NWFlyer

Till then... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92NXMtVtv8o "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

Wow, 50?! Any pictures? Does this happen on a particular day at LP? Second Saturday of the boogie. Sunset. "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

For license/experience level - I'd say enough experience to be comfortable selecting an out landing area and safely landing out, and that may vary depending on where you are. Somewhere like Byron or Eloy where there's a pretty decent amount of wide open space, finding a decent spot to land isn't that challenging. Somewhere like Hawaii... not so much. Wherever you are, your best bet is to talk it through with experienced hands at *that* DZ. They can tell you about prevailing winds, and whether if the wind is coming from X direction cross countries are great but if they're coming from Y direction, they're not a good idea. They can talk you through the flight paths and the outs, and local limitations (such as other air traffic). I've not been to Hawaii but you may find limitations there (or at other DZs where the out landing areas can be quite hazardous) simply because of the higher risks of landing out. At a big DZ like Eloy, whether or not you can do one will at least partly depend on what's going on in the operations that day. If they're only turning one plane it's more likely to be allowed than if multiple planes are turning. But as you've probably already figured out by your question about checking with DZ management, a cross-country the type of jump you always want to discuss before you do it so they can work it safely into operations and so that if someone's on the ground counting canopies, they're not freaking out because you're not landing with everyone who did freefall jumps. As for wingloading, nope, not everyone has to be similar wingloading. At Lost Prairie they do a multi-plane cross-country load every year, and people exit from highest wingloading to lightest wingloading. That creates natural separation, which is a good thing when you've got a lot of canopies in the air. Cross country jumps are often done at sunset - that creates a couple more things to think about. Climate - are you somewhere where the temp drops dramatically (like Lost Prairie) as soon as the sun goes down? Dress appropriately or your beautiful jump will be miserable. If part of the attraction is that beautiful sunset, which way will you have to face to see the sun? Which way will you have to face to head back to the dropzone? Make sure you're not "that guy" who gets so distracted he forgets to make it back. "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'd take far too much time and use up far too much bandwidth to recount my embarrassing stories. It'd probably be just as fast to talk about the uneventful ones. "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

We can just pretend you weren't already planning to do that anyway. "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

If only there were a link for feedback, right on the fucking page! That would make TomWatson's life so easy! Oh. Wait. "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

Unless someone told you that was the reason, I would not assume you stopped getting them because you were not an instructional rating holder. More likely would be that your email address fell through the cracks. Especially considering that it can be read online (at the link normiss shared above) and easily forwarded. There's hardly any state secrets in there. "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

Taxes Government Health care FMLA/Federal leave policies Same-sex marriage Birth control Immigration Abortion Blink 182 Just checking - am I still in Bonfire? "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're not getting them till July. Chill. "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 know the international mailing charges have made it challenging for them to get a lot of international subscribers, unfortunately. "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

Some companies do allow a significant other to be on an employee's health care plan. Normiss was able to add me to his plan about 2 years before we got married. I'm very thankful for the gay community pushing for their committed relationship rights, they helped me too! What will be interesting to see is that when the U.S. does have marriage equality (I say when, not if, because it seems things are inevitably heading in that direction), if domestic partner benefits go away. I believe that currently (in CA at least), if a company chooses to offer DP benefits for same sex DPs, they also have to offer them for opposite sex DPs. Once everyone has the opportunity to enter into marriage, it'll be interesting to see if companies say "well, you could get married and choose not to, so no benefits for you." (Of course, this is all part of the bigger question of why on earth our employment situation continues to drive the provision of health insurance... but that's a Speakers' Corner rant). To bring this back on topic, I feel pretty fortunate to work for an employer (and on a team) where everyone balances things out pretty well and has each others' back. Of the 10 people on the team I work for, I think half have kids at home (though one just sent hers off to college), the other half don't. There's never been any of the "well you don't have kids, you can't leave early" kind of thing - pretty much my boss sets the tone that we're all professionals, we all have a set of assigned work, and as long as we meet the agreed-upon expectations, we can get the work done in the way that works for us. So if one person can't meet till 9:00 a.m. one week because he's got kid drop-off duty, or another takes off at 4 to pick up her daughter from day care and logs back on in the evening to wrap up the day's work, or if I need to take off early to get to a volunteer training event on a couple of days, or I bug out early on a Friday to catch a plane to a boogie... it all shakes out. I've never felt like my "stuff" that requires flexibility is any less or more important than my colleagues just because mine never involves kid stuff. Personal time is personal time, and as long as I'm doing my job and meeting my obligations, I'm allowed to use it as needed. "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 here's the wonderful story, shared online by the good folks at Blue Skies Mag... for those who aren't already print subscribers (but if you're not, you should be! independent media needs our support!) http://blueskiesmag.com/2015/02/16/how-i-finally-became-a-better-tandem-instructor/ "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

The "what happens if" question is a good one to have with your spouse, whether it's before A license or after. Of course, it's a good discussion for partners to have no matter what, but things like choosing to enter a high-risk sport, or facing a life-threatening illness do tend to force the discussion. What happens to your family's income if you have an injury like a broken ankle? Can you continue to work if you're on crutches, or do you have the type of job where you'll need to take off the full time to recovery? What type of income protections would you have in place if you couldn't work? (Sick time, disability insurance, etc.). What about your share of the work to run your household? Take care of kids/animals/other dependents? Marriage is a partnership... make sure you and your partner are on the same page if you're adding new risks to your life. None of this is to say "don't do it," but it's respectful and mature to give the increased risk some thought beforehand. "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

Way too many disclaimers in your description for me to pay money to see it! It was released in February. You're not expecting Oscar-bait quality, are ya? "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 hear. I want to see it. I'm guessing somewhere between James Bond and Austin Powers? Yeah, with a little Get Smart and Men in Black mixed in. "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

So, the Monkey and I saw this one this afternoon. Considering the overall cartoonish nature of the movie, and the general suspension of disbelief required, the skydiving scenes weren't horrible. Not precisely accurate of course, but no sillier than the rest of the movie's stunts. All in all it's a fun movie. "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 saw him I think 17 or 18 years ago with a bunch of girlfriends. We were (at the time) all in our late 20s... the crowd was definitely more in the middle-aged-and-older women range. Still, we had a blast, and I'd probably go see him again now (now that I'm solidly in that middle-aged group!). At least back then, he was a performer who knew his audience and still seemed to be having great fun at what he does.

Hannah, I loved reading your story in the February issue of Blue Skies Magazine! Well done! "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're only missing the main? Of all the components to be missing from your rig, that's the simplest to find a temporary solution for. Ask around at your DZ to see if you can borrow one. See if you can get a demo (from ChutingStar maybe, or another large gear store, or from a manufacturer - maybe even the one who is building your main as a gesture of good will for the delay). Cancel the custom order and buy something out of manufacturer stock. There's lots of potential solutions for this particular short term problem. "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 I've bought/sold used Vigils, I do a rough approximation based on how much of the expected life is left and depreciate it in a linear fashion. So take the cost of a new one, divide by 20, and multiply that by however many years you have left. Vigil says expected life is 20 years, so you've got about 12 years left on that one. That'll get you a ballpark figure; the market price may be more or less depending on demand. "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 don't even own a bike and I might buy a bike just so I can buy that. "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're good to help her out. I think (as I said earlier) connecting her if you can with someone more experienced who's been through the process might be the most helpful thing. I'm a fast faller myself; I can talk to other new jumpers about things I tried, what worked, what didn't work, etc. But I'll refer someone who's struggling on the other end to a fellow floaty-butt for advice. "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

U.S. summer, I'd stay north-ish. In late July you could hit Summerfest at Skydive Chicago, then boogie across the country to catch Lost Prairie in western Montana (which follows right after that) then spend August in the Northwest (Leap for Lupus is usually in August at Skydive Kapowsin, plus there are several other DZs in Washington and Oregon to visit and it's a spectacular time of year there). "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

She has 25 jumps. Everyfuckingthing is new at 25 jumps and the stuff that has probably become routine to you might be a little overwhelming still. Introducing new variables is (and should be) a big deal. Mocking her because she doesn't want to increase her wingloading isn't really a productive way to help this situation. Other people have mentioned things she can do to start that will help her, without having to affect her wingloading. At some point adding weight will probably be something in her arsenal of tools, but if she's not comfortable doing it now, she's not comfortable. See if you can connect her with other people in the area who have a similar build - talking to someone who has experienced it may help her to figure out what steps to take and in what order. "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

If I count up the skydivers I've known who have died, the number who have died from skydiving is significantly higher than those who've died from other causes (cancer, other illnesses, traffic accidents, etc.) You add in "related" deaths (skydiving aircraft crashes, speed flying, BASE jumping) and it's an even higher proportion from aviation-related stuff. For the untimely deaths of people I know who aren't skydivers (or in any related sport) I'd say it's probably about an even mix of accidents vs. illnesses. "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