FallingMarc

I think it all depends on how bad of a mal it is... maybe he needs to cut away, maybe he can kick out of it and ride it down... If after taking a closer look it's baglocked, though... better chop it quick! I love skydiving metaphors...

Amazing how many things can run through your head all at once, huh? You made it through okay, now just remember to relax and arch! Marc

Hey, you got past the fear, got out the door, and lived to jump again... sounds like a productive weekend to me! Don't worry too much about screwing things up, at least in my experience, that's the fastest(and sometimes the only) way I learn... Marc

Damn dude, 1500 feet is a hell of a snivel! I'd have both hands on my cutaway and my eyes on the altimeter... Heheheh... pee's... Marc

I think it was a little of both... the winds were wierd yesterday, on the first load there was a 180 degree change in wind direction at just over 1000 feet. That added an interesting twist to flying a pattern... I was last out and pulled at 4 grand, making it back was fun on that load too...

A few questions about packing in general... 1. I've had people tell me to roll the hell out of the nose and stuff it into the center cell, just roll the sides and leave the center cell hanging open, and most recently someone said that rolling the nose at all was "old-school, from when they didn't know how to design parachutes to open slowly," and that all it did now was cause off-heading openings. So what's the deal? I like to know my canopy(hybrid Triathlon) is there pretty quick--I get real nervous with 1000-foot snivels--but I don't want to beat the hell out of myself every deployment either. I haven't tried leaving the whole nose open, because I've also been told that that's a bad idea. I just roll the tail enough to control the pack when I lay it down... does this affect opening too? 2. If it's not rolling the nose, what does cause wierd openings? By wierd, I mean when it sits me up and immediately does a hard left 90, hard right 90, slow left drift, then the end cells inflate... granted I've only been pro-packing for a few weeks and don't pack very cleanly yet, but then again, I've had my best openings when my pack looked like crap--and when I get the canopy in the bag and think, "wow, that was one of my neatest pack jobs yet," it seems like that's when get wierd off-heading openings. 3. I know body position can account for hard openings, line twist, and whatnot... can that affect whether or not you open on heading as well? If so, how much of an effect can it have, compared to packing? I grab the risers as I'm being sat up, because I've been told it's a good idea to be ready in case you open on a collision course... is there any input I could be inadvertantly giving to the risers to cause the canopy to inflate unevenly? 4. Not really a gear question, but I'm curious. It took about 15 jumps before I actually thought about watching my canopy inflate, then I liked to watch it once it sat me up. Then I had a spinning mal and cutaway on #23... and ever since, I've been unable to look up at the canopy until I feel forward drive and hear the slider. I realize this is not good, but it scares the hell out of me, and I don't know why. I watch the PC inflate, then go back to a neutral box position, and recently, I've even thought, "just look up, dammit, look up!" And I haven't been able to until this weekend, when I brought myself to glance up for a second, but still not watch the whole thing. Is this very unusual? I always give a quick line check and controllability check as soon as it's inflated, but should I be watching the entire deployment? I want to, but as a matter of awareness, how important is it? Marc

Hey Anne... just like I told you before, you were the only one to make that decision. Nobody else was up there. I think you did the right thing, and piss on everybody who told you otherwise.

I'd like to see this alleged "book"... I've heard that before and have yet to see it happen in real life... Seriously though, Viking... like the commercials used to say... just do it... Marc

How so? Nobody's gone in with the full intent of destroying the terrorists yet. People are getting killed left and right over there, yes, but it's mostly victims of the same thing we're fighting. Don't get me wrong. I don't think we should bomb the hell out of anybody, or kill indescriminately, or any of that. We're not at war with a country. We're at war with an organization, wherever it may be. So let's go kill the murderers, just like you said. But if the only way to do that involves some "collateral damage", to use the PC term, then so be it. Minimize it, yes. But hold back our retaliation because of it? No. Marc

We are pretty well self-governed, which is an amazing thing, when you think about it. The rules which would be in place if the FAA directly governed all skydiving operations would be a bit more restrictive, I'd think. And by "freedom" in skydiving, I get that sense from the whole "flying" thing, you know, and we don't have wings, at least not until we have to... you know what I mean... Marc

...didn't want to, but now I can't stop myself... They've already killed our children. And our parents, and brothers and sisters. They threw the first punch. We're the ones who need to punch back. And if you're hellbent on using your analogy... better that a few children die in the process of destroying these people's ability to terrorize, than many MORE children die because we *don't* stop it from happening. Unless you like the idea of letting murderers go unpunished, then by all means, continue hugging trees, or practicing yoga, or whatever it is pacifists do. Marc

Ok, guys, tell me if this is wierd. I love wearing a tux. Like, seriously. Granted, the last time I had one was for senior prom, but still. I had the James Bond theme running through my head the whole time I had it on... Now, I bet skydiving in a tux would be damn cool. Marc

Wow... there's a lot of good thoughts on this thread... now if you'll all excuse me, there's a girl that I should ask out... Marc

Yeah, I've tried that pick-up line, it doesn't work... wait, I might be thinking of something else... Marc

What happened to "trying to get us out of the gutter"? I got a couple of screws in my face too... that's why I can't do the thing with my teeth anymore. Haven't been through a metal detector since then though... Anyway, back to the subject at hand... that is, at tongue... no, come to think of it, it could easily involve hands pretty soon... Marc

I wouldn't say that spring loaded PCs are dangerous... at least not for students. All I know is that on my second hop & pop, seeing that PC go up cleanly by my side was a welcome sight after deploying on my back. Sure, I love the throw-out now, but I doubt it would have been as forgiving in that situation. Marc

Good to hear you're not hurt, anyway... I keep telling people, it's dangerous on the ground! Get back in the air where it's safe! Marc

Hey, what's wrong with keg beer? I'm in college, I depend on keg beer... Besides, if I brought that much in bottles, what would I have left to spend on jump tickets? Marc

This might be better in the "Gear & Rigging" forum, but hey, who's counting? You'll want a container that is freefly-friendly, which most people take to mean all tuck-tabs, no velcro on the riser and pin covers. Hardshell helmet, wrist-mount altimeter... most people say you should have an audible altimeter too, because you get to pull time a lot quicker when freeflying, with the higher speeds. You'll want a wrist-mount as opposed to a chest-mount, because on your back or in a sit, a chest altimeter is in a burble and tends to read high. Don't ask me, though, I just started...

No... right now I just need a lighter... M

There are many dangers in our sport... I want to know every possible thing that can happen so that I already have a plan of how to deal with it or the knowledge not to do it. Regardless of whether a fatality occurred under a malfunction, or due to pilot error, or whatever, it's all things that could happen if we're not aware of them. That knowledge is one of the most important things we can have... Marc

Sounds good! Skydiving is all about muscle memory. Once you feel it work in the air, it will all come together... then just think about what you did, and do it that way every time... Marc

Eh... I think I'm going to stop with the vomit talk now... this could too easily take a wrong turn... Besides, that's not even a fun fetish... pyronecrobestiality, that's where it's at! Marc

Hey, now, there's nothing wrong with puking on people... wait a second... oh, yeah, yeah there is! Hey! Maybe that's why I have such shitty luck! M

Hell, if we're going there, I'll do RW, freefly, CRW, skysurf, um, naked tandem...