migliore

My folks in West Palm Beach lost power at 9am on Sat (9/4) and have just been informed that power will be turned back on at....7:45pm....on Friday....NEXT Friday (9/17) That's 322.75 hours, so things could be worse. Shane

This happens if you have momentum (forward or backward) while dumping. Make sure you have *stopped* moving horizontally and have a stable, level body position before tossing out. Other explanations to this problem seem (to me) to be excuses for not flying your body right. Shane

I don't know why I just found out about this 2 days ago, but I am so there. I've got hotel booked (you can tell it's a football weekend) and I'm working on getting as many people from Georgia Tech Skydiving to come as I can. This is going to RULE! Shane

A good way to start is with a tandem, if they are offered. It let's you experience a skydive without hours of training and see of this is what you want to do. You might also want to check into the age limit. I don't know what it is over there, but you may have to wait a couple of years. Shane

Absolutely get with an instructor or a coach soon and practice the standard floater exit that you should have been proficient with from AFF. In the event of an aircraft emergency at lower altitudes, you don't want to spend 7-10 seconds getting stable before pulling. Good luck! Shane

I've got my 150 loaded at 1.4 and it also flies great, nice & zippy. Shane

Thanks for your honest criticisms...that is what I am looking for by posting. But the idea for this method is actually to increase safety by having newer jumpers realize that WL is only one part of the story. Just because Bob has 50 jumps and has a 1.2 WL, that doesn't mean Jen with her 150 jumps (and 100 less lbs.) should necessarily have a 1.2 WL also. It just introduces absolute canopy size into the equation rather than rely solely on the relative size of the canopy vs. the jumper's weight. I included canopy shape as an afterthought. Some good points have been made that indicate that it may not be appropriate to include shape info. **One more thing I forgot to mention, this method is NOT for use on canopies smaller than 200 sq.ft. The Performance Number should NEVER be lower than the wing loading. Shane

I did not intend for this method to be applied to today's extreme canopies. As Bill said, there are just too many variables to compensate for with these canopies. As such, Velocities, Katanas, VX's, etc. should not come to mind when considering this method. I think the target audience is younger to intermediate jumpers who would like to get a feel for how a different canopy size or shape would perform. The idea being that smaller jumpers can see that their WL does not need to be as high as a larger jumper to get similar performance and that canopy shape plays a significant role in performance. Of course, all changes in size and shape should always be made gradually and with the consent of a JM or S&TA. Also, I can understand if the name isn't quite right. It was just the best I could come up with at the time. However, I think Danger Number is a bit too extreme. Shane

So we all know that wing loading is a good number to use to get a feel for how a canopy will behave for a jumper of a given exit weight. But, a canopy's performance is also governed other factors such as line length. For example, lines are generally shorter on smaller canopies and thus make smaller canopies respond quicker to control inputs (see [URL] http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/wingload.pdf [/URL]). So I got to thinking about a new (I think) measure of canopy performance that I call a Performance Number. Basically, this number starts with your normal wing loading and increases it as the canopy size becomes smaller than 200 sq.ft. and as the canopy becomes more elliptical. The variables used are: PN = Performance Number W = exit weight of jumper A = area of canopy (size in sq. ft.) L = scaling variable to compensate for line length S = shape (cut) of canopy For this example, I define L = 0.5. S can be one of 3 values: 0 for fully-rectangular canopies, 0.25 for semi-elliptical canopies, or 0.5 for highly-elliptical canopies. The actual equation is: PN = (W/A)*((200/A-1.0)*L + 1.0) + S EXAMPLE 1: Jumper weighing 238 out the door flying a Sabre I 170. W = 238 lbs. A = 170 sq.ft S = 0.0 (square) The resulting wing loading is 1.40 and the Performance Number is 1.52 EXAMPLE 2: Jumper weighing 168 out the door flying a Stiletto 120. W = 168 lbs. A = 120 sq.ft S = 0.5 (elliptical) So, while this jumper's wing loading is also 1.40, their Performance Number is 2.36 Please play around with this method and let me know your thoughts. I would like to get some feedback from some of the more experienced jumpers who have flown large ranges of canopy sizes and shapes. Obviously, this formula doesn't include compensation for crossbraces or airlocks, but this could easily be added. Also, the value of L can be changed to make the effect of flying a small canopy larger or smaller. Shane

Just in case anybody missed the picture from this thread... Shane

why? what's going on that there are so many near fatalities at one place in such a short period of time? is there anything being done by the host DZ? Shane

Couldn't help seeing the similarity. Shane

And does anybody else notice that: 1) he is holding a shotgun LEVEL rather than pointing up or down 2) he is not looking where it is pointed 3) his finger is on the friggin trigger! I've only shot guns a few times, but I would think a hunting advocate would know the first 2 rules of handling a weapon. Yikes! Shane

N/A

In the 2002 election's primary, she ran against Denise Majette in a closely watched, bitter fight. In GA, a person can vote in either party's primary, so many Republicans voted in the Democratic primary (perfectly legally) to oust this nutjob from Congress. Well, in typical McKinney fashion, she pulled some crazy shinanigans on election eve. Basically, hooligans from her campaign called as many people who voted for Bush in 2000 as they could the night before the election and threatened them that if they voted in the Democratic primary, they would be committing a felony and would be prosecuted. Nice, huh? And, of course, nobody got in trouble. Fast-forward 2 years, she has just won the Congressional primary by rallying up the minority vote and telling them about all the things they are OWED by the man. I think it is so insulting that people in these minority communities are represented by people who deliberately deceive them for their own personal gain. It's scary that a person of her caliber can get as far in American politics as she has. Shane

I've been jumping mine with the original batteries for 3 years (~200 jumps). Definitely email Lars @ L&B and they will help you out. Chances are you will only pay to ship the Dytter to them. Shane

I have only known Nate for about a month. He went out of his way to introduce himself and was always playful and friendly even to perfect strangers. His talent was incredible...he was the highlight of watching the swoopers @ ASC. I took the attached picture of him just 2 weeks ago. Blue skies Nate. May God comfort your family and friends. Shane

It does bother me when politicians try to act like something they are not. Hey look at me...I'm one of you regular folk. Powell as a Village person, Kerry as a big guitar rocker...they all look like posers to me. Shane

I agree with your general point, but I want to clear up one thing...I would call the behavior you describe prejudicial, not necessarily racist. The people who enact policies that give special treatment to certain groups do not necessarily believe they are racially superior (as a racist would), but they do prejudge a person's ability based solely on their skin color, race, etc. It was MLK who longed for a nation in which people would be "not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I do not believe many of the current-day policies including Affirmative Action accomplish this. Shane

Not sure, but aren't non-profits forbidden from financially/materially supporting a single political party or candidate? If so, not many honest people will claim that the major unions are following this directive. Also, you're right...the purpose of a corporation IS to generate revenue. And one of the ways to maximize revenue is to (legally) support politicians that will not excessively tax/burden them for being productive. Shane

Well said. Might I also suggest that he nberf dsks rewa# fhnq Shane

Getting back to the article at hand, Kerry is claiming that GOPers kept democracy from happenning by changing moving a vote by one day. How about this snipet from boortz.com Just something to think about...politics are politics. And rediculous games are played because the first goal of any politician is to gain power. Shane

1) Both of us were under inflating canopies and had significantly slowed down...there was no "freefaller". 2) Having seen a major canopy collision that resulted in a fatality, I would say that a quick bounce (with no injuries or equipment damage) is a minor collision. This does not in any way reduce the seriousness of having any collision. Shane

I agree with you that he had the right-of-way, and that, in retrospect, tracking was probably the better option (I mentioned this in the original post). My reason for posting this incident was to get those who have never been in this situation to consider it, so that they may be better prepared if it ever happens to them. Shane

5way plus diver plus camera He was one of the guys in the original 5-way, but not one of 3 that made it together before breakoff. Shane