nbblood

Well, if you can't appreciate how smooth and quiet that flying was....and Airspeed and Fury too.....then I'd say you don't really know what you're looking at. I'll tell you what, go try that jump, I dare you. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Yeah, those guys that are that good make it look that easy. Of course previous world records have been on easy draws too. But before you think it's so easy, go get yourself a 4-way together and see if you can do 1/4 that in time. Check out the advanced scores for the same round. Those are pretty dang good skydivers with the SAME draw. I suppose it's easy to talk smack sitting at a keyboard though. I'm not into FS but I think it's pretty impressive myself. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Yes it does, but the weather at the proposed timeframe is usually pretty unpredictable, particularly for a student. I am a huge fan of Skydive Spaceland's program, having been on staff there for quite sometime (and hopefully again in the future, career permitting). But, during this time frame it is probably better to go somewhere with more predictable weather if it is vitally important to get complete in the alotted timeframe. I think AZ or FL would be better options in this case because the weather is more likely to cooperate. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Skydive Spaceland did quite a few a couple weeks ago when we hosted the Wounded Warriors and Limbs of Love groups. Some were a little trickier than others but all went fine. Some used prosthetics. We had a velcro strap that held each prosthetic in place. Others went without prosthetic. It was fine both ways. It does take some planning and consideration though. One thing that worked well with double amputee with prosthetic is to get the prosthetics arranged in the door with knees bent, so on exit the arch position is easier to achieve. What I found was that each case was a little bit unique and you need to see exactly what you're dealing with. We didn't have any problems with harness slippage. We did exits into the relative wind. It was a great time and a very humbling experience. Have fun and be safe! Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

What makes you say this. What other maintenance programs have you inspected to use as a basis for comparison? I'm not questioning that CSC has an excellent maintenance program. But you make a bold statement..."by far". What qualifies you to make this statement? I'm seriously inquiring.....not trying to be an ass. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Well if you went gay for Jessica Alba, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose? I mean, there she would be, but you'd be gay. That would kinda suck really. No - he just wouldn't lose his guy card. Ok, you go gay for Jessica Alba......I'll go ahead and stay straight for her. What was that about guy card? Gimme yours! As long as I get to be her lesbian - you can have it! Oh, no......sex change wasn't part of this deal. You'd be gay, but not lucky enough to be a lesbian! Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Well if you went gay for Jessica Alba, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose? I mean, there she would be, but you'd be gay. That would kinda suck really. No - he just wouldn't lose his guy card. Ok, you go gay for Jessica Alba......I'll go ahead and stay straight for her. What was that about guy card? Gimme yours! Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Well if you went gay for Jessica Alba, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose? I mean, there she would be, but you'd be gay. That would kinda suck really. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Here you go. Can't see the door, can't get out. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Yeah, me too! Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Relax, it's not as bad as it may seem. Besides, what's in that book may save your life some day. Your MBA probably won't. I know mine hasn't. Anyway, here's a handy tool to focus study for each particular license exam. http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/AppendixB/tabid/175/Default.aspx See.....not so bad. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

There are several DZs with very nice fleets of A/C. Skydive Arizona has probably the biggest fleet. YOu mentioned Perris, Skydive Chicago, I believe Z-Hills and the Ranch share a fleet of super otters. To me, nice aircraft are not only the aircraft types, but more importantly the maintenance of the aircraft. I know Skydive Spaceland meticulously maintains their entire fleet and I know that nothing has been overlooked in their maintenance program. Of course, like most skydivers, I can't speak to the technical aspects. If they told me the flux capacitor went out, I suppose I'd have to believe them. But I do see the effort, time, and money they put into their maintenance so I'll have the level of trust on their technical expertise. I can't speak for the other DZs. I'm sure many of them have excellent maintenance programs as well. I just don't have first-hand knowledge. As far as which one is best? I don't know. I suppose a lot would argue for Arizona. Spaceland's fleet is certainly right up there. Hell, I can only get on one at a time anyway, so, I'm pretty content. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Dennis Anderson at Skydive Spaceland is a master rigger and AFAIK he did all the mods on the rigs there (exclusively SIGMA). He should be able to help out no problem. If you need a number you can check out the Skydive Spaceland website. If you need me to PM it to you, let me know. I just don't know if posting it would be construed as "advertising." The number is readily available though. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

I'm guessing.....AMAZON HUG! If you ain't had one, well, you just don't know. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

No, it's not free. PM sent with details. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Yeah, I thought about this too but came up with two problems I wasn't satisfied with. 1. I put myself in the customer's shoes and thought that I really wouldn't want to take the DVD of my skydive someplace to get pictures printed and risk losing or damaging my DVD. Sure we emphasize to make copies, but I know that some never do. So I thought separate products would be better for the consumer. 2. Using this method I could not burn simultaneously so it wouldn't be quite as efficient. Those are just my thoughts though. I've actually taken Billvon's idea. I have an old laptop. It never really crossed my mind to have both computers for separate functions. It's old and slow but I'm cleaning it up now to make it more efficient. It does have a CDR drive so it should be just fine. I had the answer without having to spend a dime......DUH!!! Thanks, Billvon!! What about DVD+R and CD bulk prices? What are they going for these days? Anybody? Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Ok, I got that, but I want to use the laptop to edit video while I burn the stills separately. I know doing both on the same machine is easily done, but I'm thinking of efficiency while editing multiple videos and I don't want to tie my computer up on stills if there is a reasonable option. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Ok, I tried to search and didn't find the answers to all my questions. Of course as fast as technology and prices change, I think current, relevant information would be useful anyway.....so here goes. I'm looking at the Sony DVDirect DVD recorder as an option to burn digital stills while I use my PC for video editing. My first question is: Is there a recorder out there that records both CDs and DVDs? I was thinking that a CD is plenty of room to record digital stills and cheaper than buying DVDs which is overkill. But that led me to more questions. What are current costs for DVDs vs. CDs? Maybe it's not enough to worry about, but to be honest, I just don't know what the going rates are for blank CDs and DVDs are right now. (I currently don't have to buy my own.) What about setting up an external burner from my PC and use that for stills and my existing one for video? Is that feasible? Cheaper? I guess I'm just ignorant of what my options are. I haven't had to worry about it but may in the near future. I'm looking for a setup to maximize efficiency for video and stills simultaneously without spending an unreasonable amount of money. (For reference, the Sony DVDirect is within reason, but I wouldn't want to spend too much more than that.) Is recording stills to DVD instead of CD going to be too costly down the road? What are your recommendations? Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

What are you talking about here? Shipping? International shipping is most definitely NOT several hundred dollars. I've sold and shipped internationally on several occasions. While it is more expensive, in the case of a canopy I think you'd be talking well less than $100 even with global priority shipping. Check it out and find out what the seller will ship for. As for import taxes and such, well you just have to be smart about that. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

This is classic!! This deserves a thread of its own! Definitely worth a re-read. Oh how truthful these points are.......nicely done, JP! Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Ah, come on. He's just frustrated and venting a little bit. He's got a decent attitude about it. Check out his reply to Councilman24's post. Besides, he has got some help out of it. We've pointed him in some other directions and offered alternatives. You made some very good points too. It's ok to vent a little sometimes. I'd have been a little irked myself. But it happens. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Sucks, but it happens. You know that. At least you didn't lose anymore than your rental expenses. Here's another hint that may help. Don't limit yourself to looking in the "main canopies" section of the classifieds. Look also in "complete systems". Many times people are willing to part out their rigs, particularly mains. (Systems are easier to sell with container and reserve and/or AAD but the main doesn't really help ease of sale or value) If I was a seller and somebody offered me a reasonable price for the main out of my complete system, I'd do it in a heartbeat. So check out the complete systems. There are a few with Pilot 168s. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

More info on Nationals. I didn't see this before. http://www.skydivespaceland.com/Nationals09/index.php Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

I just noticed that Skydive Spaceland has posted the schedule for nationals on their calendar. Here is the link http://www.skydivespaceland.com/events.php Move the calendar to October. You can see the schedule for each event. I know some people have been asking and trying to make plans. Looks like here's something to go on. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.

Disagree completely. The Safire2 has incredible flare power. Ok, fair enough.....just not my experience. I am NOT knocking the Safire2, and I'm certainly not saying it sucks. It doesn't. I just didn't think it had the bottom end that the others do. Could've just been the canopy I was jumping too. Just MY comparison between one and the others. Nothing more than that. Blues, Nathan If you wait 'til the last minute, it'll only take a minute.