PalmettoTiger

MSNBC's ticker says "Army confirms mid-air collision over Arizona involving plane belonging to Golden Knights Parachute Team." Not much detail I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Oh shit. OH SHIT. hopefully it wasn't bad, and the people on the other aircraft had chutes too... I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Most recent word-processing programs have an autosave function. If you can't find anything about it in the word processor's menus and you're using a Windows computer, change your Folder Settings (Start-> settings-> Control Panel -> View [on the top toolbar] -> Folder Options -> View) to "Show all files", then go to the folder where you saved the paper. The autosaves might show up then. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

www.skydivingmovies.com PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Hasn't this come up before? I've heard the rules as "friendship, kinship, or professional association." Using that... I have Paul Tibbets - pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima - in 4 degrees (me -> my Aunt Madeleine -> her adopted nephew -> his wife, who is the granddaughter of -> Paul Tibbets), so I probably have some more prominent military connections in 6 degrees. I have Ron Jeremy in 3 degrees (me -> a friend -> his wife, who used to be in pr0n and 'worked' with -> Ron Jeremy), which means I probably have the whole porn industry in 6 degrees. I have Ted Kaczynski - a.k.a. The Unabomber - in 3 degrees (me -> my neighbor David Bruck, a death-penalty defense lawyer -> his co-counsel in the Susan Smith case, who later represented -> The Unabomer), which doesn't really get me anywhere since there aren't many people in rural Montana. Finally, I have JFK in 2 degrees (me -> the late Frank Sloan, who was the 1960 South Carolina campaign manager for -> JFK), which means I probably have all kinds of WWII, Harvard, mob, and political connections in 6 degrees. Given that I can reach such diverse people as Ron Jeremy (and all of porn), Ted Kaczynski, JFK, and Paul Tibbets without having to try very hard, I'd bet that knowing 99% of the country within 6 degrees would be easy for anyone. Getting to 99% of the world would probably require two or three more degees, since we have so few international connections compared to the number of fellow countrymen we've met or worked with. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Heya all... I'm trying to help out a Turkish skydiver pal and he wants to know if his license will allow him to jump in the US, or if he'll have to obtain a USPA membership and license. The closest I could come to a straight answer from the USPA's website was the following: From BSRs, Section E-7: "Instruction of foreign students [E] a.Foreign non-resident jumpmasters and instructors appropriately and currently rated by their national aero club may train students from that nation in the U.S., provided the instruction is conducted in accordance with the USPA Basic Safety Requirements." From the Group Member application: "Foreign DZ staff must hold current and appropriate jumpmaster and instructor ratings issued either by USPA or the country’s aviation authority or national aero club." To me, those sections imply that foreign licenses should be acceptable, since foreign instructional ratings are accepted. My feeling is that as long as his logbook shows appropriate experience, and he can pass a quick quiz to prove he knows about skydiving, he'd be okay. Can any of our overseas friends who've jumped in the US help me out here? Will his Turkish skydiving license allow him to jump in the US, or will he have to obtain a USPA membership and license? Thanks. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

check to see if he's contacted the vendor or manufacturer about the reserve flap. There may be a fix for the issue (and you can also get an idea of Sunrise's customer service). PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

If anyone is unsure about his/her bridle packing method, here's the two tests to pass: 1. With the rig on, you can arch, reach, and easily pull the PC from the pouch. 2. By pulling the pin and pulling up on the bridle (to simulate a horseshoe mal), you can extract the PC from the pouch. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Someone mentioned non-velcro toggle keepers/brake line stows in another thread and I'm curious about them. What are the benefits and drawbacks? Where can I find pictures of them? (If it matters, right now I'm flying a PD 230 (F-111 square 9-cell) in a Vector II, DOM 11/93.) PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

If you're an exceptionally good canopy pilot for a student, you might be able to handle a lightly loaded Heatwave... until the shit hits the fan. At that point, you'll wish you had a less aggressive canopy over your head. If you want to know more about the Hornet, check out the gear reviews section. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Don't listen to the gear snobs. Like flow said, the Hornet has been out longer than the Sabre2 and it's just as good if not better. The Tempo had to pass the TSO testing, so you know it meets the same standards as other reserves. Has anyone ever heard of a reserve - by any manufacturer - actually blowing up when the jumper was within the placarded weight and speed limits? Hmm... I think there was a bulletin about certain RAVENS needing extra work. Shows you what the gear snobs know. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

You don't have to have the escrow service verify the merchandise. I used Trade-Enable once as a buyer and it worked like this: 1. I sent Trade-Enable the money. 2. Once they had it, they had the seller send the rig to me, via a trackable shipping service. 3. Trade-Enable then knew when I received the rig, and I had a previously agreed on amount of time to evaluate the rig. (If for some reason I didn't respond by the end of that time period, they would have release the money to the seller). 4. I took the rig to my rigger and had him inspect it. Normally, once I approve the merchandise Trade-Enable releases the money to the seller. In this case, I ended up getting a different rig because of harness sizing, so I told Trade-Enable I was returning the merchandise. I shipped it with a trackable service, and once it got back to the seller, Trade-Enable released the money back to me. All in all I was very satisfied with it, and the price was great too. It's 4% of the transaction for credit, and 2% for cash. So buying a $2000 used rig would only cost you $40 if you split the cost with the other party. A small price to pay to make sure you don't get ripped off. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I doubt I will be doing competition RW. The tricked out competition suits are probably beyond my budget, and definitely beyond my ability, right now. My main concerns are that it fits well, doesn't fall apart after 200 jumps, gets here in six weeks or so, and has good after-sale support from the manufacturer. Emmie, I'll get measured at Square 3 at Cross Keys to make sure that I get the right numbers, thanks for the advice. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

There doesn't seem to be much information online about jumpsuits. No reviews here (they're not even listed in the reviews section), not many classifieds on DZ.com, and not many classifieds on enclave.com either. I know skydiving mag ran a good series on gear recently so I'm going to dig through my old issues and find them, but I'd like to know your opinions as well. As far as RW suits, which manufacturers have high quality suits, good customer service, and decent order times? Or will I have to settle for two of those three attributes? Also, what kind of extras are useful for low-timers, and what materials or options are going to slow down my fallrate? Are there any common mistakes people make when getting their first jumpsuit, or pitfalls I should avoid? Thanks in advance for your help! PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Google search is your friend.

The problem with this jump was the strength of the bungee itself. They did several jumps where the top man opened before terminal velocity, and it worked well. Warning: the following discussion centers on the conservation of energy - if physics makes your brain hurt, do NOT read further! On this particular attempt, after the top man opened, the bungee had to absorb all the energy of the bottom man @ terminal velocity. A full-grown man at 120 mph has a lot of kinetic energy, and the bungee reached its breaking point before all of that kinetic energy had been absorbed. When the bungee snapped, it broke close to the top man, so he didn't get hit too hard. But the bottom man was smacked by most of the cord, and it hit him with almost all of that energy that it had been soaking up. It's as if he had been falling really slowly, then been directly hit by another jumper at terminal. That's what knocked him out and broke him. If the bungee had been stronger, or if the bottom jumper had less mass or a slower terminal velocity, it should have worked fine. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Correct, Paki is a neutral term here in the US. George XXXXIII referred to the Pakistanis as Pakis a month or so ago; he was completely unaware of the derogatory connotation. The UK media flipped out, but the American media (and the White House) said "huh?" and pretty much ignored it. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Wahoo!! I got my grades back from last semester and thy're good enough (a 3.1 GPA) that I'll let myself start jumping again!! (see this post for an explanation). Sweet. In related news, spring semester classes start today. My schedule looks pretty interesting - geophysics, electrical engineering, and 2 politics courses. I'm taking the GEO course, "Weather and Climate," solely because of skydiving - I want them to start with the chapters on forecasting cloud cover and wind conditions!! Class starts in 10 minutes, I'd better scoot on over there... PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way PS Did I mention I'm going to start jumping again? Yeeeeeee-haaaa!

I want to have a job that makes a difference, I want to have a close-knit family, and I want to take care of them. As for specifics (what job, which woman)... I've got plenty of time. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

No, it was Skreamer's constant bitching about the weather. Why fly across the ocean to get weathered out when we can do that right here at home? *cough* FREEZE FEST *cough* PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I think I had two reasons at first. I'd always loved flying and aviation; Topgun was my favorite movie when I was little and my room was covered with pictures of airplanes. The other reason is that I thought it would make me cool. It didn't, but I love it so much that's not important anymore. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Whoa, where can I get one of those? www.miragesys.com? PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

All I've got in my collection is Good Stuff, my first-jump video, and my AFF 7 video. I'll lend you any of them you'd like, but I bet you've already seen the first and aren't interested in the other two. Alternatively, if you have a decent internet connection, you could spend your days on http://www.skydivingmovies.com. PTiger I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

I saw a few girls get fruced yesterday. Freeze Fest was a blast even though I didn't get to jump, and it's all thanks to ALCOHOL!! And of course my teammates - without them I wouldn't have a few free jumps to enjoy when the weather improves! (see my post in the Freeze Fest thread for details...) I'm stepping through the door And I'm floating in a most peculiar way

Roger that Justin. I had a great time just hanging out and BSing with you and the other S&M guys ("Skydivers & Mentors" ) who I only knew from the e-mail list. I was kinda worried when the ground crew started digging around the Otter, I thought they were going to put it out of its misery and bury it. And as for beer.... I am proud to announce that as a member of team "Rocking the Man in the Little Boat" I am the CHAMPION of the Freeze Fest Beer Olympics™!! I haven't been that sloshed in about two years, and I don't think it will happen again. The Freeze Fest Beer Olympics™ involved shots, beer, chugging, dizzy bat races, and drunken sprint relays. I have a nasty bruise on my shoulder from the pillar that holds up the loft - once I tried to stop myself before I got there and didn't do a very good job. But it was all worth it! We won free jumps!!! I took a lot of pictures and some of them even turned out. Take a look: Lots of people showed up (Yay!