obelixtim

Amen, Halleluia, Allahu Akbar.... Right on the button, bro...... "Those who fail to learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them". Or something like that. I'd pay attention if I thought it might help me save my sorry arse...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think after a few years you get all "idioted out". Its relentless, and often its the same stupidity over and over again. It gets boring... But sometimes you have to be blunt or they never get the point..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Flying camera, "500" jumps and can't maintain level. Forgot about the other people on your jump and focused on flying with him? Meh, maybe that's where he should have been the entire freefall. Still trying to interfere? Good for you! You're learning how to take charge of you own well-being! If you are doing this to please him, you're doing it for all the wrong reasons. Yep. A definite indicator of ego problems. In skydiving, ego problems are just that....problems. Believe me, you're better off not getting involved with that in the sky. I'm questioning why you even have to ask. This is not something that needs permission from anyone....least of all from someone who you claim is "supportive". This doesn't show "supportive" in my world...how about yours? Well, how about focusing on them and the dive? Maybe you've heard "Plan the dive, Dive the Plan?" Something tells me that your previously mentioned dive flow didn't include "chase the video guy." Had this thread been a poll, you would probably gotten a lot of votes for "dump the bozo." Harsh, but fair....... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Basic law of the road # 1. Everyone is your enemy and wants to kill you. Basic law of the road # 2. In any incident, you are always gonna come second. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

What you are looking at in most cases is a carefully constructed front. Showing fear in front of others is not something macho men are able to do. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Are you dangling off the strut, or going from the step?. If you dangle, you can actually get your body almost arched before you leave, conversely, from the step you are often starting from a negative arch position, accentuated if you let your hands go before your foot leaves the step. You then have quite a transition to a good arch, and not a lot of time to do it. Strut dangles are the way to go. Each jump will increase your awareness, and you will get it right. Practise it lots on the ground. Its free!. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Just on that point, I attended a coroners court hearing after a fatality, and at the end of proceedings, the coroner made a point of commenting how impressed he was with our standards of checks and recording systems, saying how it made his job a lot easier when researching the background to the incident, and how he could see the best possible efforts were in place to protect everyone involved. He went on to say it was a model of how organisations such as ours dealing with adventure activities and the public should be run. An endorsement like that from a senior legal entity is not only very satisfying, it also adds legitimacy to what we do, especially when dealing with aforementioned bureaucratic nitpickers who sometimes have an agenda all of their own, and sometimes work outside their remit. It is sometimes very difficult to fight these idiots, and if they get their teeth into some perceived transgression they can make life difficult for everyone. They quite often curl up when you can show them that an authority much higher than them has complimented our system..... It all makes life so much easier (like anything). when you are prepared for all or most eventualities. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Brilliant!!. One day that Duck will evolve into the Eagle, if you stick with it.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Yup. And that's why the "kick him, shoot him, bring tar & feathers" goes on. And it WILL go on simply because of the reason you show in the paragraph above. Silly how that works, eh? ok, we are on the same side. but - in my very humble and certainly limited view of things - it starts with the initial training of "TI's". I am very sure that there are I/E's out there, who take their job and the attitude of their students seriously - read who are clear that certain things like handlechecks are here for a reason. others might not hold true of these standards and who are more associated with a laissez faire kind of attitude. heck I could provide you with tons of pictures from my corner of the world showing clear examples of "well I just do it my way no matter what the book says" - but that is another can of worms not limited to the places where I jump. longtime readers of the forums will remember more than one instance where "TI's" performed stunts beyond belief.... so: What do I/E's do to ensure they themselves hold up to a high standard, is there anything like a "quality management/long term evaluation" for i/E's out there, who's controlling it, who's controlling the quality of TI's etc? from what I see in my corner once you've got a rating nobody ever re-evaluates your qualification ever again. do I have a solution? no. would I want more regulation? since I am not living in the states, that question doesn't apply to me (USPA or FAA-wise) but if I were, I guess I'd still say no. Jumping tandem is not easy so there definitly is no easy black/white answer to this We set up a system where DZ's could be audited, and every DZ goes through an audit if there is a fatality or series of incidents, automatically. Failing that, they were all required to be audited every two or three years. The audit covered any aspect of DZ operation the auditors wanted to look at, paperwook, training, equipment, aircraft, pilots, rating holders, etc etc etc. The auditors came from a small pool of I/E's, all very experienced jumpers. Auditing of your own operation was not allowed. Failure to comply with any administrative conditions would usually see a period of grace given to give time to comply (usually a month). Failure of operational matters were treated slightly differently, they may be given time to comply, or have their approval to operate suspended (depending on the situation). It wasn't treated as a way to catch DZO's out, rather it was to make sure standards were high and consistent throughout the country. All DZO's were given a checklist of what the audit would involve, so non compliance would not be viewed favourably. Viewing of a video like this would likely see the DZO reprimanded, and his tandem operation would be given the fine tooth comb treatment. The TI's would probably be required to go through a retraining/reevaluation programme. Because so many of these videos are posted on youtube, DZO's really have no where to hide, and a video like this would soon catch the attention of the auditors.. It all sounds a bit harsh, but surprisingly once DZO's were up to speed with what was required, they found compliance quite easy. It had the additional benefit of showing to authorities a thorough system with records to back that up, which helped immensely when dealing with the odd officious bureaucrat from CAA or other authority, should they come poking around. The audit system was based on ISO type auditing systems, and was very thorough. All DZO's willingly signed up to it, because it had the advantage of having an outsider go over things, thus preventing operations becoming too insular and inward looking. An audit typically lasted about a day, sometimes less if everything checked out OK. It is a good system, and works well in a small country with a finite number of operations, compliance in a bigger country with multiple DZ's might present a few more problems, but the idea is sound, perhaps done at state level rather than nationally in t5he case of the US. People quickly recognised the audits as being beneficial to everyone, rather than an imposition. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Thats my policy as well. Guys with 10,000 odd tandem jumps or more, don't seem to have a problem with it. But they do the checks as a matter of normal routine, not particularly because of anything I've said. They are intelligent enough to realise the responsibility they have for someone else, but mostly because they are fairly interested in giving their own arse a better chance of survival. Thats how it should be.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Oh, OK then, because 80% of TI's ignore correct procedures, that makes it all right then. I'm sure you'd be happy to allow your wife/GF/mother/sister/brother go on the front of such a TM. Great!. Having seen a Tandem bounce, Where the TI didn't react as quickly as he should have, which may well have prevented a bad situation from getting worse, I don't think its unreasonable to expect a TI tio carry out some BASIC, SIMPLE checks as part of his RESPONSIBILITY. Since when is a (verbal) kick in the arse a severe sanction?. Complacency kills. You obviously don't quite get that. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

The TM is so caught up in performing and looking cool for the camera that he neglects all the basic checks he should be making.....He needs a good kick in the arse. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

That sounds a bit arse about face!. Would that change if the jumper had been injured?. (Sorry, not familiar with US federal or state laws). However if he's found guilty I'm sure the skydiving community will sentence him to life.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think you need to save more of your sympathy for the guy whose life was put at risk for the sake of a measly 400 bucks. Your sympathy is wrongly directed IMO, towards a guy who could have been the "executioner" of an innocent skydiver. Your idea of a database for equipment though, is a good one. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I think the charge of theft or whatever is the least of his problems. An incident occurred that put someones life at risk. Fortunately no injuries ensued, sheer luck. As an "experienced" skydiver he cannot claim ignorance of that fact. Removing the warning stickers, is a calculated, deliberate act. He deserves the book to be thrown at him, and to pay the most severe penalty that the law allows. IMO it rates amongst the most despicable of acts, on a par with deliberate sabotage of someone elses gear. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

What you have already learnt is what a good canopy LOOKS and FEELS like. "Square", and stable, flying straight. Your brain and body together are assimilating good information. Now, if you have an opening that FEELS or LOOKS different to what you already know, your body and brain will instantly recognise the difference and trip the red alert switch. You'll prolly be aware of how the canopy feels before you even look at it. Any problem will manifest itself with the canopy turning or spinning, at various rates from slow to fast, depending on the problem. If it doesn't feel right, it most prolly isn't. You can look at pictures and videoes to your hearts content, and that is very useful, but it is in no way the same as experiencing a problem for real. At your stage (in fact any stage) of your skydiving career, the important thing is not to mess around, make a decision and stick to it. Chop?. Yes or no. A real problem will be obvious and you should immediately ignore what is going on with the main and carry out your EPs as trained. You'll be surprised in a real situation, how easy it all is. The key is to make a decision and not dither around wondering. I know people with over a thousand jumps who still have anxiety over how they would deal with a problem, never having had one. I was lucky, got a really shitty one out of the way on jump #6. It gave me huge amounts of confidence at that point, because I knew what to expect, and more importantly, how I would react. The old rule still applies, "when in doubt, whip it out." (cutaway and deploy reserve.) My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

No!!. Bad idea. You'll have a bridle cord flapping around which could cause problems, the worst being an open backpack and a bag lifting off.....potential horseshoe, big trouble.... You do not need to rush, concentrate on a stable exit an proper deployment of the pilotchute as you would on any normal jump. Edit: Beaten to it, but still the thing not to do... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

If he did that in the tunnel, he has absolutely no business getting anywhere near you in the sky. He doesn't have the skills to dock safely, and you will have other things to worry about than where he is and what he is doing. He is now presenting a real hazard. Talk to your STA about it . Its better to be divorced than injured or dead. So he's willing to endanger you and blatantly flout a DZ rule which is in place for a very good reaon, just to satisfty his own ego... He is a jerk. Again talk to your STA, or refuse to get in the plane with him. But you will still be anxious about his presence....not good for your own peace of mind or focus on your skydive. No, its time to tell him straight to back off. Else you are going to have this crap for the rest of your skydiving career. Skydiving has enough inherent dangers without him adding to them, which is exactly what he is doing. You have enough on your plate without this shit. The best thing for you to do if he carries this on is to point blank refuse to get in the plane with him. Do NOT be afraid to take this option, it might then start to get through his thick skull that he is out of line. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I don't think you have a very clear idea of what I am suggesting. It would not affect a D ring style handle in any way, apart from changing its colour. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Greenpeace would have a team there pouring buckets of water on her.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Why not just get some yellow electrical insulation tape and wrap it around the reserve handle. Changes the colour, and you can take it off if you later change your jumpsuit for a yellow one. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I'm sure he would have enjoyed a cold one or two since. I would certainly buy him one, no problema. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

They mostly now moved over the pond to our DZ We regurlarly have British (and various other nationalities too) doing FJC SL round at our DZ. They did a whole documentary on one of these courses this year, a group of British "problem youths" who came to our DZ (some with ankle bracelets on!) to make at least their first jump, so they could then go on to do the re-enactment jump @ Arnhem the next weekend. And they did

I recall in the mid 70's a "reserve caterpillar club" was initiated for people who had saved their lives using a reserve. Recipients got a small badge with membership. Don't know if it continued, but if it did there would be thousands of eligible members. Effectively its the same thing, except you are swapping a parachute that doesn't work instead of an aeroplane that doesn't work. Either case sees you in the last chance saloon. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

And he didn't hook in the canopy and kill himself on landing..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....