dreamsville

The next time you're flying, we'll watch very carefully for those 25 feet on the spotting! Yeah, we'll nail the difference | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I forgot one thing. Who else plays squash racquets? I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Having said on this thread that I like my Stiletto, I have had 2 spin-up cutaways on it. If you are in a line twist that cannot be kicked out of very quickly, it will probably spin on you and break towards the horizon. If it does this with no sign of an un-twist, CUT AWAY NOW. If no RSL, get stable on your belly quick, since you will probably be on your back to start with, and pull your reserve. If you didn't decide this early or aren't sure if you are stable (after you have cut away), pull your reserve ASAP. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

The professor never gives anyone a break unless they earn it. I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Want to tell us more about your DZ? | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Now that our DZ and others include free-fly in the student program (our AFP is now 18 jumps with one JM on each one; it was 15 when I did it), that velcro riser cover stuff had to be sidelined. When I was head down last year and my riser cover had cracked, it was most unnerving to see the toggle floating in the wind in free-fall. Grabbed the risers later and fixed it. Tuck flaps for bridles are also a great idea, since they are a better safeguard against the thing coming out prematurely. Some free-flyers also prefer soft reserve handles because they are afraid of someone/something catching on a D handle. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

That has been a criticism of skydiving videos and events in the past: that they are not personalized enough for people who don't understand it, so it looks like a freak show to many whuffos. Actually, my favorite videos sometimes are the ones where I've done point-of-view in something like a 12 or 15-way RW jump or a free-fly jump where someone is trying to make a signal or take a grip. I also love watching other peoples' stuff when they capture the same sort of things on tape. Those videos contain close up laughter or gestures where you can get a better feel about the dynamics. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I'm sure you noticed that they gave that ball of rubber more time than they gave the 300-way, with all the effort that the jumpers, pilots, and ground crews put into it. Aarrggh! | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

On quick inspection, it looks like most places are OK. Try the USPA web site as things develop. Right now, the only suspensions are big sporting event venues for demo jumps, effective with code orange. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Even if you don't fly it to its limits, the landing glide and turn characteristics of my Stiletto are fun. You know it can do a bit more than some other canopies, even if you don't push it. On the Porsche, it's a bit the same way. The used one I had was fun up to 125, but it was scary to even go that high. Over Christmas my buddy in Florida lent me his Carrera for a week and a half. Boy was it fun driving to Sebastian and Pahokee in that! I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I run in the morning or go roller blading, and I used to play a lot of golf. I ski when I can during the winter or sail sometimes in the summer. Nowadays I like to make videos on the computer, having discovered this through doing skydive video. But Ron, having said all that, I consider myself to maybe be earlier in the life-cycle (if you can call it that) than some other longer-time veterans of our sport. If I can in any way manage the time, a nice day will mostly find me going to the DZ and maybe spending the weekend out there. Since I live in downtown Chicago, I also feel like I'm spreading my wings to drive out to the country and jump with my friends. I'm not married. In any case, the airing-out aspect of the sport helps my outlook and perspective during my week at work and with my whuffo friends and family that I also love. But, the 20-30 year experienced crowd long ago gave up jumping when it's 25-30 degrees in the winter, and don't seem as gung-ho as I to make time for jumping, whether or not they are married. I have 5.5 years of experience and still place the sport high in the list of "what do I do now?". Maybe if I lived on the DZ I wouldn't feel this way, so maybe not having my home on one adds to the enchantment of skydiving. I thought about living on the DZ for a while if I could, but then I wondered, would it be the same, would I actually like it over time? It's kind of a ramble. Not sure where the opening tag goes. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

A good King Air climbs competitively with the best Otters, but has capacity and door-size problems (from a jumper's point of vew), and seems to require more runway (so there is one DZ in this area that can't support one). Anyone know: How are the maintenance costs and issues relative to an Otter? | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Listen to the others. You'll get more performance for the same input in some cases with the Stiletto, but you may not have even tested the limits of what you are jumping now. I switched to a Stiletto 135 from a Sabre 170 after 750 jumps, and am not swoop-experienced after 1300+. Fly it cautiously when trying something new and try it up high. Get coaching if you want to be more aggressive. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

The requirement is usually from 1 to 3 tandems, depending upon your local dropzone. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

So much for NOTAMs and charts. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

There are other rigger theories about Johnny's situation, including that the reserve may have had trouble fully deploying because he was on his back after he was knocked out, and that the AAD device was damaged upon impact so that it was off at that time. Taking into account what BillVon said, I suppose it also could have shut off if nothing was deploying correctly and he was still falling. I suppose we'll never absolutely know. I'll miss Johnny. Videos I have from when groups of us jumped show him always smiling, except when he had an intense expression while waiting for exit on the camera step for a free-fly jump. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Thanks for the help, all. I admit I couldn't find Drop Zone initially due to the fact that I had it as one word. I ordered both from Amazon. DZ.COM has rocked again! | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Bill, Was the guy who wasn't confident about pulling the right handles in the right order a nervous person? Experienced? What do you think stood in the way, and what might have helped him in training? BTW, at 1,000ft bail-out, I'd pull the reserve. I admit I have no BASE experience. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I don't know if anyone else has seen this, but we had a guy at our DZ about 3 years ago who had an FXC fire twice in two weeks after he was under an open canopy and above 2,000ft both times. The setting was in the 1,000-1,200ft range. I jumped FXCs for the first few jumps of my AFP course, but now I am suspicious of them due to the above incidents. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Why doesn't someone just lock this thread on the grounds that it's been beat to death. Put it out of its misery. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I went to Tower Records in Chicago at Clark and Belden near me on a recent weathered-out weekend. Panic set in when I found they had neither of the subject videos, either for sale or rental. Where can I find these DVDs, anyone? Thanks in advance, although I'll check Amazon. I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I think it's great that they got all those people on 5 aircraft, esp when we had 24 on a Sunday load and one had to get off. How was the weight shift when those 60 people left your Otter? | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

What time in what zone?? I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I would have just answered his questions amicably, kind of like he was a cop or something, and then get on with it and have a beer. It doesn't sound like this is a battle worth picking. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

PD maintains that the Sabre 2 and the Stiletto in this size are indeed both 150 ft2, but things such as span, aspect ratio, etc. are different. Differences other than pure size may make a canopy seem hotter or faster/smaller. When it comes to Velocity or other manufacturers, I'm not sure how they look at it. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143