pajarito

I've been jumping for a long time and I never get tired of it. I love being up in the air. I'm at peace with the world when I'm flying like a bird. I can't imagine life without it. I guess you could call it an addiction but I sincerely feel like it's a part of who I am.

How does that work in the scenario of a person jumping off the high diving board? You feel the “falling sensation” due to what? By the way, what I’m referring to when I say “falling sensation” is described when you say “your stomach is going into your throat” or something like that. As far as the spatial orientation, vestibular, postural, and visual should all agree. My guess, earlier, was that the falling sensation was due to the anticipation of impact. In the case of a balloon jump where someone might experience the falling sensation, I would think that’s just the body’s natural reaction that is similar to one jumping off the high diving board. However, a skydiver just ignores it. Kind of like a free-climber ignoring the natural “panic” when he looks down from the rock. Some may in fact experience the falling sensation doing a regular jump out of an airplane. I don’t, however, I believe an earlier poster said that he experienced it doing a tandem jump. I really like your answer, though, and it makes sense. I’m a student pilot now and that is very interesting. What do you think?

I live in Georgia, am conservative, and say that is STUPID! Surely, that will not pass. I can't believe it was even brought up in the way that it was.

That's bullshit. It's not about the money. Your primary concern on a tandem jump should be your passenger. That person is willingly putting their life in your hands and that is a huge responsibility. The student doesn't have a clue as to what they are doing. You do. The student is going to do stupid things and probably won't do half of what you tell them to do. It's just because they've never been in that kind of a stressful situation before. Like you on your first jump. It is up to you to do everything in your power to get them to the ground safely. Aside from the limited teaching that may be involved, that is what being a tandem instructor is all about. If the passenger wasn't my primary concern, I would feel the need to stop doing tandems.

Man...that sucks. I've had to take breaks, not because I wanted to but, because of life situations. I've never gotten tired of it or burned out, though. I've been jumping since 87 and I can't imagine ever giving it up. Hope you get better!

Crap...I forgot Canada.

US Citizen (many states including Puerto Rico) England, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Kosovo, Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Suriname, Haiti

That's just plain wrong.

Ok...that's pretty strange. I'm taking flying lessons now. A really good pilot at my DZ told me that you could invert a Cessna (one without a fuel pump) as long as you turn back over quickly. I'm assuming the one in this picture had a fuel pump, right. I couldn't help but think what would happen if a foot clipped the aileron and bent it somehow going off of it that way. Sucks to be the pilot. It looks cool, though.

I do brief the student, however, they rarely do exactly what they're supposed to do. I've been doing them since 93 and I haven't broken one yet. I have surfed a couple in my day, though.

You're options as a tandem instructor concerning landing are as follows: 1. Stand up: When wind is over 10mph, a proper flare whould yield a no forward speed stand up landing. All student needs to do is keep enough leg tension to support his or her own weight. 2. Running landing: When the wind is more than 5 but less than 10mph, both Tandem Instructor and student must take a few steps after touchdown. If the student does not have proper leg tension or does not take those few steps, he or she will fall down and pull the Tandem Instructor down with them. (i.e. surfing the tandem student) 3. Sliding landing: When the wind is less than 5mph, the day is hot, the student heavy, or the field altitude is hight, a sliding landing is probably the best choice. The student lifts his legs into a sitting position and extends them well out in front prior to touch down. The Tandem Instructor sits back in his harness and is prepared to take the landing on his feet, but continues to sit back after initial ground contact to a slide on his butt with the student literally sitting in his lap.

I.......don't know about that. Clint has a longer face and a different look. My shades and hat cover up some of my facial features in my avitar. I get told all the time that I look like Nicholas. I like to think I look like ME, though. I'm a good lookin some b#%&%!!!

She'd be expelled from school if she was in the US based on the "no tollerance" policy.

Nicholas Cage based on personality and who people say I look like.

If someone I'm jumping with has a cutaway, I'm following that person down every time to make sure that they're ok. No matter what their experience level is.

Good for Israel!!!

I think this suggestion would be a very good one for students, people with low jump numbers and experience, or people who have been out of the sport for a while and aren't quite sure of their abilities. I think Teva's are just fine for someone that knows what they're doing and are prepared to take the risk. Sure, shoes would provide some added protection...but not that much more than Teva sandals. Definitely no ankle protection. You'd need boots or high top shoes for that. I think you have to be able to judge your own capabilities and know your own limitations.

Yo soy El Hombre! 100%

Around jump #200 in 1989. Bag lock malfunction going into Legion Field, Birmingham, AL, at night, for the All-American bowl as a member of the 20th Special Forces Group Parachute Exhibition Team. We took 12 guys into the stadium. SkymonkeyOne was a team member and my partner going in. Each pair exited the tailgate of a CH-54 Skycrane. One off each side. Each pair fell for a designated amount of time and deployed for a stagger effect. Chuck had a camera helmet on his head so it's on video. We'd already delayed for 7 seconds from 4,000ft. My bag sat me upright and swung back and forth above my head. I did not try and free it by pulling risers because I'd already delayed for so long. I was the first person in and rode my reserve to the 40 yard line. The crowd had no idea other than the fact that my reserve was "Golden Knight" black and gold and everybody else had red, white, and blue canopies. There is absolutely no "out" at Legion Field in downtown B'ham. Dangerous place. If you miss the bowl, you're going to either hit power lines or land on somebody's house in the ghetto. My main was recovered later that night by a police officer. He caught some boys running off with it in the parking lot. I had several beers later that night. Kind of nerve racking.

Be VERY careful with him. They usually don't get around too well. It's especially hard to maneuver them around in the airplane. We went out of a C-182. Something bigger would be nice. They're kind of brittle and will break easier than you or me. I'd do it on a day with some wind and make sure you have a soft landing. I wouldn't push it. Good luck! That will be one for the books.

No...I'm married....but in another life that would have been nice!

I don't know. They're now saying that it's probably all just BS. It would be nice but I think this story got blown all out of proportion from the start. It kind of fed on itself. We'll see.

Just got around to reading this one. No, I had no idea about the word Paki. I've just heard it a lot over the past couple of years in my military circles. I guess I need to brush up on my cross cultural communications. That reminds me of a British woman consultant that I worked with one time. We were implementing a Tivoli software package one year and I was working on the project. I came in one morning and made a compliment that her clothes looked nice that day and especially, her pants. She looked at me and smiled, because she knew I had no idea about what I had just said, and said, "Jay...that's not a very nice thing to say to a lady." She later told me that "pants" in England means the same thing as "panties" in America. I felt rather embarassed.

I completely missed that. I see what he's saying now. Ha! No, seriously believe it or not, I get along with my Mother-in-law better than just about everybody in my family. She's a great lady. She absolutely loved the jump. She got an entire page dedicated to her in the Eufaula Tribune (Eufaula, AL) and somebody also posted the story on dz.com. I heard recently that the story made Senior's Circle Magazine. I'm thinking about becoming her promoter.

No, I'm very confident in my ability to react to problems. But I was concerned with the landing. It had to be perfect standup. I was worried about a broken leg or something due to older more brittle bones. My wife has 4 other sisters and they threatened me with my life if I broke their mother up. Luckily that day, there was a bit of wind and the landing was perfect.