GroundZero

spinning.... one hand out and after the sound of.... er... what is it.... Remember the card in your bicycle spokes? When the whir slows to a thump....thump.... you grab and do whatever.... Shit I love AFF! I love those student smiles, that's what it's all about! Chris

Let me repost from my previous post on this thread... _______________________________________________ "(I've "dropped" 3 students through the 2000' hard deck, guess what... they all pulled and lived.)" _______________________________________________ Play by the rules. Chris

That does it! I'm tired of watching this thread. "I'm goin' to be the hero, I'll die if need be..." Bullshit! The RULE is... 2000' hard-deck. (Not 1500', not "depends who it is... not anything but 2000'.) Now let me tell you why we came up with this. 1) Minimum opening altitude for experienced jumpers is 2000' agl. This allows for activation, malfunction, decision, response and correction, (cutaway, reserve activation, etc.). Below that you claim to be beating the odds. (Here you're gambling YOUR life ALONE.) Minimum deployment altitude for AFF JM's, (sorry, I guess I meant "I"s) is 2000' AGL. 2) Primarily, you are responsible for your life. Secondarily, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR STUDENT. So you are the "catch 'em in a swoop and deploy 'em at a few hundred feet" kinda hero.... At this point you are simply giving the student a sense of "I'm there for you!" kinda sense of security. They'll "wait" for you. AFF protocol requires that the student is trained to deploy if the instructor deploys. In the Student's mind, the inverse is true... If the instructor is there... "It's OK...". Play by the rules, teach your student the rules, do not break the rules. It will cost a Life. DON'T Gamble on your student's life. Chris

Betsy, You've got it! Now, with respect to the gas cap/duct tape fix.... We all know that the gas vapors will destroy the sticky on the tape. Looking at part 43... (FAA repair/maintenance manual)... anytime you have a leaking/missing gas cap, you should first use a ziplock bag over the "orifice", then "affix" the "securing tape". I'll bet those guys weren't appropriately rated for the repair. Geez us! Chris (Martin... not the other guy)

All to often I do not tip the cleaning staff... but only on one nighters. Like someone posted above, I arrive, drop my bag, sleep, wake, shower and leave... (perhaps I'm justifying...) However, when I stay for longer than one day, (usually international locale), it goes like this... Day 1... no tip Day 2... clean room, tip one (unit... dollar, quetzal, rand, whatever) Day 7... good to very good service... ten times the day 2 amount. Day 14... good service or better... same as day 7. Day 21+... good to great service... by now I know the housekeeps, if I haven't tried to marry her, I usually try to put her children through college. Always tip big, as my mother always said, " Every dog has his(her) day." What you give to someone, comes back to you. Because I may not be talented, I give heavily. I need all I can get in returns. Chris

Birdmen (and wannabees!), If you're in the mid-south area (or have frequent flyer miles)... come to McMinnville, Tennessee this weekend! (Friday-Sunday, May 17, 18, 19th) As we say here in Tennessee, we're fluckin flockin!! Bring your suits, we've got Bob Hallett's (along with Bob, with suit, I'm sure) Skyvan and Mike's King Air. Both great platforms for Bird-Manning. I'll be there early, got a few suits for the newbies, and if you've never been to Tennessee before, you should know we love to FLY. Spread the word... we are flying wingsuits! Lots of open country for the newbies who find out we can fly far from the DZ. I'll also have Ground Zero demos... Xaos-21 (you'll see 27's too!), Nitron and Synergy... and perhaps previews of others? Who's nearby? This is a very fun boogie! (Like the old days, all us other dzo's shut down to go play.) Email for more info... Wingsuit jumps from the best tailgate (easiest way to make that first wingsuit flight) and from the highest (23,000'+ Birdman suit jumps... can you say 4 minute flight?) Chris Precision Aerodynamics (Bird-Man Enthusiast!) chris@precision.net p.s. Chuck, can ya make it?

________________________________________________ "And you can still see the ass marks in the leather. " ________________________________________________ Leather, no.. back then, all car interiors were vinyl. Leather is a newer substance that is only more recently used in yuppie leased suv's... 30+ years ago, neither yuppies, nor car leases, nor suv's existed... (after these arrived, leather was invented as a material for covering automobile seats...) Chris

Wait a minute... you young guys don't know your "old" cars very well... The Galaxy 500 does NOT have (unless majorly modified) 350 c.i. engine ... the 350 is a Chevy engine... The Galaxy 500 comes equipped with a 351 (Windsor)... Ford engine... And MY 1969 Ford Galaxy 500 came equipped with a fabulous back seat and a leaky heater core that, when parked would steam up the windows on even a 70 degree nite... Oh, what a car that was! Chris

... real simple... it's a rule... AFF JM's (oh great, we're now all I's!) DO NOT go below 2000'... PERIOD. We've been unfortunate over the years to hear about JM's chasing students to fatality altitudes. At 2000' the JM pulls him(her)self. This is taught to all AFF students... it is a "pull" signal to the student. No heros please. Chris (I've "dropped" 3 students through the 2000' hard deck, guess what... they all pulled and lived.)

I have one question for Dan and everyone else who has posted and read this thread... Quality is simply determined by an oversew? What limits determine an oversew? (overlapping, a start/stop/restart with the sewing machine). Why is this a negative quality? Is this a safety issue or simply one of aesthetics? Quality is a very personal issue. Everyone wants to hold highly their own craftmanship. We have been manufacturing parachutes for almost twenty years with many of the same seamstresses. While these seemingly quiet, unassuming women may seem meek, I can tell you truthfully that they are ultimately proud of their individual work. Each person signs the Quality Control forms as the work is completed. With respect to the "oversew"... over many years of manufacturing primarily FAA governed TSO'd canopies, we determined long ago that oversewing a seam is not only acceptable (and our FAA quality inspectors and engineers agreed) that an oversew may well be structurally preferable to "rework". Specifically with zero perosity material, rework leaves needle holes in the silicon coated fabric that IS degrading to the base material. If a rework is required in zero-p material, we recut new fabric and replace the piece. (yes, I have seen rework on zero-p fabric on other manufacturers canopies.) I have seen the highest quality manufacturing techniques and processes demonstrated by EVERY manufacturer. Design from everyone is unbelievable, (look at where we were only 5 or 10 years ago!). There are some incredible choices out there... try them all... and choose your favorite. Each manufacturer is proud of their products, and justifiably so... you must decide which YOU prefer. Chris (Precision Aerodynamics, Inc.)

Hey it works! We used to build them when we were kids... June bugs can drag pretty big planes... much easier now with super(krazy) glue... but you have to keep blowing on the glue for about 2-3 minutes so the cynoacrylate vapors don't kill the flies, or junebug... In the model clubs, we even had contests to see how far they could go, time aloft duration, etc... Chris (June bugs on thread is fun too... they will last all day!)

Aggie, You're in Texas! Surely you have a (good) gun. If not, you're near our good friend John Storrie, he can help you with firearm selection and (if needed, training).... shoot 'em up! Chris

Quade, Very well said. Blues, Chris

Count me in... what's the date? Chris

we have winners!!! they are: Bill Von Bill Booth Phreezone Hooknswoop The mod is called (named after its designer) a BiZarre bag. (Brian Shaw or as you may know him, Beezy)... test jumping reserve canopies without bridle attachments usually means direct bag static lining or freebagging. Since we can't spot very well we usually lose freebags. Static lining means subterminal deployments. We need to go to terminal and we want to keep our bag... ala, the BiZarre bag... The pilot chute and bag are tied to a rear riser link. Be sure to keep the line outside of the slider and allow a few extra feet. You need to use very strong line. Snatch force will exceed 300, 525 and even 725 lb. spectra. A collapsible pilot chute is prefered... We stow the line with the suspension lines, then stow the slack in the rubber band on the bridle. Works pretty well for us but don't try this at home (usual disclaimer here). Winners have been notified by PM and will receive a $100 merchandise credit certificate... Congrats all... We'll do it again soon Chris Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. 423-949-4688 chris@precision.net

we have winners!!! they are: Bill Von Bill Booth Phreezone Hooknswoop The mod is called (named after its designer) a BiZarre bag. (Brian Shaw or as you may know him, Beezy)... test jumping reserve canopies without bridle attachments usually means direct bag static lining or freebagging. Since we can't spot very well we usually lose freebags. Static lining means subterminal deployments. We need to go to terminal and we want to keep our bag... ala, the BiZarre bag... The pilot chute and bag are tied to a rear riser link. Be sure to keep the line outside of the slider and allow a few extra feet. You need to use very strong line. Snatch force will exceed 300, 525 and even 725 lb. spectra. A collapsible pilot chute is prefered... We stow the line with the suspension lines, then stow the slack in the rubber band on the bridle. Works pretty well for us but don't try this at home (usual disclaimer here). Winners have been notified by PM and will receive a $100 merchandise credit certificate... Congrats all... We'll do it again soon Chris Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. 423-949-4688 chris@precision.net

hint.... it serves its purpose AFTER deployment...

any guesses? looking for name and/or function.... Chris (see attachment)

any guesses? looking for name and/or function.... Chris (see attachment)

hehehehe, New rigger quiz after lunch.... prizes awarded for correct guesses/answers!!!! I'll post the new item for identification after lunch and jumps (if it works!) Chris

"but does this happen everywhere? I'm just curious." No this doesn't happen everywhere, only at dz's... Chris (p.s. Kristi's 14 years younger and yes I trained her EX-boyfriend at my DZ, that's how we met....)

... I was serious in my response above... Notice how the wing area is increased by allowing the arms (front legs) to reach forward? As close as we are in this "infant" stage of wingsuit flight and development, any new idea can be a large advance.... I was honestly intrigued by the flying squirrel "planform". Remember, I am a believer... (that wingsuits will be landed one day.) Chris

oops... here's the attachment... landable wingsuit design...

Holy shit! That's it! Take a look at the attachment, notice the difference between the attached squirrel wing planform and that of a wingsuit... You're brilliant! No need for cutaway wings. we'd be able to reach everything... (I'm sending this pic to Jari and Robert... Skyflyer... hmmmm... to make it better we call it "2"!) Thanks for the working example of the landable wing suit! Chris

oh... One more comment... Ground Hungry... NO I do lots of AFF... last out, i.e. LONG... open quite often below 3000' and I always get back as far or further than my students who opened 1000'+ above me on a very lightly loaded student canopy... These x-braced canopies are not aimed at the ground. Chris