dthames

After her injury I don't think she really got back into the sport. Not 100% sure of that. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Simon, is XRW on Thursday? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Early on I had major problems with motion sickness and then with instability because I could not hold a deep arch. After 12 jumps (a mix of static line and AFF), I quit AFF and was not certain that I would continue. The "urge" grew over the next few weeks and I found myself stretching twice a day to improve my arch. I figured if the sky called me back, that would be my sign. It did, and I was much better prepared both physically and mentally to pursue the sport. It is possible you will have more and more difficulty not jumping and if that is the case, the want to will exceed the fear (hopefully) and all will be well. Good luck. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

You are right, you have to want it bad enough. As a child I watched people get up on the high dive and chicken out. I never understood it. You need to decide before you climb up there. I was 9 years old and my friend said, "I will go if you will go". So we got up there. I looked down and started to understand more. But I had decided before I got up there that I was going to do it. I gave it a 3 count and went on 3, forcing myself. Thereafter I would always just go on 3 if I was timid about whatever the task might be. Always go on 3! Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

14 May I will be married to the same woman for 39 years. She does now want anything bad to happen to me and she does understand there are risks. I review the accident reports and very often with her. I try to explain to her what happened and why. Some of the time you have to except the fact that if your luck was bad, the same thing could happen to you. But very often I can point out how this specific risk is very low for me. So if X people died last year, only N/X (a fraction) of those share a similar risk in the sport that I do. While this does not make skydiving really any safer, it does something to more correctly define what risk each of us are exposed to. The last Parachutist magazine has a breakdown on last year's fatal accidents, something very good to review. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Welcome and lots of luck with that waiting part. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I wonder if the pranksters have seen the movie Hellfighters. This could get interesting. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

You/me/we have a very small chance of changing anyone's mind about anything. I doubt you will ever make her think that it is "safe". But you might help her to understand it is a risk worth taking, for you. Maybe not for her. She might not think it is risk that she wants to take. But what does she want for you? When you walk out of the house, get in the car, climb a ladder, etc, you take additional risks. We all agree (by our actions) that the reward is worth the risk or we avoid the activity. My wife is super supportive of what makes me happy. That might not be unselfish, because she enjoys a happy husband as much as I enjoy being happy. But she has said over and over, if I get killed she will be really mad. It is on her mind but she is okay with it. Helen Keller (blind and deaf) made a statement about risks. "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." For her everything was a risk, but it was better than sitting on the couch all day. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

It sounds like you had a good time. I messed up the count on one of my early jumps (AFF on a C-182). I tried to start the count over and the AFFI just went ahead and exited us. I remember thinking, Okay we got that cleared up...or some similar thought. Welcome to the sky. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I tried to focus on what mattered, "If I don't do well, I have to pay more money". That worked well for me. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

If you have weak knees and someone tells you that you want to downsize your canopy, you need to really make that decision for yourself. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am not sure what happened to the KML combined file on the initial post. I just tried to look at it and it downloaded as a ZIP with only the canopy track. Let me try again. Here is a link to the file. Number 5 goes with the video. http://pyrodan.privatedata.com/skydive/xrw/XRW-4-combined.kmz http://pyrodan.privatedata.com/skydive/xrw/XRW-5-combined.kmz Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

We started off heading downwind. The wind was a bit wacky that day, as I recall. Notice in the video the canopy speed at 10k and the speed at 7k. As we got lower we got a headwind component. Our ground speed continued to drop. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I have taken an interest in XRW and have been looking at some GPS data to get an idea of what is really happening in the 3D world. Attached is a Google Earth KML file with both the canopy pilot track and the WS pilot track. The time slider tool at the top will progress both tracks as time elapses. [inline tracks.jpg] Numeric data for both jumpers is also attached to this video as closed caption data. https://youtu.be/qcGJaaZi5rU Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Welcome to the sport. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Bumped the Florida formation record from 20 up to 25. Here are a few photos of various jumps. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

As it is worded..... If the student or tandem is in the plane when the WS wants to exit, now does the WS manage to get 500 feet away without flying? Ball up? If the student or tandem was in freefall, that would make the rule much easier to follow. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

+1 Larger flocks that have slow forward speed. I see people in suits that are somewhat large falling out of the formations. Often these people have much more experience than I do but it seems the speed and the suit are a bad match. Someone said to hang on to your smaller suit. I think that is good advice. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am afraid that asking a skydiver for jump money is about the same as asking a vampire to donate blood. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I wear jeans or cargo shorts under my wingsuit. I carry my Iphone 5 in my front pants pocket without issue. I have a very slim cover on it. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

No. Just the opposite, in fact. (not in direct reply) Almost 100% of my jumps are in a wingsuit but I do like to study tracking. 5Mar16 I joined some friends on a tracking dive. I was very rusty and was asked to lead. The DZ is 1200 above sea level so from a C182 we normally jump from 9,500 AGL. I jumped wearing a short sleeve Tee-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. I was worried about sinking too much so I tried to track hard. It did feel to me like the lack of booties hampered my horz performance. My ground speed was much less than I have seen in the past but I am not sure about what the upper winds were doing. From what I was told we were at about 45 degrees, heading into a wind from the NE. There was a 90 degree turn in the flight and the data does not support a 45 degree headwind from the NE. What was most evident is that I suck at leading. My friends sunk out and I just kept on trucking. Average vertical speed after turning north was 97 MPH (happy with that). The horz speed was 42, which is pretty slow by my experience.....with booties. The attached KML file can be viewed with Google Earth. [inline track-data.JPG] Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I have only been jumping 4 years but I would guess if I am ever off for more than a few months I will be doing something else and not come back. But for now I am making the most of it because I am 58 and figure I don't have but a few years before the old body would rather take an easier path. Right now I can keep up with most youngsters jump pace....for now. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Simon, I appreciate the work that you AND your wife put into this event. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Mh.. I guess I'll make a mental note to try again next weekend then. It's good to have extra control options at all phases of flight. I'll try to see if lifting the knees makes any difference: it actually should! Thanks, guys! About reaching up while zipped, it also seems to help to keep your hands, wrists, and elbows close to your body. Sort of like trying to reach up if you were inside a tube about the diameter of your shoulders, and shrugging your shoulders up, all at the same time. You should be able to catch your rears just above your head. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

right as I understand the WS-world ... I suppose some of you missed the point of the starting question. Or I do .. Why pull at full flight? As my friend Ulli died in that accident in Italy, the conclusion was that the fabric of that wingsuit was wrapping around his PC-handle. this happend due to the collapsed wings and made it impossible for him to pull. He tried to find the PC handle and impacted. I guess (as I have only very few WS jumps) that with a smaller WS, that would not have happend. Also it would not have happend in that way if he had pulled in full flight (we think ..). As that was a BASEjump, he had no chance to go for silver. So for me, with bigger wings you should consider a different way of pulling and be aware what kind of burbles (PC hesitations, etc. ..) or highspeed stalls of canopies or even WS-stalls may mean to you. I don't do BASE but missing your pull on a BASE jump is the stuff that nightmares are made of. Sorry about your friend. For the most part I tend to fold up a bit but lately have been playing some with pitching more in full flight. It seems I get a lot more snivel pitching in full flight. I have missed my pull a couple of times doing that in my X2. It really drives home the notion of keeping a cool head and proper procedures. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”