peregrinerose

Do you feel that at most DZ's if you see a gross safety issue or impropriety, that any DZO or S&TA will listen to whatever you have to say as an experienced person? I think that some DZOs are very receptive to input, but not all. Probably most DZOs fall into this category. Some DZOs will not address even blatant safety issues unless it was their idea to do so. Some DZ's brag about a 'no rules' or 'anything goes' type policy (I will not jump at these DZs as a result). Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I would agree...in fact it takes me about half the time on a Racer than on some of the newer containers FCOL. They only have 4 flaps and a poptop.... I guess we need to do more Racers at the course this year! MEL I'd be all for that

Because I have better things to do than update my profile every time I jump Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You know, it's funny you say that. I slept with a guy that slept with a rigger (his wife) last night. And I also think nearly $100 for a Racer repack is insane. Racers are no harder than any other conatainer to repack. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

With Lupus, you know what your underlying problem is and when it needs to see a doc and when you can self-manage. A recurring sinus issue that has an unknown underlying etiology can be anything from a sinus tumor to allergy, and that's why it needs to be checked out. If a person (not necessarily you, anyone) has a doc that DOESN'T take the time to truly educate and meet the patient's needs... fire them and go elsewhere. Docs are on the patient's payroll, not the other way around. I've fired several GI docs, a neurologist, and 2 family docs in the last 10 years. But the docs I have now, I'll stick with forever. My family doc has been mine for 7 years now, I drive an hour to see him, but I know if there's a problem, he'll see me that day, he'll give me all the time I need and treat me like I'm the only person on his schedule that day... to me, that's worth a drive. Fortunately he's no older than I am, so won't retire any time soon

I agree with you, however it's been my experience that VERY few doctors take the time to actually investigate underlying causes when they can throw a pill at it make the symptoms go away. If you can do something at home and save time, frustration and money... It's all good. Now I'm sure if those home remedies or over the counter things don't work the next step would be going to the doctor. But if I can help it, I'm staying home. Besides, if everyone went to see the doctor with every little tiny symptom then the doctors would be so over worked they wouldn't have time to help the seriously ill people. This particular case was someone who has a RECURRING problem, every few months, not a one time issue. That indicates an underlying cause that flares and ebbs, which requires medical investigation not just masking a symptom. I would rather see a dozen patients that just need hand holding and reassurance than miss that one patient with a very real problem. My staff knows that if someone is concerned enough about a problem to want it checked that day, they get seen that day. Period. Even if it sounds like a minor issue. It's not docs that want to throw pills at things... it's patients that come in begging for pills and wondering why we are hesitant to throw pills at a problem without knowing what's really going on and then throw hissy fits at us. I can't even count the number of patients that have been mad at me for refusing to give eyedrops for viral conjunctivitis. There are no eye drops for that... viral conjunctivitis (non herpetic forms) resolve on their own and cause no issues, so no point in treating it. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Bah. Quit trying to make sense. Sorry ... you'd think I'd know better than to read in bonfire. I should have just posted boobies and been done with it Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Never been to an ENT...probably a good idea. Why I never thought of that is beyond me. . Why people seek medical advice on a skydiving blog is beyond me. Because it's cheaper then going to a Dr.

I don't think my instructor duties ever stop. When working with a student, my job is to make sure they are geared up properly, have adequate training for the skydive they are about to make (including canopy/landing issues), and that they are ready to make the jump (as in not hungover, not panicking, etc). With the wingsuit fatality, the 'instructor' did not ensure that the student was geared up properly, and given that mis-rigging with a wingsuit can be a very big deal (obviously), they dropped the ball. I wouldn't expect an AFF student to gear themself up on the second jump flawlessly (although many can, I still give them 3 gear checks), so why would a wingsuiter on a 2nd jump go without adequate gear checks given that misrigging is a known potential problem with wingsuits? Although the instructor is not to blame for the fatality, they did fail to do their job in the instructor capacity to prevent the fatality. With regard to instructors and gear in general... I never stop looking at other people's gear. A month ago (not at my home DZ), I saw a D licenced skydiver with thousands of jumps with a leg strap improperly routed on the plane... it was twisted around in such a way that the cutaway handle was rotated toward his body and would have been less accessable. He had to remove and re-don his gear in the plane. Chances are, he would have been just fine jumping the rig as it was, but that also could have been a link in a chain contributing to an injury. I was not 'responsible' for this guy, he wasn't even jumping with me at the time. However I do believe it's important to keep an eye out for each other. I would far rather speak up when I see something unsafe and at least try to remedy the situation than just let things go. I'm also a firm believer in education. I won't tell the 100 jump wonder 'no' to a wingsuit, I'll spend 1/2 hour explaining exactly why it's a bad idea at that stage of their lives. As I'm not a wingsuit instructor, I also refer them to experienced and ethical instructors, who will tell them exactly the same thing I did, but also offer to help them out once they have the experience behind them to support learning the new skill. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Are you sure it's an actual infection and not an allergy? Have you been to an ENT? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Damn that sucks, and what a gorgeous dog. It must be a bad pet week. I'm leaving for the vet's office in 5 minutes... my cat of 9 years is getting euthanized. He's been my buddy through a lot of things, always sitting in my lap and purring. The house is so quiet without his purr motor running. At least both of our critters had many good years with people that love them. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Every canopy on the planet can (and probably will) slam you once.... are you going to walk around with a chronic neck ache now that you know that? Hopefully not. I have about 150 jumps on a Sabre, my husband has 400 jumps on a Sabre (both 170s), and neither of us has ever been spanked, not even close. It's a very good canopy, great first canopy... consistent openings, on heading, zippy without being too much to handle, decent flare. I'd jump one again without a second thought. It's my Spectre that had me in the ER after a hard opening... only truly hard open I have ever had, I was semi conscious, couldn't move anything, I thought I broke my neck. It was more pain than I have ever felt. Spectres are known for soft openings, but like I said, any canopy can bite your ass. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

But he presumably wasn't in denial - seeing as there are plenty of photos of him in glasses?? As an aside, surely the US has an eyetest as a requirement for a driver's license?? Unfortunately, people are inherently stupid, and will wear glasses for the eye test, and never wear them again. Plus, you only get the eye test once (at least in PA) and never again. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Peregrinerose, Thanks for coming back and giving us the right answer! I am glad to stand corrected. I think the general idea that he was in a high stress situation that required all of his faculties holds true. I doubt we are ever going to see the actual prescription so its likely to end here. For me it still puts Duane out of the picture as Cooper. I think the real Dan Cooper didn't need glasses and everything in the testimony indicated he got along fine without them. He could have had goggles hidden somewhere along with the eyeglasses but that exceeds what we know about the situation. Thanks! Tom ps sorry about the he/she mistake! I don't think that the Rx alone eliminates Duane. I think it decreases the likelihood a bit, but not totally rules out. I see people frequently that honesly believe their vsion is perfectly fine and they are safe to drive, etc even if they can barely see the big E on the chart. It's usually guys that are in that kind of denial as well (no offense to all of you guy-types on here, that's just the trend). And if his script is as low as I think it is, he probably could have pulled the hijack off just fine with that kind of vision. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm here.... catching up on everything I missed in the last few days

First, Peregrine is most definitely a 'she'

That pic would actually indicate a little bit of nearsightedness... Myopic lenses minify the image (make the face indent inward), hyperopic lenses magnify the image (make the face behind it look like it's bumping outward). Although that isn't inconsistent with Jo's comments... typically kids get more nearsighted/less farsighted, then in the 20s things level out a bit, and often in the 40s, nearsightedness decreases/farsightedness increases (plus presbyopia kicking in). Jo, if you have any of his old glasses laying around, it's really easy to go to any optical place and have them read the script for you. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Jo, I'm not sure that you understand what FAR sighted is... farsighted means that the eye does not bend light enough, so the lens inside the eye must change shape in order to compensate for that. Both farsightedness and nearsightedness affect both distance and near vision, however farsightedness affects near more than distance and nearsightedness affects distance more than near. You are confusing farsightedness with presbyopia, I think. I'm an eye doctor, so know a thing or two about this end of things

Dave Dewolf has always had the opinion, "broken seal, New pack job"! And who here on DZ, has been rigging longer than him? And the FAR's have to be taken literally. Federal law and regulations are written to be that way. Merry Christmas, MEL That's only true if you don't know where the rig has been and how the seal was broken. If you are working with a student, who inadvertently breaks a seal, right in front of you, would you do a full repack? I wouldn't... I'd use it as a teaching tool for the student, reseal the rig, and move on. But according to your interpretation, that isn't possible. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I'm not sure I'm reading that the same way you are. It says after packing, you must seal the pack. It does NOT say that the ONLY time you may seal a pack is after packing it. With your interpretation, a broken seal could not be re-sealed without packing under any circumstances. Even if the seal is broken right in front of the rigger that packed it by a clumsy student learning rig parts, it would require a full repack. I could be wrong, and I agree with almost everything you've written in this thread so far, but not your interpretation of this particular line. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My protrack works just fine in my protec, why wouldn't your dytter? Yes, full faces impair communication... if you look at the photos, that were posted, the only way to really see the full face was if you are looking down on the other jumper. The other angle blocked the mouth. How can you mouth words to someone in freefall that way? As an instructor, I need every possible communication tool to use with my students, so I sacrifice some face protection for the communication and ability to see handles easier. That's just my judgement call though, doesn't mean it is the same (or should be the same) as yours. Try out some friends' full faces on the ground, see how you like them, if you are comfortable, ask to borrow them for a jump or two. That's the only way you'll get a feel for it. I wouldn't throw out or sell the protec either.. there's a time and place for both styles of helmets and it's good to have options. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I disagree with the tandem thing... tandem would help if it was a landing pattern issue, but flaring a tandem and flaring a sport rig are different, so it won't help much with flare. Tandem landings are usually stand up or butt slide, and if butt slide, that's going to teach bad habits for sport jumping. The issue here was lack of flare and lack of PLF, neither of which a tandem will address. A tandem might be a good idea to address the nerves, but won't solve the problems that caused the injuries. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You didn't do what you were taught to do and got hurt, so guess you learned first hand why we beat PLFs into your head, eh? Give yourself a break... did you ride a bike flawlessly 2 seconds after you got on the thing for the first time? Have you ever learned any new skill perfectly in one try? Probably not. So why would you expect the new skill of landing a parachute/skydiving to be any different? Review the video if available. Talk with your instructors to pinpoint exactly what you did wrong and probable reasons why. Once your body is up for it, practice PLFs until it is habit, until you can PLF in your sleep, until you can sprain your ankle walking across a floor and as you are falling you instinctively PLF to avoid hurting anything else (yeah, I did that once). PLFs will save your hide and prevent future injuries. Once PLFs are your instinct, landings will be much easier. You have two choices.... give up, or understand that you are human, and humans need practice to get anything right. Whatever, it's up to you. If you're a quitter and don't want to learn, then skydiving isn't for you anyway. If you have a lot of humility, plasticity, and hunger for knowledge you will do well in this sport. Getting hurt/killed is a possibility every time you get out of the plane. I'm sorry you had to be smacked with that reality on your first jump, but it is reality. Whatever you decide to do, heal fast, keep us posted, and RELAX!!!!

Hasn't she ever heard of a 'man-cave'? No, it's not selfish, in fact I have one (I may not be a guy, but I still have my man-cave). Our house is a renovated bank barn, and the 3rd floor is a loft, which I have made into my rigging loft.... sewing machines, tools, rigs, the works. My husband knows that if I'm up there, he may be admitted for the occasional conjugal visit, but other than that, stay out and leave me the fuck alone

I'm not at the DZ with that student any more, but I worked with him for probably 5-6 jumps and he always did a nice job. The lopsided body position was his only real hurdle and he found ways to compensate for that (and you will have the same issue with limited ankle mobility... you'll adapt with the help of your instructors). For knee/ankle supports, I'd contact whatever physical therapist you worked with after your injuries.. they know your injuries and limitations well and will be able to point you in the right direction. There's nothing like that specifically skydiving in orientation, as the injury dictates what kind of support may be needed more than the activity. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda