tdog

I asked my health insurance company over the phone a series of questions. The lady on the other end finally got frustrated and said, "even if you try to kill yourself skydiving, on purpose, we still have to cover the claim." All insurance companies are different. Call your company and ask. Actually the line I remember the best from that call. "We don't exclude stupidity either." (In their defense, I used the question, "Say I do something real stupid, so stupid that everyone says it was stupid, will you still pay?")

Would I know when? Because if so, then I would jump until the weekend before, and start right back up the weekend after.

Perris folks (Bill Von comes to mind)... It sounds like it is time to purchase 4 pies and a bottle of chocolate sauce. Write "A", "B", "C", "D" on the top of the pies, and issue them at the appropriate time. (Rules clearly state the receiver must be clean and unpied at the time issued, and I think separation requires at least 8 hours between the pies for the receiver to clean up). Now, interest must be paid too. You may use any other food product that is equivalent to 10% of a pie, per year late....

1) Not everyone makes rational decisions at 500 feet when the crap hits the fan. If someone cuts away too low - it might be the difference between bad and very bad... I know one person who might have survived this scenario with a skyhook. 2) In canopy collisions at lower altitudes that cause a main to be a streamer - it might be the difference between bad and very bad... If my main is clearly not going to land me in a livable state - I have pondered the question "add my reserve to the mess vs cutaway and hope the streamer works as a kick butt pilot chute". I am not going to tell you my answer, but I have thought about it a lot... It kind of goes in line with, "would you bail out of a plane at 800 feet" and the subsequent question, "does the plane still have wings?" I see it as a device that works best when everything else went wrong and you are needing a bit of luck and a bit of technology to save your otherwise dead butt... If we all cut away our mildly malfunctioning main at 4,000 feet - the RSL and it's nifty add-ons would be worthless and a waste of hard earned money. Even at 2,000 feet - the skyhook adds little value other than perhaps getting you open a bit higher to find a landing spot or kick out of twists on the reserve... But sometimes crap happens. Hence the skyhook reduces the odds of crap killing... Even below the "correct altitude to cut away".

Girl = you will find at DZ. Family = you will find at DZ. Problem solved.

At lot of times they recommend "talk to your instructor" on these forums because learning in person is completely "better".... But, since you are asking about stuff not relating to your immediate learning progression.... Look at a wingsuit - your arms are connected to your torso with fabric. You cannot move your hands above your head for stability at pull time, or at any time for that matter. So you have to learn to deploy with both hands to your side, and have the balance to fly stable with limited range of motion. Also, yes, it is likely you will still have forward speed at pull time... More specifically, it is about "relative wind". A parachute does not care "which way is down", it cares, "which way the wind is coming from". So, as the relative wind comes across your body in a wingsuit, it's "source" is from infront and below you, and its "destination" is to behind and above you. So as you throw your pilot chute into the relative wind to deploy while wearing a wingsuit - the pilot chute goes above and behind you (assuming you still were traveling somewhat forward at pull time)..... This means the openings of the parachute can be altered from what traditional skydivers feel when they are flying "straight down" in the relative wind... Instead of the parachute coming directly off your back, perpendicular to your torso, (like non wingsuit flight), it comes off at maybe 45 degrees.... Hence some people modify their parachute container knowing the bag will be coming off at an angle. In extreme cases of forward flight (read this as an extremely flat angle of relative wind coming across your body) - the parachute opens behind you. This does not matter much, because it will still work... But at the same time, it matters a lot... Why? Well, under a normal skydive, you "rotate" 90 degrees from belly to earth to feet to earth on deployment. If you are in a fast forward track on a wingsuit, the canopy opens in the relative wind behind you, so you rotate more like 180 degrees on deployment, then as things stabilize you end up feet to earth... Fast rotations like this can make the openings feel harsh... Now, you definitely can perform a maneuver (like collapse all your wings and arch like crazy and intentionally backslide) to kill your forward speed in a wingsuit - but this takes time and altitude... Everyone has different opinions on the best way to fly at deployment time. I have a happy medium that seems to work for me... Once you get a few jumps (or even now to pique your interest) - you can get Scott Campos's wingsuit book. It answers a lot of these questions.... Also, look at movies at www.skydivingmovies.com of wingsuit flight. You will see deployments and flying.

Yes, the initial investment is high, but it is a life long passion, and cheaper than a weekend of (nice) golf once you get your "stuff". About the wingsuit... They say 200 jumps minimum... But it varies from person to person. I jumped with a guy who had just a tad over 100, but spent the first 100 focused on wingsuiting progression, (like tracking, pulling the parachute with limited range of motion, etc), worked with a wingsuit instructor, and he was a rockstar as we flocked together... So, with a passion and desire and focus, you can push the limits a bit on the numbers - so as long as you have good training.

I believed it until... The roll over. No student sits so nicely on their a%% without spinning and kicking and screaming... he he he

The same company that lost a DC-8 to a fire started by an incorrectly-manufactured lithium ion battery? I have a request to the DZ.com community... If you ever see fire coming out of my reserve tray...

And who likes airlines and feels warm and cozy inside purchasing an airline ticket for a friend or family member for Christmas knowing there are so many rules... I saw someone who's grandmother died and the airline refused to budge on the ticket letting them leave a few hours early - with a doctor calling to say what happened... Yes, for $200 they would let them leave on the plane that had open seats... God, I hate airlines... I think the wording "Never expires, as long as we are here, you are welcome to join us" would look much more inviting under the tree than "Expires in X days"... Add a "If you don't wanna jump, that is cool, come hang out for a few hours and meet our staff and customers... If you still don't want to jump after meeting us, we will refund your money." Often the super strict cancellation policies, credit card surcharges, and other things that I have seen done - make customers feel obligated and uncomfortable... When we think of a certain audible altimeter company - almost everyone remembers someone saying how well they were treated by them when they got free service of some kind... That is the customer service that DZs should give... (not to say the original poster to this thread doesn't, this is an abstract comment).

So I received a package of batteries for a Cypres today for a friend's rig... It says on the outside of the UPS package: "Lithium Ion Batteries, Do Not Transport on Aircraft." It took about 6 hours, and my drive home, until I realized the irony of that sticker...

What I did: ***I flew in the tunnel giving the "remind two three, pull two three, assist two three, dump two three" hand signals and procedures while carving around and up and down the tunnel without grips on the "student". *** I had about 100 roll overs and 100 spin stops in the tunnel, followed by an immediately required corrective action. (Relax, pull time, arch, etc) *** I chased a few fake students around the sky. You mention the confidence thing and being there thing... You will get close and be there if you put your mind to it... Here is a story... When I was doing one of the pre-course eval dives, my evaluator "fell out the door". He put so much rotational force into it - to remove me from my grip on purpose - he hit his opposite hip on the door and I got a pretty good bump to... So there I am in the plane and my "student" is somewhere below me. I dive and see him on his back spinning... I never prior had to dive really strong to a formation - all my experience was in 4 way. I learned how to do it in 2 seconds - because I "wanted it". And boom - I was there, stopped the spin, rolled him over, and gave him the relax signal. It turned out the course director asked the evaluator not to do that again - it was too risky to do acrobatics in the doorway and get both of us slamming into the door or breaking a wrist (which would have happened if I could not let go)... But, I was happy he did it, because I knew I could dive to anything quickly... But I just had to "want it". At the same time, in my practice dives before I went to the AFFI program - I was not 100% "there". It was too easy not to "want it". But with a rating on the line, or post grad, with a student on the line - "wanting it" comes easy.

Thanks for the post. I for one agree that every state should have the same rule... If there is a concern by anyone that a $125 gift cert in 1997 is being used today for $180... There are a few solutions: 1) Sell the cert as a $, not service based, unit of measure. "$125 towards your first AFF or Tandem jump". 2) Put in the fine print that a "free tandem" cert was issued at a value of $125. If the price increases, the cert owner will be liable for the difference. 3) My favorite if I am a business owner.... DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY... If someone comes in 10 years later, upsell the video "Hey, back in the dark ages when that was issued video sucked, but now we have some new stuff. You really should add a video package!" I hate companies that issue fees for unused certs or have expiration dates. Most accountants would suggest that gift certs should be "booked" as "unearned revenue" as a liability on the balance sheet, with the opposing entry in the asset account of the bank in which the cash was deposited. You don't "earn the money" until you do the service, thus your profit and loss reports don't show an impact until service delivery... Basically this is to say, accountants would know what certs are "out there" and the worst case scenario if every one was redeemed. Oh, someone earlier in the thread said 4% interest... Well, a good business model is more like 10%. If you are a business owner, and you put cash into the business, you should return 10% as either dividends (profit to take home) - or increased value of the company to be taken home at the time of sale... A note payable would be more like 9-10% (my business has a secured line for 8% currently), meaning a business owner can make 2% margin at least on any loan they take. A gift cert is like a loan, with no interest. But say you had to pay that interest, this is what $125 is worth: 1997 $125.00 1998 $135.00 1999 $145.80 2000 $157.46 2001 $170.06 2002 $183.67 2003 $198.36 2004 $214.23 2005 $231.37 2006 $249.88 2007 $269.87 --- Even at 4%, you win: 1997 $125.00 1998 $130.00 1999 $135.20 2000 $140.61 2001 $146.23 2002 $152.08 2003 $158.16 2004 $164.49 2005 $171.07 2006 $177.91 2007 $185.03 I think you have a win win on this one as a business owner, because the cost of money (8%) is less than inflation (2-3%) almost every time... The only businesses that will suffer from offering a "free hamburger" at 1997 prices then have to redeem at 2007 prices, are businesses that have so much cash they have no loans, and they also have no place in their own business to reinvest the cash and earn returns, and the owners are stupid enough not to then take the excess cash out of the business and invest the cash in a mutual fund or stock market elsewhere....

Ok, I will bite... You are trying to stur up some long argument here... But, more importantly: "Who determines that enforcement of BSRs is so lax that people are getting hurt?" Except for crash landings - we don't have lots of areas in our sport where trends are hurting people.

You are right. I was on a jump with someone who died with two canopies out and a fired Cypres cutter. (Intentionally not saying the Cypres killed him, because I would get flamed - and also intentionally not saying the cause of death - so I don't get flamed) Airbags in cars kill people too. I have my airbags turned on and my rig has an AAD...

Umm... Not many parents will (be able to) pay the thousands of dollars for tunnel coaching for a group of kids required to make them world class. Weekend warriors, yes - but not champions.... I am not privy to the financial arrangements of the group of 10 year olds you are speaking of, but I was told by a few people who know the kids that are that they were given all the tunnel time, coaching, helmets, bootie suits, et al - as a sponsored tunnel team... Perhaps they had to pay for some of it, but from what everyone says it seems it was highly discounted... Yes, a tunnel has the right to, and should, sponsor a team - just as SDAZ has Airspeed - it is marketing and bragging rights. That being said, a tunnel is going to sponsor perhaps one team a season. That is 4 people. And, apparently per the NSL news story, these kid's parents moved thus breaking the team up... So it is over. This group is not going to continue for another 8 years, thus taking AFF together when they turn 18 and go straight to Nationals and take gold before the A licence. Will this change skydiving? Not directly. Perhaps a few kids will grow up to be skydivers, but even in our very small skydiving community, this group would amount to .013% of our community. 4 way is not going to be revolutionized by kids in the tunnel... Now the tunnel itself is a great learning tool, but skydivers ultimately have to pay for their time unless they are world class and sponsored by the tunnel, and I can only think of a few teams that are. Who are the world champions now? Teams bank rolled by the uber-rich, teams bank rolled by the US Government, teams bank rolled by a dropzone.... Teams of every day Joes, who invest tons of money, do great, but are not the ones making the press... A lot of skydivers, especially in cities where tunnels are located, don't fly in the tunnel unless they are dedicated to a team. I have asked my friends around here why they don't fly in the tunnel... (I know full time skydivers with 0 or 10 minutes of time in the last year) Their response (if they don't fly) is usually the same: "I can spend $150 in a weekend and be entertained at the DZ. $150 in the tunnel goes too quickly. I can spend that in less than 30 minutes on a friday night - leaving me broke for all weekend.) For them, dollars per minute of entertainment value is just way to high. So, the fact is - the rich (who can afford the tunnel) or the lucky/skilled (who are given tunnel time) will continue to have an advantage in any competition. These are all my opinions and not facts, so go ahead and flame me.

How about teach every turn below 1000 feet as a braked/flat turn as part of their landing pattern? I know of one teaching program that does that... (P.S. I do teach flat turns in my FJC. I expect them to practice them on the ground by walking a landing pattern and I jump in front of them and when they walk around me they have to use a flat turn. I bet they forget when they need it if they are in the high stress level 1, but maybe by level 4 or 10 or 20 they will go "oh ya, now it makes sense" when they hear people talking about it around the DZ. I was not introduced to the flat turn until like 25 jumps or something, and that was a shame.)

One of the guys I am apprenticing under gave me a copy, along with the link if I wanted to download it... Then I saw the ad for $85, and called him saying: "Did you give me a $85 book?" He is a real generous guy and likes to pull my chains, so he said, "of course not, you are not worth that. I got it for free from the FAA, but now that you mention it, can I have $85..." The one I got for free was published by "U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration FAA-H-8083-17" I looked online at the links from the FAA site where you can buy publications - and this one is curiously missing, but if you just search "8083" you get a bunch of publications that are very close to this one in number of pages, logos of DOT, etc - and they seem to cost $12 or so.... So I called the GPO (Government Printing Office) and confirmed that they don't stock it. Anyone friends with their FSDO and wanna call to find out more? Yes, it can be printed on a color printer, but the bound version is really nice and helpful - but not worth the $85 that someone is selling it for - if I got mine for free.

Wow.... (I actually was being sarcastic about the entering the plane part) but good info that you shared.

Office Depot... They will make a stamp with any icon you give them, normally used for corporate letters and stuff, for rather cheap....

So I went on a solo wingsuit jump today with the goal to see how well I could punch it out... Well, I told the pilot, my favorite visual is for the plane to dive on my exit... He did what I asked. A nice bank to the left rolling dive, but then flew out of it afraid of the jumpers below... So there I was with an Otter about 100 feet in front of me, perfectly on level. What does a wingsuiter do in such a case? Follow it! We flocked for a good 10 to 20 seconds until I decided the direction I was flying was not conducive to landing near the airport... The Otter was going perhaps 10% faster than I could go, so we slowly opened the gap, but I am sure if he put in the flaps and went to slow flight, I could have docked... (With lots of practice)... I mean, I was really keeping up... The pisser... I wore my camera helmet (open face, great day, wanted the fresh air) but did not put the camera in it. It would have made the best of Tdog reel for sure... Without the camera, it did not happen - so I will have to do it again.

uh, careful. they put those things on crash test dummies as well! We also put them on CAD drawings for lighting and sound systems for concerts where we "rig a point" to "hang a truss"... I don't think you want to be "hung" do ya? he he he

Sorry to be an ass, but are you that lazy??? A short walk in the name of clear airspace??? I have about 75 jumps at Eloy, maybe more... About 50/50 per landing area... I have never found the walk from the alternate to be that bad. In fact, with friends - it is a time to joke and debrief. Alone it is time to reflect on the dive before the debrief. (Yes, I have done training camps with 20 minute turns and still landed in the alternate)....

Or when the canopy lands on you after landing and some of the lines are on each side of you... Then you take a step forward or backwards over the lines... If the lines ever land on you after landing, don't pick up your feet because the second you do your lines will be on the wrong side of the harness.

I jumped a Stiletto 150 for a few jumps. It was brisk opening... It shut down nicely on landing so I did not have to run barefoot (don't ask), but it opened quick (gave me a sore neck because I was looking up like a dumbass to see the canopy open) (I am used to the soft Katana openings I guess) Now I know Norman Kent jumps a Stiletto with dacron lines that makes it even softer... You might want to ask PD for the linesets that Norman uses too, if the slider mod is not enough???