MikeBIBOM

It's not part of any calculation for micromorts for skydiving, it certainly is if you're comparing your chance of dying compared to the average German your age.

Congratulations, like 99% of the population, you don't know how to do statistics and probability. I looked at the DFV numbers and did the math and I got answers varying from 21.something to 15.something, depending on whether I used the whole set or just part of it. Where did you get 18.55? Numbers don't lie, but your math is way way off. First off, you used Wikipedia for your information, and their method of cataloging it is suspect at best. Their link to the BPA's stats (found here) don't even have the same numbers. ( 4,864,268 jumps and 41 fatalities over 20 years vs. 5,012,215 jumps and 40 fatalities over 20 years ). The BPA dataset breaks it down by type of jumper. Does the DFV? What kind of trend do we see in the numbers? Is it steady over the last 20 years, increasing, decreasing, anomalous? Are there other factors involved? Did the Tandem Instructor who died on the ride up count? Second, the USPA and BPA stats are based on 365 day jumping years, German skydive season is barely half the year if the weather cooperates, and many (most) DZs are still weekend only even in the summer time. Do you consider only actual open days in your total annual risk calculation? Do you do a similar consideration for the average German your age? (This is not even to mention that in comparison to almost every other country on earth, Germany is incredibly safe. Congratulations on living in the place with the best average drivers in the world) Of all German Skydivers, are 100% of them (and the fatalities) only in the age 20-29 group? Third, The vast majority of DFV members are inactive because they got their license, did a few jumps and then quit. How many are actually considered experienced? How many of the fatalities are current vs. novice vs. noncurrent? Wikipedia simplified this to the average for all jumpers, but the BPA Statistics clearly show that the injury/fatality rate drops by half or more for experienced jumpers vs. students, (1.5 per 100,000 for SL students, 2.5 per 100,000 for AFF students, vs 0.8 per 100,000 for experienced jumpers, not counting pro/demo jumpers) so Experience clearly is a factor in the actual statistics, but not the Wikipedia statistics or yours. Put another way, if you go out and do 500 skydives in a year, you're actually reducing your risk, all other factors being equal. That is to say, Skydiving is dangerous, but not as dangerous as you seem to be suggesting.

That's because they're assholes. Maybe so. The USPA requires that you have the A License before you jump with other people, that requires 25 jumps and a certain set of specific basic skills on your belly. Before that, you can only jump with a certified coach or instructor. And belly flying is a lot slower, easier and more naturally stable than sit flying. I guess that's because they're assholes. I suppose you started doing two-way RW jumps with fun jumpers just two jumps out of AFF? You didn't need to train to learn to get stable or to exit properly, you just grabbed somebody and went, because it's all fun jumps for you? Honestly, "Exit some-what stable and hold a sit all the way down on a few solo jumps" isn't that high of a barrier.

Actually, This is a huge reason why I haven't done as many WS jumps as I'd originally intended when I took my FFC. There's only one or two WS groups allowed per aircraft at most DZs, so you almost have to jump with other people. Jumping with other people means now you have to concentrate on the other people instead of yourself, which means you can't really focus and learn and fix yourself, and frankly I'm just not comfortable with that. Especially when on one of the few solo jumps I did have, I managed to, unintentionally and without much effort, induce a fast 360 degree flat left turn. Now imagine I'd had some other newb WS guy off to my left. More especially when you end up with somebody who's already jumping WS and Camera at 230 jumps. With Freeflying, on the other hand, you're expected to put in the time and effort solo. The barrier to entry is "can you hold a sit", which can take dozens of solo jumps before you're even vertically stable, much less horizontally so, not many FF people are going to walk up and ask if you want to do a two-way on your second FF jump.

Why is it that every time somebody asks about this the experienced posters break out stories of Stilettos and Sabre2s? The OP was asking about docile canopies like the Pilot or the Pulse. And for those saying the toggle stroke on a 150 could be X-inches shorter than a 170, have you considered that the arms of somebody jumping a 150 at a

Klatovy and Algarve don't do 7-days-a-week all summer, only during the boogies when they bring the big planes in. Skydive Spain is supposed to be fantastic. (http://www.skydivespain.com/) A lot of people who are disappointed with EB lately have started going there instead.

>I mean, are you literally telling me my experience doesn't count? I think it can be a mistake to assume to rely on single instances of one's experiences, since they can easily be anomalies. For example, I've jumped canopies ranging in size from 520 to 89 square feet. All my injuries have been on canopies 190 square feet and larger. It would be a mistake for me to therefore tell new jumpers "hey, the smaller the canopy you jump, the safer you are - so get off that 190 as soon as you can!" >If that one video of a gopro hooking a d-ring is a great example of why people >shouldn't use gopros, then the other videos or articles I've read of accidental pulls >must be great examples of why people shouldn't do the other types of dives. Well: 1) If it happens often enough, then yes, it _is_ a good argument to not do those types of dives. Dives where fairly violent contact is common are more dangerous no matter what kind of gear you use. 2) In general, if you don't need your reserve and it is deployed, you are OK. If you do need your reserve and you cannot deploy it you are dead. Thus a harder to pull handle has more dire consequences than an easier to pull handle, although of course the ideal is no mistakes either way.

Absolutely I did it to myself. But that's my experience: Even with near-frostbitten hands, I could still easily curl my hand into an "n" and squeeze the pillow enough to pull it, where I might not have been able to curl my fingers any further to fully grip a ring, or even move my thumb enough to slip it through one. And, while there are a lot of people with a lot of knowledge saying X, there are also a lot of people saying "I'm used to the ring" "I usually jump with the ring" "I always used a ring before" therefore X. A lot of those people are also saying the pillow is harder to grip and pull, and I disagree based on my experience. I've never pulled a D-ring reserve, but I can't imagine it would be any easier to pull than the pillow. As to finding it, well, that's why I do my EPs 3-4 times every time I put on my rig.

Damn GoPros! http://parachutistonline.com/safety_training/keep_an_eye_out/dislodged-reserve-ripcord-handle I guess taking grips on exit is a bad idea, too. Also doing railroad exits with someone's feet under your arms, or any other exits with someone's hands on your harness, so AFF is probably out. In fact, most free-flying, since hands and feet can easily get too close to the handles, let's just all stick to teaching via static line and belly-flying with no more than two people. I use a pillow reserve handle and after my reserve ride, I'll never go back. I made the mistake of jumping with summer gloves in the winter and after a 20 minute ride to altitude in a plane with no heat () and another minute in freefall, my hands were too numb to find my pilot chute. After falling too low, I went for my reserve handle. Fortunately I could see it, so I didn't need to feel for it, and even with numb fingers I could grab it and squeeze hard enough to not lose it. The pillow being not a rigid piece of metal did not slip around under my numb fingers, and I didn't need to completely wrap my fingers around a thin piece of metal to ensure it didn't slip out - something I might not have been able to do given the cold. It took no effort to pull, nor did I lose the handle after I pulled. I doubt I would have been able to wrap my fingers around a D-ring enough to get a good grip, but a simple pinch was all the effort I needed with the pillow handle.

It took a few seconds to appear, during which time I'd already accidentally clicked it on my finicky Macbook trackpad, and on a Mod's post. Seconding or thirding some kind of "are you sure?" gate before actually sending the report.

Well, popular is a relative term. Compare that to someplace like Ireland where they have only a few hundred. Also when I drive to one of the DZs I frequent, I pass four others on the way.

Not condoning this for real, but most Bluetooth Headsets are smaller than the Optima I keep under my helmet.

Any time, especially if you're Chev Chelios! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBIRhyERkak

No.

What is it about them that makes you nervous? Are you over-thinking them, worried that you have to get it just right or you'll screw something up badly? Do you have trouble getting stable in freefall? RELAX. Early on I always got nervous when the door opened and wanted to be precise and deliberate in my movements getting set up in the door, I was worried that I'd screw something up and fall out before I was ready. As a result I was tense and my exits reflected that. RELAX. You're over-thinking it and that's making you tense and that's messing you up. RELAX. I'll give you the same advice I got: Who cares if you slip and fall out, that's what you're going up there to do anyway, you'll just do it a little earlier than you planned. RELAX. You're over-thinking it. In freefall does it take you longer than ten seconds to recover to a stable arch from a spinning canonball? You have more than enough time to get stable from 3000+ feet on a H&P. RELAX. RELAX. RELAX.

Let's put it this way. There are (listed here) 42 dropzones in Canada. There are (listed here) 87 in Germany. Skydiving is pretty popular here, but the 18 I mentioned includes DZs in Belgium, Luxembourg and France too, all of which are

The weather has been schiesse schnitzel for most of the last month. Between bad winds, low clouds and rain I think I've managed eight jumps in the last four weeks (and four of those I drove 6 hours one way to do) Did you call that morning before you went and drove an hour and a half? Did you check the weather? For that matter, there are 18 Dropzones within an hour and a half from Ramstein, Saarlouis is like 45 minutes away, why did you pick a place that's so far? Here's a little advice: Learn some patience (And then some extra patience since you don't speak the local language), because unless you take a week to go to Spain or Portugal to get your license, you're going to be on AFF/Student Status for most of the rest of the summer, and that means there are going to be a lot of conditions, even at Saar, where you're not going to be able to jump at all and you're going to waste quite a few drives. Get used to it. If you're losing your patience over having to wait 5 or 10 minutes, you might want to reconsider if Skydiving really is for you.

Okay, I need to clarify something about this, but I'm past the 6 hour post editing window. My German is not top-notch and a friend of mine clarified this for me. The DFV does not recommend going to a 1.5wl at 200 jumps, and there have been a few recent injuries in Germany from people overloading their canopies too soon. The German DFV downsizing chart says the WL limit up to 200 jumps is 1.3, and up to 600 jumps is 1.5. It doesn't leave out the requirement to build up to that WL, and in fact the same chart recommends being conservative when downsizing. The DFV recommendations are actually a lot closer to Brian Germaine's chart.

Although I agree with you on following advice from the veterans and coaches in the sport and not rushing into the next thing as soon as you hit the numbers, BG's downsizing guide does say fully elliptical canopies require 300 jumps (with 100 on the same size/wl non-FEC), so for 170 lbs, by say jump 320, you could already be on a Katana 135, and that's not even pushing his lower limit. (Yes, I realize for your weight that's not a good WL for that canopy, but the point is that it's not that conservative) By the BAS Downsizing Chart, assuming practice, currency, proficiency and coaching, you could be at a 1.5 by 360/370 jumps, and that's the American system. The DFV recommendations are just 200 jumps for a 1.5wl.

Then you've missed my point. All these helmets people are recommending, Protecs and Ski helmets, they're no more likely to protect from impact with an object than any other plastic/carbon fibre shell helmet. Michael Schumacher was wearing one of those hard-shell foam lined ski helmets when he hit his head on a rock. And he wasn't bombing some back trail at 90mph when he did it, either. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrppugqZQvQ So, no, there aren't any I would recommend above the rest and none I would suggest avoiding. The goal of wearing a helmet while skydiving is to prevent minor bumps and scrapes, not serious impacts, and they all do a pretty good job of that.

"Landed downwind and hit head on something" isn't something a helmet, even a good one, can necessarily protect you from, see Michael Schumacher. He was wearing one of those protective foam+shell ski helmets, and it didn't do much to protect his head from a rock at high speed. In that case, a DOT/SNELL approved Motorcycle helmet might help, but a helmet isn't meant to protect you from potentially penetrating objects, it's meant to protect you from a more spread-out impact, i.e. the ground itself. Now, as to the protection of the Carbon Fiber "look cools", far more likely than impacting a hard object on landing, is hitting your head on the aircraft or having somebody else knock into your head in mid-air, or direct contact with flat dirt during a mild PLF. My Tonfly carbon-fibre Look Cools have protected me from all of those. The impacts themselves were fairly minor, but had it been my head directly and not the shell around my head, it would have actually hurt, possibly knocked me out for a few seconds, and potentially cascaded into a lot worse situation. If you have any given full-face while doing FS and somebody gives you a minor kick while doing a turn, for example, it will help, but it won't protect you very well from a high speed impact with somebody's foot. There's a misunderstanding of what helmets are meant to do and it causes more problems trying to remedy that than it solves. Those Bright yellow plastic shells you see on construction sites? Yeah, those are meant to protect from falling debris like screws and bolts and gravel (things which are far more likely to fall without warning), not from I-Beams. Look at the old steel military helmets going back to WWI. They were never meant to stop bullets, they were just there to protect the head from falling debris like shrapnel, small rocks, hard clumps of earth and other small objects kicked up by artillery shells and bombs, which if they hit a bare head would cause gashes, concussions, and other minor head injuries which would take a soldier out of the fight, but not necessarily do lasting damage. These days we have Kevlar weave helmets which do stop bullets. Consequently, we have more internal head injuries both from bullet impacts and from blast waves that grab the helmet and yank the head with it (Yeah, it wasn't just John Wayne back in the day, in WWII they rarely wore chinstraps because they knew that the blast wave from an artillery shell would blow the helmet off and take the head with it if it was strapped down) than they did back then. People put too much trust in it and expect the helmet to do what it was never meant to do in the first place. So to answer your question: None of them. How you protect your head doing a PLF down-winder? First, try to land in an area with no hazards, secondly, tuck your chin and keep it tucked on impact and absorb the impact with your body, not your neck, and roll onto your shoulders if you have to. Go take a couple of Judo classes on how to fall, it will help considerably.

I don't know about the Navy, but you don't need any special permission in the Army. In fact, outdoor adventure sports are highly encouraged at all levels, and many of them are more hazardous than skydiving. As for whether it would be considered "in the line of Duty" or not, as long as it is a regulated DZ, and you follow all of the rules of the regulating authority (USPA, BPA, DFV, whatever), there would be no issues. It would be marked not in the line of duty only if you were: outside of the mileage area without a pass/leave, violating the sport/dz regulations, you were not at your appointed place of duty (playing hookie from work), or you were explicitly ordered not to for some extraordinary reason. I heard that from the Horses' mouth, i.e. my local JAG Admin Lawyer.

For 1% of the distraction factor, they sure make up a lot of those incidents in the linked thread, and all of the complaints in this thread about people holding up the spot when the light goes on.

Going and looking at the link to the incidents thread, I've been fortunate that I've avoided that kind of jumper. The folks I usually jump with are more interested in "getting it right" than in mugging for the cameras. ... Heh, Germans. And again looking at the incidents thread, I think the real issue is what you said "seemingly simple" it's not just newbies either, that Canadian Demo team, and DSE despite being a pro photographer still treated it like an afterthought or a toy, rather than taking it seriously before arriving at the DZ.

In Germany, there are no b/c/d licenses, the rule is 100 jumps. The idea that most of the footage on is wasted is pfft. So what? That's what happens when you film real life, you film for hours to get a few seconds of great footage, pull what you want and throw the rest away. How many months do you think a Nat Geo documentarian has to film to get a few perfect seconds of a cheetah chasing down a gazelle in just the right composition? How many rolls of film/memory cards do they go through for that perfect cover image? How many jumps is the perfect picture worth? I won't say it doesn't happen, but I've yet (in all my year in the sport) to see a fun jumper care more about the perfect shot than about the jump. I have seen some really awesome shots that were gotten incidentally though, and I've seen a lot of boogie compilation videos that pull maybe 3-5 seconds of "ok" footage from a single jump to add to the video. In the end it's about being social and sharing the experience, not about turning out product or being super cool. I've also seen just about every jumper at my home DZ with a Drift or GoPro or other low profile camera using a mounted remote to control it, taking out even more of the distraction factor. It's nice to not have to wonder what mode you're in or whether you're flashing. Doesn't this apply to the whole sport? How is it that we trust students to do their EPs or to find their pilot chute?