thelem

If someone gives me advice with a good reason, I'll generally try to follow it, but if someone just says "Do it this way, its better" then I'll often question it, after all, even the experts don't know everything. (eg I now wear gloves in the summer, because one of my old instructors pointed out that they can help to minimize any possible injuries to your hands) Also, when I was choosing to buy my first canopy, I got advice from several experienced people on what was suitable for me. Most said go with 170, but a couple said to wait a bit or get some experience on something bigger. I went with the 170, because that was what more people thought, and the person who had advised me to get some experience on something bigger is quite a conservative person. If they had thought they were the only person I had asked adivce from, it would appear to them as if I had just ignored their advice, when in fact I hadn't. (actually, I would have put a few jumps on a 190 first, but I couldn't get hold of one to hire).

I use AVG for my virus scanner (there's an official free version on www.grisoft.com which I use). That has picked up viruses that norton couldn't deal with, so I like it. I don't have much experience with firewalls, but ZoneAlarm and BlackIce seem to be popular.

Yeah, I got 5 in overall. There was no jumping Saturday (but I don't think anyone in the country jumped), but Sunday was open all day. Monday there was jumping from approx 3pm-9pm. Because of various reasons including a few cockups, there was quite a queue to get on a lift though, especially around 10-2 on Sunday. Still, I got my 1 hour freefall and nearly got my FS1.

Who is going up there tonight? I'm looking to grab a lift from someone, preferably from near Portsmouth, but if not then maybe from the stonehenge inn. See you there.

Actually, if you look at the detailed forcast it doesn't look too bad: http://uk.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/UKXX0195?begHour=9&begDay=122 (that like will probably point to the wrong time in a few hours)

bump Can we ask someone to make this sticky until the weekend?

Actually, since they lowered the dz control tower at nethers and started using it, the wind monitor has been moved up to there.

If you are coming to this, then make sure you bring both your current BPA and APA, as these will both be checked when buyign tickets (even for regular nethers jumpers) and of course you will need photo ID to get on the base. Also remember the BOGOF tickets are non-refundable and can only be used for those 3 days. The bus timetable for saturday is at http://www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/tt2/005-5-6.PDF and for sun/mon at http://www.wdbus.co.uk/htm/tt2/005-6-6B.pdf Note that in the evening not many busses go as far as netheravon, the closest stop being the stonehenge inn. This is a fair distance away, down fast roads with no pavements/verges to walk on, so its best to get a lift from there to the base.

Before I say anything it is important to note that I have less than 100 jumps, I'm not an instructor and, more importantly, I'm not YOUR instructor, ie I don't know about you, your dz, your kit etc etc, Having said that: This is how you stall a canopy, ie make it fly so slowly that there isn't enough air going into the canopy to keep it flying. At the moment I expect you will be jumping big student canopies which are hard to stall, so it should be something to worry about now, but only someone who knows the kit you are jumping can say how easy it is to stall. As you progress to higher speed canopies, they will become easier to stall and that is something that is worth playing with, particularly when test jumping a canopy you are thinking about buying. If you do this, speak to an experienced jumper before doing so. They should be able to give you advice such as recovering from the stall slowly and not doing anything silly near the ground. My guess would be that it is "impossible" to do this under a properly functioning canopy, but it might be possible in a normal freefall. I know it is possible for skysurfers to black out because of highspeed spins. Only do the body positions you have been taught, as you should also have been taught any important safety aspects of them (eg being careful which direction you are tracking in). If you want to try a new body position or a new dicipline (such as sit-flying) speak to one of your instructors who should be able to point you in the right direction once you are at a safe level to do that. If you decide to start freeflying (sit-fly/headdown) then it is important to make sure that the kit you are using has been designed with freeflying in mind. A lot of older kit hasn't. By the sounds of it you have already done an unstable exit, which is the most dangerous solo exit that I can think of, and definatly one I would recommend repeating (its great fun!). Other than that, just get out of the door at the right time and don't hit your head on the door or anything stupid like that. Common sense.

I've seen a couple with "Uh-oh" or "Oops" You could also have "Not like that" or "Try again"

The only instructors I've heard of getting paid that much per jump here stateside, are Tandem Instructors with their own rigs. Depends what you mean by instructor. If I was an instructor I would expect to get: £90 for a SL course ground training £40 for being the 'duty instructor' for the day - ie refreshing students, giving briefs and dispatching SL students. Any other SL instructors who instruct that day are unlikely to get paid anything, but may get a free solo jump from it. £40 (I think) for being a Tandem instructor. As for AFF, the later levels seem to be about £115. Take off jump tickets, student gear and packing and that is about £70 for the jump.

Actually, this is the world. You want dropzone.us (or whatever your US-only site is called) Also, maybe its me, but people seem to be misreading the original post. Is he not complaining about how other people are landing - people who are not landing in the conventional direction (ie into wind or with the first person, depending on the dz) and who have not told the others on the load that they will be landing in a different direction.

If you trained on RAPS, then how about getting 4(?) of your friends and doing a static line load that isn't scarred s**tless? Always a laugh, especially if you get a video to watch some of the 'arches'

You could try http://vividviews.com/index.php He can get you larger scans of any images on the site. From his Download Agreement: so you may have to pay him, or he may just want a copy of your magazine (I'm sure you can stretch to that)

Even if a colapable pilot chute does make the 210 a bit higher performance, does it really matter? For most people a 210 is a canopy for learning some canopy skills on, and is never going to be high performance. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is what I see as the main downside of colapsable pilot chutes, especially for new jumpers, which is that if you forget to cock it you are likely to get a pilot chute in tow. At the very least that means a reserve repack and a crate of beer, but it could also mean a new freebag and handles or even (and I admit its unlikely) a serious accident.

I normally jump in the UK helmet: Required, but if it wasn't I would probably leave the plane without one if it broke on the way up, but I wouldn't go up without one. goggles: Well I've jumped without them from 13k ft and didn't even notice until I saw the video! altimeter: Required if you're not doing a hop+pop, but I would always wear one anyway. I don't trust myself enough to know when to pull. jumpsuit: For a solo I'd jump without one, and have done. RSL: Well, I've just bought a rig without one. AAD: Again this is required where I jump, but if it wasn't I probably still wouldn't jump without one. Quote: If I've got two parachutes...I'm good to go. Well base jumpers rarely have even that.

I'm about 12.5 stone (80 kilos ish) whatever that is in lbs.

What helped some of my mates when they were doing their short RAPS delays was not wearing any socks so their ankles were bare. This meant they were more aware of where their ankles were and hence what their legs were doing? Of course, speak to your instructors about anything you read on here before actually doing it in the air.

From page 6 of the minutes of the last BPA AGM (http://www.bpa.org.uk/forms/council/AGM%20Minutes%2024%2001%2004.doc) Anybody who completes a solo freefall jump in the UK is required to get full BPA membership (except foreigners who have membership of their own contries equivilent, I think).

I've thought about this one before, and come up with the constant, non-turbulent wind thing. But what you didn't mention is that the wind needs to have a constant velocity (speed and direction) in relation to the velocity of your parachute. I.E. if you don't touch your risers/toggles, then the wind could be constant, but as soon as you start a turn you will be affecting the relation between the velocity of your canopy and the wind. I think that makes sense ;)

I wear one because it is required once you get your A-licence. If it wasn't, I might not have thought about wearing one - it would all depend on what other people were saying. On hired kit I wear it on the chest strap, because it is the easiest place to put it onto quickly. No I have my own kit, it is on the leg strap because it is less likely to go missing. One of the original options was "Only when ... swooping". How would you have time to use a hook knife while you were in a swoop?

You've done 2,500 pack jobs and not one of them has worked? That *must* be a record.

I know someone who manifests himself for loads 1, 3, 5 and so on at the start of the day and packs all his own gear. That gives him about 25 minutes to pack the main and get back out to flightline. Personally I can't justify adding an extra 1/3 to the cost of my jump, just because I can't be bothered to pack my own.

In Britain we usually pay £5 for a pack job, which means that nearly everyone packs their own rig most of the time. The main exceptions to that are people who are earning money on their jumps, and students (although the military RAPS courses during the week always pack their own rigs).

1. No - normal usage 2. No - normal usage 3. No - Due to packing or age of canopy, possibly packer should pay, but it might have been a previous packer who caused a hard opening, weaking that canopy (just guessing for reasons why a conopy might explode). 4. Yes - you have been stupid. If you had a double mal which you fixed, then no. 5. Not if you are renting from the DZ. DZ control should also be keeping an eye on the main, so if it gets lost it is as much their fault as yours.