skytash

I have to be honest that I can spot once I know where the spot is (ie ask someone from a previous load), but haven't quite worked the whole wind speeds at different alitudes out yet. I think I should take out my calculator and sit down on a bad weather day and just go through met reports and work out where I'd spot and check that with one of the pilots. Working out where you are is a matter of slow learning I think. I don't think there is a quick fix, it's experience only. The earlier you start though, the earlier you'll master it - good luck and keep at it! tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

you can't skydive in the dark too often, so it depends on when you wake up as to which comes first - skydiving during daylight hours, sex the rest of the time. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

Salary increase spreadsheets for my staff. The only time I can go through them properly is at week-ends that way no-one can look over my shoulder. For the same reason no pics I'm afraid tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

fab news and well done everyone for getting it up and running and not tearing all your hair out while fixing or waiting for others to fix things (what I probably would have done!) tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

during or after, and was it a reliable source??? tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

in reference to fatal incident No 3 - Salto(sing) /salti (plur) are front- or backloops in English. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[replyOn the market : There are different companies around willing to insure us. But that is not the point : The point is we are insured. And for me, I don´t like to pay out two, three or even more times. I just wonder, how comes that in the UK there are different car insurers ? Surely with the logic the BPA was using, all that is neccessary in the UK would be one company only. Unfortunately there is only one insurer who is willing to provide 3rd party liability insurance for skydiving in the UK. I'm not sure how long this has been the case, however other insurance companies don't seem to be willing to work out what the risk levels are and how to set the premiums. Working for a life assurance company I suspect there are various reasons for this. I know that we are not prepared to even look at how much life cover premiums would be as there are a maximum of 5072 members of the BPA and the market is therefore too small. If we were to offer it, chances are everyone would take out our cover and we would not be able to spread the risk. This is what happened to AXA on the travel insurance cover, all British jumpers had the AXA travel insurance as it covered skydiving accidents, so they ended up paying for all re-patriations etc and the cost was too high. I think, and Ludwig please correct me here, that the German Haftpflichtversicherung taken out is similar to that of pilots, as skydivers are a subset of pilots per the airflight regulations. As such, the population of potential people looking for insurance is a lot bigger, and multiple insurance companies will provide cover. just got a 20 min call - may expand on this later tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

If you do hear someone jumping up and down about the reserves, you can explain the purpose of the reserves and the fact that we KNOW we may need them for that purpose. The intention is for them only to be touched is funding from UK Sport reduces. We have been told by UK Sport that due to the Olympics in London in 2012, they will be reducing their funding for non-Olympic sports - eg us. Continuing current operations and activities during that period could well need those reserves in the same way as uninsured liabilities may need those reserves. If anyone wants to dole out money to any team from the reserves, I would hope it would have to go to next year's AGM in the way this one did. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

Sounds like you went back too early! tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

It's Tuesday 24th here now, and should be in CO too, so are there any tests going on and how are they going? tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

Agreed - there was a good question, why can't we have cover like that, however the people present weren't there to answer that question, they were there to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of Ludwig's proposal. I have to say, I don't understand why there has been such a fuss about this (the discussions have been going on for around 3 years and it was decided the members needed to agree) when all the points vt1977 made are actually more likely to reduce the risk of claims against the BPA. In Germany independent 3rd party insurance exists for all sorts of things. I remember breaking our neighbour's coffee table lamp as a child and my parent's 3rd party insurance paid for it. I do not have insurance in the UK that would cover the cost of me breaking something in someone else's house. There is therefore likely to be less of an insurance market for this kind of cover in the UK. Also I think that in Germany skydiver's are classed as pilots, therefore have pilot's insurance. I know that when I went there the local DZ wanted to make me sit the flight legislation exam as all German nationals need that as part of their licence. Once I'd explained I wasn't a German national, all they wanted to see is evidence of my insurance cover which the BPA kindly faxed me. I don't think the DFV membership includes insurance, although there is the option to buy your insurance through them. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

just sold my flat in East London, zone 2 for just over £200k - the one next door to mine (different layout) sold 6 weeks later for £250k! tash edited to add: both flats have 2 bedrooms Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

Not sure about prices, but I would recommend you speak to the dropzone you are most likely to be jumping at before going to the US. In Spain, a lot of the AFF instructors are BPA rated, so you would get a BPA A-licence. There are fewer BPA rated AFF instructors in the US and you would get a USPA A-liecence, which has various other problems. You would have to be a member of the USPA for licence reasons, and everyone has to be a member of the BPA to be able to jump in the UK. Therefore if you don't get a BPA A-licence, you could find yourself having to pay membership to two associations. If cash is an issue you may want to avoid that. The other thing to think about (and talk to the UK DZ about) is mutual recognition pre-A licence if for weather reasons you don't get through your AFF before you get back (happened to me). Again, Spain can be easier for that as a lot of the BPA instructors in Spain are Brits who are known by CCIs in the UK who will comfortably recognise the achievements under particular Spain based instructors. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

I like that one! tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

Marvin the Mountie Always Gets His Tash. can someone explain? perhaps a Canadian tash edited to add: America's Most Trusted Tash. (not that I'm American or even in America right now!) Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

thanks bill, as ever, a concise response directly answering the question asked

hey, WHAT?? Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

I visited my parents this week-end, who have a Prius. My dad keeps the display screen on the consumption page and he tries to drive it as efficiently as he can (good thing it has those seatbelts, he had to explain the brake thing to me

I'm not sure as how many friends I should be counting you, so I can't really answer that in number terms Looking forward to seeing more pics - your outside views are so different from airkix it's really exciting seeing the sister re-circ tunnel build... tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

so when is it all going to happen so I have an excuse to come and visit my friends in CO?? tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

I asked a rigger once what I could do to reduce the end cell closures on my Sabre 2. The answer was, get a different canopy if they really bother you that much. As it happens, they don't bother me, so i still have the Sabre 2. tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

me too, drinks to drink, people to see, dresses, heels and make-up to wear.... tash

At Nethers and other JSPC dropzones there are usually two operations. One being the military courses, usually run during the week, falling within the JSAT (Joint Services Adverture Training) programme across all the services (hence Joint Services Parachute Centre). All the JSAT courses are paid for by the military and they can decide what they teach. Additionally, at Nethers there is the Army Parachute Association (APA), which runs a mixed civilian/military sports operation. At Nethers they operate at week-ends and some Wednesday and Friday afternoons (usually by prior appointment). We sport jumpers are members of the APA and jump as part of the APA. In the case of Solly & David and the PD factory teams visiting Nethers last year, these were APA organised events, not JSAT events. They happen to have been at the same airfield, using the same planes as used by the JSPC for its JSAT courses. If the military decides that it will not offer FF coaching at JSAT courses, we will just have to live with it. However that doesn't stop the sports jumpers and members of the APA doing FF, having top FF coaches come to vist etc. Although I'm not military and can't do JSAT courses anyway, it's still a shame they don't cover FF in the JSAT courses. tash

It is proposed and approved at the AGM (21st Jan) until then we won't know. tash

why no pics???? I'm sure that would help us all. I like Z-pod, it should be something that everyone recognises as being at Z-hills whether they've been there or not tash Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe