification sent can not be left blank
peek replied to peek's topic in Error and Bug Reports
Trying to post an add in classifieds, getting message: "Expiry notification sent can not be left blank" Any ideas? (I have tried a mod.)