obelixtim

To add: Licences are issued by your national association (BPA, USPA etc) but the licence itself is a FAI licence, which makes it international, and valid everywhere, as long as it is current and you satisfy any local requirements (logbook check, local fees or whatever). So it is not necessary to change. Whoever gave that advice doesn't know what they are talking about. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Did that many years ago. We organised ours through the local Aero club, it made it easier for some reason (but that was when skydivers were regarded as lunatics. Maybe the Aero club is a good place to start...most pilots would be keen if you need to get a group together. Most militaries would have the facilities to do so. Just don't do the explosive decompression part of it if you value your eardrums..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Nice one. Now they'll be hanging out in that big DZ in the sky drinking beer with a bunch of other jumpers. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Why would you want to? Work towards your BPA B. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I don't expect ground wind to be more than 6 kts but would it hurt to bring along a 10 ft long roll of toilet paper and drop it from.. say 1000 ft? It would be difficult to discern wind direction from that, unless you were able to stop dead in the air at point of release. Better to drop a smoke canister, but you'd get into trouble doing that! Smoke or steam from chimneys, cloud shadows on the ground might be better, but normall there will be little wind if balloons are in the air, so it might be better to focus on just finding a clear area to land in. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Join the club.....bigly. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Your inner cynic is showing...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I'd set fire to it, and go buy another one. Its simply not fashionable to wear a faded jumpsuit in freefall. Petrol and a lighter are your friend..... Or you could dye it another colour. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

If you open your mouth in FF all the air gets sucked out of your lungs. Then you die..... You really have 3 options: 1.Blow all the air out of your lungs before you jump. 2.Hold your breath for the whole jump until you land (thats about 4 - 5 minutes and requires special training). 3. Breathe normally. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Friend needs to decide whether skydiving is for her. Complete her jump course, continue jumping until she can cope with flying and landing a suitable canopy and has clocked up enough jumps for her DZO and fellow jumpers to trust her, and THEN consider downsizing. Too early to jump the gun on this issue. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I had a group of Koreans turn up at my DZ for a couple of weeks a few years ago. It turns out they were military, and by their demeanour, were special forces. They were very insular, wouldn't mix with us or join in with anything. Came across as pretty ruthless, and the guy in charge was a real mean bugger....definitely would not want to cross him and meet n a dark alley.... On their last night they finally joined us in the bar, and when I showed them a string trick with a pull up cord, he insisted on going first to solve it. Of course he couldn't, and got very sour about it. When one of his underlings solved it he got really nasty....That's when I realised he'd lost "face" in front of his men. I would not have liked to be in the boots of the guy who solved it, because you could see he was going to be punished. A very unpleasant individual, I was quite glad they never came back. If the bunch at Elsinore are cut from the same cloth, I definitely wouldn't throw a civilian in with them. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Not sure what you mean by "apron". Not part of our terminology. I've done drop testing with dummies before, and the best opening method is a static line type system...does away with pilot chutes completely. Then of course you'll have to consider what happens with the static line attached to the drone after deployment. What you should do is contact your local dropzone (google is your friend) and find out who their rigger is. Face to face with a qualified rigger will give you a lot of answers and information, especially if you take your setup and show him what you have got. Its tricky trying to do some of this on the internet. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

OK, that is all good, you are familiar with the various requirements for flight and dropping objects. Also to take into account. What is the weight of the bear? That will have an effect on both the opening and the flight of the canopy, depending on the wind strength. So the size of the canopy will need to be matched with the weight of the passenger to get optimal flying performance. There is quite a bit to consider. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

How do you propose to get your bear to his launch point?. What altitude? what vehicle? Landing zone? Be aware that there might be problems to overcome with authorities when you go into the air with this toy. Like CAA, local councils etc. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

They will always answer yes, even if they have no clue. Its because they are embarrassed and will lose "face" if they admit to not understanding something. He will also be worried about offending you if he answers no. Questioning is something they just do not do. This concept is very important to people from Asia, and governs everything they do. You have to be very careful.....I've trained a lot of non English speakers, but that was on SL rather than AFF. I was able to keep it very simple, using minimal language, and lots of demonstrations and diagrams. I then had a person fluent in their language on the radio and I relayed the instructions to them. It always worked out OK, but I had to do quite a bit extra to ensure that they really did understand what they needed to know. You have to test their understanding at every step. I think AFF might be too complicated to do with a person who doesn't understand, the risk of misunderstanding is too great. Unless you can find a Korean speaking instructor, I would pass on this one. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Most DZs around the world are not USPA affiliated. As long as you have a FAI A licence and logbook, you can jump anywhere you like, as long as the local DZ says its OK. The sky doesn't care about "affiliation". My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Yep, posing is sooo important. Ypu can't afford to be uncool. Buy new shoes....you have to then buy a new jumpsuit and rig to go with it. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

You can blame the tourism upsurge on the Lord of the Rings/Hobbits movie franchise. Hey, its a good problem to have.

It might pay for someone to join the anti skydiving group, then you'll have a spy inside the organisation to see what they are really up to. If they succeeed then it sets a precedent that other groups like CQS will use to strengthen their case. These battles have to be fought tooth and nail till the bitter end. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Right in the middle of the summer holidays, most Kiwis will be on holiday. The place will be packed wherever you go, so accommodation will be hard to find in the touristy spots. Book now if you want somewhere to stay. Queenstown will be jam packed. To the point of being annoying. Its also quite expensive. NZ is basically overrun with tourists, to the point the government tourism outfit has stopped advertising internationally. The infrastructure is struggling to cope. Wanaka might be a better option, you can day trip from there. There will be plenty of adventure activities open and pumping. Skydiving...Nelson is your best bet. Have a look at some of the websites to find out what to do. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Work boots..... To stamp out forest fires..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

A hambush..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Shouldn't that be South Pork? Silence of the Hams? My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Maybe not, but at least you have more experience in the air, and may possibly have witnessed/experienced tricky situations already. You learn more the longer you are involved. How do you mitigate against a last second error of judgement? Not a bad suggestion. IMO, in skydiving "proceed with caution" is a much better mantra than "damn the torpedoes". That's what most of the rules and regs are based on, and always have been. If said rules and regs become irrelevant over time, they are usually discarded. People are always going to get hurt or die skydiving. That is the reality. Reducing the odds of that, is the name of the game. I really struggle to see why some people have a problem with that. Usually its because they haven't been around long enough to witness the horrible side of skydiving. Its not always fun and games. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Allahu Akboar...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....