el_chester

[cruel mode] Did you hear that after his accident he was convinced he could walk again? ...he must have thought he was Superman [/cruel mode] Heard this inappropriate, politically incorrect joke some time ago... -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Wonderful. Plain wonderful. I so understand that - I'm leaving my work, family and country to join my loved one in January. I'm glad for you guys - wild congratulations and best wishes. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Yesterday the tracking dive people were not really watching where they're going and end up about 2 or 3 miles off. Anyways, I was part of the rescue team (lucky this wasn't the sunset load!) and we heard rattlesnakes AND saw big spiders. S-C-A-R-Y-!!! BTW, one of the guys had a huge alergical reaction - we took him to the hospital as his lips were approaching Angelina Jolie's in volume, and his eyes were being shut by being swollen. Lucky thing he didn't have to endure that for a long time before being found... -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

So. last Thursday starts off dreamlike, I go to dinner with 6 female friends and they uninhibitedly start speaking of sex (all sorts of sex ). A pretty fun experience to have them let me sit into one of their talks. I must say, women speak of sex waaaay more explicitly than we do... Anyway, that was all good until at about 4 AM when I say, I'm gonna sleep, I shouldn't drive (too tired and drank some wine). So. I wake up to a mouthful of wine being squeezed into my mouth by another mouth. This could've been fun except I am "married" and she knows it. (No official papers, but the commitment with my GF is there so no papers needed.) My GF is currently abroad, but that does not give this girl the "right" to come up to me like that!. So the other girls are telling her to stop, and she just won't give up. I am just waking up, but can't really, I'm dead-tired and don't fully understand what's up. (In the beginning I kissed back cause I thought I was dreaming of my real girl arrrgh!). So, after some effort and wrestling her hands off me, I finally get her to give up and go to another couch but... at 7am when I'm ready to leave, I wake up with her on the same couch as I'm in! I was not that much drunk as I was tired, BTW. I was angry at her, as well as at some of the other girls who found it so funny. I love to live life to its fullest, don't get me wrong, but I am so totally in love with my GF that this was not an "opportunity" that appealed to me. What I'm angry about is this woman being so f***ing irrespectful even after I told her NO! so many times. What's up with that!!?? Then again, more than once I have witnessed male friends not giving up and haven't told them to "get lost, you're making her uncomfortable". Similar experiences, anybody? I'm hoping for some fun stories here... (everyone I've told this has laughed at me - hard - especially my sister) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

So... provided you do a perfect PLF, have you ever wondered how high you can jump from without injuring yourself? 5 feet? 10 feet? 15 feet? Can you beleive this??? (sorry if this has been posted before) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

that's something I said to myself the second my feet gently touched the earth, as long as I can help it, I"ll never do that again. That's great, but right then (in your own words)... Hey SkyHighKiy, I find it great that you look for advise here - really. These forums are a great place to do off-DZ homework in order to be a safer, better-prepared skydiver. However IMO you seem not to be taking the advise to heart, or at least your attitude comes across as if though you want to experience first, then learn about your experience. That is plain _____ (OK, forum rules say "no personal attacks" so I'll refrain.). Let's just say it's not a clever way to keep yourself in one piece. Learning everything from your own experience... why????? I encourage you to read and learn from other people's mistakes. And when someone with 50 times your jump numbers gets angry 'cause they feel you're not listening, well, understand they are probably frustrated because in you they see a potential accident that "could have been prevented but wasn't". I hope you don't have to witness -let alone be part of- an accident anytime soon, but if/when you do, probably/hopefully you'll take the time to think about the dangers in this sport. My advise (even as a relatively low-timer myself), is to hold your horses, learn fast, but don't risk. I have read your polemic threads ("Just a story of my accomplishments in landing :)" "Night jumps" "How does one slam into a tree" "slow approach question") and buddy, while I really understand your enthusiasm about joining this sport, (I was the same - and still am!) I am not surprised that you got a warning thread dedicated just to you "think you're an exceptional student? Read this". And your answer there: Really, SHK, the way I see it, most people here are not trying to demonstrate superiority or better skills when they, they are just trying to help. So bottom line: PLEASE, SKYHIGHKIY, BE SAFE PS I am starting to beleive the troll theory... but still wanna help PS Where do you think you fit in the sentence on my signature? I hope these are not wasted keystrokes... Edited to add: I just read your first time ever post on DZ.com. You were probably sub-50 jumps and were asking questions about swooping and head-down flying. Both are fun disciplines (I'm a beginner in both and enjoying the learning) but you still have to learn so many basics to go into them... really, that post is so like all your posts... wanting to run before you can crawl. Once again, I don't know you and still I've read you enough to tell you I'd hate to read an incident report about you, so p-l-e-a-s-e, keep it safe. It's not for nothing that you've gotten SO MANY warnings in so many different tones from so many people. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

#72 a horseshoe. it turns out the DZ was L-O-U-S-Y at maintining their rigs, and configuring them properly. and i didn't know better So, the loop was waaay long, no presure on the pin, and at about 4.5k i feel the bag on the back of my legs, and the risers flapping around my neck. i turn my head and see the bag above me. I pulled out the pilot chute (leg strap at the time) and this turns the malfunction into a bag lock, so i chop and open to see the most beautiful 28 round above my head. had this happened lower i might not be here... it took me about 2000ft from the time the pin came off until i was under reserve.... looking back on that (12 years ago) i feel fortunate to be alive, our instruvction was so lousy (no tandem, and I was on my own on jump #5!!!! then on jump 10 i did a 4-way with all participants having under-20 jumps) i will never forgive the irresponsability i was subject to... #304 linetwists the linetwists on the Stiletto put me in a spin and i chose not to try to kick them out (had pulled at 2500ft after a bigway). was under reserve at 1400 -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

OK, I am ready to go back one step in my canopy progression, and will appreciate your advise. No, I have had no accidents No, no close calls No, I have not been uncomfortable under my canopy I'm just trying to keep it safe. I don't want to find out the hard way that I had a canopy on which I couldn't handle a landing misjudgment, or avoid someone near the ground. I know some people will think I should never have gone to the Stiletto, others will say I'm a pussy for going back, but... I better be safe than sorry. I am not ashamed. In Spanish there's a saying "despacio que voy deprisa" meaning "let's go slow, I'm in a hurry". It means that going fast can slow you down (because of mistakes made on the way while going fast) My background: did 150 jumps over 12 years, then in a couple of months did 80 jumps on a borrowed Sabre1 150 and... jumped at the opportunity to get my present rig with a Stiletto 135 loaded at roughly 1.5. by now I have around 130 jumps on the Stiletto (only about 50 in my home dz, all others in Perris, Dallas, Houston) my home DZ lies at 4700ft ASL. already once had a reserve rive on the Stiletto (chose to chop from line twists which put me in a spin - pulled main at 2500 and was under reserve by 1400ft) took the canopy control course in Perris, in order to be safer and know the canopy better, and - eventually - start learning to swoop I do intend to learn to swoop, but I am in no hurry so far I love the Stiletto except for... I am focusing on big-ways so the long snivel and off heading openings of the Stiletto are not very appropriate (yes, I know you can make both things better, but fact is, the Stiletto is a weight shift sensitive canopy, which means that it is far more likely to open off heading than other wings; a canopy that is a bit too sensitive for MY current experience level @355 jumps over 12 years, but only 200 as a "current" jumper in the past year) So, I have decided to put the Stiletto to rest for a while. This decision comes after reading a lot in the "safety and training" and "incident" forums here. After getting some advise from a person whom I consider a great source, I realise that my current situation reads like an incident report. She put it in roughly these words: "350 jumps (140 of which were done before the year 2000), 1.52 wingloading, high field elevation but travels to other dropzones, big ways and a high performance canopy." Sounds like an incident report to me. I just hope your name isn't on it.... This is admittedly scary (please don't flame me, I'm here looking for CONSTRUCTIVE, POSITIVE feedback - I've read aggressive people here and I don't need that - thanks) I am thinking of going back to a size of 150sq.ft. I've been recommended Nitro or a Sabre 2. Some other people also tell me to try out the Spectre. I've never jumped any of them. I have little access to demoeing any of those here in Mexico, so that's why I ask here. Remember: high field elevation at home DZ: 4700ft currently focusing on big-ways (usually lower deployment altitudes, so long snivels not an option, preferably a canopy that will not be too weight-sensitive and open on heading most of the time) my total number of jumps since I'm current again is a bit more than 200 - all my old jumps from 5 years ago don't really count, do they? I still want to keep improving my canopy skills and keep learning the needed skills for swooping I want it to be safe, but also fun (yes, I love the Stiletto so far, even when I have flown and landed it conservatively) So, I want to hear your advise about the right canopy for me, (particularly about the Sabre2 and the Nitro). Thanks in advance! Chester PS Thanks "mom" (edited for spelling) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Not really answering your post, but... where does one have access to posts from 1985???? i am sure there's tons of precious material to be found there! Well, maybe not tons, I doubt many people were online at that time. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Ok, I agree, and when I came to dropzone.com I had the dilemma of saying 1 or 12. I chose 1. Let me explain. In 1992 I started jumping, and until 2000 did a bit less than 150 jumps. Then, in the past year, I have come back, and really gotten INTO the sport and have done a bit more than 200 jumps. So, for me, I have been IN the sport, as a regular, current jumper, for only one year. Maybe I should change it back to 12 years, at the risk of giving the impression that I am a 30 jumps/year jumper, instead of the current 200/year. Sorry for the confusion, it was not my intension to fool you or anybody. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

hey michael! qué bueno que estás bien, amigo having been in the sport for 12 years i have seen that when something becomes the new standard, it is usually because experience taught us skydivers how to improve our equpment. think of velcro-less riser covers and about bridle covers, about 3-ring-release, and bottom-of-container pilot chutes as opposed to leg-strap, etc. etc etc. so if nowadays most people have velcro-less rigs, it is probably for a good reason. that's not to say you'll die if you have velcro, many thousands of jumps were done before today's state of the art rigs. But still, if you can afford state of the art, you will lower risks. glad to hear you ordered a rig - what container did you get? what size main/reserve? (edited for clarity) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Congratulations on theat first, JumpingJack () As for going low... a big part of success in big ways is fallrate. Not only because of people going low, but because different fallrates will mess the solidity of the piece, so work out jumpsuits and weights beforehand. On a 10 way this should not be too big of a problem, if most people have enough experience and awareness. Should you already have gone low, it's a good idea already to know the optimal way to go back up, IN PLACE before you end up there. The tunnel is great for this, but I've also practised this on 2-ways and it's fun. And if you're still low by breakoff, you should all have a plan in the group. The following in no way THE rule, you should really have strict rules within your group (be it a 10 way or a 100+ way). After a couple of events I have been at I have heard the following advise: If you're still below the formation when you reach 1000ft before breakoff, start tracking the hell out of there now (but not before), AND be particularly obvious with your wave-off before pulling AND pull a bit lower (supposedly everyone has an assigned pull altitude they are sticking to, so if you go a couple of hundred feet below that, you're supposed to have clear air, no matter what.) while I agree with AggieDave that you can't learn to judge speed and distance for diving to the formation, there are tons of stuff relevant for bigways to be learnt in a tunnel. I am currently focusing on bigways, and have spent 80+ mins in the tunnel lately. The most important skill you'll learn is to float. You will learn exactly how to slow down in place, and it will amaze you how easy it is. Recently I have been on some 100+ ways where people who have gone low just spread like a big X and fly all over the place, while a person who's done tunnel time, will extend legs back, extend arms forward (the same way a football unpire would signal a touchdown), and bring knees down, buttocks up, and shoulders down. That person is an elevator going straight up, fast! Another great drill is the stability drill, where the instructor pushes you down, pulls you, takes the air from you, spins you, and your task is to keep solid, not let him move you. This is done by countering his force with all sorts of semi-weird positions so as not to allow him to mess you up. Of course if you learn to fly so solid in a formation, you are not going to let a bad flyer destroy the base, you are absorbing his bad, and this is expected from you once you have docked. (you are not supposed to just dock and relax, you should dock and then you fly all the way to breakoff helping the formation fall fast, solid and in shape) For now you still have a relatively low jump number, but after about 250 jumps, you will be eligible to attend the big-way camps which are great fun, and a great place to learn, because it's OK not to get into that 36-way, these are practice jumps. I have attended the Perris camp (Kate Cooper, Tony Domenico, Dan BC, Larry Henderson) as well as a couple in Mexico and in Skydive Dallas with Rob Laidlaw from skydive U, one of my skydiving heroes - and a great guy too (had to be Canadian ). Keep the bigways safe... this is hypocritical advise from someone who on his 10th jump did a 4-way where nobody had more than 20 jumps. The cameraman (our "certified instructor" with over 3000 jumps) thought it would be a fun idea. I am so pissed off at the many times he put us in danger when we didn't know better... (partcularly that horseshoe on my 72nd jump arghh! - but that's another story, another thread, another day...) Hope this helps. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

being an amateur mountain climber myself (highest yet aconcagua, 22,851ft without O2), I must say that even when I know mountain climbing is more dangerous, skydiving feels more dangerous. btw acoucagua is dissed as a huge hike to the top, but dealing with hypoxia and getting enough water and energy into your body is quite difficult. your body actually shouts at you to give up and turn back, and you override that and keep going, step by step. an interesting note... a person I know who has climbed most 8000+ meter (26200tf+) mountains without O2 told me that Everest with O2 is maybe equivalent to 24000ft. And he dissed the main route as a tourist extreme hike that anyone in good shape, a bit of training and a lot of money can do. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Skydive Cuautla Morelos, Mexico 1) Latitude/Longitude 18º 48´ 09.5” N; 98º 52´53.7” W (Sorry about no decimals, don't know how to convert) Elevation ASL: 4700ft 2) ICAO code (doubt it is registered) Radio Frequency is 118.35 3) DZ Name Skydive Cuautla 4) Country Mexico 5) Airport name Aeródromo Huexca (=Huexca Airfield, not an actual airport, just an airstrip within the DZ's premises) Regards, Chester -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

From another thread: jdfreefly, I think it's good you are posting this. Even if the person it's intended for doesn't want to heed the advise, maybe, hopefully maybe, someone else reading will. I now know I did a faster-than-safe canopy-progression, actually pretty similar to what is described in the CK thread, from sabre1 150 @1.37 to stiletto 135 @1.44. At the time I had 200 jumps more than the guy on the thread in your post, still I only had 250 jumps. I never had any problems, but still would recommend against it. Downsizing AND going elliptical is more than should be handled in one step. After having taken a canopy control course @ Perris, I have chosen to keep it conservative until I get more airtime and landings on it (currently about 100). Eventually I will hopefully be fast and safe. For now I only care about being safe while improving the skills that will allow me to be faster. And people, even if you have 1000+ jumps, if you think you might need a canopy control course, most likely you do need it, it's money VERY well spent, don't be stingy on safety! Even if you don't yet want to do hp landings, the canopy control course will cover in detail how your parachute works, something most people think they know but unfortunately don't. -- be careful giving advise. wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

i took the course with Clint from team extreme @ Perris. Even with my limited experience I found it was money very well spent. Even when my approaches and landings are on the conservative side, it is great to know my canopy a lot better now. I feel more confident knowing its limits, and having stalled it up high with toggles and rear risers, and played with recovery after a 360 from toggles and from front risers. I hope one day be a good fast swooper, but since I intend to keep safe until that day, I am in absolutely no hurry. I am learning one step at a time, and up high. Your approach in looking for help in learning canopy control skills is very right. Being humble and not pretending to know more than you know and your experience level allows you to know is IMO the way to go. There was a locked thread here recently started by a 50-jump guy who is so sure nothing will ever happen to him. He's so ready to start swooping, and doesn't really sound like he wants to listen to the experienced people advising him on a safe learning path. I hope he's right and never hurts himself, but... he doesn't sound like one of the safe ones. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Yes, FRI-SUN, no the other days of the week except on long weekends. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

so, when we see each other in Germany... how much will we be paying for lifts to altitude? -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

between my jumps 5-20 i was sooo afraid on the climb to altitude, thinking "what the hell am I doing on this airplane?!?!?!?" then enjoyment took over fear

31 male .2372 -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

Here's Dom kissing Mary (superfloater) and Splash goofing in the back. -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

So I registered almost a year ago and have only started posting lately. Hello people! I did 150 jumps from 1992-2003, (with less than 20 jumps since 2000) Then, whithin the last 12 months, I have come back to the sport and done: -about 200 jumps, mostly big-way oriented -got my first rig () -attended big way camps with rob laidlaw, kate cooper, tony domenico, larry henderson, dan b c -managed to get a slot on some cool dives (texas state record and big way sequentials in perris last weekend where we did the biggest hybrid jump to date) -I've also done 80 mins tunnel in Perris, what a wonderful toy! -about 5 sit-fly jumps (and I'm also loving the idea of doing freefly soon) I admit addiction to the sport and also, to hanging out with the people in it - let´s face it, as a whole skydivers are a cool bunch (just statistically, 'cause of course there's great whuffos and asshole skydivers) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

i suppose you didn't read the first message in the thread, did you?

in quades page (link above in his message) there' 1 pic of it (the one with the green fields below) the watermark is all over it, though (I understand the reason, quade) -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.

You are probably very right. That's why i said in my previous post "a bit of a better chance of going for the reserve", 'cause I know instinct might kick in. Still, it would suck if muscle memory killed you, wouldn't it? Being a relatively low-timer I am obsessed with learning as much as possible to make myself as safe as possible. And I would like to think that all this time I am spending reading old incidents will -if ever needed- help me make a better decission than to let muscle memory injure or kill me. But I don't in the least challenge you guys - most likely if scared by ground rush, my hand will find my pilot way faster than my brain can think "you're low! - remember Paula! - pull reserve!" What does RL mean? "Real life"? -- Be careful giving advice. Wise men don't need it, and fools won't heed it.