sarge

What pisses me off about the guitar Lisa is that after 25 years of 'playing' guitar I still suck!! Yeah, to people that don't know shit about playing the instrument, they think I'm some sort of virtuoso... I told you about a friend of mine that I got into playing himself... within a year the guy was jamming like I never could at my best!!! Anyway, its just personal or me, I love thrashing and FTW! I've accepted I'll never be selling out the Auditorium or even my basement... -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Damn!!! I really thought I was onto something there for a minute! Thanks for the gear check dude!! My apologies So please disregard (all) especially the VX comment my bad ! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Oh yeah... One other thing... According to your profile... you say you're already jumping a "Stiletto 150?" Weird, but what "eliptical" were you thinking of moving into? And where does the "155" thing come from? Also, if perhaps you have updated your canopy information, why not update your jump information as well -equally weird. ...So at 51 jumps you're B.A.S.E. jumping and what-not? Or is that just something you would like to get into as well, seeing as you have moved from style and accuracy into swooping in 51 jumps?? My opinion is that you should really just ignore my whole last post and find a nice VX maybe something in the 69-79 range and then, 'Surfs Up Man!!!' Oh yeah, lastly, what the hell? -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Grasshopper, "Happiness" comes from within. You must make this journey to explore your outer-world a world you should endeavor to join! There you will find wonderous things that will captivate your senses. You may also find a community that will welcome you and embrace you as family. Or then again - maybe not? But heck... Go hang out, party have a good time! Somebody's going to be doing AFF anyway; they don't shut down the operation just for the boogie!!! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

A great place to start would be your S&TA's recommendation. Also aim for advice from canopy instuctors who are training you as your skills are advancing. Then of cousre there's the 2004 SIM, section 6-10, which recommends guidelines for advanced canopy flight and and downsizing progression. -which btw, recommends that downsizing to the same/similar canopy design be done only after accomplishing proficiency in using the current canopy and all of its control inputs under a variety of conditions. Pretty standard stuff... good luck! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Brilliant idea!!! Oh Yeah!!! I forgot to metion the garage.... Every year I pack a bunch of crap in boxes (I can't seem to just throw away) and pile the boxes in the garage. I swear the fire marshal would shit his pants if he saw my garage!!!! ie: the perfectly good lawnmowers, weed eaters and chainsaw (that just need some work) Plus!! enough (probably stale gas to fill the tanks of all four motor cycles and one four-wheeler also stored out there!!! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Yup! The more time I'm home now and around the house I've found how cramped my space really has become! How did I accumulate all this shit in the last year? I have a room I can hardly even walk in because I got shit piled waist high, My refigerator is like a walk down memory lane... "Oh, that pizza I bought last August" or "Hey! I thought I ate that leftover Chinese stuff like back in May?!?" But, poor refrigerator management issues aside.... Geez!! Where the hell did all these clothes come from, Shit!? I thought I gave more stuff away than I acquired in the last year???? I still have Clothes in the original boxes from last X-mas in my car trunk. At the time I thought, "Hey, it might be nice to have a clean shirt in my car or something... just in case," well that "Just in case" never happened and about now I doubt it ever will. I have jackets and sweaters packed in my closets I haven't worn in 12 years!! My motorhome has enough provisions stocked away to keep a family of five alive for at least a year after Armegeddon. For Chissakes I have a (fresh) filled litter-box and I haven't even had a cat in over a year!! ...And!! a five foot snake cage and the damn thing died almost two years ago!!! I wonder if I'm a Pack-rat, latent survivalist or a just compulsive sentimentalist???? One benefit , I should mention, is that all I have to do is plug the Christmas tree back in.... and.... 'Happy Holidays' I'm in business!!! . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

I feel bad I missed this when it started, because I really would have been interested in riding the rapids of this typical topical discussion. How would one catagorize it? * "Hey, look at me, this is what a real jump-wonder looks like!" -or- * "Whats the big deal, you can't; but I can! (I'm different/special) " -or- * "Nothing really bad has happened to me, [yet], and well, what I've been doing so far seems to be working for me... I must be doing something right?" -or- * "Calling all morons...?" I actually understand what you're asking in your original question. But the intent of the question itself inherently veils behind it another question that will only be resolved by you. I'm laughing hysterically at how this thread has progressed in response to your question. The thread has, as expected, maintained the integrity of protecting, preserving and developing the 'art' of the hp canopy discipline. No fault of yours, please don't be discouraged to contribute. You think this forum is unforgiving ...try a 100' foot ditch turn (of some kind) under that 96. Of course I have no doubt you would ever do so intentially or that you would ever get into a situation where some un-explored instict takes over your common sense or experience. That flat-turn excuse is purely empty and meaningless rhetoric coming from someone with 5-600 total jumps when you're flying such a wing. Not just you, anybody. My only other thoughts on the matter are that making a spectacle about canopy performance choices with factory pilots or making motorcycle analogies is further evidence that there is more ego than sound reasoning and experience influencing your inclination to 'stay sharp' under a parachute. Like I said, I understand that someone could feel the urge to push the envelope, go extreme, stay on the edge; "Stay sharp," by downsizing. And I think this thread, thank you, has demonstrated the point that "staying sharp" may simply be experienced by wringing out ones own personal best on (whatever) he/she's flying without having to downsize to do it. Good luck on yours, I'm not impressed, but stay sharp bro... You'll have to be, I guess it will have to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Fuck cops, their such dicks, I hate cops. -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

*** Another one who's avatar doesn't do him justice. sarge Well then, just goes to show ya; another Avatar that again fails to captivate and invite the wonderment of anothers true inner beauty.... . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

I applaud GWB for this gesture. I think its also a pretty shrewd political move on his part as well. I guess now having actually showed up for duty and since he did actually serve (what was it, stuffing?) in a war zone no less he gets the booby doll prize and now maybe he'll have Condelza pin him with a couple of medals for all those uniform articles GWB is so fond of wearing when theres a photographer nearby. He just wanted to crash Hillarys party in Afghanistan anyway... But none the less there is a patriotic romanticism that sometimes interferes with my better sense of reason and I can't help but find GWB's appearance as cool anyway!! Not for him but for all the guys and gals that are stuck over there dying for their country. -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

... I'm amazed nobody even commented on this! whatever... -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Yeah me too!! The "Booking Module" of the most modern programs automatically adjusts cropping for expedient construction of digital photo line-ups. Eliminates the booking card in the photo. -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Yeah, its recognizable by other traffic (if applies) Just in case the invisible canopy is out and about maybe he'll/she'll be tuned into your/my intentions; thats what I think about anyway. Plus, I totally believe in consistent approaches as the way to consistent landings. I like the "traditional approach" -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

"These are just my observations." I hear you man, swoop-on brother ...I never intended to dis 270+'s ... but, I could elaborate about the horrific 270's I've seen or heard of as well... nevermind; 180's really are difficult, we made our point. . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Hey Bro! Welcome, Kudos ok... now; Please know up front, I AINT BASHING! ...I agree totally I have a tendency to agree that the, "need for speed" is addictive. It is also harmful and fatal. I'm not going to mention any names... but, I have heard, "they?" also say things like, "It's not what you know ... but what you don't know that will kill you." Look, you opened a good good discussion. I think maybe if I heard the advice you had I may have heard it differently. BUT!!! ok, thats just me! To date (knock-on-wood!!!) I have never had, "anyone" ever be that direct with me to say something remotely like, "...told me to quit it before I became a fatality." Maybe somebody else is reading this stuff and wondering, "yeah? But I'm different, all I need to know is where to set up my 270" (right or left pattern) "...and I'll be fine... those 270's really are easier" [- it seems - to get into a final... nice swoop..yeah,yeah...] ...I say, if you can't master an any count 180... crosswind included, you have no business doing an any count or, "long-carving 270" or whatever... 180's are tough, yes they are! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Yeah, I heard something about premium wing-load recommendations as well: Icarus 1.4-2.1 and practitioners that say 1.8 is ideal... I do 1.6/7 and have weighted it up to 2.0. The flight charachteristics are planar. To begin with, it flies fast and narrow, tight and clean with a good strong responsive flare in those ranges. It dives deeper, faster and longer as it gets heavier but the plane-out nonetheless always powerful and predictable. I have have had turbulance concerns relating to lighter loading but they are yet unresolved. Speed is your friend and worst enemy with this canopy, It is not an intermediate canopy. Go large if you wish to transition is my opinion. There are other guys guys here that fly this thing heavier day-to-day than me and they have made numerous posts on this subject. I won't mention them by name, but if you search...say, xf2 or maybe something of an oriental username you will get a lot of material to review... -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Hey Dave, How you been? What I was hoping for was a 'first-hand' from NCS. (no worries!) Reason being that 270's are pretty straight forward for a set-up. I appreciate his inquiry because it seems inspired by a concern for safety and does reinforce the virtues of pattern discipline, traffic awareness and etiquette. Your observation however approaches the core of a point I was hoping to make. The turn in and of itself is not the issue re:getting broken, except that, 180's are challenging ironically compared to 90's, 270's and 360's. IMO For one reason, as you have explained; - the experience factor. For example, somebody's got a 90 down inside and out and starts pulling 180's. 90's on the one hand aren't particularly challenging for somebody that has front riser finals working pretty smoothly. 90's can initiate a lot lower that a 180 and can be adjusted rather innocently with toggles. Timing the 90 is rather academic because field-of-view is good and rate of turn is relatively easy to calculate. On the other hand with regard to the 180: 1) you have to turn your back on your landing area from base 2) because you go straight from downwind to final-or- tweek out a 90 from base to pull the 180 to final 3) and, Altitude (agruably) is a tremendous factor unlike the 90 in calculating rate of turn: thinking way ahead and from behind is like learning to shave using a mirror I acknowldge that the orginal question had nothing to do with 180's (so whomever decides to cut-n-paste that quote better include:) -I believe 180's are more important as a general concern for set-up's than are 270's. The problems I have seen and experienced are that pattern management, calculating rate of turn, and target focus are more complicated with 180's than measuring 90, 270 or 360's. Except for the invaluable skills the 180 develops in those areas, I might even suggest the 180 just be blown-off entirely after mastering 90's... but of course I don't. What concerns me is that 180's get blown-off way before they are mastered and that some/ too many people have learned the painful way how tricky they really are! Which leads me to theorize that there are quite a few pilots flying, " long-carving" 270's because they believe they are safer than 180's.... or something? . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Would you be willing to elaborate about that realization? Please Beacause I have my own idea about that; I'd just like to hear yours. Thanks . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

.... Excuse me, but.... Are you really a Pulitzer quality photographer in disquise as a computer geek? -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Ok, so he's not Mel Gibson... but geez! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

I read an incredible article in National Geographic about the "ancha" (sp.?) the "untouchables" and the Castes of India. Tragic... Yup! I admire their perserverence! . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

C'mon dude you gotta be kidding right? "T.C." ...cross between 'Braveheart' 'The Patroit' and 'We were brothers' with some 'Crouching Tiger' mixed in... Sounds like a winner! -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Well ok now Bytch-Baby just ignore all that, ok? Look, so the weather might be down on ya at the moment and so may some other, "nay-sayers..." BUT !! Put them out of your mind and remember: You are: "The Bytch" The one and only Bytch! "Grrrrr!!" OK, now, show them your fangs, remind them (lest they forget Baby) you're a killer, a skydiver-eater and you are to be feared!!! "Grrrrr!!" Now!!!! Go get 'em !!!!!! Oh yeah, one last thing... there were some people from Cali (no names) saying they were gonna get together, make up some story, and really make a big deal about how great it is there just to rub it in on purpose... Hey, I don't don't know?; don't kill the messenger... -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!

Aww Baby Aww... {{ BIG HUG }} The hell with all those mean and nasty people saying all those terrible things They just don't understand! And they don't feel your pain! Forget them! You probably can't appreciate it at the moment (with the burden of such grave disappointment) but it is probably all for the best anyway! Who knows ? Waiting so long as you have for your rig to come back, suffering the misery of its absence from your life, that heck, maybe you woulda got on that 1st load with such enthusiasm that you forgot to do a really good gear check where you would have otherwise discovered a mis-routed bridle or maybe land out in the swamp where snakes and spiders and all sort of nasty things reside..? Yeah, the other thought might be... that the beer light comes on a lot sooner too! . -- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!!