skreamer

There is no point in trying to argue the nitty gritty (rig is 3 items not 1) AFTER the fact Emma. H&B do provide gear insurance (the link Gus posted). Expecting that much gear cover from a £117 medical multitrip insurance policy is unrealistic and naive. I've also got a death and disability policy with H&B, but hopefully I won't be requiring THAT one anytime soon... I do feel really sorry for Clare Emma (and am glad she came through her ordeal OK), but blaming H&B for this isn't really fair. What do you expect for £117??? No point in blaming an insurance company if YOU didn't bother reading the fine print. Will PS notice how I'm DOING the ANNOYING capitals thing again? "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Dude, I had to break the dictionary out when I got half way through your FIRST sentence!!! "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

I was under the impression that the H&B policy was primarily for worldwide health insurance, not gear insurance. If Clare (camera flyer in question) bought her air tickets to Kenya with her visa card, she might be able to claim back on the free visa insurance. £117 is pretty reasonable for world-wide multi-trip medical cover. I have never heard of skydivers having problems claiming back medical expenses from H&B. Expecting £117 to cover both your medical and gear insurance is asking a bit much. A rig with cypres, camera helmet and camera, plus all the other stuff (altis etc) can easily cost over £5000 - do you really expect a £117 policy to cover this? Buy a £5 000 motorbike and then see if you can get insurance for it for £117 for unlimited biking trips in Europe. Sorry, Emma, but I don't think H&B are at fault. Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

For someone with 134 jumps, the word 'panic' seems to feature quite frequently in your story. Your profile says '190 Tri, yet in your story you say you downsized from a '280 to a your new '170 in your last jump. What were you 'loading' this canopy at? (loading is a skydiving expression which refers to a ratio between skydiver's 'exit weight' and his main canopy size) So, did you really have 133 jumps to your name when you hurt yourself? Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Scratch, what bothers me about this, is that it was a training incident - so your scenario doesn't really apply. If anything, it probably makes it even harder for the families of the deceased to bear. One of the worst stories I read, was about the paratrooper transport pilots in WW2 who tried to dive below flak. Unfortunately this then meant that a lot of paratroopers were put out too low for their canopies to deploy fully. Just another one of those horrible (true) war stories that many people aren't even aware of. Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

What 'leather jumpsuit' would this be? "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

I never claimed Wings invented it - I was asking if Wings were the first rig manufacturer to use it as an alternative to a hackey on a BOC deployment system. Sorry if I didn't make that clear. Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Ja, apparently french kissing Gibbo's dog can be hazardous to your health too... "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Don't call your mother a 'pooch', thats really not nice.... "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

OK, thats all nice, BUT WHEN ARE GOING SKYDIVING ALREADY???? Enough of all that tourist shit dude, get to a DZ already!!! "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Ja well no fine, you two keep laughing, meanwhile I'll in therapy with my victims of pit bull rape counselling group..... "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Hi Geoff I've made about 130 jumps on my Wings with this deployment system. From my (albeit limited) experience : (1) I don't twist the handle, but once I have gripped it I keep pushing down a bit so the stiffener lip can clear the container bridle flap. I did find in the beginning that just yanking it out messed up my body position, now it comes out easily every time. (2) I don't have much experience with hackeys (used toggle prior to this). I have a cordura pouch - my pud has never once moved. Even if it did come loose in freefall, it then simply becomes a hackey. I jumped it once loose like this on purpose just to ensure I would be able to pull it should the pud ever come loose from the bridle flap (3) Only 130 jumps on it so far, but still really secure. (4) I should *think* that this would be the same as for a regular hackey BOC, but perhaps someone with more experience could help. One other thing I should mention is that you need to pay extra care to packing your PC, it is more prone to a monkey claw than a hackey. Personally I like my pud, more secure for freeflying (particulary head up zoos) and if the pud does come free then it becomes a hackey. Will PS I believe Wings first came up with this innovation and Mirage and Vortex then copied it - is this correct? "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Hey, scratch, your pit bull terrier is humping my leg!!! What must I do, fake an orgasm???? "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

LMAO So, what are you gonna do when the shit hits the fan??? "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Ja, there will be video, dunno about any flying though.... "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Hmmm, watch out you don't get a little 'scratch' someplace else..... (lol actually that works on quite a few levels!) "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Aaah, democracy in Africa - a beautiful thing! (as long as you are the one educating the voters that is....) "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Oh, I thought that was just Mugabe's 'voter education'.... "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Ja, or you can do the poor man's version, called 'bush diving'. It involves getting horribly drunk and then diving into bushes, trees, dongas, off crevices etc. Also, lots of fun and the best part is when you do get hurt you are already anaesthetized and feel no pain! Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Pssst mel... I overheard scratch say that you've got a big bum and sangiro agreed with him! Please can I now move to the front of the 'boobie treatment' line? (I think you have a nicer bum than Kylie Minogue) Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Hate you!!! (but if you ever buy that flat in Empuria, I'd like to be your best friend!) "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Well said both of you (geeze, scratch and skyhawk making sense, no shit!) While there are some US policies I don't agree with, I too must say that my impressions on my 4 visits to the states have always been favourable. Good service, good food, friendly people and of course the dropzones have awesome lift capacity, weather, facilities etc. My sister and brother in law have settled in really well in San Francisco and absolutely love it there. People in the rest of the world need to bear in mind that it is a big country (geographically and in population) - making generalizations about 240 million people is pretty stupid, people and attitudes vary drastically from region to region. That said, what I saw in the Vegas 'eat as much as you can' hotel buffets scarred me for life!! Will PS 1 out of 5 people in the UK is obese, so the poms aren't that far behind the yanks in the Fat Bastard stakes anymore (and at least the americans know how to use a toothbrush....) "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

So, Britain didn't promise the Palestinians a homeland in exchange for help in WW1 then? The name Lawrence of Arabia ring a bell? If you are going to point fingers, then how about Britain promising that land first to the Palestinians and then to the Jews after WW2? Don't really agree with either of the two Bills... (guess that means I'm sitting on the fence somewhere between the radical right and left, dodging bullets and white dove shit! ) Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

I've got a sprained wrist from playing netball against the ACVV tannies - does that count? (popped my shoulder in a mountain-bike race - tore the ligaments, now it has a 'knop' on it..) "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"

Ja, I'm laughing on the outside too (but crying on the inside...). And trust me, nothing I read here compares to the shit I caught when I returned to the DZ (after my grounding). Will "Look before you jump, don't die until you're dead"