motorheaddown

Interesting... Looks like I'm wrong. Thanks, -scott

I just sat through a high altitude training class sponsored by the military (I'm a civilian), and they claim pulling at higher altitudes results in higher G-loading at opening due to increased fall rate. I don't buy it. Dynamic pressure (i.e. what the body feels) is constant throughout the jump even though terminal velocity changes as a function of altitude. Consequently, I'd think the canopy should open normally with the same G-loading at any altitude once terminal velocity is reached. Am I right? Thanks, -scott

I hope that was after landing with the plane! Hope you get off injured reserve, soon. -scott

This will get me flamed no doubt, but it is a slow day here at work. So, here goes: Are you a chick? He apologized. So he didn't apologize before you told him you were upset. If he apologized and I assume you guys worked out the future deployments, why the panties in a wad now? Some guys are way too sensitive! No chick here. He did it the first time, and I talked to him about it - all was good. Then, he does it again (WTF... did he forget our first conversation?) Not only that, I get a "thanks" after calling him on it the second time. He didn't apologize until the next day. This was all following recent events when two very experienced skydivers at our DZ had a canopy collision, double chop, and survived. Hello?... the message here is track your ass off - don't pull in place especially if it's not planned. Maybe I am sensitive, but I don't like to add to the chain of events that result in injuries or death. So, call me what you want. I won't be offended - I'm proud to have 1200+ jumps with no mals and no injuries, and I'm trying to avoid unnecessary risk. If he won't stick to the plan, then I'll pull the plug on my involvement with the team. It's just that simple. Problem solved. -scott

We're a freefly team, and he's right over top of me in a totem at the end of our routine. He dumped in place on a busted dive while training. That's why he didn't hit anyone. -scott

Well, I appreciate everyone's thoughts on the matter. Pulling his main or reserve is out of the question. He is a teammate AND a friend. I talked to him once, and I thought the matter was over. It surprised me that he did it again - ergo my post to this forum. I wanted to anonamously put this thread out there to get your reaction. I kinda felt like a jerk having to bring it up again and was a little surprised about his apathy regarding the issue. We talked about it, and he apologized the next day. While I'm not into ultimatums, the behaviour of unplanned dumps in-place must stop. If it happens again, I'll have to reconsider moving forward as a team; the risk of dying over stupidity just isn't worth it. Thanks again for all your input. -scott

Agreed. Our planned ending is to link in a head-down/stand totem and spiral past the camera as he floats up past us creating a real sense of speed. So, the cameraman is actually the only one who can pull in place. -scott

As mentioned above, we are a freefly team. Dumping in place was NOT planned. That's what bugs me the most. I talked to him about it after the first time, but he dumped-in-place again last weekend. That's when I got a little pissed. We're also fairly experienced. We both have 1200+ jumps; so, he should know better. -scott

All good advice. Thank you very much!

We have camera - it's a freefly team, but the camera guy always tracks off both in our free round and speed round jumps. I took him aside and kept my voice down after cooling off a bit. So, I did the best I could about keeping my composure. I was just stunned that he did it again. That's bugging me, too. -scott

Sorry for the spam, but I need some feedback whether or not I'm justified feeling pissed. Twice over the last couple of months, one of my teammates pulled in place while me and our third teammate tracked off. The guy who dumped in place did it because our spot was pretty long, and he's been injured in the past landing off. It bugs me for two reasons: 1) It's just plain unsafe. It doesn't follow our dive plan, and if someone else dumps in place (which I won't) it creates a real hazard. 2) It's selfish and not indicative of a team player. So what if he gets back to the DZ; he's not going to jump until EVERYONE from the team lands, is packed, and is ready to go on the next load. My two best skydiving friends died 5 years in a double fatality because they collided under canopy, and recently we had two very experienced jumpers survive a canopy collision because they didn't track their asses off. The option of landing off versus dying is a no-brainer, IMO. Unfortunately, I just don't think he gets it. I kinda got in his face about dumping in place, but he didn't apologize until the next day. When I first told him why it bothered me, he just said "thanks". Don't get me wrong... he's a good guy, and I do trust him. But I just don't think he gets the whole "team" concept. Would you be pissed? Am I off base? How would you handle bringing it up? Thanks, -scott

Yeah... my brother called about the bad news. I've heard Maynard a couple of time - most memorable with at the World Series of Jazz at Disney World around '77. His band and Stan Kenton's band were the featured groups - what a night. My all time favorite songs are "Give it One" and "Free Wheeler". I think both are on MF Horn 3 or 2... RIP Maynard! -scott

I like the depth-of-field effects and the diffuse lighting on the aircraft. Nice models. BTW, is the skydome scattering done in-house; or, is it provided by a company like Windward Mark? FWIW, we do realtime sensor simulations for things like night vision goggle and thermal imagers. Unfortunately, I can't post pics of our content. -scott

Some of those look ok, but I get the feeling you haven't worked in the food service or resort industry. Unfortunately, I worked in both long ago. When customers get to relax, you don't. After all, the point of relaxing is NOT to work. Consequently, owning/working at a coffee shop or working at a resort can be *very* stressful especially if you're concerned about customer service. Sorry... -scott

I can vouche for the "Special #5". Keller's is only 5 minutes from my house. It's an awesome burger. -scott

Kittinger reached 716mph during his descent. So, speed doesn't matter; it's net affect of dynamic pressure as a function of air density that counts. Now, dealing with the physiology of suite pressure in a vacuum is definitely a problem to worry about. I certainly wouldn't want my blood to boil! -scott

I think you get one as part of the $200K ticket price for the ride into space. -scott

If Joe Kittinger can skydive from the Stratosphere 19 miles up (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/escape/skydive.html), what would keep someone from jumping out of Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne? Since it doesn't reach orbital speeds and floats in zero gravity at the apex of its trajectory, it would seem you could get a "door!" call while weightless. Then, it's an easy 68 miles down to mother earth. Any takers? -scott

3 years ago, I nearly hit an airplane in freefall at deployment. As I threw out my hacky, I noticed a plane below heading in my direction. It was too late to stop deployment, so I waited for the snivel and looked up. There he was directly overhead and slightly past my vertical heading away. I guarantee the pilot saw me snivelling past the nose of his plane if he was watching out the window. -scott

No offense taken. I already checked the rates, and I know a skydiver with a good product to offer will make out nicely on this deal as will I.

Moderators, please move this post if it is out of place. Greetings! My brother and his wife are celebrating their 50th birthdays within a month of each other. I live in Dallas and have arranged for them to see EWF and Chicago in concert at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa on August 13th. I'm considering hiring someone with a nice looking, relatively new and clean (washed & vacuumed) SUV to drive them to the show from Orlando and back. I'll pick up the gas and parking plus your fee if we agree on a rate. You must also have a cell phone so they can contact you after the concert. They need to leave Orlando (near UCF) no later than 5:30 pm. The show is probably 3 hours, max; and the trip is about 1 1/2 hours, one-way. My estimate is that you'll drop them off back at their home by 12:30 a.m, at the latest. If you get bored waiting during the concert, you can purchase a ticket in lawn seating for about $20. I saw this show last year in Dallas, and it was fantastic!

This may have been suggested (sorry, I didn't read the whole thread), but I had a momentary problem with my cat peeing on my bed. I fixed it by rubbing her face in it. You must be firm but don't hurt your cat while doing it. I grabbed her by the rear paws and held her behind the neck. After a few times, she got the message. No problems since. BTW, I love my cat... she's the best.

Greetings, Being freefliers, as you know, we are typically loaded between the RW teams and students/tandems. On at least two occasions, our FF group was stopped by the pilot on the final leg of the jump run because the spot was getting long. To save time, the pilot made a 180 go-around which was also offset from the previous jump run by about 1/8 mile. Seems reasonable... right? Well, not really. In both instances, our headdown group beat the previous RW team back to the DZ. In fact, we actually opened on level with the belly-fliers the first time. The second time, I had canopies below making their final approach on landing. Beware, if the pilot decides to turn downwind from the jump run, there's a good chance jumpers under canopy are somewhere between you and the DZ. You should be even more careful if a large RW group gets out in front of you. They will float even more. Don't get me wrong; our pilots are some of the best in the business. In fact, one of them jumps, too; he just doesn't freefly. I talked it over with the DZ manager and chief pilot, and they're taking actions to prevent 180s from being a safety hazard at our DZ. Be careful and don't be afraid to request a FULL go-around if you have concerns about group spacing especially if the group in front of you is flat-flying. If the pilot is making a go-around, insist it's UPWIND. Better to get a long spot than have canopies below making approaches to land. It's up to you to break the chain of events that leads to incidents. Just thought I'd share what has happened to me on more than one occasion. Thanks, -scott

Yep... same thing happens with my cat. I come home from work, and the darn cat buries her head in my shoes. Then, she'll try to rub her face on my socks. Weird indeed.

Hey yardhippie, care to comment on the quote above? Sounds like an ALBR to me! All I can say is that you're my hero! -scott