yarpos

in the 70's, doing 8 way practice from an islander. instructor on team usually puts out a couple of students during the (long) climb. Student in fore and aft rig gets to door, then checks reserve, deploying said reserve to floor in doorway (stunned second of silence, everyone has big eyes). Instructor starts to push him out the door, there is a tremendous BANG! and he is gone...side of the plane ripped open like its been attacked with a giant can opener...which motivated a rapid save yourself type exit by the rest of the load. The student somehow survived with significant damage to left side of body , his main lift web half sawn through. Absolute miracle he survived and lucky for the rest of us he left the tail on the plane. regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

look forward to it. Ive never met Nick as I am in another hemisphere....but he seems to give a lot to skydiving and BASE and importantly (to me at least) he honours the men and women whose shoulders we stand on everyday regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

some video on the evening news preview...helicopter rescue off the cliff on a litter...fingers crossed re injuries....hopefully somone with some facts may post soon regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

thanks tom I needed to hear that, 52 returning to skydiving, objective to BASE steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

hi plokkum keep in mind also that mains and reserves are not the same types of canopies generally. You are not just using the same technology twice in a malfunction situation. Each is designed for a purpose. As people get experienced most go for a higher performance canopy which has a slightly higher chance of malfunction. A reserve is built for one primary purpose and , without getting technical (and I'm not expert anyway) its design is based on reliable openings and strength e.g. the width/depth (aspect) ratio of the canopy is lower/more square in shape which contributes to reliablity. BASE jumpers who take only one canopy, use canopies a lot like skydiving reserves (but also with specific differences for that purpose). Bottom line is that if you do the right thing at the right hieght, your probability of smiting the earth are very small. Getting between an open canopy over your head and being safely on the ground is another story, which you need to talk with your local instructors about. have fun, steve PS: good question, keep asking , keep learning, and take an interest in the gear and how it works regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

yawn regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

hi people like morpheus technologies make stash bags for hiking to BASE exit points with your gear. Some of these seem to be pretty well designed and comfortable. May also help protect the gear a bit if you come off. Friend of mine did this (gear on bike....all the time no problem. He took the extra step of putting a belt or a luggage strap around his main...never worried about his reserve ...I guess a straight bike ride is relatively secure compared with clambering in and out of an aircraft and full contact RW or FF. regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

michael for what its worth.....re your question about a small battery powered amp. I travel a lot for work, and have a set Philips earplugs with a noise cancelling AAA battery powered amplifier (about chewing gum pack size). On max volume with aircraft audio or an mp3 player its fairly loud (enough to want to turn it down). The noise cancelling feature makes a definite difference in flight should help with bringing the signal up against the background freefall wind noise. They seem reasonably strong and will take a far bit of handling stress. Last time I looked they cost about A$70..USD55 ish....in most well stocked airport/travel shops. good luck with making the whole package work...cool idea regards Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

I didnt wear them for a 1000 jumps and know I am deaf to high frequecies > 8-9Khz. I am reasonably sure of the cause and affect, but not 100%...your mileage may vary steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

nothing more than scrapes and bruises so far.... I take a conservative approach under canopy, but thats no gaurantee of course, sometimes there can be variables that you dont control. so far so good regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

expressing a concern , and seeking support and advice is not whining, and is a whole lot better than anonymous, gutless mud slinging. to punky, as the experienced ones have said just keep working at it , it will pass. you are going through a cycle that many of us do. sounds like you have good coach so just a matter of time. regards, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

who says there my credentials?? its just a sad fact for those that have to deal with it ie. anyone....i find it hard to comprehend a view of the world that assumes anyone with actual experience that opens their mouths on this topic is somehow bragging or playing childish "ive got one up on you games". given the topic, its so petty I cant understand how the thought even gets in peoples heads. I thought the purpose of forums was to share experiences and hopefully learn, thats what i come for...given my now outdated experience its primarily the latter for me. anyway enuf said for me, as someone else has said I think this has probably been given way to much air time regards, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

tend to agree with mikkey co-incidentally I come from Melbourne also but now live in gun happy Switzerland (and yes I shoot). just fundamentally just putting all the stats aside. The Oz populace is not dis-armed. It is quite lawful to own handguns and rifles, but only lawful to own semi auto rifles for a business purpose like commercial hunting/culling. Relating crime to alledged withdrawal of the right to gun ownership is just pure BS. Oz society is not perfect and has a similar range of issues to any other modern developed country. mikkey , hope to catch up some day, I'm returning to Melbourne permanently later in 05 and getting back into jumping after a long absence. regards Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

Dude!..its not an "idea" for a lot of people...its been an unfortunate reality How you work out that the discussion supports his point, whatever the hell that was, escapes me regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

a bit monday/tuesday soreness is the sign of a well spent weekend ... ...becomes part of your routine.... have fun regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

can only agree ,its is the stuff of nightmares. and once you have had to deal with it you carry it around forever and come to terms the best way you can. talking about this and some form of nobility is downright weird.....if the originating poster wasnt under the influence of something when he posted that stuff, he really really should seek help. regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

hi they are average at best.....and worst of all you may have the misfortune to transit Paris airport which seems to include a better than average chance of delays and/or loosing you luggage...but thats just my bitter and twised opinion. PS..I am not anti France....i love the country and the people....they just do crap air travel....IMO Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

Avion I had the same trouble with back loops. I am tall and had trouble getting enough rotation happening. In the end it was lack of effort with pushing my torso and head back, I was focussing to much on my legs thinking that was it. Usually just sat me up and then rolled off. Think of your legs as an assist to the main movement generated in your body. good luck Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

not sure if you are still interested in the question, thought I would respond as you didnt seem to get many relevant responses. Zurich Insurance offer reasonable cover with a light premium loading if you do up to 150 jumps a year. Higher jump numbers means they want a re-think. Dont know if they have a US presence, I am in Oz. For travel cover look at cover via IHI Insurance based in Denmark. Very comprehensive travel accident cover, medical, evac transport , the lot (not death cover though, although they will bring your body home if things go very wrong). No exclusions, so great if you do other exciting stuff also. Web site is in English. good luck , and many unused claim forms Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

"But for others it's like th e"Hotel California", you can check out any time you like, but you can't never leave..... " that is so right....for me at least...stopped (or is that paused?) long ago...always wanted to be back in the sky....checking back in again now :-) regards Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

Hi I dont think you can equate basic diameter and square footage to expected outcomes. For many years my reserve was much smaller than my main (both rounds) and it was brilliant (GQ 17ft). Basically the same design + zero/lopo/F111 type discussion as today. regards, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

Hi Councilman provided a lot of good advice. He and I have a very similar experience with rounds we must have been living parallel lives at some stage. IMO at 227lbs I wouldnt go the reserve route, a T10, PC MKI or a Papillon would be fine (avoid comp PCs). Had a couple reserve landings on a GQ17ft no po, and a 26ft lo po at 190lbs and they were quite gentle, but 227lb, without a lot of other round experience, would be pushing it a bit I think (supposed to be having fun, arent we?). If you do the T10, wait for a ideal day 0-5 knots of wind, otherwise without experience you may do the "big green jellyfish dissappearing in the distance thing"...depending on your DZ this may or may not be an issue. Have fun, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

"It has little detectable forward speed (and this comes from someone wiht about 100 cheapo jumps )." Ah come on Wendy, in ancient times the T10 I used as a student went like train.........downwind....it was like throwing out a big spinnaker on a sail boat. My instructor was always surprised that I made it back to the DZ (less paranoid about landing out in those days). Mind you, when I turned into wind I had almost the same speed going backwards......explains why the roundy experience created generations of good PLF'ers....probably close to being a lost art now thanks for the memories, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

Nick thanks for your words here and your words to me one day along the lines of " you arent an ex skydiver; you will always be a skydiver". A simple truth. I am now going back to jumping with an objective to get current for BASE. Now cant understand how I could have been on the ground for so long. I hope this next challenge goes well for you, clearly you have people all round the world wishing you well. take care, Steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was

i do love a pedantic discussion if sound is the transmission of pressure waves through air, how can ther be sound if there is no air. you can have an event that had potential to produce sound, but no atmosphere, no sound pedant mode off ....but never for very long steve regards, Steve the older I get...the better I was