RichM

I can't figure how this looks, can you draw me a picture please? We knotted rather than stitched because she wanted to get back up in the air, good girl :) Rich M

Assuming your laptop really is beefy enough (I take recommended specs with a large pinch of salt), play close attention to what going on in your system as you dump. Im assuming you're dumping from laptop, to camera, to vhs deck all in real time. I recommend that you ensure your paging file is big enough and preferably on a seperate partition to your system drive. In a desktop I'd recommend on a different ide channel and hard drive, but thats probably not an option on your laptop - paging file should basically be ram*2. Make sure you aren;t doing anything while dumping and dont have any other programs running, and use msconfig.exe to remove all those unwanted processes that could take system resource and cause a momentary blip. Make sure you have lots of contiguous hard drive space - a fragmented movie file might cause dropout as the access switches to the next fragment. Pre-render as much as you can. Hope this helps. Rich M

It did, good call Rich M

Done a fair bit, some pointers in general should include: Use aids, white boards, overhead projectors, powerpoint presentations, etc. Make sure you talk to the audience, not the aids. Begin each section with an overview/objective so the audience know what you are talking about and why. Close each section with a summary of the critical bits of that section. If using powerpoint or something similar, stick to bullet points, dont be verbose, you want the audience focussed on you, not the screen. Never use more than 10 bullet points, and aim to use no more than 6. Supply handouts if relevant, so they can take away and read up on the bits they were asleep for ;) Make sure the audience seating is comfortable and they have a good view of you and your aids. Dont walk in front, stand in front, or otherwise obscure your aids. If you dim the room for projectors ensure the room isnt too warm or the seats too comfy :) Vary your voice, tone and delivery speed. Use emphasis on critical parts, don't waffle, be concise. Use relevant jokes to keep their interest, should be fairly easy on a safety topic - show them some dangerous shit. Get the audience to do a lot of the work by asking them questions. Two basic wasy of presenting a topic: 1) sequential, just start at the beginning and go to the end in sensible chunks 2) hub and spoke, declare the theme (hub), deliver a spoke, return to the hub and show how the spoke fits, then out on another spoke, etc etc good luck Rich M

Thats not the UK I know Well done on being a qualified skydiver and being allowed out without a bag on your face Rich M

I understand your concern, but (a) yeah, I didn't ask because I didn't think of it, and (b) it had just had a new line set fitted including brake lines and I know a rigger did it for her. You sound like someone on the defensive - you haven't done a 135 Jedei lineset in the last month have you? Rich M

Agreed, but theres only so much info I can gain from a poll It was more intended as a stimulus to thought and debate. Working well so far I think Edit: And thanks to all who have contributed so far. Rich M

I'll admit that I wouldn't downwind on purpose off the dz. I'd rather have people and medics close by should my downwind landing become a fuck up of royal proportions Rich M

John, I agree, but it is happening to skydivers from all skill levels. Given that no amount of training can prevent brain fade, having a survivable option that you are comfortable in taking makes for a good back stop. Rich M

I'd like to add to everyones good comments that I'm impressed that with 52 jumps according to your profile you are thinking of this. Well done. Rich M

Last weekend we had an incident at our dz where an experienced young girl had a toggle become detached during the flare for landing. She has several hundred jumps (actual figure unknown) and is flying a Jedai 135 loaded at about 1.3. It happened during a straight in approach and she cartwheeled across the ground and is thankfully fine. Inspection of her kit revealed that she had recently had the line set changed. Looking at the still attached brake toggle showed that the rigger who did this attached the brake toggles by threading the brake line up through the grommet, all the way around the toggle, back down through the grommet and tying a thumb knot in the line to prevent it slipping out through the grommet. However the line was not the thick stuff (dacron?) and the thumb knot was not fat enough to prevent it being pulled through the grommet. There being no other prevention in place this is what happened as she flare to land. Had she been a swooper this might have been posted in incidents instead We reattached both toggles by folding the brake line back on itself and tying a thumb know forming a fixed loop, leaving 3 inches or so of loose end. Threading the loop up through the toggle grommet and then the toggle handle through the loop so there is no way it can just pull out - it would have to break. Finally finger trapping the loose end. I haven't been able to find out who the rigger was or where it was done. I do know it wasn't done at our dz (Headcorn, UK). Please everyone check your gear and be sure - brake failures on landing can and do kill us. Rich M

Watching with sadness at the continual stream of injuries and fatalities caused by low turns, many just to get into wind. In many of these incidents it seems that landing off the wind line might have reduced the injuries. With the huge assumption that someone comfortable in their skill to land off the wind line is more likely to take that as an option in a difficult situation, I wondered how many of us have practised landing crosswind and downwind, and at what stage in our skydiving careers. I have 650 jumps and have landed crosswind and downwind on purpose, quite often as I like it Rich M

Repeat boobies? What channel is this? Hehe, I posted that picture a few hours ago ;) Is this the first time you've repeated boobies? Beer! Rich M

So could you, bare your boobies in the Folding thread Rich M

Gettin em in b4 this thread gets killed :) Rich M

No doubt that she is attractive, but, this IS a BOOBIES thread. I am just trying to stick to the rules Life is so constrained by rules Rich M

I think I'm getting the hang of it Rich M

Hey, this is a boobies thread. Pics like that shouldn't be allowed. I shall redeem you this time. Oops, thanks for saving me Here's another go Rich M

Good thread choice :) Rich M

They may have less member, but they're geeks and they all have more PCs than they've had girlfriends We need more members! Rich M

I am also no expert but I have found that canopy choice has played a significant factor for me. I downsized from a 170 Sabre to a 135 Sabre to a 120 Sabre and my swoops were pathetic, I was downsizing to get better swoops but my technique was being hampered by a canopy that just doesn't swoop well. I swapped to a Xfire 119 and my swoops are now getting much much better. If I knew then what I know now I would probably have gone for a Xfire 129 instead of the Sabre 135/120 and would still be jumping it now. I reckon I could swoop a Sabre reasonably well now, but I don't think it was a good canopy to try to learn on. Rich M

How long is the original piece of 1 inch type 4 before you fold it in half? Rich M

£666 and some pence in a big session in London after work. I still have the itemised receipt which is as tall as me Rich M

If you were landing into wind you should have been able to come to a stop then step down. Don't try to put your feet down until the canopy has stopped flying. Alternatively declare your intention and ensure there are lots of cameras so that we can all see the fun Rich M

Nope. I touched the boobies, she was NOT a fembot.