jfields

Nope. Just noticed the lack of fish trying to bite. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

Don't make us talk about clams and oysters! Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

I was never worried that my comment would go too long without being taken that way. Nah, they aren't the same kind. These have claws.. well... bigger than your bait. It takes a real man to go crabbing for blue crabs. Ouch. Sorry to hear that! You better watch out what ocean you put your bait into, GeekStreak! Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

In Maryland, that is what we use for bait when catching blue crabs on the Chesapeake Bay. Then ya throw some Old Bay on the cuts to stop the bleeding. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

Wow. Thanks for posting all the info and suggestions, folks. I'm certainly stressing about the test a lot less than I was before. I've thrown out about half of the SIM I had left after a previous whacking. What I have left to read through can actually be stapled without the heavy-duty stapler at work.

Hmm. I don't know if I'd physically cut a reserve away like that. To have gone for my reserve instead of my main in the first place, I'd have to be getting out at really low altitude. If I didn't have a good reserve, I might just keep trying on the main and dump it into whatever there was of my reserve. At that point, time would be crucial. No time for the hook knife (IMHO). I'd want the most possible fabric over my head, entangled or not. I could do a PLF instead of flairing. Better a big ball of junk than nothing at all. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

And currently only 216 posts behind Skreamer.

Michele, This has come up on about a million threads so far. And statistics can say anything people want them to, if they try hard enough. You are correct that more people die from lightning strikes than every year than from skydiving. The misleading part of that is that the lightning number is probably for the US population. So 51/300 million or so people. The skydiving number is only out of skydivers, so 30/I don't know, but much less. I don't honestly think that skydiving can be considered as safe as not skydiving. But I don't care. I take all the precautions I can and go from there. You have to live somehow, might as well be doing what you want. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

I agree with Speed Racer. Nobody should really pressure you about it. When I showed up with a case of Corona (DZ favorite) after I graduated from AFF, the DZO saw me walking toward the fridge with it and said, "You know, you don't really HAVE TO do that." I told him that everyone had been incredibly nice and helpful, so I didn't have a problem with it. If the people had been asses about it, I wouldn't have done it no matter how much they told me I "owed". As long as it is friendly and reasonably equitable, I don't mind buying some here and there. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

I have no idea. I haven't taken it yet, and know basically nothing about how it is administered or anything. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

You'll have to check with some of the more experienced folks here, but I think allowances are made for students. Then again, maybe you shouldn't ask those people. It has been so long since they started skydiving that they might not remember when everything was so new that you had a "first" on about every jump. Besides, they are probably thirsty!

I'm thinking of taking my "A" exam this Saturday. I've printed off the parts of the SIM that are suggested reading for the test, but it is like 95 pages. I can't tell you why I'd need to know the complete list of "Aircraft That May Be Operated With One Cabin Door Removed", but is in there. There is also a lot of stuff that is appropriate to higher licenses, even within the chapters specified for the "A". I understand knowing some basic medical skills, but I'm not trying to be an EMT for God's sake! What is up with the 20-some pages of material on that? What are the areas where I should focus my studying? It would make sense in my opinion for them to test on emergency procedures, gear requirements, "A" license reqs., basic canopy & freefall skills and some other things about DZ operation like obstructions and wind limits. But of course, I'm the one taking the test, not making it up. Am I on the right track with that, or should I postpone taking the test until I'm better on all the nitpicky and random stuff? Any advice would be great. I don't think the test will be super hard, but I definitely care more about it than I did about any of my college exams. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

Not so fast. First skydiving-related publication rejection letter. Beer! It does get pretty hard avoiding buying beer, doesn't it? Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

What do you mean? Just buy the "Books on Tape" version and use a walkman instead of an audible altimeter.

What about Snuffalupagus? He'd be great at breaking up a fight.

This antipathy towards sheep is just because Texans prefer.... cattle? The dominant local animal where I live is politicians, and sadly, they just screw us all. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

Michelle, With 25 more jumps than you, I am dealing with the same issues. Getting help in freefall is easy, but people aren't right near you under canopy at our experience levels. At least, they shouldn't be. I bought the "Fly Like a Pro" video, which gives some great advice. My copy of Skydive U's "Basic Canopy Flight" arrived in the mail today, so I can't comment on it. I've also read a lot at different web sites, including the Sport Parachutist's Safety Journal (located at http://www.makeithappen.com/spsj/ ). So first, I did research. The next step was to experiment. I'm at a much smaller DZ than you, so it isn't as busy. I checked with the pilot on a couple loads, and got permission to do clear-n-pulls. I did a poised (AFF-style) exit from the aircraft at 14,500, then opened after about a 3-second delay. I was under canopy at 13,800. It was great. It looks really different from that altitude. With no other jumpers around and tons of altitude, I began playing with different aspects of my canopy. My used gear has dive loops, which I'd never used. Well, with that much altitude to recover from any screwup, I tried them. No problem. I couldn't judge the effect as exactly as I could have near the ground, because I didn't have a reference point, but at the same time, I could do it safely. I also gradually increased my toggle input so I was flying in brakes. Then I just kept increasing it until the canopy got mushy. The change in airspeed was really noticable. I let the toggles up slowly, just like the video said, and returned to full flight. I also played with some spirals too. It was all great fun and I learned more about how my canopy flew than I had in all my other jumps combined. I'm still too inexperienced and conservative to try any of those things near the ground. 13,000 feet is a lot of playground though, and I never thought anything was unsafe. Besides, your canopy ride lasts a LONNNNGGGGG time, so you kinda feel like you got more for your lift ticket money. If you can arrange to be on a jump like that, I highly recommend it as a good way to work on canopy skills. They might let you do it on a "sunset load" where you don't have to worry about other aircraft or jumpers. Check with the DZO and pilot first. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing." PS I just remembered that you are still on AFF. You can't do the kind of jumps I described and still do the AFF curriculum. The clear-n-pull jumps will have to wait, but I wish I'd done them sooner after clearing AFF than I did. I had a great day when I did mine. I got to fly around some clou... I mean, industrial haze. Even went through some. Fun, fun, fun! Edited by jfields on 6/26/01 01:29 PM.

I wish I could jump enough to owe 5 cases on consecutive weekends. Oh, to have your problems!

:: Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

This would be a really good skill to have for other kinds of (h)RW as well. Justin "If it can't kill you, it isn't worth doing."

Kia ora ki a koe, e Pyke. Kia tere, korero mai ano. Naku tonu i whakaae kia whakangahau ratau ki konei.

"Kia Kaha" translates to "Ever Be Strong", according to some website I found. It appears to be Maori from the New Zealand sources I found, but I'm sure Pyke will correct me on the details of this one.

That's great! I hope your wife sees the humor in it.

Server glitch. Must be.

I could do a great demo of doing a sliding landing on my ass. Other than that, I'd pretty much suck for demos, no matter how much fun it was for me.