kimemerson

well that lost me.

well then I owe you a jump. Next season?

I do recall. I thought you'd meant just this past weekend, which also had high winds and wind holds. And I know I didn't meet anyone named Lars then. You wanted to jump your old suit and I suggested we try something a tad more current. Then I showed you the old suit we have hanging up in the hangar. I can't picture you, but I remember the day - slightly.

you have me at a disadvantage. I don't remember meeting you. Did we? We did have a lot of wind Saturday and not many people were around. And it has been said of me that I have a head for the history of skydiving. So it sounds like we could have met. But I don't recall it. I did ask someone if he'd met you but he's often at a loss for names anyway. So he didn't recognize your name. Help me remember. I will definitely be there next week helping with the coach course. Find me then. Kim

will you be there tomorrow? Find me & say hello.

Christ! It wasn't that long ago that we wouldn't even be having this discussion about a person with 200 jumps and a C license deploying at 2,500'. It's largely the canopies that have changed, along with faster falling due to head down flying. But nothing has changed for those who still fly flat and jump a canopy that doesn't take 1,000' to open. 2,500' is not low. It's the flying that is fast and the canopies that are slow (to open). So in a way, no, you should not have been taken to task over this. And if the message was delivered as you state - an attack - then it is further out of line. As for license requirements, I'm not sure about this, but you sound (possibly) British and so USPA requirements aren't likely appropriate anyway.

you're kidding, right?

why not?

You need your wife to sew on some buttons?

No, funny lady. I jump in New York. I also jump to conclusions; at the chance; out of the way; up and dance; over the lazy dog back Jack

I do. And I don't. Depends.

Thanks. I'll pass that along to my friend. Back before freeflying, when the latest thing in skydiving was sit-flying, I used to strap my altimeter on my leg just above the knee. That way it was always right in front of me and took nothing to look at. Which I would still recommend to anyone who is only sit-flying.

yep. These have been around for a while and are very popular. A good friend designed and markets them so, yeah, this is a plug for him.

So you're saying, if I read you correctly, that with all the brigands and ne'er-do-wells we have already at both Z-Hills and the Ranch, there are still enough left to be 'twixt both places? I'd have thought we had them all pretty well corralled into our respective dropzones and that the 'twixt parts were safe. Alas. As for pizza, I'm not sure who's holding the contraband. So I don't know what fortification (s)he found. But no one found any from my hearth because I was busy finding old friends. But I thank you for suggesting that the consuming of my pizza will aid in keeping ones wits about. Do you think it's a marketable point? Where'd the sign go? My guesses are: The new thief has been reading this thread and liked the notion enough to act; the first thief/current owner (one and the same?) has been reading this thread too and decided to put it in safekeeping; it fell behind the lockers upon which it was perched when its picture was snapped, and I was too damn lazy to double check once that thought hit me; none of the above.

Early in the weekend I showed the sign to a visiting friend who jumps at Z-Hills and I told him he was taking it back with him. We chuckled but we never really planned. And that was it. Last evening I saw that the sign is now gone. Vanished! And no one I know knows where. The saga continues...

Jim, I'm a purist and a perfectionist when it comes to my pizza. Read my blog too and you might get a sense of that. Therefore, having the Marinara simply warm is not an option. If I can work out the logistics of building a wood-fired brick oven or transporting my bus with oven to England I'd love to bake you a few right in your driveway/backyard/street... And I thank you for staying on topic in this thread. Pizza is paramount! Re: The Sign. With everything being right in the Universe, would the sign be in the Bird House? Is that its rightful home? Would Jerry care?

Sorry I wasn't there. I'd have liked to introduce myself. Don't tell anyone but I was thinking of stealing it myself and mailing it to Jim.

when did you take that shot. I recognize the particle board behind it and I think it's right where it was when you snapped that picture. So you must have been there fairly recently.

Dorset? Hmmm... Well, I do happen to have an ex-wife in Dartmouth. Maybe I can work out something. Do you visit here on occasion? It would at least help with heat retention of the cooked pizza. Did I say the Ranch? Me? That damn profile page is a cyber paper trail, I see. Well, i'll come clean. It is indeed, as we speak, atop the lockers in the hangar. There must be a story behind this sign, how it got here. I'd like to know the tale from the thief's perspective. We're having our 30 year anniversary celebration this next weekend. I'll ask he whom I suspect when I see hm.

If you read the website you'd have the answer to the additional toppings question. Where in England? I have a limit on distance. I'm in New York. NEW york. Not York. I see according to Google Earth it's roughly 3,200 miles from NY to Corwall. If you're in Devon you might be too far. However, regarding the sign, I think I saw it today. I know I saw one. Was there only one? If so, then that's what I've been looking at. I think I've been looking at it for years in fact.

How much would you pay to get it back?

Yes, it is indeed Tom "Lance" Kirwin. And I advise anyone thinking of putting that video out for the public, to simply be aware that Lance hates it and would really rather it not go out. Not that I expect anyone to respect that wish. Just letting you know. So that if you ever think of being his friend, it won't happen if you post it for public consumption. I wanted to put it on Facebook and youtube but he shot down that proposal when I asked him for his blessing & permission. I have that one, with the Duda hurl, and the sequel to Lance "Swoop" Tandem, along with "Pink Steel" (Chuckie Bonis). And I really wish ol' Lance would let it happen. But as I count him among my friends, the honor thing stops me. That said, Lance understands that he really cannot stop it from being viewed at the Ranch. And as the Ranch will be having it's 30 year anniversary weekend soon (Aug. 27, 28 & 29), you can just about guaran-damn-tee it will be shown during the two nights (Fri. & Sat.) of the film festival which will be showing footage from 30 years of Ranch madness. So if you want to see it with some of us who were there the first time around, well, then, "Everybody come down to The Blue Sky Ranch You can learn how to dive you can learn how to dance We ain't got no rules that's rule #1 But it's the only rule you need if you want to have fun..."

I'm not going to read 90 posts, so this may have been mentioned. If so, sorry. It occurs to me that proper tracking by everyone sort of precludes the need for a barrel roll as you describe the need. And flying on level, not going low. I know these things take some learning, but that's where it eventually has to lead. Also, your wave off, while not completely addressing your concern, is meant to signal especially those above you that you are about to pull. The question then becomes, what are you doing below anyone? If you are so low on a formation that getting back in isn't going to happen, you need to go away. Track perpendicular to the line of flight and pull when it's time. Flat tracking helps too. Some people lose altitude when transitioning to the track, others use the loss of altitude to gain speed before flattening out, while others just go for the flat track immediately, and track far. Essentially what I see your question being about is how to remedy an incorrect or improper situation in which good flying skills have not yet been obtained. So that when you do fly well, this becomes moot.

* Don't land into oncoming traffic. * Don't turn low in order to land upwind... or to avoid oncoming traffic. * Don't avoid learning how to land down wind. * Don't look up at your canopy (or other canopies) while on final. * Don't limit your canopy flight learning to the slim parameters of your comfort zone. Stretch yourself. Learn wisely by seeking the knowledge of reliable canopy pilots, not by being your own instructor. (That is not what is meant by "one-on-one teaching".) * Don't be first to the loading area. It's tacky. But don't be last. It's rude. * Don't get on the plane until you're ready to get off the plane. * Don't lie to the S&TA when you get busted for pulling low. Own up to it and take what you have coming.