Leaderboard

Forget about it and don't dwell on the past. Focus on visualizing success before you do it. Then on the plane ride try to focus on relaxing and visualizing success. I'm not sure what you mean by bad experience but hopefully you learned from it and took notes based on your instructors feedback so that you can make the proper adjustments.

Inspect the pin, make sure it has no significant scratches, burrs, pits, etc. it should be very shiny and smooth. I know the following is not a loop wear problem but while you are at it, you might want to inspect the washer that goes in front of the knot, some of them have a significant sharp burr on the ID (inside diameter) from the manufacturing process, I replaced a sharp edged washer for this very reason, I just didn't like that edge having the remotest potential to damage the cord.

The answer for me was just to watch a shitload of videos on youtube, and then to repeat in my head over and over when I was up in the plane watching people gleefully and confidently dive out the door: "What one man can do, another can do." Self-talk was probably the key ingredient for me with regards to getting over the fear of the "door monster." Just remember - self-talk can work both ways. If you tell yourself you can or can't do a thing, you're bound to prove yourself right.

I have to chime in on the misuse of a word. Toxic masculinity is not the gender opposite of toxic feminism. The word I think you're all looking for is femininity, not feminism. Dr. Peterson started it. He first said (per the Wiki article and subsequent quoting here) that feminism contributed to the threat to masculinity. He continued by positing men were encouraged to be more feminine under this construct, which illustrates his misuse of the word "feminism". This is not how feminism works. Feminism, is simply the idea that everyone has the right to the same opportunities, having their abilities judged without regard to gender (including men being able to take on roles that society has assigned to women). That is a very basic example -- gender identity should be included in this freedom. The patriarchy is the construct that only cis-gendered men have the right, or should be encouraged, to be in positions of power and influence. Laws restricting women's equal access (or the opportunities of anyone who isn't a cis-gendered, hetero male), per the patriarchy, at best are seen as a desire to "protect" women, and at worst are intended to codify the cis-gendered man's lock on these opportunities. [/soapbox]

argumentum ad ignorantiam, expelliramus!

For the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion, we held an event where WWII vets could run through a static line program for next to nothing and make a jump on that day. Most of them did OK, although it was effectively impossible to train them to arch. It's something that almost any DZ can do. You can meet the USPA requirements for a course fairly quickly as long as they come in with basic skills, and it's likely the DZO could find volunteers to teach and/or JM the students - thus reducing the cost tremendously. This is getting pretty far from the topic, though, so maybe better to start a new thread on it.

You had 3 chops on a 169 Pilot 7 and an ATC? Yeah I’m not so sure I’ll be listening to your canopy advice lmao

If it was their fault - yes. Note that that doesn't mean they were evil, or that they were bad people. It just means they made a mistake. I've made them - and gotten away with them. I've stopped my students from making fatal mistakes, like walking into the propeller of an Otter. I am sure you've made mistakes, too. If (god forbid) someday you make a mistake and it kills you, it will be your fault. Not because you are bad, but because you made a mistake.