dpreguy

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Posts posted by dpreguy


  1. This is the second reference I've seen to "marmite." What is it? I gather it is a wierd food product of some sort? From the post a month ago it semed like it was described as some kind of peanut butter stuff. where -what country is it sold?

    I guess I could google and find out when I leave dz.com

  2. You actually buy Hawaiian shirts? And wear those awful things?

    Your suggestion of a windbreaker is a good one, but this canopy is white, so....doesn't seem like a zippy windbreaker color.
    Holykamoly! Who can make all of these things that are suggested? I am pretty good with a sewing machine, but cannot imagine how to make clothing. Guess there are shirt makers around, but haven't ever looked for one. Instead of a Polo silhouette or palm tree, I guess I could have the data stamp above the pocket? that might be cool

    underwear seems kinda pervy

    Judging how it feels, anything that needs a liner sounds good. this stuff is so frictionless, (OK-silky)it kinda feels like water or something. It's also heavier than I thought it would be.

  3. I have a silk parachute canopy- no lines-with a US military date stamp of 1940 'something'. Big tears, and some missing, but most of the fabric is good. Very good. Anyone know if there is anyone who would create something manly for me to wear? I've never seen a silk garment, so obvioulsy, i have never worn one, but if someone could actually make something a guy would actually wear without looking like a fluffy tutti frutti, I would probably give an equal amount of fabric to them to use for whatever.I do own a tux, so a shirt is all I could thnk of. Would a silk shirt feel wierd to wear? When you feel this fabric, it feels almost like wierd water or something. Ideas? Or somewhere to send it to make something out of it?

  4. bandito The tests for being an employee are the usual ones: direction, how you are paid, use of equipment, etc.. It is usually the DZ wanting to deny the employee relationship, not the other way around.

    I posted my comments to explain the diff between a worker's comp and a tort action. That's it. I cringe when a lawyer sues a waivered sport business. People should be able to choose to accept risk, and businesses shouldn't be sued when an accident occurs. Our litigious society is repugnant to me.

  5. I doubt there will be a successsful "Workers Comp" claim made here. Unless the skydive businesss is different from most, instructors are not employees. They are independent contractors for the tandem jumps.

    On general tort liability: I think I have seen this law firm advertise on a billboard on the interstate, "Hurt in a skiing accident? Call us..." yadda yadda. There are these scum law firms who don't like the idea that whitwater rafting, snomobile renters, skydivng companies, ski areas,hot air baloon companies etc etc have their customers sign waivers. In the ski industry, they don't sign waivers, but there is a waiver printed on the back of each ski ticket and it is posted at the area, and is part of the electronic ski pass applicatinos. Sports waivers here in Colorado, and elsewhere are almost always upheld, as they protect against accidents involving ordinary negligence. We all know that. If the waiver is good, the lawsuits generally don't get anywhere. Sooooo, it seems like this law firm is trying to make an end run around the sports waiver and try for a workers comp. recovery. Unfortunaely for them, I hope, I doubt the proper business relationship (employer-employee) exists between the skydiving operation and the tandem instructor to do that. That is one reason, of many, why all skydiving instrutors are contracted by DZ's as independent contractors and get 1099's instead of being employees. I think this law firm is just making comments for thier own newsletter, and in the final anaysis will find they can't proceed on a workers comp theory.

    If that fails, then I suppose then they will have to try to attack the waiver etc like we see so often, and try for tort liability. Also the lawyers will probaly investigae to see if the instructor has his Class III med, is properly lic by the mfg and has his USPA qual stuff in order, etc.. Hope the DZ has a good waiver and the instrutor's qual stuff is all in place. If their waiver is good, and the instr. quals are in order, this thing will probably go away-eventually, after the DZ owner spends good money to hire his own lawyer to fend off this crap.

  6. Jamie
    I'll be up to Mile Hi this weekend. Not sure what day, or both. It'd be great to finally meet you. If you get off AFF it would be fun to jump with you.

    I am a coach so it'd be legal and all. Get your A lic qualification card and start on getting licensed. Walt

  7. If neither of them skydive - what's the point? 'Cause if they don't skydive, well... no matter how good looking they are, they don't count.

    I do like the welder girl. Maybe she would skydive if asked. If she wouldn't skydive, well, she'd just be just another pinup.

  8. NV Wilhelm Gustav. Topedoed by Russion sub in Jan 1945. Moslty women and children. 9400 died. Largest loss of life in a maritime sinking in all history

  9. I've been reading about this bunch of crated Spitfires in a cave somewhere for quite a while. "Locals remember crates going into a cave......" stories, etc.

    I hope it is not like the stories of the hopes of treasures many expected to find in the Pharoh's pyramids; only to find the "grave robbers" have already been there and looted the goodies. Seems illogical to think the "locals" didn't burrow into the cave after 1945 when the 'coast was clear' and grab some of the stuff. I hope I'm wrong.

  10. Dear Mr Kallend,
    Don't be so quick to insult. If you are correct, a cement block tossed out of the plane will soon achieve 80 knots speed across the ground, as your theory is that it will reach "equalibrium" in 6 to 8 seconds. Your theory is also, that a cement block tossed off a bridge will go downstream the same speed as the river, if you just give it some time. Wrong. It will never go the speed of the river, as it is affected by gravity. The only way an object can equal the speed of it's medium, whether it be water or air, is to stay on the level it enters, such as a wood chip on water.
    Go ahead, drop a cement block into a river, and even if it is a mile deep, it will NEVER reach the speed of the flow of the water. Nor will a skydiver ever reach the speed of the wind. Nor will a sailboat ever reach the speed of the wind on a downwind. The heaver and more aerodynamic an object is, the less it is affected by the moving medium it is in. Pause for a moment and consider the cement block being tossed from an airplane. Agreed: the angle it goes down is not going to be vertical, because the wind will have "some" effect, but it will never go 80, as you suppose. As the angle from vertical increases, it tells-reflects the amount of effect the moving medium has on it. The closer it comes to staying at the same level, the closer it's speed will match the speed of the moving air/water.wind or whtever medium. Such as a feather tossed from the plane. It would go downward so slowly, that it woould get close to 80.

    If your thoery is correct, then it would make no
    difference if what leaves the plane is a feather or a cement block or something in between, like a person, because in 6 to 8 seconds they will all be going 80 across the ground ("reach equailbrium").. Kinda silly to believe that. Nothing that is going downward will ever reach 80 across the ground, even if it falls for an hour.

  11. Correct on the police report. If somthing is stolen, to recover it, you start with a police report. The Officer/detective will probably start with the basis for the transfer of the possession of the item, from you to him, and the agreement for it's loan or usage and the understanding of how and when it would be returned to you. If it is not clear that it is actually stolen, (taking from another with criminal intent) but is more in the nature of a disagreement, it becomes a civil matter and you would then seek recourse by a lawsuit.

  12. "6-8 seconds to reach equalibrium"

    Nope. Not at all true. False assumptiion. Nor does a sailboat ever reach the speed of the wind on a downwind. Not even close to it. Anyway, that was only the "80 knots headwind-80 knot airplane" example. Just a side scenario anyway

    The 'layers' thing is the discussion without fruit.

    In regard to the groundspeed technique: the calculations of groundspeed thing works, and has been working for a long time.

  13. skr and bilvon
    You guys are complicating a simple matter with your 'layers' discussions. The layers don't mean a thing. The example of a plane going 80 with headwinds at 80, and getting adequate separation with 10 seconds between groups is misleading. (not moving over the ground at all) Both of you guys are operating upon the incorrect theory that if a skydiver is in 80 knot wind while in freefall he will be going 80 knots over the ground. Not so. Not even close. We do get some freefall drift, but not nearly at the rate that the wind is blowing. A piece of tissue paper maybe, but a heavy body won't even come close.

    This thread started out with the statement that"...winds stronger at the top, gradually decreasing on the way down, a group in a a highr moving layer of air will spend the whole freefall moving closer to a group in a slower moving layer."
    Of course that is true, but the statement is only true if the two groups didn't come out of the same airplane. The discussion following seemed to state that successive groups would be affected in dissimilar manners by these layers. Not a good premise. It is not true that groups following out of the same aricraft, will "tend to pile up on each other because of layers". Not true at all, because the same layers affect all in the same manner. That is why groundspeed, or maybe a better way to say it, "ground distance between groups" is the only determinor of where groups will end up relative to each other at opening point. Groundspeed is used because that is the only way a skydiver, equipped with groundspeed info ,can make an educated guess about exit intervals. On a day with negligble airspeed at altitude, in a king air for example going about (shoot I don't know exactly ...I use 88 feet er second for 60 mph) , maybe 150 feet per second, (maybe 95 knots) abut 6 or 7 secods leaves the groups 1000 feet apart at opening. If the groundspeed is half of 95, then it is an easy fix to just double it and allow 14 or so seconds between groups. Same 1000 foot separation at exit and the same separation at opening, because the groups leave at the same ground distance from each other. It is a simple concept with an easily computed solution; one you can do in your head in the airplane with normal headwinds on jump run. Say up to 50 knots, you can do it in your head.

    OK, I agree when the groundspeed approaches zero, it can't be calculated in one's head. No one can really get separation even though a decently long delay between groups may be used. Yes, groups will achieve a 'bit' of separation from freefall drift due to strong winds and the time interval, but NOT at the rate of (example 80 knots: 80 knots times 10 seconds.) The time interval will give some 'some' freefall drift, but since we aren't tissue paper, this freefall drift over the ground will never approach the (example 80 knots) speed of the wind itself. Not even close. So, the 10 seconds between groups -80 knot example giving adequate separation is not true, because we are heavy objects. 10 seconds, at 80 knots headwinds would leave all groups very very very close at 2500 feet.

    So, I suggest forgetting all of this layer stuff. It means nothing, as all succeeding groups are going thru the same layers, affecting all groups exactly the same.

    Judging actual (ground distance) separation between groups following each other is as simple as getting groundspeed, which our pilot announces when it gets at all strong, and figuring out what gives 1000 feet of separation at opening.

    All of the discussions of what it all "looks like" and "45 degree angle" "looking out the door" and stuff is also a distraction. The objective here is getting separation at opening. That is as simple as getting across the ground the same distance between groups, regardless of the winds encontered by the airplane. The slower the groundspeed, the longer the time interval= that amount of time sufficient to cover the 1000 feet or whatever is desired across the ground itself. This isn't difficult.

  14. Scratch has now explained explained that he was only discussing the "45 degree angle rule", so ,as I now see it, there is actually no argument here. See the thread a week ago by Brian Germain. Simpler and easier on following the theory.


    My opinion:
    This thread can be discontunued now, as it has all been covered by Brian last week.

    Yes, groundspeed is the determinor, as that alone can achieve separation of groups. If unaffected by maneuvers (If we threw baseballs out instad of skydivers) the separation at opening would be the same as on exit. All winds and forces affect all the same. That's what Brian explained, and what you have just said.

    In fact, my advice is to disregard everything on this thread and just read Brian's article. It's in the forums somewhere under "45 degree angle rule or something like that.

    I doubt anyone is interested in this thread anymore anyway

  15. Hi Scratch,

    I have no idea what you are talking about with red molecules. I didn't follow all of the info with that stuff. Just was commenting on your theory. If you can convince me that the first group is not affected by the wind but the second one is, I'll agree.

    On looking out and down at the last group- see Brian Germain's dicussion of the 45 degree rule recently. 45 degree "rule" doesn't work so good.

    Can't stand up in the door of a king air anyway. It's the devil's airplane. Too fast, on jump run, crappy tiny door, rear stabilizer too low and close to the door. I'd rather walk to altitude.(bit 'o humor here).
    These discussins can get too serious sometimes.

  16. Your theory is incorrect, as you are stating the different groups are affected differently by upper air winds. I do not believe that. ALL groups are affected in exactly the same manner by upper air winds.

    If you believe the second group moves closer to the first one's opening point, just because of stronger upper air winds, then how can you explain how the first group escaped the same upper air winds?

    You make some good points later, but this theory that groups move together because the winds aloft are stronger than the winds at pull altitude...well, that is wrong. All are affected the same way.

    Groundspeed is, and always will be, the standard to determine separation at opening altitude. If you are moving slowly over the ground at exit, because of hellacious headwinds at altitude, then all groups will be closer together for the whole dive. The reverse is also true. When we are in the King Air, which goes over 90, if there isn't any siginifcant upper air wind, we usually wait about 6+ seconds. However, if the King Air is nearly stopped or just "crawling" over the ground, we wait even many more seconds. Our pilots report ground speed when it seems like it will be factor, and we come to a consensus of how many seconds to leave between groups. The Twin Otter is even more critical, because it flies slower. Same thinking process.

    You are correct in stating that the things people do once they leave the plane affects everything, and that a good discussion between groups is the safe way to proceed.

  17. Another one:
    Billy Overmyer, a Colorado guy just wrote,, Jan. 2012, "Bronze Miner" which staarts with a demo over a ski area in a C 182, has pretty girl doing AFF, the guy is an instructor, and so forth. Most of the book is about the love story and her casting bronze, but Billy is a skydivrer of old, and works the skydiving in pretty good throughut the whole book.

    I do need to read Red Beans and Rice too.