3mpire

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Posts posted by 3mpire

  2. Quote

    I would strongly suggest used. Unless you are a very odd size, you can find used out there.



    But be aware if you are a very odd size and you buy new, expect it to be hard to then later sell your very odd size rig should you want to move on from it.

  3. I've been jumping for just over four years, married for 6 months to a non-jumper, and have a 2 year old son. So suffice to say I can relate to where you're coming from.

    I can't speak to your case as I don't know you, but I can tell you that I have taken on extra work to bring in money to pay for all jumping/gear/tunnel expenses.

    I only jump at the DZ twice a month (i.e. every other weekend for 1 day only).

    I am lucky to have a wind tunnel near by, though, so a few times a month (or sometimes every week) I'll go down there after work to get some team training in.

    The way we make it work is that any time I get to myself has to be balanced out with reciprocal free time for my wife.

    So say I fly tunnel Thursday evening and jump load 1 to sunset saturday, Friday night my wife goes out with her friends, and sunday morning I'm flipping pancakes and taking my son to the park while my wife spends time with her friends.

    It works for us, but that's because the question of me not jumping at all isn't on the table, so for us it's a matter of balance.

    Not really trying to give you any specific advice, just trying to show you that it can be done, and it doesn't have to be an all or nothing type deal.

  5. nobody has mentioned this yet: the amount of time you fly in a session/day really is dependent on what you're working on.

    I can fly 15 minutes of 4way FS, take thirty minutes off to debrief, and fly another 15 minutes and feel fine.

    One 15 minute session working on my sit and stick a fork in me I'm done.

    A big part of that is your physical fitness level overall (which I'm working on) but the larger point that applies here is that the difference in effort you put into belly flying at 62% and sit flying at 75% is real. So when you're trying to figure out your budget and how to plan your time, you should be aggressive to get the max gain but not bite off more than you can chew to the point that you spend the last 15 min of your block on your back with spaghetti arms because you're maxed out.

    If you're just starting out in the tunnel maybe a big up front focus on belly flying and basic back flying would be worth it with later weekly 15s once you get to sit transitions and whatnot.

    You never told us what your goals in the tunnel are, but I'm assuming you're looking for the FF progression. Just something to think about.

  9. phoenixlpr

    What is your post has anything to do with the topic or subject?



    Councilman made a comment that a modern main can take up to 1000 feet to open, wstcstcmtr cracked a joke that a sabre1 opens fast (with less altitude loss), and I cracked a joke that a demon cobalt would open even faster.

    lighten up francis.

  10. Quote

    What it doesn't do is the tracking & analysis that the OP is looking for - the Rhythm spreadsheets are a good tool for that kind of tracking.



    Thanks folks! My team mate has the Rhythm spreadsheet and spent a few hours putting that together--I was so impressed I thought I'd ask to see if any other teams or individuals had undergone a similar process that might be a bit different. It's really interesting to take all the data and start to analyze--but I'm a bit of a data nerd so maybe I get more excited about that kind of stuff

  11. Does anyone out there have any mechanisms (spread sheets, computer programs, etc.) for measuring 4way team performance?

    We've been working a lot this past winter and summer as a team, and we've amassed enough jumps and tunnel sessions to have a data set big enough that I'd like to see what we can learn from it.

    If there is already a proven way to crunch these numbers, i'm interested in learning more if anyone out there is interested in sharing.

    thanks!!

  13. Quote

    SSK here in Ohio has had my Cypress for three weeks as of today. Last Friday I called and it was ready pending a review of results by German engineers. I was also told that the Germans might be going on a summer break and the approval mAy not be received in time to ship it this week.



    I can't think of any reason why the German engineers might be a little slow at work lately.... /worldcup

    if anything, i'd rather they take their time getting over their hangover before they check off my AAD

  17. I'd like to have a wind meter in my gear bag so I can take responsibility for myself on questionable wind days. I don't like having to ask someone else what the winds are doing (though if you have to ask more than once maybe that's all you need to know to stand down!)

    That aside, anyone have one they swear by? Doesn't need to do anything fancy, but it would be nice to have one that shows average speed as well as peak (gusts)

    Was looking at this one on amazon:

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DF9VUC/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_AhSWtb0V3RTE6

  18. Quote

    To each their own, but to say the person is "ashamed and unwilling" is jumping pretty far in assigning motive, don't you think?



    Absolutely--that's a fair point.

    I wasn't speaking about individuals, and I suppose there is an implicit value judgement in what I said that isn't fair.

    Everyone has different motives and reasons for speaking out publicly or choosing to take a personal stand based on morality without then putting the other party on blast.

    It is more of a general observation, I suppose, that many high profile people support the DZ and an unknown and comparatively quiet number don't.

    Personally, I can't keep an opinion to myself if I think something isn't right. It doesn't always win friends, and sometimes you're the only one publicly taking the other side, but it's just how I'm wired. I don't hold it against people if that's not how they operate

  19. Quote

    I do, but since it's third hand info I won't post names as I've never independently verified the info.



    that's cool, but also a bummer--nobody is ashamed to be on the cover of a magazine or in a tv commercial jumping from their planes or covered in their logos, but others are ashamed or unwilling to say they WON'T do so because they don't want to lend legitimacy to a country that has such human rights baggage.

  20. Completely fair point--I should say it is uncommon for these issues to come up in conversation, though it isn't unheard of.

    However, I don't know of any high profile jumper ever declining an invitation to participate or be sponsored by SD Dubai due to their host country's reputation.

    (If I understand correctly, the dz and multiple wind tunnels are owned by a prince, so the direct relationship between the country's policies and the DZ is pretty clear--anyone please correct me if that understanding is wrong)

  21. Quote

    you called them out in another thread.. why not now?



    he doesn't want to let the squirrel out of the bag? :D

    though in general the skydiving community doesn't seem to have many qualms about these types of issues. Nobody ever really mentions that the UAE has a horrible human rights record, and that many of the buildings in the background of all those SD Dubai shots were build by migrants held captive and in deplorable conditions.

    It's a valid question though: to what degree should our sport take these issues into account when it comes to who we should support with our dollars.

    edited to add: not sure this is the right forum for it though -- maybe general or speakers or something ::shrug::

  24. Quote

    This link will give you Brian Burke's (from Eloy) opinion
    http://www.afn.org/...e/sta/dta/knives.txt



    I know i'm digging in the past here but does anyone know if brian burke's opinion on knives is available somewhere on the intarwebs