Pre-Flight

Ralph Sickinger

You know, it seems like lately people have been asking me a lot of questions; in fact, it seems like the same questions keep coming up again and again. So, this month, I've decided to provide responses to the most common ones. Here they are:

1) It's a Nikon Coolpix 995.

2) It's 4 megapixels; and it can shoot just under 2 frames-per-second in continuous mode.

3) It has a 256MB flash card, and can store 350+ images at 1280x960 resolution.

4) $600.


5) The weird grippy stuff on my downtubes is "overgrip" wrap, used for tennis and racquetball racquets. (Get it at any sporting goods store.) I used Prince "Dura-Tred" for my glider.

6) It comes in packages of 3 strips each, and I needed 8 strips for my glider (2 for each location: 2 shoulders and 2 hands) Of course, I also have attack tubes - with round tubes you should only need 4.

7) It's for carrying a Hang Glider.

8) 18 feet. (Actually, 17'6".)

9) The cheetah.

10) 11 years.

11) Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

12) Would that be african or european?

13) 145 pounds.

14) Because I LOVE my Falcon!

15) (sigh) No, it's not.

16) It's absolutely amazing...

17) Shenendoah, Richmond, southern Pennsylvania, and Maryland's eastern shore.

18) Anywhere between 4 minutes and 4 hours. Between 30 and 90 minutes is common.

19) Between 1000 and 8000 feet; I've been as high as 4500 MSL.

20) Because I can!