thelem

Sorry to drag this up again, but I've only just seen it in the latest skydive mag. I appreciate the arguments on both sides, but they all seem to have centered around the BPA insurance policy in general, can anyone explain why changes can't occur at RAPA, the DZ causing the issue? Why does RAPA need to be a BPA DZ? Would it be possible to turn it into a 'standard' German DZ? What would be the consequences? What about operating two seperate parachute operations, one German and one BPA? What about a new policy for the RAPA jumpers? It could be limited to jumping at RAPA only and exclude any liabilities that German insurance must be taken out for.

Engsleigh are pretty good, I'm not sure if they cover non-university-students though.

The German exclusion only applies if you are a german national - as a brit you couldn't take out their insurance instead of the BPA's. Saying they get much better cover for £50/year compared to £112 isn't really fair. The £112 also includes BPA membership and the magazine, IIRC the insurance component is £63. That price is the same for everybody - the instructors etc don't have to pay an increased rate which is passed on to you either as increased costs or fewer instructors. I think the worry is that this will increase our costs in two ways: firstly it will reduce the number of BPA members, so the costs of running the organisation will be spread over fewer people. Secondly, a german jumper could claim against a BPA dropzone's insurance, even though they are not contributing to that insurance. That vote probably will cause the BPA membership to go up next year, but at the end of the day how can we justify forcing German jumpers to take out BPA membership when they come over here when they don't ask us to take out German membership when we go there?

The video is on there, it is part of the sportround show. Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/, click 'Launch Newsround Player' then choose 'Sportsround' at the top. Its the 5th November show and will be up for 8 weeks Edit: Or just go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/newsround1/rams/bb/cn_sportsround_i_4x3_bb.ram and it will play in realplayer. Its near the end of the show.

You'll be able to watch Saturday's newsround at http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/ for the next week (they haven't put it up yet, but it will be up soon I'm sure)

Getting an all-white canopy is also likely to annoy quite a few people, as when they see it in the air they will think there has been a malfunction. They might realise if they spot the pilot chute or know that you jump a white canopy, but still best to avoid. I imagine it will also hurt the resale value.

Weirdest that I've seen would have to be a living room (on Joe Jenning's Good Stuff video). They got a sofa, coffee table, phone, TV, standard lamp and maybe a couple of other things, nailed them all to a big wooden trolley and chucked it out. The TV and lamp were even working!

I'd actually argue the reverse. I know of more than one person who has had a mechanical altimeter read either high or low or even stick while in freefall. If that happens, then the jumper needs to have the clarity of mind to look for other indicators of altitude. While it is possible for a digital altimeter to read a couple of thousand feet off, I would have thought it were less likely. More likely, would be that you just didn't see anything on the screen and if that happens then just pull and start spiraling it to the ground. Who cares if you have a long canopy ride, so long as you are safe. I use a neptune as my visual alti, and I find it a lot easier to read than an analogue alti. I particularly like that I know instantly that I'm at 3.3k (or whatever), rather than somewhere between 3 + 4k. Keep and eye on L&B's products too - they've got a good new range coming out to compete with the neptune, including a digital altimeter with an analogue face!

That certainly seems to be a lot of the motivation behind the AirKix tunnel (I don't know about the bedford one). Rob is very keen to have facilites in the UK that will let us compete on the world stage and let under-16s learn how to skydive.

Yes, assuming you can identify that action is required. Doing CPR on a healthy person, or using a hook knife on a good canopy, can both be fatal. More likely it would just cause unnecessary damage to the canopy.

1) Change your subect to 'New Vigil Website' (or something else more relevant, the Vigil is a big topic) 2) They have a welcome page that you have to click through (see http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1393598;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread). 3) There are several pages that are 'coming soon') 4) They use the BLINK tag - I have not seen that since 1997, and it was frowned upon then. Having said that, I have found fewer things wrong with it than the mirage site, and the airtec site (http://www.cypres.cc/) is no better.

Please change your subject to 'Have you heard of the US insurance company IABPlus.com?' This will meant that you get more people who are actually interested in the subject reading it, and fewer who aren't. I've not heard of them, but why the rush?

Sorry, but what is so good about this website? Problems: 1) The have an enter page that forces you to click a button to say why you are there. This is pointless because: i) Flash can be detected automatically, much more reliably than asking the visitor ii) It asks you why you are there, yet automatically selects one of the choices. Therefore, wether or not this is the most popular reason for going to the site, it will be the reason that is recorded most often. iii) When some people see this screen they will leave the site, losing visitors. 2) The site uses sound, and doesn't even have an obvious mute button. If I am viewing the site on my work computer, or if I am listening to music in the background, then I do not want to hear sound just because I have browsed to a website. At the very least there should be an obvious way to stop it. 3) The site requires cookes (although it does have a funny error, see http://www.miragesys.com/Home/ShopperHome.aspx), although there is no massive need 4) The buttons on the site look like countless that I have seen in website templates (for example, in simple webdesign programs such as frontpage, on free web hosting services such as geocities and also in ones that you can generate in 5 minutes on various websites). They do not look like buttons designed by a professional website design company. 5) There is no way back to the home page of the website - only to the entrance page 6) On most pages there is a section below the logo that does nothing but waste 10% of the screen. On some pages this is used as an aditional menu, but why is it shown on other pages? 7) Clicking on the buttons on the left does nothing and these are not shown in the 'breadcrumb' menu. This makes the site harder to use for 'normal' users, impossible to browse using a keyboard (at least in mozilla) and I'm sure a lot less accessible to blind users. (Certainly in the UK, and I think in america too, there is legistation saying that websites must be designed with blind users in mind). Anyone disagree?

I'm not a rigger, but I think the question applies to much more that just rigging. I would go with B - the legal but unsafe option. I think kelpdiver has hit is spot on - "too many have got it wrong in the past". Yes, you are a rigger. Yes, you know a lot about skydiving equipment. But do you really know more than the manufacturers and legislators (who, at least in the UK, are guided by the rigging community)? If the regulations are dangerous, then you should push for a change in the regulations. If other people agree with you, then the changes will be made. If people don't agree with you, then as a jumper I'd be glad you went for option B.

Assuming these prices, I know they are not totally accurate, but they make the maths easier New Cypres (1 or 2): $1300 Maintainance: $150 Battery: $75 Therefore, over 12 years a cypres 1 costs: $1300 + (2 x $150) + (5 * $75) = $1975 or $164 per year A cypres 2 costs: $1300 + (2 x $150) = $1600 or $133 per year To extend the life of an 8 year old cypres by 4 years will cost $150 + (2 x $75) = $300 or $75 per year. Therefore it is cheaper per year to service your cypres 1 than it is to buy a new cypres 2. What it does mean, is that it is not economical to pay more than: (cost of cypres 2 for 4 years) - (cost of servicing cypres 1) ($133 * 4) - $300 = $232 For a cypres with 4 years left that needs servicing. Put in your own figures, but I'm sure it will come out as servicing being cheaper than buying a cypres 2.

I've gone for a Neptune for three reasons: 1. It has menus with up / down / select buttons, rather that the protrack's rather weird system of holding down buttons until the right numger comes on the screen. 2. It has the flexibility to be used as either an audible or a wrist mount and will be useful if I decide to take up swooping. When used as a wrist mount is is also convenient - no need to remove it from the helmet. 3. Its a bit cheaper than a protrack. Alti-2 and L&B both have good reputations for service, so that wasn't really an issue.

1hour 15min. I don't think I could handle 4-5 hours every other weekend, I just couldn't be bothered to sit in a car that long, not to mention the cost.

Maybe this is something the USPA could do, as the BPA do in this country http://www.bpashop.co.uk/acatalog/BPA_SHOP_Skydiving_Vouchers_5.html

They are going to be marketing it to the general public and skydivers. I think there are going to be three rates: * Weekend rate, for wuffos * Weekday rate, for both * Night rate, for skydivers who want to do a tunnel camp or tunnel after skydiving. So this is obviously to encourage the skydivers to come at off peak times, it is after all the wuffos who they will make the most profit on.

The process from ordering to being complete is very quick, I think its something like 6 months.

What are electric stars?

The way I'm reading that you pulled at 3.8 and didn't have a canopy until below 2 - that can't be right surely? How about wearing it on your wrist for a jump and see if it reads differently?

the one where you have the most friends and you feel most at home. You can move home DZs.

Sorry if these have been mentioned in previous posts (I couldn't be bothered to read all 8 pages), but here are a couple of stories I have heard: 1) The student who chopped because the canopy was the wrong colour. All the photos were of red white and blue canopies, so what an orange white and green (or whatever) canopy appeared he decided he wanted another one... 2) The student who chopped because the slider didn't stay up (similar to an early post, except this guy actually chopped and I've met him). 3) A guy who chopped because his spring loaded pilot chute had gone over the front of his canopy. It was flying fine, but it wasn't something he was expecting so he (quite reasonably IMO) decided to chop it. 4) Me. On about jump 100 my 170 canopy opened on heading an immediatly started spiraling. I was able to stop it by pulling down on one of the rear risers, but I couldn't see what was wrong with it and I didn't want to land it like that. When I got to the ground and recovered the canopy, it turned out the packer (um, yeah, ok, it was me) had not set one of the brakes. Because I had been controling it on the risers I hadn't actually looked at that :(

We (netheravon, uk) don't have a bad spot driver as such. If somebody lands very off, then DZ control will ask (read "yell at") one of the staff to drive the land rover over to them. If it was just a drive over and a drive back with you on board, then I wouldn't give them anything. After all it is just a 3 minute drive that they are being paid for. If somebody (dz staff or not) recovered my main, freebag or anything than I would buy them a beer and make sure they realised I appreciated what they had done. I wouldn't see any need to tip them though, and I don't think they would expect a tip.