christoofar

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Everything posted by christoofar

  1. Gale: I'm a contact-lens wearer and I've jumped out at least 30 times without goggles or helmet on hop-and-pops. For me, if I am in the box position, the air current sides over my face and avoids my eyelids. I don't really notice the wind hitting my eyes until after deployment and the relative wind is actually coming into my face. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  2. I think we've all been there. I call it "door fear" and after Level 8, it seems to go away. Last summer when I was doing nothing but mostly hop and pops a bit of the "phear" returned one time when I decided at random that I wanted to do a high-pull. I don't know why I was nervious going up to altitude other than I was used so used to going to 5 grand, getting out at 14 made me nervous. Guess I don't like heights. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  3. Hmm... how about jumping with inline skates on? Instead of pond swooping or hook turning, you'd be looking for large parking lots on your descent. When you find a large concrete/asphalt square on the ground... surf it with the skates... downwind! (no, I wouldn't be the one doing it) ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  4. Hmm. He's Canadian. No wonder (oops did I say that). Well I meant to say... Well, he's from BC... no wonder (there, that's better).... ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  5. On the Javelin, as long as the tab is stiff and your closing loop is at the proper length and you stow your bridle in the pouch... ain't nothin comin out of that rig.. unless maybe you disco dance in the plane and like to bang your rig against the walls...... ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  6. I transitioned to a SabreII after being on rental gear from anything from a Sabre 200+ to trying out a friend's Sabre 170. I've also done the rig-parade.. from new Oddseys to a mega-old Centarus. I selected this canopy since I was getting a very good J1 Javelin, I wanted something I knew I could fly and still fit in the pack tray. Noticed a BIG performance improvement in the Sabre2 with its light-elliptical shape, loading it at 1.1. I can definately notice the landing point on the groud where the canopy is flying to and my test jumps on this canopy have been very good. Love the speed and glide on the flare. I think I will be jumping this canopy for quite a long time. I love it! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  7. Sometimes watching biffs and bad flares helps instill better canopy control (scared straight) than any other method, such as policing canopy sizes. I've seen some pretty awesome biffs to the point where I think I'm going to count on a no-front-riser input, no >90degree final leg approach, no "monkey business" landings for quite some time since I'm flying a new bedsheet. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  8. Honey? What malfunction do you want today? ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  9. What if a "daredevil" wants to start seeing how low he can go (deployment altitude)? There is no one that is really going to stop him, unless maybe the DZO or someone in the air sees him/her doing it and tattle-tales. I've heard enough stories of people who should have been out of the sport long ago because of the # of CYPRES fires they've been accumulating (ever think to pull out that hackie once in a while??!!!). There's lots of of freedom in our sport. Of course, if you're too free to the point of carelessness, fate will have a way of taking care of you. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  10. SD San Marcos was hit with the same amount of rain. I live in San Antonio... as I write this I'm debating whether or not to swim to the grocery store. We had a bunch of tandems scheduled for this weekend and the Otter was parked for most of it and only did a 1/3rd of the loads it normally gets on the weekend. Luckily the skies should be clear this week and San Marcos will be running from Tuesday through this next Sunday! (I feel a sickness coming in... oh yeah, I'm sick of WORK) ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  11. 0:3:0 Had a new SabreII 170 installed in my J1 and jumped it, after having a few jumps on a regular Sabre 170. Brilliant person I am, I decided to try it out in zero knot wind. Almost peed in my pants at the ground speed. Managed to stand the landing! Standed the other two landings I did on it this weekend, too! This canopy rocks! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  12. I concur. Can someone post cleaning for a canopy? I'm curious about how one would go about cleaning a canopy that has been exposed to salt water or intense salt spray from being on the coast too long. Surely the salt and sand crystals would cause the fabric to weaken over time. Pictures would be nice.
  13. Heh, y'all quit yer bitchin. I'm in New Braunfels (next to the San Marcos DZ), a lot of the residential areas of the town were wiped out by the flood, and it's still flooding down here. Further downstream, Choke Canyon Reservior and Lake Mathis are both @ 100% and in danger of going over the spillway. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  14. Yeah, and did you see how fugly the baloon looks in the photo? It looks like a squished boob. Could be dangerous, no? I have no clue, really. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  15. San Marcos is my home DZ and always will be as long as I live in South Texas. You receive lots of encouragement on your AFF training and you aren't berated or scoffed when you show up out here. There's a lot less pariahs out here and a lot more skydiving! This place is for both the noobeez and superfly-mo-fos. There are lots of jumpers all around the U.S. and abroad that come out here because they have had a good experience here or know someone who has. (Plus, they have the best Otter in the state.) ;)
  16. A friend of mine living in Medford has been squeamish about skydiving for quite some time until he saw this on channel 4. He's going to do it now I bet. "I ain't skeeered!" ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  17. Now that I'm thinking of low-timers like me... something funny came across my mind that was brought up at the San Marcos DZ: Someone with some extra cash to burn and is also an awesome RW/Freeflyer should sign up for AFF classes at some other DZ... then somewhere around AFF level 4 start doing head down, transition to sit... swoop landing, basically any maneuver that would make the jumpmasters go... "WHA????" ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  18. Since there are many many jumper students in TX and A license holders here, I'm wondering if it would be a neat idea if we could convince a Skydive-U coach to head up a RW and canopy skills club for low-timers... team NXperience! The thing is... once you get to 400 jumps you are kicked out. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  19. Hey Snowflake! I use Nero. Are you going to be in San Marcos this weekend? I can give ya a copy to try out. ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  20. You should never be in an unpressurized cabin going above 15 w/o a bailout bottle in your hand. Plain and simple. O2 asphyxiation has killed plenty of GA non-skydiver pilots in the past. Oxygen is the fuel that keeps your brain working. Breate it. :) ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  21. But you can still jump with your plush purplish-pink passion lipgloss on. :) ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  22. Unstowed breaks are a bummah! Any spinning mal for me is a "I don't think I even WANNA try fixing this" situation, especially if I dumped closeby other jumpers (when all you can see is a brown and blue blur... heheh). Me gots me new SabreII, woo woo! Roger's hooking it up now. I'll be jumping it this weekend if another damn storm doesn't come try to wipe out New Braunfels and San Marcos. Rain rain go away! ____________________________________________________________ I'm RICK JAMES! Fo shizzle.
  23. When this happened to me in San Marcos last year... I unstowed both with my left and flew the Raven down. I did realize what was wrong and pulled silver up high @ 5K. No AAD. I did practice flares with one hand, careful to take up slack and wrap it around my fist and make sure the horizon was level as I flared. I stood up the landing and didn't have to PLF, but it was still a pretty good shake up, considering it was my right shoulder that was pulled out of its socket in freefall. I plan to go to Rantoul but I'll definately be doing solos until it is healed up and I get some muscle mass on it or I change my BOC. I still cringe at the thought of having to reach back there with my right in case of a total mal. At least it keeps me extra aware on pack jobs, especially with Racers. I make extra sure that bridle is not gonna snag on anything and the PC is in good condition on every jump, no matter the rig. In God We Trust. All others pay cash.
  24. I guess if both shoulders go and the Cypress fires I could steer with shifting my feet. Better run fast on that landing. What you doin snowflake? Haven't seen ya in a while! hehehe =D In God We Trust. All others pay cash.
  25. You said it, brother! When I came off student status I spent the entire summer hopping and popping as well as doing some RW but I got a lot out of the hop and pops: Getting used to sitting next to the door Altitute Appreciation (not awareness. when I do high-pulls now I really appreciate how low 2,000ft. really is. I tend to pull much higher now on regular jumps no matter how "uncool" it is) Goggleless, helmetless jumping and figuring out how to see clearly (a perfect box keeps the wind out of your eyes) Inspecting, inspecting and reinspecting rental gear (no AAD). Learning to love large canopies and landing by yourself, using only ponds to judge windspeed and direction. I must say I gained a comfort level with skydiving from doing all those hops (as well as getting my jump count to 100), but better yet my accuracy has improved greatly and I now would never, never expect an AAD to save my life for me. It is what it is advertised to be: solely a backup device. It is made by humans, and it is subject to malfunction. I feel comfortable when I'm wearing them, and when I'm not. It is your arms and hands, your eyes and your brain that get you safely to the ground. Loss and/or impairment of any of them greatly increases your risk of injury/fatality. Having no brain to begin with, as in jumping with a false expectation that the AAD will be there for you when you need it, could be the kiss of death. In God We Trust. All others pay cash.