obelixtim

The full text goes...."Gravity is a myth....the earth sucks". That T shirt goes back many years.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

TBF it hasn't all been one way traffic. Without knowing the full story, it is possible the OP was not treated fairly. Some posts seem to be fairly certain, as if they know something about this case that the rest of us don't. I'm not sure that they do..... I've seen plenty examples where people are for some reason not welcome on a DZ, and it is not always due to their skydiving ability or lack of..... I am still interested to know whether he had any indication that there was a problem before he got the speech.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Even if you were a bird? Some birds don't fly.....although I've come across a few turkeys in the sky in my time.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I'd find it pretty scary sitting next to the door with no rig on!!!. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

As the saying goes... "I want to die like my grandad, peacefully in my sleep....unlike his passengers, screaming in the back seat". My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I agree.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

OK, I wasn't aware of that.....but then I haven't done a jump in the US since 1976, and night jumps weren't on my aganda at the time. The type of lighting is optional wherever I've jumped, and with around 50 night jumps I've never used a strobe. Whatever lighting system used seems to have pros and cons. I only had one jump that was really scary.....no moon, high overcast layer, a 6 way from 10 grand....absolutely pitch black....No one saw anyone else from the second we exited till we met up in the bar later. Lights we had used successfully already, played no part in the jump. Everyone just tracked on their assigned heading and stayed there under canopy. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Ah, but it could be a hole created by a more intense suck!!. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think perhaps he means on a local level....and DZO's have the power to ban anything they like. They can also decide on a definition of "small" to be whatever suits them. The swooping pond closure is an illustration of this point, and will prolly be followed by others. Its not a huge step to see other bans coming into effect if the rate of death and injury under open canopies doesn't show a decrease. After 20 years of inaction, though, things are slowly starting to be put into practice reduce the toll. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Whichever DZ gave you the bowling speach has the highest degree of respect from me. They put your safety in front of their desire to make money. Just because you were successful at a different DZ certainly does not mean you weren't part of the problem. You were given a pretty serious 'time-out'. It is possible you approached the training at the second DZ with a more attentive attitude. Based on what they saw, you had the potential to seriously injure or kill yourself or others. It sounds like everything worked out for you. Congratulations on sticking with it and making whatever adjustments were necessary to be in this sport safely. Maybe you are correct, but I have personally witnessed DZ's where their own incompetance led to them rejecting people who were perfectly capable of making a safe skydive. Of course, in their own arrogant eyes they were faultless. Seen from the viewpoint of someone who has a lot of experience in training both students and Instructors, "incompetant" is perhaps too kind a term to use. I have also seen students rejected from a DZ for no good reason, only to find they were fine. Some of them turned into world class skydivers and instructors. Don't believe the hype that everyone who has a rating is an expert in the field of instruction....because that is far from the case. In this instance there is really too little information to make an accurate judgement whether the student was the one at fault. I would like to see the OP answer my questions about his jumps up to the point he was rejected, and what steps had been taken (if any) in his previous training to correct any faults. It sounds like the bowling speech came as a complete surprise to him, and if that was in fact the case, it sounds to me that the DZ was less than perfect. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Interesting post. I'm assuming this was somewhere in the US. If it was the UK it would not be surprising to me, as they are not very good at what they do....they always find reasons why something can't be done rather than why it can.... Did they outline any reason why they thought you were no good?. Did they have any video of your jumps?. How many jumps had you already done with them, and had they given you any indication previously that your performance was below par?. Or did you steal one of the girls the rest of them fancied?. Without a bit more detail its hard to know how to respond, although if you have continued elsewhere without problems, it indicates that perhaps the problem was not yours. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

You don't really need a strobe for night jumps, it is better to have a steady light shining up on to your canopy. From above, a strobe can easily be mistaken for a strobe on the ground, which airports generally have around them. As already stated, strobe lights can impair your night vision. Usually there is a lot of light coming from the ground, and if you have moonlight, it is surprising how much visibility there will be. Have an assigned segment of airspace to fly around in, and stick to it, if you are jumping with more than one person at the same time. You can also arrange to vary your opening heights, to maximise seperation. Don't get radical under canopy. Keep your neck on a swivel and your eyes peeled. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Nah, never felt that. But I have felt an increase in temperature....warm layer I guess. Maybe you just hit a hole in the earths gravity.... I did experience a strong smell of boiled cabbage one day, but that was under canopy, and as I was flying over the local Rock College, I figured that was what they were having for lunch.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Well done. I bet it was something you never imagined way back then when you first went to the DZ. Not many get to live through the evolution (well the major part of it anyway) of a sport. Buy yourself a beer..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

As I said to Hokie....it COULD happen....and as you well know, waivers and the like have never stopped smart lawyers trying it on....Even successfully defending such a lawsuit can break an organisation financially.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Do you understand the word "COULD". Its the one I used. It is different to "WOULD". The one you used. Do you also understand that people file lawsuits despite the fact that they have clearly been advised that the manufacturer is NOT liable. It doesn't stop ambulance chasing lawyers trying, and sometimes succeeding. Again you fail to read my post properly. I used the word "POSSIBLY" in the context of legislation. If you investigate any accident you will find what is commonly called a "chain" of events/circumstances that put together contribute to said accident. Remove one link from that chain of events/circumstances, and you will likely prevent such an occurrence. As a DZO, thats what you try to do every single day on the DZ...identifythose links and correct or eliminate them. As for solutions, I've said my piece many times. My main solution would be for DZO's to be vigilant and do their job properly. Its an easy solution. You tell me why it seems to fall in the "too difficult" basket. There are no quick fix solutions. A simple one would be to prevent the use of small canopies altogether. Will that happen....probably not. You cannot argue though that it doesn't fall under the umbrella of "solutions", whether you like it or not. You have to consider all solutions, and then adopt or reject the ones that are relevant/irrelevant. And you think that the US is the only place people skydive and die???. So you say that skydivers are subject to absolutely no control at all?. So the licences and rating we hold, the training syllabus we adhere (or not) to, our DZO's, safety officers, instructors, experienced peers, pilots as a small immediate example of the people who take responsibility for safety on the DZ have no control over what happens?. Neither do airport authorities, city councils, local police and the legal system..... And then we get to state and federal authorities... In my experience.....all can directly affect whether we skydive or not....if they choose to make things difficult for us... On my DZ, all my experienced skydivers are part of my control mechanism, they are my eyes and ears, and have my permission to take action if they see something they know I would react to, if it meant preventing an incident. We ARE a soft target..and it has been done before....and it can happen again.....skydiving doesn't, and hasn't "just happened". Its a result of a lot of hard work by dedicated individuals, throughout our history. Skydiving has been banned before.... Hang around for 30 or 40 years and you may see similar things happen. It might also help if you read and understand a post carefully before jumping in with six guns and spraying bullets all over the place...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Not always the case...especially when we are talking about a specialised product with a specialist market. The manufacturers can pretty much tailor their product in whatever way they like, and not give the consumer a choice. Limiting small reserves would not mean the end of skydiving. People would continue to jump what was available. And the manufacturer could be found liable in a court of law if he made a product (like cigarettes) which normal use would likely result in serious injury or death, and he was cognisant of that fact. You cannot legislate against stupidity, but you could possibly legislate against some other link in the chain where people are killed or seriously injured. And small canopies are an easily identifiable, common factor, in the chain of injury and death... Skydiving is somewhat unique, because as an aviation activity, it is subject to several levels of control that motorcycles as an example, are not. Skydiving is a relatively soft target for hard ball legislators....and we simply don`t have the numbers (or votes) to put up much of a defense..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think Marisan is doing an excellent job playing the devils advocate, and his message has been consistent. Whether or not he still jumps is irrelevant if his message keeps discussion and awareness of the problem to the fore. As for doom and gloom, I don´t think what he is warning of (possible consequences), is as doomy and gloomy as what you will find at quite a few funeral parlours and rehab centres for the many dead and crippled jumpers who should still be part of the jumping community, but no longer are. For whatever reason, death and injury at the rate we are seeing under perfectly functioning canopies is quite simply, not acceptable.....has been going on for far too long, and needs to be corrected.... Thanks to the Marisans of the world, the problems are finally being addressed....albeit slowly. This is an improvement on the last 20 years of hoping the problem would simply go away. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Why the witch-hunt against manufacturers? We are all responsible for our choices as experienced skydivers, including the gear we chose to save our life. I think he is saying if the product didn´t exist, the demand wouldn´t be there. Its called logic.....something that doesn´t always exist either. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

quote quote. The DZ is obviously run by amateurs.....If they were serious about providing a service they would make it happen.... My business plan is simple....if there is a demand, cater for it. Its not rocket science. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Do these DZ's have any clue what they are doing. If there is a demand for courses, why do they not cater for it. Talk about making it more difficult than is necessary. It is already difficult when you have delays due to nature, with weather and the like.... I wonder how many potential skydivers change their minds and never ever get to do it because the interval between deciding to try it and actually getting trained is too long... Some DZO's really have no brains at all.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Back in 1987 when I switched my student mains to squares, I gave all my students an alti. They didn't really use it on FF till they were doing 10 second delays or more. They still had to count on those early FF delays. The altimeter was more for canopy control, so they knew where to be at certain altitudes to get their landing patterns established. Plus when it was time to read the alti in FF they were well used to where it was and what it looked like. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Well for a start, every single one of us started from where you are. Before our first jump none of us knew what to expect, except that there would be some degree of fear involved. We|ve all made that first jump, no matter how many we have done since..... Its instinctive to all of us, the fear of falling, and the fear of fire. It is what helps to protect us from danger..... Of course when instinctive fear was built into us, it was long before skydiving, bungy jumping, abseiling and the like were invented. But we overcame it with knowledge, and hence the saying, knowledge dispels fear. Once you have been shown how and why a parachute works, and had all the built in safety systems explained to you, a lot of the fear will disappear. And then you will go through the training, where you will be taught how to deal with the skydive itself, and also how to deal with any emergencies that could occur. Once your instructors are happy with your training and progress, only THEN then will they allow you to do the skydive. So when that time comes around, you should be confident of being able to cope with the jump. You will still be nervous beforehand, but that is normal, all of us experienced that. But once the action starts, you will be busy, so fear will take a backseat. Read through the Tale of the Duck in the Bonfire forum, it|ll give you a very accurate beginners perspective. And for what its worth, I still get nervous climbing onto my roof, or flying in a plane without a parachute on my back. Get out there and do it. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Don´t NZA have a factory in Spain....somewhere north of Barcelona?. I`m sure I heard that somewhere.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

You want coke and fries with that upsize???. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....