murps2000

Wow, can I have your pocket protector, too?

Wow, didn't that hottie cylon mention that they were "sleeper" agent cylons? Computer viruses? Strange parallel to the post 9/11 world we live in, huh? But forget about that for just a centon. I sure dug how Adama was beating the shit out of the arms dealer cylon with a flashlight. Never saw Lorne Greene do anything like that. And another thing. How come they don't have any daggits? Or robot daggits? And when's Lloyd Bridges gonna show up on the Battlestar Pegasus & start kicking some cylon ass? Plus they need to bring back that two-eyed cylon that used to work for the old Baltar. The one named Lucifer. Heh heh... By your command....

Uh, any REAL dork would know that vipers have three main engines. Hey, maybe that's where they got the idea for our shuttle? Anyway, I think it's over dude. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see a TV show comeback. It's probably for the best. I'm bitching about Starbuck being a chick, and I figure it's only a matter of time before some NAACP type jumps into the fray because Col. Tigh's white, now. Oh, well. Back to CHiP's re-runs....

I'm sorry, but despite everyones' obvious illusion that this is a poll of opinion, it is an incontrovertible fact that only one show is the coolest show of the 80's (and 70's for that matter), and that show is CHiPs. OMG, officer Bonnie Clark was hot...

I watched both episodes, as I was a major fan back in the day. I saw it in the theatre as a kid (it WAS a movie first) and I liked it way better than Star Wars, because the characters were regular people, and there was none of that "force" crap. Credit where credit is due, I agreed with Han Solo, that "hokey religions and ancient weapons were no match for a good blaster at your side." Yeah, I know it was gay, but I liked the capes, and the pharoah helmets, and all that other felgercarb. Sci-Fi did a good job with special effects, and the few times you did get to see a cylon centurion, I found them to be a good bit scarier than before. I agree that it was refreshing to see the spacecraft obey the laws of physics, and the eerie silence as the ships zipped thru space was nice. The modifications to the original storyline weren't bad either. But lets face it, they fucked it up in one major way. She was good, to be sure, but I really have to take issue with Starbuck being a chick now, albeit a tough one. Boomer being a girl I could stomach, but not Starbuck. I'll admit that I did grow to appreciate "her" character as I watched, but you know, in general principle, that was just wrong. Starbuck was the original space cowboy, and of course, the quintessential ladies man. I mean, when other kids on my street wanted to be Luke Skywalker on Halloween, I wanted to be Starbuck. There was one point last night where I thought for sure Appollo and Starbuck were going to lip-lock, and I was about ready to cry. Thank the lords of Kobol THAT didn't happen. I know it's a new age, and were supposed to be PC, and all, but I just can't accept this. Ladies, do you have to take EVERYTHING from us? At the very least they should have gotten Casseopia back for some HLA, but I guess it would have to be on HBO for that. Ahh, the times they have changed.... Frak.....

No, it's white. Actually I was told it was a navy reserve, so I guess that means I don't "know". I found the packing data card today & it says that it's a North American Aero steerable 22' conical. It was last packed on may 27, 1993. Probably could use that acid test I heard about, huh?

A friend of mine had this rig stored at his house for years, and gave it to me just because I found it quite intriguing. It belonged to a friend of his who left the sport before I even started, which was back in the mid 90's. It is actually in pretty good shape, with new velcro having been installed, I would estimate, shortly before it was put away. I saw a guy jumping a Warp III at the herd back in like '98, and I thought it looked ancient back then. Anyone got any memories? Also, the Rascal main is I think about 200 sq. ft., and a nine cell (must've been hot!). It looks like it has relatively new CRW lines (the red dacron ones). Anyone jump or own one? The rig also has a two pin reserve. Obviously a round, but the only thing I know is its a Navy reserve. Thanks for any replies.

Yes, definitely. But higher airspeed under what you have will increase it as well. Sometime when you're up high, try a hard 270 front riser hook, and as you're coming out of the dive and you're really zipping along, lean one way or the other in the harness. I don't know if you've tried something like this before, but an experienced swooper I know suggested it to me once, and it really opened my eyes to what a harness turn could do.

> (sigh) What about my post suggested that I spiral or sashay over the landing area because I’m bored or want to get down sooner? Where did I say I did quick 360’s? The only time I spiral to get down is if I’m the first or lowest to open, so that I can clear the pattern for others in the sky. If I'm above you, I'm probably waiting in brakes, hoping you will do the same. I agree that 360’s don’t fit into a good traffic pattern very well, and for that matter, I don’t think 270’s or 180’s do either. At some point during any more than a 90 degree turn, you will very likely deviate from what is considered a predictable traffic pattern by anyone other than another swooper. Having said that, I think there are some advantages to a 360 over other approaches, one being that your set up is virtually a no-brainer. Your target is right in front of you, and you can go left or right. I don’t believe it gains you much over a well-applied 270 as far as speed is concerned, but that is really beyond the scope of this thread. You ask why I did it? I did it because I wanted to explore the full range of what I was jumping, BEFORE I DOWNSIZED. HELLO? MC FLY? Another thing, a high performance canopy does not a high performance pilot make. > I would have to disagree on this point. I really don’t have many more jumps than you, but I’ve sat around a lot of bonfires, and I’ve had a lot of discussions with some good skydivers. I’ve seen pilots that were way more experienced than you and me screw up. I’ve seen some of the good, the bad, and the ugly along the way, and it all has contributed to my attitude and knowledge. There’s an easy way and a hard way to learn a tough lesson. The easy way is to have someone else learn it for you. Look, I don’t doubt that you’re a good canopy pilot. You’re probably quite advanced over many at and above your number of jumps. You’ve obviously done some homework, and you’re obviously very passionate about this. I do believe that you want to be safe. So unlike others, I will make no predictions that you will get hurt or killed. I will say that it troubles me somewhat that if you do, many people will try to blame whoever sold you your canopy. I’ve never agreed with this line of thinking, but there’s little I can do about it. It seems that even in skydiving the all too American trend towards having no accountability for our actions is beginning to permeate. I’d just like to leave it at this. I understand where you’re coming from with the motorcycle analogy, because when I rode my CBR600, I was way more amped and alert than on my old nighthawk. But you can’t pull your canopy over to the side of the sky when things aren’t going as you planned. At those times you need survival skills, because they are all that you have to get you safely on the ground. Those skills are best learned on a canopy that gives you some room to make errors, not the smallest thing you can fly in optimum conditions. You say that you can consistently land in a ten meter target area, that you can land on a hill or slope, that you can land cross-wind, and that you can flat turn at 50 ft and land safely. My question is: Can you do all four at once, when that ten meter circle is surrounded by hazards, and the consequences of hitting them are certain injury? And don’t answer me here. As much as I enjoy the thrust and parry of debate, I think I really take up too much of this thread. I would rather get back to my own quest for knowledge, as there are many way better than me involved in this forum. Just ask that question of yourself, and be honest when you answer. blue skyz, hizzy-hot swzzoopz, and luscious drop zone biotches frantically rubbing their snatches as you go by....

***It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye. Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery You, who quote Saint X! Do so again! Would that we all could so eloquently see the beauty of the sky as he did. Try to remember to never get so caught up in the performance aspects of skydiving as to forget how blessed we are to have such a wonderous playground. It never looks the same on any jump...

I don't mean to fill this thread with our catching up, but yes, you read right. Actually this does pertain to this thread. 1000 jumps, probably 200 of them clear & pulls, finally own a x-brace, and I'm still not quite at 2:1 wing loading. You guys in Salisbury saw me doing several 360 approaches last year on the Splatwing 134. More than a few people told me I was ready to downsize. I wrung every last bit of speed out of that crusty thing that it would give & still put another 150 or so jumps on it just to be sure. Sure, it was boring at times, but you guys saw me get in the corner a time or two with it, as well, and it was nice to have a few extra sq. ft. at times like that. Isn't that what this is really about? I mean whether a canopy is appropriate for me or not is ultimately determined by how well it can get me out of a jam when I've f---ed up flying it, not by how much it keeps me "on my toes". It's for that reason that I've had to devote some jumps toward braked, straight in approaches with this new canopy. That FX is perfect for me at this time. At the top end, it's faster than anything I've flown, at the bottom end, I'm quite confident that I could stuff it in a back yard, and shut it down in as little as thirty feet with no wind. And I expect that it will continue to challenge me well into 2005. As for the batwing, well no one wants to buy it, so I guess I can still use it for demos at night... And as for the originator of this thread, I don't know you, and I've never seen you jump, so I'm in no position to question your expertise under your Velo. Maybe you've devoted every shred of your time jumping to canopy flight, maybe you're blessed with a high degree of innate talent for swooping, and maybe you're very advanced for your jump numbers. But if I'm not mistaken, you're also the same guy who was inquiring about how to properly set up for 270 approaches in another thread. My suggestion would be to get back on your heatwave and figure it out.

***Your logic and reasoning are flawed, and will earn you a trip in the pretty van with flashing lights. Nicely put, Mark. Forcing the wing loading issue to alleviate boredom? That's as logical as doing it to get that really cool, tiny container. Wait, this has to be a troll....

***I carve when I have the altitude, turn and dive more quickly when I don't, and if I've really lost the plot I can rip a 270 around in the time it takes to do a 90, get hard on the rears, and still lay down a good swoop with accuracy. These are threee scenarios all swoopers will have to deal with. You will eventually hook it high, just as surely as you will hook it low. The experience you gain from developing skills over lots of jumps progressing from double fronts and up through 180s plus are what enable you to deal with these situations and walk away. I like that part about getting a hard-on with your rears. I got a talking-to at orange about that... I think you left out one scenario worth mentioning, tho, and that is the swoop-abortion. Knowing when to say no is as important a life-saving skill as any other. I've been as guilty as anyone of just having to swoop (after all, we are addicted, aren't we?), and then breaking out the shovel. You guys at Bennett were pretty nice to me when I did (i.e. rte 50 pond) but I finally got a x-braced, and I really can't do that anymore. It's like school in the summertime, as they say. The flat-turn thread is applicable here. Also, two cents for the originator of this thread: Whether doing 180's, 270's, 420's, whatever, traffic patterns are important, to be sure, but consider also what ground obstacles are located on radials of your turn. If you're still learning to judge optimal altitude for your turn initiation (snap or carve), or if it's on a canopy you're not used to, this can also be a factor in whether you want to hook right or left. After all, stopping a 270 at 180 degrees in the name of safety, and then doing a perfect crosswind swoop into the side of a trailer would be tragic irony.