vt1977

Going rate at Nethers, I believe, is £35. Vicki

At Nethers the going rate for a packjob is £5. That is what you get paid for packing student rigs and is generally speaking the going rate for standard packjobs. Personally - I charge people £4 if they are going to use my services regularly. The only time I will charge £5 is if it is a brand new canopy on a humid day! Vicki

I was more concerned about my bank balance actually... Vicki

Not yet... but apparently it's on the way! Check out: http://www.skyventure.co.uk/index.html The nearest windtunnel to the UK is in Paris: http://www.aerokart.com/uk/wind_tunnel.htm hth! Vicki

I'm sure you will get lots of suggestions and it partly depends where in the UK you will be but I can recommend: Netheravon - near Salisbury - Grand Caravan and Turbine Islander all year. Really nice facilities. http://www.netheravon.com/ Langar - near Nottingham - two Grand Caravans all year round, 2 boogies per year with Skyvan, lots of great load organising. http://www.bpslangar.co.uk/ Hibaldstow - near Brigg - turbines all year round, always lots happening. http://www.skydiving.co.uk/ I hope this is helpful! Vicki Edited: to add links

I don’t have children and do have an opinion on this, so there was nowhere for me to vote. I have no problem with well-behaved, supervised children spending time in the spectator area/s of any DZ. What annoys the hell out of me is when they find their way into the packing shed (or worse still, are taken there by their parents) and allowed to run wild. To put it simply, I don’t want children anywhere near my equipment. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have seen children tripping over lines or saying “mummy what does this do?” whilst touching someone's rig... or playing on creepers, running over their hand and then screaming. I find that there is a certain type of parent (often a non-skydiver) who does not respond well to polite requests to take the child out of the packing shed. Skydiving equipment and training equipment is NOT a toy and is potentially dangerous for children to play with. What annoys me further is when I am in the packing shed, video room or any other skydiver-only area – and I get chastised by the parent of a child who should not strictly speaking be there for using mild swear words – along the lines of “sh*t” or “cr*p”. If they choose to bring their children into an adult environment they need to accept that adult behaviour and language will occur there. As I’ve said, I have no problem with supervised, well-behaved children being kept in spectator areas but that is about as far as it goes. Vicki

Nope - not me. Vicki

I'm not sure about a DZ in/near Paris... but they do have a wind tunnel!!! http://www.aerokart.com/uk/wind_tunnel.htm Vicki

0:3:1 3 8 way team jumps before the weather closed in for the rest of the weekend. 1 case of beer bought for too many firsts to mention! Vicki

I imagine I'll be there... Vicki

A couple of years ago they questioned the tightness of the spandex pocket on my old 1 pin tear drop. I explained patiently that I had no intention of freeflying and only wanted to flat fly. I went on to explain that furthermore I had asked the rigger who had packed my reserve a week previously to double check that the spandex/velcro/closing loop etc were all ok and he had confirmed that they were. The guy was a bit funny with me, but allowed me to use my rig. When I got back, I told my rigger about this and he confirmed that it was fine. At the end of the day (IMHO!) if the rigger you use and trust says your rig is ok, then you shouldn't have a problem. Obviously if you are in any doubt about your rig, get it checked out by someone qualified! Vicki

Last time I was there it was 1 euro for 12 minutes. Vicki

Genuine question... does anyone have any idea when each of these panels/working groups was set up and when they expect to report their findings? Do they produce interim reports, say every six months? Vicki

Gus, I couldn't agree more. I would much rather see the BPA put their energies into canopy education and safety than making us all use AADs. (Don't get me wrong, I have an AAD in each of my rigs, but that is my choice and I still would rather they took a long, hard serious look at the issue of people dying under a functioning canopy) Vicki

That is good news - it makes me so to have to cover demo insurance through my membership when I don't actually do them. That is a step in the right direction... Don't worry Craig - when my life calms down a bit, I will be sure to take the time to read the whole thing fully. Right now, I'm afraid I have other priorities. And what good would that do? No insurance, no skydiving. I firmly believe that if the membership had put their collective feet down and voted no at the AGM this year that they would have been forced to re-structure the insurance sooner and the average weekend skydiver would have been saddled with a slightly less ridiculous amount to shell out for their BPA membership. Vicki

Wanna bet... Personally I wouldn't trust the BPA to organise a piss up in a brewery. The AGM is worth it for the sheer drunken-ness - but yeah, I do know what you're saying. Vicki

But then... since when have the BPA ever done anything to encourage and promote skydiving in the UK? If they don't want to completely destroy skydiving in the UK they need to take a SERIOUS look at restructuring the insurance before next year. Either that or we, the membership, need to VOTE NO at next year's AGM. Vicki

I have never stayed in the bunk house at Empuriabrava but if you have any questions regarding who can stay there, whether you should book etc, I would advise calling the DZ and asking. All their staff speak excellent English. If it is not possible for your friends to stay at the bunkhouse there are several nice apartment complexes nearby and you may find that it works out as cheap for 3 of you to share an apartment. As for what you need to jump there - since you are resident in the US I am fairly sure your USPA covers you in Spain for 3rd party. Providing you can produce your licence and your logbook and are fairly current that should be all you need. Again any questions, just call or e-mail them. The staff at Empuria are friendly and very helpful. It's a great DZ - you'll have a blast! There is a swimming pool, tennis courts and a go-kart track on site at the DZ to keep your non-jumping friends amused, tandems are cheap if they can be tempted... and the freefall views are absolutely breathtaking! Empuria rocks! hth Vicki

I have just got back from one of these camps at Perris and I highly recommend it to anyone. The experience level on our camp ranged from 100 to 1,500 jumps and we all benefitted from truly excellent coaching and learnt a huge amount. It was a great learning experience and a lot of fun - if only I had the time off work/money to do another one in June or August... Vicki

Oh yeah... it's good isn't it? I've just got back from my tunnel camp at Perris. I did 2 hours in there over 4 days and it was the most fantastic learning experience - too much fun. I want more!!!! Vicki

Happy birthday and enjoys those !!! Vicki

Count me in... and probably gremlin as well if he's jumping by then. Vicki

Big blue skies forever Ethan. For those of you who were never lucky enough to meet him - he was one of those truly lovely, instantly likeable guys. His enthusiasm for the sport was huge and infectious. He was good fun in the air and in the bar and was always smiling. Blue skies dude - you will be sorely missed. Vicki

Defnitely one of my favourite aircraft... climbs nice and fast and a huge side door. Turbolets rock! Vicki

A tandem at Empuria is E150 before the end of May and E165 thereafter. Video and stills is a further E80 before the end of May and E84 thereafter… i.e. a maximum of E249 (approx £165) for a tandem after May including video and stills. Ever get the feeling we get ripped off in the UK? Vicki