dterrick

Go HERE for more inspiration than you're likely to need If you searchthe links, there are alos "real" balloon envelopes without a basket, per se...sorta like a legit Lawnchair Larry Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

ask your Boss(es). I'm guessing not much preoductive got done by either of you in anticipation... Glad you're both around to enjoy...um... "it"? Dave PS: SF Pier... Submarine ... Liberty ship...Alcatraz... THOSE are challenging public places - bonus points for ON the ferry TO Alcatraz - nobody'd hear you unless you were really trying

I don't see yoiur post THERE yet Pammi. Still bored? Care to share? Isn't the web just warped? Dave PS: did you pass? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

You liked that? Have you been HERE yet? Might fit - it sure seems like an ol' standard to me ... Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Sent via UPs or otherwise? could be an issue of non-delivery possible during daytime hours (...or a secret from the s/o). Seriously, this is a big issue in Canada and may be in smaller centres Stateside too. Leave an email mesage. And, if it doesn;t work out - PM me 'cause I dont have a pro dytter either Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

No, well, maybe. The guys will prefer THESE wings as posted (NSFW, but tasteful) See "the" thread for thousand more... Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

mmmmm. wings.... ...Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Awww c'mon, I have a business degree, I work in the financial industry, my next CGA (CPA) course is business Stats ...cut me some slack!! Dave PS: you've perhaps heard the comment that "90% of all acountants are boring and risk averse - it's the other 10% you have to watch out for"...? Two guesses as to which group I fit into anf the first on doesn't count!

Kris: I did s/l training and my first pull was from 3500 ft on jump #9. Butterflies are normal. Today, at 170 jumps flying a big 7 cell, I'd take a 5 second delay from 2000 and not have butterflies. Sure, that's cutting the hard deck fine but remember this... 5 seconds out of the Otter from 13,500 you've fallen 366 feet and are now falling at about 85 mph. 5 seconds out of a C-182 from 3,000 ft you've re fallen 366 feet and are falling at about 85 mph... LAUNCH (BIG "X") ...2...3...4...5... REACH PULL! That's all there is. If you are looking up, you just watch the plane travel away for a few seconds and then pull. Freaked at the ground proximity...? Don't look down. Really! you go BTE at about 5 seconds from a student arch and then you pull. that's all. you'll hardly notice a difference form a terminal deployment as long as you are stable. Unstable? You might get whipped around a bit and have a line twist or 2 - but we s/l students live with that from jump #1 . "Define normal" Now go jump, dammit! Youll like it and will be better for it. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Thomas: I sell insurance in Canada and generally the rules are the same across the industry. You answered your agent's questions truthfully when you signed on, right? Therefore, there is no arguement for fraudl. The contestability clause is typically 2 years (you mention 5) and you're well outside that timeframe either way, right? Finally, and more important, the chance of your death on a 1 time tandem jump is so small as to be inconsiderable - except as a "concerned husband and father". Well done to you for thinking and asking. *** As for your not becoming addicted... that's another story . As for insurance while actively in pursuit of sport skydiving there are really 2 scenarios. First, "payment insurance" (ie: mortgage, employer, and loan coverage) often neither asks about nor excludes extreme activities. You are, under those policies, part of a large group and the insurance company pays less attention to individual scenarios. If you proced in the sport, these coverages will likely remain in force during skydiving (my interpretation only ... don't ask them now!!!) Second are your personal policies. These are the potential problem areas as they relate to YOUR personal risk profile. LEt's leave this one until you get "permission" to satisfy your addiction.... presuming it materializes... ENJOY the experience! We know why birds sing !!! Dave T Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Thanks, John. I'm still not sure what brought those evil, evil creatures back to the forefront of my (somewhat warped) mind. Just a good memory of "B" TV, I guess. As for the niceness, THIS is a nice Dalek. *** Oh, and on topic for a minute, BillVon is right. When it really matters, having an ultra-clear mind is a good thing. Blowing 300 jump tix due to a brain fart would be a bit embarassing to say the least. I'd go farther and say that my skydiving is ALSO noticibly affected by the quality of my warmup routine before EACH jump. The morning stretches are the most important, but even if I'm on a pack and plummet rotation I find that I stiffen up between loads. Range of motion and good cardio condition are things we're told about early on and at junior skills camps ... as we become more proficient maybe we THINK it isn't affecting us to not stretch. Then again, without a clear and measurable target for any given jump it's pretty hard to measure the relative success. - though those' no pressure fun flights' can be the best ones sometimes. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Well doesn't THAT just cast a pall over the Beerlight, perhaps the third most important element of our ,um, culture. Without firsthand knowledge, perhaps this is why some of our current champions are champions (ie: they "don't" party). Or, maybe some of us could be champions ... Either way, on those mornings when I'm a bit sleep deprived and slightly dehydrated, the choice between the $1.50 coffee and the $15 hop n pop can be difficult. If I have to think TOO hard about it, I don't jump because obviouslt my brain is not working. When I do jump, though, it's waaaaay more effective than caffiene. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Well, as a "class" it would appear that you're "all" dorks Just for the hell of it I pulled out my states calculator and from what I found: So far 35 people have taken the test and reported a score. Not a bad ratio for the number of posts (74.4% actually did something - or so they say) Collectively those 35 people have reported a raw score of 2,615.9, an AVERAGE score of 74.74%. That's just a shade under a B+. The standard deviation of scores is 30.21% Those reporting well over 100% helped me stay in the bell curve - does this mean I DON'T have to cram for this exam again by dragging out my turntable? Was it fun? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

My Racer SST with similar canopies weighs in at 22. You'l be +/- 1 from that, most likely. Our student gear weighs about 30. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Oh ya? Well I Got "Billie Jean" wrong for the very same reason. How could I have been so stooopid? I mean, it's just a song, right? At least you passed. I didnt so I've held back a decade until I get the music right . Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ya, but you have a Dr. Who scarf and know what a Dalek is! You're the only other one to admit to THAT! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Mmmmm, 1982. Men at Work, Squeeze, Flock of Seagulls and the B-52's are as hot as skinny leather ties and big hair. Queen's had their last hurrah. Bowie hasn't 'Danced' yet. Disco is finally dead. My Racer SST is born but "Parachute Club" is a band, not a lifestyle. Damn I missed that last one by 20 years... if I only knew that ... and a few other things at the time... LET US HURL OURSELVES AT THE PLANET IN CELEBRATION OF AGELESSNESS! Dave (psst... I refuse to grow up...) Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

HERE 100 questions to test if you REALLY remember the trash we listened to. I scored 48.5 without trying - and that scared me. It's about right because I own half that shiite on vinyl. Anyone up for some skeet? Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ee-yup... this would be the last triple digit post number for me. Funny how time flies. I came to dropzone.com with fifteen jumps about two years ago knowing absolutely nothing about skydiving or the true culture it represented - except that I was already addicted. Now, with two full seasons under my own canopy and countless kegs consumed with my skydiving bretheren I feel like one of "us". Not a mindless post-whore, mind you. Yes, I've had a few decent one liners but there's a time and a place for such frivolity. and winter time in Canada is it - so watch out! Not a know it all, either. Now would be the time to pay homage to Sangiro for providing the forum to let me - no, ALL of us - be better educated skydivers than we would otherwise be without this wonderful venue. Once, a grizzled veteran of the sport (most of his jumps were back in the ol' days of rounds and early squares) sugested there was NO WAY a two hundred jump wonder knew enough about skydiving to warrant a D license and call themselves a "Master". I'll agree that 200 landings is 200 landings but I'd wager that a dropzone.com regular (like myself) is wise beyond simple jump numbers. there's far more to the sport we call skydiving today than there was when spotting was THE critical skill. May the progress continue, safely. I look forward to the day when I'm a grizzled veteran and I can tell stories about how "F-111" canopies actually wore out and the newbies in the sport say "Geez that must have been rough, how did you guys ever survive without prepared runways and belly mounted landing gear for your birdman suits". Hey who knows, it could happen in my lifetime. *** As for now, well... Gold post before gold wings. Pity. And for the avatar, TeleWhovians unite! It was time for a change. Maybe the Badgers got to me Blue Skies to all, and may they be warm enough to play with! Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Awww, how cute they are. Now HERE is a VERY disturbing remake. I'm serious. Really. Think Bad trip, cause whoever remade this must have been on one. Don't say I didn't warn you. Not for the kiddies unless you want them up all night, screaming. Why am I even posting this? Don't bother unless you like disturbing, bloody, seizure inducing stuff. Of course, some of you do so, well, whatever... I'll be quiet now. Scared, but quiet . Zeemax was right about Badgers being scary... Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Ummmmm, am I mising something here, Gary? Do you propose that our altimeters are measurably inaccurate based on temperature? Are you talking about more than a "few feet"? I check my alti against the one in the plane (C 182) and be it 0f at the top or 80f at 3k the differential is ALWAYS only our elevation ASL - give or take what I'd call a 'reasonable visual error'. In my case our DZO is a 'convenient' 750 ft and both my altimeters (ALTI III and an FT-50) calculate consistently whether it be - 0 fht. at the top on an early spring day or over 100 fht on a hop n pop in mid-July. While you may be technically correct, I think your answer might confuse some people. If you are presuming more than a few feet (ie a split second at terminal velocity) you've got me confused too. Not that I want to make too much of it but I AM curious (I guess I'm just a detail-geek someties) Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Well, Steve, besides the 'badass swooper remark...' (as otherwise mentioned)... We have a fairly prominent Coach in Canada that likes to refer to said loops as "Die Loops" - as in if your hand gets caught and you wind up in the corner then you'll likely die - or get severely bent in the process. I know there are various toggle 'techniques' and some canopies that have ultra light toggle pressure can lull people into using a '2 fingered aproach'. I wouldn't (and don't) as my Raven is so heavy and ham-fisted that it would't work anyway. I am practising the correct techniques but I'm certainly not "swooping" an old 7 cell at 1:1. Yes, I'd read up on the 'dropped toggle threads' and the 'caught in the dive loops threads' and avoid both those scenarios if I were you. Hey, in a few hundred jumps I might be there too. But badass? ... it's gonna be a long while since I like my body in one piece (and the only swoop 'ponds' we have are a sewage lagoon and the resevoir for the CL-215 water bombers - surrounded by an 8 foot chain link fence ) Mini risers? Donno what you'd sew on but on the regular risers a copule of steel washers of apropriate diameter covered in another layer of type 8 material makes for an effective stiffener. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Given the assumptions of symetricality, etc, the best description I was given as a student is that of a badminton shuttlecock. Aerodynamic it is, and with the C of G below the centreline of the object. The Unstable Exit drill required for SSE in Canad demonstrates that, even in a short unstable delay, punching an ULTRA hard arch will right you, eventually. It's all the flailing and screaming that introduced the variables. Someplace out there I remember reading a fairly detailed aerodynamic description about centre of pressure etc. I'm gonnat bet that Prof. Kallend had something to do with it. Either wait or go search, but the answer is YES, the classic "X man" arch is stable and self- stabilizing, all else being constant. Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Suggestion.... Use square stock for the main rails. Drill holes in the rail stock and use tube steel for the rungs. Fit it all up together, weld the rungs in, then cut the rails at the apropriate angle at the ground end. Easier than using a plug cutter and radiusing the tube ends... ...hey waitaminute, dont "A" and "M" stand for engineering type thingies? Why am I even SUGGESTING... I only have a B.eng (backyard engineer) Dave PS: how's the SuperBeetle? Anything done since you trailered it home? Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

No probs, Dave. Trailer grill .... ? Mmmmm, quarter cow on a spit. That'd be a TEXAS sized bbq, yes? Onboard power for the quick-chill beer cooler... retractable steering gear and a 10 bhp drive motor so you can drive it right to the beer line... hmmmm... can you tell I have a welder in my garage and a warped mind in my head?