elfanie

Here's my rule. If its not my student I don't say a damn thing. I'm curious if 'story telling' is viewed the same as "giving advice"? Example: If I am talking to a student...and sharing my experience as an AFF student and what I did...is that viewed the same as "giving advice"? Because even if I don't say, "you should (do X)..." I'd be saying, "I (did X) and found that Z worked..." ?? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I'm in the medical field (I attend births for a living)....and so you betcha sweet bootie I knew that. HIV makes me cautious. HepB makes me cringe inside and fearful. Scary stuff... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

What do you call coach jumps? I think I do an organized lesson with my students emphasis on "each" above was mine.. he said EACH jump..I don't know anyone that is able to do a coach jump each jump after AFF. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I think it totally depends on the person... because I'm jumping in Arizona...and if the ground temp is >65, I FREEZE. Everyone at my DZ is constantly saying, "are you ok?" as I'm shivvering and my jaw shaking HOURS after getting on the ground. I just run really cold...and get chilled (core temp) really easily...and take forever to warm up. (see what losing 200 pounds will do to you ) I wear in 60* weather a fleece neck cover, long underwear, tshirt, jumpsuit, winter neumans, and helmet...and still I'm cold. (yes..I know I know..I'm a total cold-wimp) Even with winter newmans..my hands get very cold (I love warming them up on everyone's back. ) BUT...they are the best gloves I"ve ever tried and I love them... (I've also tried my surgical gloves underneith...still froze) One thing I was just told last weekend which I'm going to try...is to wait until on the plane and at altitude before putting gloves on... can't see how it can help..but heck, I'll try anything. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I voted yes. I think people should have the right to decide for themselves what risks they do and do not want to take...and they can only do so with full informed consent (which means they have to be told the BRAN...Benefits Risks Alternatives Nothing...). If the tandem decides no...that should be their right. If the tandem decides yes...that, too, should be their right. Same thing as if there is a tandem student with a contageous disease, the tandem master should have the full disclosure so they could say yes or no... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Students on solo supervision... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Where? Not in the USA. That's worldwide... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

SSSHHHHHHhhhhh!!! You've got her being nice to you...don't bite the hand, honey...just smile and shut up. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

To get the right stats...you would have to use all roads or just jumps from a Cessna. I don't know how many billions of miles are driven each year... but I do know that in 1998 1,170,694 people died from car accidents. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Nope...no obsticles..no trees or anything in front of me...ahead of me was a large grassy landing area...on the other side of that was the runway... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Yes, Coolidge is Open...been running a king air every weekend. (except this past saturday when we had two skyvan runs along with all of the king air runs). On a rare occasion we have the twin otter...but usually it's a king air. Bob is still out there (did his weekly potato jump on Sunday...won, again. ) He's a GREAT guy! I just love his stories...he cracks me up. And you are Eloy Annie? I've heard of you...but don't beleive we've ever "met". *offers hand* Nice to meet you.... (edited to add: Annie....are you the one that charmed Bob out of his D number? ) -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Are you saying there are more or less accidents on 2-lane rural roads than freeways? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

You said that I needed more time/jumps in the sport before being able to make a judgement as to whether our DZ is a good place for our kids to be. That is not what I responded to..and I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I responded to your personal experience by saying that different DZs (and different kids) are different and that saying it's a horrible place for kids is a generality that will always have exceptions... My "angry" response was to your statement that I need more experience jumping before I can make that judgement call for my kids. (and I apologize to you for getting snippy...it's just easy to get angry when someone who isn't even a parent tries to give you parenting advice and suggesting that you are a bad parent because you're not doing what they *think* they would be doing if they had kids...but it's honestly not something someone can understand until they ARE a parent and having someone call them a bad one...) I have one.. but this thread turned into not one about my life...turned into one about my children's lives, which I guarentee are much much more important to me than they are to anyone else in the world except maybe their dad. Obviously I strongly disagree with the notion that my children are in danger being brought to our DZ... or honestly, if I felt that way, I would stop jumping. Period. My family comes first...leaps and bounds above anything else. If I thought for even a moment that it was a bad place that was harming them, they'd never see the dropzone again, not even from a distance. He does..he's a good guy that loves his daughter was much as we love our children and the people down there are like a family. Now maybe every other dropzone in the WORLD is an unsavory place full of sex and drugs that are flung all over the place... but not ours. marc would have heads if anyone made it a place dangerous for his daughter...as would we. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

this thread isn't about skydiving. This thread is about kids and parenting...and you don't know ANYTHING about parenting yet. But that's ok...you're right, and I'm wrong...you know better than I do what is best for my kids ...I'm a horrible mother for keeping my children with me while I skydive... thanks for setting me straight. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Yup...I'll agree with you here.

Has he ever been to MY DZ? I never made the generalization that he did..just said that there are exceptions and I believe my DZ to be one. Whether they are at a DZ, or a friends house, or at school...I agree with you. I don't know CRAP about "DZ's"... but I do know about mine. And this is the statement that I have a problem with. First off...it's a generalization and generalizations will always have exceptions. Second off...it's a personal judgement call, and who are you to say that it is or is not a good place for any kid but your own? Trust me...I know what's best for MY kids. I don't know what "most" are like...so I can't comment on other DZ's... as for folks there that I don't want my kids to be around...there are folks EVERYWHERE that I don't want my kids to be around. But truthfully...the only thing there I'd change that I've seen..is language. Are they hiding it from me because they know I'm a parent? maybe..and if so, I don't care. *shrug* What they do behind their closed doors is their problem. I bet there's a good chance you could find drugs at my DZ, too... they are everywhere...not just at DZ's. But like I said, my job isn't to shelter them from the realities of the world, but to teach them how to deal with the realities (and be a good role model for them). I don't think I'm a great parent...in fact, I'd argue that most parents don't feel like great parents. We just do what we feel is best for our kids and know we're going to screw them up and just hope that it's not too too badly. As for putting them into a place that will encourage them to do things I don't want? MUCH MUCH MUCH more influence in public school than a DZ...much more likely to get into trouble in school than with me at a DZ. He knows about LIVING on a DZ....and he knows about living on the specific DZ that he lived in...and he knows about having the parents he had. I, too, was a kid..so I know about kids. I am a parent..so I know about parenting. And I jump at our home DZ...so I know about our DZ. I do think that I'm a little more qualified than he is to determine whether I'm harming my children by bringing them with us. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

why? Would it be better to have 6 years and 50 jumps...or 3 months and 300 jumps...? How much time do you need to be in the sport before you know the people at your dropzone..or, better yet, before you know about being a parent? I just want to know how long you thing I need to be in the sport and how many jumps you thing I should make before I am able to decide what is and is not an appropriate place for my children.... just curious..since you seen to know better than I do my children and where they should and shouldn't be and what they are and are not exposed to... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Just goes to show how generalities always have exceptions... First off, this isn't true at all dropzones. I've only been going to our dropzone for 6 months, but I've never seen anything but alcohol. However...sending your kids to public school? then they are going to see drugs and sex up close. Have much family around? they will probably see death. As for not acting like a kid because they are the only ones down there...our dropzone usually has several kids there (other than just mine). the DZO has his 2 year old there...the hanglider people have kids hanging around...tandems often bring kids... But as for the sex, drugs, and rock and roll....that's part of life and being a kid. I know you're not a parent yet...but being a parent isn't about sheltering the kids from these thing, but rather teaching them how to deal with these things as they are a part of life around us every day. Hee hee hee... I'd bet over 90% of 19 year olds feel that way. That's one commonality of teens that kinda shows a teen mentality.."I'm so much more mature than most my age....I've experienced so much more than most my age.." I know I felt like that..and every single friend I had felt like that...and, in fact, there is a 19 year old that hangs out at our dropzone that just said this very thing to me. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

*confused* I'm trying to figure out how, once it was packed and on his back and he was on his way up....how he'd know that he had left his brakes unstowed... How did he know that? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Ok...so you made me go back and watch the video for the 50+ time... Flared too late?? Now..to me, it looks like I flared early (which is what it felt like at the time, too), just that there wasn't any response to the flare. At least, earlier than I normally do.. just watched it yet again...3 more times..and paused it right when I flared...and I'm still probably 6 feet off the ground... how early do YOU flare? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Hee hee.. like the guy above said...do a rigless jump? See if it really is possible to do a flat track on the downhill side of a mountain and actually survive? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Heh... lessons learned: 1. if you have a problem with one toggle and must land it, put both hands together for the flare. You will either flare both evenly, or you will NOT flare both evenly - be prepared to PLF....but do not try to flare them without grabbing hands or you will turn and drive yourself into the ground. thank God that He taught you this lesson without breaking you. 2. Avoid the tarmac. road rash stings..for a LONG time.. 3. Always do a safety check..and always check your handles at least 5 times in the airplane even if you think you checked them on the ground. (I caught a tucked-under pud because I stick to this rule) 4. Never try to clear a mal more than 2 times. 2 times is the rule. don't care what altitude you started, 2 tries and NO MORE. 5. ALWAYS be ready for a PLF. Come into the landing looking at traffic, looking at where you will land, head up, prepared to flare...and be ready for anything. Be ready to lose lift...be ready for wind to shift...be ready for someone to walk in front of you..and be ready to PLF that biffed landing if ANYTHING happens. Those are the lessons that I have had to teach myself thus far that thankfully I've learned without serious injury or death. #5, I hope, answers your question. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Yup...way lighter...felt like nothing slamming them down...no resistance. If you watch the video frame by frame you see me flare QUICKLY and actually looking like I would have been flaring a bit early as the ground was rushing straight up quickly...and there was just no response.. *nodsnods* if it were second nature...I probably would have. However, by the time I realized my flare was ineffective and I even knew that the landing was going to be anything different than normal......I was already on my butt going, "Whoah...what the heck was THAT??" I didn't even have that moment of "Uh oh, this is going to hurt...", it happened so quickly I was stunned.... I absolutely without a doubt should have PLF'd....I just...didn't. It wasn't second nature right then... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I thought of this exact same thing...and why COULDN"T you time it? You know to the minute when you're going to die..if you get up to altitude a bit early, get a go-around. (and it's not like you're worried about the spot, right? ) the ONLY problem I'd have with being in freefall when I expire is that I have children...and I think I'd want to be with my husband (also a jumper, so that wouldn't be a problem) but also my children at the moment of my death... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Hypothetical situation... You find out that you have 24 hours from this moment (the moment you are reading this post) to live. It's not an approximation, and it's not debatable. You will die in 24 hours from right now. How would you spend the next 24 hours? (and not how would you LIKE to spend it...how WOULD you spend it. In other words, you can't say, "doing 500 jumps like was just done in 24 hours.." No...because I'm sure your DZ isn't set up for doing that today. so what would you ACTUALLY do?) Who would you tell...who would you call...what would you do..and how much time would you spend on each activity? What do you think you'd do first...second..third..? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings