riddler

And that's what I meant Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

15?? Jeez. Oh, wait - you weren't at Mile-Hi on Saturday for CSL when they were manifesting 8 loads out. For me 2:3:0 3 jumps in two days of beautiful weather. But I did complete the first coach eval jump with Mustard.

*Sigh* - these hot dry days in Colorado are such a bother. Landings are faster. It's so hard to pack with no humidity. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Ya know, with the lower gravity, I think you could actually land that 27 ft^2 canopy on Pluto. Of course, if you think your hands get cold in the toggles in winter on Earth ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Anyone notice it's always the Guinness freaks that do crazy shit like this?

I really wish more jumpers understood this. So, regarding cell phone on jump planes, I hear this from BillVon: So it's not illegal to have a PCS phone *on* as long as it's not used to make a call? And this from Chris: And this from Bill: I don't think I've sever seen a modern skydiving plane But most of them (in my experience) are VFR, not IFR. Sounds like it's just plain safer to make sure all cell phones (GPRS included) are turned off in the plane. I can get my DA reports on the ground.

First time I packed my Voodoo, I did the same, only ended up with bridle on both sides of the closing pin above the #3 (right) flap. I figured I would check it on the ground by pulling it out from the PC. Result: bag lock Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Riglets. Nice I think I'll use that next time I meet a female rigger. I'll probably get socked in the eye for that. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

And I've got you beat - Bay City Rollers - 1978 (I was 7).

I climb a few 14ers every year (mountains above 14,000 feet ASL - Colorado has 55 of the 67 in the states). Anyway, we use our cell phones all the time from the top of the 14ers. Call our friends: friend: "Hello?" me: "Guess where I am?" friend: "Why the Hell are you calling me at 9 am on a Saturday morning??" Some of them have 5,000 foot ascents. But we do notice that some carriers work better than others - I wonder what sort of regulations about range the cell towers have?

Question for jump pilots. I know using a cell phone on a commercial plane can effect instruments/communications. I would like to know if carrying/using a cell phone on a jump plane will also effect instruments/communications. I don't know which instruments are effected on commercial planes, or if jump planes even have those types of instruments, so I'm seeking a little enlightenment. I don't expect to use the phone to talk - way too noisy for that. But I have a GPRS that can surf the web and get email. I can get AWOS info via the phone's Internet capability, which is nice to know right before you jump. Just wondering how feasible that is. Also, if I carry the phone to make a call in case I land out, should I completely turn it off even if I'm not talking on it? It's still going to do some GPRS checking (for voice mails/email/etc) even if I'm not talking on it.

Mads sent me a nice email and said almost the same thing you said:

That would take two hands, but it would be effective. I have a Voodoo 2, and the tucktabs on riser covers don't want to stay on either It's one of my least favorite things about the container. What do they do to fix this? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

At the DZ I learned to jump at, only DZ packers were allowed to pack the rental gear (the jumpers were not allowed to pack their rented gear even if they wanted to). Despite this, if you had a mal on rental gear, it was assumed your fault and you had to pay for the repack. Nice, eh? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Thanks Skycat - I plugged those phone numbers into my cell phone so I can call between jumps. You guys are so useful! And I'm not just saying that because Hook has my other rig in pieces right now while we wait for my Cypres to get back from it's four-year. I also did a quicky Internet search and found phone numbers for all 600 AWOS systems in the US. Gentlemen, start your cellphones! AWOS Locations and phone numbers

I have an unopened box of Star Wars Pez dispensers (circa late 1970s) - there's storm troopers, Darth Vaders, even Boba Fett. I have no idea how much it's worth, but I kept it because it was a gift. Why someone would want 30-year old Pez candy is beyond me. I think it's still well within the shelf-life of that stuff though. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's a hard one to answer. I use this statistic only for whuffos that want to get an idea of the danger. Most people in this country can relate to driving a car. Ask them - how many miles a year do you drive? They might answer 20-30 thousand. Then you say if you drive 30,000 miles in a year, you have the same statistical chance of death as me doing 51 skydives in a year. It's far from a very accurate number, but it gives them an idea. And it often makes people pause and say "oh - that doesn't seem too bad". Again - whuffos sometimes think people die on every load - it helps to put it in a more accurate perspective. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Mile-Hi has an AWOS, but every time I ask anyone, noone knows So it's what - a useless piece of equipment?? Sorry - done venting. I like your write-up Quade - as an example, it's supposed to be 82 degrees this Saturday at Mile-Hi (field elevation 5050 feet), which is nominal at 41 degrees, so I subtract and get 41 degrees, divide by 15 and get about 3, which corresponds to 3,000 above 5,000 or about 8,000 feet DA. Seems easy enough. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I pray for a deaf mute nymphomaniac with huge boobs who owns a beer store dropzone. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Not making a statement, but I will repeat what was in Parachutist Magazine last year. The chance of death from 17 skydives is the same as the chance of death driving 10,000 miles in a car. I'm not going to defend the statistic - just repeating. Obviously, there are so many ways to skew this, it's not worth defending. But a lot of whuffos are really interested in "ball-park" figures. After the way skydiving is portrayed in movies, they think at least one person gets killed on every load Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's not for the Protrac, it's for me. I wouldn't be looking at it if it was on my head. I would look at it before the jump and before it got near my head. Once my helmet is on my head, I'm getting ready to skydive and I don't care anymore. Of course, you have to take into account that the temperature sensor isn't going to change instantly. So don't look at it as your standing in the hot blast from the engines getting ready to get on the plane, or right after your jump when you're all sweaty. My mount is on the outside of my helmet. I would probably be looking at it after I pack, and before I get on the next load. Assuming I don't let my helmet sit in the sun while I pack, I can probably get a good temperature measurement at that time. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

So if a ProTrac can measure temperature and pressure, why don't they make a density altitude function? The only other factor in DA is humidity, which is much less of a factor, and could probably be ignored for the rough estimate that a skydiver needs (+- 500 feet). It would be nice to have a convenient DA measurement on these hot summer days. I've asked pilots, and most of the time, they don't know the number - they just guess. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I should add that where I jump the ground elevation is 5,000 feet. Reserves don't inflate as fast up here as at sea level - I've heard other skydivers say you can chop at 800 feet, but if you ever jump in Colorado, think higher. Also, skr gave some good advice about this - next time you are at 1,000 feet, without taking your hands out of your toggles, look at the ground and touch your cutaway and reserve. You will see what a scary proposition this is. Ok - thanks Bill for clarifying the RSL part - I know there is a risk of getting the lanyard caught, but you are right about the lower elevation. BTW - I hope you don't mind that I keep a print-out of your top 5 RSL myths and give it to students at the DZ. I think if I'm below 1,000, my first reaction will be only open the reserve in *extreme* circumstances because of the risk. Get that reserve out and if I'm lucky enough that it inflates properly try to land both canopies out - probably less risky than chopping the main. Obviously cutaway the main if it looks like a downplane is forming.

People are also naturally afraid of what they don't understand. People in our society take all sorts of "acceptable" risks every day, but that's only because they've gotten used to them. I think people that drive to work every day are crazy - I've seen lots of bad car accidents during rush hour. But people still do it - they think it's perfectly normal and they feel safe doing it. Personally I feel like I'm in a little bit of danger when I'm jumping, and I think that gives me an advantage when it comes to safety. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Especially if you jump a skyvan a lot