ChangoLanzao

Do you consider yourself a "statistic"??

I'm totally with Kris on this one. Skydiving is inherently dangerous, so is motorcycling, driving a car, operating a drill press, etc. Comparing all of these statistics in order to rationalize and claim that "Skydiving is safer" is meaningless and does nothing to enhance the sport. The statistics are only meaningful to insurance companies. To them, all of the incidents are random because they don't know anything about the victims; they only see the claims. Look at it this way: don't ask whether Skydiving is safer, instead ask whether YOU are a safer Skydiver. You can eliminate virtually ALL of the risk by the way you participate in the sport.

We will have a King Air for the weekend. Tell all of your whuffo friends about our tandem special that weekend ( only $169 regularly $189 ). Come and enjoy the fun. $20 to 13,500' AGL Illinois Skydiving Center - Paxton Airport, ten miles north of Rantoul, IL - I-57 exit 261, 0.9 mi. West on IL Route 9

Well, you've got plenty of time to work on her before the 60th, don't ya?

You mean the picture? Or the dolls in it?

Los Lobos rocks! Have you tried these?: Linda Ronstadt (Canciones de mi Padre) Pedro Galindo Ruben Fuentes Pepe Guizar

Well, you're alive, and obviously wiser. That's what counts. I've been riding motorcycles for 35 years. I've wrecked three times. Fortunately nothing serious. One of them wasn't my fault; the Other Guy made a left turn in front of me. I learned that day that I could have easily avoided the incident though by maintaining the Circle of Awareness. Pay constant attention. Check your surroundings every three to five seconds. Always assume that the Other Guy is just about to cut you or your buddy off, that there will be a 4X4 chunk of wood or someone's tailpipe laying in the road right in front of you, that the idiot in front of you is going to see a squirrel crossing the road and slam on his brakes, that a card table is gonna fall out of a pickup truck and land in your lane. Always wear your helmet even if it's not required. To the insurance companies, you're just a random statistic, but remember that you can eliminate almost *all* of the risk by maintaining your Circle of Awareness at all times.

Sure sounds like a bad spot to me. Cindy from the Mayor's office seems kinda clueless too ;-) "His joke was that he saw the lagoon, and he thought it looked like a good place to land," said Cindy Gatziolis, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Special Events." "Luckily, he didn't land on Lake Shore Drive," Gatziolis said. [url "http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-air23.html"]CLICKY [url]

Thanks for that ... what a great way to start a Saturday morning!

I understand exactly how you feel ... I made the same decision eight years ago. Five years after that, I got back into the sport It's all about how one perceives the risk/benefit ratio. Don't be surprized if a few years from now you find yourself jumping out of airplanes again! It's perfectly OK to take some time away from the sport - many of us have done it. Just relax and follow your heart. Skydiving is a social sport, actually, and the fact that you are going to continue your association with your skydiving friends, tells me that you'll find yourself doing the risk/benefit thing over and over again. I think that what happened to me was that, one day, the chemicals in my brain changed and the risk/benefit ratio took a dive The process began when I learned that the World Freefall Convention was going to move to Rantoul, which is only 30 minutes away from where I live Yahoo!

That sure was easy! My mother is a BC survivor ... she's now 77!!

Yes. I always wave off before pulling; like everyone else, it's automatic for me and it doesn't hurt to do so. But has it ever made a difference in a dive for any of you? I mean, have you ever found yourself directly above someone and thought, "I'm ok right here for now ... they're not waving off yet..." ?? I guess for me, it doesn't make any difference whether the guy below me is going to wave off or not; if there's someone directly below me, I assume that they are not going to wave off before pulling and I get the hell oughta there. I always hope the guy who might be directly above me is looking at it the same way!

Yeah! Only 342 days left!!

I was out there today setting up the Illinois Skydiving Center camp and got a picture of the DZ.COM tent...CLICKY HERE! We're next door neighbors...see y'all in Rantoul!

Hey Rev! How was that jump yesterday?? Here's what you looked like the last time I saw you Clicky This!

0:6:4 Six out of a king air on Saturday 3 King Air and 1 c-182 on Sunday Got some kickass videos too. I'll be jumping every day this week too at ISC!

Welcome to UIUC frenchcloud! I work for the University and live only seven miles to the south in Philo, Illinois. PM me if you'd like to jump out of a King Air NOW! The Illinois Skydiving Center is only 30 minutes north of Champaign-Urbana on I57, just north of Rantoul! I-57 exit 261, 0.9 miles west on Illinois 9...Illinois Skydiving Center, home of the Pathetic Losers Skydiving Team!, just 10 miles north of Rantoul. We have a King Air waiting for you and your friends to get a head start on jumping, today through Thursday, 9am 'till sunset ;-) CLICKY. You can hitch a ride with me anytime I head to Paxton and Rantoul (which will be daily this week!) hmandel@uiuc.edu 217-244-7237

Hey! Things are shaping up in Rantoul. The tents are up, and we've got the golf carts and the turlets lined up and waiting!! The showers are in too. Skydivers are already arriving... This is gonna be a blast! Turlets and Golf Carts Tents

Hey ... you're close! Remember to stop in on your way to Rantoul. I-57 exit 261, 0.9 miles west on Illinois 9...Illinois Skydiving Center, home of the Pathetic Losers Skydiving Team!, just 10 miles north of Rantoul. We have a King Air waiting for you and your friends to get a head start on jumping, today through Thursday, 9am 'till sunset ;-) CLICKY. We're so close to Rantoul that a bad spot could easily drop you onto the WFFC main landing area As skydivers start arriving and setting up their camps, we will be rounding them up to come and fill the King Air, 10 jumpers, and we're up! (only seven if we load hot).

Glad ya like it! We did seven King Air loads yesterday ... this plane Kicks Ass! CLICKY

Dude! Your plane is AWESOME! Six loads yesterday after the fog lifted ... YAHOO! I'm heading to Paxton shortly ... man, it's HOT today. Looks like WFFC weather is setting in. Forecast is Hot, Dry, and Sunny for the foreseable future Thanks for the Rantoul flyby yesterday I got this still showing that DZROW is up!! The excitement builds. Clicky HERE

The most reliable local weather forecasts for the Rantoul area will be found here. You should bookmark that link if you're interested. These weather reports are crafted by a real metorologist and the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois. Blue Skies!

Yes!! Definitely.

Hey all you earlybirds! If you're here before the WFFC jumping begins, and you need to get aired out, come on up to Paxton (bring yer friends too)... we are only ten miles up the road from Rantoul!! On Saturday, July 31, we will have a KING AIR which will stay at least until WFFC begins and will be doing loads all day, 9 am through sunset all week long!!!