Bob_Church

I just talked to Chris. It was getting harder and harder to find tandem masters, and this year he didn't have any. No TM, no dz. It's a shame, he had a really nice place there, and very well run.

I know this is an old post but I'd like to follow up on it. I remember paying something like $350 for mine but I'll have to do some digging to find out for sure. The reason I'm following up now is that I did a google for them and this is all I came up with. I'd like to get more info if possible, like how many they sold, if people still have them, that sort of thing.

Anyone heard anything about Chris Chapman's place in Lancaster, Ohio Skydiving Center? I just went to their web site to see when they'd be opening and got a message that they're gone. http://ohioskydivingcenter.com

I think the best plan would be to dig around in the trash and find Obama's original plan, put Trump's name on it if necessary, then get it passed as it was originally written, not the mess that was left of it once it got through Congress.

True, but even with a butt-ugly sloppy pack job I don't think a parachute should kill you. Otherwise I'd have been dead years ago.

You just write it down. This isn't some legally binding contract or being done for USPA. To me personally, if an opening is hard enough to hospitalize or kill a jumper, or damage the gear or eject a jumper from a harness it should go on the list. But that would be up to whoever wants to submit each item. The point is that other skydivers could look and make their own decisions. I think packing techniques should definitely be included. Having a record of what's happening is critical to safety in skydiving. My first rig was a used Sabre1 with a couple/few hundred jumps on it. I put a couple hundred more AND started wingsuit flying on it(but not too long!) before buying a custom Storm. That being said the manual states NOT to tuck the nose BUT that is exactly the advice that I was given, and it worked. In fact the one real fast opening I remember on the Sabre was when I laid the cocoon down and realized I'd forgotten to tuck the nose. I said fuck it and continued the pack job. Yup, didn't do that again! On the same Sabre1 topic, I recently spoke to a very seasoned rigger in reference to and he said that it's not the canopy which is the problem, its the lines are out of trim, which makes PERFECT sense... Mr Brian Germain will tell you that you can Re-trim lines by stretching them back, but I imagine only for slight out of trim... I'm no rigger BUT Mr Germain does know a thing or two about parachutes. You can also roll the nose and some other tricks to slow the openings as we know... Ask a Rigger! Is this a Sabre thing? I wasn't thinking about a particular canopy though I've known one Sabre 2 to shred itself on opening. Neil had gotten it as a demo canopy and this was his first jump on it. Another was a young jumper who was putting his first jump on his new Sabre2 and ended up in ICU with a torn abdominal wall and other damages from the opening. I had trouble with my Robot but nothing like that. I even flat packed it for a gentler opening but that was for the sore neck, not internal organ damage. My hardest consistent openings were on my Cruisair. I could let go of the handle and just be open, no time elapsed and no air in my lungs. But it was kind of handy in those days when taking a formation below 2k was just a normal jump. I remember several jumps when I'd get canopy then look around to see of Neil and Mike did or not. Breaking a five way at 1500 directly over Kaiser Aluminums power grid was no time for gentle openings. Neil says he'd be closing, look at his altimeter then shrug and think "well, no jobs anyway" and come on in. And of course we'd be polite and wait for him.

We had no idea how spoiled we were. One week a new Dylan album, the next Blind Faith. A new Led Zeppelin or Stones or ELP. We just shrugged, bought them and loved them. We assumed that incredible music was a regular thing. Then the late 70s showed us just how wrong we were. And on top of that, we all looked forward to the inevitable Beatles reunion! I remember people criticizing Badfinger "why bother, they just sound like they're doing The Beatles?" Well yes, but the Beatles didn't break up because nobody wanted to hear them anymore. That's why we got the knockoffs like The Rasberries and Badfinger. It wasn't the Beatles, not even close, but it was all we could get. Added bonus: No Yoko!

We had no idea how spoiled we were. One week a new Dylan album, the next Blind Faith. A new Led Zeppelin or Stones or ELP. We just shrugged, bought them and loved them. We assumed that incredible music was a regular thing. Then the late 70s showed us just how wrong we were.

I was sit flying with no jumpsuit once, just enjoying being out in the sky by myself when I realized that I'd spent too much time admiring the clouds and was getting low. I rolled over and tossed it out. My Robo was usually pretty forgiving but there are limits and I had crossed them. I heard my end cells crack open and had time to think "this is going to hurt" before it did. But boy, did it.

You just write it down. This isn't some legally binding contract or being done for USPA. To me personally, if an opening is hard enough to hospitalize or kill a jumper, or damage the gear or eject a jumper from a harness it should go on the list. But that would be up to whoever wants to submit each item. The point is that other skydivers could look and make their own decisions. I think packing techniques should definitely be included. Having a record of what's happening is critical to safety in skydiving.

I think there is something unique about this election cycle. Well, several things but I'm referring to what I see as a lack of "either or." Two years into Carter's victory a lot of people were saying "Why didn't I vote for Ford." Or "Why didn't I vote for Gore instead of Bush." I really think that the majority of Trump's votes weren't votes for him, but votes against HRC. People held their noses and voted Trump, and then saw things get even worse than they ever imagined. But I think it would be a mistake to think that the disgust over Trump translates to support for HRC. And, when you combine that with the knowledge that if Trump were to quit, which I expect before his first year is out, that still leaves Pence in charge. It's going to be a very strange four years.

I can't normally wear contact lenses, after a few hours they start to hurt because my eyes are too dry. The only times I wear them are under goggles while swimming laps and under googles while jumping. But they're very handy for jumping and if you do lose them they cost a tiny fraction of replacing your glasses.

I would like to set up a thread for collection information on hard openings. But, I want to put it in the correct forum. Any suggestions?

I've talked to jumpers who were obviously downsizing way too fast, one hurt herself on two jumps in a row but wouldn't consider a larger canopy. But we were talking about equipment once and she stated that there was absolutely no way she would ever exit an aircraft without an aad. She ended up quitting because her tiny canopy kept scaring her. But no aad, no jump. Go figure.

There's a great documentary called "Under the Sun." The people making the film were to turn in the camera's chip each night so that the handlers could tell them what to use and delete everything else. This was all supposed to be presented as spontaneous. The crew used a camera that wrote to two chips, like RAID mirroring, and made a very telling result. The only downside is that I keep thinking wondering about what happened to their handlers when Kim found out.

This looks like a good place to start, but I haven't used it. https://users.cs.fiu.edu/~esj/Archives.html Edit: Nope, sorry. The pages didn't open. I'll check for some other archives.

I remember being corrected about that long long ago on rec. skydiving. I would refer to hp landings as swoop landings and inevitably be told that swoop only applies to freefall. Speaking of rec.skydiving, I think there are compilations out there. They might be a very good way to hunt down early uses of terms.

This is a great idea. There are places like prisontalk.com but people on there have heard it all before and are having enough trouble twking care of their own. It's different here. I'll look into their rules and send something.

Of all the people I skydived with in the 70s and 80s the one who ended up in prison is about the last one I would have expected. Not that the parole board cares, and they said so in January when they gave him a flat. That's "we'll talk again in a year" as he starts year 19. The rules vary from state to state and even prison to prison so you need to check first. They tend to be unbelievably strict. I once sent a package with photos, a letter and a money order in a padded envelope but this time I used one with the wrong type of padding. It can't be the loose type, only the bubble wrap. I didn't know, but they didn't care and he has to find the money for postage to ship it back, or they throw it away. And postage is three hours of pay for his prison job. So check. In Wv you can send a letter and some photos. More importantly there are ways to put money on an inmates account. Even 10 or 20 dollars is like Christmas. It makes the difference between doing without or not. A card saying hello with a small money order will really make someone's day.

If we're talking possession of drugs, sure. But it's the crimes people commit to get money for drugs that gets people locked up. They have a drug problem, but that's not usually what they were arrested for.

"When I'm away from home I always seem to want to get a Tim's as soon as I get back, then I remember that it's not good coffee and that I usually go to Starbucks or McDonald's for coffee instead... " It tastes more like chicory than coffee but they don't list it.

Are AADs required?

What I miss in general are bakeries. They used to be everywhere and now they're downright rare and don't last long. I drove through Wellston one day and saw a bakery, got excited and stopped. This place had opened, gave it a shot and closed up in the short time since I'd driven through there before. We didn't know how good we had it when there was at least one or two bakeries in every town.

Unless you have a thing for Amish food the only thing that stands out is this little place just outside of Cleveland Sport Parachute. In March they'd have these all you can eat pancakes and sausages with the locally produced maple syrup. It wasn't a restaurant, more of a town hall, with long tables with classic table covers and these pitchers sitting everywhere, some full of milk and some filled with maple syrup. It was always memorable, and definitely gave you the energy to do anything all day. Which means jumping of course.

Have you been to any of the Tim Horton's in the US? They started springing up in Ohio a few years back and now there's even one in Athens. The thing is, they're terrible. I'd like to hear from someone who's been to both the Ohio ones and the real ones in the Great White North for a comparison.