bradcurn

Just over 1500, and I paid for all of them myself. Too depressing to calculate what that translates to in cash, so I refuse to do it. Plus there's all the other costs like tunnel coaching, travelling to boogies and Nationals, gear, etc. so the calculation would probably be quite tricky. I suppose I could have spent it on more "sensible" investments, but as most folks here have pointed out, at the end of the day it's just money, and the fun and friendships I've had over the years is easily worth what ever the grand total turns out to be.

Although not common, and not required by regulations (AFAIK) it is not true to say that none of the jump planes here in SA have seat belts. The blue PAC certainly had them when I jumped it before it left the country :-).

Until the advent of "angled tracking" this foolishness of putting the trackers out first was always understood to be dangerous. It has unfortunately been introduced at one of the dz's that I jump at, and my only experience of it has been dangerous and scary. Opening after a 4 way FS training jump, the "angled flyers" who got out before us were under canopy directly below us as we started tracking. So now, I refuse to exit on a jumprun where trackers are getting out first.

I ordered mine Now just 138 more orders whoohoo!!

whoohoo! Made it! No longer a tourist Now where's my tshirt, dammit?!?!?

From the company's perspective it is completely reasonable to want to make sure that they have a backup plan if you are no longer able (or willing) to service this client, in the best interests of the company. It is not necessarily an indication that you are about to get screwed. It may be, but that would depend on the culture of the company and the integrity of the individual manager. Do you have any experience or knowledge about those issues that would lead you to believe it's likely that you are being set up for a screwing? Final thought - when you took the job, you agreed to a contract in terms of which you would use your skills, knowledge and energy during working hours for the benefit of your employer. In return you would be paid some form of remuneration for your efforts. Ethically, I think it would be problematic to intentionally embark on a course of action which would significantly harm the interests of the company, based on a position of power that the company made available to you when you accepted the job. Ultimately it's your decision, and you need to do what's best for you. But if it were me, I think I'd be uncomfortable with the idea of screwing the company, unless I was absolutely convinced that they were planning to screw me first.

I have visited IPC while on holiday in Ireland, and speaking as a visiting, low time jumper at the time, I just wanted to say that the reception I received from the instructor who checked my logbook and the manifest person was awesome. In fact, this is one of the DZs that I would love to revisit if I had the chance. The jumpers and staff at IPC ROCK!

Hi I have just bought a Sony HC96 with a Sony 0.7 wide-angle lens. I am busy organising my camera helmet to use it with the new camera, but in the meantime before I get to jump it, I have a question. Previously, I used a Sony PC109 with a Kenko 0.5 lens and mostly used it to film footage from the inside of the formation while doing 4-way. (I loved my PC109 but it unfortunately got stolen a few weeks ago.) So my question is how will the Sony 0.7 lens compare to my old Kenko 0.5, bearing in mind that I will not be using it for outside camera but will be filming from inside the formation? Will it be too narrow? Should I rather try and get a 0.5 lens to fit my camera? Will it be necessary to get a 0.5 to get decent footage from inside the formation? Thanks.

Hey you muppet florist! What Porter?!?!? If you were up here and didn't tell me, your arse is grass

When I started jumping I did most of my jumps at a DZ that operated a rear door 207 like that one. I jump at a DZ now that uses a Porter. It's a helluvalot quicker and easier with the Porter, but sometimes I must admit I get a little nostalgic for the Cessna.

I have jumped with a Vladiball and it is very cool. If you are thinking about doing this, the Vladiball is a very good and "safe" option. But do listen to the other advice here and make sure that you take an experienced ballmaster along on the jump. It will cut down some of the chances of losing the ball. We have had a couple of cases where the ball was not retrieved by the breakoff altitude and the mechanism does work as advertised. Good luck, have fun and be safe. Blue skies Brad

Well if you're gonna be around that weekend you should definitely come and join us at Citrusdal. We are gonna be having a huge party at the DZ that weekend!

We go out the back as well but we have a long rail above the door, which makes exits quite easy. Without a rail though I can't think how you guys would be successfully launching anything bigger than a two way. Are there any plans to fit a rail to your 207? I reckon it's pretty crucial if you're going to be doing FS out of it. Good luck! Bradley

Too late now. It's gonna be at the DZ this weekend, so I guess we'll just have to figure it out. Thanks for the offer though

Thanks everyone for the input. I am comparing this aircraft to the C207T that we currently fly at my DZ. Should be able to jump it in a week or two and then we'll know for sure whether we can launch exits from it with any sort of smoothness. Cheers Bradley