yoink

Sorry. I'm going to be the one to say it... The swooping is awesome - it really is. But buzzing objects and spectator areas is super uncool. Good to see we haven't learnt anything from a USPA safety director hospitalizing someone doing exactly the same thing...

I see you went to the same grammar school I did.

Its been a long time since I was made to learn latin, but I think 'habeo reditus' might be better. From memory 'tergum' was used as a noun as in 'the back of something', rather than a verb. That was 25+ years ago though, so I may well be wrong. And who said learning a dead language was pointless...?

Because simply killing people does not a terrorist make. It's quite refreshing to see the news reporters actually waiting until jumping on that bandwagon for a change.

And here I thought people jumping in front of passenger trains, buses or deliberately going in while skydiving were some fucked up ways to off yourself. Taking out 150+ people while you're at it though... that takes the biscuit.

Airbus A320 goes down in the Alps. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32030270 Is it just me or are a lot of planes crashing in a relatively short space of time at the moment?

In the interest of full disclosure (of which you're obviously a proponent), do you have any connection to anyone thinking of running for a board position later this year? Do you have any history with the alleged person themselves? I have as many issues with cowardly accusations and political bullshit as I do inflated jump numbers...

You're never going to be able to convince the beginners of this... I've been saying it for about 7 or 8 years now. Speedflying is NOT the place to learn canopy skills. You should have a really solid canopy foundation first and then transition. If you're going to fly speed wings, rather than skydiving crossovers, you should get some basic paraglider time first too - they handle extremely differently. Groundhandling is another skill which many skydivers miss. Soboba is cool. I think I was the first person to speak with them about speedflying about 5 years ago when I first came to the US. I love that they've taken it and run with it, and that the paragliders there welcomed the sport. Many other paragliding operations I've approached have had a 'this is our turf' mentality.

Couldn't agree more. I think this is one of the drawbacks of moving from a club culture to a business / sport one. Most clubs have experienced jumpers who have been around a few seasons and are willing to lend a hand when it's needed, even if they're not on staff. They're ideal for the pick-up role if it's only an occasional thing and the dz doesn't have a free staff position. That said, I've very limited experience with wingsuiting - you can't ask regular jumpers to regularly go and pick people up because they regularly miss the LZ. I could understand how that would get irritating fast... Once or twice a season, sure, but not once or twice a day. Surely the emphasis has to either be on the wingsuiters to plan a dive which puts them in a good position to land on the DZ and maintain a standard of doing that, or the DZ has to accomodate regular off landings (with all the hazards that implies)? Same here.

Absolutely, at 5x interest. They are also crucified at the bonfire that night and then drawn and quartered... In the extremely rare event of someone NOT checking in when requested, and also NOT being found by their jump buddies OR seen at landing, AND somehow hiding out on the DZ; how long do you think it is until someone would notice them? Or until they go to manifest for a load and are told 'we're not manifesting because you're missing...'? Or until they notice there are no loads going up and ask someone why?

Yes, but only after you know someone is missing... And honestly - would you want to be in the air with 20 other people who are spending part of their time looking for someone on the ground, rather than at what's going on around them? I've been at dropzones where planes have been used after a while of someone being missing. It's not usually a first option.

I potentially disagree with both of those. Does not jumping help the missing jumper? Yes - it can do. A plane can be used for the search if necessary. Additional staff members whos attention would otherwise be diverted by jumping operations become available to help. First responders will be on the ground if someone is injured, rather than in the air.... there are lots of potential scenarios. Does jumping harm the missing jumper? If you discount all of the items above(!), then no - It doesn't directly cause physical harm. But it does take resources away from a search. Note - we're not necessarily talking about jumpers who are landing out here. That may be where some of the confusion lies. I'll try to explain in detail the way DZ control does work so as to clarify things for you. Someone (usually a staff member) sits outside (and separate to the area where everyone is hanging around in works best), with a radio tuned to Dz ops. When a lift is manifested and on the way to the plane, DZ control gets a copy of that manifest - They know how many jumpers are aboard each plane and what their plan is. When all the jumpers are out, the plane sends a 'drop complete' message on the radio. Even before this, DZ control may have started counting canopies that are open and noting if there were any malfunctions. There are a number of possible scenarios here, but I'll put a few up for examples: 1) DZ control counts the full complement of good canopies and sees they're all mains and all in the appropriate airspace to land back on the DZ. RESULT: No change to operations. Jumping continues without interference. 2) DZ control counts the full complement of good canopies, but sees one is a reserve. All canopies will make it to the DZ. RESULT: No change to operations. Jumping continues without interference. 3) DZ control counts the full complement of good canopies, but sees that one (or several) will not make it back to the DZ. RESULT: DZ control informs operations, Jumping continues, but a car (with radio) is sent to find and pick up the jumpers. (Given everyone is under a good canopy and DZ control noted where the landings were, the likelihood is that everyone will land safely and be found OK, but a car is sent just in case. If there is an emergency the pickup car can communicate with the DZ. 4) DZ control does not count the appropriate number of canopies. RESULT: Jumpers are asked to physically check back in over the tannoy and to locate their jumping partners. Jumping is suspended until it's worked out who is missing and a search has begun. Again, I have never seen or heard of any jumper who had been frustrated at this type of interruption in over a decade of jumping. And yes, that includes at busy, competitive events. If it's done well, DZ control barely impacts the daily routine of jumpers.

Even basic stuff like how to properly take a grip on the inside rail before exit. If freaks me out every time I see someone jam most of their hand and altimeter between the rail and fuselage...

Some notes for public speaking: Pretty much nobody will read a link you provide. You need to be able to state your issues clearly and quickly. WHY should people join you? What big issues are you protesting... if it's a laundry list of small things that requires time or a deep understanding of local history to understand then you're in trouble. Any information you DO provide needs to be presented clearly and professionally. I gave up on your link after the first 2 paragraphs because it reads like it's been written by a pre-schooler with a grudge. On my screen what I see in bold is ... THAT'S the headline. Does that sound sane to you? Get someone who knows how to write and present formal documents to help you.

I might have misunderstood the point of your initial post. I thought you were saying the 6-8 seconds recommendation was too long.

The two aren't comparable. You're talking about drogue inflation after exit at full altitude, vs main initiation while you're in the basement. If I'm doing a solo hop and pop at 13k, I'd certainly allow for more time to evaluate and respond to a PC in tow, than if I got one at the bottom end of a jump.

No problem. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/12/americans-join-syrian-jihad-sparking-u-s-intelligence-fears.html Just goes to show, every country has its radicals.

This. So very much this.

Aint that the truth. Our bow-man forgot to attach the clew of our spinnaker last race... Gib came down, Spinnaker went up and then just started flapping like a flag as the boat came to a grinding halt. oops.

I crew on a 42ft boat in San Diego and the slip fees there are crazy. They're over 1000 bucks a month... It's incredible how fast costs rack up on boats. As Airdvr says, you need to watch out if buying 2nd hand. It'd be easy to buy a boat only to find the sails need replacing in the first season - The ones we use are about 7 grand a pop. I definitely wouldn't start at 40ft. Learn the basics of sailing first on small boats. Unless you and your brother are experienced, it's unlikely you'll use a lot of function on a bigger boat. Getting the spinnaker sail up with only 2 people on a big boat can go horribly wrong! The attached photo shows us racing a couple of weeks ago - it gives an idea of how many people you may need to sail a 40+ft boat... It also depends on how thorough your education needs to be as to what kind of course to suggest. If your intention is to buy a boat and sail it off shore, you're going to need to know not only the boat-handling stuff, but also maritime laws, navigation etc. Most of my research on boat rentals on the west coast show that it's possible to rent 30ft boats without showing any experience but giving a credit card deposit (only last week I watched a renter crash their boat into a very expensive motor boat which was moored up because they didn't know how to bring the rental into the slip...), but for anything larger they want you to take a course with them. I'd strongly recommend against doing a rental with no experience for anything other than inland sailing, or in a bay. Coastal / ocean stuff can get gnarly pretty fast and when things do go wrong it sucks to be a long way from help. All that said, I love sailing and quit skydiving to do this most weekends. Let us know how you get on and have fun!

My biggest concern would be the unforseen consequences of deliberately messing with the atmosphere. In a system as complex and dynamic as planetary climate, I can't possible imagine that we'd understand and control every possible 3rd and 4th order consequence of making deliberate changes. As a last resort, maybe. Like quade, I'd like to see it tested on another planet first... I'd be interested first to see what happened if we genuinely reduced CO2 emissions - will the climate sort itself out or have we fucked it beyond the point of no return? That's when mitigation should be implemented IMO. There's also a significant moral question. In altering the atmosphere, we're making a decision for the entire planet. Who gets to say whether it should be done or not?

This. But he's super experienced, so it's all OK, right?

Nonsense. Just because they set someone on fire doesn't mean your only options are either to roll over or set someone of theirs on fire... There are a thousand possible responses from massive overkill to do absolutely nothing. The only digital question is one of will - do you respond, or do you do nothing? Once you've decided to do something, then you have limitless options.

Well that makes for depressing reading. Oh, and this thread will get moved to Speakers Corner in about 2 minutes, where it'll be forever consigned to the trash argument of faith vs science.

That's because at some point in the last thousand years, we've been at war with most of them, or some other fucking ridiculous generalization... How about you stick to your own neck of the woods pal? We've got plenty enough xenophobia here without you importing it. thanks.