skylord

***It's still okay, despite its limited functionality. I should also note that the lens was replaced as well. Oh no, I took the picture of that thing. It is a braille altimeter. You have to FEEL for the altitude . Shark, I copyrighted the photo, and now you owe me about $4,500 in royalties. See you this weekend! Bob the enigmatic Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

This is a great, great question. I had to think it over for a few days. Without a doubt, the vets win hands down. Much more realistic, without the visceral emotional reactions/defense mechanisms us newcomers attach to learning a sport against which the deepest part of your being rebels. True point, and one my instructors reemphasize. Thanks for the reply, and I look forward to progressing through this journey! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Aha, my Level Three AFF Reserve Side JM, the lovely and elegant Marie! Wow, enigmatic? You Brits! Did you read my account of our AFF-3 jump?? BTW, got your PMd bid of $7,000. If paying by check, please bring two forms of ID. Miss you guys, I'm grounded for a bit. I'll talk to you about it this weekend. The Enigma Wrapped in a Riddle Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Well, howdy, am I sorry I missed that. Hopefully there won't be anymore boring live chat regarding girl on girl action. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

That's what I was taught, right there at Elsinore. I ALWAYS check my chest strap, leg straps, shoulders, handles, and I gave a tandem master a thumbs up after he hooked up to his passenger on the jump run. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up right back. I've done two gear checks on others during my spectacular, long running freefall career. No problems, and I always check everyone I can see, just in case. While the responsibility lies with me alone for me, there is an obligation to make sure we all live. If I see something I think isn't right, I don't care if it is a 2 bajillion jump person, I'm saying something. One of my JMs on an AFF jump asked me to check his gear. Cool. He lived, and so did I (I learned)so there was no harm. Let's all keep an eye on each other. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

You forgot me, or are you trying to keep me all to yourself???? Bob, $40 going once, twice....... Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

What AFF Level was that, anyway? Wowww. Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

The Ed meister is correct. I repeated level two, and I am in the process of repeating level six. It is not a "failure", it is an opportunity to get comfortable in free fall. Relax, have fun, and always remember skydiving is not a money issue. Your instructors will not let you move up unless they are comfortable. From my perspective, I feel AFF is a touch over aggresive in moving people on. I'm older than most student skydivers, but I think repeating levels is very, very healthy. My point of view. You'll do great, skydiving is a blast, and all my best to you. "Legs Out" was the one sign I have gotten over and over again. All my best to you, hang in there, and I'll jump someday with you!! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Wow! I had my first jump as a tandem back in late May, 2003. So I've only got a newbie perspective. I listened/watched very closely, and Doug (since he has over 13,000 jumps) made some adjustments to our tandem exit. I was to arch immediately on exit, and look for the wing. I found out I wasn't supposed to even touch the bar at the top of the door. Hands on the harness, exit, arch immediately, and the dive went great. I've had the great honor of doing two AFF dives with Doug afterwards. Now, by way of feedback. Us tandems are all potential AFF students. We wouldn't try it unless we thought we'd love the experience. If you are nervous, this will be the only jump we do in our lives. I understand that people go unstable or fetal. Doug never talked about that with me prior to our jump. When he hooked up to me, he was VERY reassuring, VERY calm. We got in the door, and out we went. I tensed up, and fell like plywood initially, but I did relax after about two seconds. I think that is normal. I CANNOT overstate the impact a TM has on a first or new time jumper. I know people panic, but for goodness sake, leaping into two miles of air is not instinctual. The education in advance of something so counter-intuitive is priceless. "Hey, we're going to be really high, the wind will be blowing super hard, and it is all OK. Just relax." Sorry to wander a bit, but I never, ever, did anything on my tandem dive that caused any concern since Elsinore prepared me so well on the ground. Have a great experience as a TM, and always remember you are the real door to a new life for us newcomers. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

There you have it. We are on our way. Do I hear 45???? Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I think I'm in town, I'll be there. Let's have a bachelor auction. I can bring about a grand in, I think.....tell you what, let's start the bidding now. Skylord Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Catfish, This is an amazing coincidence. I had something EXACTLY like that happen, but I was on the ground, in Kauai just 10 days ago, walking toward a breakfast meeting. I was looking at the pretty carpet patterns pass under my feet, and when I looked up, I got an INCREDIBLY strong sensation of pitiching over to the left. I dropped to all fours, it got worse, so I went into "safe" mode, rolled over on my back, and put books under my feet. The hallway was spinning like a son of a bitch, and I was so dizzy I could not focus on the room number just 6 feet from my face so I could count the number of doors back to my room. I'm only 45, but I thought I had just had a stroke. Scared me shitless. I wiggled all my extremities, and then thought to myself if I had just had a stroke, why am I so lucid? I crawled back to my room after a few minutes, and was able to stand while leaning against the wall. I had the shakes and sweats. Long story short, the clinic I went to said I need to be in an ER. The ER neurologist evaluated me, found NOTHING indicating any "cerebral vascular accident", and just scratched his head. The nurse that wheeled me in to the exam room stopped by, started making small talk, asked me where I was staying, and told me she had the strangest thing happen on her visit to the same hotel. She was walking to her room with her husband, was looking at the floor, and suddenly got so dizzy she couldn't stand up. Wow, that sounds familiar!! I got the doc back in the room, we compared stories. The diagnosis was "flicker vertigo" a phenomenon related to the passage of patterns past the eyes that disturbs the sense of balance and spatial orientation. The pattern can be carpet designs. It was overwhelming, and it even physically kicked my ass. I slept for over 11 hours that night, and I got a headache the doc warned be about in advance. No cause for alarm. I experienced EXACTLY your symptoms. It can be exacerbated by low blood sugar, O2 levels, and lack of rest. I had two out of three. My fear, frankly, and I apologize for not being forthright when it happened, is exactly what happened to you. I didn't want to get into freefall and have that shit happen. I would have pulled, but there was no way to safely land. I'm very thankful you recovered successfully, and I'm sorry I didn't post this when it happened to me so you may have had some forewarning before it happened to you. I've learned, but not well enough, that all experiences we have others can and should learn from. I was wobbly for several hours afterward. So, that's the real reason I haven't been getting aggressively back in the air, plus a kick ass chest cold. I may do a tunnel jump at Perris first, and work back up slowly. I'm feeling better about NOT having a recurrence every day. Get checked out by a good doctor, and think over what led up to the jump. Was the prop causing sunlight to flicker in your eyes? Anyway, let me know if you want to hear more about my little experience. I don't mind sharing it on this forum. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Hmmm. She told me yes, too. Let's chat sometime about that. Congratulations, and all my best to you and your fiancee!! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

As soon as I'm not infectious anymore...cough. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Mine have been great. If you have pilot experience, it will come second nature to you. I've got 8 jumps, six are stand up. One was my tandem, and I ass slid one AFF landing, but not bad. I flared a foot or two high one time. Landing a parachute is much easier, and much more intuitive in my limited experience if you have airplane pilot experience. Just relax, and FINISH the flare. It takes some physical strength to do that, but pull the toggles to the middle of your crotch as you touch down. Your airfoil (parachute) doesn't realize the difference, and will deposit you back to Mother Earth as you left her.....screaming in terror Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I can vouch for AFF studstress skyyhi Darcy, Mark the Shark, and Rich at Elsinore. They are real. Mark did my AFF-1, Rich did AFF-2, and I met Darcy after my AFF-3. They can vouch for me, too, but I think if you read my AFF adventures in safety and training you can tell I'm real too. Bob "I am, said I" Marks Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

All, I wanted to start a new thread rather than post on page 5 of an established thread. I read every post that talks about skydiving and safety. I want to give a perspective that may explain some of the diversity on this issue. As a newcomer, I have many, many, natural preconceptions about what the f#$@ I'm doing throwing myself at a planet from two miles up. As a newbie, I tend to focus on the negative. The view I had of skydiving was that is was fun, but a near certain suicide attempt. Too much could go wrong. If you would have asked me before I looked into it, I would have surmised that maybe half of all skydivers died in accidents. My interest, no, more than that, my drive to try this sport was sorely tempered by my assumptions. You only hear/read about the stuff that goes wrong. That's why I took it up at 45, and only after rigorous review of the technology. Anyway, I need balance. From my perspective originally as a "near suicide attempt", yes, skydiving is much safer than that. I think that is where many of us come from when we newbies reply to polls or posts on the safety of skydiving. From those of you very experienced, I think the point of reference is exactly the opposite. You have realized it isn't automatic suicide, but bad shit can happen. You've made enough jumps to know that it is OK to jump out of an airplane, but also seen enough to know that things can go wrong. But due to your experience you have a MUCH more realistic view of how often and why things go wrong, and train yourselves to understand and realize that. So, for newbies and experienced jumpers to debate the safety of skydiving back and forth is a bit frustrating for both sides, I think. We blind people are on different sides of the elephant. I'll only speak for me. I have to tell myself I have a very good chance of a much more successful outcome than my imagination says. It is a proper defense mechanism for where I am at. I think for those of you more experienced in skydiving, there is a different mindset. You're comfortable going out the door, and to keep complacency from setting in your defense mechanism looks at the dive from a much different perspective. Does this make sense? Should I shut up and color? Just to re-emphasize, I have viewed my AFF training so far, down deep inside, as a dismal, pitiful failure. Why? I busted level 2, and tumbled my level 6 exit. Now, if you ask the experienced instructors, they have a much different view of my progression to date. But because I'm new and see it only from my perspective, I have a skewed view of the reality of my training. That's it. I'm safer laying in a hammock waiting for a heart attack, than working out so I can skydive well. But it is one hell of a lot less fun. And that just isn't me. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

What AFF level is that? Rain is forecast tomorrow, but you know what? I'm headed out, even if I am looked at as cheap love beef by skydiving women only interested in me physically. I am a complete human being. I am a sexy bitch, to boot. The Elsinore Sex Symbol Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Actually, "slab of beef" may be a bit of an exaggeration. Maybe "Ground Chuck" is more accurate. I have an inner beauty, though Hugs, thanks for your help with Elsinore, and I look forward to meeting you, too! Bob, Elsinore Student Sex Symbol Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Sounds like a winner to me. . .count me in. . . Cool! It's on me! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I know. I am soooo tired at being looked at as a slab of beef on the meat market of love. There's a human being behind these gloriously blue eyes, and yes I have feelings...... Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Easy big fella. 45, and never taken anything artificial, and never left a dissatisfied customer. References available upon request. Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

Wow, you and I are headed over to Valley Pizza and having a talk!!! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

go easy on me :P We'll make sure we go to Valley Pizza AFTER the sunset load Looking forward to seeing all of you this weekend! Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman

I'm pretty sure I can make it on Saturday...... Bob Bob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman