Trent

The pilot wasn't the owner of the plane, so he wasn't giving up his own earnings. The owner was at the dropzone and a little more than perturbed at what happened. I don't think a license should be yanked but I DO think that a serious talk and a reprimand are warranted. Running out of fuel is definitely something that SHOULD NOT happen when there's a fuel tank waiting for you every load.

He did lose an engine for a while, but got it back and landed with 2. Hey, I'm no pilot, but I've never run out of gas in my car. If I had been on that load, I'd have been REALLY pissed. It's dangerous and foolish. But shit happens, I bet it doesn't happen again to that guy. I'm sure the lesson was learned.

I'm always down for a hybrid!

Jumps are continuing. Only incident Sunday has been miscoordination by San Marcos pilot. Released jumpers before other Otter was in position. Two great 20 ways! :(

Spaceland's 40 Way jumps are going extremely well. With Jack Berk and Tom Jenkins, both from Dequello, organizing the first attempt had only two jumpers out; the second had all jumpers in; the third had several out; and the fourth had all jumpers in. The 40 ways will continue Sunday.

Dad, stop posting over here.. you're embarassing me you old fart.

I had some problems with my Odyssey as well. The shoulder tuck flaps just did not fit into the slots properly. While it was jumpable, the shoulder flaps would occasionally come open. Upon the advice of a few riggers and several Javelin sponsored jumpers... I called them up and told them what was going on. I had a demo that fit, and had a nice new Sabre2 in it, as soon as they had one available. I've been on the phone and e-mailed them several times and they've been great. I should have a completely fixed rig within 2 weeks. Granted, having the problem sucks, but the fact that they recognized my dissatisfaction and made up for it says a lot about them. They'll fix anything that they make wrong, no questions asked. That's a lot more than many other manufacturers can say. I'm still happy with SunPath. Trent

Hey Dan, It's Trent from the Ranch (you know Nadine's older whiter brother). Just wanted to say congrats on being very informative to the general public on the news the other night. You really illustrated how building escape chutes COULD be a bad idea. You came off very well! Way to go! Trent

When I had 100 jumps, I don't remember thinking about winds very often. Usually, one of the instructors or senior jumpers would say, "Trent, sit your ass down! No way you're jumping in these winds." But I've noticed a lot of the 50-100 jump wonders disregarding this type of advice lately. I've seen people with less than 50 jumps, go up in winds that people with 1000's of jumps are scared of, and I can tell you that this disgusts me. It is amazing how these people do not take notice that no one with any experience is jumping in high or gusty winds. They get on a load, jump, and 99 times out of 100, they land just fine. But as I approach 400 jumps, I've seen several people severely injured due to winds and rotors at the wrong time, as well as one fatality. Maybe it's just that these low-timers haven't seen what can happen to them, or maybe it's that they're so eager to jump that they throw their personal safety out the window. Either way, when you see experienced people sitting out the loads, ask why... maybe you should think twice before jumping. More experienced jumpers have an obligation (albeit unwritten) to tell low-timers that maybe they should wait until the winds calm down, and low-timers have an obligation to listen... even if it means you may not get to jump that day. Like I said, 99 times out of 100, you'll be okay... but disregarding your safety in shady wind conditions is stupid. When the one time comes that the winds do toss you, that very well could be the end of your jumping for a long time... even forever. Most of us are young and have a ton of good jumping days left in us, why push it when the conditions are questionable? Be smart, be observant, and be a wind-wuss... it might just keep you alive.

Does anyone know where I can get my hands on a really wierd lens that has a half-sphere mirror attached to a little bar that extends from the center of the lens? It reflects back and you actually film yourself in 180 degrees. Know what I mean?

It's great to hear all of your concerns about the tragedies in NY and DC. I'm speaking as a NY area resident when I say that all your thouights and support are needed. This is a tough town, but it does need some moral support. I can't believe what has happened. I keep thinking that I will wake up and look over the river and see the two towers in one piece. I thank God that most of my acquaintances are accounted for. Trent

I just got my Odyssey and I do really like the rig. I have noticed a couple of things that may be particular to my rig that I don't like. 1. The riser tuck tabs are starting to curl up near the back of the tuck slot, like they didn't make the side material long enough. 2. The main pin flap isn't nearly as tight as some other Odysseys I've seen. You can pick up the entire rig by the main flap without it coming undone on most Odysseys. I don't know if anyone else has seen this, but like I said... it may be the way my reserve is packed that is slightly deforming the rig, or it may be that mine just wasn't cut perfectly. But I DO love the rig. I would recommed it to anyone.

The Bomber Freefly suit is very cool. I have a custom one, and I love it. It's durable, good looking, and they guarantee satisfaction. In fact, I wasn't 100% happy with the suit after my first 70 jumps on it, so I sent it back. Within one and a half weeks, I had a totally new suit that was perfect. That's customer support!

I'll give to the cause.

I've read and seen a lot about people jumping the super-small, high-performance canopies. Of course, these are all contained in super small rigs, meaning the reserves are in the low 100 square feet. With these tiny reserves, do people just have to accept the fact that landing under it unconcious may still kill or seriously hurt them? Is reserve technology being improved to offer slower, safer reserves at smaller sizes... or are containers going to have to be built to hold smaller mains and larger reserves? Seems like there's a lot of room for improvement. Any comments or ideas?

At the Ranch, we get about 14k for 15$ ALL THE TIME. Nice round number, and lower than almost everyone elses, unless you go to AZ and hit the $10 King Air on weekends.

I've been to quite a few DZ's and Spaceland ranks up there with the best. Great crowd, nice plane with new engines, and a huge landing area. (Not to mention the view from downtown Houston to the Gulf!) I think Spaceland is doing a great job so far and I think it really has the potential to grow and become a premier DZ worldwide. Definitely the best place in Houston!

I hate my job. I hate my job. Please, someone hire me to do something exciting? I'm dying.

Come check us out at the Ranch. It's an hour north of NYC. Drop me an e-mail if you need more info. [email protected]

Hey there, I have actually been doing a lot of research on this cuz I had this idea first! (Just kidding) Maybe we should talk. I already got the skydivecostarica.com name and everything. Looking through the legal and logistical red tape is tough. Drop me an e-mail sometime. [email protected]

Yeah, I'm here... I know a couple other hands read this board too...

There is hope for the children after all....

Nice, Craig. Thanks for the help. Scary ass video too.

Nah, that was my buddy in the yellow, and he always waves to the people after him... I'm sure you got one! I went out linked. I had the purple and black suit on. Factory diver helmet. Anyway, see if you can get a line on that manifest girl's name. I really want to thank them both. Trent

I'm getting that black screen too... it just says Cypres up in the top left corner and I hear the audio. I got the codecs you suggested, but still nothing, elecard's player doesn't help either. What are some other codecs for AVI files that I might be missing?