obelixtim

Acme aeroplane trap. Satisfaction guaranteed.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

+ 1. As the sying goes:" if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen". My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Keep your brain switched on at all times.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Most of my SL students did another jump if the weather, daylight, slots on the plane were conducive to doing so. I would be guessing, but overall I would say it would have been 30 - 40 % doing a second jump....It was something I always pushed hard. If you go to the numbers who got an A licence, I guess the figure would be a lot less...maybe 5 %. But that was prolly due to the fact that for 4 or 5 years we were a travelling jump circus, operating at 6 different DZ's, so only got to visit every 5 or 6 weeks... For a number of years 25% of A licences issued in NZ were issued to jumpers who came through my courses. I "made" a lot of skydivers who went on to become TM's, jumpmasters and instructors. In later years a lot of these students came from abroad....so were lost to the NZ scene. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I do feel sorry for British skydivers who have to live with it though. Not half as sorry as I feel for the Sports jumpers in NZ......who don't even get a look in at the majority of DZ's. The golden days of NZ sport jumping are long gone, you missed them. NZ sport jumpers shot themselves in the foot years ago when they tried for many years to get the then fledgling commercial operations to subsidise their jumping to the tune of taxing every operator $5.00 per student/tandem. They tried this on at federation meetings for years, despite being told that the commercial operators would break away and form their own organisation..... Guess what?. It came to pass. And ensued that the bad blood generated meant they were not that welcome any more... They had plenty of opportunities with big aircraft and good facilities popping up.... But then they couldn't organise themselves to take full advantage of those facilities. One of the operators in Taupo organised quite a few sport meets, with some world class skydivers attending....but that didn't last long. Another reason for that is that all of the most experienced skydivers got into commercial operations, so the expertise was lost to the sport scene. And commercial operators do have to work to make their money. The incentive to do sport jumps just isn't there....especially when they've been there, done that, got the T shirt.... So sport jumping is not that good, but I think you'll find that is the case in many parts of the world. The NZ skydiving population just isn't big enough to support a big, sport only DZ. There are plenty of good aircraft available though, all those sporties have to do is organise themselves..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I'm glad you are happy to maintain the status quo....because on a personal level it won't affect me in the least.... I do feel sorry for British skydivers who have to live with it though. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

My point was simply that the best practice recommendations are not based on a comprehensive testing programme, and the number of test jumps done was not enough to give a solid basis to those recommendations. My problem was simply, in the absence of anything more comprehensive, these morphed into THE way to do things. Having said that, they generally go along the right lines..... I am simply saying that any two out situation is a unique event, with its own potential complications. What saves your bacon one day can kill you the next. The only acceptable advice that could be said to be definite, is simply to treat any two out with caution. Stay cool, assess the situation, and use very small (if any) inputs if the canopies are stable and flying well. Cutting away a good canopy is not a good idea if its not necessay. In fact a lot of opinion on the matter came from experienced CRW pilots, who did have a lot of experience flying with multiple canopies, and the basis of my training for two outs was influenced quite a lot by CRW experience. I trained that with a two out biplane, it was best to take both sets of toggles and fly both canopies right to the ground, including flaring on touchdown. I saw this work well in several two out situations where a bi plane developed. A couple of side by sides developed into downplanes, and the drill in that situation was simply to chop the main when the two canopies started flying apart from each other. I also saw this scenario several times. What was not allowed for back then was the great disparity in size and speed of main and reserve parachutes we see in use today. Thus each jumper has to assess what they have and make a decision based on what is happening. It is a question that every jumper should have pondered, particularly when downsizing or jumping new gear. Review of procedures should be a constant process.... We did a lot of CRW back then, and had a lot of experience with multiple canopies, wraps and the behaviour of canopies in close proximity to each other. One thing for sure that we learned, things can go pear shaped very quickly, so there is a definite need to stay ahead of the game... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Even 20 years ago, this data was not reliable, simply because it was based on too small a test sample to draw any definite conclusions. I remember the discussions back then and views were never consistent on the "right" way to do things. The variation in canopy sizing was also much less of a factor, compared to today. The only consistent attitude was if it was stable and flying nicely, stick with it, but be gentle with it. If things were going haywire, chop. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think the bit that perplexes the authorities a little is the fact that the riders don't actually land in the plane, whereas all their rules, regulations and thought processes are geared towards flight in an aircraft, from go to whoa... Their legal gurus can't seem to wrap their heads around this conflict, especially as a parachute is not classified as an aircraft. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Well Nataly, on this very thread, seems to agree with me about the skydiving, for a start.... I'm a big boy, so some rudeness bounces off me pretty easily, but it wasn't hard to pick up the negative vibes at the places I visited. Its not good form to be so specific on a public forum, but lets just say the 3 DZ's I visited were all in the South East. They were all equally bad in their lack of ambience and willingness to get on with jumping. The malaise I'm talking about is an institutional thing, which pervades the whole of British skydiving, rooted in the attitudes of the BPA hierarcy, a bunch of self servers dedicated to preserving their status as guardians of the sport and gravely concerned with minutae.....at the expense of promoting skydiving as an adventure activity for all to enjoy.. They seem to have an attitude that stifles and obstructs skydiving at every turn....big on "You can't do that" Rather than "make it happen". Skydiving is approached in a very negative way, rather than positively, as it should be. This has resulted in many good British skydivers voting with their feet, as evidenced by the many I have met at various DZ's across the world who are consistent in their criticism of the way skydiving is run in GB. I've had a good few PM's on this forum from others who agree with my views. I realise that there are some great individuals, and possibly some good DZ's that I may have missed, but to me overall, British skydiving does not come across in a good light, especially compared to many other countries (9 at last count) I have visited and jumped at, since I started back in 1974.... It is, by some margin, the worst. The BPA's status as the governing body in GB needs to be challenged and an organisation with the interests of its members at heart needs to be set up to run things. Till then it'll never change... But I'm sure you'll feel free to disagree... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

"Banzaiiiiiii......" My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

"No hook turns, no hook turns"....... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

"D'oh...forgot the damn thing....again...." My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think you took a little more from my post than I intended, it was just a little bit tongue in cheek, hence my reference to "ants", and the bit about important other things to be looking for during the jump. Your last 3 paragraphs of your post sums up pretty much what I was pointing out.... And yes, I can pretty much estimate my altitude pretty accurately, and that comes from jumps in many different places, and different jump disciplines as well. The Mk 1 eyeball is a pretty useful tool, My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Not exactly A grade movie stuff, is it.... Don't people realise that you can learn to use a camera on the ground......long before you try to mix it with skydiving....jQuote My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Well he must have been jumping with one for the jumps he's done so far. When he does jumps in the future he can do several things to train his eyeball.... Look out of the aircraft on the way to altitude, noting the ground picture when he is at relevant altitudes. Note things like the size of objcts on the ground...buildings, cars, ants....... Look at the ground picture at relevant altitudes during the dive...breakoff, activation, hard deck.... During the dive he need not spend long doing this, as there are other important things to be looking at, but even a quick glance each time will begin to imprint the image on his brain. After a while the sight picture becomes a natual thing. I can do a jump from any altitude and not look at my altimeter at all, yet I will always be open withing 1 or 2 hundred feet of my opening altitude. Its a skill everyone should develop, because altimeters have been known to fail or get smashed on a dive. Believe it or not..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Train the MK 1 eyeball...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Hit a raw nerve did I..... Recently worked in London for 5 years, and my experience of attending a first jump course with a work mate, (anonymously of course) and the dropzone showed me a bunch of incompetants who should have had their ratings pulled. My visits to several other DZ's gave me a good look at a bunch of people who completely ignored any stangers on the DZ. Welcome and ambience on the DZ? Zero!. Plus the feedback I've received from numerous low time jumpers in the UK who have told me their stories, and believe me, they are consistent in their theme of how difficult it is to get anything done. Got a PM just this week from an upcoming British jumper who was about to quit the sport completely, but has moved to the US to further his jumping. His comment: "You were right" The BPA has been like that in its attitudes since my first contact with British skydiving back in the 70's.... Tell me, why were the "safety concious" BPA still sanctioning student jumps on round parachutes and Fore and Aft gear well into the new century? This stuff was banned from student use in backward old NZ back in 1985..... Says it all. Antique gear, antique attitudes..... The exception to all my negative experience with British jumping was the British Royal Marines who I had dealings with at the CRW meet in China back in 1991. Nice blokes, the lot of them. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

The point is quite simple. This guy can't even do the basics of skydiving properly, and yet he puts a camera on his head. He needs to learn a whole lot more about skydiving and survival before he even thinks about mixing cameras with jumping. The turkey who hit him coming from above needs a good hard slap as well. Biggest slap is reserved for the DZO who let these turkeys loose in the air in the first place. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I wouldn't count on doing any enjoyable skydiving in the UK, the place is run by a bunch of self important incompetants, to whom petty rules and regulations will stop you from anything approaching good skydiving and good vibes.. However, if you want to do some decent skydiving you can hop across the channel to Holland, France or Spain relatively easily. Some great DZ's to be found where you will be allowed to enjoy yourself....Plus in the south of France and Spain the weather is much better... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

When hand deploy pilot chutes first came out, they were called "throwaways". There was a reason for that. I think you've been told on this thread..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

HUPRA is an old concept. we set one up and carried it in our jump plane back in the 70's. Quite simple actually. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Reminds me of the story about Pierre, ze famouse French aviateur.....'e always liked to go down in flames..... But I'm at work so I can't post it right now.... I do recall a story of a night demo gone wrong many years ago where the jumoer attached a hot flare to his foot for a night demo, and with his feet on his backside during the freefall, burnt through the saddle and legstraps of his B4, and on opening, continued on his way without his rig.... Not sure if it was actually true, but it was a good story.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

That was the accepted wisdom, but of course if someone lost a grip, it went twang like a rubber band and flew to bits. Usually they went up and down and in and out, and then down the mine..... OK who's the low man, base for the rebuild..... Skydiving was a lot of fun back then, most roundies we tried were limited by the aircraft, most common were 10 mans, out of a couple of Cessnas in formation. It was always a race for the guys in the chase plane to get in before all the base plane jumpers..... Al Krueger taught us a lot when he came down to NZ to run a few seminars....followed up a couple of years later by Craig Fronk and W.H.O. Best things the old NZFPC ever did. I think those were the best days of skydiving.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Nah, thats Chicken Man. He flies so fast, his wings catch fire!!!. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....