CanuckInUSA

I'll take a kiss from virtually any girl that I may be jumping with. But if some bloke tries to kiss me in freefall, they're in for a surprise. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If the rules for this year's championships are the same as last year, then the speed carving course (for most competitors) should be 200 feet. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My first skydive was a tandem and I likely wouldn't be a skydiver today if it hadn't been for this jump. After my tandem I said to myself "that was just way too cool not to try it again" and the next thing you know I'm signed up for the following week's AFF FJC. Skydiving has been a blessing and a curse to my life. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm just one lowly little fish in a big sea and when I'm told to jump, I simply ask "how high?". But it is kind of interesting that in previous years, in order to qualify as a full blown pro on the PST, you had to successfully negotiate the pro 220 foot speed carving course numerous times before you were issued your card. And now this season 10 people will be given pro cards without needing to do this. I fully expect the talent level to be very good (if not excellent) and it should be very competitive this year in CO. So I'm sure the top ten will all be excellent canopy pilots (shit isn't FL alone sending something along the line of 8 really good pilots?). But it is still kind of interesting how things have changed and all the guys last season still needed to earn their cards even after placing in the top ten. I could see the top three automatically been given their pro status, but whatever happened to earning one's slot? I know I will have a lot of satisfaction if I actually earn a slot on the PST (which may never happen) versus buying a slot. But I'm just a little fish in a big sea. So how high should I jump? PS: The rules have been announced for this event and I actually think we wouldn't be helping ourselves if we change them again. The event is only 14 days away. Let's just deal with what we've been given this season and learn from it and make changes where needed for next season. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I agree that this can be a problem with no easy solution. There are too many wanna-be swoopers who want to have their cake and eat it all on the same jump (ie: do the freefall like everyone else and then swoop the beer line to impress the whuffo tandem peeps). There are some ultra experienced folks who can do both ... safely. But they are few and far between. I know I'm coming in way to fast to want to be around a bunch of people on a regular load, so the vast majority of my swoops are done on hop n' pop loads or high pulls. So ... this message is directed at the swoopers ... You can't always have your cake and eat it all on the same load. Have a plan, stick to the plan and know when to abort. Unless you are one of the ultra experienced peeps who can safely swoop on a regular load (they are rare creatures), then either take your swoops to the hop n' pop loads, or find a safer place to swoop away from all the other traffic. PS: I hope I don't eat my words this weekend as I'm off to a boogie where I doubt there will be a whole lot of hop n' pops and high pulls. It will mostly be regular free fall loads ... and I do need to practice my swoops. But I am prepared to land off far away from everyone else and walk back to the landing area. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Swoopers need to know when and where they can swoop. But it's a two way street. Non-swoopers also need to stay away from the swooping lanes and everyone needs to be aware of horizontal and vertical separation. But that message doesn't seem to be getting across to these accuracy buddies of yours. Case in point, yesterday I'm first out of the Cessna hop n' pop load. I take a 5 second delay and pitch (then I need about 20 seconds or so to deal with my RDS before I can get flying and ensure I'm first down). While I'm doing this I see this "so called" experienced old timer exiting the aircraft about 2 seconds after I've jumped and he hums it down below me. Whatever happened to separation? I would think that an experienced skydiver would know that 2 seconds between groups is not safe. On the competitive swooping circuit you get a donut if you cut in front of the guy exiting the aircraft before you and it's not uncommon for us to give each other 15 seconds or more between exits. So why are you guys not giving the people in front of your proper separation? Of course if I try and talk to the old timer about separation, he just starts telling me about the old days and how only pussies need extra altitude and separation. It's a two way street my friend. Swoopers need to respect non-swoopers and visa-versa. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm happy to see you view all swoopers as 'X' jump wonders. I've said it before and I will say it again. There is a time and a place to go big on a swoop and a regular load (let's say something like an Otter or King Air load) it is not the time to be going big. Education is still on going, and some people do not listen. But why do you insist on grouping the entire swooping community into one category of 'X' jump wonders wanting to take you out? Lately I've noticed a real animosity on the hop n' pop loads between myself (a swooper) and a bunch of old timers (accuracy guys). Not once has there been anything remotely close to a close call under canopy as I am very much aware of the benefits of horizontal and vertical separation and I don't want to be in the same part of the sky when they are doing their sashays down low to the ground. But that doesn't stop these guys from criticizing me and making their cat calls (like telling the pilot to only take the airplane up to 2k because only pussies need more altitude). I thought we were all siblings in this sport. But it's clear that some people have preconceived notions that they are right and everyone else is wrong. Maybe it's time to realize that not everyone is interested in living their lives the same way that you live yours. I promise you that I will stay out of your way (I will abort my swoop if you're below me), but there sure doesn't seem to be much interest in extending that courteousy my way. PS: If you think I'm just another one of those young punks, think again. I am a member of POPS and have plenty of life experience. I'm not interested in messing myself up, but I'm also not interested in living my life as a zombie. Let me do my thing, I promise that I will try to do it as safely as I possibly know how to, and I will let you do your thing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

LOL ... on many occasions I have found myself at a DZ early in the morning packing my BASE rig(s). So even though I wasn't at the WFFC this year, I wonder what Mr. Peek would say to me if he saw me packing one of my rigs at the DZ. Would he automatically assume that I had just jumped out of an airplane with it, or would he put two and two together to come to the realization that maybe I was re-packing the rig since it had been recently used on a jump in which it was designed to be used on. News at eleven ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ian know my rant wasn't direct at him. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Lot's of really shitty attitudes showing up today. If you don't like the CPC/PST then fine, you're entitled to your opinions (what's that saying, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one). Some of us still believe in the CPC and the PST and we know that the CPC and PST have helped progress us further as swoopers than we'd ever progress if all we did was swoop the beer line at our local DZs. Are the best pilots competing on the PST this season? No ... for a variety of reasons. But unless some of you were actually at the three PST events this season, how the #### do you know what was going on and what kind of vibe was there and how well or how poorly some people flew. I can tell you as an amateur allowed to compete on the PST this season, it's been a great learning experience and I've seen that in the big picture I've cut the gap between my flying and how the best in the world fly. But at the same time, I know I'm no where near as good as some of these guys and gals are and there is tons and tons of work to do before the gap can be cut further. So if you're criticizing Jim for letting guys like myself compete, who cares what you think, I'm there to learn and will only get better (in time) as I enter more and more swoop comps. Oh and I may lose my PST status for next season if I don't do well at the CPC Championships. But you know what? That's okay, if I'm not good enough to be on the PST, then I'm not good enough. Oh and yes Jim does do a lot of marketing towards his canopies, but until you've jumped one of these new canopies, how the #### do you know how good or how bad they are. I will tell you that my JVX hasn't been an easy canopy to excel on, but it is still a very fun canopy to fly and I just need more time under it before I can even remotely say I know all there is to know about it. Slam the CPC/PST if you need to. Some of us don't care. Some of us know that while we still have a long way to go, we are better swoopers now than what we were before the CPC existed. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I do believe that Iran is supplying Hezbollah with arms and possibly soldiers. So with that in mind, yes Israel and the USA are in conflict (indirectly) with Iran and Syria. Time will tell if the USA, Iran and Syria join in the party with actually forces on the front lines though. Man-made religions will be the death of us all. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You guys are going off on a tangent here (not surprising this is SC) and if people want to talk about whether society should accept transgendered people and/or what happens to a marriage when someone gets SRS, maybe a new thread should be started. This thread should be about whether this woman (yes she is a woman even though she wasn't born female) should be allowed to compete in womens pro downhill mountain bike racing. The current Canadian governing body of her sport says she is allowed to compete since they've issued her a pro license (I'm not sure if there is a World Governing body to that sport and where it stands on the issue). But I do have the view that if enough of her competitive peers think that she shouldn't be competing, then maybe she shouldn't be competing (even though it appears that she has less testosterone in her body than genetic females have and maybe her peers need to be educated as to what sort of performance changes her body has been through since her transition). I know one thing, I'm not good enough to compete in a womens pro downhill mountain biking race (even if I was female which I'm not). There's more to racing than one's gender. But if enough genetic female competitors think it's a bad idea for Michelle to be competing at this elite level, then maybe she shouldn't be competing. The decision should be made by her peers, not any of us. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Better you than me. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You tell him Tiger. What? Didn't you get the memo about the wing-over, cowboy, switch-blade, ghostrider, lazy-boy zone accuracy round? You haven't been practicing this trick? No it hasn't. Not only should you have proven something to yourself, but you've proved something else to all those nay sayers (myself included) who said you couldn't win without a cross-braced canopy. I understand your beef. But the CPC is ever changing and ever evolving. This is only the beginning. Wing-over, cowboy, switch-blade, ghostrider, lazy-boy zone accuracy round to be followed by a Boomerang, Miracle-Man, Nac-nac, Splice trick in the 2nd round of zone accuracy. You better start practicing your tricks. The pond is less than three weeks away. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I just watched the five minute preview of "100% Woman" a 60 minute documentary about Michelle and my view of the matter should be left to her peers and fellow competitors. If enough of these women think that Michelle shouldn't be racing, then she shouldn't be racing. But for the time being, she's having the time of her life competiting in a sport at the elite level and you can't fault her for that. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That would make some good video. actually no it wouldn't. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I stand corrected. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I wonder if that's because some of us skydivers also consider ourselves BASE jumpers and some of us BASE jumpers also consider ourselves skydivers? I like doing both activities and I don't like it when skydivers and BASE jumpers slam each other. We have a lot more in common with each other than we do with the whuffo world and for sure the FAA. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes I would say that you missed it as this quote from above was taken from that thread and they are your words, not mine. Plus you've repeatedly mentioned that using BASE jumping gear was stupid. Why is using BASE jumping gear stupid? Because the FAA says so? Well the FAA writes the rules and unfortunately we must abide by their rules. So with that respect, using BASE gear in the skydiving environment is not the right thing to do (I'm not disputing you wanting to stop someone from jumping BASE gear at the convention, I'm just questioning why you felt you needed to snitch). Anyway, I sure hope you realize that properly maintained and packed BASE jumping gear is a hell of a lot safer than the skydiving rigs we use. If you don't believe me, then you really need to educate yourself about the simplicity of the BASE jumping rig and better yet, get out there and do some jumps (from the safer objects we know) and maybe you will start understanding why BASE rigs aren't the weak link. The weak link always has been and always will be the human using the gear. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

If you let the density altitude freak you out, then it can get the better of you. But the most important thing to remember (not swooping related) is to finish your flare. It's not all that bad up there if you've got reasonably good canopy control. Plus remember that many of the big swooping events are now being held in CO because word has gotten out to the masses that swooping at altitude can be fun. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Thanks for the tribute video Jim. It's a keeper. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

There is a time to use a BASE jumping rig (and that is in the BASE jumping environment) and there is a time to use a skydiving rig (and that is in the skydiving environment). But there is never a good time to rat on a fellow jumper and a pilot to the FAA. Peek tells us that his actions were based on safety, but I doubt very much that it was about safety. I suspect it was more about wanting to teach the "other" guy a lesson. It's called a power trip and we're all guilty of having them once in a while. Anyone who knows anything about modern BASE jumping gear knows that the gear is not the weak link and that BASE jumping gear can be used safely in the skydiving environment. But the man (the FAA) says it's not legal to use a non-TSOed rig in the skydiving environment and since the FAA doesn't have the balls to certify a BASE jumping rig as TSOed, well we know that to satisfy the man, we better do as he says. So we shouldn't be using a BASE jumping rig in the skydiving environment. It's really not all that difficult (and I'm not happy when I hear about people jumping BASE rigs out of airplanes). But unfortunately Peek (and some of you other folks) believe that this was all about safety and it either shows the poor understanding some people have about BASE jumping gear or it shows the negative attitude some people have towards those who BASE jump. This was not about safety because unless the jumper in question was trying to win a low pull contest, he was a lot safer jumping out of the balloon with his BASE rig than I would be with my skydiving swooping rig. Finally, as far as shattering any image you may have about myself and that I've lost some. Well this isn't high school and it isn't a popularity contest. I call them as I see them and while I wouldn't be hostile towards people like Peek if I ever met him at a boogie, you better believe that he will be remembered as the guy who ratted to the FAA about a fellow jumper and when was the last time being known as a snitch was thought of as a good trait to have? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Best post of this whole damn thread. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

The FAA is not our buddies. Given the opportunity they would shutdown skydiving and general aviation and think nothing of it. If you've got safety concerns, talk to the pilot and/or owner of the operation. If you don't like their actions, don't jump there. But keep the FAA out of it. They are not our buddies. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over