NtheSeaOrSky

I went to the local University's team orthopod. They had a private practice as well as being the team docs. Extra bonus he was so accustomed to working with athletes. Maybe something to check into.

Ann! DOH! Rinse it out good with dilute betadine, goop it up real well with triple antibiotic ointment (stuff with lidocaine works best!) and keep it wrapped. 3 times a day! I imagine the champagne can work in a pinch! Silly you! The pic i get in my head is the two of you realizing what happened and scaring the crapola out of each other (you & Skeet) Kinda like the M&M Christmas commercial! Did Skeet nearly faint too?? Stop sneaking up on the poor kid! Glad you are OK! Those are the things we hate explaining to the Dr.s

Clay, OK, so I know I don't know you, but I don't think you will take this the wrong way.........it's not "wash" the cat, its "vacuum" the cat. Thats the excuse. Everyone knows if you wash them they run away, but vacuum them, and they ain't a goin nowhere! Amateurs!

Wow, Ann, the student you speak of sure is lucky to have you on her side! Just imagine what might have happened if you hadn't opened the doors to her, if she hadn't been able to confide in anyone {{shudders}}. Hats off to both Chuck and to YOU!! You are both wonderful people! If this student is as good as you say, then who knows what she may be able to contribute to the community when she's able. Karmac payback !

OK, so after reading these, I dont feel so silly about sharing this dream I had a while back. All my friends laughed at me, to this day, I still hear the jokes.....but here goes. Before I ever had an inkling to jump out of a plane, I had a dream about a grasshopper. Dont know how I got there or anything, but there I was in the middle of a big field staring at a "huge" grasshopper. Hmmmm, what do I do, well jump on its back, of course! Off we go jump up WAAAAYYYYYY up high, we are in the clouds looking down, nice slow decent to ground. What next? DO IT AGAIN! UPPPPPP again we go, this time we fly around a bit before coming slowly down again. So no shit there I was, flying around on the back of a giant grasshopper, twisting, turning, flipping, etc, etc. Then I woke up. Hmmmm was this an omen?? Am I psychic? I had this dream months before my first jump. And funny enough, the view from and flight of the grasshopper is the same as from the canopy!

No, just saw some sand and footprints, then it would stop! lol This is TORTURE!

I. I, I WANNA SEE!!! It wont open all the way. I can only get to the beach then it stops. I tried refreshing page, trying the other link, nothing has worked so far. Please help.

Since I am the world's worst procrastinator (spelling?), GIFT BAGS! The only way to go! Drop in the gift, poofy some tissue paper on top and VOILA! Pick a pretty bag and you got a wrap job in 5 seconds!

They didnt say they used drugs, , just that they sedated him! A swift kick to the head or other vital area can have the same effect!

YEEEHHAAAWWWW! It finally worked! (for me) (the first one) Ahem, going to look around, and try to cut back on the chocolate chip cookies!! Wendy

So does jumping from that altitude present a spotting problem? -Wendy (yes I am just kidding)

My favorite question so far: "Are you bird shit or a fool? "Cause those are the only things that fall from the sky." My reply........."Then I MUST be a UFO!" Overheard at the DZ during a big gathering where one girl was in charge of everyones gear check before boarding the plane: "She's checking to make sure they didn't forget their parachute"

OK, was trying not to answer, but my fingers can't hold back any longer . Lawyers get paid by arguing and finding loopholes. Living in our sue-happy society, the lawyers of the world are not going hungry! Now, everything I do in a day has risks. Some greater than others. I am responsible to myself for taking the necessary measures to keep those risks as few as possible. To me, skydiving is no different. Yes, I signed many waivers and acceptance of risks. Yes, there are a series of checks to try to minimize the risks. Yes, people are human and humans make mistakes, as it was put before shit happens. But, I see it as MY responsibility to look out for me. So someone screws up, suing is not always the most productive answer. Sure it may get some jump money, but what did it accomplish? It just pisses everyone off and feeds the lawyers - sometimes new rules are in place to prevent the incident from happening again. That having been said, that does not mean everyone is absolved of their responsibilities. Just because I signed a waiver, that doesn't make it ok for the pilot, JM, whoever, to exercise poor/ no judgement. BUT, it is up to ME to determine if I feel comfortable flying with them. As a student, knowing no one in the sport, I just assumed everyone would be "on top of their game". I found out the hard way on my second jump I had a lot of blind faith in these complete strangers. After the incident, did I try to sue the school, the DZ? NO WAY! I brought it to their attention, so as to hopefully prevent the same thing from happening again. Will I jump with those parties involved again.....sure, I just wouldn't trust them to the procedure they overlooked. I moved away a few weeks after it happened (due to my job)and am at a new DZ now. You better believe that from then on, I learned how to do those things on my own. Now, if it gets overlooked, I can blame no one but myself! No offense to anyone, but I trust myself way more than a stranger - no matter how many jumps they have. There are ways to correct a problem without getting sue happy. Even if it is glaringly obvious it was due to their actions. Just another possibility to think about.

As of about two weeks ago the Franken Otter was still the same .... I saw it with my very own eyes! I hear it is at Lake Wales right now, maybe someone from there could update us.

He he he ..... I even got pictures!!! You gotta come visit, but you gotta try to keep up!

Thanks! No, nothing bad on the DZ I am at, as I moved halfway during my training. They are doing their best to finish my training and "patch up the holes" left from earlier attempts. I know I should have spoken up, but I bit my tongue to keep from snapping back (as I was in an unusual canky mood). I figured it wasnt essential knowledge for the dive I was doing, so it could be asked later, thats all.

OK, so there I was being told to pick out a rig from a wall o' rigs. I was instructed to get a rip cord and not a throw out one. To which.....being a newbie and never paid any attention to any other than the one I had on......I asked how do you tell? The answer....Look! Ahem, OK, these things might as well be space shuttles, I dont know everything about how they work, so I dont know what to look for. That having been said, I was told to look for the red pull thingy for the reserve jm on the back of the rig. My question, is that the only way to tell? What am I looking for? Are there pictures somewhere? Am I really a complete moron? OK, dont answer that last one . Maybe I shoulda spoken up then, but I was a little, um ok, a lot, embarassed. Where the hell do I find the rig encyclopedia???? Thank you. Please be patient, I am learning. I promise to never ask the same question twice!

Hey Smackme! While you were busy not working and typing away........some of us were jumpin outta CASAs !! No one in particular he he he he he .......

No, wasn't worried about falling out so much as how much an opening can loosen them. A hard opening means a few more inches, or like a foot? Im not even sure what a hard opening is....I mean besides the obvious. I guess I'll know if I ever have one. I have now been shown how to properly tighten and check them. And, I did find out if you tighten them extra tight on the plane just in case, , its a bit harder to keep your legs closer together in freefall. Somewhere there is a happy median Thanks!

I was just recently told that a hard/rough opening could be enough to cause leg straps to loosen. YIKES! OK, so without reading into why this was said, how true is this? If so, how loose we talkin' ? Few inches, a foot, how much? The comment just got me to thinkin about what ifs? Thanks!

Nah, nahh, you got it wrong! Here in the South its "Hay Bo, wartch theis shit!" He he the spell checker's gonna have a ball with this one!

So its not so much that the canopy is "eliptical", but the charateristics of the tapered cells that affects the performance? So crisper turns are possible with the taper design, and does that also make the angle of approach on landing smaller ( due to the flatter glide )? Thank you for your replies (and patience)

I have tried to find out info online, but am becoming frustrated. Please help. What are the differences in an eliptical canopy and the one I am jumping as a student? Im assuming it is higher performance, but I would like details. Thank you in advance!

When I began my AFF training, I was taught when dealing with a high speed mal,first dump the RC. (then cut away and pull reserve-if I remember correctly ;-) ) In this manner, no matter what system I used, my hands were empty to do the important stuff. And this was at a school where you'd better come down with the rip cord you went up with, or be riding a reserve in!

No alcohol?! Who told you that!? The night mine was done, I couldnt talk so well....slurred speech and all.....so I figured what the hell, I cant sound much worse! Ten or twelve drinks later, I was talkin like normal! Strange phenomenon. (Yes, other *non drunk* people said I sounded normal) So, for 3 days at the beach it was ice cream and buttery nipples. Best weekend of the summer.....um till there came this skydiving thing......