jfields

What kind of ho's does this involve? Justin My Homepage PS I'd jump with you, but I'm not much more experienced, and Texas is a long way away.

It is interesting to me to see the views of people that started by different methods. I'm surprised by the number of people that intended to do just one jump (SL or Tandem, etc.) then went through the entire student course. Then again, those that stopped after one jump probably aren't posting on this forum.... I knew that I was going all the way through before I started. When I got to the DZ for my AFF level 1, I'd already done about 30-40 static-line jumps on rounds in the Army. So the act of jumping from a plane was familiar to me. Having been on my own out the door from military jump one, there wasn't any way I was going as a passenger. Sure, I flopped around in freefall some, because that was new to me, but I kind of expected it. However I pulled on my own and landed myself, which were two of my goals. To me, skydiving is all about indepence. You make your own choices, take your own risks, and have a hell of a lot of fun. Justin My Homepage

Mike, I'm not in any way saying you weren't an apt pupil, or that people can't learn the material in some type of tandem progression. It is just my thought that if you are sure about wanting to get into the sport, that the AFF route is more similar to what you'll be doing eventually anyway, so you might as well start that way. Like I said, this is just my opinion. Of course, I "started" via static-line at Ft. Benning, then did AFF later as a civilian. I would probably recommend a good civilian static-line program over tandem as well. It is all about what the local DZs offer and what the student thinks will work for them. I knew that I didn't want to be strapped to someone else for a skydive. Personal preference. Justin My Homepage

Just noticed a similar thread in the safety board... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forums/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=forumsafetytraining&Number=64684&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&part= Justin My Homepage

I disagree with Brandon and Mike. I'd go the AFF route. It is much more like what jumping is really about. Skydivers need to know the material covered in the ground school if they are going to continue. If someone doesn't have the patience or inclination for that, they why ought not get into the sport. For people that just want one skydiving fling, sure, go tandem. I'm sure it is a rush (never done one myself), and there isn't the hassle of all the work. But for someone contemplating the sport, I'd suggest they go all the way. Around where I live, the difference is only about $100. Being able to deploy your own parachute and land on your own is a huge rush that I can't imagine a tandem passenger getting. If you are going to go, go big!

Skreamer, I was waiting for you to find this thread.

Anyone who makes it to Carpal-Tunnel status is such a big target, that it is easy. Also, I see it as a public service. In his sick and twisted way, it gives him a feeling of worth to be picked on. And by doing it, I'm drawing the fire instead of letting it affect those more sensitive than myself. Kind of like a soldier jumping onto a grenade to save all his friends. You should be thanking me, man!

And why would avoiding him be limited to women? Justin My Homepage

And you'll be like 5 years behind Clay. Good to know you have more civilized standards, though. Justin My Homepage

Clay, have you been doing your Kegel exercises recently? I'm sure that is what you were thinking of... Justin My Homepage

If you wanted sympathy, you shouldn't have mentioned Key West. You should have said Newark, New Jersey, the armpit of America! Justin My Homepage

Ah, yes, Britain. I have never figured out how a country has so carefully avoided any actual flavor in their food. From my experience, the only exception was the wonderful Indian food from the immigrant population. But Brits DO make much better beer than we have.

They are steerable, as long as you want to steer straight down.

Zennie is an "EX-Lawyer", so he is okay. Well, maybe he is in lifelong recovery, like an alcoholic that is dry. Let's just keep him happy and jumping so he doesn't relapse into practicing law again. Justin My Homepage

Michele, You're a skydiving babe. Trust us.

Mike, I agree with you about the shades of grey. One extreme is the type of neglect I illustrated in my admittedly stupid example. The other extreme could be when someone accidently cuts you off under canopy and you have a little bit of a rough landing. Where in between is it deserving of litigation? Each person has a threshold of where they see people's actions getting serious enough to merit legal action. Some people are sue-happy and do so at the least provocation. Others see it as a last resort when they've tried everything else and the other person was clearly negligent or malicious. Personally, I'm in the latter category. If somebody crashed into me under canopy from behind and I broke a leg, honestly, I doubt I'd do anything if they simply apologized. That's it. Just a sincere apology and I'd consider the issue solved. I have insurance for the hospital bills and I consider accidents like that a risk of the sport. When put into a situation where you've been injured, each person will react differently. I don't think saying, "Skydivers don't sue skydivers" is fair, because some cases might merit it. But for me, it would have to be pretty drastic. There are a million combinations and circumstances in the middle. I think I'm up to $.04.

Through a number of people's posts and in a roundabout way, my questions were actually answered. As initially stated, my goal in the whole stall discussion wasn't to fly around like that or do it regularly, but to know where and how it happens on my canopy. That way I'll be knowledgeable and experienced (at least a little) without learning at low altitude or when I need to react quickly. Doing it at high altitude a number of times will give me the familiarity and practice. Thanks for responding, folks!

From what I've read, Dave, you need a drogue. Justin My Homepage

While not statistics per se, we can look at the incident reports for trends and anecdotal evidence. Many of them are completely avoidable tragedies that evolve after the individuals have a working canopy. Others probably could have been avoided by optional safety devices such as Cypres and RSL. Low pulls, no pulls, low turns, etc. The incident reports should be taken as strong warnings to low-time jumpers (like myself) and reminders to the experienced folks that really know what to do, but get complacent. Just my $.02. I'll leave the stats to someone else. Justin My Homepage

We know. It is just hormonally-induced drooling. We wouldn't respect them in the morning like we would a real skydiving babe. Justin My Homepage

Fliteline systems, (former) makers of the Reflex container. Justin My Homepage

"inflicted us with Clay!" And penicillin won't make it go away.

Man is he gonna get an ass-whoopin'! Justin My Homepage

Man, what a bunch of whiners! None of you really need to worry, because we are going in order by number of posts, from Clay down. (Chuck went out of order. Delinquent! ) Considering that all Clay has so far is, "My maw dun born me", you all have plenty of time. Justin My Homepage

Having ridden a motorcycle and being a skydiver, I'd have to say that the odds of serious injury are higher for a motorcyclist. That is based on my opinion, not some pile of statistics. Let me explain: There are many risks in skydiving that can be reduced by training, proper equipment, careful selection of jump partners, etc. Because we are all in the same situation, most jumpers are careful and responsible. A skydiver also has the option of skipping jumps if the wind is too high, or gusty, or if they aren't mentally up to par that day. On a motorcycle, you are much more at the mercy of other people. And unlike skydiving, the other drivers are NOT in the same situation. They are driving big cars or sport utility vehicles. They put the motorcyclist in danger, but the reverse is not true. The burden of safe driving and the motive of personal survival are not equally shared. The onus is on the motorcyclist. Like someone else (Mike) who replied to your message, I live near Washington DC, and the traffic and drivers here are too dangerous for me to consider riding a motorcyle around the area regularly. Yet I think skydiving is a reasonable risk, for the reward of enjoyment that it gives me. Justin My Homepage