RMK

Good choice on the FYB course with Zun. They provide suits for the courses and then at both Gap and Empuriabrava, you can rent FYB wingsuits afterwards until you purchase. They’ll put you on the Indie (or Access) until you’re ready to step up to the next suit the “Expert”. Don’t be in a rush to move up in suits, they’ll see when you’re ready (and you’ll also know). For me, I did about 12-14 jumps on the Access and then moved on to the Expert and bought one. However, this was prior to the Indie and Verso models coming out. Contrary to the name, the Verso is a higher level suit than the Expert. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’ll be at the DZ tomorrow. Come join the balloon jump; it will be fun. I’ll jump video so may get some good footage "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m in Perris for only this weekend and wanted to make a balloon jump. I’ve spoken with the Balloon company “Above the Rest” and they are trying to arrange a balloon/pilot and put together a load. I believe they need a minimum of 4-5 jumpers (depending on balloon) to make it happen. If in Perris and interested to join the load, contact them directly at: Above the Rest Hot Air Ballooning +1 951 334 1689 The jump is $85, from 4500’ or higher and they meet in the Perris parking lot at 5:30am on the day. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Thanks everyone for the info. As Matty noted above, a quick phone call can often give you a pretty good feel. I called Brad a Mesquite and yes they seem like a good operation, however unlucky for me, is that this is the last weekend with the turbine and next weekend (when I’m there) they’ll be on a 182. Re Extreme Vegas, I called to inquire about a couple jumps before sunset on Friday. I was actually taken back at the person answering the phones lack of “people skills”. Seem like real dicks which to me spells “avoid” End result, I’m changing my return flight from Vegas to Los Angeles and will spend a couple days at Perris Valley. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I have a business-trip to Las Vegas and plan to stay for the weekend to have some fun. I’m planning to either get out on Lake Mead or bring the gear and go skydiving. From remembering older threads, I recall that Mesquite is the best choice to jump as the other two locations are tandem factories. I’ll be on my own, so probably wouldn’t have a prob getting on loads at even the tandem oriented locations. If any DZ has the possibility of a balloon jump, I’d book straight away. What is the feedback of people that have jumped in the Vegas area (views/altitude/general vibe)? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Europe’s equivalent to the US FAA is the JAA and oddly under Euro regs a JAR/FCL Class 2 medical is equivalent to a FAA Class 3 medical. I don’t know about Canada. Info: http://www.euro-pilot.com/class_2_medical_certificate.php Also, it’s possible to get both from the same physician on same visit providing they’re qualified to issue both. However, you still pay full price for both tickets. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

For the rest of the world not using medieval weight measurements, a “stone” is 14 pounds. Otherwise for everyone except the US, Angola and Liberia (yes there are only three non-metric countries on the planet) its 6.35kg "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

This weekend all but two UK dropzones were closed. Sibson was open as it operates outside of controlled airspace and the owners/insurers of the aircraft were OK with it going up. It was quite hazy at altitude and from about 6-8K and up you could actually smell a bit of sulphur in the air. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I’m closet tech/gadget geek and own two different sized iPods and an iPhone, however I wonder if I am the only person who DOESN’T want an iPad. It looks nice, but doesn’t solve/suit any need I have?? It’s a half-assed computer that works like my iPhone but doesn’t fit in my pocket. Quoting Chris Rock “Just because something is possible doesn’t mean it should be done – you can drive your car with your feet; doesn’t make it a good idea.” "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

We’re talking about skydiving here; you’re on the wrong website. Just joking, but seriously this will get answered within 5 minutes on the GA aviation forum of www.pprune.org It’s the pilot’s equivalent of “dropzone.com” They’re seriously pedantic over there and will probably tell you more than you ever cared about your STOL kit. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I hold both FAA and JAA Medicals concurrently. A tip to anyone needing both the FAA and JAA (European equivalent) would be to find a doctor designated as an AME for both FAA/JAA and take one single medical that encompasses both requirements. The JAA medical is more intensive and includes an ECG. Costs for FAA are roughly USD 80-100 whereas the JAA is GBP 200. This will also synchronise your renewals in the future (example: someone over 40 need only have one doctor visit every two years. In general, if anyone has pilot-related queries, the place to go is the forum on www.pprune.org where they’ll anwer your query in extreme detail. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

The medical examination is the same for all FAA medicals. The classes of FAA Medical Certificate and validity lengths vary with what you use it for (i.e. ATPL, CPL or PPL) and also whether you are under/over 40 years old makes a difference to validity length. Have a look at: http://flightphysical.com/part67/whatclass.htm "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Thanks, that works great! Much better than the Microsoft variant included in the OS. Very kind of you to put that together for me. That fills my need, but if you were to tweak it, the only two items to change would allow to be able to choose what file number to start from (however starting from 1 will fulfill most needs) or possibly allowing for entry of #, ##, ### for number of digits (i.e. 1, 01, 001). I don’t know if you do any freelance web/IT work, but I’ll PM you with my details as I may have some business-related projects for you if interested. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I started at 36. The oldest active skydiver I've personally met had just turned 80 and jumped on a load with me that day. I thought that was impressive. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

For anyone looking for similar for the UK, attached is a Garmin waypoint file, of UK dropzones, that can be uploaded to the Garmin 296/396/496 models. I'm still on the Garmin 496 and planning to buy Aera 550. I don't know, but doubt the European Aera model will have this built in like the North American model 560 "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Ideally accessible from a right-click, but having to open an executable is OK. Free is best, but I don’t mind paying for it if the software is good. There’s no shortage of these programmes. One search gave a list of over 40 to choose from. I just don’t like indiscriminately downloading programmes I’m unfamiliar with or from unknown websites. Just wondering if anyone had found one that worked particular well. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

For my photos, I use the Batch Rename feature in ACDSee which works brilliantly. For my video files, I don’t have anything as useful and the native MS Windows bulk rename feature is s***. Web searching on bulk rename utility programmes yields many pages of choices. Does anyone have a “best pick” of these software utilities with maybe a slant on photo/video files? "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Uploaded a night video for you. Check your PMs "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

These types of threads always pain me to read. Someone asking should they just “give up” before they even get started. In short, life & careers are not formulaic, in the manner of a recipe; i.e. add these ingredients, in this manner and your outcome will be X. I have several friends with degrees, as obscure as art history, who have ultimately had very successful careers and in many instances make over (or several) million a year. Not to be a cynic, but life’s not fair. However you are given the chance to at least put the odds on your favour. The best advice I ever received, while in school was “It doesn’t matter how smart you are, if you can’t get it across in either a verbal or written format you are at a disadvantage”. So I’d advise to take as many writing or public speaking classes as you can get your hands on; you will never regret having done so. Yes, if you are to be a physician you need a medical degree and likewise an engineer needs an engineering degree, but much of the world’s occupations/opportunities are not so stringent in their requirements. Learn to negotiate effectively; it will affect everything you ever do. Similar to the survival stories where the person would just not let go of the will to live and they survived; you’ve got at least think you can be successful. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

This is one way to sort out a plane: http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/402973-he-must-have-been-helicopter-pilot-previous-life.html "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Didn't realise how old this thread was. The article was published weeks ago and mentions this forum: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427341.300-dangerous-dreams-who-needs-a-parachute.html?full=true "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Probably not a bad idea to experiment with. They do this to airplane wings http://www.avweb.com/news/reviews/182564-1.html Though few wingsuit arm wings are as aerodynamically clean as planes "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

I agree with you. We know this will not really be a skydiving milestone in our eyes as actual skydivers/wingsuiters. Also, to me a wingsuit is you and some fabric, so I'm not for all the rigid/semi-rigid suit concepts. This is about the media and the public. I feel certain someone WILL eventually try this; so may as well throw a few more landing ideas out there. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Above certains contact speeds, water is like concrete. I don't see it as a viable landing surface, unless you want to skip across it... Water isn't compressible so doesn't have a very good cushioning effect.*** Yes, but aerated water is another idea. The surface tension of still water will be like concrete at high speed, but aerated water, where the surface tension is broken, would be considerably softer and allow to “bleed off the speed”. Think of the bubbles in the landing areas of Olympic high dives to break the surface tension for divers or that a white-water kayaker has now paddled a 186 foot waterfall (result: he cut his lip, video at end of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vFKh22bAlY). Also, possibly incorporate the ramp idea in the form of a huge inflatable slip-n-slide. Possible idea would include: - marked area on water as the target. - many hoses under water to blow air (lots) - maybe add some soap to water (also decreases surface tension, but may annoy enviro folk if not an eco-friendly brand) - Upon landing/impact immediately shut down air pumps Forget Vegas, for viewing/sponsorship, many of the world’s great cities have either rivers or large bodies of water nearby (though for cleanliness, I wouldn’t suggest London’s River Thames). I offer the “RMK Bubble Jump” concept as royalty free. Everyone, except Kallend, can now Google Newtonian Physics to learn more on surface tension. "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

Took the little one for another session, but this time at BodyFlight Bedford. Video: http://www.vimeo.com/8622163 Info for anyone else taking small children, the AirKix, Milton Keynes tunnel has the lowest possible airspeed and at low power settings a small child will descend. However, the BodyFlight Bedford tunnel is larger, cleaner airflow, but even on lowest settings, small children will ascend without a weight belt. We did initially try a weight belt (edited out of vid), but it was far too loose on him. Instructors were great at both tunnels. He loves it and begs to go back for more flying in the “special tunnel”. Will look into having a small weight belt made for him "Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"