R00tj00se

...I need some help. I went to Pamplona this weekend for the San Fermin festival with some friends. We spent most of the time in the bullring at the end of the run and I'm trying to find video of it online. I can find loads of video of the actual run but none from the bull ring. Is there anyone who can speak Spanish that could take a look on some Spanish sites and see what they can come up with. We did the run on the first day of the festival this year so video needs to be from 07/07/2007. Hopefully by using the power of dz.commer's I can come up with something (as long as you don't get distracted by boobies).

I went away with a mate of mine a few years ago. I was learning to sit fly and he was learning to sky surf. If you go here: http://www.skydivemag.com/ type skysurf in the search box and look for an article called 'Skysurf - why would you', you'll find his write up about learning to skysurf. Might give you an idea of what to expect. Don't let people put you off by telling you that you have to be an expert in x,y,z (too much of that in this sport imho). Find a good instructor and enjoy yourself.

Which girlfriend?

The show was aimed at the non-skydiving public and built the whole thing up as best it could to increase the drama. As a skydiver (and someone with more than half a brain) I was immediately shouting at the TV that she had drag. I thought the explanation of how a PLF works was done well. The explanation of fall rates on objects with different mass/weight verged on the child like. However, for the general public who have just sat through Emmerdale and Coronation Street and had their brains turned to mush then these scientific exercises may have been taxing - that's if their attention span allowed them to watch all of th...

I'll re-iterate what someone else has said about the fact that your posts are generally well thought out and worth reading but... ...was not the smartest move in the book. On that canopy - Stuck toggle, 2 or 3 rotations and u r history. Cheers for posting Not pulling that out to give u a hard time - just think it is worth highlighting in case people don't pick up on it fully.

Maybe if he hadn't had a helmet on he would have woken up on a cloud with a harp in his hand!! Stateofnature - I like your humour - very good - gave me a giggle this morning!

Skydiving has moved on a lot in recent years and with the massive rise in advertising in all its forms you attract a different clientele than you did a few years ago. Unfortunately, you attract people who aren't thinking about consequences before they jump. So what about the following: If you can't accept that the person skydiving with you may just be a normal person who can't keep their word and may sue even though they signed a contract saying they wouldn't sue then you have no place in modern skydiving. Just playing devil's advocate here as there are good arguments on both side of the fence. I like to think I wouldn't sue, but then again I don't have to sign a waiver in the UK...

lol, almost 600 jumps and if I do an unlinked exit on a 4-way I'll probably get 1 maybe 2 points if I'm lucky - I just haven't done any flat fly so the skills have completely gone. Dreading when I start flat flying again - gonna have to get in the tunnel and have all my limbs broken and reset in the correct position

I think the post you are looking for is: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=475018;#475018 It was me who was 'corrected' (wrongly?)

Thanks Phree - exactly what I wanted to know

Downloaded the video of the swedish friflaj festival (episode 3 I think) from headdown.net last night and I have a question. What would have been used to create the effects used in the movie. i.e. the words 'the', 'swedish', 'friflaj', 'festival' and the part where there appear to be lots of TV screens and a ball of what I would describe as liquid mercury zooming round inside a sphere of tv screens. I don't have the video with me at work so can't specify an exact time in the movie - it's about a minute into it. Just curious whether that requires major editing software/hardware or can that kind of effect be produced on a budget??

Thanks for all the replies. I'm not looking to swap to a Mac as my work revolves around Microsoft OS's/networks. The Mac is really something to play with if I can find the money for an extra machine. Thanks Quade for the advice on the min. spec. I'll take alook at that. Now, about Linux...

After years of faithful service I've decided my PII 300 needs to be replaced by a new PC. However after seeing a friends brand spanking new Apple Mac I'm thinking of also getting a Mac however I have never played around with one. I have a PC-9 which at the moment is just used as a 'Flight Recorder'. I'd like to be able to put together 5 - 10 min vids with music. What is the lowest spec I could get away with (i.e. how much hard drive space would I need, processor speed [I know this is not related to PC processor speed so I'm at a bit of a loss as to what I would need]). I know I could do this on a PC but I'd like to get a reasonably cheap Mac to play with and then if I like it I'll go get a better one in the future. (You can never have too many machines on your home network ). This is with a view to getting better at camera work over the next few years and hence getting a better Mac...

...hmmm, not yet. Well only a matter of time considering the subject matter and the way it is presented. Someone had a little too much of the antagonism juice, maybe...

Just thought I'd post to see if this thread was locked yet...

Came across this on the net (http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2673577a11,00.html - thought you might like to read... - pretty tough on the Parachute Club. Air force grounds parachute group after link to bridge jump 29 September 2003 The Royal New Zealand Air Force has grounded members of its parachute club after an airman was involved in an illegal base-jump off the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Police are investigating the risky early morning base-jump – a skydive from platforms such as mountains and buildings rather than aircraft – that happened about two weeks ago. The link to the air force was discovered when the jumpers were seen travelling in a van belonging to the parachute section of the air force's Whenuapai base aviation sports club. Squadron Leader Terry Hay said the air force was informed of the airman's involvement about a week ago and on Friday the decision was made to suspend the parachute club while an investigation was carried out. "It is just a precaution to make sure nothing untoward is going on." Squadron Leader Hay believed that only one air force employee was involved. His role in the jump of about 40m was still being investigated. The airman's future in the air force would be decided when the police investigation was completed. The club, which has civilian as well as air force members, has strict safety rules in line with Civil Aviation regulations and Parachute Federation guidelines, that are monitored by the air force. "There is no way that any activities such as base jumping is sanctioned or part of the club activity," he said. The extreme sport of base jumping has been banned in many countries and in some American states, jumpers can incur a large fine and up to 90 days in jail. Police have not yet decided if charges will be laid against those involved in the latest Harbour Bridge jump, but the offenders could face charges of disorderly behaviour, endangering themselves or the safety of others, trespass, or charges under the Civil Aviation Act. Parachute Federation president Tim Fastnedge said base jumping is not something the organisation condoned.

Nice!! What is about head-down pics - they always look so awesome!!!

That reply had me chuckling - especially as it came from someone usually so patient on posts.

So after reading the 'How old then, how old now' thread it made me wonder if people have had a non-stop skydiving 'career' (for want of a better word) or have any of you taken a break for a period of time? If so what did you do with your life? I started back in '93, did 23 jumps, gave up because I had no money (was just a poor Uni student) and started again in 98/99 (can't remember exactly when). Got about 550 jumps now and thinking of taking a break again (can't bring myself to say 'giving up') to go get my Private Pilots License - afraid I can't afford to do both at the same time Strange, never thought I would voluntarily 'take a break' from skydiving after taking it up again. So, anyway else done/thinking the same??

Amen to that. Sometimes it seems if you aren't on a team or you haven't got a dive plan or your not working towards a rating then you obviously don't know what you're talking about. The only thing I ever want to do is coach freeflying and that is years off. I don't want to teach students or take tandems on MY weekends. It's my money, my time, my choice.

BPA AFF I believe involves 7 jumps (with 1 or 2 instructors depending upon which level), with a hop and pop, as previously stated from around 5,000ft. You may need to repeat this if you fail to deploy/exit/fall in a stable and controlled manner. The BPA system also then involves 10 consolodation jumps. These are not just a way of getting money out of a student. A conscientous instructor will discuss with the student what they are going to do on their console jump as this is the time for them to practice what they learned on the 7 aff levels (e.g. barrel rolls, tracking, turns etc.) before they are thrown into the big, wide, world of skydiving with other people. So at this point the new skydiver has a minimum of 18 jumps. Now, the newly qualified skydiver can jump with other people at the CCI's (think DZ owner and S&TA) discretion. Usually this will mean he/she can jump with one other person to build up their existing skills, sometimes 2 people depending on skill level of all involved. These people cannot teach the new skydiver anything new unless they are a BPA approved WARP coach. But they can and do pass on friendly advice. When the new skydiver wishes to learn some FS skills they can pay a WARP (think scaled down SKY U) coach to teach them FS (e.g. turns in place, side slides, swoop to pin). Once a WARP coach thinks they have reached a sufficient level (I have seen this done in a minimum of 3 jumps with someone talented) they can then attempt a 4 point 4-way which will get them their FS1 and allow them to jump in bigger formations. The people on the qualifying dive are usually the WARP instructor and 2 experienced skydivers. Once FS1 has been acchieved people usually then decide whether they wish to continue with 4-way stuff or go do FF (or do both). Freeflying follows a similair structure to FS1. You can jump with one other person at the CCI's discretion while learning to FF as long as that other person has their FF1 (BPA head up flying qualification). To get your FF1 you need to demonstarte various skills to a coach and then take a qualifying dive which involves turns, transitions and forward and backwardds movement. Disclaimer - I am not an instructor so the above may not be official BPA policy but it is what I have observed over 3 years.

What did u do, rob a bank? Take me on your next job - I could do with the cash to do that many jumps in a weekend.

Ok, I can see your point. Maybe I should have said 'he is extremely keen to experience different canopies while learning what he can along the road to high performance landings. However, the way he is approaching this is such that he desires to travel the road a lot faster than most people would consider and therefore training and constant mentoring would be highly beneficial, otherwise he may veer off the road and over the edge of a cliff.' The main points are: (i) People are different. I'm with you, there's no rush but I accept that for some people it has to be now. (ii) Education/coaching/mentoring is the way - especially for people who want high performance landings yesterday. Safe swoops/staright in approaches/PLF's...

The spectre is about the 5th canopy I have jumped. The snivells aren't that bad - you may get the odd one where you're sat there wondering when it's gonna open but I find those kinds of openings nice on my back. Previous to this I had a Springo, renowned for hard openings mine had an extra large slider and I had to Psycho pack it to slow it down to an acceptable opening. Having said that if I did 5 jumps in one day my back was so bruised I couldn't jump the next day. A Spectre can be as docile or as fun as you want it to be - at 550 jumps I've just started bringing mine straight in on front risers

Michelle I really like reading your posts - it's more like reading a short story than an internet chat room (ass kissing over with). There's been an awful lot talked about canopies on this forum over the past couple of weeks but there are a couple of things I'd like to pick up on here. This is similair to the philosophy I've applied to myself recently. It doesn't just apply to canopies - it can apply to any part of skydiving. I don't need to rush to get somewhere - what's the saying about it's not the destination, it's the journey... Well, why skydive? I just don't understand it. Many people would say that to us. You see, everyones different and will get there at their own pace. Some people like to push their limits. I don't know this superstu guy but the fact he has applied himself to jumping so many canopies in so short a time tells me that he is serious about finding out about canopy flight. He is a prime candidate for education and tuition rather than regulation - and if he is doing it a little faster than might be comfortable for us, well that's his decision as long as he has looked at the risks. There are a number of people who have done the same thing who post here - why shouldn't he be allowed to do it. You know, reading back through this, our views probably aren't far off each other, Michelle. It's just so much has been posted here about canopy regulation recently I don't whether I'm coming or going. Superstu - consider the costs and the benefits of a smaller canopy. If you want to go small and fast get the best coaching you can and take out insurance - even the best screw up...