JohnRich

A bomb bay door isn't any different from a tailgate. I'm not inventing any definitions, I'm just explaining the different ways that some people seem to be using that term. And in order to understand what they're talking about, we have to know how they mean "acceleration". I'm not hell bent on proving anything. I'm just trying to understand the phenomenon. And so far what I'm getting is that it's a combination of certain physical conditions, combined with our human physiology.

Skydivers cannot experience negative g from freefall acceleration only. They can only feel a maximum of 0 G. Further, when skydivers say the felt "negative G" in an aircraft, I doubt it. If they felt negative 1 G then they would have hit the ceiling of the aircraft with their head with their full body weight, likely resulting in injury or death. I employ a technique just before exit where I put the aircraft in a little less than 0 G, say .1 G, which allows tandems and military jumpers with 100 lb rucks to stand up as their body weight is now only about 20 to 30 lbs but this is still positive G, not negative G. Fair 'nuff. When I was referring to "negative G's being lighter than the pull of gravity", I guess what I meant was less than 1 G, but not necessarily less than 0 G. That's very polite of you to give those guys with heavy loads a break in the back of the plane. And of course, that's a good technique for floating a raft dive out the door too.

I have a problem with this statement from Wikipedia: "However, once the body is in free fall (for example, during skydiving), there is no falling sensation. Even though velocity continues to increase, the downward acceleration due to gravity remains constant and does not produce a sensation of falling."It sounds like they think that jumpers continue to accelerate the entire time they're in freefall, which is a common whuffo misunderstanding, and disregards air resistance which gives a terminal velocity. That's they're explanation for for not feeling droppy. However, it's not because acceleration is continuous but at a constant rate, it's simply because acceleration has ceased once you've reached terminal velocity.

That depends upon how you're defining "acceleration". Some people hear, such as you, are using that to mean air speed. And by that usage, jumping from a plane accelerates you from about 80 mph to 120 mph, or "not much". And jumping from a balloon accelerates you from zero airspeed to 120 mph, giving a large difference, and therefore an explanation for the droppy feeling from balloons that is not felt from a plane. Another definition of acceleration is vertical increase in speed, regardless of starting horizontal air speed. By that measure, acceleration from gravity is identical in both types of jumps: 32 feet per second squared (with overcoming inertia, building air resistance, etc.). So then we have to explain this phenomenon with the appropriate definition that fits. Negative, because both of those involve airspeeds just like regular skydiving aircraft. What makes balloons and helicopters unique is zero or very low airspeeds. And coincidentally, most skydivers don't jump them very often. Someone who made 20 balloon jumps in a row might feel "droppy" on the first few jumps, but then might get used to the feeling and not notice it any more after the first few zero airspeed jumps. I don't know - does anyone have that many balloon jumps in short succession to vouch for that? How about Base jumpers - the same effect applies there. Do they still get the droppy feeling in their stomach even after dozens or hundreds of Base jumps?

Or is that because you just jump balloons and helicopters so infrequently, that you haven't gotten used to it there yet, like you have for airplanes? Or maybe it's a matter of human perception. You feel like you're dropping more when exiting from a balloon because there's no windspeed to fool your senses into believing that you're already going real fast downward?

Or he couldn't figure out how to hide £1,300 on his expense report.

We already have human teachers that act like robots, and they don't help.

I'm re-posting this here to keep from taking off-topic the other thread in which it appeared. Quote:"There is little or no "droppy feeling" associated with skydiving from an airplane. That feeling comes from acceleration. Going from a slow speed to fast, etc. When you jump from an airplane going 80-90 mph, you're already going that fast when you exit. Speeding up to 120 mph over the next 10 seconds doesn't create much of a "droppy feeling"Is that realy correct? I think a lot of skydivers say they don't experience the droppy feeling because they have just gotten used to it over time, and it doesn't take very long. But initially, I think novice jumpers DO feel it for the first several jumps. And I don't think it has anything to do with the horizontal speed of the aircraft or the wind when you exit. It's entirely a function of VERTICAL acceleration only. If you were moving horizontally at 120 mph on a roller coaster and suddenly hit a steep drop, I think you ARE going to feel the droppy feeling, simply because of the vertical drop alone. Likewise, if you jumped from a jet fighter flying horizontally at 600 mph, you would still feel the droppy feeling as you accelerated downward vertically, despite your high horizontal speed. The droppy feeling comes from negative G-forces, i.e. being lighter than the pull of gravity. G-forces are defined as x, y and z, where x is the forward direction, -x is backwards, y is to the left, -y is to the right, z is upward, and -z is downward. Or something like that. Positive z forces produce the "heavy" feeling as your weight is increased by more than normal acceleration. Negative z forces produce the "droppy" feeling as your weight is decreased by less than normal acceleration. That's the way I see it. I think I agree that it IS about acceleration, but disagree that the DIRECTION of acceleration is irrelevant. And there is probably some human physiology involved too... So, which view is correct?

Yes, I've passed flight tests with inspectors from FAA and TC (Transport Canada). That's the only way to get a medical as the doctors would only sign that my medical condition is stable, but then a flight inspector has to fly with me to make sure I can do what is needed to fly an airplane. So I'm good and have enough strength... I can push about 200lb or more with my legs (got lucky as some key muscles were not affected). Strength is no problem, and through proper positioning of my feet I am doing ok with the brakes as well. Well all right then. Douglas Bader did it, and it sounds like you can too. Just watch out for the Messerschmitts.

Is "hit the pipe" a reference to a wind tunnel?

I said nothing of the sort. You don't negotiate at Wal-Mart because both the buyer and the seller know that their prices are already the lowest around. I prefer to price my Craigslist items at Wal-Mart prices, but people still want to negotiate...

Craigslist buyers are like Walmart shoppers - they always want the cheapest possible deal. And no matter how low of a price you list your item at, they'll always want to lower it more. I gave up on honest no-haggle pricing on my ads. I now play that stupid psychology game of asking for more than I really want, so that they can ask for less, and I'll come down to make them feel like they got a bargain, when in fact they're just buying at what I wanted all along. I hate playing that kind of game, but it's a Craigslist necessity. Otherwise, if you don't come down from the list price, they won't buy, no matter how reasonable that price already is.

How can we judge "too big" when we don't know how much gear you have, or how big your rig is? Their ad gives the dimensions of the bag, so lay your gear out and measure it and see how well it would fit. As a new jumper, you'll also want to allow room for additional gear as you grow in the sport - you might end up with another jumpsuit, spare parts for your rig, a few rigging tools, owner's manuals, and so on.

That depends on whether or not the reason for the crutches impairs his ability to fly. For example, if he has a broken leg that is healing, can he apply enough force using that bad leg on the rudder pedals to control the plane, even in emergency situations? If not, then he shouldn't fly. Have you passed a flight physical in your current condition?

Oh my, those white panels are going to be a problem keeping them clean and looking good...

What specifically did your instructors tell you were the reasons for failing that level? No one can give advice to help if you don't tell us what the problem is.

Perhaps sunbleached? Yes. Any tips to prevent excessive fade? Keep it out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Should I just cover my rig whenever it is not on my back? Yes. Hide it in a suitcase or bag when its at home? Keep it out of direct sunlight. Is there anything that can be done to renew the colors later? No. Is it safe to dye the fabric? No. Or is having a faded rig inevitable? Yes.

News:Senior citizens given whistles to avert muggings Older people in neighborhoods just south of Bronx Park say they hear gunfire outside their windows nearly every night. They are targets for muggers and scammers as well. Robberies are up 41% in the 48th Precinct and other neighborhoods in Community board 6. There were 89 robberies as of Apr. 15 of last year, and there have been 126 robberies for the same period this year, according to NYPD statistics. Last week about 60 senior citizens, some with canes and walkers, packed a meeting room at Casella Plaza senior housing in West Farms to learn ways to protect themselves. CB 6 organized the Whistle Blower Safety Initiative, and armed the seniors with whistles. “If you feel someone is going to bring you harm, this is an alert device,” CB 6 District Manager Ivine Galarza said, “ You can just whistle and, definitely, the person will run.” Community affairs officers from the 48th Precinct advocated use of the whistles... Full story: NY Daily News

News:Big Solar threatens existence of rare desert tortoise "The desert tortoise, a threatened species protected by the federal government, is fighting for its existence against the expanding encroachment of Big Solar into its native habitat of the Mojave Desert in California. "The battle between environmental groups and the fledgling green energy industry has prompted a lawsuit against the government to block the multi-billion dollar Calico Solar Power project, which would cover 4,000 acres of the turtle’s vital habitat..."Full story: Human Events If this was a big oil company drilling an oil well, I'm sure the environmentalists would raise bloody hell against it. Will they do the same for a solar energy plant, something that is near and dear to their own hearts? And when there is a conflict between two things that near and dear to them, both green energy and endangered species, which way will they go then?

This request has been made before, and ignored. It's time to try it again. See the attached image from a personal profile page. Notice that a space is provided for the user's country, and one for their city. But there is nothing for a State! In this particular example, the city is "Arlington", but the problem is, there are numerous states containing cities named Arlington. They include: TX, WA, MN, VA, MA, OH, TN, KS and SD. So having the city information, without the state, is useless. We can't help someone with the specific info they need about facilities in their area, since we have no clue about what state they live in. Please add "State" to the profile information!

That's called "static line". Plenty of drop zones still train students that way. Look for one.

I'm sure that there is VASTLY more money spent on taking care of humans then there is on animals. And if people want to spend their own money on saving animals, that's their freedom to do so. And we can actually do both - it doesn't have to be one to the exclusion of the other.

News:‘Bullet Button’ Used To Get Around California Gun Laws California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. But one wouldn’t know that going to the firing range these days. AR-15s and AK-47s are the must-have guns of choice. How can that be? How is it these military-style guns are legal? Brian Normandy is an instructor at Jackson Arms. “As long as we don’t have a detachable magazine in it, it’s actually a legal firearm,” Normandy said. Other states allow people to use their finger to pop out the magazine and quickly reload. It’s called a detachable magazine, and in California, its use in combination with other features such as a telescoping stock or pistol grip is illegal. To get around this, gun manufacturers are selling firearms to Californians with what is called a “bullet button...”Full story: KCBS Well, let's see... If detachable magazines are not a problem in the other 49 states, then why shouild "bullet buttons" be a problem in California?

When wildlife finds itself in situations where it can't survive, we ought to do what we can to help them out. Another example is the whales trapped by arctic ice. They even made a movie out of the multi-national effort to free them. Many years ago there was a movie called "A Whale for the Killing", from a book by Farley Mowat, about a while trapped in a fiord. How about the salmon spawning - we do what we can to get them upstream around the obstacles we've built in their way. And the hatchlings returning to the ocean are being protected from hordes of cormorants that would eat the new generation. We should especially help when it involves endangered species. We protect sea turtle nests from raiding raccoons, and sea-going turtles from fishing nets. A breaking controversy is a desert solar energy plant that will impact a rare desert tortoise - if we have to choose between the two, I say move the plant, save the turtles. When an drop zone Otter pilot found a bird's nest, complete with chicks, inside the wing of the plane, he pulled them out by hand and threw them on the ground. A few of us skydivers gathered them up with their nesting material, and made them a new home adjacent to the boarding area, hopefully where mom would continue to care for them. They may have died anyway, we don't know, but giving them another chance was preferable to just letting airplanes run over them. Even if this particular porpoise is suffering from some ailment that made it go astray, and it ends up dying anyway after being freed, as sometimes happens with beached whales, at least we gave it another chance. I suppose you could draw a line between things that endanger animals beyond their own control, like man-made dangers, versus things that happen naturally. And it may be that beached porpoise are diseased or something, and therefore it's just nature's way of culling the weak. Fair enough. But without knowing for sure, I say give them another chance, and then if they die anyway, at least you've done what you could to help.

And that's another aspect of the culture here. Because of the speculation and bashing which makes people reticent to post, thenceforth comes the cries of cover-up conspiracies. Also not helpful. I think there are actually very few intentional cover-ups. Mostly, it's just folks who don't want to put their friends through the unpleasant stuff that goes on here. Just because there's silence, doesn't mean there's a cover-up.