AFFI

Oh shit - your gonna die!

And... why? Did they just sit down one day and say, "Gee... today, let's make something illegal for no valid reason" ? It is illegal in the US because it is a bad idea. Just because it is legal in a country does not make it a good idea. It is not such a bad idea always... Cloud jumps can be beautiful, so much so it is worth the miniscule added risk. There are a lot of things "illegal" in the USA that really shouldent be. Last thing we need in this country is more of our freedoms taken away... Legalize it... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Check this out: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=4902 Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Did u cutaway first?

My understanding is at the DZ you are learning at there are very good instructors available. You need to listen to your instructor’s. No one here knows what your progress has been, what your body type is or what kind of gear you are jumping. There is no way for anyone here to offer sound advice to someone over the internet concerning this issue. Everywhere you go opinions will be different because there are so many configurations of equipment and various methods of training techniques. One of the hardest things to do for an instructor is to work with someone who insists on doing things they way they learned from some stranger on the internet. So do yourself a favor and work with the individuals that are there keeping a watchful eye on you. You may already have a good technique for your canopy-type/WL/elevation/conditions/etcetera and if you decided you are going to flare higher because someone gave you landing advice without knowing anything about you, it could result in a potential hazard for you. To answer your question directly, I have witnessed very good experienced instructors have students use the wrap technique over the years. Many. Just make sure you communicate with them concerning issues of safety like when to take the wrap, how it affects EP’s etecetra… Hope this helps… Edit to add: Get advice from more than the one instructor, perhaps get a couple different instructors to look at your landings and see what they have to say. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Yup - that is the best part of the job for me to. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I sit out and watch and I see them ALL the time... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I would imagine that most individuals who have been raped would differ with your casual description of it. My mother and sister certainly would... Whatever happened to the America where a person could decide they wanted to take a risk? Had the freedom to run flat out across the Mojave on their machine or hunt down a bull Elk with a crossbow? Certainly, educate them, warn them - but the next step in the America I served in the military for as well as did my father and his father and grandfather before him fought and died for was so a person could have certain freedoms, certain inalienable rights. Everybody and I mean EVERYBODY knew I would die on my VF1000 back in '84 and I am told that EVERYBODY knew I would be a statistic at the DZ I started jumping at. Out of 4 years of serious racing I was rarely coming in second and when I started hooking I was talked to; I was educated and warned but ultimately the choice was mine. If I am landing and some hotshot takes me out after he has been warned and kills both of us, well, I am the person that signs the waiver, I am the person that decides to skydive or race my motorcycle at very high speeds or whatever the risk it is I am deciding to take. We are jumping out of freaking airplanes and with a very low incident of death considering the risk we are all taking. So either take responsibility for the risk you are taking by jumping and flying your canopy to the ground around a bunch of others who just did the same or go do something else – just don’t take away more of my freedom to choose for myself as an American. Enough of that has been taken from us already… I believe you and I have the same concerns but where we differ is the freedom and opportunity to Choose for Ourselves Vs. More Regulations by governing bodies that further restrict our decision making in order to protect citizens from themselves. Perhaps we will have to respectfully “agree to disagree”. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

NOT, unfortunately... Are you 100% certain? If so, then all you canadiates wanting to become Solo Freefall Instructors better have your flying skills down. I had to wait 2 full years to make my first save so be ready because when the shit hits the fan - you get the idea... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I sincerely apologize for misunderstand your comment. As for knowing better? You would be amazed at how many re-currency courses I have done with “experienced” jumpers that did not know how to deal with malfunctions, perform control checks or canopy piloting – and I am talking about the fundamentals we teach at the FJC. There have been too many… - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Making the analogy that compared a violent act such as rape against another human being to some young hotshot that wants to take on a canopy/motorcycle/car/rock face/bridge that has a great potential to kill them that they are not prepared for as being equal is beyond ludicrous. You should be ashamed of yourself for even suggesting this… - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

They must be practice eval dives... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Hell Yeah! There are always gonna be hot shots. Like Gato, I am 39 and like them kids on the GSX’s riding wheelies going 80 in traffic, I was doing that to back in 1984/1988 on my VF-1000 but a little faster than 80 mph (pussies). Back in my testosterone soaked high performance motorcycle days on Hwy 1 at Bodega Bay I saw a hell of a lot more serious injuries and deaths then I have even heard of in skydiving. Seeing someone eat the big piece of death pie right in front of me just gave me more reason to keep them in my rear-views. You live, you ride, you die… Like Stratostar, tell-em, warn-em then fuck-em. When I had around 500 jumps or so only 25 meters away I watched someone hit the ground after the canopy. The impact was so violent that I actually felt the concussion on my face as if a grenade went off. That stupid bastard was warned over and over and it might sound harsh but I am thankful that the sacrifice was made while impressionable minds watched. People got to see how being a hot shot and not listening can get you really fucked up laying in a body deep divot with blood coming out of every orifice with piss and shit in your pants while the sounds of you choking on your own blood can be heard a mile away only to wind up in ICU for a month then to die a shitty prolonged terrible death. It might sound harsh to some, but: If we never have the occasional sacrificial lamb slam into the ground then how in the hell is it going to keep the rest of us straight? Edit to add: Here is a great sacrificial lamb slam testimonial: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2527996#2527996 _ Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

If any new jumpers out there are influenced by this foolishness then please rethink your complacency and review common sense procedures with a rated instructor. _ Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I know of one...

Ahhh, the good old TLO's... Targeted Learning Objectives in freefall in my instructional philosophy are not a priority. Learning malfunctions are top (means learning how the gear works and the RSL is part of the gear) - Canopy control - then we can talk about the freefall. After all, it is difficult to practice all that cool freefall stuff if you don’t land safely on the previous jump. I have yet to see a skydiver sitting in the plane on the way to altitude with a femur sticking out the side of their thigh… In my experience, students preform better in freefall if they are relaxed and relaxation stems from having the confidence that they will land safe and sound - that is bred by good training on malfunctions (means learning how the gear works and the RSL is part of the gear) and canopy piloting... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Preaching to the choir. If I teach the FJC students are introduced to the RSL with a through explination and I agree by jump 8 they should understand completely how it works. If they are working with me - way before jump 8. There seems to be the opinion by some that students are being overloaded with information and cannot be expected to learn everything while on student status. I believe that some JM’s just want to get them into the air ASAP and don’t want to take the extra time to teach thoroughly or perhaps do not have the capacity to teach. But then again, I could be wrong. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

ummm... can I pull that thread some... Was it, you had some sort of understanding of what an RSL is / does and didn't recognize the name OR was it your instructors at Sky Nights - East Troy, WI, didn't cover what an RSL was in FJC or since during your 8 student jumps during, say, gear checks?!? I know some instructors that don't mention the RSL at the FJC. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Negligible.

A lot of info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skydiving - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Small Faces - Ogden's Nut Gone Flake (1968) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogden's_Nut_Gone_Flake When Stan looks up in the sky and sees only half the moon, he sets out on a quest to search for the missing half. Along the way he saves a fly from starvation, and in gratitude the insect tells him of someone who can answer his question and also tell him the philosophy of life itself. With his magic power Stan intones, "If all the flies were one fly, what a great enormous fly-follolloper that would bold," and the fly grows to gigantic proportions. Seated on the giant fly's back Stan takes a psychedelic journey to the cave of Mad John the hermit, who explains that the moon's disappearance is only temporary, and demonstrates by pointing out that Stan has spent so long on his quest that the moon is now full again. He then sings Stan a cheerful song about the meaning of life.

Try to reinstall net framework. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/default.aspx - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

Whenever I am stuck in a cloud under canopy what I was trained to do is hold a toggle at the number one position and slowly "corkscrew" out of the cloud so I am using the same column of airspace. If there are multiple canopies in that cloud and everyone uses the same column or airspace in that manner it lessens the chance of a collision. Edit to add: Early on in my jumping career I did not hesitate to jump into the murky stuff - nowadays I just stay on the ground or ride the plane down... My closest call with death in skydiving was punching a cloud and came in contact with a open canopy. Barely escaped that one, luckly was able to get my PC launched in time to pull me out of the mess - it happened so fast! Lessons learned... - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

And I have been lucky enough to have one - it did not stand me up but then again I did not give it much time - reacted to the situation promptly. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

I personally think tandem progression is a great way to learn how to skydive. If someone really wants it though it dosent matter what the training method is, at least that was the case for me. I wanted to become a skydiver so bad I would have done AFF, Tandem progression or static line - the first DZ I went to has AFF though so that is what I did. You raise a lot of issues and the only person that can decide if you want to get into the sport is you. Sounds like you have fond memories. If you are looking for advice as to how to get back into the air it would help to know what part of the world you are in as skydiving is seasonal in many places. - Mykel AFF-I10 Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…