Meadman

I have never fired a H&K .45, but their .40 are sweet, ambidextrous decock/safty, great feel, smooth action. I would definatly try out a glock first before buying, most people love them but some carry a big dislike for them. The Glock 17 is a sweet 9, even better if you can get ahold of the preban clips which hold 17 rounds but If your wanting to drop heavy lead then the desert eagle is the gun of choice. Only drawback to the .50 is reloading them is highly NOT recommended. I think alot of shooting is personal preference, but in my opinion the best handguns are made by Sig or Walther, but there not cheap.

Best band ive heard since first listening to Dream Theater. Amy Lee Rocks!

I really hated leaving rantoul when it was all over, I had such a blast and everyone I met was so cool. I never imagined a party like this could exist anywhere in the world. Being it was my first trip off the dz I didnt really know many of the faces so I just wanted to say thanks to a few people: skybytch: for being such a cool person to a stranger(sorry I missed the party at the mirage tent, we had to hospitalize one of our own) Don: Great Event Man! Thanks for signing my logbook! All the guys at Quantum Leap: You All Rock! That Skyvan Load: I never would have gotten that door open, closed, then opened again Golden Knights: Sorry bout that little "Situation", You guys Rule in my book! Crew of the King Air: Definately nothing like a 206 And to all my instructors and coaches from maspc who helped get me there, Cant wait til next year.... Woohoo

Im not sure you could even get the numbers close for this kind of analysis, even if you charted it by deaths in a year. I know I spend about 4 hours driving a day and alot spend more then that, a true comparison like Minutes spent driving each day vs Minutes in flight would probably show it to be around a billion times more dangerous. I think it ranks up there with Deep Sea Scuba(Done this, about died) and experimental/ultra-light piloting(remember John Denver)

Cool, thanks for the info as I did 5 on the S/l. Im up to 57 now and should have about 70 by the 1st. Im planning my 100th out of the c-130(met the pilot this weekend, cool as hell) I realize that now that ive sold everything I own, my living room is great for packing!

Just got my 50th so If they'll let me in the door, Ill gladly buy a case for my first boogie. Dear God, Can sleeping in the back of a station wagon be that bad?

I was wondering if there is any data to support that mals might be more or less common at different altitudes. Is air density a factor at all?

I believe the Body acts like a big slider and blocks air entry into the canopy. With Forward motion air hits the tail and inflates back to front faster. I dont think fall rate actually has as much to do with it as the air stream that your body creates behind you. But then again, I got like 50 jumps so i dont really know jack. I do know what riding in the very back of the 206 is like, and Ill keep sitting there and pulling high. I just cant think of any situation where 500 more feet would be bad.

Personally, I think its fear. I was scared Shitless my first 10 jumps. If not for the encouragment of my family and friends at the dz I would have given it up before I ever got the chance to really enjoy it.

Well if they can impeach a guy for not knowing the definition of oral sex, then surely they can impeach for bombing a 3rd world nation. The only sad thing about this is the people running that website didnt do very much research into why things came about like they did. Iraq isnt like it is here in the USA. Not since the civil war has it even been close. A leader there is taken by force and held through bloodshed and fear. Im happy that I have the freedom to say our leader might suck ass without losing any sleep that he might start shelling my town for treason. I hope one day the people over there might share this freedom too. *Skydive Bagdad* Woohoooo

ok, im very much the noob, but I read somewhere the golden rules were. #1 Dont Get hurt #2 Dont Hurt Others #3 Ya might have to break #1 in order to avoid #2 The frap hat doesnt appear to be protection for you as much as it is for others. Take a Hard Hat or a bare skull into the teeth or ribcage and you'll see the beauty of the frap.

Here is something I came up with to try and remember how to use my legs. I try to visualize turning a wheel on the floor with my feet: To turn clockwise, your right foot moves back and you left foot forward, counter clockwise is just the opposite. As the rushing air is deflected off to one side, that part of your body directing the air moves away from it. Its real hard to feel this for the first few seconds after exit because the rushing air that powers your movement is from in front of you. Gradually as you slow down forward motion, gravity is steadly increasing your fall and that becomes your engine. Throw a paper airplane from your roof, for awhile it sails forward, but eventually it slows and falls stable toward the ground, until this happens im usually still a bit stupified so i just Stick it Out! and hold out the best leap of faith my body can muster, until finally reaching the all mighty "Pancake Position" Wooohoooo

Im really just guessing that it was a column of hot air rising off the concrete as upwind from my landing spot on that day was miles of bean fields(4-8 mph). It seamed as if the moment i got beyond the runway's end which was just to my left as I was landing, that the bottom just fell out. But due to my lack of experience, im just not sure.

While on my final approach (guessing 20 feet) my canopy suddenly just dropped me on my ass. I was stupified as to what happened. My brother who landed not far from me said around 500 feet he passed over the same area and half his canopy just sank and it said it totally spun him 180. Because of the winds we were landing off on a grass strip which runs E/W and the end of the N/S Runway which it T's. Im still very new at the sport, but after 35 good landings I thought I was getting things figured out. How wrong I was. Even though I had been instructed on turbulence, I think telling a student about hot spots and transitions between rising hot air off runways onto cool grass and such is quickly forgotten. Im sure now it was just me taking the unseen for granted, God I will never do this again. I hope some new person might read this and remember that NOT ALL AIR IS CREATED EQUALLY!

cutaway was a great movie, i think they said it was jump 18 tho not 8, and as i recall he had secretly been trained by the the golden knights in the wind tunnel for god knows how many hours...but anyway, great flick!