yoink

Out of interest what was the debrief for the student. Is something like causing a horseshoe an automatic fail & repeat level? Did he understand that causing the scariest mal in skydiving is bad news?

I still think packing areas should be nowhere near where whuffos shuold be, but if that isn't possible, the easiest solution would be for the skydivers to actually do something to alleviate the problem. Simply rotating their packing 90 degrees springs to mind to leave clear lanes down to the manifest.

Pfft. I've taught whuffos to pack my ZP canopies and jumped them afterwards too. One of them was so meticulous I suspect he'd make a great reserve packer. It really makes me chuckle when skydivers struggle - not at their dificulty, but because they've been taught poorly. As a general rule packing's only difficult if you rush it - something that newbies all seem to do - it's not a race. Teach people to take their time. Don't book themselves onto a 15 minute call. Personally, I've found people find packing smaller ZP canopies easier than larger F111 ones. The sheer amount of fabric can be intimidating on larger rigs, whereas the only difficult bit with ZP - getting it in the bag, can be overcome with packing tips. The first rig I ever learnt to pack was a 135 Stilletto in lieu of paying my FS1 coach. They weren't works of art, but they all opened...

It sounds like you're getting the right advice from your instructors - there's a surprise, hey? Relax. You probably just need to find the best way to do this that works for you - personally I find that just at exit I've usually been holding my breath and have been cramped in a door, so once I'm in freefall a big breath in, then a long slow one out along with a big smile helps a lot.

Why are whuffos in the packing area at all? Fence it off and put up signs 'SKYDIVERS ONLY PAST THIS POINT'

Completely as an aside, that video is a great example of just how much faffing post-deployment an RDS adds on to your process, and why a full RDS isn't an everyday 'jumping in groups' deal.

The reserve wasn't a second hand sale from a rigger or instructor was it? I was jumping 10 years and and at no point did I ever have a reserve that small... but then I guess I'm just a pussy and don't have mad skillz.

Of course not. In 15 years it will be the standard student canopy. I'll bet you a beer it isn't...

For me, that's the antithesis of getting in the holiday mood! Having said that, I will give my house a really good clean about 3 or 4 days before I leave for a decent trip. I hate coming home to an untidy place. Specialised gear is always packed, and I've travelled enough that I've got my travelling stuff down pat. (Combat pants to carry bookks and a micro sleeping bag for long flights are the best thing ever.) 95% of the standard stuff for a holiday just gets folded into a carry-on the night before. toiletries are added the morning of travel.

As usual, Dave is spot on. I've only put about 70 jumps on various sizes, but enjoyed them all. The Stilletto is a great all round canopy. Glides brilliantly, dives like a mutha and turns on a dime, but, it was built when different requirements and styles were the norm, and even then it went past them, so people now don't necessarily understand what it's strengths and weaknesses are. For really good fun up in the sky, a Stilletto is still one of the best wings I've flown. For swooping, there are far better options. In my opinon though, it's far from obsolete.

Lame and generic? Could it be a text blast looking for someone to take the bait for a Friday night hook up? A 'Booty Text'?? Impossible - we are in different countries! And he started off with "Hi Natalie. Sorry for not texting before, blah, blah." Followed by more blah blah. Christ women are picky! He doesn't text - he's a jerk and only out to get laid. He does text, but later than you'd like - he's a jerk and only out to get laid. He does text, but it's not witty enough - he's a jerk and only out to get laid. Poor guy doesn't know how fucked he is already!

Mate, don't worry about it - Guiness out here tastes nothing like proper Guiness. It's probably why they think it's OK to mix it. Seriously, that crud in the Guiness bottles? I've no idea what that is, but Guniess it ain't.

I can think of several reasons that might have nothing to do with him just trying to get laid. It sounds like you were really into him, and he may well have been really into you - do you know it was all BS? Before now I've run a mile in that exact situation, but because the intensity of the situation is too much for me to deal with, but then I'm as emotionally shallow as a teaspoon. Before you go blaming yourself for being played, or him for being a jerk, consider there may be other options - hell, maybe he was run over on the way to work the next day and hasn't been able to reply. Whetever it is, just don't let it eat at you.

Words fail me. What's next? Burning Christmas trees because they symobise an non-muslim holiday and by association anyone that owns one must support murdering Muslims?? It just goes to show you get idiots all over the place. I just wish the press wouldn't give them air time.

You're the one complaining and you want us to do your work for you? I think I might be starting to see where some of the problems lie! If you thought you had a genuinely verifiable complaint, you'd put those facts and proofs up as clearly as you possibly could to get your message across. Instead, you're being deliberately obtuse and unclear which leads us all to think there's probably another side to this argument...

There's a reason for that... most of us started on skydiving canopies but we've found that specialist designed-for-the-task gear is far safer and easier to use - particularly when learning. People are being careful not to imply that just becuse you can use skydiving wings for GL, doesn't mean that you should. We don't use skydiving canopies for BASE anymore as there are better and safer options available. The same is true of GL.

Look at the majority of incident / recommendation threads and discussions here and they generally always end in the same way: People stating that 'we don't want no more rules in skydiving!' As long as that is the prevailing attitude of the people in the sport, nothing will change. Advisories, suggestions, posters, presentations, BSRs - they're all lip-service to a problem because there's no requirement for people or DZ's to follow them. The problem isn't the USPA, it's the skydivers themselves. We've become so used to people dying (hey, it's a risky sport! ) and we're so enamoured with the image of skydiving being a counter-culture 70's style club, that we're not willing to put regulations in place that can affect people's behaviour. It's the opposite of Health and Safety in the workplace gone mad. We see problems that kill people then deliberately do nothing about it.

that's worth extra points for difficulty if you land it.

Wouldn't some of the heavy duty garbage bags be a better option? Particularly as they'd have reinforcement in the drawstrings that would help your attachment points.

Fantastic! A really good fun video!

Maybe a lesson to be learnt here is one for us. As skydivers maybe we need to be honest with the people we love rather than shielding them with the 'I've got a reserve parachute. I've got an AAD. I'm always super careful...' line of BS. They need to know that yes, we can die doing this. That we take every precaution that we feel is appropiate but in the end we know and understand the risks and accept the consequences and that it would upset us to see lawsuits brought against the sport for anything other than gross negligence. I'd expect experienced skydivers to already have had this discussion with their family - that's the only bit that surprises me about this lawsuit. If you haven't had this talk with your family yet, maybe this is an excuse to do so...

I disagree. Soaring requires a specific set of skills that is taught to paraglider pilots, not skydivers. It can be very easy to stall your canopy and spin yourself into a hill. Can it be learnt? yup - but that's not where you start...

This is like being back in primary school. I'm done with your Trolling. To get back on topic: to the OP - why do you think that Aerodyne should honour an genuine mistake? Think legally, then morally - they're not necesarily the same thing. Would you honestly think the same if you'd just paid full price for a new Aerodyne canopy and someone came on the next day and made your exact first post?

Yes it bloody is. Andy, in the same way I'm fed up of offering advice to newer people to try and keep them safe because they always know better, I'm also fed up with seeing diminishing personal responsibility. The OP doesn't care if we agree with him or not. He just wants 2 things. A freebie from Aerodyne and a chance to have a dig at a manufacturer with no comeback. Sorry if you approve of that, and I'm not suggesting anyone should forma lynch mob, but I don't believe that the OP has never made a mistake in his life and that he's never simply apologised and moved on... How is that OK for him and not for Aerodyne? How is he to learn that it's an unacceptable attitude if people don't tell him? You didn't even quote me. Re-read my post and get a grip. Or not. whatever. I wasn't trying to quote you. I was replying to a point by the original poster. Then I was talking to you - The whole new paragraph thing starting with your name I thought would give it away... If you really want to get into the pettyness of arguing post structure, we can... or not. Whatever.