allieram

Whoa! I hope you don't think I'm some kind of pacifist?! I was just trying to point some things out, mainly of the way I disagreed with what has already been said. I guess I didn't make that clear. Individuals can always go round and round about this view or that view. If anyone things I'm a pacifist, I'M NOT! I agree, we need to take a real close look at ourselves here. We should have been doing this for a long time, but heaven forbid that we step on somebody's toes or infringe on their so-called "rights"! (Let me clarify, I'm being sarcastic here, so don't start thinking again that I'm a pacifist.) It sure would be great if the keepers of this forum would create some type of HTML to allow us to show our remarks contain sarcasm.

I agree with you.

Man, I hadn't thought of that one. Maybe if we ask them to wear a sign they would.

Of course there are two sides to every story, that's always true. But then again, many things are viewed completely differently than another. I'll agree that if you can find the cause then a possible solution can be worked out. However, that won't work every time. I'm not saying that we all can't sit around a table, drink tea, and holding hands while singing Kum-Bye-Ya (however it is spelled); but I don't think that's really feasible right now and I don't think that Osama bin Laden would agree to it. Are we at fault for bombing Afghanistan right now? Should we invite the Taliban to a round table discussion or maybe we'll fly over there for the discussion? If we are at fault for not discussing our differences now, then why isn't Osam bin Laden at fault for not trying to reconcile our differences before committing any terrorist attacks. To use your arguement, then Osama bin Laden should have worked with us to find some kind of common ground between our differences. He didn't. I think blind hatred that is indisriminate and without limits is pure stupidity. Blind Hatred - what is that? Compare the two words. I think we have more of a reason now for what we are doing than what Osama bin Laden did to us due to his blind hatred. Sometimes, some things require action not words.

Hmm, let's see here.... Should we view this from "their point of view"? They (being Osama bin Laden) attacked us here first, killing thousands of civilians. What is their point of view? What...are we (U.S.A.) trying to spread democracy throughout the world and certain groups hate us for that and hate us for the freedoms we have and what we stand for? Nah, they hate us because we allow our women to have an education and hold a job! (Yeah, right, like that's the reason why.) What brought about the attack on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon? What did we do to Osama bin Laden to provoke this? What did the civilians in the World Trade Centers do to provoke this? I guess for the individuals that are wanting us to see it from "their" point of view are right, we shouldn't be doing anything in response to the attacks of Sept 11. We should just be passive! I guess the individuals responsible for the attacks had every right to perform such actions and we are COMPLETELY in the wrong for what we are doing. Let's look at the incident of the Death Star now... (I see the Dark Side as the evil in the world; Osama bin Laden, etc. I don't see Pres. Bush as Lord Vader.) What was the purpose of the Death Star? Wasn't it capable of destroying whole planets? Oh, but I guess that's a good thing. Lord Vader had Princess Leia's home planet destroyed, why? Mainly to show the power of the Death Star. Oh, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that and the Empire should be able to cruise the universe doing as they please. I'm soo glad that some of ya'll have opened my eyes to view it from "their" side. I must have been wearing rose-colored glasses up to now. We, as Americans, are soo wrong for wanting freedom and the pursiut of happiness. (Massive sarcascm here. I don't really beleive that.) The big picture: America bad, everyone else good? If you (anybody) happen to think that we, as Americans, or our government is oppressive, then elect the individuals that you think would be sufficient and shares your views. If you think that no candidate is worth your while, then do what Jesse Ventura did and run yourself.

Nate, Glad you enjoyed the helicopter jump. Too bad I couldn't have returned to the boogie on Sunday. I felt pretty bad on Sunday from the partying done on Saturday. Enjoyed jumping with you on Saturday. Tom

As others have noted, it was done but they weren't wearing a birdman suit. Or, at least the one for the article that was posted in Parachutists magazine the jumpers didn't have birdman suits. This is the one where the Porter had a drogue attached to it.

Well, I rented one when I got off student status but I didn't necessarily jump it for 4 months. Sooo..... According to the parameters of your question, I've only jumped one, the used one I bought.

I agree, I don't think they are a good idea. Yea, the manufacturer states minimal training, but I doubt that everyone will get training. If they don't just hang on a wall, then how will they be secured so that only trained individuals will use them? Who's to say that I grab one (being trained) and someone else (not being trained) knocks the crap out of me and grabs it and leaps out the window. If a company/firm decides to buy them and trains their employees, then what about the visitors to the office? Should they receive training at the reception desk before entering the building or just who cares about the visitors? Everytime a firm hires a new employee, are they to train the new employee on use? Who trains the employees on use: company management? building owners? a local DZ (won't that increase the DZ's revenues)? or the emergency chute manufacturer? Who's to purchase the emergency chutes: the company/firm or the building owner? According to USPA, we as skydivers are to remain current on our jumps or receive refresher training. Will this be required for the emergency chutes? I seriously don't see this happening on a regular basis. What about any inspection requirements? Similar to our reserves? Who's to do the repacks, either after use or after every x-amount of days? (some more revenue being created for local DZs and/or riggers)

Clay's right... mmm...beer. Check this link out. The opening scene, once loaded, is great! http://www.beer.com

Looking for some advice/input here. The jumpsuit I currently have is snug fitting, made for RW. I fly fine with it, except that when jumping with others I'm falling like a rock. Some of the other jumpers put on weight vests to keep up with me, while others just can't catch me, and I'm trying my best to de-arch. This weekend, after releasing from a two way I fell dropped from the other jumper who only caught me by sit flying. I've purchased a swoop cord system to add wings to my suit, but that hasn't seem to help much. From what other jumpers are telling me, it appears I need a looser jump suit. I don't know how fast I fall now. I would like to fall slower to stay with the other jumpers and work RW. Even though I don't freefly now, one day I hope to and would possibly like to use the same jumpsuit to alleviate having to buy another (course by then maybe I should buy a freefly suit). Any recommendations? Style/Brand? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Some more good info here from Chuck. Joe, you should have enough info here to hopefully get you started and decide. Best of luck to you. Tom Carroll B-24638

That's one hell of a deal. During my deployment to the Mediterranean, we had a FAC which was a back seater for an F-18. He was a royal prick, at least up until the point that someone pointed out that he was only the back seater and not the pilot. Military jet jockies are such butt-heads, I won't argue that. The only point I was driving at was that the incident didn't happen because the pilot was a Marine, he could have been from any service. I didn't read the whole report, but hopefully the pilot received NJP and more for his stupid mistake, I did see that it was recommended for NJP. Dropping one's ordnance before clearance during training shouldn't happen. I don't really know if F-18 pilots are very good at CAS or not. You're right, they're suppose to be, especially since that's what the Marine Corps practices. Again, I'm sorry for the loss of life of your friend and the others involved.

Yea, I know that's jumping time, being wasted too. I have this thing called a wife. She sometimes limits the amount of skydiving I get to do. Skydive a weekend or two, then I have to spend time with her. I guess I can't complain, she hasn't put a stop to my skydiving (heck, her last job helped pay for me to go through AFF).

AWESOME! 20 mintues is great, a lot better than 90 minutes. The DZ I'm jumping at now is only 5 miles from my house. I can see the open canopies from my living room window. Having a close DZ is great. Have FUN!