winsor

The dumbest stuff I can think of resulted in either a Life Flight or a trip to the morgue. Do you mean stupid moves that people pulled off without injury? The hop and pop that resulted in a

You have what amounts to a compound question here. The implications of the buzzword "strong women" vary greatly, depending on who you ask. Being hetero, my relationships with women are (with any luck) quite different from those with men. Thus, behavior that I will not tolerate on an intimate basis is not a factor with men the way it can be with women. If you ask any person who has worked in an insane asylum, they will tell you that with psychosis often comes superhuman strength. Thus, what is generating fear is not necessarily the "strong woman" part of the deal so much as the "psycho bitch" factor. Note that the quotes are from women who concluded that they scared men away by their "strength," not from men who were trying to get clear of them because they were bonkers. FWIW, the women I find truly attractive and with whom I am comfortable are the kind you find in this sport. They are decisive, self assured, and fundamentally capable human beings. The kind of women who bitch to their therapists about how they scare men away because they are too "strong" scare me. If someone thinks they're fucked up enough to need therapy, they're generally right about being fucked up, and I'd just as soon stay clear. NOBODY is that good in bed. Blue skies, Winsor

You have a 99 main and a 218 reserve? What container do you have? I have two Racer Elites (400 cu. in. main & 400 cu. in. reserve IIRC) set up with EXTreme FX 99s and Raven IIs. They work beautifully. Blue skies, Winsor

On my primary rig? If they pull silver and don't get too creative, their odds are good. Raven II - 218 sq. ft.. If they are advanced enough to deploy the main, they're screwed. EXTreme FX 99. If they do nothing, look for the crater. The CYPRES is in the shop. Blue skies, Winsor

An American checks into a hotel in London and asks "Which way is the elevator?" The desk clerk responds "the lift? It's around the corner to your right." The American says "it's an elevator, not a lift. An American invented it." The desk clerk smiles and says "as I understand, it was an Englishman who invented the language...."

Geee... I don't know who that could have been Now c'mon, you know it was a long snivel. Yeah, after pitching in the basement. A discussion about turning off a CYPRES before this jump was overheard.

Nope..not a bit. Seven years and counting. 6241 days - but who's counting?

None. It really didn't agree with me. Since the last thing I drank was a bottle of Mezcal (down to the worm, on July 1987 at roughly 1215 hrs), I was given a pass on Rodriguez Brother initiation. I have nothing against it, but am not by nature given to moderation. Better you than me. Blue skies, Winsor

Strangely enough, REDUCED tolerance can be symptomatic of the physiological changes associated with stage 3 alcoholism. The general breakdown is something along the lines of: Stage 1: You have ever drank to get drunk. Stage 2: You have ever blacked out, e.g., were ambulatory but have no recollection of what transpired. Stage 3: Alcohol is part of your diet/consumption regimen, whether continuous or binge. Physiological changes may manifest themselves by higher or lower tolerance and/or withdrawal (hangover) characteristics. If alcohol is really that big of a deal, it should provide you with a clue. Not to worry, most people that conclude they are alcoholic look back and realize they met all the criteria for years. Betty Ford, when asked during an interview about her consumption patterns, started to answer, and then said "it doesn't matter." The gist of her was that if, when you go to an event, it makes a difference whether alcohol is served, that's a bad sign. If you have a preset limit for how much you will drink, that's a bad sign. If you know at any time precisely how much you have had to drink, that's a bad sign. If, when leaving the party, you're proud of yourself if you limited yourself to the predetermined amount, that's a bad sign. FWIW, if you must indulge in mind altering substances, alcohol is one of the worst - in the long run it makes heroin look like a gift from God by comparison (physiologically, at least). As far as building up tolerance to alcohol goes, it has been tried with mixed results. Your experience may, of course, be unique. Knock yourself out. Blue skies, Winsor

Gee, someone with one of those would definitely have it over a skilled rifleman with an M-1 Garand. It really looks kewl, and that is important. Blue skies, Winsor

He dropped 7 targets and that's considered SUCCESSFUL? 25-17=8 Just a thought ... Yeah, I'm good at math but not arithmetic. When scattergunning you're expected to hit them, and one only notes the ones that got away. I don't usually have to consider what corresponds to more than one or two missed, and dropping EIGHT is new ground. Anyway, he's a Democrat so he doesn't really matter. Blue skies, Winsor

He dropped 7 targets and that's considered SUCCESSFUL? Maybe if he was shooting a Skeet gun at International Trap, or was stuck using a .410 I could see it, but with the Citori he was packing, using even the cheapest WalMart 7 1/2s, that's a pretty poor showing. My ex-girlfriend was doing that well on her second or third outing with an ill-fitting 870TB. It figures that he's a Democrat. Whenever you have a politician that turns a plane into a hole in the ground (or fish bait) because he can't keep the wings level, dollars to donuts it's a Democrat. It makes sense that one can barely figure out which way to point his trusty stackbarrel. Blue skies, Winsor

WRT skydiving, we were talking about that last night. Some people have a lot of the verbiage memorized, and it sounds plausible until they get into the details - then their story falls apart. I had someone make a variety of extravagant claims last night, and he apparently didn't know that I could check them out within minutes with no effort expended. I guess some people assume that, since skydiving is only a theoretical endeavor from where they sit, it likely is to their audience as well. When it turns out that they are talking to someone who has done quite a bit of it, it is too late to back down. My favorite person whose story was patently hogwash was a guy who claimed to be an airline pilot. I never did bother to find out quite what he really did for a living, but the fact that he had the temerity to put forth his fantasy at dropzone, where a very large number of the audience really were pilots of one description or another (private through ATP and/or military) never ceased to amaze me. I figure if I ever see fit to gild the lily, there is a better than even chance that the person I'm trying to bamboozle will turn out to be an authority on the subject. In this sport, there are a lot of ringers about. Blue skies, Winsor

I second that.

It occurs to me that including this one directly in the post is probaby a better approach. ------------------------------------------------------- Flight Planning for Safety by Winsor Naugler III In any aviation activity proper flight planning is critical to safety, and skydiving is no exception. If you take the time beforehand to plan for various eventualities, you don’t waste precious time making decisions when they arise. Preflight • Familiarize yourself with aerial views of the DZ and surrounding area, if they are available. Note locations of obstacles and pick likely outs for bad spots in various directions. • Check weather reports, if possible, and note forecast winds at altitude, cloud conditions and any approaching fronts. You are less likely to be blindsided by rapid changes in conditions when informed of their likelihood. • Turn on your AAD, if so equipped. Make sure your hook knives are accessible. • Find out who on the formation has audible or visible altimeters, AADs and RSLs; make sure they are all operational and properly initialized. • Check your and your partners’ gear. • Make sure you are in agreement on breakoff and opening procedures and altitudes. • Face into the wind and see where the sun is. Its position should be the same when you are on final and there is no wind indicator available. Exit • Know what groups are around you, what they are doing and what delay is planned between groups (ask around before and after boarding). The Skydive Arizona policy of large to small slow-faller groups, followed by large to small fast-faller groups, followed by students, followed by tandems is the best all-around approach in the business. • The more of a delay between groups you can arrange, the better. DO NOT assume that any reasonable delay is reason not to pay attention to other groups in the air - LOOK AROUND! Freefall • Dock gently, from the level of the formation. DO NOT swoop into a formation, but make the final approach smooth and deliberate. • DO NOT EVER get above or below a formation. Inadvertent deployment can become fatal fast if people are above each other. • If low, stay near and to the side of the formation until breakoff. Do NOT begin tracking before breakoff altitude, and DO NOT do anything to increase vertical separation.. • Track flat at a common level. DO NOT drop out of a formation vertically. If you have an inadvertent deployment when you are below the formation, the likelihood of someone getting killed is significant. The greatest likelihood of an inadvertent deployment is right after exposing the pilot chute pouch to direct air stream – like when dropping out of a formation in a stand-up. • Track to a clear sector while watching the people on either side. While flat tracking, it is easy to split the difference between the people to either side by looking under your arms. Canopy Flight • Open at an appropriate altitude. Between two and three thousand feet is reasonable for a high traffic event; any higher opening (for CRW or whatever) should be arranged with the pilot. • Do NOT spiral down through a high traffic area. If spiraling to lose altitude, get well off the wind line to stay clear of the spot for other groups, and LOOK AROUND. In a turn, the direction of most likely collision is at the leading edge of the canopy in the direction of the turn, and there is a blind spot where a collision may occur between jumpers whose canopies blocked their view of each other until right before the collision. I reiterate - SPIRALING IN HIGH TRAFFIC IS DANGEROUS! • The safest flight path when opening above the landing area is to fly the canopy away from the landing area, perpendicular to jumprun, until far enough out to allow a long, shallow approach to the landing area (leave enough room for obstacle clearance). • LOOK AROUND NEAR THE GROUND! Don’t fixate on your landing, but pay attention to who is in the area. Keep your head on a swivel, and periodically scan for potential traffic. • Do not execute unplanned turns near the ground. If you are cut off on final, executing an avoidance turn must not be a possible response. Landing • The safest landing areas are the least popular ones with the most outs. Landing in congested areas or where ground traffic is allowed (e.g., the camping area) can be an invitation to disaster. • If you must turn for traffic or obstacle avoidance while setting up to land, use a FLAT TURN. If you don’t know how to do so, find out from someone experienced in the maneuver and practice at altitude until you have the procedure wired. • Keep your head on a swivel after touchdown. Even if you land under complete control, you might want to dodge someone who is swooping where they should not. =>If landing out is inevitable, or if safely making it to a designated landing area is in doubt: • Pick an open area in which to land by 1,000 feet (300 metres). Corn can be over 12’ (4m) tall (a cornfield is NOT like an unmown lawn), so landing between rows and preparing for a PLF will reduce the likelihood or extent of injury. • Any changes of color on the ground probably have barbed wire along the boundary. Land parallel to any area changes. • Locate any telephone poles or other wire supports by 500 feet (150 metres), and set up to avoid the wires that are sure to go between them. • Identify the lay of the land by 500 feet (150 metres), and set up to land alongside any hills. Do NOT land uphill or downhill, REGARDLESS of what the wind is doing. • If there is any doubt about the landing surface, or if you are sure to have excess speed on touchdown (like when stuck with a downwind landing) execute a PLF and roll out the landing. Keeping feet and knees together, and not using hands or elbows to break the fall can greatly help avoiding injury.

The WFFC puts our articles in the flier they give out in the registration package. Bill, Gary and I have had our treatments of the subject included through the years. As I said, we take a different approach but our goal is the same. I have had enough people comment that one thing or another we discussed really helped them when it mattered, so I consider the effort worthwhile. I found my article on a server to which I have access (I won't get back from Serbia until just before the Convention), so I have attached it here. Blue skies, Winsor

The Convention is almost upon us, and I invite everyone to have the time of their lives and go home in one piece. The keys to staying safe are things you already know. All it takes is a gentle reminder to think ahead, and the odds are stacked in your favor. I have seen rather a few people come to grief in this sport, and it was almost always avoidable by using the tools you should have mastered by the time you got off student status. The Convention publishes safety articles every year, and they tend to go over some good basics. The article by Bill von Novak takes a different tack than does Gary Peek's or mine, but reading any or all of them can't hurt. Whatever you do, think ahead, have a plan, stay heads-up, look out for each other and don't push your luck. None of us are immune, and we get constant reminders of that fact. I've had the odd wake-up call, and can attest that the tuition can be a bitch for even the most minor lesson. If you have to get injured at the Convention, let it be a pulled muscle from trying position #402 from the Kama Sutra at the end of the day. Then again, if you're limber and stretch first, even that might be avoided. The time to get into the mindset to keep it safe is now. It's a hell of a lot more fun when everyone stays healthy and happy. I'll see you there. Blue skies, Winsor

Tolerance is all about condescensýon. You don't tolerate something you think is okay - you accept it. You have to think something is fundamentally fucked up in order to tolerate it, which is a rather sanctimonious standpoint. To reject something is a hell of a lot more honest than to tolerate ýt. Blue skies, Winsor

Why? The PA-28 family of aircraft is very well suited to a variety of positions. Admittedly, the lack of autopilot makes it hard to avoid aerobatics if things get intense, but it's a perfectly good Mile High flight platform. It beats the hell out of the lav on a Boeing (though that works, as well). Blue skies, Winsor

There wasn't an option on the poll for "after use." I would just as soon have a once-a-year cycle. I can't think of anyone that bounced because they used a reserve packed within a year but would have lived if the repack cycle had been 60 or 120 days. The repack process is tough on reserves, and I think much of the mandatory repack mentality is a throwback to the days of natural materials such as silk, pongee silk and cotton. Nylon, if kept packed, dry and cool, will stay operational for a long, long time. I've known people to use reserves many years after being packed, which worked just fine. BTW, I'm a rigger. Blue skies, Winsor

With nothing to do but hang out in the Balkans (and get at most three hop and pops), I broke down and got a flight to Istanbul for the weekend. Since I only have a vague idea of what to do during a two-day tourist stint (though I am pretty resourceful), I am open to suggestions as to what to do and where to go in Byzantium. I gather there's lots to see and do, but appreciate hints as to what I really ought not miss while I'm there. Blue skies, Winsor

With any luck, afterplay that turns into foreplay on one of the better weekends. If you're talking semipublic sex, the answer is to try to look nonchalant. For the Mile High Club, the answer is to get the wings back to level. If you only have one set answer, odds are you don't get out much. Blue skies, Winsor

There's a big difference between celibacy and being between relationships. Doing without sucks, but swearing it off is unnatural. Blue skies and dead kittens, Winsor

you wouldn't know where i could get a ripcord for one of those do ya??? i know where i can have one made..... just wondering if i can find one premade already... Actually, there is a guy here (Vrsac, Serbia) who has a box full of legacy ripcords of various descriptions. He has maybe 100, while I have at most a couple of dozen assorted ripcords at the house. If you can give me the dimensions you want (mine's about 3,000 miles from here), I can see if Pedja has one that will work Otherwise, I might have one, or can find out if Hank Ellis, Dave DeWolf or one of the other usual suspects has one on hand. Blue skies, Winsor

Oh, oh, oh. I'll take a litre or 3.