BigMikeH77

You don't get it. This isn't about you, dude. It's about ME, and every other jumper on every load you may or may not have ever been on that is placed in danger because of your attitude. Please try to be humble and accept what every person on this forum is trying to say to you, or reconsider your involvement in the sport if you are unable or unwilling to listen and learn.

I just took out a policy with Life Insurance Company of the Southwest, there is no skydiving clause. My advice would be to also check out USPA group rates. State Farm will charge you a higher premium if you are a skydiver, others may not. It's important to ask and CHECK YOUR EXCLUSIONS. If you have group life through your employer, make sure you review that policy's exclusions as well.

I know that at least THIS new jumper can see right thtrough the arrogance of the OP. I've always viewed the BSR's and training and advice from my coaches as lessons learned the hard way by others so that I might not have to. Why would I want first person footage of my flopping about in freefall anyway? I said it another thread and I'll say it again. If I want footage to show off or review, I'll hire one of the on-site videographers. They appreciate the business. When the day comes that I am able to safely fly a camera, I'll consider it. Until then, why chance it?

I've got to call BS here, sir. I only reply to this because it's a topic that I cover with students frequently. I reject this train of thought and demand proper flight planning. Landing out is not an emergency - it is a result of either poor planning or poor execution. Every off landing that I have personally made, witnessed, or heard about has been preventable. This of course, excludes true emergencies such as a bail out or cut away. If we dissect the chain of events, as you have, the mistakes become evident. IMO - No emergency, just a failure to perform as required. D Like most mishaps, whether more serious ones or relatively minor ones, the end result spawned from a chain of events. Some were avoidable (long spot), some were not (wind unexpectedly kicking up)... Even when you take all the factors into consideration, being on Farmer TransAm's property was trespassing. NOW BEFORE ANYONE MOANS OR GROANS - let us remember that there is "trespass" and there is "criminal trespass". Let us say that I had landed in a nice mature patch of strawberries and ruined a few square feet of berry goodness. I could be held liable for the value of those berries, and rightfully so, plus any other actual realized damages. That's why USPA affords us 3rd party liability, yes? However because it's the wind that took me down to strawberry fields, and because I tried my darndest using all my knowledge skill to try to get back home to the DZ, there wasn't any criminal intent. It would be hard to prove that I had intended to land in the crops just to make the farmer's life hard. That's a burden the prosecution would have to mount, and I doubt it could ever happen. Am I on the right track here? The intent issue has been debated at length in other forums I believe...

Unfortunately, you didn't delete anything. The account was only deactivated and whatever info you put on there will never go away

None taken, and you're absolutely right. Another factor that I didn't mention was that the wind had indeed measurably picked up between the time we got a wind check before exit and when we were out and about. Now that I think about it, the drift was certainly a greater factor than my spring-chicken tracking abilities. The other factor was that being toward the back of the load, I could see we were approaching the end of the jump run and should have asked for another go around.

I have to point out the obvious here... building a 75 foot tall wind tunnel within spitting distance of an airport might not bode well with the powers that be, and definitely WOULDN'T be eliminating a landing hazard Wishful thinking though. I'm lucky. I live somewhat in between SVCO and the DZ.

I'm scared to death of electricity. When I was five, I plugged in an outdoor fountain with an extension cord in my backyard and got zapped with 120v A/C. And to this day, I still have nightmares about being executed in the electric chair. I'd prefer NOT to find out how painful an electric fence is

There are nondescript lines of civility. Not just in skydiving situations like this but in life. I've seen threads about jumpers being run down with trucks, chased at and threatened with guns - and although I certainly don't agree with that or think it's acceptable in ANY situation where someone lands out, I said that when the day came for me to land out I would be as humble as possible so as to maybe avoid such nonsense. Who knew that would be just a few days away?

Very funny :-) One of the mistakes I made was tracking to the south instead of north. We can chat about that sometime, there's more to the story. I know that to the north is Zwick's farm, and landing there is like landing in a pot of hot cheese fondue - You're gonna get skewered no matter how nice you are. I wasn't sure about the neighbors to the southwest, and that's where I ended up. My priority really was landing SAFELY, avoiding those power lines/fences/ditches/roads.. Worry about the important stuff first, then the consequential things once I'm able to do so.

He could have, but that would have opened him up to liability issues. Independent of the fact that I was trespassing, had I zapped myself he would have been liable. Just another thing for him to be upset about. I can totally understand his frustration.

I seriously considered it... On my own and independent of the DZ. I just decided to leave well enough alone.

So over this beautiful holiday weekend, I took full advantage of the weather and knocked out quite a few coach jumps as I progress through my student program. Lots of firsts… including my first out landing. I’ve gone over the situation in my head time and time again and have identified a few things that should have been done differently and could have possibly changed the outcome. But what’s done is done and fortunately everyone is safe. What I wanted to share though is what happened once I knew that I wasn’t going to make it back to the DZ: I identified plan B and plan C. located hazards near both and planned patterns accordingly. Plan B – not going to happen. Looks like I’m landing in that farmer’s field, plan C. Power lines behind me, a barbed wire fence to my left, and a big ol’ ditch in front of me… It was going to be a challenge but if I stuck to the pattern, based on my rate of descent and the wind, I should land right in the middle. And that’s exactly where I landed. And a stand-up landing at that! But now wasn’t the time to start patting myself on the back – not just yet. I was in someone’s field, and although it wasn’t growing anything of value it didn’t change the fact that I was trespassing. “Don’t worry about getting everything pretty” I thought.. “just get your canopy together and get out of there!” That’s when I saw the car pull up. It was an old beater Trans-Am, and some guy just got out. Standing there on the other side of the barbed wire fence with his arms crossed, I could tell he wasn’t exactly a part of the local welcome wagon committee. And so I walked toward him… And as soon as I was within earshot I said: “I’m sorry for landing in your field..” This guy was clearly upset – and rightfully so. I have my own opinions about property rights, but now was neither the time nor place to get into a debate. He muttered some incomprehensible jibber jabber and then said “You gonna be REAL sorry if you try to cross dat dere fence. Dat’s a hot line and now I gotta shut it off.” I decided to take the humble route. I apologized, was empathetic and understanding of his frustration, thanked him for shutting the power to the fence off while I crossed it, apologized again, and wished him a good holiday weekend. He responded by threatening to chase future skydivers off his property. He was complaining about others landing in his fields and knocking the fence down and his cows getting out, which may or may not be true, but the way I see it this guy pulled up in his car the MOMENT I landed. That means his sole purpose in life, at least today, was to sit on his porch and watch for stray jumpers landing in his fields. His demeanor indicated that nothing would have made him happier than for a skydiver to get mouthy and give him a reason to go all Farmer McNasty on them. By apologizing, being empathetic, and taking responsibility I’d like to think that I didn’t afford him that opportunity. In fact, it probably drove him nuts.

I said there were things I whould have liked to "share", not things I would have liked to "ask." No point in asking anything when I know there's going to be nine people responding with "ask your instructor" and "you can't learn to skydive on the internet". But this isn't about me. it's about the OP who just did their AFF-1 and realizes how alien of an environment it really is up there. Whether youve got 1 jump, 17 jumps, or 5,000 jumps that's something we ALL know about.

So you never tensed up on exit and had to make a concerted effort to BREATHE? I sure did... Then, after more jumps and tunnel time and a little meditation, actually learned (and am still learning) to RELAX and enjoy the whole thing. No one ever told me to get a physical...

Exactly. "Ask your instructor" seems to be the default response to anyone new who asks a question - and although there is a good reason for that, sometimes it gets really frustrating for newer folks like myself who KNOW to ask their coaches and WILL ask their coaches but also are seeking out additional insight from others. There's a lot that I would have loved to share with the forums recently but quite honestly don't want to deal with the backlash that comes from someone new opening their mouth. All new folks arent dangerous idiots and not all folks with lots of jumps are the smartest and sharpest. What im trying to say here, through the frustration, is that I think it would be nice to see more welcoming attitudes sometimes.

Maybe the board admins should put a requirement in the code so that unless a valid A - D license number is entered in a persons profile they can't post.... Only read. And to prevent anyone with less than X number of jumps from giving advice or even opening their mouth, there ought to be a requirement for replying too. Come on. Someone new noticed something weird happening to their body in an even weirder environment and wants a little encouragement. Asking a coach/instructor is of course the best way to go, but its not the ONLY way to go in an instnce like this. It's okay to ask around.

The web site you are trying to reach has been blocked per Bureau Policy. The website www.geoguessr.com is currently categorized as: Games

I think that raising kids, managing a marriage and career and education, etc., can bring a great deal of life experience. I'm not suggesting that folks my age who haven't had two kids, gone through a divorce, and fought a war are lesser than I in any way. Simply put, from time to time I'll come across someone in their mid thirties who has had relatively little responsibility throughout their lives. Their mindset can just be differemt. They may not understand what it's like juggling kids, work, fun, etc. I'm not envious of someone who hasn't gone through the same trials as I any more than I would expect them to be envious of me. I made decisions that took me along a given path just as they did - I didn't necessairily have an opportunity to learn about myself in my 20's the way I would have liked because I took the fast track to parenthood. And here I am in my mid 30s - just starting to finally live MY life post divorce, and my kids are old enough to be my best friends. I get to be in my 20's with the knowledge of someone in their 30's.. It's a trade off. We are who we are and are where we are because of the decisions we have made as individuals. To the OP, it definitely sounds like whomever is giving you heat over your decisions is more regretful of their own. Don't sweat people like this or let their negativity bring you down. It sounds like you have made some pretty smart moves, so good on you for that.

Mumford and Sons. I hate the whole neo-folk movement.

Great insight everyone! I thought for sure that even a simple, innocouos question like that would for sure spark a heated debate. Glad it didnt. As far as stretching making you feel weaker, I can see how that could happen especially if one over-stretches. And I remember doing morning PT in the army, we's ALWAYS work warm-ups and THEN stretches. It makes sense now. I think some easy warm ups and gentle stretches prior to and in between jumps will do me a world of good. That and tunnel time... And more jumps... And more beer...

I've got crazy legs. Actually, a crazy right leg that even when I THINK it's symmetrical with its counterpart is always bent in just enough to make things difficult. Then I realized that I haven't been stretching that well prior to jumps, perhaps that in addition to the airborne toe taps could be beneficial... And stretching is always a good idea, right? Do you stretch regularly?

Perhaps the folks at SDNM in Belen might be able to shed light on the subject...

By God I hope they also installed a discreet wheelie bar.

You really shouldn't generalize. And your statement couldn't be more inaccurate! Maddow was degreed at Stanford and then went on to a Phd. in philosophy at Oxford! IMO she is the embodiment of everything Rush hates, which is an intelligent, well spoken, well educated minority. That has more to do with why more people would disagree with her than the actual message she carries. For the sake of humility, I won't even mention the education received by Rush. But alas, Rachel Maddow and Rush DO have on e thing in common - Both of their programs are entertainment. IMO Maddow includes more reasonable information to go with the entertainment than Rush, who seems to spew a lot of hot air and doesn't have much substance resembling any sort of reasonable, factual , or valid arguments. I take issue with your assuming that I've HEARD rush but never LISTENED to him. Of course I have - many hours, actually. That's how I reached my conclusion that he is nothing more than a shock jock. There's just so little coherent substance to his words that most intelligent and ethical free thinkers can't bear to be subject to his psycho babble.