winsor

I don't see it. Look in the mirror, Ron. Though you pushed the limits as you were coming up in the sport - and got the odd wake-up call for your trouble - you generally asked the advice of people whe had been around a while, and paid attention when it was given. Now that you have been around long enough to lose friends and acquaintances, and to watch the ingredients of a disaster come together time and again, you put your two cents in before someone comes to grief. You are distracted by the people who are hell-bent on destruction and maim or kill themselves in their defiance, but I assure you that there are more who pick up on the dangers cited by by those of us that have (so far) managed to survive them. On more than one occasion I have had someone come up to me and thank me for taking them aside years ago - though their ego may have been bruised at the time. Keep the message out there, and to a large extent it will sink in. Blue skies, Winsor

54.63511% - Super Geek I'm surprised. I didn't know what half of the references were (I'm not into gaming, and don't watch much teevee). Blue skies, Winsor

That's all I wanted to hear. Just so you know that the parameter in consideration here is the speed of the aircraft with regard to the air mass at opening altitude. The expression in parenthesis provides that value. Uncorrected for the winds at opening altitude, groundspeed can give you an approximation. It does not, however, provide "the answer," which can be demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. In the case of a downwind jump run, effective speed is significantly less when corrected for winds at opening altitude than it would appear if groundspeed alone is taken into consideration. As a matter of practice, a fixed minimum time between groups should likely be related to the true airspeed of the aircraft. If you want to increase the time between groups above that minimum, doing so by means of some systematic approach is advised. Going below the fixed minimum time between groups has all the appeal of low-pull contests. Getting away with it repeatedly does not make it a good idea. Blue skies, Winsor

I think it would help if you explained yourself a little more. How's this grab you? Oh, and Bill's algorithm - Exit separation = (groundspeed of aircraft + winds at opening alt) * seconds - is, in fact, the punch line. Blue skies, Winsor

You don't have to have an A license to jump at the Convention. You must be A qualified (or some such thing - 50 jumps or whatever) to jump in an unsupervised fashion, but you can make jumps ranging from tandem through AFF through coached jumps (for the cost of an extra jump ticket with a Load Organizer at Tent 3) on up to world records (if any are being arranged at that particular Convention). It is not unusual for someone with well less than 50 jumps to start the Convention jumping one-on-one with us, and end the Convention turning points with groups and jumping whatever specialty aircraft (balloons, biplanes, helicopters, etc.) as they see fit. For a low-experience jumper, there are few places where you can get more jumps in less time with better people for less money. The Convention is a great venue to get good fast. Blue skies, Winsor (LO Tent 3)

Actually, you are trying to space out the group of jumpers along the ground track of the jump aircraft, so ground speed has everything to do with it. Why do you think they use more time between groups when the winds aloft are cranking? It's because the groundspeed of the air craft is reduced. Actually, I couldn't care less about how jumpers are spaced over the ground. My primary concern with regard to spacing between groups is keeping people apart in the air. People confuse spotting with separation. They are both considerations, but hardly interchangeable. Blue skies, Winsor

A) What your ground speed measures has precious little to do with separation in the air. Minimum time between groups is still minimum time between groups; a function of air speed. This is especially true for a downwind jump run. B) The temperature has even less to do with separation than does ground speed. Blue skies, Winsor

My favorite saying is "Smoke a joint a day and..." uh, I forget the rest.

The 45 degree rule works great as long as there is not an inversion, we are using Fahrenheit, and the temperature is low enough (like a maximum of 35 degrees Fahrenheit) at exit altitude. If you watch the previous group and wait until they are in 45 degree (Fahrenheit) air before your group exits, you should be just fine. Estimating the temperature of the air through which the previous group is falling is an art that takes years to master. Of course, with modern electronics available, I'm sure someone could come up with a temperature transmitter that could provide the necessary information to make this the method of choice throughout the sport. In the meantime, however, using one of the other methods that keep groups centered many hundreds of feet apart at opening altitude will have to suffice. Blue skies, Winsor

No.

Freak. Fuck with a hippie, a hippie fucks around; fuck with a freak, a freak fucks back. To the uninitiated they look about the same - long hair, earrings, beards, kinda scruffy. However, hippies drive VW buses while freaks ride Harleys. Blue skies, Winsor

Why would the terrorists attack France? I thought France was the best friend they had? You are misinformed.

Wait a minute - are you telling me that it is LEGAL to run with scissors? Next you will be telling me that it is lawful to go swimming within half an hour of eating, or to jump up and down on the bed! If this is true, there ought to be a law! If something dangerous exists, it must be because there was a law they forgot to pass. Yeah, that's the ticket. Blue skies, Winsor

Judging by some of the Ugly Americans I encounter around the world, it is hardly surprising. Add to that the sheer inelegance with which we traditionally wield both power and "aid" and you have a pretty repellent mix. When people ask me if we have lost our fucking minds by virtue of one particularly enlightened policy or another, I can only answer "I suspect so." We are a nation with a short attention span, and we do not tend to do our homework. Our leaders are but a reflection of who and what we really are. When we are finally and fully hoist with our own petard I will refrain from a good "I told you so," since I will be as badly screwed as my fellow countrymen. Thus you should all enjoy yourseves, since it is much, much later than you think. Blue skies (with dark clouds on the horizon), Winsor

I think these are round parachutes used by the military. You usually have to jump them in lower winds. I don't recall what they renamed the T-10 after they made it one of those high-performance "steerable" parachutes, but T-13 or -14 does not sound right. FWIW, you do not have to jump them in winds any less than you do a ramair. We would jump them in 20 knots in a New York minute. Of course, a goodly number of us would wind up getting medevaced out, but that's part of the Airborne experience. Blue skies, Winsor

Why do they have to be so timid when preparing regulations? Why not grab the bull by the horns and pass legislation with some teeth? If they simply made it a felony to bounce and a misdemeanor to be injured, it would get to the heart of the matter. Now, in addition to having to deal with physicians and coroners, you will have to answer to the police! Make safety the law! I have plenty of other sure-fire solutions if you need them. Blue skies, Winsor

With all due respect, fuck the coach rating. I take up low timers routinely, and have the mother-may-I from various S&TAs to do so without compensation or the rating. The attempt to mandate that post-training pre-license jumps be made with a paid coach is repellent. If you think there is anything but base motives behind this bit of regulation, you really don't know either the people involved or how it came about. The idea that this policy is somehow the wave of the future is absurd. It is simply the exercise of power by parties that should be kept on a short leash. These are the good old days, and there are those among us that right now jump with low-timers without any added cost to them. Blue skies, Winsor

If you think you are losing something by jumping with a neophyte, and should be paid for your sacrifice, by all means go an do what you would rather be doing. I'll happily jump with the tyro - and pay for my own slot. Blue skies, Winsor

There is no option for multiple answers. I'm a High School dropout. I also have a BS in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering and an MS in Electrical Engineering. I kind of like qualifying for both "Some High School" and "Post University Degree (masters, doctors etc.)." Blue skies, Winsor

I am too. That is why I use a checklist. Blue skies, Winsor

Dennis Buteau's Surefire Hangover Cure: 1 pot coffee 1 qt. OJ 1 Bloody Mary 1 B-100 vitamin 1 5-mg. Dexedrine 2 aspirin 1 joint 1 5-mg. Valium IIRC, it works pretty well. Keeping all that around was enough fuss that I simply gave up drinking. In 1987. Blue skies, Winsor

The current incarnation of my treatment on the subject follows. ----------------------------------------------------- Flight Planning for Safety by Winsor Naugler III 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 · 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 Convention is likely the best place you can be with that experience level. At Tent 3 our focus is low-pressure skydives. Our goals are to keep it safe and have a great time - everything else is details. The people who jump with us range from students just off AFF (doing coached jumps for the cost of another jump ticket) up to veterans with thousands of jumps who are there to have fun. Each of the Organizers brings a different skill set to Tent 3, so there is a lot one can learn from jumping with different groups throughout the Convention. We are on the same page as far as safety practices go, and we tend to be injury-free. What has impressed me over the years is how fast the people who jump with us improve. Some of the people who show up on the first day can't even funnel an exit properly, but they are in the groove in short order. Once, toward the end of the Convention we were pretty busy, and some guys decided to put something together on their own instead of waiting until an Organizer was free. When the five of them came back after the jump, I asked "how did it go?" The answer was "we took the wrong grips on the seventh point, but otherwise it was okay." A week before they were impressed if they could get a four way together at any time during the skydive, and that now they took success as a given - with them doing the organizing! The Convention can seem intimidating to someone without a lot of experience, but it may be one of the best ways to get a lot of experience rapidly. It's also a hell of a good time. Blue skies, Winsor

Not me, I wear a white straw Resistol. I need to keep from getting my neck burned to a crisp, so I stash the LO hat and put on one with an all-around brim. A sun worshipper I am not. Blue skies, Winsor

This is a rather unfocused line of enquiry, so I'd like to debunk some of the supposed benefits to being overhung. For one thing, most women aren't designed to accommodate anything past a givn length. Anyone with whom John Holmes could achieve full penetration would have been an anatomical anomaly. It doesn't take much more than avarage to exceed what many women can handle without pain. As far as girth goes, heroic dimensions are anathema to felatio. If a woman's jaw is sore for a day afterwards, it is not too likely she will be interested in a repeat performance. For prolonged sex, friction becomes a greater issue as size increases. For a quickie being larger than average may be fine, but a normal size is much better suited to marathon sex. As far as such things as prophylactics go, they aren't designed to accommodate much more than average. If anything, they are designed to build the egos of those at the middle of the spectrum by being snug. Since erection is accomplished by dint of blood pressure, having to fight an elastomer makes it tough to stay erect for someone overly endowed - if the size is dictated by the apparatus it results in a flaccid condition. I believe Masters and Johnson listed 5.5" as average erect length for their sample group, and I have never heard the average cited as more than 6" from a reputable study (you get all sorts of trivia from the New York Times). According to Bonnie Raitt it ain't the meat, it's the motion - but I've also heard it said that this argument is cited only by guys with "itty, bitty dicks." Much though we make a big deal about big dicks and big tits, the people with the best sex lives are likely to be in the normal category. Blue skies, Winsor