Jimbo

Because it's not safe. What part of throwing yourself out of an airplane at 2,000 ft or higher is safe? It's a dangerous sport, there's just no two ways about that. Like Bill said, "You can do everything right and still die", what about that isn't dangerous? It's dangerous and it's way beyond 'somewhat risky'. Because in a year _most_ skydivers don't die, doesn't make this sport any less dangerous, that is a testament to the advanced training and gear that we now enjoy. Any actuary can tell you exactly how dangerous skydiving is. What about this sport seems safe to you? I'm not trying to scare you or anyone else away, but if you go into this sport thinking it's safe I fear you won't be around long enough to promote that opinion. - Jim

Both The Ranch and CrossKeys are top notch DZ's. The Ranch probably has a prettier view, but at this point I'll promise you that CK has faster aircraft. They're both about 2 hours from the city. You'll have fun at both, no doubt. They're both great dropzones, in the end I guess it's up to you. - Jim

Uh. What ever gave you the idea that skydiving is fundamentally safe? Skydiving, is by it's very nature, fundamentally dangerous. Every time we leave the aircraft we're dead, unless we manage to fix a very dangerous situation. We as skydivers do what we can to minimize the risk, but to suggest for even a moment that skydiving is safe, well, you're doing a disservice to the community and more importantly to yourself. As for the Red Bull commercial,I haven't seen it and can't comment.

Isn't the burble generally on the back? Either way, a chest mounted alti should work well enough (+/- 1000 feet) that it's beneficial to those who need it. No?

Uh. I thought reserves were designed to operate in an unstable body position? (I'm not advocating RSLs and Wingsuits, just curious) - Jim

D'oh!

A friend of mine just picked up a 120, it's a nice camera and I'm sure it will be fine in the air. Regarding BlueTooth - I wouldn't get excited over that. It's a SLOW wireless protocol. Transferring video over BT would be nothing short of futile. - Jim

I wasn't trying to suggest that an altimeter is a bad thing or that any jumper shouldn't wear one, but rather that an altimeter is a mechanical device and _will_ fail. To those who rely on the altimeter what will you do when it does fail? The ground is still/should be your best indicator of altitude. If you can't tell the difference between 10,000 - 5,000 - 1,000 - 500 - and below without an altimeter then I would suggest that you start paying more attention to your surroundings. For the record, I do wear an altimeter on almost every jump, those few jumps that I've forgotten my alti I do notice it's missing and feel 'naked' without it, but it's not the end of the world...

Remember the "Bug" from the movie Men in Black? The palmetto bug is it's closest relative. Nasty things.

LOOK. Use your eyes! How do you know your altimeter is accurate? What if your altimeter says 4000, but your skimming the tree tops? Are you at 4000? The point is, trust your eyes, they don't lie. If you're spinning hard enough/fast enough you're going to reach a point where you cutaway or deploy the reserve regardless of altitude.

You'll know when that happens. You'll hear the scream, doesn't matter where you are, you'll hear the scream.

This is at AerOhio? Can any other AerOhio jumpers confirm this? It sounds a little odd to me that they would even have the time to enforce something like this. While an altimeter is certainly a good idea it's not (or at least shouldn't be) you're primary method of judging altitude. If anything the altimeter should be a considered a backup device and treated accordingly, like a Cypres or an RSL. - Jim

Comments: If you're flying blind then fix the problem, in this case by peeling off the face shield on the full face helmet. What a jackass. I'm happy to hear that this guy is alive, hopefully he learned a valuable lesson here, if he didn't then I hope he doesn't take anyone with him when goes in.

Isn't it likely that a student would be more prone to performing his emergency procedures out of sequence when using the one hand on each handle methed? I wonder if there's any data on this anywhere. My $0.02 I guess. - Jim

So how's the new pad? When are you coming back? I'm bored.

0:8:0 The girlfriend is about to get the boot. I should have had more, but Saturday's weather sucked.

My GOD! You mean you're not Peanut? He's not you? *shiver*

Almost anything made by the Dogfish Head brewery in Delaware. Whether it's Raison D'Etre (9%), or Immort Ale (11%), Raison D'Extra (20.5%) or World Wide Stout (22%) they're all yummy. Warning: These are BIG beers and probably aren't for everyone, but damn do I like 'em.

Nice. Very nice.

That may have been premature, what I should have said (and I apologize) is that your post got some recognition over in wreck. You have to believe the party will start soon.

Hehe. Congrats Lisa, they're having a blast with this one over in wreck.

I think it's a question not of what is possible, but rather what is likely. This debate will be of most importance to young or lowtime jumpers and it's unlikely that given the canopies and loadings this demographic jumps that they're likely to see the kind violently spinning mal that might be a legitimate reason not to use the RSL. On the subject of violently spinning malfunctions: Isn't it likely that in the event of a cutaway from this malfunction that you'll be thrown far enough from the malfunctioning main that a reserve entanglment shouldn't be an issue? There's a lot of energy there, the body wants to go one way and the canopy wants to go another. I'm sure a few of you have been there, comments? Finally, on the subject of deployment in a position other than head high and belly to earth. Doesn't the reserve system take this into account? I would imagine that the combination of a spring loaded pilot chute and a very docile main make for successful deployment in almost any position. You used 'possible' quite a bit in your argument, but I argue that it's more important to plan for what's likely than it is to plan for every possibility. If anyone has to cutaway at 600 feet then, in most cases, I imagine it would be in their best interests to have the RSL deploy the reserve system. In this situation, the RSL can save precious seconds that might have otherwise been spent searching for handles, moving hands from the cutaway to the reserve handle, etc...It's something to think about. I agree, one set of emergency procedures is important, I have one set - in all cases I will pull both handles. Regarding the canopy entanglment - again, it's planning for what's likely, not what's possible. Unless I'm doing CReW it's unlikely (though certainly possible) that I'll end up in an entanglment. In the end it's a personal decision, my only concern is that young or lowtime jumpers (of which I am one) are too quick to disconnect a potentially life saving device for reasons that they do not entirely understand. Blue Skies and Safe Rides - Jim

What were you doing at 20 jumps that made you think it was in your best interests to disconnect the RSL? Were you jumping a main that was prone to spinning up? Jumping CReW? Jumping in excessively windy conditions? Do you think that anyone at that level really has a deep enough understanding of our sport to make an informed decision about an RSL? I suspect that most people at that level either keep or disconnect it because they've been told to, either by their JM or by another jumper they respect. I certainly don't believe that an RSL should be mandatory, but I wonder if people aren't removing them just a little too soon or for reasons they don't understand. I do wear an RSL and I've been through a malfunction. I pulled both handles, but I can see the value of the RSL. When I do CReW or move to a canopy that's more likely to put me on my back I'll remove it, but for now it's doing more good than harm. If she's the type of person who thinks that even for a second she might brainlock and not pull the reserve handle then maybe she should reconsider jumping. An RSL isn't a guarantee, it's a backup device and it is prone to failure. - Jim

I didn't know Delaware _had_ water. Down here they drink this stuff called wudder, it's amazingly similar to water, but somehow not quite the same....

0:3:1 Weather wasn't so hot in South Jersey this weekend. Oh well, there's always next weekend. - Jim