orangemagoo

Three newbie questions: 1. I'm still pulling around 5,000-4,500 feet...so, if I had a PC in tow, do I have time to "elbow" the container or try to grab the bridle once? Somebody at the DZ mentioned that works sometimes, but I can't imagine spending more than about two seconds on it. 2. Since I have an RSL, and I'm pulling at a respectable altitude, wouldn't it make sense for me to go to red first to avoid a two-out? 3. What is this stuff about grabbing the PC before pulling silver? Won't the reduced pressure on the container release the main pin anyway? I'm confused... Magoo

And Stephan Hudak SHOULD be reached. That was a wonderful, educated, non-judgmental article. Kudos for taking the time and doing the research. I just called him...wanted to hear what he thought, journalist to journalist. He said he didn't even know what to ask when he started the story, so he just listened. He also told me that after reading the police report, listening to the people at the DZ give eyewitness accounts and listening to the stories about Gus, he thought it was better to focus on Gus because, in his words, "...it sounded like this was a wonderful person that everyone thought the world of and I wanted to focus on that." He then proceded to ask me if he was too old to make a tandem jump.

Skymama et al, Ummmm......this is something I never gave much thought to (quoting somebody from a web thread), but it is certainly something I am going to bring up at work today. I work at one of the largest news web sites in the nation (given where I jump, I'm sure you can figure it out). I've never run across this type of journalistic question....but personally I know I'd NEVER quote somebody from a web thread and take it as gospel. That's highly unethical, and I'm willing to bet that I'll find out today at work that it's "illegal," so to speak. There are all sorts of communications law problems associated with that. I think the Sentinel reporter wrote a nice piece, looking at it as a fellow journalist and fellow (newbie) skydiver. I'm certain there have been past incidents that reporters have handled poorly. Unfortunately, as much schooling and training we get as journalists, reporters' personalities (human factor) frequently muck up the whole thing. All it takes is a few bad apples... I was very sad to hear of this, and being a newbie, it scared me. When I heard, I immediately called my roommate, who has been jumping for over 10 years. He is sure he had jumped with Gus in FL a few years back. Blue skies and prayers to all involved. Magoo

Weegegirl, This thread reached the right person....me! Thanks to you and the others for your research and time. It is much appreciated. See you at Orange sometime...

Yikes! Single is a good thing. I don't know how I'd explain my three pints and Puerto Rican cigar last night... See you at water training next Friday! Weather looks crappy this weekend...

Thanks for jumping with me! It was so much fun!! Can't wait to do it again this weekend!!

In response to the post "jump a newbie," I felt honored that some of the regulars at the drop zone wanted to jump with me this weekend on my first 4-way...it was jump number 39 for me....and, as a bonus, we turned five points!! A couple of them were sloppy points, thanks to me, but sheesh...what a good time! And yes, I bought a case of beer...

Thanks! Yes, I think I'll stick with the 170 for a while. I need to work on my upper body strength, though. I have some issues trying to work the risers.

Hello, I'm new, so be kind. I'm not sure I belong in this thread. I got my license in December, and I have 35 jumps now. I love this sport! I had a hard time getting past my hop-n-pops. They really freaked me out because of the low altitude. It almost kept me from getting my license. But I pushed through it, and I'm glad I did.

That made me laugh so hard I cried! Awesome!

Thanks! I plan on staying around this sport for a long, long time to come! Now I'm hunting for my first rig...

Just wanted to say hello! I got my license in December, and have 35 jumps now. Spent 100 minutes in the tunnel in Orlando, too. What a trip! Very helpful when you are an AFF student. These forums helped me out tremendously when I was going through progression. So thanks to everybody for that! Look forward to chatting with somebody! Blue skies!