cliffharris

Ranger, you got it. By used stuff until you're ready to purchase gear that you'll be jumping for a while. I didn't. I bought a new container right off of student status and then sold it shortly thereafter. It was a bad decision and a waste of money...

got it- thanks fellas.

I'm trying to find a news server that has a current message store for rec.skydiving. Can anybody help me out? TIA-Cliff

yeah, he could run that out.

If you look closely at the video you'll see that there is a "C" written on the top end of the bat. I doubt he would have advertised if he was really up to wrong doing. When you cork a bat you can swing it faster. When velocity is doubled, force is quadrupled.

get yourself a nice red ryder lever action air rifle and go to town on those varmints. but for god's sake, DON'T SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!!!

there's nothing like working in downtown Washington everyday to keep the thrill of life pumping through your veins during these otherwise mundane wintery monthes...

i downsized from a stiletto 150 @ 1.5 to a crossfire 129 @ 1.9. I'm not sure i can really compare the two objectively because i never bothered jumping a small stiletto. what i can say is; the major difference between the two is that the stiletto really wants to pull out of a dive whereas the crossfire will definately hold a dive longer and sustain it's speed. i also think the crossfire will achieve a higher speed than the stiletto. again, im not sure if this is really the case since i never jumped a small stiletto. i would also recommend a fair amount of work up top and straight in double front approaches for a while to get the flare stroke down because the the crossfires' flare starts where the stiletto's flare ends, more or less. in other words, if you attempt to perform the same flare on the crossfire that you did on the stiletto, you're gonna pound in. Also, if you apply your stiletto approach to your crossfire, your gonna be digging out bigtime because in my opinion on two equal turns the crossfire will probably dive 100 feet longer than the stiletto, and faster as well, giving you less time to react. i think the stiletto teaches bad hp skills because it has to be turned relatively low to the ground to sync w/ it's pullout and keep it's speed up. ***also on another note: if you don't have a good enough understanding of hp canopy flight that you dont know exactly how much altitude your canopy looses on every degree of turn you shouldn't be doing hp landings. seek the advice of someone that can teach you how to do this stuff as safely as possible. i use to be the scary guy. had no idea there was a method to this madness. i'm lucky i sought instruction before i got myself hurt. you should do the same. peace

Beer!

more importantly...did the gerbil make it?

Turbo...until he got too slow.

re: #47 One time when I woke up I had a bug leg stuck to my lip.

i see dead people.

...i vote MAX! he's so dreamie...and he brings free stickers when he comes to our DZ too. Yay free stickers!

To do What? SKYDIVE!!! What happened to Turbo? DEAD!!!

If memory serves, Joe Kittenger suffered detached retinas at one time...but not from jumping...from his days of testing ejection systems, specifically high speed ejections. the unaerodynamic blob that pops out of the cockpit isn't as aerodynamic as the the airfoil it's departing and tends to slow rapidly, possibly causing retinas to detach.

that looks like maybe a cigarette burn maybe?

Exactly. Get a PI to follow her around and collect some dirt before you have the paper work drawn up. no need for you to pay for her mistake. good luck.

If you know of any worthy swoop info/education web presences, please add them to the new links page for swooping. TIA Cliff http://www.dropzone.com/links/Disciplines/Swooping/index.html

shweeeet !!!

stiletto 150 @ 1.7

At altitude, I'm attempting to learn how to use rear riser input to plain out my canopy. I've noticed that I have to use considerable outward force on the risers to achieve results. Is this standard? Could I reduce the amount of force necessary by using longer risers? I'm gripping the risers right below the slinks. I'm jumping a stiletto. TIA

hmmm. sounds like you shmucked in a couple of times and are taking it out on the canopy? how much time spent dialing it in? how many hop n pops did you do? how many sim'd approaches? If you'd done your homework uptop, you should have known about the short input range and landing characteristics.

Student: What do i do if my arms and legs start heating up in freefall? Instructor: Pull them in a bit, they'll cool right down.

Here's an exerp from a canopy manual fashioned from the Evolution Flight School: "Shifting in the harness (raising the opposite leg strap) will help maintain a turn initiated with any control, even on larger canopies. I think the key here is initiating the turn w/ a control input other than leg straps, and continuing the turn w/ leg straps/harness input, while releasing the initial control input that was used to iniate the turn.