theplummeter

I ended up doing four sessions with Derek P. last week. He was an excellent coach and very laid back. Everyone at SVCO were wonderful and I learned a ton. I went in just to work on belly flying but after three sessions he ended up putting me on my back, which is a whole new discipline for me to suck at! Overall I couldn't be happier, just anxious to get in on some bigger group dives and try this stuff out.

Lightning itself is a thunderstorm, even when the air producing it lacks precipitation. Thunderstorms are a hazard to airplanes for three main reasons: 1. Tubulence. If the air is being tossed upward and downward in the same vicinity at a speed that rips electrons off of the passing atoms (lightning) then raining or not it's violent air movement 2. Hail. 3. Reduced or no visibility in heavy to extreme precipitation. Lightning might be a greater risk factor under a canopy than in an airplane, but if you're getting close enough for that to be a problem you'll probably already have your hands full. Yes. Absolutely yes. It is foolish for anyone to be in the air and within five miles of a thunderstorm. Yes, aircraft occasionally do this, it's still not a good idea if at all avoidable. Let me refine my question --- I am not talking about anything else besides lightning. I understand the dynamics & dangers of thunderstorms. As far as I understand, a human in an open, flat field is more likely to get struck than any point in the field around him. This is because he presents the path of least resistance for the electrical charge. Now - my question as I intended but was not clear enough to state - is a human & fabric floating around in the air any more likely to get struck than any of the surrounding air? If so, why?

The Cookie Rok might be a good middle of the road alternative. It's very similar to the Ozone, but slightly smaller, cheaper, and with only one audible pocket. I jump one and love it. It quiets things down a ton but has vents over the ears so I can still hear people on the airplane.

Sorry, RVSM stands for Reduced Vertical Separation Minima. Aircraft flying in the United States between 29000 and 41000 feet need to meet certain altimetry and other standards and the pilot or pilots must undergo a training course to use the airspace unless Air Traffic Control is willing to waive the requirement. I probably could have left that out but I think John is a controller and it explains why I was either going the wrong way or at the wrong altitude for the correct way ;)

A couple weeks back I was flying east between two giant thunderstorms cells at FL280 (we're non RVSM). I'm looking at the one on my left and catch a glimpse of an airplane well above me closer to the storm on a parallel path. He was a Gulfstream at 510 and in his words, "not even close to being above the weather". It made me wish I had a decent camera with me.

Why not Josh Lucas? http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1333&bih=757&q=Josh+Lucas&gbv=2&oq=Josh+Lucas&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1532l1532l0l2408l1l1l0l0l0l0l156l156l0.1l1l0 I've always thought of him as Matthew McConaughey after a douchectomy.

It is, I should probably update my profile but my experience is almost the same in terms of jump numbers as the original poster so I figured my opinion might be similar to what he/she would think of the canopy. I didn't mean to imply that the flare on the Pulse is weak if I gave that impression, it just seems to come all at once. I happen to prefer a more staged flare and the ability to surf a bit.

I sold my Pulse after a small handful of jumps, and am now on a Safire2 that is one size smaller. The openings on the Pulse were, in my opinion, the best of any canopy I have ever seen. Positive but not hard, and consistent. I pro packed it, psycho packed, hurried and did a trashy job and took my time and as long as the slider was up it did the same thing every time. Up high the canopy is a blast, it turns quickly and glides forever. The stopping point for me was landing. I never made it past shoulder height in the toggle stroke and the canopy just stopped. I don't mean leveled out, it just stopped. The flare reminded me of the Manta 288 that I did my S/L course on, just less input, and a lot stronger. I ended up selling it and doing a bunch of jumps on other stuff. I really liked the Sabre2, Fusion, and Safire2 as all three allowed me to use front risers for the first time and all three had more flare so I could run out a fast approach.

I'm in for five tickets. I never win anything, but it's a good cause.

Unfortunately I haven't even started the paperwork for my A license and don't think I could get it in and get it back in time for Couch Freaks, which really stinks as I have the time off and a ride. I still have a couple jumps to do with someone who can sign me off, and I need to get the card filled in and signed.

Flight Concepts still makes a complete line of F111 9 cell canopies. http://flightconceptsint.com/classic/9-cell-classic

N/A

...at Skyventure Colorado? I spent the whole day jumping with very experienced RW guys and managed to screw up every jump to a least a limited extent. I really thought I had the freefall stuff dialed in enough but I have recently lost 45 pounds and have been doing primarily high altitude canopy drills and my stability in freefall is suffering. They had me on the outside of a three way but I kept ending up being the base as everyone had to fly to me. I'm thinking that an hour or so in the tunnel might help me fly better, and would like to find a coach to help with some basics.

Money

If you maintain a constant airspeed climb while turning 360 degrees the point with the lowest groundspeed is exactly where the winds originate. Works even without a moving map. The difference between your groundspeed and true airspeed is the wind velocity, which helps with the exit point.

This will be my fourth year of flying jumpers part time, so I have limited experience but here is what I have picked up: I give the jumpers altitude until the jump run, then they get airspeed. In other words get them to altitude and from the time the door opens keep a constant airspeed. When you have a four way hanging off a Cessna (182 in my case) you won't be able to hold both for any length of time. Keep your feet glued to the rudders. If I see riser with a jumper on the strut, which has only happened once, my right foot meets the firewall. Spotting is an art form, you need to be able to look straight down and not forward to do a really effective job of it. Having a GPS is wonderful for verifying winds aloft but a good spot is still a function of good planning and careful eyeballing. I'm just now getting good at putting the static line students where I want them when we have a jumpmaster who doesn't spot. Keep you head on a swivel. In warm weather with updrafts I can very easily catch tandems or higher hop and pops while I descend. In addition to watching for air traffic you need to keep an eye on the jumpers. Try to have fun. I grit my teeth a little wishing I was getting out every time I open the door, but flying can still be fun.

Completely unscientific, but I have noticed that at my dropzone right handed people tend to try to set up with a right pattern and vice versa.

I have one, and have jumped it about a dozen times now. I ordered one size larger than I thought I would need so it would slide over my jumpsuit. I like it a lot, it has a very secure mount for the Viso. It's also easy to slide around but stays where you put it, so I have it on the top of my wrist for freefall but rotate it to the inside of my wrist for canopy flight. No signs of wear yet, it seems fairly durable and like the altimeter itself lightweight. It isn't showing any signs of wear or loosening either, but like I said about 12 jumps now.

When I was a kid my father used to tell me that I couldn't own things, that they would own me. I'm in major downsizing mode now, and loving every second of it.

You used to be able to get a combined lifted K/Composite Stability index from aviationweather.gov, but unfortunately the FAA and NOAA are moving away from making raw data plotting available and drifting towards more user friendly content. The surface prognostic chart you linked to basically shows the forecast movement of pressure systems at the surface for the forecast effectivity period. While frontal movement will show lifting it's mostly used for thunderstorm prediction.

Yes I do

I just bought a Safire 2 169 at 35 jumps, I load it at 1:1. My previous canopy was a Pulse 190. I don't feel like its aggressive at all, although it is very responsive and seems to have a ton more flare than the Pulse did. I can also use front risers for the first time.

If you had a week off and a couple grand to blow on jumping would you go to a boogie or head to somewhere like Skydive Arizona or Spaceland to get a bunch of jumps in?

Make sure to think about the placement of the drain plug when using the ramps. More than one car I've owned had the plug near the front of the oil pan, meaning that a large percentage of the oil wouldn't drain out had I pulled the car forward onto ramps.

The bridle is the "crunchy" part. It's difficult for me to describe the differences but it's almost like his bridle is vectran or spectra and mine is dried out dacron. My bridle is much wider and thicker.