Milo

I think this is exactly what he needs. Instead of spending his weekends alone in his garage working on 60 year old cars he needs to be at the dz learning new things and meeting all the great people there. milo

Wow, I didn't think of that. But he never appeared depressed to me and he said the medicine 'changed his life', so I don't think he's depressed anymore. I did ask him to ask his doctor, and I think my unbridled enthusiasm for the sky may have worn off on him a little, so I think he will. milo

I got a new assistant at work. He's a big guy, 6'4" 250# or so. We don't have much in common. He restores cars, I wreck them. He's recently divorced and thinks all women are evil, I'm still single and put them on a pedastal. So, like everyone else I meet, I'm trying to talk him into taking up skydiving. I made my best pitch for him to try the FJC at our local dz and he seems interested, but he finally admitted he's on an antidepressant like Prozac (Effexor?) and he doesn't know if it would be safe. So, I have 2 questions: Is this a drug that might make skydiving a dangerous activity for him? And, if so, Is he too big for a Tandem? milo

For some reason I find this amusing: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/020520/161/1knje.html

www.toxicsoda.com has one of the funniest videos I have ever seen http://www.toxicsoda.com/download/video/LetsGo.wmv A tandem who appears a little nervous. milo

I apologize to everyone who understands this, but I do not. Can somebody feed this to me in little bites, I rode the short bus to school. milo

This is too bizarre to post anywhere else. The flying squirrel doesn't really fly, it climbs to a high place and glides to a lower place. That seems to be much the same physics of skydiving, and wingsuit flying. Is there a biologist or zoologist here who knows what the # to ft^2 ratio is for Rocky? milo

Well, Chris Martin from Precision Aerodynamics said: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With respect to the "oversew"... over many years of manufacturing primarily FAA governed TSO'd canopies, we determined long ago that oversewing a seam is not only acceptable (and our FAA quality inspectors and engineers agreed) that an oversew may well be structurally preferable to "rework". Specifically with zero perosity material, rework leaves needle holes in the silicon coated fabric that IS degrading to the base material. If a rework is required in zero-p material, we recut new fabric and replace the piece. (yes, I have seen rework on zero-p fabric on other manufacturers canopies.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I found this a very intriguing answer. I have now thought about it and for me, I'd rather have a double-stitched meld (twice the thread) where the thread ran out than to have the whole seam re-sown with a single piece of thread, with twice as many needle holes the length of the seam. Unfortunately, by the time Chris Martin responded, this thread had devolved into the 'posting war' you mentioned, of people who were either accusing Dan Preston (Atair) of shameless self promotion at the expense of other manufacturers and people who wanted to hear input from any manufacturer. I'll admit I contributed to the animosity of this thread which I think is unfortunate now. I didn't start the controversy, however. I think you are underestimating both the present value and potential of this forum. I, for one, recently made a multi-thousand dollar gear decision based in part on the information from dropzone.com. Granted, my dz was closed for the winter at the time and my rigger was 11 states away, but I found very valuable information here. I think the presence of industry representatives is an incredible benefit that cannot be overlooked. Maybe there could be a more strictly monitored forum for manufacturers that would allow for a statement/question/answer/rebuttal system that wouldn't be overloaded with flames and attacks. Where manufacturers could feel free to post without having to answer the same challenge or question 100 times. I agree this thread isn't pretty, but I also agree with scottbre who said Chris Martin's and Dan Preston's posts were "{...} worthwhile thing said in this thread" I value their input. This was actually a pretty good thread until somebody accused Dan of 'bashing' other manufacturers. The value of this thread then went downhill until it increased exponentially when another manufacturer responded. milo

Well, I bought gear twice via ebay and got GREAT deals both times, so I can't say it is all bad. The first time I got the phone number of the seller and talked to her before I bought. She threw in a Z1, Sidewinder, Altimeter, Weight Vest, and gloves, no charge, on a $1450 rig. I got a hell of a deal. The second rig was from a soldier, he had a Ft Benning address, so I had reason to suspect he wasn't a fraud, and I got a good deal. Maybe I was just lucky, but I am happy with my ebay purchases and wary with my ebay sales. Kirils is right: "Jumpers don't screw over other jumpers." milo

I think Dan is posting because he thinks he makes the best product on the market. I hope every manufacturer thinks they each make the best product on the market, regardless of profit. I wish other manufacturers would post here to try to tell me why their product was best. milo

No, facts and ONLY facts can be challenged. Opinions are only as good as the source. IF Dan's company doesn't use the procedures he mentioned, someone who has witnessed his operation can challenge it. No one has. If, PD or Precision are not using an inferior process, as Dan alleges, someone who is familiar with their processes can challenge it. No one has. So, until someone else with the authority of actual knowledge of the manufacturing practices of PD, Precision and Atair canopies comes forth, I have to believe Dan is speaking the truth, for he is unquestionably a representative of a canopy manufacturer. milo

I recieved the same messages and exchanged 2 or 3 emails with the same guy regarding an ebay auction I had a couple of weeks ago. I told them I would not be able to ship immediately due to work reasons, but would be able to ship in two days. I never heard back from this person and decided they were either a fraud or had simply changed their minds. They didn't choose the 'buy it now' option in my case and I never was led to believe they had decided to purchase my gear. Based on my experience and Vlad's I am now convinced they were frauds. Don't ship until the money is in your hand!!!! milo

Yes! It is insulting to the image PD has worked to create! What if it is true? What if the image is false? What if their manufacturing processes really are inferior? So far, the only defenders are the people who apparently bought that 'image'. Dan's statements remain unchallenged by either manufacturer he compared his processes to. You might say this isn't a forum to 'Challenge' other companies. I disagree, but the ultimate authority there is Sangiro. This is an open forum where any company or customer can state their beliefs and attempt to back them up with facts. Dan's facts stand unchallenged by any data from the other manufacturers. I guess that makes them true, or true enough that his competitors are willing to let them be stated, unchallenged, in a public forum. milo

Well, I'm really, REALLY, well endowed! And if you never compare me to anyone else you will just have to accept that as the truth :) I recently had to decide between two containers, a Vector and an Infinity. I talked to people at my DZ who said 'Any modern container is the same, they are all good'. Well, if I get to choose, one must be better for me than the other. I chose the Infinity, based on information I read here, on dropzone.com. Bill Booth is a legend, a pioneer and workhorse in the skydiving sport. But he never posted here to tell me why the Vector was better than an Infinity or Wings or any other container. Kelly Farrington is also well known and well respected in the skydiving community. He never posted here why the Infinity is better than any other container. So, I chose to make my decision based on 'User Reviews' from relatively anonymous skydivers here on dropzone.com. Some reviews were from very experienced skydivers, like you, and some could have been from jumpers with even less experience than me. I made my choice, and it is the container I own so I will jump it. I bought the Infinity. If, before I made my purchase, Bill Booth- with his intimate knowledge of the manufacturing process of the Vector container- had pointed out some feature of construction or quality that I and the 12 'reviewers' on dz.com were unaware of, would it have influenced my decision? Hell Yeah! Let them post. 8000+ users on Dropzone.com, that is a huge market, and, a huge base of skydivers who can be educated to innovations and advances in the safety and quality of the equipment that is available today. milo

Dan's comment about 'Blind Faith' was directed at riggers and customers who don't take the time to learn about any canopy other than PD canopies. He also compared his canopies to Precision canopies later in his post. I heard it at my DZ when I started asking questions when I wanted to buy my first rig: "You can't go wrong with a PD canopy" was what my rigger said to me. Dan then went on in his post to show why he feels his canopies are superior to other canopies on the market. He claims superior manufacturing techniques make his canopies better. He listed specific techniques and processes that he says PD and Precision do not use. I know squat about manufacturing canopies. It would be nice if PD or Precision or another manufacturer would respond and try to educate and convince me they make the best canopy out there. Competition is a good thing, it spurs companies to make better products at cheaper prices. If Dan's claims are false or libelous his competitors will respond, either in this forum or in a legal action. In the end, WE as skydivers win, with safer, higher quality gear. milo

I have to agree. It is challenging to explain why I jump to my whuffo friends and relatives. I do think that one benefit to trying to explain it if you were blind is that you wouldn't have to see the looks on their faces :) I love this passage from one of Dan's stories: "You know, I learned that there are three good indications that you are about to land in trees. First, you hit all this major turbulence. I mean some serious turbulence. The kind when you're in three quarter breaks and the mother is still throwing you around like a rag. Secondly, you hear this sound. It is actually a very pleasant sound. It reminds one of warm summer breezes and blue skies. That is... until you realize that that sound is your feet dragging through the branches of the shorter trees on your approach to the huge tree that you will inevitably land in. Third, and most dramatic, is the branches smashing across your face and chest as your canopy tries its damndest to drag you through that tree and into the clearing on the other side." I'll buy that guy a beer even if I meet him in church! milo

I don't know if this has been mentioned here before, this link was recently posted on rec.skydiving: http://www.eco.utexas.edu/~faulkner/skydive/rossi.html Some very interesting stories of the unique experiences of a blind skydiver. milo

What does a new Sabre2 cost? Paragear.com says $1492 for a 150, but that is 'list price' what are the real word prices? milo

Here is a link that says they will have a site up May 1st: http://www.pisa.co.za I have watched the date change from February to April to May, however, so don't be surprised if it doesn't happen *exactly* May 1st. milo

I'm curious. What are the procedures for dealing with this? My SL experience was from a C182, where the student hangs from the strut before letting go. I can see the danger of helping or allowing the student to climb back into the aircraft, I can also see the danger of physically forcing a student to complete the jump when they are in an obviously confused mental state. Is there a standard procedure for dealing with this? milo

Those are great! I really like the audio mix. milo

Sangiro, The ability to earn a title based on the number of posts encourages some to post for the sole reason to increase their status. Perhaps the titles could be awarded by moderators, instead. A person could earn their title by the value (or lack thereof) of their posts, and could be promoted or demoted as the moderators see fit. Some titles could indicate experience (Sage, Master Rigger, etc) and some could indicate other qualities (Clown, Sex Fiend, Blathering Idiot, etc) .02 milo

Some Americans may think that way, but I think a lot more would be salivating over the thought of an 18 passenger, 15 foot tall 'Minivan' made by Kenworth. With cupholders, of course. milo

Lisa, The old monitor is broken, right? Beat the HELL out of it!!! It may come to it's senses and start working. If not, well, hit it again. At least you will have revenge and be able to release some aggression. milo

I had to do a double take when I saw the picture at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/020423/168/1funr.html I guess the popularity of Women's Professional Golf has skyrocketed recently. milo