adamUK

very much.. there's a whole sequence of badger toons.. this is one of them.. probably the most surreal though.

am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious? http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/25/

It's not the problem with a new car.. in fact, somethign with less than 100k on it would be loveley but I have a moral problem with giving a car dealer a huge wad of cash when you know he will have your eyes out... I just can't do it.

Toyotas are indestructible. Top Gear on TV took a pick up truck, tied it to the beach and let the tide in. It started. Then they dropped a caravan on it.. it still stared, then they set it on fire and it still worked. last forever. keep it!

did you get many jump tickets for your car then?

Slowly cut it down via decaf then eventually cut it out. I used to drink so much coffee it was ridiculous and was giving me problems with my waterworks. Thing is, when you are off the caffine, when you do have a coffee you bounce around like mini-super hero. Had a red bull before jumping once - man, getting stable in freefall was well bad.

It's bonkers... I had a motorbike once and if it was brand new, it was worth less than some mtbs on the market. Bonkers!

I was thinking of chopping in my car then I bought a rig instead. The only problem is that my car is worth less than half of my rig. Is that a bad thing? Still gets me to work on a morning. So go on then.. how many of you could say that the most expensive thing you own is a rig?!!

yeah.. I would have bought a jav but the waiting time put me off... I would still be waiting for it now. I am surprised you haven't taken nekkid pix of you + rig or maybe that's for later on in a quiet moment you will both have together... Or drooly pix.

Ahh.. your canopy senses your frustration and impatience... and deliberatley misbehaves itself. Petulant little buggers they are - they know when you are frustrated. You have to approach your packjob with Zen like calm and a clear mind. 2 hours meditation beforehand might help (or it might not). I have found the more time spent getting the air out and tucking it all away neatly whilst making the cocoon makes getting it in the bag much much easier. This is on a Pilot 188 in a wings with 4 jumps on it... yikes! good luck grasshopper.

I love those packing manuals... one picture, the canopy is out of the bag.. then next one, it is neatly in the bag. My old maths tutor used to put in his lecture notes whilst missing out a few steps... thus xXXX can be shown 'with a little difficulty' i.e. took chuffin ages.

Jon, so you are fed up of jumping my rig already then? Have a chat with Wayne about his exploits with the canopy he bought from some dude in Canada... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1204729;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread I think you need to be really careful how you broker this deal... so he only gets the money when the goods are shipped. Or go to Canada. Or ask Wayne to go to Canada to pick it up for you. Just be careful! Not everyone's kosher. By the way, you still owe me a fiver

Yeah.. but London + South East is about 20% more expensive than the rest of the UK. We have been bitching for years how virtually the rest of the planet (with the exception of Japan and Switzerland) is cheaper than the UK. Still, the exchange rate sounds bad. Couple of years ago it was 1.35 to the pound. Sorry mate.

2.5 seconds of freefall for 35 quid. You are avin a larf... Not even a canopy ride. Some of the claims are a bit dubous: "It is the only system in the world, that allows unattached, controlled free fall" and "The very long free fall..." 2.5 seconds? long? for a mayfly maybe... Jeez.

In my climbing days I used to go soloing* sometimes right at my grade (I was doing E3 (UK) or 5.10d). Most of those who I know who solo do it for very personal reasons, mostly to do with reaching an inner calm and the feeling of true freedom whilst climbing. Most do it when there are only few or no people around. Those who solo hard routes are also very experienced since you have to know what you can do rather than find out you can't somewhere near the top. It sounds as the Mr Bill was a stunt. The other differnce is that if you fall off soloing a route then you are not likely to kill anyone else in the process. *free climbing is with with ropes & gear but you use them to protect you if you fall only, not to help you climb - if you do, that's aid climbing.

I retort thus http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/25/

Nice one! They will probably get you in the bar as you ring the beer bell. Similar thing for my 50th. Just jumped with a few good mates then drank beer with the same good mates. Hope it's a good one! You got your new rig too... wooot!

Hey Chris, Just seen the jump number. You doing anything special for that big 100? Adam.

Javelins do seem to be on a long long waiting list. I know everyone rates them and they have the best repuation out there but that was one of the things that put me off buying one! Enjoy the new toy! I am sitting here right now fondling my new baby. Gotta jump the bugger but it's monsoon season here in the UK again (starts in April, finishes in March)

Have to agree with everyone else here.. obviously discuss with an instructor etc. everything you have been told here, but if you are having problems on the 240 then get that sorted first. I took a canopy control course and found that really useful since it allows you to understand what happens when you come in to land. Also discuss with your instructor the benefit of doing some practice flares at a safe height when you are under canopy to see just how far you can bring down the toggles and how the canopy behaves when you do. be good out there Adam.

It almost makes up for not having jumped this weekend. Just got it (it's sunday evening here)

Mmm... my wings finally arrived. lovely isn't it? It's fully equipped with a spanking new aerodyne pilot main. Can't wait to jump it (dunno about the packing though - brand new ZP..?). If I get any more excited I will start walking with funny limp. Be good out there.

now that's funny. Thought about getting funding for that research - almost sounds like a paper.

Sue... what are you doing on here?? P.S. tell Wayne to do some work will you?

ohhh... hopefully some of the winter swells will be kicking in (usually doesn't get going until november time) so get yourself (or Dad) to the north shore and if you don't surf, just go and watch if it is a big wave day. Awesome!