Tonto

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Posts posted by Tonto

  1. Quote

    SA is there.B|



    I think the score is very flattering to SA if you never saw the game. There were times I thought we were going the same way as Aus and NZ..

    The Semi's this weekend should be fun.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  2. Quote

    someone had converted one of the silos



    I was thinking "Indoor climbing gym" when I read they were 50m high.
    As for the mearly 60 acres, that's pretty cool too. I think I would want all the external buildings removed though, and have a drive in garage/lift system.

    I'd imagine they'd be pretty hard to burgle too. (Thinking as a South African..;))

    Must admit, if I had a cult or was a crime lord, or a terrorist.. it would be high on my buying list. No stinking "they burned themselves to the ground" there... he he..

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  4. As others have said, I'm getting tired somewhere between 10 and 15 skydives. Generally after 12 I'm done and will only continue if there is demand, but still enjoy the dives.

    due to the fact that I'm a weekend only skydiver, if I do fewer than 6 dives in a day I have a simmering resentment of lost time, unless the weather is bad. If it is, and I manage only 1, that 1 was worth it.

    I think there's also a degree of "jump fitness" where we ride the emmotional/body drug cocktail/physiological/physical rollercoaster a little better than a student. Even hyper fit students can be shattered by jump 3.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  6. Quote

    Iranian technology is on pace to build a long-range missile that could strike the United States within a decade, a high-level Pentagon official told FOX News.



    Is this the same guy who said Iraq had WMD's that could be deployed in 15 min, and he knew where they were?:D

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  8. Quote



    Since then, it is an occupation by people who don't want to be occupied, and who aren't one single, identifiable faction.



    But that's my point. The axis powers never wanted to be occupied after the war, but they were, and it wasn't this kind of clusterfuck.
    Why is Iraq occupied? The bad guy is dead. His sons are dead. Why does it go on?

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  11. If you're in another country - your action cannot be defensive. Your being there is as the result of an offensive, not a defensive action.

    (And since you mentioned the "Battle line" would you care to tell me exactly where that is in Iraq?)

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  12. I'm not wandering around in a daze, or anything, but I think maybe it's time just to get out? Fine. The US/UK government thought there was a threat that maybe wasn't as big as they thought it was. They bashed Saddam. Why are they still there? There's no "nation building" going on, and things are not stable anyway, so I just don't get it.
    Leaving Vietnam was a disaster, but in the end it simply didn't matter, and getting out was the right thing to do. When do you think that point, or victory (whatever that means) will occur? If the Iraqi government asks Blackwater to leave, and they don't, how long do you think the US will have a side to be on?

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  13. It was a very odd (but capable) bird. There was an early fatality when a crew member fell 20 foot to the ground after the origional clam shell doors were opened while he was in the loo, leaving him "in space" so to speak, as the top of the doors were the floor that let to the toilet.
    The kite was then redesigned with the more conventional ramp access.

    I think the last ones stopped flying in the 70's.

    As for the SHORT heritage, both British designs, both built for the RAF.

    That was fun!

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  15. Are you sure it's not an AN-2? I see a propeller..

    Seriously, it looks like SHORT might have had something to do with the design. There's that unmistakable "want to be a flying boat" combined with horrible langing gear and pure ugliness of the skyvan.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  16. Thread drift... No directed at you.

    I'm still confused how the US could finish WW2 in 3 years and 8 months, and have been in this conflict for 3 years and 7 months and seriously, has got nowhere. Nowhere. Surely the idea behind being a "War President" means winning a war more than it means just starting a war?

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  17. Quote

    The Argus has a Swoop mode that detects an open canopy



    The Argus also has a "Spam mode" that detects e-mail addresses and then spams them with Argus stuff - and then has a disabled "Unsubscribe me" link.>:( Karel is good with stuff like that.

    To the OP, what you really need, is an AAD/gear interface, with a pair of eyeballs, some hands and a brain capable of making a few desisions based on wanting to live.

    Your suggestions offer some scary side effects, like an open riser cover disabling your AAD, and a bunch of others I'm not even going to get into.

    I'm pre AAD generation, and although I went through a phase of wearing one, will only wear one now if it's a requirement of the event I'm attending.

    The problem with AAD's, is that they don't learn, and they don't grow with the sport.

    WAY back in the day, people went in, and the AAD (Then the AOD) was invented. As people began to jump in larger and larger groups, senior jumpers grew leery of these techincal devices that sometimes randomly deployed canopies placing others at risk. This anti AAD predjudice was so prevalent that the Cypres was designed to be invisible to other jumpers.

    The cypres did great in the early 90's, before wingsuits went too slow to fire them, or canopies swooped too fast and did fire them. These disiplines are post modern AAD era, and being fringe activities within a fringe sport, will never get the attention they deserve.

    New AAD's, like the Vigil and the Argus, have simply mimicked the Cypres, right down to activation speeds and have simply offered a few "bells and whistles" like software updates and mode switching.
    Mode switching has already accounted for several 2 outs. (Vigil in Tandem mode instead of expert mode, if I recall correctly.)

    The true value of an AAD is in the freefall lost altitude awareness realm. The "in case I get knocked unconsious" argument is statistically insignificant, and often compromised with reserves that would be unsurvivable without pilot input.

    1. Pull
    2. At the correct altitude
    3. Preferably stable

    If people practiced that as often as they said "AAD" we'd be a lot better off, I think.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  20. Your doc sounds about spot on.

    I pretty much destroyed my femur apart from 3 inches on each end. I had a 12 inch plate put down the side, and 14 screws holding all the bits together while it healed.

    I was COMPLETLY non load bearing for 4 months, but started jumping after 6 weeks. Even at 24 years old I realised how stupid that was and so only did 20 jumps over the next 8 months. Then, due to the "murkyness" mentioned in a previous post, I had another op to have the plate and screws removed, and had to wait a further 6 weeks for the bone density to develop where the weight was formerly transfered through the plate.

    I never regained full strength in the leg. There was a LOT of muscle damage from all the sharp bits of bone cutting their way through stuff.
    It did get strong enough to summit Kilimanjaro and lead a perfectly normal life but put an end to my days as a competitive cyclist.

    I've done 5147 injury free dives in the 20 years since then. Work your ASS off in physio, and eat healthy. Swim miles, not lengths. The sky is going nowhere.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  21. Quote



    Incorrect.

    You have to satisfy your instructor before moving on a level in AFF.

    You have to demonstrate certain skills before getting the various licenses.

    You generally have to be recommended on the basis on proven performance in smaller ways before being allowed on a big-way. Just telling a big way organizer that you have 3,000 jumps will get you nowhere without a recommendation.



    No.

    You have to satisfy your instructor and have completed the dive succesfully before moving on a level in AFF.

    You have to demonstrate certain skills and complete the minimum number of dives before getting the various licenses.

    It's skills AND jump numbers.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  22. Quote

    The trick is to blow the fluid back into the bladder and not leave it in the tube. Also there are some thermal sleeves that you can get .



    This is the correct answer.

    To the OP. Get into the habit of doing it all the time, or you'll forget when it counts.

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.

  23. Quote

    That's the USPA's "recommendation".



    Here is PASA's "recomendation." (read "Cast in stone")

    Persons who intend to use wing suits must be experienced, current and licensed skydivers. More
    important than the number of skydives is whether the skydiver feels comfortable in freefall, can show
    ability to control himself while in a long track, has the ability to observe airspace and altitude at the
    same time, and feels confident about his ability to perform under pressure.
    Before attempting a wing suit jump, a skydiver must:
    • have a minimum of 500 freefall skydives; or
    • have a minimum of 300 freefall skydives, made within the past 2 years, and receive one-on-one
    instruction from a wing suit instructor (an approved wing suit flyer appointed by the National Safety and Training Officer) who
    is confident in the jumper’s ability and has received a waiver to the 500 freefall rule from the
    PASA Safety and Training Officer.
    • have completely read and understood all documentation and training information provided with
    the wing suit
    • have the ability to perform exits and skydive in the deployment position described in this section
    before making a jump with the wing suit.

    I can't see how an instructor would be able to stand up at a wrongful death inquest, and confronted with the information provided in this and a prior post, as well as the manufacturers recomendation, and argue that the person was OK to do the jump if they were killed on impact.

    Maybe you could explain how you would do that?

    t
    It's the year of the Pig.