JohanW

How about Static Line instead of AFF? Where's the option for 'after their first jump - but tandems don't count?' I'd vote for that one, if I gave a sh!t. It's their body. Johan. I am. I think.

Why would you *not* wear gloves? BTW, congrats.

Bit late to the party, but --> ((hug)) You can collect it in person on Sunday, if you wish.

No CRW. No freefly. No bigways. No swooping. No demos. No parties. No weather hold activities. NO BEER. All of that is a little heavyhanded, though. With experience, training and preparation you could very well do CRW, and freefly, and swooping. (Bigways and demos tend to have risks that you can't really reduce *yourself*.) Parties, WHAs and beer are just plain dangerous, even to saints. Don't even think about stuff like drinking tequila at a party. The important thing to learn is not what particular discipline or activity to shun completely, it's to know your own limits and not go beyond them. Your decision making skills from flying will help you know what not to do, and how to approach the things you want to do, and will be able to do relatively safely. And learning CRW, freefly and swooping will learn you to deal with shit you didn't ask for, tried to avoid, but got into anyway. Better to learn them slowly, under controlled circumstances, than to have to learn them instantaneously under completely out of control circumstances, and having to get it right the first time. I respectfully submit, if you haven't broken your personal minimums for 20 years, there may have been times when you could have made better, safer choices to deal with situations by breaking your personal minimums. It may be safer to open at 2800' while stable than at 3000' while unstable. Or you may be able to increase your horizontal separation from a lower jumper by burning through 3000'. With 2 jumps experience, there's a lot you don't even know you don't know yet. Do keep an open mind. There are few, very few absolutes in this sport. But your age and your experience work in your favour. Fast canopy rides are fun though!

(Almost) personal masseuse for a Paraski World Championship. Then things got really up close and personal .. Not really just a first date though - about first to fifteenth, in less than a week. (I suck at PA and am an intermediate skier at best. But I can take a massage with the best of 'em.

This one is important. (Some) people will do stupid things, even for no prize beyond honour. Stressing the importance of not doing stupid things in competition is esp. important with low-timers. I have seen style points being awarded to keep certain persons from winning ( .. again

http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=9328319 or mms://wm-ondemand09.omroep.nl/ug-ondemand-wm2/wm2c5/ceres/nos/rest/2009/POW_00193300/bb.20090422.asf (NO, can't make that one a clicky. It's not an http-link.) Johan. I am. I think.

Sas, welk journaal was dat? Die link verwijst kennelijk naar het meest recente journaal, en daar zit het uiteraard niet nog een keer in. Kan 'm zelf niet terugvinden op uitzendinggemist.nl. Johan. I am. I think.

I wonder if it's a demo. Would Might explain the attire, and what looks like a flag pouch on the belly. Johan. I am. I think.

I know April 22. But 19? Johan. I am. I think.

Where would you class a paper glider without any form of remote control? Or OTH DeLand Fire, or Mandarin? (or Fly Like Brick .. no, not going there ) (Sorry 'bout the thread drift Hagen

Well, we disagree. My definition of flying involves one or more wings, and lift. Thrust does not enter into it. A plane that shuts down its engine does not (necessarily) suddenly stop flying. Nor does a rocket fly because it gains altitude. Johan. I am. I think.

How is gliding not flying? Johan. I am. I think.

I see I got beat as well. And had the English jargon wrong - relative wind instead of apparent wind. At least I learned something. Johan. I am. I think.

A sail is a wing. That means the lift it produces is not in the direction of the wind, but at an angle to it. Then the wing is producing lift from the relative wind instead of the absolute wind, which you get more and more of, and you can go a hell of a lot faster than the absolute wind speed as long as you're not trying to move directly into the relative wind. Ever wonder how sailing ships can move into the wind? At greater speeds than while moving with the wind? With the wind, they get pushed by drag. Into the wind, they get pulled by lift. Johan. I am. I think.

I used to borrow a Tri 135 for wingsuiting, loaded 1.6. Then I bought a Tri 120, loaded 1.8. Flies stable in up to 5 twists (this from first-hand experience ) and generally opens nicely for wingsuiting. The most stable canopy in turbulence in my experience, has a reasonable dive but not a great surf, and I do not find it hard to land, with or without induced speed, on a normal DZ or for a demo. It still has a reasonable glide (it will never beat a 9-cell of course); it does not feel overloaded. I have actually been the subject of approving glances from a dedicated swooper after a 270° turn to final in very light winds, who was the tiniest bit amazed I just did that on a Triathlon. Hey, if all you have is a hammer .. It may or may not be your thing, but it can be done. At a 1000 jumps, you should be fine. It's a rather conservative design, loaded up to a point where it's still fun to fly while retaining the opening characteristics. I'm not entirely sure a [email protected] (as per your profile) is comparable to a [email protected] however, not to say they may be two entirely different animals. But it should still be a very, very good wingsuit canopy. Johan. I am. I think.

That's so last year .. http://www.fai.org/parachuting/node/1079 I think I was jumping a ParaFoil though, not a Classic. Johan. I am. I think.

If you work at a windtunnel, hey, just deploy (OK, with stability) 200 times. Problem solved. I'd let you jump the wingsuit then.

6/3/30 or so. I could look it up exactly, but not now, not here. Johan. I am. I think.

Why wouldn't you be able to see either a wrist- or a chestmount altimeter? With some practice, you should be able to simply look at the chestmount without falling out of your track, and if you turn your handpalms up you can look at the wristmount, again, with some practice, without falling out of the track. Both of these would actually improve your track position ..

Why would anyone jump a wingsuit? Johan. I am. I think.

ISTR a Xaos 27-27 as well. Johan. I am. I think.

I was in the bloody left wing that had so much trouble. I think of it as #47. Yes, when I say in front of me, I mean the front of my diamond, the one I was right behind. When measuring distances, head 29-head 47 should be 2×10', or 6 meters. tail 29-head 47 should be ~4 m. head 37-head 47 should be ~4.25m. foot 37-head 47 ~3.2m. hand37-foot47 ~ 3.6m. All of these are approximations to body dimensions, head to hand 1m horizontally 1m vertically, head to foot 1m horizontally 2m vertically (this makes for a 2×2m double triangle as a wingsuit. it isn't, but it makes for easier calculations). If I have to make a drawing, just ask, but I'll do it in the morning. No, distances are greater laterally, but the diagonal distances seem greater because I'm counting from head to head instead of tail to head, toe to head or hand to head. Am I making sense yet? Johan. I am. I think.

I don't know about you, but the distance to the legwing of the person in front of me (hi Spot!) was about 12'. Lateral distances were bigger, of course; diagonal distances were (a little) smaller. Please, do the math. Draw square and diagonal grids, account for body lengths and widths, you'll see we did OK. Johan. I am. I think.

The extra box is there only in square grids, not in diamond grids. Those diamonds are bigger than those squares, but not ridiculously bigger. It's still very much formation flying. Johan. I am. I think.