larsrulz

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Gear

  • Main Canopy Size
    150
  • Main Canopy Other
    Samurai
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    150
  • AAD
    Vigil

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    If Only
  • License
    C
  • License Number
    34603
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    400
  • Years in Sport
    2
  • First Choice Discipline
    Formation Skydiving
  • First Choice Discipline Jump Total
    300
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Wing Suit Flying
  • Second Choice Discipline Jump Total
    50

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    Yes

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  1. Not that I know anything worthy of mention, but isn't a simple loop tied around the object thereby hanging the break-cord-tied-off-bridle completely free of any minuscule chance of snag ever-so-slightly-safer than the carry-on static-line, whereas the carry-on static line has an ever-so-minuscule chance of snagging some part of the object and potentially leaving you hanging if your tied off close enough near the base of the bridle? If I were jumping the potato bridge and was concerned about this slight risk, then what's wrong with jumping a non-carry-on static-line if I intend to climb back out and untie it? This certainly sounds like a "you shouldn't be jumping if you are worried about this slight a risk," but then again I'm sure everyone has a "I once saw random base jumper have such-n-such an opening, so now I do so-and-so with the nose when I pack"; no reason this couldn't be a "I once saw random base jumper have a scary static-line launch, so now I tie off the bridle directly to a loop on the object, whereby eliminating the possibility of snag." We all have our peculiarities. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  2. That would be wonderful if you can ask him to check this out. When the WFFC was about 20 miles away I was much more able to attend than when it is 20 hours of plane rides away. Perhaps next year vacation will match up better. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  3. When I had 30 jumps, I showed up at the DZ early on a friday and didn't have a whole lot to do. The DZO and another instructor gave me a copy of Kinesthesia and Skydive 499 to watch in the video room. Both were excellent training tools in my opinion. Certainly neither was a "kick ass video" to watch at the DZ during a weather hold, but both were extremely beneficial for RW progression. This was over 2 years ago now, but I still remember pointers that I learned therein. btw, I think both are still available from ParaGear, although certainly need to call and check. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  4. Looks like my company is sending me to Paris (Melun to be exact) in September/October for about 6 weeks. Any good dropzones nearby; particularly if there are at least some people who speak English, but not necessary (I've managed to make my way around Russia for the past year without much Russian) I don't mind having to take the train or whatever, but just want to do some jumping somewhere! I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  5. Let me know the trick to summoning Brian on demand! Excellent response! 4th one is a new idea I hadn't really thought of! And here I was thinking you should try for the perfect setup and approach each time.
  6. When you make a martini....crack the ice. Use neither cubes nor chopped ice. Either will ruin a perfectly good drink...the secret is in the ice! I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  7. SDC is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. So catching any bus directly from SDC just isn't gonna be possible. Actually I don't think there are any bus services that stop in Rantoul anymore (I could be wrong here). The two bus options (from Ohare area) to Champaign are LEX and SEX. You just need to convince someone to give you a ride from SDC to a bus pickup point and then from Champaign up to Rantoul. You should be able to get a taxi van from Champaign to Rantoul fairly cheaply, but Ottawa (where SDC is) is a long way from anything. Just call up the two bus companies and see what they have...maybe they can drive you from Ottawa to a bus pickup point for a decent price if you have enough people. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  8. Samurai. I'm loading up a tad less, but I'll second the samurai. I definitely like my samurai over the mamba I jumped back when it was still called the aerodyne experimental canopy at the WFFC last year. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  9. Wasn't asked to me, but I'll help anyway. If you want to think about the best lifting body out there, it is going to be a single wing aircraft, not a flying wing or a helicopter or anything else, but a rigid wing aircraft with a lifting point slightly ahead of the center of gravity (not trying to get too technical, but this is important for this question but moreso for the original question). So now, think about what part of the wingsuit creates the most lift (not air deflection but actual lifting force). Unfortunately the center of a wing doesn't create as much lift as the leading edge (per length of wing), so the arm wings will produce considerably more lift than the leg wings (not to mention they will also produce more air deflection (2 wings vs. 1) which increases force on the arms more). Just like an airplane, think about the load applied up at the tip of the wing (since we are flying forward and down, then it is actually up and back, but the up is the important part). The best way to simulate this is to lay on a bench and put half your weight in each hand holding your arms straight out. This puts all that weight right on your rotator cuff. The one thing we do in wingsuits is to drive your elbows forward (not sure hot to put this well, but hopefully you know what I mean), which puts some of the load onto the pectoral muscles, which is a much better thing for our body, but that will deform the wing (if you are interested in maximizing lift this is critical not to do). Obviously we don't currently hold 100% of our weight on our wingsuits, or we wouldn't lose altitude, but as we increase the efficiency/size/skill/whatever more and more weight will go onto our arms, which will end up being the limiting factor in the long run. I have no doubt that there is plenty of improvement left in the wingsuit world (just watching videos of awesome fliers in flight shows a lot lacking in the design), but there are probably only 3 people in the world who actually need (and could make use of) the increases that an honest-to-god aerodynamic design of a wingsuit would give, and unless one of those three is fabulously wealthy and willing to throw money at it, then we'll just have to continue at the current pace of slow, emperical improvements of wingsuit design. Now if one of those three is willing to throw money at it, then let me know, cause I'd love to put my aerodynamic background to use. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  10. Checking my bookshelf, the ones I really learned something from: Reminiscences of a Stock Operator - This is a bit philosophical as it's written by a pork belly trader in the 1920s, but this guy knows more than anyone I've read about the psychology of investing. Sane Investing in an Insane World - I'll definitely support that one! Stan Weinstein's Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets - Good book on how to read the market both on stock and industry level. Good for starting out and learning how to invest. How To Make Money In Stocks: A Winning System in Good Times or Bad - Probably the best true starter book of the lot. Goes into earning statements, indexes, and the likes. Good for learning how to invest in the market. That is a good start, but there are certainly more technical books which go into how to value a company, but you need to know the basics first. Someone mentioned the Motley Fool which is an excellent resource and has some posters on their message boards that have some wonderful information and would put the PWs on here to shame! It's like dz.com for investing! I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  11. Everyone has heard of Warren Buffet (maybe not everyone, but he's the second most wealthy man alive, and probably the most intelligent investor in the world). His mentor was a man named Benjamin Graham. Graham had a quote that couldn't be more appropriate here: "In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run, it is a weighing machine." If you don't see what he's saying, then short term you are voting for which stock you think will do well. You have no control over how your investment will do short term (assuming you have no insider information). The market today has already taken into account what is influencing today. Whereas over the long term, you can find a stock that is undervalued that will inevitably go up over time (although this time could be days, weeks, or months). This is how people become wealthy on the stock market. That or if you can sit around all day having computers analyzing the market and telling you when to buy and sell; that is how day traders make money, not by gut instinct. That said, I do dabble in some short term trading (practice what you preach, right), but very cautiously and with the bulk of my money in long term positions. My best advise is to find a group (5-10) of stocks you like and get to know them well. Figure out what price you think the stock is worth. Watch for short term drops in that stock (particularly if it's due to market emotion and not fundamentals of the company) and this is a good point to buy. But if you do a "buy the stock when it drops" game then you had better know why the stock dropped if you plan to buy. Ask people who lost 90% of their money on Lucent about this! While NoRules makes a good point in the last post about the key difference between gambling and the stock market: "So all that money that people lose in the market... well, others make that much." In fact this is the difference between trading options and trading stocks. In options, the money you make is literally money someone else lost and vs. versa; whereas with stocks, when your stocks increase they take wealth from no one, in fact they increase overall weath of society at a whole! The value of the company you own goes up! As far as where to trade money, there are deep discount brokers that charge $1, but they are definitely suited at more professional traders. If you have $5K to invest, Izone is a good trader at $5 a trade. Scottrade is definitely good for an easy broker, but you can beat the $7. There is definitely no reason (unless you have lots and lots of money) to pay more than $7 per trade. Also, if you go with Scottrade, ask around to find someone with an account and if they give you a referral you can get 3 free trades to start out, which $21 free ain't bad! I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  12. Congrats on a new addiction! I fly a samurai loaded a bit lighter, but I definitely have to harness shift it through opening or it has a mind of its own. My samurai likes to go into a diving turn on opening if I just sit in the harness. I did my first 5 or so flights on a demoed pilot at the recommendation of my BMI, but after that I was jumping my samurai on each of the remaining 30 flights I have done. I was lucky to only have one diving turn (no line twists) on a flight, but my take on airlocks is they add more to the situation than ellipticity alone, so my best advice is to be ready for a harness shift to react to whatever your canopy starts doing on opening. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  13. I'm just hoping my employer doesn't see this! I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  14. larsrulz

    Oil

    I work international for a oilfield services company. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF
  15. That's funny, I thought we spend 4% GDP on military expenditures. And the US has compulsory conscription; oh wait, that's Iran. I also remember when Bush said he wanted Iran "wiped off the map;" oh wait, that was Iran talking about Israel. If you hold what politicians do in the US against the citizens of the US, then it certainly holds that what Iranian politicians do is held against the Iranian citizens....neither seems particular fair. I got a strong urge to fly, but I got no where to fly to. -PF