wwarped

NO! while the PC is being dragged through the air, it is in disturbed air. there is no guaranteed relationship between the angle of the PC and the AoA. to create the same amount of lift at slower speeds, the AoA must be increased. it it increases too much, a stall results. as stated before, this is basic stuff. and YES, the PC influences how the canopy flies. it just seems like you need to brush up on basic theory before adding that layer of complexity. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

angle of attack - the angular difference between the relative wind and the chord line relative wind - you ought to know... chord line - an imaginary line drawn between the tip and the tail of the airfoil thus, deflecting the tail down causes the chord line to change it's angle. this results in a greater angle of attack. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

a circus atmosphere CAN lead to poor judgement. last year's turkey boogie and at least one big weekend in TF come to mind... guess which event has the less experienced jumpers? many experienced jumpers attend BD KNOWING they will be guiding newbies. BD has a remarkable safety record. currently, Jason works tirelessly to keep everyone safe. everything changes! equipment, techniques, and events all change. we get to choose if we honor those who have come before and developed things, or we can disagree with what they wrought. it seems you disagree with the world your friends helped create... (even if it is not what they desired.) suggestions? oh, and where should the newbies go? I know many who attend to get a taste of BASE, to see what it is like. it's like a tandem jump. it lets them decide if they should continue or not. you'll know these people because they'll jump skydiving rigs. do you think most then go buy a BASE rig? (check out how much BASE gear goes on sale AFTER BD.) DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

why? 1) most people's sense of time is greatly distorted during a jump. 2) more importantly, what delay are YOU willing to take? cautious jumpers start with a conservative delay, then build up. the time to impact is great for impressing whuffos, but use experience for planning jumps. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Tom will claim it is useful to ultra-control the packjob. I think it is a Darwinian test to see if you can count without using your fingers... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know Carl Boenish didn't mind showing his videos to people either. I'm sure he would have been thrilled had YouTube existed in his days...

hmmm. I first tried to provide an answer to the question. later I tried to point out that it was a tactless, insensitive question. you can feel free to disagree, as many probably do. fine. as my posts have taken the attacks (including yours), it seems the bitching is directed at me... so, if you prefer less bitching, may I suggest you remain quiet? (o.k., I finally broke down to sarcasm...) DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

i would figure in this sport that's not really the type of thing you say to someone. even as a decent human you shouldn't ever put that stuff out in to the universe. aren't there 2 universal constants? Death & Taxes? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

I meant NO sarcasm. I made it clear that they were my thoughts, not Nick's. (event though he has mentioned several of the item listed.) Nick has written about being harrassed regarding the list. why risk adding to it? in the U.S., I've seen plenty of people being given assistance. those receiving the aid then complain about the volunteers... frankly, I'm tired of it. Nick is donating his time, and if he chooses to only update the list once a year, well, fine. it is his call. we all make calls. some to climb down. some to jump. we should not need to justify each decision. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

are you volunteering to take over the list? please realize: - he has a job and other things in life - some details remain hidden for a variety of reasons - witnesses or others who know the facts may not like sharing the details - people close to the deceased may not like seeing Nick's summary. their nerves may be too raw. - Nick might have known them and be processing his grief as well. - after 100 fatalities, adding more might be very depressing. - people have criticized Nick for maintaining the list. - the list is misused by a variety of people NOT sympathetic to BASE. now, some of the above might not be important to Nick. he might have other reasons as well. Nick does a fine job at a thankless job. if you'd like to see it done differently, volunteer to relieve him of the chore, build a parallel list, or take some other productive action. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

if you jump for yourself, there can be NO politics. you can simply enjoy the sport for whatever reason. if being social is part of your BASE experience, politics naturally come into play. others will always attempt to sort out the "alpha" male and establish a pecking order. this does NOT apply to BASE alone. jump for yourself. don't brag about jumps, don't be pumping out videos, and you'll be amazed how the politics stops affecting you! the ones who seem to complain loudest about politics seem concerned THEY are not being heard... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

you two as co-moderators? wow. I don't know how multiple moderators work elsewhere on dz.com, but wonder how that would happen here... would you two be constantly be firing PMs at each other? would one be un-doing what the other did? teamwork? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

there was nothing BASE related in that photo! DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

running OR moderating a forum is a thankless job. people will always complain. a different moderator will bring a different flavor, but would it honestly be better? before changing moderators, consider adding another one... please remember, the forum is really determined by the participants. we change it by what we contribute. it could be technical, social, or gibberish. it really is our call. we can end it by stopping our participation. I think this forum does serve as a meeting place for like minded people. kinda like a biker bar. we can chill, admire each others efforts, argue, fight, etc. without a common meeting place, the sport would become far more fractured and cliquish. as the common ground, this forum is the first stop for many. it naturally will have a newbie flavor. as jumpers progress, they may very well outgrow this site. there is a noticable cycle in many particpants usage... ask a ton of repetitive questions, brag about how cool your jumps are, and then discourage others (following an accident). ban the egos. let them argue it out elsewhere... they have grown beyond this site. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

congrats! hold your son up high and your wife close. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

why? what is the benefit? is it just a statement, or do you have a reason? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

aerodynamically, elliptical wings minimize wingtip vortices, enhancing the wings efficiency. the narrow wingtip also reduces any advantages of stabilizers. big, rectangular BASE canopies can benefit from stabilizers. do not know if they are critical... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

oooh. I was thinking it looked way too complicated, but if they can embroider instructions... I like... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

those pictures simply show packers in training! DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

well... I haven't read John's letter to understand the theoretical argument. I have seen photos of a homemade wingsuit/rig combination worn inside a windtunnel. the design is carefully made to be streamlined and produce lift. their cutting edge isn't about IF it can be done, but how to MAXIMIZE the lift. amazing stuff. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

people have posted lots of good info already, but to build on what crwper wrote: don't underestimate simple time in the sport of skydiving. popping off 300 jumps in one month is NOT the same as spending time in the sport. with enough time, you'll have seen some carnage. are you ready for the emotional impact of seeing a friend with a broken leg (or worse)? how about yourself? you will depend heavily on those you jump with, and they will depend on you... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

maybe consider shipping it... avoid the potential of airport hassles. - it's how most manufacturers get new product to customers. - since you are headed out for a FJC, sending it out a few days ahead won't interfere with jumping at home... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

or huh? I'm missing something... my point is, manufacturers can choose to minimize inconsistencies during manufacture, make products tolerant to inconsistencies, or a mixture of the two. the process somehow failed on the original Icarus Crossfire. (and possibly other models...) inconsitencies between models will lead to different "personalities." (which is what Tom A. stated.) another example, the Toxic pilot chute looks particularly complicated, and unfriendly to make. the photos I've seen indicate Marty does a fantastic job of overcoming these issues. could anyone in a factory style setting do the same? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

do you think it was due to color? or is it possible a lot thing... (i.e., the finishing processes between lots of different colors varied. similiar to the waxy, light blue material Apex used on some pilot chutes.) DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

oooh. there is a difference? which one works best? I've read nice things about purple... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse