VTmotoMike08

Always heard that failure to clear the stabilizer panels could lead to a line over. Pretty easy to not do that.

Look on the bright side- this whole mess with the TSA has given me a new line to use with tandem students. Last weekend, I finished tightening a student's leg straps and I was telling him how to stow the excess strap and I said "Now see that elastic band around the strap? Pull that lower and tuck the extra strap into the pocket on the lower leg pad. I'll let you do it because I don't want to touch your junk... I don't work for the TSA." We all got a good laugh

I simply don't get the games, it makes NO sense to me, If you like soemone, Fuckin let it be known...either they return it,or ya move on.... Agreed. 100%. Fuck "waiting times". You either let it happen, or you don't. These pups keep playing games, there won't "be" a next generation! What I'm trying to say is that how and when you call her does matter, like it or not. If you blow up her phone the next morning and don't relent for a week, you can bet that sends a different message than a nice call a few days later. It's not a game, its the way things work. Think of a job interview- do you give the job to the pesky guy who calls every morning or the guy who respectfully calls once and waits for a decision? Similiar to an interview, no call back = not interested.

Very simple- If you get a girls number over the weekend, and you are actually considering making a respectable girlfriend out of her, you call her Tuesday evening. Monday is too soon, seems desperate. Wednesday and you took too long. Now if you just want a FB, do whatever. I would probably just text the next day in that case. Respectable women get a phone call early next week, others get a drunken text to meet at a bar the next night

Your words, not mine. You do realize the props are doing work on the air, and not generating energy themselves, right? Want to stick a turbine behind the props? Might work... if you can find a turbine that weighs literally nothing and adds no drag.

Wow, in this thread we have both an article that references when "the Earth gives up its final barrel of oil" and then a poster who believes the solution to that problem will be a perpetual motion machine. First- the final barrel of oil comment displays a total lack of even elementary knowledge regarding oil supply/ demand/ and pricing. Oil will become so expensive that its not worth it to extract the remainder long before that last barrel is sucked from the ground. The last barrel will never be extracted. Second- really, did someone just suggest a perpetual motion machine based on reusing the energy from the props? Ugh, forget it, not worth my time. Topics to google include Hubbert Curve, Peak Oil and anything regarding the first and second laws of thermodynamics

N/A

Every time I've been to paraclete, including weekdays, it has been packed. I bet they fly 12 hours a day on a slow day. When its really busy, it runs literally 24 hours a day for days on end. If you could break even at 10 hours a day then I bet you would make a ton of cash. But then again, why is the owner selling if its making money?

Two Hitler references in the very first post, nice! >>No matter what, we need legislation to shut down their incendiary speech, causing so much violence. Really, how do you respond to that? "Better stop those people from saying things that offend me. The rednecks might go and shoost someone" [/sarcasm]

Call up Jim Crouch, USPA director of safety and training. He owns a fast (12 minutes to 10K') 182 that he flies south a couple times a year. If the price is right, I bet he wouldn't mind spending a few days in the bahamas either. The plane will probably be just sitting on the tarmac here in Virginia otherwise.

Yup. A great way to get people to stop (publically, at least) making fun of your ridiculous beliefs is to call it a religion and make a big stink about it. But lets not kid ourselves- scientology really takes the prize for wackiest!

+1 If you're gonna feel like shit, might as well do it on company time!! In fact, I kinda feel a cough coming on for tomorrow... and right before the Halloween Boogie too

I can remembering hearing about self driving cars for a while now, who really knows if it will ever actually happen. Most of the designs that I had heard of require new roads with built in sensors, which makes it pretty hard to implement. Just like any new technology, there will be some bugs and accidents. Some people will die in crashes, but that already happens now. Hopefully the lawsuits from the first couple deaths won't kill the industry. Of course, before you take one of these off the lot, there should be a huge waiver to sign. It seems you might need dedicated lanes, like the HOV, that are only for self driving cars. People might not like it at first, but if you are sitting in traffic and the self driven cars next to you are zipping along, then people will sign on.

>>a gov chosen winner http://www.eli.org/images/d19_07graphic_chart.jpg It seems the government has indeed picked a winner... and its certainly not renewable energy

So, aside from not making crude jokes, how do you guys prevent touching them inappropriatly? I always tighten the leg straps myself, then have the student tuck the extra strap under the elastic keepers so that I don't end up touching their groin. For females, I will tell them how to tighten the chest strap, or route it down near their stomach and have them pull it up to their chest and tighten. Any other ideas?

Are they happier when you turn them away because they weigh 231? Wouldn't some of them be happier to pay a bit more, and not be left out? If they are 231 and in good shape, we can send them with a lighter instructor who is willing. Common sense still applies but we don't do a fat fee. If they are 501 total lbs between student, instuctor and all gear then its a no go. Rules are rules.

>>Does your dropzone charge extra over a certain weight? No. We have found that it makes happier customers if you are not insulting to them by charging a "fat fee". Imagine that. And happy customers return and tell their friends good things. Its just good business to not do it. 230 lbs is the weight limit for both the DZ and me personally. Anyone who looks like they might be over 200 steps on the scale.

Funny how which ones are metaphors/ analogies keep changing as the wealth of human knowledge keeps expanding, huh? Once we figured out that the entire human knowledge of geology stacks up against a 6,000 year old Earth, they had to come up with the whole non-literal days of creation thing. Anyone want to take some bets on the next story that we are told to take non-literally? I'm thinking its gonna be the "all humanity descended from Adam and Eve" story. I bet in another couple decades we have convincing genetic evidence to the contrary that can be put in lay man's terms. Besides, how the fuck do you think things like "all the animals currently on the earth lived with a couple miles and fit into this boat" is an analogy

I call bullshit. Just like skydiving- if it's not on video, it didn't happen.

Believe me, I've heard it all. Things like the seven literal days of creation, the "four corners" or "ends" of the Earth (depending on translation)... these are all up for interpretation. Fair enough. But I think you need to be consistent, otherwise you are just picking the parts that suit you and you have no credibility. If you admit that "four corners" of the earth might actually mean N,S,E,W and not the flat earth theory that it seems to imply, then you must acknowledge that the whole virgin birth thing might not have been accurate, maybe the dead guy just came out of a coma... and the whole thing just goes out the window. Funny how miracles stopped being performed before video cameras were invented, huh? I'm more concerned with the flat out impossibilities such as talking snakes, surviving in the belly of a whale, virgin birth- there is no doubt that some of these ludicrus claims are ignored by otherwise rational people because they just WANT TO BELIEVE. Hence, they never let the facts get in the way of their beliefs.

I'm not that experienced but here's my thoughts: jump numbers are related to TYPE of risk more that just saying (all) canopy risk. For example

It definitely is when you're denying science and reason to hold up your fortress of denial to protect your beliefs, but believe it or not there are actually people who believe in god who can transcend that. I agree, there are plenty of people who never let the facts get in the way of their beliefs. Just like most Christians quietly ignore the whole talking snake thing and the other fairy tale parts of their favorite book because it makes them feel good.

One of my favorite responses when someone asks me why I am an atheist is "18 years of Christian education will do that to any thinking person!" >>a serious discussion of faith. Isn't that kind of like debating the shape of the tooth fairy's wings?

I'm for and against it- On one side, I think anyone high school age or older should be expected to work during the summer. I worked a shitty job on a farm for four summers during high school- that's some motivation for higher education! During college, I was fortunate to get four summers of well paid engineering internships and this probably taught me at least as much as I learned in the classroom. The classroom is not the only place for learning. On the other side, I could see the benefit for younger children who would otherwise be up to no good in the summers!

Put it all under the mattress from now on?