Zennie

OK. There's one. That actually happened to me right after I was off student status. Right as I started reaching for my reserve handle I found the hacky. *WHEW* ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Welcome back wingman! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Sniff...sniff... Is that libel I smell? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Can anybody think of a situation where pulling the cutaway handle in a total mal/pc-in-tow would be bad (other than the time factor)? Quite frankly I'm inclined to pull the cutaway handle cuz I've heard too many horror stories of mains deploying right as the reserve deploys. It you have it pre-cutaway, I'd think the chances of a main/reserve entaglement (shiver) would be reduced. That's what scares me, not failing to get the reserve out in time. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Ya know, everytime I'm on an airliner I ask them to give me a nice spot right above the terminal and they keep telling me to sit down & shut up. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but here in Houston God needs a little Listerine. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie Edited by Zennie on 6/27/01 11:23 AM.

Heh. Me and a fried at the DZ got into an argument over that one once. He asked me where I planned to pull at and I said 3500 and he looked at me like I was crazy. So when I asked what the deal was he said he likes to pull above the recommended minimum. I said "I am, by 1000 feet". So he thought it was 3500 and I thought 2500. Turns out we needed to meet in the middle. But I'm still 500 feet above it. Still, I've been starting my sequences a little higher lately (like 4200) because my ProTrack consistently said I was in the saddle at 2700. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

According to our hallowed Beer Rules, that would be a "Yes".

Well, I'd say all of them, like most accidents of any sort, are avoidable. But I think I know what you're getting at. I'd say most of them. This year has been a really bizzarre year for accidents, but in general, you can classify accidents along these rough lines: 1. Low toggle turns. Oftentimes on an unfamiliar rig or at an unfamiliar location. And, of course, insufficient experience. 2. Cutaway/no reserve pull. I still don't get this. Pull all the handles dammit! 3. Low cutaway. Really this fits under #2, but it happens so often I decided to separate it out. 4. Cutaway/horseshoe followed by main/reserve entanglement. Of course there are other types, but these are what you'll see the most frequently. What you will *not* see is the frequently reported "His parachute failed to open". Of these I would say 1-3 are most definitely in the "avoidable" category. #4 is the nightmare scenario. I'm sure there are others common ones that I may have forgotten. But those stick in my mind. If you want more on fatality statistics go to http://www.skydivenet.com/fatalities/ Everyone should read them. What you learn may save your life one day. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

OK. This isn't skydiving related, but I just about blew my drink out my nose reading this.... ------------------------ Friday June 22 9:43 AM ET Cookie Monster Is Assaulted Father Arrested for Attacking Cookie Monster - (WKMG) MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - A Maryland man punched and kicked Cookie Monster at a crowded Sesame Street theme park outside Philadelphia, after the character declined to pose for a photo with his 3-year-old daughter, police say. Lee McPhatter allegedly became irate when his daughter, Mina, approached Cookie Monster at Sesame Place to have a photo taken only to be moved aside by Jennie McNelis, 21, who was inside the Cookie Monster suit. Police said McPhatter began shouting at the blue, furry Cookie Monster, then thrust his head into the character's mouth. When the cookie-loving monster pushed back, McPhatter allegedly pushed the character to the ground, and began punching and kicking. McNelis was treated at a local hospital for injuries including bruised ribs. ``This is a first. We've had character costumes stolen and numerous shopliftings, but never anything like this,'' said Middletown Police Officer Dan Buckley. McPhatter, 22, of Waldorf, Maryland, was arrested for the June 9 incident, arraigned before a district magistrate and released on $20,000 bail. Located 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia, Sesame Place bills itself as the only U.S. theme park based on the popular children's television program. Officials at the park, which is operated by Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks, were not immediately available to comment on the attack. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

My what an uplifting selection of articles. Glad they're on the beat watching out for our best interests. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

If I'm not mistaken, Lodi has historically had problems with bad press coverage. It's almost like someone in the local newsmedia has something out for skydiving and Lodi in particular. My condolences to the jumper's family, friends and all the folks at Lodi. You guys have had some bad luck lately with JanDevil & now this. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I just want to say thanks to all of you for your support and suggestions. I'm not a quitter by nature and I think the consensus is that I should try a change in environment and get some coaching. So that is my plan. I'm not gonna give up on RW yet. I prolly still dabble in the Black Arts though. Any other bi's out there?

LOL @ ramon! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

LOL @ Aviatr! I about blew Diet Coke out of my nose reading that! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

BTW. You can fax in you application and have them expedite your application. They'll fax you your number the same day. I think it's like $19 extra. I did just cuz I was hot for my number. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Congrats! THAT'S a case o' beer! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Mine's "The Mistress" cuz my wife is jealous of her and I jump her on the weekends. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

They generally devolve into free for alls. On a given 4-way, we'll generally have me (at 70 jumps) one at around 100 one at around 60 and one around 30. So it gets into a lot of "who funneled the exit" kind of thing. Then it's basically a zoo dive from there on. If we do pull off a good exit, once we break to turn points it all goes to hell. I did just buy an RW suit and only have about 10 jumps on it. So some of my recent problem may be me getting used to the booties, 'cuz they do make a huge difference. I have found that after breakups I'm able to get down & dock up with the low person in pretty short order. A lot of this stems I think from a close call me and one of the people in my little group had a ways back. We nearly collided tracking down to a low person. He thinks it was my fault, I personally don't because he was off above & to my left when I started tracking and came out of nowhere on my right and in front when we almost collided. It was probably a good thing for me, because it *really* got me in the habit of looking around during tracks. He said he got over it, but I'm not sure he has completely. So now I think he thinks of me as some head-up-my-ass skydiver. Couple of examples. Just the other day we do a 3-way sit jump. I actually nailed the exit for once and look up only to see them way the heck above me. So I practice a couple hand turns and roll on my back once or twice, get right back into the sit. Do a cartwheel and absolutely nailed it. What do I get when we get back down? "We couldn't get down to you because you were tumbling." Huh? On another day, I come in for a landing and he goes "Kinda landed that crosswind didn't you?" Um, no. I was lined up with the socks and the rest of the jumpers. Stuff like that. Still that kind of stuff gets into your head ya know? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Thanks all. I have had success on 3-way with two other really experienced jumpers. I'm my own worst critic unfortunately, and I tend to beat myself down. Once I start to lose confidence I have a really hard time getting it back. So the coaching for confidence-building is a good suggestion. I think I just need to hear from someone who I trust & who has a lot of experience that I don't suck. I've had other experienced jumpers give me good marks, but I get back with my group and just re-lose what confidence I've gained. So I may need to branch out a little and try working with other people. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Congrats Pammi! Sounds like you had a lot of fun. A lot easier when you're the only low-timer in the group eh? I did a 3-way with some seriously experienced jumpers and we turned like 8 points. Still no dice on 4-way though. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Warning up front, I'm about to vent some frustrations, so if you hate to listen to people whine, you probably should move on to the next thread. OK. I've got 70 jumps now and I have yet to turn a single f#$%^ing point on anything bigger than a 3-way. To make matters worse, whenever I jump with the group that I normally hang with, we never get points turned. I'm convinced one person in my group thinks I can't do anything right. Not overt or anything, but on every jump there seems to be a little comment about how I was doing this or that (which many times I wasn't). It's really starting to give me a complex. I'm starting to believe this stuff. Maybe I just need to find another group of people to jump with or maybe I just truly suck at RW. I could get coaching, but I really don't want to spend my jump money on other people's tickets right now. In any event I've been trying my hand at freefly lately and it's been so liberating. The people are really nice and give me all kinds of tips. I don't need to scare up a group of people. I don't have to please anybody except myself. I sit on the freefly side of the plane and everyone's yukking it up, all loose and having fun. I look down and many, if not most of the RW people are so serious looking. I know why, they're mentally preparing, but you know what? I'm jumping to relax, not to get all tense. I have enough of that during the week. I'm not a quitter by nature, and there are many things about RW that I enjoy. And again, maybe I just need a different group. I dunno. I just know that on most of my RW jumps I wind up feeling dejected after debrief and after freefly jumps I come in smiling. Sorry to waste y'alls time, I just had to vent to somebody. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Funny thing about the door fear. The door seat is my absolute favorite seat on the plane. Great view, wave to everyone as you take off, cool breeze, no spotting worries. I love the door seat. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Maybe pointing at them & laughing? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Eh, you Noth Texas folks are a bunch of ninnies. Why here in Houston it's 500 F with 800% humidity. We have to wear asbestos jumpsuits because our rigs keep bursting into flames in freefall. The turn & tracks on the 10-ways look pretty cool from the ground though. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

You don't need no luck. It'll be great! Have a great time and don't forget to give us all a report! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie