Trae

Are any military jumpers getting with the wingsuit program? Halo insertions could take on a whole new meaning. Strap some micro jets on and then ......??? (shhhhhh)

in reply to "The only way to learn is to 'fly' out of a plane (or off a cliff). Unlike RW/Freefly, where windtunnels are becoming (or already are) the number one training-tool." ........................................ Perhaps some-one will get with it & design something similar to a wave pool but with air instead of water. Instead of a vertical tunnel a very strong breeze is directed up an angled /shaped slope . Flyers could stand at the top of the and pop onto the lift when it's their turn....fly around a bit and swoop off when times up.

Ground training tips...Get friendly with your team by all squeezing into a very small car ...with rigs on. ......Do a lot of strectching before the jumps. In the sky.. Help your team-mates perform at their best..by being ready to absorb some impacts. Grow eyes in the back of your head.

May he rule long and well. Now who's gonna be the next ruler of OZ I'd vote for Christian's Dad .. he seems like a genuine nice guy & a decent role model.... and even looks like a royal. God knows we need a decent leader over here..... why doesn't he give us one.?

Seeing huge heavy AFF instructors trying to skydive with lightweight studends can look very unprofessional. Similarily lightweight instructors are going to have issues with very heavy students. Lead may solve some of these probs but better to maintain range by other methods eg heavy/ large I's and S's together . Lightweight I's and S's the same. Horses for courses. I've seen instructors who strapped lead onto their students in their efforts to get relative. This type of thing can be difficult to deal with if its the podgy CI wanting to jump with the pretty svelte female student. As for letting go unintentionally ..shyte can happen . If it was a regular occurance the instructor needs some more instructing/experience and perhaps sidelininguntil they re-prove themselves. The reverse can happen too. I had my nose broken by a JM who was supposed to let go but didn't. He kept flapping up and whacking into me. If I'd let go I would have been the irresponsible one. End result a very uncomfortable skydive for all. I felt I could have easily dealt with the situation if he had let go as per training. If instructors don't have highly developed freefall skills all sorts of undesirable things are going to happen ...often invisibly. It's so easy to blame the student and some low-skills rely on this too much. Well run operations will keep a close watch on their new recruits. In the back blocks sometimes anything can happen.

Alex is long overdue to become an anti-moderator in his own forum. Idea for forum name "Hell Hath No Fury" community forum. Let Alex make the rules and be the only moderator..... demi god like go there at your peril or some fresh air. Go Alex..... the truth don't hurt ......but it does Suck......a lot. hey yo git those pins outa that dolly.

in reply to " One thing that bothers me is how so many people this year failed to correctly perform their EP's all the way, or lost track of altitude. " .............................. Apart from students it's not so common to see skydivers practicing their emergency procedures at least not in public on the DZ. It would seem prudent to do this just prior to each and every jump. It only takes a few seconds (or less) and is a good reminder for any-one no matter what skill or experience level. Seeing highly experienced skydivers quickly running through their emergency procedures prior to emplaning is something that looks VERY sensible. Perhaps we can all set a good example by doing this.....before EVERY skydive.

in reply to "From Section 2-1: Basic Safety Requirements and Waivers Part E. Student skydivers 1. General [E] a. All student training programs must be conducted under the direction and oversight of an appropriately rated USPA Instructor until the student is issued a USPA A license. b. A person conducting, training, or supervising student jumps must hold a USPA instructional rating according to the requirements….. 6. Students training for group freefall a. All student freefall training for group freefall jumps must be conducted by a USPA Coach under the supervision of a USPA Instructor. b. All students engaging in group freefall jumps must be accompanied by a USPA Coach until the student has obtained a USPA A license. ................................. Does this mean that by these rules a person with 23 jumps could participate in say a 100 way if he was accompanied by a rated coach?

Sounds good

Thankyou for posting this here. Your situation brought up some stuff for me. I woke up once lying tied to a hospital bed . My first reaction was to try and get up and out. A nurse appeared and told me brashly to stop moving as I had a broken back. I felt my life disappearing in the following realisation of not being able to ever walk again. I fell apart. they moved me to a problem ward. I had been a highly active person and a keen spearfisher as well as skydiver. I was in my early 20's . To say I was devastated is putting it mildly. Life? what sort of a life was I going to have compared to the one previously enjoyed.? My parents arrived from half way across the country and after a bit of more reasonable communication with the doctors and nurses I was told that I would be able to walk after all. The sadistic nurse was no-where around. It took a while but eventually I could RUN. Then I went back skydiving . Instead of being a complete sky imp that didn't want to live to be 30 ('cause it was too old) I turned into a cautious person out of necessity. I don't mind telling people what I think ....usually... especially if I think it'll stop them from having to learn things the way I did. I still hurt... all the time. but now I know what's important . Every moment has it's joys. Welcome to a select club mate . Once you arrive you know you're not alone but it's still lonely. Not many can share your pain but you'll find them. You know what's meant by live every moment. It's not because it may be your last it's because its yours. PS love the bit about skydiving being a spiritual experience ...same for me.

How about carbon fibre scales that slide over each other with an internal frame of some sort. Opened a bit like a folding fan . Top and bottom skinning. retracted onto back and front. This could provide a semi-solid wing that would still be flexible and totally adjustable by the pilot. Similarly the leg wing could be made of several segments that slid together and apart. Bit like an exo-skeleton.

Not planning 6 months ahead has made me have to choose between the best /most desirable with wait ; some-one who can deliver fairly quickly and still supply top gear; or going 2nd hand. No fault of any manufacturer Thanks for the great replies and help with this you guys are I'm gonna pop my cherry on that big rock over there.

nice one

in reply to "Explosive movements are not the objective, at least according to my instructional outlines. The idea is to get the student to lead an organized exit. We can teach it with limited movement on the ground, but once in the airplane anything goes as the student will sometimes make no movement, and sometimes get "explosive." ................. Its the excessive movement that got my attention...on more than one occassion and at more than one DZ. As a taught skydiving habit it just looks unpro and a risk magnifier. Good to hear a well rounded reply . This is no huge widespread prob perhaps & is most likely only an issue with the less experienced instructors &/or operators. in reply to "we as a community of experienced jumpers need to coach them to calm it down" I'll second that

Any-one know which manufacturers deliver new gear in the time span as advertised? In need of a reliable manufacturer recommendation after hearing a few horror delivery stories.

This could work for a nice slow canopy with good flaring characteristics. Might even help some non-disabled people.

in reply to "Did you get the feeling they looked down on you at all?? " Depends a bit on why they stopped. One friend got a bit nasty .He had gone to fat and it seemed obvious to me that his commitment to his wife and kids had done it to him. i used to wish he'd just do a jump occassionally but he swore never again. He didn't like seeing a free spirit getting around enjoying himself. In some places skydivers are considered the lowest of the low in the Air-sports world. This is usually because of bad behaviour from a few temporary visitors. Some people have very different (read not pleasant ) experiences on DZ's and think if you like it there you must be as bad as what they experienced.

in reply to "But think. If you wear an AAD when was the last time you thought, while having a mal "Well, Ive got an AAD, so I wont bother getting my reserve out myself". We all fuck up from time to time, its only human, so why not just have it for that fuck up? " ....................... AAd's have their place. if you feel better with one that's OK by me. I just don't appreciate being told I HAVE to have one especially when those doing the telling aren't aware of how we got on when they weren't common. For tandems and student training they seem like a very good way to cover yourself and do the best thing by your passenger or student. Somehow it seems that people with aad's are somewhat less safety conscious & aware of safety issues in areas other than AAD use. .. such as risk management and reduction. . eg The need for a hard hat before AAD's became common place indicated that you were a novice skydiver (barring some exceptions ) who needed to get more experience before you could jump without a crash dome. Have a look at some of the older pre cypres days photos/videos and you'll notice a distinct lack of hard hats on experienced skydivers. The early Sky Calls books are one place to look. People made up for no AAD's by being more skillful and more safety conscious. as well as being more aware of their sky buddies true abilities. The loss of this trend and other safety related tendencies eg allowing novice to fly HP canopies, is also concerning . Now much more crash and bash goes on and is apparently acceptable because we're wearing AAD's. The price of progress.

in reply to "Your remarks show your not an AFFI are you. The movement is totally safe, .................................using this technique or one very close to it. " .................. Ho hum ...guessed wrong. Your comments show some need to assert your dominance..... but would it matter if I wasn't AFF.? slightly off issue and into ????? Just think of me as a concerned skydiver. In my books Up Down Go needs work. The reason I posted here about this is 'cause I've noticed how UP DOWN GO looks unsafe especially on some aircraft and with some people . All that scraping of handles and excess movement in the door. This endangers others & is basically bad airmanship...especially in the long term. Your up down go may be very different from the scrape Up scrape down explode go that is on display in some places. If translated on into general skydiving with all the same excessive movement & lack of handle security it just looks unecessarily dankerous to my eyes. Many trained AFF students are passed but just don't know how to exit an aircraft and stay stable. 'Up down explode' habits then need removing and may even contribute to potential tail strikes on some aircraft. Totally safe??? Is this the same sport we're talking about?

in reply to "Tell me more about tension release technique." ............................. This is mainly about limiting unecessary movement at / in the door... for reasons most of us would see as obvious eg accidental R or C/A handle actvation. It also can ensure a better exit & getting a nicely controlled exit is a good start to most skydives. Rushing climb-outs / exits due to multiple groups exiting doesn't simplify the process. However a group can create it's own moment of calm just before going. Once everyone is in position and grips taken some communication between all is required. If done well this moment of in-control calm can be extended to the whole skydive. I feel the need to get a BIG launch at exit is over stated at least for small groups. With some aircraft it can be dangerous if lightweights jump up and out. Wild throwings into the relative wind isn't good for controlled drag-out exits. Creating the moment of calm communication where you allow your body to feel the others in the dragout can make a skydive much less stressful for the student in particular. No screaming / yelling in ears required. Ready Set Go. (substitute any words you like its nailing the feeling/ looking /feeling that is important) Ready is every-one with grips and every-one knowing each other is ready . Set is the application of slightly increased muscular tension . Some holding-onto-the-aircraft tension already exists it is just increased slightly. This will pull the individuals together slightly. This is where each individual becomes more connected with each other. If done together each individual will feel / become part of the bigger group. Go is the controlled release and directing of this now grouped extra tension. (tension don't mean stress . If you are fit and strong you will still be way inside your comfort zone. ) I know this is nothing new but it does work. I've been in some edgy 4way teams where we only had to look at each other . Designated person would nod and off we'd go... no need for an explosion at launch just a timed exit in unison. minimal movement and NO 'up down go.' Easy to say....... in practice this takes practice. That's where the mock-ups are so good and cheap to use. 'Monkey see monkey do' can go a long way here. Any student and many others would do well to watch the good guys practise at the mock-ups. You may notice that the better rel teams are very efficient at climbing out and going without fuss.

in reply to "Have any suggestions on AFF exits? " ..................... Similar to 'up down go' just not so much upping & downing. These can be replaced with a more controlled tensioning and more athletic releasing.... rather than the more panicked looking UP DOWN GO. So after the checks, slight tensioning and release. Take the apparent panic out of it ... for the instructors as well. inreply to "I thought the "hot 4-way" technique was "shake, down, out"? There is no "up" involved AFAIK. ..................... planted a feather thought he'd grow a chicken, My feeling on drag outs is just that a feeling. 4 different people or 3 in AFF become as one. The latest words can't beat the required feeling. Not much movement is needed to get it.