msmithd8769

Yes Ed, high voltage safety suits for all skydivers. We need to get that added to the BSRs (at least for students) _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hmmm, I don't know. It would seem to me that a skydiver in freefall could not be struck by lightning because he would not be grounded and therefore there would be no negative/positive difference of potential between him and the thundercloud and actual lightning bolt..... That would be why a skydiver could not be a terminus of a lightning bolt. However, lightning is happy to sojourn through or along anything that has lower resistance than the alternatives. If a skydiver has a lower resistance through or along some part of him, then he could become a small portion of a discharge path. Even objects with very high resistance can become parts of these paths if they get covered with water. Plus we jumpers tend to have a steel ripcord on us which, again, is no large source of free electrons (i.e. is not a serious ground) but has a very low resistance (until it melts). Being cooked by lightning superheating the air next to a skydiver is probably not what would be fatal. I bet the shockwave (thunder) wouldn't kill, either, although it probably wouldn't feel too good if you remembered it. I think passing current through critical body tissues is what really sucks in some lightning strikes. A paranoid skydiver could probably up his chances of surviving by wearing a high-voltage safety suit, the kind that have low-resistance buses in them between the head/foot/arm openings so any current tring to use the wearer as a path prefers to pass around the wearer's main body. Of course, those suits are for high voltage work on things like power lines, from what I understand. I have my doubts they could take a lightning strike without exceeding the current passing capabilities of the buses. And in freefall this suit might make the wearer even more attractive to lightning as a "shortcut". Ok, that makes sense Frog. Thanks for the clarification..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hmmm, I don't know. It would seem to me that a skydiver in freefall could not be struck by lightning because he would not be grounded and therefore there would be no negative/positive difference of potential between him and the thundercloud and actual lightning bolt..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

That's a cool, make-ya-smile story Blahr. Thanks and congrats..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

TEN YEARS! Holy cow WildBill. That's a heck of a long time to be tracking down to the formation don't you think. You must have been WAY back in the exit order eh? _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

The people that came back after the 25 year break - were they using the same gear? Some do, we've got a friend who just came back from the eighties, he's jumping a Wonderhog Sprint (that's a pre-Vector Booth rig to you kids...), a Fury main and a 23 ft round reserve. He had the main container altered to a BOC setup for his pilot chute. I was out for 22 years, and I did sell my rig. I don't hink I'd want to be jumping it nowadays anyway. But it will take several/many years for your rig to go out of date. Put it in a safe dry place in a closet and forget about it if you like, it will keep. Starting to jump again without a rig is a major hassle. I'm renting demo gear and don't know if or when I'll be able to afford a rig. I burned out back in 1980. After about 7 years in the sport I got fed up with the usual crap. There was also a rash of fatalities and a few friends who opened reserves below 500 ft. We'd all gone to Yosemite and jumped El Capitan, and after that the DZ just seemed boring. There is a whole world out there off the drop zone and skydiving is only one of life's many flavors. Go to school, get married, make some babies, buy a house, go across Europe on a bicycle. Run for Congress (hell, why not ?). If you're meant to come back, you will. You just sound liike you need a break. Excellent advice!! _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Well I came back just recently after a 10 year break and I'm still jumping my old gear. It's mid 80s gear but it's still in good shape and it gets me to the ground every time ! So I would definely echo the other folks who advised anyone looking to take a break from the sport to NOT SELL YOUR GEAR! Hang on to it; put it in a safe place that is not subject to environmental extremes and it should keep just fine. Trust me, you will be glad you did..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Sure, it happens. I started jumping in 1981, got my JM, I, and Tandem I ratings. Competed in the Nationals in 4 way RW but got burned out mainly due to the constant working with students. Not that I had anything against students of course, I loved teaching, but being an instructor puts a business aspect into the sport and makes it more of a job rather than a fun pastime. You don't have the time to make fun jumps like you want and it does tend to burn you out. I stopped jumping in 1993 and have just gotten back into the sport this past summer; it was really neat because it all came back just like riding a bike. My ratings are expired of course and I am just hanging out at the DZ now in "fun jumper" status. It's great!! I'm back into doing some good RW, my wife has also gotten back into the sport after 17 years off and we are loving it!! Would I ever get my ratings updated and start working with students again? I don't know, maybe. It's not out of the question but for now I'm lovin' "fun jumper" status and am presently working with my wife, who now has about 80 jumps, on RW training and instruction. So take a break if you need to. Lots of folks get burned out, take a breather, and return to jumping later on down the road. The worst thing you can do is to keep doing something that your heart is not into. Some time off can work wonders. Good luck to you.... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Yes, excellent choices. The 3 is a great jumpship! _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Gypsy Moths - good flick, 1969, about a barnstorming-type skydive exhibition team, Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman, has one of the most accurate depictions of the sport of skydiving without all the Hollywood-hype, BS, and inaccuracies. It's a good nostalgia film about the early days of the sport. I just picked up a copy of it on DVD a few weeks ago. Good film and I'd recommend it..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hey man, you'll never attain Skygod status pulling stunts like that You do realize that incidents such as that go on your "permanent record" don't you? _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

No, you're not an idiot at all. I've jumped many types of aircraft including many hundreds of 182 jumps. It's a good, solid jump aircraft. I jump an Otter now but I always enjoyed all my 182 jumps..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Wish you the best of luck and hope you get those Gold Wings soon..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hey folks, I'm looking for any of you skydivers out there who may have jumped at American Parachuting in Grandfield Oklahoma in the 1983-86 time frame. Ross Wrobleski was the DZO but I don't see the DZ listed in the USPA Group Members anymore so I guess it has shut down. That used to be my old stomping ground and we had a lot of good times there so if you were a regular there then we probably know each other. Drop me a line and let me know who you are..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Yes, involve a middle-man. I recently bought a $4500 system off the classifieds here; I'm in DE and the seller was in CO. He had given an email address so I emailed him; we exchanged phone numbers and talked voice. I then used my DZO as the middle-man and left a $4500 bank check with him which the seller then called and verified was there. He then sent the rig to my DZ and when I, and my rigger, had checked out the system and decided to take it, the check was sent to the seller. Had no problems fortunately but there's always an element of chance, for both the buyer and the seller, with these type transactions no matter how many precautions you take. For a $100 item you may not want to go to such lengths but hey, $100 is $100 so you still want to be careful. Good luck..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hey JD. Although there are some DZs a bit closer to Baltimore in the PA area, we have some folks from Baltimore that jump regularly at my DZ in Laurel DE. It's about a three hour drive I think. Check us out if you ever get the chance when you get in next season. We have a great operation with a fulltime Otter..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Congratulations on your "A" NZL. Time to get on to some bigger and better things now. Just make sure it's some good, hardcore RW and not that freeflyin' stuff..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Brooks is just down the road from Lackland isn't it? I went through basic training there many moons ago. I am ex-USAF, 1972-1979. Never go to fly - I was in tactical and long haul communications. Yes it sure is; San Antonio. Did my basic at Lackland also in '76; it's still the only basic training base for Air Force Anyway, your 30k jump sounds awesome. Maybe I'll have an opportunity to finally get one in myself someday. Take care Skydvrz and I'll be seein' ya around the forums here I'm sure.... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Welcome skychic. Glad to have you in the brotherhood (sisterhood?) of skydivers..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

I would say, yes, AFF is the better way to go. I was trained starting out on SL and went to AFF when it was still a brand new "experimental" training modality and there were only two places in the US doing it at the time. I also was a SL instructor for many years and it is a tried and true method although most folks these days will knock it and discount it. But it has a respected place in the history of our sport and for some folks, they may want to do it. But I would agree that AFF is the best way to go as long as you have that large initial availability of $$$$. Take care and good luck.... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

A "faux pas" is like an embarrassing blunder or mistake that one makes, usually relatively minor..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Methinks we have unleashed a monster here! Don't know what IBTL is but welcome mfrese..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Hey skydvrz, welcome. Was your high altitude jump a military or civilian sport jump? Was wondering since you referred to it as a HALO. I am retired military and we were going to do a high altitude in Texas a number of years ago; went through the altitude chamber and course at Brooks AFB but unfortunately the jump never came off due to aircraft problems. Oh well, maybe some day. Take it easy and see you around.... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Yo, welcome txw. Glad to have you onboard. Where do you jump at? _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."

Doesn't any one read my posts 4000kms and 2hour car ride Hmmm, yes you're right Squeak, I did overlook yours. My apologies, it appears you are the current leader. Keep up the good work ..... _____________________________ "And when the prophet shall arise who appeareth as a bird then the time of the Lord draweth nigh and the flock shall rule the earth."