FrogNog

Nice one. :) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

See, that's why I would be scared to do an observer ride (in a turbine). I can't handle hurtling toward earth very fast with all that metal around me. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

You're supposed to learn that you're a wimp. Pull harder. Watch out for bucking on the big student canopies when front-risering. Mmmmm.... bucking. I swear it has to do not just with how far you pull a riser / the risers in, but how smoove. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Next is the 182 Kapowsin was kind enough to loan us when both of ours were busy being sick on alternating days. The next day it had to go back because one of theirs went in. I'll be frank - I prefer the interiors of our 182s to this one's, but this one has the distinction that the one jump I have done out of it was my last student jump. (Oh, and people at my DZ explained to me that this 182 is the standard level of interior decoration for a jump plane, and Snohomish 182s have spoiled me. Minor details; I'll lay on a bed of nails if it will get me to altitude.) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

OK, I have two more now, I have to find the other 3 I think. First is basically everything we need: caravan, ladder (optional), big ol' bottle of Jet-A, runway (it's out there, I was told), and perfect landing conditions. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Because of the bubonic plague and several invasions of flies throughout Europe shortly thereafter. Germany established several laws in the early 16th century requiring that all food and beverage containers be covered to protect their contents. By combining a lid, hinge, and thumblift, these 'German' containers could easily be opened and closed with one hand. The origins of steins date back to the 14th century. So maybe my mom was trying to make a statement about the cleanliness of my house... -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Mustache = Something to Prove. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Not a good plan for two reasons; 1) in an area that would attract & keep dirt which is an abrasive, 2) increase chance of mold & mildew = fabric deterioration. Clean & dry. I thought nylon didn't care if it got full of mold and mildew; at worst it would get discolored and malodorous. Is this not correct? Obviously, moisture storage against stainless steel or cadmium-plated steel is not good, so if increased mold & mildew was an issue, I would think twice. I figure a super-thin layer of some compatible lubricant is fine. If it's not too thick (i.e. not to the point of being juicy), it won't attract dirt any more than normal. This is prescribed for cutaway cables (which I admit are inside metal housings, not nylon), so it seemed like a good guess. Maybe what he really needs is earplugs. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Is that something GwTs do? -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Uh, this 30-60-90 rule? "Regardless of the size of the unit, a 30°- 60°-90° triangle has a hypotenuse which is 2 times as long as the shortest side." Or some other 30-60-90 rule? -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Me and my most favoritest airplane in the whole world. (I've jumped from four 182s and this plane.) Amazon took this pic. I have a pic of her in front of the nose too, if she wants me to scan it and put it up. BTW, that's not a white snot under my nose, that's a snowflake. Edited to add: this is from a few weeks ago. Re-edited to add: P.S., Pete, thanks for flying us! -=-=-=-=- Pull.

What is WRONG with you? lol -=-=-=-=- Pull.

With fast reflexes you can kill whichever of them tries to zip up before fighting. I once got into a very full elevator with 20 imperials from Darth on down. I know they're not real, but dang it made me nervous. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Hahaha, that's what I said. Sorry dude, but depending on how often you jump, I'll give it a month. Hey there could be hope, but at this point, I doubt it. Either way, good luck bro!! I'm betting it isn't skydiving that wrecks anything. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Here in WA I have found the WSP to be nice, fair, and generous. (Been pulled over by them something like 6 times. Been complimented by them on some aspect of my demeanor or driving twice.) City cops are a different story. And Everett cops after dark is a TV show. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Peas aren't vegetables. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Dude, this is what reserves are for! The slider-out-the-wrap thing almost got me, but if I see that happen to anybody learning to pack, I'm going to delicately but strongly suggest they back up a few steps and try it again, and I'll show them how I try to keep that from happening. So that will never get to my container. And if it does, because I lost sight for a few minutes, that's a time to prove how brave I am. (The odds are still in my favor. Besides, I'm supposed to be on top of my EPs no matter how well my main is packed.) They say we're supposed to give back to the sport. Well, due to the number of people who have (and will continue) to jump my learning-to-pack pack jobs, I could give back like this to others. -=-=- I think jumping your vs. someone else's pack job is like eating in a restaurant vs cooking yourself. When I cook myself, I have a guaranteed superb level of hygiene in that meal. When I eat at a restaurant, I just try not to think about it and enjoy the fact that I'm not cooking. Sneaking back to the kitchen is like opening and peeking in a student canopy hanging on the rack before you put it on and jump: good chance you're going to see some stuff that doesn't meet your comfort level, but that is technically quite safe. Meow! -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I haven't seen people stowing excess steering line in scary ways because it's cool, I see them storing it in scary ways because they're lazy. Of course, when I get a rig I'll learn firsthand how hard it is to keep velcro up to date, or get excess steering line storage devices added to my risers. Hmm. On second thought, maybe the reason they're OK with the scary method is because they're too cool to be bothered with it. Ehh, not my deal. Even if they are my friends. I mention my concern once and if my base-jumping D-license years-in-the-sport napkin-flying way-more-experienced-than-me pal says the imperfection of the steering line storage does not worry his pretty little head, then I let it go. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I wouldn't be as worried about that as "How do you assess malfunctions?" BTW, Rossis says he flares when he hears the crickets.

we open the door we get out the plane flies away -=-=-=-=- Pull.

My mom got me a stein for Christmas because she figured she was gonna get me some piece of crap I didn't need or want, so she might as well get something cool. Anybody want a stein? Pointed lid, Dutch farmland or boating scene in relief. Oh, and can anybody explain to me why a cup for holding beer needs a hat? WTF?! P.S.: I love my ma. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

That statement is false. There is nothing about a wingsuit that hampers a wearer in any way from reaching his/her cutaway or reserve handle. Emergency procedures do not change, they are the same as a normal skydive and the suit does not hamper you from putting a good chute above you. I guess I was thinking about more exotic, and probably less highly-recommended, emergency procedures like anything involving hands up to the risers right away. I retract my statement that wingsuits cause difficulties doing EPs and I seek to replace it with one that jumping wingsuits carries risk of collision and body-position-related deployment ickies. These are almost wholely jumper-governed so I'm not saying wingsuits are bad, I'm saying I think flying a wingsuit has added elements of risk over doing a vanilla solo belly skydive. Goodness knows I want to fly a wingsuit BAD. (But I'm going to wait until next spring when I get my rig and some decent weather and start jumping my brains out to get the experience prerequisite.) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Pomegranates, now there is an exercise in frustration. How the hell do you eat those things. It must be the perfect diet food, cause you burn more calories getting at those stupid fucking pomegranate kernels than you get from eating them. Don't forget that the juice stains everything, including skin, permanently. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I've been there dude, and I'm sorry to say, but it's only the beginning. It seems to me from what you posted that she thinks this may be some sort of "phase" that you'll eventually grow out of. As a skydiver, you know this to be quite the opposite. So now she's started the bitching phase, which will lead to jealousy, which will lead to asking you not to do it, which will lead to telling you not to do it, and we both know what comes after that. THE ULTIMATUM. So IMHO (and I don't know how serious you are about this one so take with a grain of salt) you should CUT AWAY now before it's too late..... No matter what you choose to do, good luck to ya pal. My instructor warned me about this. I just said "I got this girlfriend..." and he said "Oh, you gotta get rid of her. She's gonna get in the way of your skydiving." Right now I'm OK with it, because she hasn't tried any subterfuge on me. Her discomfort with my jumping hasn't been hidden. Whether it gets worse will have to be seen. Every jump I make without incident makes her calmer. Every adversity I experience makes her less calm. (But I can't help telling people about adversity I've survived; it's harmless if I got to the ground safely!) I just need to lay down the law with her. That usually makes it all good (with her; special deal I have here). I figure equal time for the two loves in my life. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I agree with your overall thrust, but I think there's a second side to it. At the end of they day / jump, it's not just about looking cool. It's about having fun, and that's made up of more than just dressing sharp and doing stupid stuff that makes the girliez swoon. We do things in skydiving that we think are fun, and they all carry risks. The most basic one is getting into a plane, jumping out, falling toward Earth at an almost guaranteed fatal rate, then deploying a parachute or two with less than half (or sometimes a quarter) of a minute of freefall time left before cratering, then trying to get everything into ship shape to land soft enough to do it again. From there most of the modifications to this plan carry additional overall risk. (Perhaps a few of them carry additional specific risk in some areas and less specific risk in other area, but I believe in general we can say things get riskier from here.) And since we're already skydivers, we're already kinda in the habit of weighing risks against pleasures. Fun: jumping without a helmet on. Risk: noggin damage which at worst could be summarily or contributorily fatal. Fun: jumping nekkid. Risk: sliding, off, and hazard landings are much higher stakes. (You have more "skin in the game", if you will. ;) Fun: Mr. Bill. Risk: pretty much everything can go wrong. I saw video last week of a Mr. Bill where the pilot chute went completely AROUND the pair of jumpers! Thankfully one of them was SuperBen, so he just fixed it. Fun: swooping. Risk: going that fast close to the ground can mess you up if you lose control. Fun: birdman. Risk: handling malfunctions in a straightjacket with wings is harder. Fun: costume jumps. Risk: vision, handle findability / reachability, range of motion, etc.. Plus neck issues if the costume is really just a hangover and a pumpkin on yer head. Fun: big-ways. Risk: collisions. Fun: free-flying. Risk: premature deployments at higher speed than normal, collisions, loss of altitude awareness. Fun: CRW. Risk: Lightning 218 burial shroud. Fun: water jumps. Risk: drowning. And in some locales, large carnivorous animals. Fun: night jumps. Risk: most of the basic risks of skydiving, but like doing them with your eyes and the pilot's eyes closed. Fun: high altitude jumps. Risk: hypoxia, premature deployment at higher speeds than normal, increased risk of off landings. Fun: base jumps. Risk: less time, more hazards. Fun: 4-way / 8-way for competition, USPA achievement awards, or just fun. Risk: collisions, loss of altitude awareness, semi-intentionally sucking it down. In all these situations there's some cool factor. (Except maybe CRW. ) But there's also a fun factor, an internal personal enjoyment (yeah, that sounds real good) that in many cases is more important than the cool. [edited to add "a minute of" near the top.] -=-=-=-=- Pull.