Zoso

lars_d – Thanks for the pic. Another great one for my presentation, but still not the one I remember. Michael – Thanks for the accident report.

Michael - also not it but thank you for adding to my presentation. Any details on this, or could you point me to an article on the accident?

Binary93 – That is not it, but I can definitely use it. Thank you. The damage I recall was even worse than in the picture you posted. Gowlerk – That is not it either, but thank you for posting it. Even if I don't obtain the pic I'm thinking of, these 2 pics will get the message across. These pics are eye openers for those not aware of what can happen. The pic I'm remembering is even more shocking. I seem to remember maybe 5 feet of ripped fuselage.

For Safety Day I'm looking for a well known picture. It is of damage to a fuselage that resulted when a jumper had a premature deployment in the plane. The canopy exited the plane and took the jumper with it. The jumper died and the fuselage looked like a huge can opener had opened it up. If anybody can help me out I would appreciate it. I've googled up a storm and failed to find the exact pic I'm thinking of.

npole, I purchased a VOG which speaks the current altitude to you. The only thing I don't like is the price and poor packaging it came in. For AFF-I purposes, I just wanted the altitude announced so I could focus on my instructor duties. It does that. Personally I don't care about all the other features offered by most audible manufacturers.

What's your opinion on the best gear bag, and why? I know many will suggest a large piece of luggage, but I'm not quite ready for that. At this time, I'd like a conventional bag with compartments to organize goodies.

Here's a comparison pic. Although the Sharpie always works, the Bic performed the best when it did work. In defense of the Zebra 301, there are many 301 models. I picked the F-301 fine point, and it did not do well at all. Apparently other 301's work fine. I did buy the fine point, as recommended.

I agree with Peek. If I'm going to jump in a swimming pool, I'll remove my wallet first. The hassle seems to outweigh the benefit. It seems odd to me that nobody sells non-tyvek data cards. Betzilla - The bic was too obvious for me to try. I just did and a Bic "Round Stic" wrote perfectly. The new Zebra F-301 I just purchased was not up to the task. The Bic Round Stic is commonly found dirt cheap everywhere.

Fast answers. Thank you!

I've always prided my Fisher Space Pen to write on anything, but it has found it's match. The wax-like treatment on most reserve packing data cards mocks my Space Pen, and all other pens I have at home. What pen will write nicely on this fiendish paper? Specifics please (brand, model, where to buy...) Thanks!

To everybody that provided suggestions – thank you. They are all good suggestions, but we all have different situations. Even though I'm going one way with the target, others will read this and settle on their own preferences. I like that. So while shopping today for rope, I noticed they had yellow plastic chain. I bailed on the rope idea and went with the chain. I measured out 100.5 feet and spliced the chain back onto itself. The chain is nice because I can quickly pick it back up and drop it in a tool box. I will use wolfriverjoe's suggestion for truing up the circle. I spent more than I originally intended, so I will not be donating a C license accuracy circle to our DZ. If I did proceed with 2 different targets, I could do my label idea easily with keychain style labels. They would just fasten to a link. I will only have one target circle, so I don't need to bother with a label.

Lightning126 – I'm not exactly a newbie. And I wouldn't be seeking help about Pro Rating skills on the internet. Obviously that is something you do at a DZ, with a Pro Rated mentor. I already have one eager to recruit me as a demo jumper. Sorry to disappoint you. This post was basically to get ideas about the target. I also like getting ideas out there for others to find in the future. This post will provide that. As for me and the Pro Rating, it is basically a fun accuracy challenge. I would satisfy the pyro and flag requirements just to get the rating, not because I have a burning desire to do either one. For me the rating would mostly be a trophy, similar to my D license. Did I NEED a D license? No. Do I NEED a Pro Rating? No. I also enjoy challenging my friends. The portable accuracy circle would serve that purpose.

Billeisele – So by asking for ideas about making something, you infer I don't have the mental sharpness to do demos? That's laughable. I don't know, or care who you are but I do know you can go fuck yourself.

Thank you all for the ideas. My DZ airport is privately owned by someone other than the DZO, so I am inclined to go for something minimally invasive. My next priority is ease of setup and storage. In that regard, I like wolfriverjoe's idea the best, but with yellow rope instead of garden hose. Rope is much less expensive, and can be stored in less space (in the trunk of my car). So that's what I'm going to do. Next question: I could either fasten the rope back onto itself as a 100.5 foot loop, or leave it alone but with a simple method of fastening one end to the other. By simple I mean bungee style hooks or something along those lines. With the latter idea I could more easily pick the rope back up at the end of the day. Any ideas on fasteners for thick rope? To take it to the max, it would be cool to have a nice “Pro Rating” label on the rope. That way I could make another one for jumper's working on the C license requirements, with it's own label. This would be very cool to spark interest at the DZ.

I'm tempted to work on the Pro Rating. I'm curious if anyone has come up with a good temporary target. To be specific, I want to make a 32 foot diameter circle of something that could be packed up when not used. I thought of using garden hose, which could be made to the exact circumference, but it wouldn't lay out as a perfect circle. Any ideas?