Iflyme

Hey, Mike - I like it! I've heard of Space Ball -- there's really no reason I couldn't take a few slapshots on the way down!

News class??? That's funny - I'm working in a newsROOM right now! Now get back to your studies!

Now you've gone and made me laugh out loud - at 12:45am!!! Hope I didn't wake the wife (just got home from playing hockey, so I'll be sure not to keep the hockey gear with the skydiving stuff - although the hockey gear is in an old scuba equipment bag... hmmmm... could be a problem! As long as I don't try to pull my pilot chute with my hockey gloves, I think everything SHOULD be ok...) Frank, the "sports enthusiast"

Haa ha haaa ha ha! C'mon, Mike - you're not gonna take that sitting down, are you? The pride of an entire nation rests on your shoulders now (ya NEWBIE)! His ancestors had a go at my country,too, Bossman... we still can't rid of their influence.

< Frank! Me too. All the more reason why you need some visitors in B.C. I've never been fresh-water diving before and am only *open water certified* as I haven't been able to afford (b/c of skydiving...he he he) my advanced scuba-course. But I don't have any friends that scuba-dive and I'm always getting buddied up on my trips with the scared newbie. Not that I dont' enjoy helping them out, ext. but it'd be VERY cool to dive with you sometime and be able to be a little more adventurous. What do you say??? > Hey, Carrie - that sounds like fun! I've never done scuba in fresh water, either! Only snorkeling ... I live so close to the Pacific Ocean that my feet are getting wet just writing this... I know where a couple octopus dens are, where some wolf eels live... I've even shot underwater video of a sea lion! But I haven't done any scuba for a few years now ... I can't afford TWO expensive hobbies!!! Up here most divers wear drysuits, because the Pacific is mighty cold, but the variety of creatures to see is simply amazing! However, I do think diving in the warm waters off Florida with you would be wonderful!!! Next time I'm in town...

Well believe it or not, there are some folks "south of the border" who really have that attitude! BTW, out of 215 cities worldwide, Vancouver BC, along with Zurich, Switzerland, got the nod as the best/most livable city on the planet! (can't remember the name of the organization that did the research) And EVERYONE knows that Victoria is MUCH better than Vancouver ... so I can proudly say that I live in the best darn spot in this little ol' world!

Oh, sure - I'll quit this sport because I don't want to see someone die... Perhaps a better approach is to work within the established framework to improve our safety record, rather than turning my head the other way. This discussion is not about participating in what you characterize as an "extremely hazardous" sport. It's about people who intentionally perform a low turn under a good canopy, and get seriously injured or die as a result. I am a licenced scuba diver as well as a skydiver, and I am fully aware of the potential dangers of extreme sport. But the participants of these sports take precautions to minimize those dangers. And one of those is "don't exceed your own capabilities". If you screw up and get killed - no, it's not the sport's fault - but the sport and it's participants are tarnished. And I do NOT support the banning of hook turns. I support people acting responsibly... on the ground and in the air. But like I said earlier, we all have our own take on the issue, and that's a good thing! I'll bow out of this thread now, and just come back to read what else you all think. It's a good discussion... Live healthy, skydive safely. Frank

Mike, I was referring to people who are acting out of their envelope of skills... not the skygod who, with 5000 jumps, is doing 1000 jumps/year. I'm not, for one moment, suggesting activity deemed by some to dangerous should be "banned" -- but we do have speed limilts on our roads to ensure everyone conducts themselves in a responsible manner. Still, there is always some clown who drives way over that limit, and ends up crashing... In skydiving the limit is not posted, but everone knows those low turns can cause you to crash. I just wish that weekend warrior skydivers had the good sense not to kill themselves doing intentional low turns (hook turns, to be more specific). I don't think a skydiving licence is a licence to kill yourself.

Good stuff, Frogger... glad to hear all is well so far. And Happpy Birthday to You, happy birthday... well, you get the idea. Lookin' foward to hearing how your level one goes. Oh ya, I was pretty sore after my first day of doing a real arch ... don't worry -- before long it will be second nature to you! Frank

Well everyone, we've made it clear again that we share a wide variety of perspectives on this issue, and no one person has the only answer. For what it is worth, here is my view. Hook turns and long swoops look cool. So do cars speeding and fishtailing. But when the person driving "outside" of the "safe" standards society sets for us, they offend others who stay within those safe parameters. So far, no one is to affected though - neither the driver nor the person who sees the car flying around the streets. But when the driver of the car crashes, some one else has to come along and clean up the mess - sometimes body parts. And what about the poor people who just happened to be nearby when the crash happened. They see a stranger seriously injured - or maybe dead. Likely a very traumatizing situation. When the person doing the hook turn messes up and slams into the planet, injuring or killing him/herself, others nearby witness the event, maybe come to that persons aid, and if it is bad, someone (our EMT friends know this feeling) has to clean up what used to be someones friend, lover, parent, whatever - but now they are just a broken corpse. Now it's not just the swooper who is affected - a bunch of other people are now physically and/or mentally affected. For some of us, our lives may change after witnessing the event. So don't tell me to mind my own business - because if I am there, and I have to watch you severely injure or kill yourself, and maybe help pack up your bloodied gear, and give it to your wife/husband, then it is my business. If you've turned when you are low to avoid another canopy, that situation is out of your control, but if you've tried to hook it and fu@#ed up, and really hurt yourself... I'll just stop here... That is my humble opinion, and I suspect I'll get a blast from some of you - that's ok... go for it...

Hey, triple F, thanks for your vote of confidence ... I didn't start skydiving until my 14th year of marriage, so I guess I am qualified to offer perspective. Us old(er) geezers have to help the young'uns when we can. My trouble is I make stinky farts, so that causes more grief than the skydiving

Hey, Gingerbread, my licence # is A6768 ... and it is NOT a real USPA # ... it is CSPA. Some of us are from the rest of the world...

Dump her! Sorry - just kidding Jason... as you've read here, many of us have wives/husbands or S/O's who don't jump. It is definately a challenge being a family man and a skydiver... I agree with everyone else - get your family out to the DZ often, and spend quality time with them AWAY from the DZ. I blew off a good good day of jumping yesterday to go to the beach and dig in the sand with my kids, then off to Burger KIng for lunch, then out for a nice walk in the woods. It's a better life if you can find a good balance... but like someone else said, when you need all those $$$ to start buying gear, well, hhmmmm... that's a bit tougher! Frank

I'm no spammer, but I'll play along...

All my friends have given you such great advice already that there isn't much left for me to add. I'll just say that you've got to be true to yourself. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything... and it looks like you've already pulled yourself up after a fall. If these people think YOU must consume booze to be part of their crowd, is that really the sort of crowd you want to hang with (being a recovered alcoholic)??? Live healthy, skydive safely, but most of all, follow your own heart. Personally I drink lotsa beer - not before driving, of course, but I would never try to convince anyone else that they SHOULD drink, too. Like someone mentioned earlier, could it be that they are a bit younger, and still feel they need to be seen "partying" to appear cool?

I did about 34 jumps on the 288 Manta, then stepped down to my 210 Silhouette (loaded at 1:1) ... my first jump I cleared the plane then pulled (probably by 9800'), and just practiced flaring and turning for the whole ride down. Stood up the first landing nicely, and I'm still practicing canopy control on evey jump when the spot is good! Be conservative on your first bunch of jumps when you downsize.

I'd be willing to bet that most people who do these low turns are trying to avoid another canopoy at low altitude.

Not sure what day it is right now in Oz, but here on the W/coast of Canada it is still Friday - and TGIF means THANK GOODNESS IT'S FRIDAY ... (and no, ya don't have to put god in there if ya don't believe)

Personally, I can't afford style, 'cause all my extra $ goes to those jump tickets... Hell, I haven't bought a pair of pants or shoes in a year, man!

For sure it's your choice whether to RSL or not, but RSL has saved more people than it has harmed...

You go, Girl! I'm with ya on the TGIF thing... the whole family has been sick all week. Today was the first day the kids have been to school in a week... I'm at the station now, but I'm getting into the brewski the moment we are off the air!!!

Good advice, Grasshopper ... sorry about your friend. I'm jumping my canopoy (41 jumps on it now) at 1:1, and plan to stay that way for a few hundred jumps. No hurry to downsize/go faster here! It's all so much fun just the way it is now.

Can't forget "pulling your goalie" (for those who like hockey...)

Not unless a student next to you pukes...

Holy shit, FFF, you musta read a book or something! Or do you have www.farting.com stored in your favorites? Anyway, I think, when the stink is REAL ugly, the pilot should just open the door and say "get the fu@k out - NOW", and save the rest of us some grief... No, really - I'd rather be farted on than barfed on, like Carrie was... yuck . My buddie was on a ride along last weekend, and he was entertained by at least two of us! Not sure if he was impressed, though...