airtwardo

80 Lb break cord perhaps? He wasn't unstable ergo... Less than 10 seconds of drogue-fall. Exit height ~ 6000 feet? Doesn't look like the helicopter is running in that fast either. Probably trying to minimize the wind at exit...also may be the reason for the short fall prior to opening. He's just a bit older than me...and MY floppy old face sure gets to shaking at 110mph! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

You mean the 90 year old guy doing a tight demo jump & landing damn near downwind...didn't STAND IT UP?! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

I hear Obama want to have a clown at HIS next birthday! http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/george-bush-marks-90th-birthday-skydiving/story?id=24103264 I was in downtown Houston several years ago watching the annual Houston Marathon... I heard the old guy next to me on the street corner say he liked my hat - which was a parachute team ball cap. The old guy asked if I was a Skydiver... I was kinda speechless for a second when I realized President Bush was talking to me! ~ We had a somewhat lengthy conversation, he told me about his previous jumps including his 1st one into the Pacific, I told him I'd made a demonstration jump carrying a flag into a rally he appeared at during his 2nd run for office... I gave him the 'Liberty Parachute Team' pin I had on my hat & he asked me for a business card - two days later I received a thank you note in the mail! ~ I doubt I've ever met a more genuinely down to earth, interesting and honorable man of his stature. I applaud his spirit in making yet ANOTHER skydive!! Happy Birthday Sir! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

No offence meant - but I agree, you probably should be using a rig equipped with a MARD. You weren't using an RSL because you wanted to be 'pulling your own handles' - however you weren't taking any advantage of the option of deploying rock solid stable prior to doing so. You put 100% faith & trust in the 'design/operation of the reserve' so you would 'chop & pull' regardless of body position, type of malfunction, traffic...etc. Which in fact is a significantly less safe method of deploying the reserve, than to just allow the RSL to do it. You say ~ "You are not safe, nothing about skydiving is safe. Stay focused and enjoy the beauty of the sport, that safety feeling is an illusion..." I would point out that in fact it's an 'odds game' and that 'safety feeling' is subjective & relative...but no illusion. Certainly the gear available these days is reasonably reliable, and the uniform system of training has allowed what was once a sport reserved for dedicated enthusiasts to become appealing to the general public, through marketing as an adventurous 'hobby'. But in the overall big picture, relying on 'idiot proof' gear instead of having a solid foundation of understanding & ability is truly not 'playing the odds' to their best possible advantage. Fortunately 98% of the time you can get away with flawed procedures and a less than optimal performance implementing them...however that 2% is a cold hearted unforgiving bitch whose judgement is swift and final. I find it unfathomable someone wouldn't make every effort practical & possible, to turn any odds variable from against them, to in their favor... I actually know how much drag my reserve pilot chute has in comparison with other types on the market. I know how long my reserve takes to open both at terminal & sub because I strapped on a tersh and tested it. I know how many stitches per inch are holding the seams together & what the links are torqued at...I pack my own main thus allowing for a close though quick inspection following every deployment. WHY? Because it makes me 'feel safer' having personal knowledge regarding the condition and configuration of the system I'm spinning the odds wheel with. MY 2 cents is ~ would the sport be safer if every rig had a Skyhook - I dunno...but I will flat out guarantee that the sport as whole would be significantly safer if every PERSON took the time to understand how exactly their gear works any why. Took the time to become completely versed on all possible scenarios and the proper reaction to them, thoroughly understand not only the what but also the why. Took the time to build an absolutely solid foundation of basic skills so that you can react without thought and correctly implement successfully every time. ~ things like being able to immediately get stable subterminal...actually knowing before hand what you would do coming over the hangar low and hitting turbulence...a two out...a broken steering line...a mid air collision & wrap...the list is long, but definitely not 'endless'. If people actually knew their shit and had it all together at crunch time...the sport would indeed be much safer than it would be by relying on the latest piece of hardware as a crutch instead. That said - it's not an 'either / or' type of deal, one CAN do both...and hey, that can really lean the odds in your favor. Talk about a non illusional feeling of safety...! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

I find it a bit funny that a lot of skydivers today seem to look at a MARD as a 'must have' piece of technical innovation that revolutionizes the safe deployment of their reserve...wondering how we 'old farts' ever made it without one! As we know - a Main Assisted Reserve Deployment devise simply attaches the reserves bridle to the departing main, allowing for the force created to drag the reserve deployment bag from the pack tray. It's primary function is to pull the deployment bag off your back & then off the canopy...a mard in reality has nothing to do with how fast your reserve opens. Skyhook or not - once that deployment bag is free of the canopy itself, the reserve will open the same in either configuration. What the MARD actually does is shorten the time it takes from an RSL cut away to the deployment bag releasing the reserve canopy ~ The difference between the two is that without a MARD in place, the time it takes for a standard RSL type deployment has become a totally arbitrary quantity. It may in some instances be a difference of a fraction of a second and in other instances...you may impact before the reserve deployment bag ever clears the pack tray - and make no mistake, that has nothing to do with altitude. In your comment I quoted above you make reference to a reserve pilot chute hesitation...maybe THAT'S what we should be looking hard at regarding ~ Would the sport, as a whole, be more or less safe if... ~ Back when I started jumping, we had huge floppy jumpsuits that created a vacuum/void in the airspace directly above your back..when you pulled the reserve, sometimes the pilot chute would merely lay down alongside - or in front of the pack tray. The "EP's" for such an event were to either look back at it or sit up more vertically, thereby interrupting that void and allowing the pilot chute to catch air and begin the deployment process...teaching that 'emergency procedure' to people today won't really help much in many instances and in fact can make matters even worse in some others. What you're seeing/describing is a poorly designed and engineered reserve container and/or reserve pilot chute that isn't allowing the drag created to pull the bag out of the tray. That's it...nothing more. There was a period of time years ago when the wing wars gave way to tighter faster jumpsuits, that didn't ordinarily create the void effect...most all the rigs of that era were still squarish & boxy, most of the reserve containers were two pin affairs that had flaps which blew wide open and way out of the path of the stuff folded under them. Pilot Chute Hesitation was becoming an antiquated term along with Capewells & Jesus Strings... THEN ~ since the skydivers were going faster, turning more points etc. the aerodynamic effects of the rig came into question...either that or since the jumpsuits were tighter the rig was more visible and needed to 'look cool'...not sure which, but for whatever reason the rigs became significantly more 'form fitting' which meant tighter and tapered. Guess what! It seems THAT'S not the most ideal shape with which to rapidly unpack a reserve...go figure. To make matters even worse, in 'some' deployment instances the directional force the now tiny pilot chutes creates, now serves to hinder deployment even more by somewhat wedging the bag up into the ears of the sewn closed upper corners of the reserve tray...deployment 'instances' such as when cutting away from a bad main with an RSL - and being vertical to the relative wind. Hate to break it to ya gang - but this 'technical advancement' some seem so enamored with...is nothing more than a 'fix' to a problem that didn't exist once upon a time. Just like having to add a bungee cord between your legstraps because the old way of a solid piece of webbing there looked funky and wasn't 'comfortable' enough. There is no question the MARD insures a more positive release of the reserve deployment bag from the container...but in the world of K.I.S.S. - wouldn't a far better approach be to redesign the the container systems so that adding an expensive piece of equipment - 'than can be rigged incorrectly' - be unnecessary? Ask yourself, why is it that the tail is wagging the dog on this stuff.. Opening altitudes that are now encouraged are easily 1500+ above what they were years ago with the 'old style' gear people scoff at...AAD altitudes are being raised at least 300' over what was once deemed quite adequate. And should be adequate by TSO standards...except that those standards don't apply in the 'real world' combinations of gear being utilized. So maybe - let's look at the question ~ Would the sport, as a whole, be more or less safe if a skyhook were in every rig? ~ in a little different context... Would the sport as a whole be more safer, if the equipment we're trusting our lives with were designed and engineered with a priority on function first - and form a far behind after thought? Having a tiny, tight, form fitting and aerodynamic rig with sweat soaking back pads, nickel plated harness rings and your dogs name embroidered on the soft hard to grab reserve handle may make ya feel cool & look pretty... But remember ~ the LAST thing you need at 2 grand - - - Is PRETTY GEAR! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

your worst nightmare! [devil] I think you mean ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

What girl wouldn't swoon over a complement like THAT? Might wanna quit diggin' yourself a hole there Lance Romance! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Grandpa's can't be sluts! CAN they? ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Indeed! Years ago I met and dated a pretty, smart, professional woman who was a 'television personality' in a fairly large market in the midwest... Since I was living on the left coast we'd see each other maybe twice a month but talked daily...it was 'fun' but I didn't see it going anywhere 'more serious' as she had her career and I was a slut. When we finally had the 'talk' she didn't take it well. The angry phone calls at 2am & the nasty letters are easy enough to ignore...but when someone has the brains and financial means to really wanna screw with ya, it can get a little scary. Jumping an airshow in Fla. once, the show boss made a comment one morning that he'd met my WIFE at breakfast...the tall good looking blond who came to the show to surprise me... Another time in Vegas at the airshow convention, she was waiting for me in my ROOM one night... She went WAY over the line in Oklahoma City once and I had her arrested...that seemed to get the message across, it 'nearly' ended all contact... EXCEPT for once a year around my birthday for the next 10 years...I'd get an 'anonymous' letter in the mail containing my obituary clipped from some small town newspaper she'd had it posted in...with the words "Thinking Of YOU" written across the front. Ahhhh..the good ole daze! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

WHO are you again? ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Your high wing loading hasn't bit you YET - it most likely eventually will. At your experience level you are leaving yourself no margin for error...not a smart way to play it if you plan on being around the sport for a while. As far as overloading the placarded max, I have lots of experience with doing that in the course of jumping demos in which lots of extra gear is used. Being over the max on demonstration jumps I make it a rule to never take it to terminal. Besides the opening being rather uncomfortable it tends to put quite a bit of wear on the canopy itself...to the tune of about a 40 to 1 ratio in terms of jumps. Even just doing hop & pops wear the gear faster than normal, but less so than at terminal. IF the canopy itself doesn't split a seam (I had 4 do it) then the line trim will go way out of spec. in a very short time, making the flight characteristics less than optimal. It may open with a constant turn, it may turn better one way than the other, it may not flare well... To keep the canopy flying as designed you will be replacing line sets 3 times as often as anyone else...not cheap. In the interest of safety overall - you're best bet is to observe the weight restrictions and the wing loading recommendations...they aren't put there to spoil your fun, they're there to help keep you alive. You can learn for the experience of others or you can choose the hard, painful and costly way and learn from your own mistakes...your choice. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Perhaps, but we don't have to make it easy for them. That is the problem with the current system; it's too easy for people with mental health issues to have access to guns. Or ~ pencil pen bottle opener book lamp vase bottle hangers golf clubs letter opener insecticide fertilizer sulfur PVC DWV Pipe Propane Nail gun Screw Driver Chain Hedge Clippers Rip saw utility knives paint thinner glass gasoline ammonium nitrate galvanized pipe rope ice pick pillow electricity airplane automobile tank stolen from National Guard Armory bulldozer crane bowling ball bowling pin monkey wrench flame thrower super squirter piano wire fishing sinkers Bow & Arrow crossbow sword mace pipe bomb ~ basicly anything one can lay their hands on... More deaths occur annually with alcohol & automobiles as a factor than do guns, what's being done to stop the carnage? ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

More proof that there is a national mental illness problem that's being falsely discussed as a gun control problem. Ever see a plumber use a monkey wrench as a hammer? He uses any tool to get the job done...just because he doesn't have a hammer available doesn't mean he quits and goes home... ...if a mentally ill person is set on 'killing as many people as possible' they will find a method to do so. Maybe it's time to stop worrying about the inanimate objects these people use to kill - and start addressing the ways to stop that person from want to kill. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Democratic candidate hands every cab driver a 50.00 tip and tells them to vote democrat. The republican candidate doesn't tip at all...and tells 'em to vote democrat! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

One of the reasons M-18's now require a license to use, store & transport...the firing mechanism screws right into a pineapple grenade of the type that are sold as paper weights. Kind of a stupid law because smokes don't have a delay fuse, pull the pin and it ignites - in other words if you did that you couldn't throw it - once the lever is released it goes off, taking care of the ''problem' permanently. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

r No...you're just untrainable. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Peas or die Yup, I always scored pretty good in accuracy competitions...the judges would tend to back off a fair distance when I'd approach the pit going the same speed as your average iron core meteor... Either that or they figured since I walked away from THAT ~ I was pretty hard to kill & they didn't want me 'questioning' their distance from target assessment. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

What were they like to land? Well - when you're 240 pounds nekid with 40 pounds of gear on ya & jumping a 'high-performance' 24 foot competition canopy...you wear really good jump boots because you hit the planet just a hair under terminal. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Glad to see you in the Lone Star Peter! Hate to take a seat away from an actual current entrepreneur so to speak..but would love an opportunity to 'survey the course' as a learning experience and perhaps gain some insight. Capt. Mom & I are currently investigating several entrepreneurial avenues of interest. I certainly understand if your seminal isn't setup for that kind of thing...but if possible - would love to attend! If NOT possible...we still owe ya dinner for the dentist thing, lets get together after! * dizzycommer peeps - to tell ya what a great guy Peter is ~ Capt. Mom landed in NYC on a Sunday with a incredibly painful broken tooth. I called Peter to see if he knew anyone she could maybe see the following morning, prior to flying back out to Europe. He called me back 10 minutes later with his dentist's number saying they will open up & meet Capt. Mom at the office in an hour! ~ ~ THAT'S above & beyond!! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Congratulations! Gonna have your hands full...I've SEEN that look before! ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

That brought a tear to my eye. If you're not working for Hallmark, you should be. Yeah I kinda get the impression that dweeb does all his shopping at the scratch & dent outlet mall - but no question he hit home run grabbing that floor model. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

I do, but I don't share actual copies of it as it's an attorney's work product that was designed with a number of specific things addressed that are fairly exclusive to the team I'm on. ~ That said, some general things a basic contract should include are: The name of the 'team' or person responsible for performing the demo. The name of the event and organizer you will be performing the demo for. The date & approximate time of the demo, number of persons performing, number of performances that contract will cover. A basic description of the act(s) to be performed. If the event organizer is responsible for the aircraft & pilot, spell that out and list the requirements needed for the jump platform ie. cabin class single or dual engine aircraft certified for operation with the door removed...etc. list the amount you are to be paid for the performance - have in there (at least 25%) a non-refundable deposit is required at the time of contract approval, with the remaining balance to be paid the day of the final performance. List with full description any special requirements you need to have provided - for example; an on site team & equipment recovery vehicle of cargo van type, one hotel room per performer starting one day prior to the scheduled event through one day after. Event passes for the performers and ground support crew, (on & on, you get the idea) Say in the contract that all possible and safety practical measures will be taken to complete the performance as outlined, however due to variables beyond your control, changes to the program may be required...any such changes in no way release either party from the terms of the contract. State that you will observe & obey all legal requirements as outlined by the transportation administration in regard to aircraft use and aerial parachute performances. State if there will be insurance provided, who will provide it, the limits of the liability & who is to be named on the policy. ~ ~ ~ ~ That cover's 'some' of the basics, but as you can tell It's actually pretty involved. I highly recommend you consult with an actual contract attorney...sometimes the wording & format can make a huge difference. Yes, it costs a little money, but considering the endless number of bad things you are opening yourself up to should something go wrong - or what it will cost you not to have a real contract & the organizer decides not to pay you, it's well worth the investment. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

no reason, but http://www.diffen.com/difference/Eminent_vs_Imminent an eminent threat would be Obama with a pencil an imminent threat would be a guy with a knife charging at you and already inside 10 feet you're mileage may very I really do know the difference -Iphone auto correct seems not to. That & my reading glasses aren't here in the truck...if the fuzz on the screen looks kinda right I gotta go with it. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

Is that fact... or is it your opinion? I know the difference, hopefully deep down you do too. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

You seem to like putting solid definitions on things that are debateable regarding the context of the meaning in order make what is in truth only your opinion, sound like indisputable fact. "The victim was in fact tortured to death" You're saying someone found guilty and sentenced to death because of the heinous unimaginable crimes they perpetrated on an innocent woman...is suddenly now a VICTIM? You also imply it's fact that this person was being "Tortured to Death" as was alleged by his attorney in the quoted self serving soundbite...in reality, the legally planned & approved execution was inadvertently delayed unintentionally. The very limited & temporary discomfort experienced by the man proven guilty of MURDERING an innocent woman through premeditated means of actual medieval torture - however unfortunate, does not rise to any possible definition of 'torture' in the context of this case, unless one wishes to apply the term only for the emotional response it may possibly illicit from those not familiar with the true facts. And yes..."The law requires witnesses" You seem to be trying to imply that the requirement wasn't observed - you are wrong. Just because you (again) state something as 'fact', and do so with outright indignation hoping to spark an emotional knee jerk reaction- does not make it so. The witness requirement is in place NOT to armchair quarterback the method of execution....it's there to positively confirm to the court that the penalty was carried out at the recorded time and date and the person put to death is/was the condemned and not some stand-in. The order of execution is (in most states) signed by three people confirming the above, under oath. Often it's the Doctor, the Warden and the condemned person's legal counsel or clergy. THOSE are the witnesses, and they ordinarily have nothing to do with the folks watching in the window from the peanut gallery...usually relatives of the actual crime victim & relatives of the condemned are invited to be present but you will not find THEIR names listed as a witness on anything returned to the court - Doc I respect you, and though I disagree with your personal opinion regarding the death penalty - I understand and value the fact it IS your opinion...it's neither right or wrong. What say...instead of cherry picking emotionally charged terms and applying questionably inaccurate definitions to them as means of solidifying the foundation of a personal opinion - you put forth an argument favoring your ideals in a logical & concise manner, one that's more in line with a person of your educational background & social stature. ~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~