ZoneRat

I've taken both Scott Miller's and Rob Laidlaws canopy ctl classes. I found them both rock solid and absolutely worth the money. Even if you stood up every landing last season, you'll learn some useful things in those classes. ...but I'm beginning to feel really good about myself. And I wanted to cry just a few weeks ago because of my landing problems. btw Dagney, that's a pretty cool victory right there! “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

It would be a WONDERFUL gift! Even a used jump suit costs 100.00 plus! Check the classifieds! You have two, and you want to share one with your friend... to help him get by for a while... And you're worried that it's not good enough 'cause it aint new?!? I find that touchingly cool. If you feel you want to do more... consider buying one of those disposable cameras, taking shots of him landing, walking in with his (or your) canopy slung over his shoulder maybe some party pics... Pics of mutual friends at the DZ... whatever... take the coolest pics you can... then pack the camera with the jumpsuit and maybe a gift cert for developing. Let him get the film developed and be the first to see what all you put on there for him. Inexpensive... but nice, ya know? Hey, It aint about money or whether it's new or not. He knows you're not workin'. It's all about the love, man. It's all about the love. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

That's not rare at all. Everyone on that dive was once the newbie that destroyed a dive. Newbie or not, we all take turns being that guy. Someday you'll be on a dive as the experienced one and a newbie will mess up. That'll be your chance to pay it forward. and you will. Just as they did.

Dude, I was just kidding about all that BSR crap. Have fun. Go big. When you feel like you can nail those landings, you have ZoneRat's personal blessing to jump your bare-footed ass off! So does your safety officer.

I'd let her pack it. And I'd begrudgingly jump it. Again and again. Of course it would never be quite right. This opening was a little fast, that a little long... I'd keep her practicing until she managed 25 perfect 650', on-heading openings... Then I'd approve her to pack my rig as much as she wanted... You know... just to lock it in... after 100 perfect pack job... I'd even start to pay her. $5.25/ pack!!! THATS how nice a guy I truly truly am. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Hey alright. ~G' oood Thinkin'! SCREW that skydiving bullshit... Chic's DIG ceiling fans! “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

It should be a wingloading requirement in the BSR's. At 1:1 should should have to wear tennys. When you get your B licence you can wear Tevas, but only if your Wing Loading is less than 1.2:1. Only D licence folk should be allowed to jump barefoot... if they're jumping a VX they should have to get a waver from the ST&A. Unless they have a demo licence of course... Actually you should have to get a approval from the manifest gals at repack time. Some skydivers feet should never be seen... by anyone. And the manifest gals? Well, they would know what feet should and should not be displayed.... And hence protect us all. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Me too....just make sure you leave the excess hanging out of your rig in plain sight. That way it will be really obvious how cool you are, and everyone will want to jump with you

Of course it's not to "Look" cool. I'm 38 years old. I'm well past giving a shit about looking cool. Who isn't? It's because those things "are" cool. And, even with a paltry 400 jumps I'm already looking back thinking "jeesh... I don't know that I'd a done that knowing what I know now..." When I do digress into high school mode and want to "Look cool" I do it as most do.... by stowing my excess break lines all wacky. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

That's just the way I was taught to stow it. Had no idea how cool I was or my friends were that showed me to do it that way. I'm trying to think of circumstances where the cool factor commonly overtakes safety: Going on big-ways/ formation loads before your ready* Downsizing canopies too quickly* Freeflying in not so freefly friendly rigs*. "Safety meetings" may or may not factor in for some Attempting high performance landings before you're ready. Wearing a camera before you're ready. Wingsuit before you're ready Jumping with a massive hangover* Low-pull contests Big-way freefly/ hybrid jumps before you're ready* Some very cool helmets offer arguable actual protection or jumping with silly hats* Jumping in high or gusty winds* Jumping hurt* Specialty dives (hoop dives/ tracking dives etc) before you're ready* * These are things that I've done at least once before I was really ready to do them. (Edited to add: What Hoop said. I was underestimating the risks and over estimating my abilities). hmm... what am I forgetting... “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

I checked those out earlier when I noticed your link. Pretty cool lookin' plane ya'll got there. Static line jumps look fun! Interesting that no one wore goggles. Is this the norm? Any of ya have contacts? “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Although this thread has taken an interesting turn about whether or not the AFFI standards are a step in the right direction, I'd like to digress for a moment to ask this: If I were an AFF instructor, full time, the first benefit I'd want is health insurance. Basic health insurance like every other employee in every other indusrty gets. It's my understanding that health benefits in Skydiving are rare. Almost unheard of kinda rare. Is this true? My god. Don't yall think you at least deserve THAT!? How could anyone vote "Yes we get paid enough" if you don't get basic coverage? “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

I've been on sorta-big ways (30ish-ways) where the organizers stated that to be on that dive you must not pull above 2k. That's when you really don't want a 1200' snivel. I wonder if it would be better to state it this way: "You should know the snivel of your canopy. Pitch wherever you want, but no one is to be open and saddled above 1500'." Because, after all, it's not when you deploy that creates a lethal hazard, it's when you're open, right? I mean, sure, the snivel stands you up and slows you down some, but does that make for a lethal hazzard or does it? I'm not sure I buy this line of thought. Probably the best thing is to find a way to make that puppy open in 600'. Bigger PC. Omit a line stow or two. Don't roll or sink the nose... Whatever smart people say to do. Be systematic with your changes though. Sneak up to that 600'. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

I had a boss that told me a story when he learned I started skydiving. When he was in college some 30 years ago he and a room-mate stole a military rig. They got drunk in the dorm room one night and deployed it. He said that the spring loaded deploy not only flew across the room hard enough to dent the wall, but that the parachute literally engulfed the room. Now, I don't know anything about old military rigs. There are those here that do, and I defer to their judgement, but that's the story my old boss told. It may be that the supervisor had a similar antiquated theory about what parachutes were like, and that's why he thought he was doing the right thing. In his minds eye he may have felt that the reserve, if deployed, would engulf the cabin in nylon (or silk). Like many folk, he felt he knew better than his superiors about the dangers of parachutes on aircraft. (What you dont know that you don't know... that's what gets ya). When I was leaving Orlando after nationals I had to talk to a supervisor about my carry-on rig. The x-ray guy thought that the cypress worked by means of compressed gas. I played stupid. I didn't want to tell him that no, its actually a small explosive charge. I had a printout of the USPA guidlines as well as a copy of the letter of approval with me. I didn't have to show the letter, but the supervisor was impressed when I told him the exact number of the directive that said that rigs are ok. I'd highlighted that in the guidelines in case there was a problem. Had I been really on top of things , I'd had a cypress card with me... (but I bought the cypress used and was too lazy to get one from airtec). In any case, he found and read the directive. They did a swab of the rig, handed it back and said have a nice flight. It would do us all a favor if you'd send your story info to the USPA. The TSA needs to know that their employees are still making needless mistakes. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

The scariest moments for me happen in the gear store... "Umm... yeah, hi... ahh.. I was just ... umm... wondering... uh.. how much are team block tickets?" “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Yep. Same thing. I always told myself that if the audible flatlined I'd go silver. When it did... I immediately pitched my main. I think you're right about variability of firing. I've been told that body position has a lot to do with the type of burble the cypress sees... and effects it reading of altitude, which effects it's decision/ firing alt. Lots has been written on cypress theory here in the past. Yep. I learned a lot from that one jump. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Well... Not a very impressive array of pics I'm afraid... I thought it'd be better... but for what it's worth, here it is: http://www.heyrobin.com/spain/index.htm Once you get past the cherubic angel page (cherubic angels make me laugh) there's a few interesting pics here and there. I went there with my eldest sister who's in a secular choir that tours a different country every few years. Can't carry a tune in a bucket myself, but they still let me tag along... (You'll likely have a much better time not going with a 50 year old sister and a choir... lol). Yeah. Spain rocked! Folk that already live in kick ass places like London or Paris, often go to Spain on holiday... So it can't be that bad, huh... You'll have a wonderful time! “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Spain is a very enjoyable place to tour. Very european. I felt completely safe there. They take siestas during the day, so everything stays open until very late at night. (Does in the summer anyway). It was interesting to see entire families Mom, Dad, 13 yr old type pushing a stoller down the streets of Barcelona at 1:00am. Young girls walking about. You'd never want to see that in a US city that late. No billboards in Spain. The little white cities out in the country. Try to hit The Prado in Madrid. Some of the most important art on the planet resides in there. Heronymous Bosch, Goya, Reubens... Down the street there's another museum where Guernica and several other important Picasso's are kept. What else... There's an amazing amount of cool shit to see in Spain. Castles. Amories. Monestaries. I've got some pics on my machine. I'll slap em up on a quick makeshift website right quick... hang on... I'll post the url in a few minutes. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

I spent a week or two there about 6 years ago. Loved it and would love to go back! Spent a couple days in Bangkok and the rest in Phuket. Bankok traffic is INSANE! Motorcycles and Tuk-Tuks everywhere! I was told that if a driver killes a motorcyclist he gets fined. Not imprisoned. Fined. ( I got the feeling it happened a lot). ______ My favorite memory from Thailand: The worlds largest statue of a reclining Budha is there. Check it out if you have a chance. It's near the Royal Palace. It's in this room, barely large enough to house it. Very echoey... much incense and lotus blossoms... lining the room are small metal urns. People walk slowly by the urns, murmering a prayer and dropping a little half-penny into each one. The sound of all those murmers and chinks of coinage start to layer and build on one another making a very interesting sound. Combined with the incense and huge gold Budha, it makes for a very very surreal experience. ________ Thai people struck me as a very easy goin', joyful people. Food's great. Try not to accidently refer to them as Taiwaneese. Easy to do after a few beers, lol. The Thai people won't care, but your friends will laugh at you. Mine did. lol. No worries. Don't be a total fool and you wont have any problems whatsoever. The Lonely Planet travel guides are excellent, btw, and can give you all the info you need on customs and sights, restaurants, hotels and pitfalls for the unwary traveller. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/ ________ One last thought: I'm not a pot smoker (I have no moral problems with it, just not my cup of tea), but if I were, the LAST PLACE I'd do it (or hang about with others that were doing it) would be in a foreign country... Have fun, McDuck! I'm jealous. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Yeah! Yeah!... hey, a monkey in a cute little fireman outfit! Eh? Eh!?! SO FUNNY when monkeys are dressed-up like hairy little humans... It's just so darned wacky So... what all are ya gonna need: 1. Lighter fluid 2. Trained monkey to use his "monkey hose" to put the flames out 3. Fire retardant Birdman Clown outfit 4. Rabid weasal to put into pants of clown outfit (All physical comedy is improved with the insertion of a rabid weasal in the pants)... 5. Beer and cell phone for Sunshine to hold 6. Some mattresses and boxes. This is coming together nicely. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

The Cypress 1 will fire. I didn't pitch at a grand. I pitched a little higher... about 1500-1800. I was jumping a Spectre at the time.. Sniveled through the Cypress decision alt. Moments later it fired. The reserve ploped down and slowly filled with air. Uneventfully landed a stable bi-plane in light winds. It was on Safety Day . Protrack said I saddled at 800'... btw: The Cypress was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. I was the one that wasn't. So. Yes. My experience has been that the Cypress 1 will not abort a decision to fire even if your main is deployed. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Well. Just supposing one could create a tranparent canopy... You don't have to make every cell transparent. Perhaps every other cell. or only the center cells. Then you could still be seen by others in the air. The bonus would be that if they are above you, you can still see them, too. Even if the material is cloudy, it'd still be nice to see if there's a shape lurking up there. It bugs me when someone is flying up in my blind spot. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

I was told that at the PIA symposium a speaker claimed the average skydiver stays in the sport about 5 years. 8.5 years. Yeah... that's a long time to do anything, really. (Snowboarding, btw, IS a hell of a lot of fun... ). But whatever turns out to be your next passion, good luck and Go Big. “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”

Ya know... Most yung-uns I've jumped with are too tentative with their inputs. It takes them forever to get down or up or move in for the dock. I love it when I see one being confident and decisive (not agressive, mind you..decisive) in the air. That's a good natural trait to have. When you're doing you 2-way drill dives it wouldn't hurt to say to yourself: "Start!"- "Coast!"- "Stop!" If you overshoot or undershoot coming on level, or if you come in a little hot or cold on a dock, no big deal, just adjust and try it again.

Nice you got the inside leg grippers. So many forget to do that and it's so important for RW/ FS work. Good choice on the fat comp. grips too. Yep. That's a good suit! Go Forth and Go Big! “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophies.”