Yossarian

how common is it to lose a chopped main? is it the exception rather than the rule?

i used to get my instructor to yell 'arch' instead of 'go', amazing how much it helped, as i was thinking about arching rather than simply going, simple but effective...

obviously you know more about this than i do, but if the top jumper chopped first wouldnt he simply fall into the mess and lower jumper? or is the forward speed enough that top jumper falls behind the mess? and if the top jumper is entangled mightn't he end up being towed by the bottom jumper? im having trouble picturing all this, help (or pictures...) would be a appreciated

ive asked around here a few times and ive only ever been told of one in base. im pretty sure theyre very rare but when you're asked to carry a hook knife its pretty pointless unless you know exactly what to do with it. at the moment i have one of those rubbishy plastic ones on my chest-strap and another one under the 3-rings on the left side (you know where i mean, tempted to say lift-web but im not sure if thats what its called) but im going to get another, should i get one of a similar size but metal or should i get a bigger one, those things that are about 6" and go on your leg?

hail made me bleed once, and in the wetter clouds my goggles fog up from all the moisture beeds but it doesnt tend to bother me much, i prefer falling next to clouds as it gives you an idea of just how fast you're moving, freefall, despite the feeling of fast air on your body, still gives the impression of floating, but when you're falling past something i get an extra adrenalin buzz :)

just a quick question, do lineovers only ever involve brake lines? was thinking about how difficult it would be to locate a line to cut on a reserve lineover, but that would be simplified if i could just cut the appropriate brake above the toggle. is this the case or can other lines go over the top?

my eyes teared completely shut for around 5 hrs, but they hadnt told me to expect that so it was a bit worrying, and for my right eye they didny put enough anasthaetic in so i could feel a very sharp burning, and coupled with the smell that made it very hard to keep still, now i just find myself wanting to rub them all the time but thats decreasing almost by the hour. they didnt tell me to expect bleeding from the eye either so that was sort of worrying the next day as well, but apparently its perfectly normal

happened to me about 5 times in 18 jumps with a spring loaded pilot chute during raps, never a problem cos it always sat right down the middle, except one time when it was off to the right and caused a slight turn but on a big old 288 manta it was no problem and landed just fine, i just adjusted my flare.

i saw loads of people getting it done who were in their 40's. just go for consultations with them, (some do that for free) and they'll say if your suitable. it was definately more painful than they said it would be, and just freakishly weird (suction cup on my eyeball etc), but id reccomend the end result to anyone whos thinking about it. i still cant believe its real

i can see!!!! no way im jumping for a month though, although the goggles i have to wear at night to stop me rubbing my eyes in my sleep would make awesome shaded jumping ones...

damn french, didn't hate them so much then did u?

another thing i was told about PLFs is that they were also designed bearing in mind having an empty container on your back with the reserve on the front, therefore when you roll you can twist your back on the reserve (especially with bulky student canopies). i experienced this as a student and my back was quite uncomfortable

just an update, going in for the surgery tomorrow, at the pre-op the surgeon said that its best to leave a month before jumping but thats only due to the risk of goggles slipping off and there are other issues, like dust kicked up by the props etc, otherwise he said after a month ill be pretty much able to do anything, after 6 months i could jump without goggles should i wish (not that i would). now starting to brick it!

we jump a pac with 3 lights, red means on jump run, yellow is open the door and start spotting, green comes on when the gps puts us in the right place and the airfield has transmitted clear drop

so what exactly is fruit-looping?

im sure its on the internet somewhere, if not itll probably be on itv2 at some point on a different note, i didnt realise they still used round reserves for students? the idea of a freepacked canopy with a student (greater potential for instability and tumbling) doesnt seem like it has a place no we have steerable square reserves as an option. although dont rounds open quicker?

ive seen a few minor things, the first was a no flare under a 170 (extremely short sighted lost her lenses in freefall to the point she couldnt see the ground), she was ok as it was a ploughed field. even though i knew her very well the it was more curiosity as to if she was going to get up than fear or worry. the next was a very low hook turn, at 50 jumps even i knew it was low, and before he hit there was just time for the cci to say 'hes dead' in a very solemn deadpan voice. he was fine in the end, somehow turned on his side and bounced around a bit but he was fine. the worst was my mate from a low hook turn about 20ft away, came in knees first and bounced up into his lines before coming down again, quite an impressive dust-cloud actually. happened too fast for time to slow down as you didnt see it coming, i was just moving towards him. he was never still and hopped up almost straight away, ill never know how he didnt smash his knees or his femurs, all he did was twist an ankle on his second or third bounce. quite scary really.

he should just strap a skateboard to his chest...

turns out im not bad... i lurked on a 3-way (pretending to be camera man type-lurk) and tracked off at 5.5k for about 7secs (pre-arranged) and got some serious distance, was good to be able to see the formation dissapear between my legs. on another jump did a tandem track with a mate (linked with arms over shoulders, not sure if thats its real name) and the speed was impressive, from looking at the ground, was an awesome feeling

i used to get a very mild feeling of 'swimmers ear' for sometimes days after jumping, but it never hurt, affected balance or anything, only happened 2 or 3 times but hasnt happened for over a year now

dont know if anyones been following this series but its the last episode of bad lads army tonight where a selected few so-called 'bad lads' do a s/l fjc, looks like one of them has a cutaway from the adverts. edited to remove somewhat distasteful comments, apologies if you read them

i was thinking more to do with body position rather than my bearing, i can still move my eyes without altering my body position. why is it necessary to lose the arch in a track? (ive been told you need to by instructors, but not why, and although i could probably work it out i find these things are never as simple as they should be)

booty fly?

whats an airlock canopy?

when tracking do you look at the horizon or directly below you? and does it matter?