FreeFallGal

Yes it was June 21st. We had a successful 16-way for Frank's 1600th jump. Andre Video provided live air-to-ground video so that Frank's friends and family could be right there with us in the sky.

N/A

My bf and I are considering relocating from the Chicago area to Seattle. Obviously, skydiving is a major consideration. I am looking for some honest, no-bs information about the skydiving scene in the Seattle area (ie, how is the weather, what is the skydiving season, people, environment, etc). Here's what we are accustomed to. We currently jump at a dz with an Otter. We are mostly flat-flyers, preferring to do jumps with 10-20 people (or more when the opportunity is there). We basically jump with the same organizer every jump and we try to make at least 10 jumps each weekend (my bf does more like 12-15). We have a trailer that we keep parked at the dz, so we camp out for the entire weekend along with at least a dozen other people. We have a bonfire on fridays and saturdays and hang out till the wee hours of the morning. We hang out with our skydiving friends in the off-season and even during the week during the season. Any information from Seattle skydivers or people familiar with the dzs there would be greatly appreciated.

I've had a Pilot 124 for about 1 year now and I have no complaints. I sustained a back injury last year from a slammer opening on a different canopy, so soft openings are critically important. The Pilot has been very good to me so far. I don't do anything radical on landing, but I get a nice glide out of the Pilot and rarely have to take more than a couple of steps even in no-wind conditions. It is very responsive in flight. I don't pack it myself, so I can't comment on how it packs but I've not heard any complaints from the packing staff (except when it was brand spanking new). I demoed a Sabre 2 135 before buying the Pilot and put about 20 jumps on it. It's also a very nice canopy. I had off heading openings on every jump though and I felt like I lost altitude faster under the Sabre 2 than the Pilot. The landings are very comparable. Never jumped a Tri, so I can't offer any comparisons. I would definitely recommend demoing before you buy.

We've had air quality concerns since we moved into our house 10 months ago (the house is only 4 years old). In the past 6 weeks, we have had a host of air quality "experts" in the house inspecting and testing. As it has been explained to me, the problem with the Ionic Breeze and many other air purifiers on the market is that they emit ozone. The purifier may improve your sinus problem, but the ozone affects your respiratory (lung) system. Are you guaranteed to get sick from it...no. But why treat one problem with something that could cause another problem. My "experts" agree that the best product on the market is the IQAir, which is made by a Swiss company. No ozone and it will reduce particulates in the air to 0. It's a bit pricey...$800 for a unit rated for 1000 sq ft. The filters are $200ish and need to be replaced every 2-3 years. But its the air cleaner used in most hospitals and is the only cleaner rated to be used with SARs. Oh, and absolutely you should get a cleaner with a HEPA filter. If the point is to help you feel better, then the extra expense associated with the HEPA filter should not matter. One other issue pointed out to me is the quality of the vacuum cleaner you use. Carpet is the worst offender when it comes to air quality and most vacuum cleaners merely kick the crap back into the air and circulate it around. We had all our carpet removed and replaced and we were both sick before the new carpet was stretched.

Check out the Mich Landlord Tenant Relationship Act at http://www.michiganlegislature.org/mileg.asp?page=getObject&objName=mcl-Act-348-of-1972&queryid=6535117&highlight=tenant In particular, I would be concerned with sections 554.612 and 554.613 regarding the tenant's obligation to respond to a notice of damages within 7 days, but look at the whole thing.