NWFlyer

It was five+ years ago but I guess it was just a fast inflation. Don't really remember ... I just have a lovely little scar on the back of my right hand from the riser strike so I can't forget that the jump happened. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Well, boogies like that still exist (Boogie in Belize is a great example). But given the significant extra expense of going somewhere like that, those are necessarily going to stay relatively small. Belize was phenomenal, but when you add in airfare, food, and lodging, not to mention the higher boogie costs due to the location/ferry fees, etc., it's not for every budget. A big boogie in the U.S. can attract people who can drive, pitch a tent, and eat PB&J sammiches all day as well as people who can afford the more exotic boogies. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Unfortunately, there's only so much you can do; restricting the guy from having a car is probably going too far - he could have friends, family, or (as Turtle suggested) a hired driver. Owning and registering a vehicle is not inherently a safety issue; operating said vehicle is (in the medical opinion of the person reporting) inherently unsafe. The medical professional has now done their part to restrict the operation of the vehicle. That's really as far as it goes. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Pull them over your toes and go fly. But seriously - booties have all kinds of good uses. They'll give you power in turns. They can help you control fall rate. They give you power in forward/backward motion. They give you power in a track. Once you start to use them, if you go back to a suit without booties, you'll definitely feel the difference in speed/power of your movements. Find some of the RW people at your DZ and ask them to talk to you about different inputs you can do with your booties - and to show you on the creeper. It's easier to show than to describe. Your profile says you're at Snohomish - I know there's lots of folks up there who would be willing to help you out.

OK, I watched this tonight. It was good. It had some pretty scenery, and I really enjoyed the music... "Sometimes falling feels like flying... for a little while." And Bridges was a pretty convincing alcoholic. Yeah, the music took that movie from a B to an A in my book. We knew Jeff Bridges could sing but Colin Farrell surprised me too! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Can you expand on this? I can see how body position can give you off heading openings, but not how it affects the speed with which a canopy opens. Thanks! One example that I've experienced when I was a brand-new jumper (living proof that even a moderately loaded Spectre can spank you) is being head low on deployment. The resulting "pendulum" as your body swings back up can be somewhat more violent than a stable opening. It wasn't "break bones" violent, but I wound up with a good riser smack and was seeing stars for a couple of seconds. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

It's $50 for the course, plus whatever it costs you for the exam for the medical certificate. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/enrollment/applying/ For anyone who might be interested in Beale, they have classes in Sept & November this year which are already full; pending staffing confirmation they're hoping to be up to a monthly schedule starting in January. The gentleman I spoke with at the FAA suggested getting in touch in early December for the 2011 schedule. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Nope. I refuse to encourage/enable the continued proliferation of xtranormal videos. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You mean the fact that you confused me by underlining your link without making it an actual link? That IS sick! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

No. These idiots have always been out there. They just have a better way of getting their message out now that there is an internet. Ironic, ain't it? Using technology to get the message out that technology will be our downfall. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

As usual, the USPA doesn't give a crap about Canopy Piloting. Just like how they allow it to be cast off at nationals! You've been heard (or they finally got around to posting about it anyway). http://www.uspa.org/NewsEvents/News/tabid/59/Default.aspx#15981 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

What causes hard openings? Bad packing Bad body position at deployment Poor gear maintenance The sheer randomness of tossing a large volume of fabric and lines into the air at 120 MPH. (there may be other tandem-specific reasons as well) "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

HAD a Mamba. It has a flip visor. Although it fits my head comfortably, I wasn't a fan of how the Mamba hits around the mouth - just felt uncomfortable to me. I sold it pretty much as soon as I bought it. Great helmet, just not right for my face shape. FreeZR2 just worked better for me that way. I like to flip up my visor as soon as I'm under canopy, and having a flip up visor makes the helmet more comfortable to wear on the plane for takeoff (and for the whole ride up if it's chilly). "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

And it varies by manufacturer and by helmet style. Bonehead Guner (open face) I wear an XL. Mamba (full face) I need an XXL. FreeZR2 I only take an XL (they do have an XXL). Other XL full faces I can't even start to pull down over my head. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I've been researching high altitude chamber training in the U.S. as my S.O. and I would like to do the chamber training and we're fortunate to have the option at a relatively nearby AFB (Beale). Training is offered both at participating military facilities as well as at the training center in Oklahoma City. Thought I'd share the info I've found so far in case other people are interested in going through the training as well. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/ Description of the course. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology// This link has all the basic information about the training program. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/directions/ Link to all the participating military facilities. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/airman_education/aerospace_physiology/enrollment/how_to/ What you need to enroll. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/medical/ General information on medical certification https://medxpress.faa.gov/ Site where you can complete the application electronically and have it sent to the doc that will be doing your exam. It'd be great if people could add info about training in other countries as well! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Good to know. I have the opposite problem you do - I'm a member of the Freakishly Large Head Club© and haven't found too many full-faces that work for me. I'm happily jumping a FreeZR2 right now, but I've heard from fellow members of the FLHC that the Gas also works for big melons, so it'll be nice to have another option out there with a flip visor. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Upper body strength definitely helps. Anything that strengthens your core will also be very beneficial. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

You've obviously not seen the fine cinematic oeuvre that is the Leprechaun series, then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprechaun_%28film%29 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yup! But they can be the difference between something that is (most likely - I'm not diagnosing your ankle pain over the internet!) treatable with some ibuprofen, rest, and ice and something that needs to be treated surgically. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Never say never. For (almost) all situations where there's a "never" there's probably also a damn good exception. But here's a couple: Never lose altitude awareness. Never stop trying to save your life. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

When we had multiple static students on one load, we were assigned as Jumper #1, Jumper #2, and Jumper #3 based on exit order. A turn was usually the verifying move that the radio person would have us do shortly after opening to ensure that they identified us and that we were hearing/responding. Canopies were all the same color/pattern, so using that as a differentiator wouldn't have worked. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

A guy at Lost Prairie learned the "don't leave your shit out overnight" lesson the hard way this year when he left his rig out under a packing tent ... and a massive storm blew through. Lost a day + of jumping while his stuff was drying out and getting repacked. Mother Nature's a bitch sometimes... put your stuff in your vehicle or tent!!! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I still have a tough time wrapping my head around that one. A skydiver ripping off another skydiver??? Damn. That's lower than low. I hope anyone who would do that ends up bouncing... or hit by a truck. Whichever comes first. Recent thread on the topic ... lots of reminders in there that it's not just skydivers at the DZ. Also, though I don't have numbers to back it up, I believe that the vast majority of theft occurs away from the DZ. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3898941 "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Looking at the video, that looks like a collapsed slider (which would contribute to the hard opening) - so you've got a whole bunch of kill line flying loose - which (as you described) hooked on the cascade and prevented your slider from coming down. The question is ... did you fail to uncollapse it during packing ... or did the fact that it got caught cause it to collapse during the mal? At least that's how I see it. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I just recently finished the last of the "Mystery Langs" in my fridge - as I'm sure you know, those labels were particularly prone to coming off after any time at all in the slushy environment of a boogie cooler. It was kind of fun for a while opening one up and seeing if you got blonde, porter, amber, mandarin, or huck & honey. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke