aufreefly

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Posts posted by aufreefly

  1. I have a mudflap mounted altimeter and used to wear both it and a wrist mount. I compared to two over several jumps and never got any noticeable deviation. It should be noted that my mudflap altimeter is mounted as high as possible. See picture for reference.
    picture

  3. If you want to watch one channel while recording another you will have to get the directTV Tivo, it has dual tuners. If you have any specific questions on how you will set up post them or PM me. The home media option is set up through a USB port and can also be used to transfer files from one Tivo to another.

    Just a note...35 hours is at low quality which is really not worth watching. To bump it up to high or best you will only get about half of that. To add another drive and expand your capacity by 70 hours is 160 dollars.

    On a related note forbes.com and others are very concerned about the effect DVR's will have on their precious advertising revenues. And guess what, they are right. I have not watched a commercial in a month and am able to watch what I want when I want it.

    If you have any more questions, fire away! I can't say enough about how awesome Tivo is.

  5. Quote

    I think we should all call. They are always calling me and asking my opinion, it must be important to them.



    They actually stopped answering that number claiming that they had staff spending five hours a day deleting messages. I have been calling them whenever I pass by a payphone on the way home from class. I know they just delete it, but it still feels good to know that eventually they will have to reprint all their literature if we keep it up.:)

  6. Quote

    This looks to be the fault of the jumper. It looks like he instantly grabed and hung on the risers. grabing your risers during deployment will induce uneven force, no matter how symetrical you think you are.



    I agree.

    In the user guide on the Atair website it says to look at the canopy and watch it deploy. I did this for quite a while and would overcompensate and give myself twists (never had to cutaway from those self induced twists). I started watching the horizon and concentrating on keeping level by feel and visual input. No more line twists, for me anyway.

  7. Yeah, the video shows the 135 first (hard opening) then the 150 (line twists). Most of the time the Cobalts that I jumped tended to open well, but compared to the Xaos, Nitron, and Stiletto that I have jumped they seemed to open really hard a disproportionate amount of the time.

    I sold my Cobalt 135 and the new user has some video of the openings
    Hard opening

    line twist cutaway

    Interesting perspective of two stage opening

    Unfortunately I don't have video of my other cutaways, but I agree that my lack of experience played a factor in most of my cutaways. I think that all in all the Cobalt is better than most, but not the best opening canopy that I have jumped.

  8. Quote

    So the next time you look at a senior citizen, don't think of them as old. Think of them as experienced. And the next time you look at a old time skydiver. Don't think of them as POPS, but think of them as a dam flat belly flier who's afraid to try freeflying.



    I used to think that, until I tried some 10 way RW (thats big for me). I really wish that I had gotten into RW in the beginning and am actually considering getting an RW suit and pursuing it more seriously. I hope that there will be enough people getting into the sport who do RW so that in 10 years there will be a 400 way RW formation.

  10. I have found another use for DZ.com...

    For those of us who have been posting (or lurking mostly) since we began jumping, we can look back and get a feel for the way we thought when we were beginning skydivers.

    If I think about the way that I used to think, "it won't happen to me", or "I'm better than that", it scares me. I think that I just made it through those lower jump numbers on pure luck. I wish that there had been someone like skybytch or billvon to tell me to my face..."you are not ready for that canopy, let me show you what a LARGER canopy can do in the hands of an experienced pilot".

    People hear that sort of thing all of the time, and they don't heed the warnings. Why? For me it was seeing the people that I respected as skydivers flying the pocket rockets and swooping a mile every landing. What I didn't see was the years that they had put in to get to the point where they could do that.

    Another thing that I noticed looking back, is that reading your old posts can be a lot like reading your diary ( I have never kept one). I keep on reading and thinking "I said that?". This applies to skydiving and the political flamewars, just knowing my online alter-ego people must think that I am an ass.

    This probably will not interest anyone but I wish I could round everyone up that helped me to be a better skydiver (every skydiver that I ever talked to at length) and thank them for providing their advise.

    I guess the best thing that I can do is try to talk to the newer jumpers and tell them the little that I have learned in the sport (relatively speaking, I only have 600 jumps). But even that does not feel right because only with time have I realized that I know so little about the sport.

    Does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I alone here...

  11. I have about 400 jumps on Cobalts and for the most part I was very happy. I did have one that opened really hard, but the others usually opened well. The bad one that I jumped can be seen on the beginning of this video (kinda large file)

    http://www.auburn.edu/~huntmic/freeflyvids/sdafreefly.mov

    Right click and save


    Edited to add: I did have 3 cutaways due to linetwists. Although, I think that some of this was due to body position and NOT the canopy. Just goes to show no matter how "big" a canopy flies ( it was a dream to fly) an elliptical canopy can be sensitive on opening and therefore should be treated with respect. (As the second opening in the video shows).

  13. 20> "Do these pants come in a smaller size?"
    19> "Just a Fresca for me, thanks."
    18> "Can't hang out, man. Gotta take little Timmy here to ballet class."
    17> "Let's go with the plain white enamel crown, please."
    16> "Oops, my briefs are showing!"
    15> "Coco Chanel always said to look in the mirror before leaving the
    house and remove at least one piece of jewelry." 14> "Ain't no such thing as 'too much banjo.'"
    13> "Hey, you're going to damage the needle doing that! Just let it
    play!"
    12> "Who's up for 'Pictionary'?"
    11> "I'm just sayin', dogg, superstring theory may be the only beeyotch
    steppin' up right now as the possible grand unified theory of physics,
    but until we can experimentally verify that it be the shizznit, I ain't
    down wit it, cuz."
    10> "Man, turn that bass down. I can scarcely hear myself think!"
    9> "No... thank YOU, officer. I believe I *have* learned a valuable
    lesson this time."
    8> "We don't use potty talk in *this* house, little mister!"
    7> "This Zima is the shiznizzle, but two is my limit."
    6> "Now THAT'S good matzo!"
    5> "We can't record it this way, with all of these grammatical errors --
    for gosh sakes, we're role models!"
    4> "I disagree, Kyle. Yanni could kick Tesh's ass." 3> "Calgon, take me away!"
    2> "Heavens to Betsy, ladies! Cover those booties immediately! You'll
    catch your death of cold!!"
    1> "Now wave your hands in the air like you're trying to catch fireflies
    on a warm Cape Cod summer evening!"

  14. I think that we should impose some kind of limit on wing-loading with the option to test out. I realize that it would not be very popular at first, as some people would have to re-evaluate their current wing loading. But anyone starting after the rules were enacted would just see it as another part of skydiving. I think that it should be left up to the DZ's. Everyone who jumps a high wingloading at a low number of jumps should have to put their money where their mouth is.

    I can just hear the excuses now: "I normally can land in the peas", "I have never fallen before", "I felt pressured by the attention".

    I am pretty sure that one person that I knew would be alive today were these rules enacted.

    Do you know anyone who would?


    I currently jump a XAOS-21 120 at a 2.0 wingloading with approximately 600 jumps.And I would happily take a test to prove my canopy skill, if I fail then I don't need to be jumping a highly loaded canopy.

  17. Quote

    If we're gonna get this complex... A small window-style airconditioner, small gas generator, a bit of duct work and the required mcGuyver tape would work just as well.




    That would be my recommendation. That was the only way I could get any sleep at quincy. It was way too hot even at night. I think that before I go this year I will get a window A/C unit and attach the dryer tubing. Stick in sleeping bag and enjoy.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2326017822&category=20711

  18. Skydive Atlanta Anniversary Festival $15 to 15,000 Super King Air Jumps
    High Altitude Loads
    $28 Allouette Helicopter Jumps
    $20 Registration Fee
    Food Saturday night Plus Party with DJ's


    The new king air is amazing, blue crushed velvet interior, a sound system and blazing fast. I just got a birdman and would enjoy others to flock with. Chris will be cooking ribs and the party on Saturday night will be off the hook. Hope to meet some more DZ.commers there.B|

  24. Yeah I thought that would be a problem but as it turns out it does not effect my packing very much.

    I guess that it depends on how you pack (weights, tying rings together, etc). I ususally just put a weight between the risers and the left one is slightly distorted, but I have had nothing but quality openings on my Xaos.