JonBonGraham

1. Whats your name? John. 2. How old are you? 21; Ripe. 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? Sounded like a 'crazy' thing to do while in my 2nd year of uni. That was before I got a adicted. Ah, those days... 4. Are you single or taken? Married? Wouldn't youlike to know! 5. Do you have kids? Not regularly. 6. What do you drive? Hornet 170. I don't own a car, if that's what you mean. 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? Maybe, I don't know what one is though, so I couldn't tell you! 8. Where do you live? Durham, North-East England. 9. Do you have any pets? My house mate has two fish, and I have a housemate called Roger who'd probably fall into this category. 10. How many jumps do you have? 78 11. What color eyes do you have? Blue. 12. What is your nationality? British; half-irish half-scottish. 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? Yeah, didn't work out but we're still good friends. 14. Favorite Movie? No fair! So many to choose from! Definitely one of the Usual Suspects, American Beauty, Girl Interrupted, Hear No Evil See No Evil. 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? I'm doing a maths degree at the moment, and I play guitar as well as bass guitar in a band called Grounds For Divorce (see below). Occasionally I shoot at the local range, and I hang out with my friends a lot. 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? No. 17. If not... do you want to? Hell yeah! 18. Do you have siblings? One lump/brother. 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? Prague. 20. What's your favorite color? Purple. 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Northern Ireland, to see my family. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

(nitpick and tease) of course you can "terminal velocity " is just the point where the drag on an object equals the pull of gravity. A slip of paper dropped whole or crumpled will reach terminal velocity, it will just reach it sooner (and slower) uncrumpled. (end nitpick and tease) Ah... now's where you can get really nitpicky and reeeeely geeky by saying that an object will never (or only very, VERY rarely) reach it's terminal velocity. Model it mathematically and you'll see that you never reach a terminal velocity, but instead approach it and get nearer and nearer, but you'll technically always be accelerating. However, during a tandem I suppose it's not technically "freefall" as you've got the drogue slowing you down. But that's for another thread, I'll stop hijacking this one... [/nitpick][/geekiness][/hijack] To be really geekier still, TV decreases as air density increases, so you do in fact reach it at (at least) one point on the skydive as you go from speeding up to slowing down again. From the physics viewpoint, what is the difference between a drogue and a really loose big jumpsuit? Well, if you're gonna go there... I see your point about changing air density, didn't think of that one; but that would only really happen if a skydiver kept the same body position at least until this happened - we all know that a slight change in a skydivers' body can change his/her terminal velocity dramatically. So a jumper exiting with a body position that has a TV of 130mph will approach this for a while, if they suddenly change this body position at the right time to one that gives them a TV of 120mph then they will be approaching their TV "from above" (ie. from a faster speed, not a higher altitude!) and will tend towards this for a while until they change thier body position again. If we assume that every skydiver changes thier body position frequently over the course of a skydive then the skydiver will be continually approaching different TV's, but never really getting there, with the exception of if they were to exit with a body position that would give them a TV of 130mph, and then only change that to a body position that gave them a TV of 120mph when they reach exactly 120mph. Anyway, that was my reasoning. This is what I'm doing my 3rd year project in, so any input/debate you/anybody else has on this would be much valued - if you think this is going to hijack this thread any more though, please PM me! As for the drogue/jumpsuit thing I think it's not a physics thing; terminal velocity will apply to you whether you're naked, wearing a really baggy jumpsuit, using a drogue or even under canopy, I'd say it's more about the definition of the word "freefall". Looking critically at the definitions taken from dictionary.com: free fall or free-fall (frfôl) n. 1. The fall of a body within the atmosphere without a drag-producing device such as a parachute. 2. The ideal falling motion of a body that is subject only to the earth's gravitational field. You could count a baggy jumpsuit as a "drag-producing device" but a drogue certainly is specifically intended to produce drag, wheras according to (2) none of us are ever in "freefall" except for the very first instant of a skydive from an object/a balloon or similar. I like debate like this - does anyone else think that is wrong? Oh and groundbound, no problem; hope you have a blast Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

(nitpick and tease) of course you can "terminal velocity " is just the point where the drag on an object equals the pull of gravity. A slip of paper dropped whole or crumpled will reach terminal velocity, it will just reach it sooner (and slower) uncrumpled. (end nitpick and tease) Ah... now's where you can get really nitpicky and reeeeely geeky by saying that an object will never (or only very, VERY rarely) reach it's terminal velocity. Model it mathematically and you'll see that you never reach a terminal velocity, but instead approach it and get nearer and nearer, but you'll technically always be accelerating. However, during a tandem I suppose it's not technically "freefall" as you've got the drogue slowing you down. But that's for another thread, I'll stop hijacking this one... [/nitpick][/geekiness][/hijack] Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

"High" number of tandem fatalities!!? You posted my quote, and then replied to something else, something imagined... I did not ever say "High number of tandem fatalities"... JonBonGraham. has taken your misquote and run with it now, this is how rumors start! Looks like there's some confusion here: 1) While Matt did take your quote about fatality rates and mistake it with a comment about tandem fatality rates this is sort of understandable, because you say (and I'm paraphrasing here) "Mals cause a lot of fatalities, thus I want my TI to pull higher". 2) I wasn't running with this, I was making comments about general fatality stats. Aaaaaaaaaaanyway... skydiving is all about weighing up risk vs. reward. Doing your tandem jumping with your instructor pulling as high as, for example, 10k, I suppose you might have less of a chance of getting a mal that'll kill you, but only very, very slightly - we're talking one in a million here - but you've got more chance of strong upper winds carrying you away from the DZ and having to land off, which can lead to injury or worse. On the other hand, the reward you get for doing the jump decreaces dramatically, since you'll get less freefall time and will probably have not as comfortable a ride down because you'll be cold, have a higher chance of landing off, having to sit in the harness for a longer period of time, etc. Oh, and this is a forum for jumpers and non-jumpers of all experience levels, you don't have to go anywhere else, and don't feel you can't ask questions that you think might be stupid. And about your jump - I can't stress how important it is to properly talk through this with your tandem instructor on the ground before you go up. Take the advice from the instructors on this forum, but take his/her advice as final since at the end of the day he/she will be the one saving your life! Hope you enjoy your tandem when you come to do it!

Where are you getting these stats from? Like has been said, tandems pull at around 5k (usually), wheras experienced jumpers generally pull at 2.5-3.5k. Pull at 5k and if nothing opens above your head you've got about 25 seconds until you impact (assuming your drogue's out), with more time if you have a partial mal since all that fabric will be slowing you down. Take a look right here on DZ.com and you'll see that only 1/3 of fatalities arise from malfunctions/reserve problems - the main killer in this sport is probably (unfortunately) experienced jumpers doing low turns. Tell your concerns to your tandem instructor just after your training (maybe the training will answer some of your questions) and see what he says. Anyway, experiencing terminal velocity is half of what tandem skydives are about, so just enjoy it! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Ah, well, that job keeps me in the air! Or at least it will, when we get some decent weather for a change! But when that day comes, I'll have a HUGE pay-cheque to burn! Jonny kick a hole in the sky!!! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Grrrr! When I clicked on this thread I thought it was all about real coffee, there was no mention of instant coffee! Your thread title was too vague!!! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Ah... good idea. Only problem is, exit order is set on the ground prior to boarding, flat groups small-large, freefly small-large, then the rest dpending what they're doing. So I'd probably get a bit of a b***ocking from the CCI for changing the exit order to let a four-way group go out before me, but don't think letting another solo/same-size group go would be a proplem. If it happens again, I'll talk to him. Thanks for the advice! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Yes, the student is instructed to pull immediately, but students do not always do as they are told. Have you ever seen the Tom Lutz AFF video? If not, go to skydivingmovies.com and have a look. The majority of student "horror stories" I've heard so far have all been about AFF, and it's easy to see why! I really like the fact that it's not an information overload with SL. In the UK, a SL student is not allowed to be introduced to more than one new thing to do on any jump (don't know if this would include spotting). Hell, I know how to spot and have 3,000 jumps and I get yelled at...Let em yell. Ron, you have the luxury of a "let them yell" attitude because you have 3,000 jumps and can spot. I had exactly what this guy's talking about not so long ago - I think it was at the 60-65 jump mark, I'd done my spotting and got my B-licence and all that dross, and was doing a fair few solos (pulling high, playing with canopy) so I was always first out and started off getting out when the green-light came on. Well, our chief instructor wasn't happy - I kept landing off as it turns out the pilot always put the green light on very early (I think 1/2 a mile or a mile or something of that order) so he told me to wait and check the spot and get out when I'm happy. So the next lift I do check the spot before getting out and, hey-presto, we're miles short of the dropzone. Me and a guy with in excess of 4,000 jumps (I'm pretty sure) have our heads stuck out the door, he gives me a look of "when you're ready" and after no longer than 3 seconds some of the four-way groups behind me (between 100-500 jumps each) are on my back with their "c'mon, the green lights on, go already!" but I leave it for a while and land on the DZ for the first time in a half-dozen jumps - not a very popular decision. I was a little annoyed! Anyway, I wish there were more people on the DZ with your attitude (particularly those skygods who, from the inside of a plane, obviously know more about the spot than the guy with his head stuck out the door because they have more jump numbers than him!). While I can adopt a "let 'em yell" attitude, I would just be percieved as a cocky 70-odd jump wonder, which isn't a label I wanna give myself! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Well since everyone else is... these are the best I've got. I don't like having my picture taken, so these are both pics of me taken by surprise! It's good to finaly put some faces to some names! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Hahaha! Well, at least you asked about it! Three things I wanna know are who exactly told you, where did they hear it and what did they smoke/drink/take that day? I'm not asking because I'm concerned, I'm asking 'cause I really really want some - it sounds like some fun stuff! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Maybe a visa would not be so much of a poblem if your girlfriend happens to be in the right line of work, although I don't know how it works, or if you'd need to be married or just sort of "promise" that you're together and not just saying that to get another visa, but it might be worth looking into. My long-term plan centres around moving to the U.S. and becoming a dropzone-bum. Damn, you guys that live there are SOOOO lucky!!! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

I wouldn't be at ALL surprised (in the UK at least) if someone who lent a jumper a rig that, for example, had an out of date reserve/CYPRES or some other defect that was absolutely nothing to do with the reason for the fatality (ie. the guy did a low turn on a rig that had an out of date reserve), then that someone would get sued for lending out a not properly maintained rig that someone went in wearing. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Money, my degree, money, that reeeeely nice maverick guitar and 5-string bass I was eyeing up at the time and have done ever since, and a few friends. And the rest of the money. I didn't really give them up, though, I just traded them in for some jumps, a rig, different friends and some of the best experiences of my life so far - and I think it's a fair trade! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

When I bought a used main, the guy didn't seem too happy about using a DZO/rigger so I used an escrow service (as it happens, the all-too-conviniently entitled “escrow.com”...) You should check it out, it's worth doing and is a relatively small price to pay for a large transaction like a rig. I think it cost $25 for a transaction of over $400. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Yeah, but how does a person know what their limits are untill they break them? We need people who have found thier limits and/or the limits of others to TELL US where our limits are, or we will be like a blind man walking towards the edge of a cliff and someday, we might just step over... (So in other words, we should all take up BASE jumping...

Ah, right - makes sense now. Just thought there might have been some warped logic there somewhere! I know PD sell the Stiletto in a 190, and I think Icarus' quirk is that they'll sell you a canopy in whatever size you want - not sure if they have any limits. My VX230's on the way, though! :) Are Icarus the only manufacturer to do this, I wonder??? Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Hey everyone! I'm sure most of you'll have read the article about Jeb Corliss preparing to land a wingsuit (probably worth it if you really, really hate packing!) by now... in it it says that him and Mr. Cani are gathering data via GPS equipment about glide ratios, forward speeds etc. - does anybody have access to either this specific data or any other data for wingsuit flight at terminal velocity as well as sub-terminal (ie. what does the profile of vertical speed vs. horizontal speed or vertical speed vs. time for a wingsuit BASE or balloon jump starting with 0 airspeed look like, and at what point does a wingsuit start to make a real difference to a BASE/balloon jumpers' flight path)? I'm about to start a project of a mathematical nature on skydiving for my degree course, and would very much like to hear from anybody who has this sort of data, either about specific wingsuits or the generic wingsuit family. Feel free to PM me if you're worried about boring the rest of the DZ.com readers! Thanks very much! John G Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

...this confuses me, can anyone explain why this is so? By 'subtract two points' I assume you mean go, for example from 1.0 to 0.8, from 1.1 to 0.9 etc. But if this is the case, then someone with, say, 100-199 jumps has a recomended maximum WL of 1.1, brought down to 0.9 if the canopy is bigger than 150. But this means that a jumper weighing 160lb is within the 1.1 WL on a 150 so it "should" be okay for them to jump a 150 (yeah I know this also depends heavily on skill level, experience etc. but this is just going by the figures, which is all we have), but is ABOVE the 0.9 WL on a 170, so should NOT be jumping this canopy (IF strictly following this WL chart)... this cannot be correct. Am I missing something, or am I missenterpreting this in some way? I don't own a copy of this book, so can't look at it for refference. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Pardon my nievity (if that even IS a "real word"), but what is a piece of eight, and how do you go about getting the pieces of eight record? Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

The only cons I've ever heard are the price, the fact that a mis-fire while doing CReW can be anything from bad to worse (but you can always switch it off if need be) and apparently they can fire if you go fast enough under a small, high performance canopy. So unless, after you get your first rig, you're going to spend the indeffinite future doing NOTHING but CReW (or you fancy having a go on my velocity 90 - ) the only one is cost. Please note, I don't do CReW or jump small, HP canopies (very often) so what I'm saying is only what I've gathered from what I consider to be reliable sources of information, but I just thought I'd give you my $0.02, and some food for thought. If I had the money, I know I'd get one! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

It does annoy me when people give advice like this - I've also heard people say that as a buyer you should absolutely NOT under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES part with ANY money untill you have the goods sat in front of you! If both buyer and seller took these stances, nothing would ever get sold!!! You'll just have to come to a comprimise, is all - some sellers are happy to ship to a DZ, or DZO, or a rigger before they get thier payment. One other option I used when I bought a canopy from Canada was escrow.com - for a £450 (don't know quite what that equates to in USD), they charged $25US - I think that's a small price for the peace of mind that goes along with it! Basically, the buyer gives escrow.com the money, they make sure it's all cool, then the seller ships to the buyer, then he tells escrow.com it's all cool again, and escrow.com pay the seller. You can arrange it so the buyer or the seller or both pay the fee. Oh yeah - this isn't an advert for escrow.com, it just made it a whole lot easier and nicer to be happy with the transaction I was making, but I'm sure just about any reputable escrow service will do the same! Hope this helps! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Also remember, that if you're not happy with the revision training you've been given that day, if you think it was too short, if you don't remember covering aircraft emergencies, or you aren't happy with your malfunction drills or your exits or whatever - please please please DO say something to your instructors and/or CCI. This will help you out when it comes to jumping, as any niggling little questions and things you were "95% confident about" that you just push away and ignore on the ground will be amplified a hundred-fold in the air! Good luck with your skydiving career! Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

So... you give us your personal insight as to how, in your own words, you cannot trust anyone on the DZ, and then go on to tell us that you opened your reserve because you trusted the rigger who packed it... seem like a contradiction to you? I don't know about you, but on every single jump I make, I trust: ~The Pilot - to get the plane to a safe altitude for jumping with me on board, and to get it back down properly so I may jump again when I'm packed, ~The DZ Owner/CCI - to make sure the plane is in good working order so that the pilot can do his job, ~The Manufacturer Of My Gear - and, of course, the people that have checked it over before I jump it, not to have made any mistakes that might kill me, ~The Rigger Who Packed My Reserve - because I could be placing myself in a situation where it is the only thing that will save my life, ~Whoever Packed My Main - because I'd rather not use that reserve, ~The Person Who Is Spotting - to make sure I don't get out over the north sea (of course, no substitute for a quick look yourself!), ~My Fellow Jumpers - that they stay aware and don't do anything stupid that might endanger anyone's chances of making it to the bar that night in one piece, and above all, ~MYSELF - that I fulfill the responsibilities I have been appointed with, so as not to endanger the lives of myself and those around me. And for my early jumps, I knew virtually NONE of these people!!! I don't know if you've noticed, but skydiving does place a lot of emphasis on trust - if you really can't trust anyone at your DZ, I don't think you would be out of line to: a) Move to another DZ, or b) Take up bowling. As I'm sure's been mentioned here before, keep chopping perfectly good canopies and you could be 'exiting the sport' for longer than you think... ...sorry if I sound a bit harsh, and I don't expect coments from someone with less jumps than you to make to much of a difference, but from what you've said so far it really doesn't seem like you give this sport the respect it deserves. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)

Yeah - there's really no substitiute for having a real-life person teach you and watch you packing. A manual or a website can point out what to do right, but you may not realise just what you're doing wrong. Durham University Freefall Club Grounds For Divorce website (band I'm in)