Tonto

Mmm. Being told a lot of things... I said exclusively white for 85 years. Exclusively. t It's the year of the Pig.

You do have all the good guns, but it isn't lost on the rest of the world that you hav'nt had a war against only white people in 85 years. Russia thought they were powerful. As for the world boycotting the US being a case of "cutting off their nose" I'm not so sure. No one likes 1 supreme power. Its scary, and when people are afriad they usually react violently. Time will tell, but history has shown that no empire lasts forever. Non. t It's the year of the Pig.

Man, we outside the US are so tired of you sending troops wherever you choose. It's the new colonialism, and you've lost every war so far. I think the US is the ultimate rouge state, and the only country not to sign up to the war crime commision in the Hauge. The US commits war crimes every day. Laws are like spiderwebs. The flies are caught, and the powerful break free. You're pissing off more people every day, and making angry young orphans with nothing to do but die for Islam. Just a thought. Use it, don't use it, whatever. t It's the year of the Pig.

Maybe it's ok when you accept that it's no longer milk. Yogurt and cheese have their place, I suppose. Usually it's a case of one person dreaming of what once was - but that's gone. There are so many people out there. Seems silly to try and work with someone who can't, or won't work back. t It's the year of the Pig.

I missed the movie. Nothing wrong with hearing voices. Doing what they say can get you into trouble. I have a large plasticine parrot which flies with me on dives... but I don't tell people she talks to me. t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh. I was talked into it by the "Alpha male" of a group of about 30 guys while in the military, but I was really reluctant. I was racing Superbikes at the time as that was "Safe" When I turned up at the DZ the next day, I was the only one. I've bumped into others over the years and they all just figured no one would miss them. That was 18 years ago. Whole new life, one desision. t It's the year of the Pig.

That's what I'm thinking... That and what a "small handgun" is.. t It's the year of the Pig.

I have 2 girls, aged 9 and 4.5. Printing now. Thanks, t It's the year of the Pig.

I was 22. 40 now. Nothing better... t It's the year of the Pig.

It's a budist sect... t It's the year of the Pig.

Are you gone yet? t It's the year of the Pig.

Ahh. I fell off my chair too! I'm in the industry and I would never have thought of that! t It's the year of the Pig.

I got back together with my Ex. (She didn't want me to go to another World Meet and I did, I wanted her not to play gigs till 4 in the morning, neither of us backed down.) We had a 3.5 year old and lived together for a year after the divorce. Things were OK. A bit distant. She met some dude, fell pregnant, he left. I was at the birth ("Why loose your dignity with 2 different men when you can do it with the same man twice?") and treat the new tot as my own, pay maintenance for her etc. She's a little gift. A treat I never expected and has been a positive influence to my life. Feels like I lost something but got something better in return. We're not together anymore, but are still good friends, dinner together once a month, talk about the kids at school, money etc. Spending Christmas day together with the kids this year. We both have new partners. Mine's a skydiver who's teaching me to freefly when I'm not doing AFF or Tandem, her's is a musician who understands what she's practicing. Things are WAY, way better for both of us. When things are done, they're done. When a couple meet, and everything is perfect - if you can't keep it together from there - doing it when its broken is dumb. We have a saying, Sue and I. Ex's are Ex's for a reason. t "Throw me to the wolves because there's order in the pack, throw me to the sky because I know I'm coming back." It's the year of the Pig.

Karma exsists without a doubt, but not always forward. First question that sprung to mind was whether your single mother chom was a skydiver. Second is that you may have been BAD in a previous life, and so are doomed to do christmas shopping for others. I don't think you could be too bad though, as skydiving is a treat that can only be reserved for those who were really good in their former lives. Over the last many, many years, I've met so many special people. I'm at the point now where the only people I choose to spend time with are my family, and my skydiving choms. That has to be good Karma.Quote t "Throw me to the wolves because there's order in the pack. Throw me to the sky because I know I'm coming back." It's the year of the Pig.

I don't wear a helmet at all. Not for the last 3300 skydives anyway. But I'm freeflying now and it seems to make sense to wear one, so I look around and see what's out there. You have to wonder at some peoples logic. The Gath was designed for surfing. It has no frontal protection so you can get your head on your board and go under waves. When you're suspented from the shoulders, flying forward at 30 - 80 mph and you need a helmet - it better have some frontal protection. I have picked up the pieces (Yes, you read right) of 2 Gath hats worn by exuberant low timers after they hooked it in. Both spent over a week in intensive care with head injuries. If you're going to wear a helmet - use one that will protect you from more than "Sunstroke" t

It can, but not if you want to continue jumping. Best have it removed asap to avoid complications if you make the same mistake twice. t

They're usually self tappers, with an allen key hole as opposed to the usual phillips or normal slot. Mine were anyway. All 14 of them... Better now though, :-) t

I have 3500 skydives, of which 2000 have been on swoopable canopies. The last 1300 swoops have been on an Airtime Designs Jonathan 120 loaded to 1.6 to 1. My DZ is 5000ft ASL, and it gets real hot in the summer. After a very silly phase around 150 jumps and being “caught in the corner” which resulted in a severely broken femur, a year on crutches and very little jumping for a long time, I decided that consistent swoops were what I needed. By 1000 dives I was jumping a Peregrine 150 loaded to 1.25 by Chute Shop (Looked like a PD Excalibur copy) and was pretty consistent. I then bought the Jonathan, which I have jumped without mishap of any sort for the last ten years. As for the missing numbers, they would be 600 odd Tandems and 600 CF rotation dives on AR7’s by Aerodyne Research, Matrix by Gyro (Of Icarus) and Rubis of PDF. Here’s the rub. My swoops are ok. They’re safe and I’m covering 130 to 170 feet in no wind conditions. I carve sometimes, stand everything up but the 1 in 100, which I think catches us all…but I’m not improving. I’m in a swoop rut. I wished for consistency and I got it, but I want more. I’m now jumping a Heatwave 100 from PISA loaded to 2.0 to 1. Its faster, but not by much. It’s recovery arc seems shorter than the Jonathan. I cover more distance in the swoop, now 150 to 200 feet. It’s twitchier but seems to slow down much more at the end. I’m not having to run much at all. Has canopy design improved that much in ten years? If this 100 is that easy maybe a VX in 89 would be the way to go. I toggle hook/carve. I’m prepared to enter the risk arena of learning something new, like front riser approaches, and would set up my brakes for this prior to my 1st attempt. I have some experience and am prepared to take my time. I figured winter would be the best time to make the switch as density altitude is going to make things trickier as things warm up. (Its mid winter here now) Have I missed anything? Any advice? Blue Skies, t

Why do you want a different canopy? If your Safire is too slow, go down a size on a Safire. Or too old? Check the trim and maybe reline. Only go smaller if you want to go faster. Design is almost always secondary to skill. There are those that can make an old rag look hot, and those that can make new rags look deadly. t

Look at speed skaters, downhill skiers, cyclists etc. Every little bit helps. If you have a colapsable pilot chute and microline, why not tuck up to stop the drag from decaying your speed? t

Flare a little more with the upwind toggle. If you do it right you can do a very sharp 90 degree carve in about 20 feet going quite slowly and be into the wind.

Good post. It aint over till its over, regardless of your experience level. Recently downsized to a 100 loaded at 2.0 to 1 and did 40 perfect landings in a row... then a slightly bad spot, some traffic and not as much speed as I'd have liked and I had to slide it in, dirty my ego and my jumpsuit. Keep it flying, t

There is no clear line. Everyone has a "range" of turns that they do from different altitudes and positions above the DZ to put them where they want to be at the end of their swoop. I toggle turn, but sometimes from full glide, and sometimes, if the spot has been deep and I'm half braking it back, from half brakes with harness input inbetween. t

Sounds like you still had plenty of speed when you crashed. My guess is you put your feet down too soon. Don't think about the ground. Fly your canopy until the ground reaches you. Have fun. t

Pay up. It's the right thing to do. t