rgoper

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Everything posted by rgoper

  1. it is only legal if he his flying the jumpers for free, he cannot fly jumpers for money. if busted he could face sanctions from the FAA. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  2. "you've got to kill it before you grill it" Ted Nugent i think he's right! i've hunted all my life, but i will not kill for trophy or to help "thin out the herds" i hunt for the love and sport of it, plus venison is really good. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  3. tandem progression is the way to go imo. just my .02 USD. i don't believe that some DZ's offer tandems for $$$ reasons. it's simply the best way to go if your intention is to become a sky diver. you'll be acclaimated to free fall (big advantage) and you'll get to steer the parachute while in direct communication with the TM. will you be at the TM's mercy? i think not. most of the time the TM's are at the mercy of the passenger! all this said, go with your heart, as far as which DZ, both of the ones you mentioned have great gear, and great TM's so you'll be good at either place. SDAL is also a great place to go, they pay more "personal" attention to their clients than any other DZ i've been to. Good Luck. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  4. my comment was tongue in cheek. hell yes i know we are linked to killing the perps. if it were up to me we'd have the glass parking lot, quick & permanent fix, and end of problem. in the end, these people have been killing each other before the bible was written, and will continue to do so, all for religion....go figure. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  5. i'll give ya 13 guesses, the first 12 don't count! (a break was needed, for me and everybody else! ) no, i've been steady on the retrieval of hydrocarbons to feed the nations thirst for oil & natural gas, currently in McAllen, Texas on a Flex3 generation drilling rig, it's good to be out of Saudi. you had some pretty good responses to the questions i threw out there. i believed all of condaleeza's testamony as well, i just wished she would have answered a few of the questions. i also believe that those of us who don't have immediate family members over there don't feel as strong as those of us that do have immediate family members there, either in the military or civilian workers, some of whom have been taken captive. for the most part, i do think this little incident wll cost GWB the next election, although i do think he'll be relieved when he loses. i'm off! later! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  6. i'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the citizens of each and every country involved in the Iraq ordeal wasn't even consulted before their perspective countries were involved (or not involved) in this tragic event. the actions of a country do not reflect the views of it's citizens, spain is a prime example. don't blame the people of a country for that particular countries actions. it's up to all of us, where ever we reside to make our views and thoughts known in the upcoming elections, i think they will be most enlightning. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  7. with all of the rhetoric out there right now about who did what, when and where regarding the war in Iraq, what does the majority of you tax paying citizens believe, and how long is your "care factor?" (mine is 36" shy of a yard) i'm tiring of excuses from washington, i know that the war in Iraq was supposed to be 3 days of "Shock & Awe" well, i'd say we got shocked all right, but i've yet to be awed. consider the following: 1) we're still on track to hand the Iraquis power on Jume the 30th (can they handle it?) 2) when should we leave? 3) do the people of Iraq even want us there? 4) how many of us have family there, and do these indivuduals that do think we should be in a country such as Iraq trying to "liberate" them? 5) will this chain of events cost GWB the upcoming election? 6) could the 09/11 incident have been avoided if our agencies would have worked together? 7) should we just pull out, and turn the whole freaking place into a "glass parking lot?" 8) did you believe even half of Condeleeza Rice's testamony? 9) last, but not least did we make a mistake by going there to begin with, especially in a country where the people hate us anyway? I'm sure my feelings about the current administration are well known, but nonetheless we are there, and it looks like we'll be there for a lot longer even though a lot of countries are pulling their troops out of the country. we're (the USA) are even being linked to the assinations of the leaders of Hamas, not that we would have a hand in such an activity. it's certainly a tragic situation, one we will be left with a bad taste in our mouths for years to come. please post your thought and any others you may have on this "situation" --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  8. don't feel like the Lone Ranger. the administration doesn't need a reason to ban you from any section of this much heralded sky diving site. remember "This ain't no damn democracy" and DILLIGAF? seems to be the order of the day. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  9. Click Here --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  10. i don't, and wouldn't. the original poster was asking if it could be done. i love mine as well, i catch a little heat over it, but it's mine! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  11. the helmet looks strange enough the way it is. to remove the face sheild itself, and depend on the chin strap alone, yes, it could be done. i was referring to the "ratchet" strap and keeper on top of the helmet, and the way it secures the helmet on your chin and the top of your head. (i've been flying mine now for over 1 1/2 years) another thing, if you remove the face sheild, you have just removed your external audibles with it. if you were to remove it, might as well fly a mindwarp!
  12. you can remove the plexiglass sheild. you cannot remove the face sheild, remember this is the part of the helmet that "ratchets" the face sheild down and secures it in place. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  13. a good observation method for judging this factor is the windsock. most of the ones i've seen are 17 mph socks, so if it's being blown out straight and not dropping every few seconds, it might be time to wait for another day. always know your weather perimeters for the area you'll be jumping prior to traveling to the DZ. there are weather URL's everywhere you look. some DZ's have wind speed indicators, and some don't, i carry one with me, it's a handheld one, but it works, it was originally designed to get wind speed for offshore rig helidecks, but works great for this as well. to answer the question, 20 mph max, with 25 mph gust. i did the jump in excess of this ONCE, right after Debbie told me not to, the landing was very interesting. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  14. ***Tandem jumps into stadiums are totally unauthorized by the manufacturer The RWSQuote no worries, RWS is uninsured, and goes to a lot of extremes to include that in all of their adds. can't say i blame them. "Most Excellent Disclaimer" "TreeTop" --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  15. i don't know whether he did anything or not, but he is one wierd fellow, chick, or whatever. maybe he's asexual? if he gets convicted i hope his family keeps a steady supply of soap on a rope going to him! whether he's guilty or not, he does need help IMO, i don't know about the rest of you guys, but i haven't had any young boys in my bed ever. so he did do this to himself. in the Martin Bashear interview he did admit to having young boys in his bed and sleeping with them, that ain't right, and it brings about and old texan phrase "Get The Rope" guilty or not, michael doesn't have anyone to blame but himself. i only wished he didn't have the 3 million dollars to post bail. personally i think they need to lock Scott Peterson & "The King Of POP" up in the same cell and sell the video. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  16. Go Here and you should be able to research this for yourself. hope it helps, good luck. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  17. that makes two of us. only difference is "DumbAss" as you refer to him, i assigned him the "Wyatt Earp" moniker, and Tony Blair is "Doc Holliday" reason being both of these imbiciles think this is the O.K. coral instead of a modern day Viet Nam. regardless of ol' Wyatt & Doc's ultimately horrific decisions, i do support our troops and wish them all the success in the world. too bad the people of Iraq don't want to be "liberalized" the one thing we cannot "win" over is the Iraqi mindset, they don't want to be westernized by the U.S.A. or anyone else, the sooner we realize this, the better. Ross Pirot said it best at the onset of the "Operation Freedom Of Iraq" he said "I could cure this whole situation with just 2 words....Poisionous Snakes, you just fly over, kick them snakes out of the plane" was Ross kidding? anybodies guess, but you have to admit, it does seem like a quick fix! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  18. Derek: just wanted to say "Thanks" for NOT utilizing this teaching teqnique when you was watching me try to pilot a canopy! by the way, when i referred to the "D" license earlier, i was referrencing the DZO's that impose wingload BSR's at their DZ, while it is their DZ, i don't feel it is appropriate for them to set BSR's that are made up from their own protocol, or because someone pounded in at their DZ and tried to sue them...etc...etc...i'm in total agreement that something needs to be done, and done soon, but that said, i mentioned earlier that some very experienced canopy pilots have made some recent fatal mistakes as well, so it is apparent that no matter what the jump #'s or license, it can happen to anyone, anytime, and anywhere. a friend of mine (you know him) said to me once, "i just assume that all of the other canopy pilots could kill me" i feel the same way. i've had a couple of sky divers fall past me while i was under canopy at less than 2,000' AGL, now that was scary! --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  19. i know of one drop zone that doesn't allow hook turns at all, and it doesn't seem to have an effect on his business. we can beat this one to death if we half way tried. with the RW divers seemingly growing out of style, and VRW hybrids being the new fad, it certainly brings about many new questions and ideals from exit order to landing areas. i've been coming in for final before with 90% of the rw jumpers that were on the same load as i was standing around "high fiving" each other and looking at video. this is nothing more than cutting off the canopy landing area, which is already tight at some DZ's. i have been told to land by the swoop pond if i were to continue to land my canopy in the way i was, that's cool!
  20. this is just one of the reasons i don't agree with wing load BSR's. it will be just one more tool that somebody will use to be an even bigger pain. if DZO's are already doing this much, how much more wont they do if given more authority? the only reason i don't have a "D" is because i'm not going to jump out of a plane at night, this is my choice and no one should be "sanctioned" for it, i have my reasons for which i will offer no explanation. i am in agreement however with the training program you outlined, but i think that a canopy instructor should fall in the USPA coach requirement area. let's be honest, how many TM, and AFF's will be willing to babysit new jumpers with their canopy control when they could be up doing "money jumps?" reason being is because it is all about the $$$ to begin with. i know i've screamed and hollered "common sense" at least a dozen times about this issue, but it looks as if even some very experienced sky divers and canopy pilots have been making as many fatal decisions as of late as the "low timers" --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  21. a "legal seperation" and what it entails can vary from state to state. but in general what it means is it's basically a 90 day period generally after one side or the other has contacted legal council and expressed a desire for a pending divorce. look up the family penal codes online at your attorney general's website in your state and county. hope this helps, and i wish you well. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  22. Sangiro: You done? I hope you draw the alloted amount of amusement from your obviously vindictive post "Dragging Up The Past" It must be hard, knowing that the only real authority you have comes from a glorified chat room where you rule your kingdom from behind a keyboard. Your attempts at embarrasing me, or making me feel belittled by posting what you did is inneffective from my viewpoint, after all, i knew it was just a matter of time before you did just what you did, now you can have your laughs and build up your popularity at my expense, just know, i don't care. you don't make, or cost me any money, and you can't stop me from sky diving, end game. Take Care, and as always, have your fun, and best of luck in your future endeavours. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"
  23. this statement was made in an inquisitive mode. i neither endorsed or criticized the author. this remark is what it is, the post, and thread struck me as thought provoking, meaning it made me think. i don't post at the wreck, rec, or whatever, and i dont know this martin fella either. with all due respect i think it ( my post ) was totally missunderstood by everyone, including Sangiro, as i said, i didn't endorse anything. agreed 100%. i think everyone here knows that if i totally agreed with what was posted at that sight, i would have come right out and said it, i'm not one to beat around the bush as it were, and i'm not intimidated or deterred by sanctions from the administration here on dz.com. i guess i should apologize for having a backbone? NOT!
  24. See This Post start with the first post, it's the most profound. does the author have some merit here? thought provoking to say the least. --Richard-- "We Will Not Be Shaken By Thugs, And Terroist"