Bill_K

I need to post the video I guess. My head is moving a good deal to include a couple more looks at the closest wind sock even after I turn on final. I suppose it's possible that I was fixated, however the video pretty clearly shows him standing still and a nice opening where I was going, and then he unexpectedly starts walking. He did not start moving until well after my final was established however!

Ouch. I've watched my own video three or four times and I may post it here. I was fine until he started walking and I never saw him look up until I yelled down to look out, which point he did stop until I'd finished landing... I do think had he been looking he would not have started walking in the first place though.

Yes, you are right. I over reacted a bit. I thought I was bringing up a good reminder, but I guess that only set myself up to get cracked on. No biggy, lesson learned.

Well hell then, lets let anybody and everybody run willy nilly around the landing area. Then if somebody gets hit, well shit it had to be the canopy pilots fault. I took responsibility in the first post and said I should have picked a spot further out. I also said that I learned or was reminded of my mistake on subsequent jumps as well. Oh and in two canopy course that I've taken so far I was taught this little tool called a flare turn. I used it here and it worked out fine, stood the landing up and turned and asked the guy if he saw me. To which he responded yes. I'd say that my video says otherwise though. But your right it was 100% my fault. I should have picked a different spot...

Nowhere does it say I did a carving turn. I mentioned it, but I guess I should not have. A low flare turn is what I used to go around said jumper. I only posted to try and be a help and to serve as a reminder that the skydive is not over until your back on the packing mat and packing.

Again, I was not fucking swooping. I made a flare turn, you know one of those turns where you start the turn while also starting you flare, to do exactly what I did here, avoid hitting somebody. At 310 jumps and a wing loading of 1.2 and exactly one downsize and over 200 jumps on my current canopy, my whole comment was when your in the landing area, plz watch and stand still. And for what's it worth on my next jumps I landed much further out and took the walk. Why do people ASSume that I must have been swooping...

NO, I don't fucking swoop. I guess I should have put that in my first post. Hell it was not even a 180 or anything else. It was a standard pattern with 90 degree turns. Period!!

Just a reminder for newer jumpers and in some cases some not so new jumpers. Keep your head on a dam swivel when walking in the landing area!! Low carving avoidance turns around somebody not paying attention can hurt or worse... I guess the fault is probably my own for not landing further out and taking the walk. Still though stopping and standing still when somebody is coming in on final is what I was taught and what I do. Experienced jumpers should know better. Yesterday: I had a nice clear spot and was setup perfectly to make my spot, then unexpectedly a jumper who had landed before me and had picked his gear up started walking right across my line headed for others that were on his skydive. His back and side were turned to me. At 50-75 feet I started yelling to watch out and he finally turned; but I was still forced to make an avoidance turning flare, which worked out fine. Had he not stopped and/or I not changed course I would have hit him!! It was a good reminder to me the importance of standing still and watching the traffic behind you!! I was on a wing suit jump and was last down, when I setup for that spot the only other person still in the air was the other wing suit pilot. I picked my spot while on down wind as it was a clear area... My skill bucket is a little fuller and my luck bucket a little more empty today I guess...

Clinton was impeached. Dec 19th, 1998. The Senate then over turned it in Feb of the next year, but history books will show that he was indeed impeached.

Dam Bill, that's saying something, 16 years and 5500+ and you still say that... I hope that I'm fortunate enough to have as long a skydiving career...

Nick, I'm in the middle if you will. I waited until I had 200+ before I put a video camera on. I still don't jump a still. I have recently, in the last 20-25 jumps started working with our S&TA and lurking his tandems to work on videoing. I have spent so much time ignoring that I even had a camera on that now I'm having to 're-learn' how to fly and get the shot. Thankfully he is letting me go jump with them when he does not have video and then coaching me on what I can do to improve my flying so that I'm first safe and second getting the shot. The one thing that I've learned so far is that getting a good shot is a LOT harder than it looks. BTW safety has not been an issue that has come up. He's mentioned some things not to do to remain safe, but nothing that I was doing so far. Anyway, sorry if you feel that the limb has been cut away.

Way to go DSE, that's awesome!! Oh and the talking in free fall... well the first time I heard Marion yelling at me in free fall was pretty dam cool. We've had many a good laugh about that and the video is pretty cool too.

Try this, Saturday night (tomorrow night) after jumping is done for the day, go grab two beers from the normal storage location. Then go track down one of the instructors at your local DZ and start talking to them. Ask questions aimed at learning, like at my level, what kinds of things should I be working on. (Then shut up and let them talk!!) Next Saturday, pick another instructor and repeat. Oh and work on what they say. I'll bet the next time you go back, they'll be more than willing to give you a few pointers. Heck every now and then they get to do a normal fun jump and you never know, they may come invite you to jump with them. (disclaimer, if your instructor like Diet Coke instead of beer, that might work a little better. )

At 100 jumps I personally did not feel ready. I was a current CFI/I at the time, but with only 100 jumps and not a lot more still, I'm just now getting to the point where I'm wanting to take the coach course. Was I a bad or unsafe skydiver at 100 jumps? Shrug, many of those that I jump with were encouraging me to get my rating back then. I think I can pass the course now, but more importantly, I think I can help others become, 1. safer, and 2. better skydivers now. Back then I don't think I knew how much I did not know about the sport. Now with a little more time in the sport, I realize there there is MUCH that I don't know, but I also know how to go about finding and learning those things.

One thing that seems to be missing here though, to get the CFI you MUST pass the practical with an examiner. During that time he can have you do just about anything. I promise you that if the examiner is worth his salt, he'll know if you can teach or not, regardless of if you were or are a professional teacher before sitting for the CFI/I ratings.

I jump an HC-32 every weekend. It does pretty well I guess. I have a Rawa and am still playing with different lenses for it. As for step down rings, you can find lenses with a 25mm thread pattern or you can find just about any size step down ring you need. I just bought a 0.38x wide angle lens that has a 37mm back thread and step it down with a 25mm to 37mm ring like this one.

So that is why Don was throwing that cane in the dumpster late Saturday night... I KNEW there had to be a reason... that guy... geez. He should know by now that he needs to break it on your head to do any good... JK of course. I would never advocate beating a woman... well most of the time anyway. Hugs...

Shit, I've had weekends where I know that I've paid $100+ in packing alone for a weekend of skydiving. In fact my packer was asking me this past weekend when I was going to do that again. Guess he likes it too! Of course I 'found' skydiving after I already had a career too... Spending the kids college fund is a great way to fund skydiving.

Very well said Jen and DSE!!

Has anybody told you what a DGIT is yet? I hate to say that you sure sound like one, but... Did I officially make the list of "Dead Guy in Training"? Do I get a prize? I'm afraid the prize is not something to be proud of. As for making the list... shrug, only you can say. The tone of your posts here suggests that your pushing beyond your own personal limits though. Limits that from the sounds of it you've not yet established.

So what happened to this (from other thread): Has anybody told you what a DGIT is yet? I hate to say that you sure sound like one, but...

Now please address the fact that the things that are deemed "less dangerous" are actually killing more people than those deemed "dangerous." That leaves society to have to answer the question, "Which problem do we tackle first?" To a 1-year-old child, who can't even handle a gun or make it fire, a swimming pool is FAR more dangerous (statistically and realistically) than a gun is. Gasoline is everywhere. People have it stored at their homes, it's in their cars, it can be purchased without age restrictions or background checks, by everyone from the very sane to the horridly insane. It is more dangerous than guns are. But gasoline itself doesn't kill as many people as guns do, does it. Probably not by ingestion, and also probably not by arson. But since it's more dangerous than guns are, should we be focused more on controlling it than we on controlling guns? No, we should probably deal with the things that kill the most people, soonest. Last time I checked, a gun, of any type, took a HUMAN to either physically or by some other means setup and cause it to fire. Therefore if your going to deal with the things that kill the most people you need to start by dealing with the people. Public hangings would probably be a good start... or better yet, firing squads... sigh. People always want to turn guns into the problem, but the problem is the people that use them. Always has been and always will be.

Various beginner to intermediate suits so far, most on a PF Acro. Loading a Sentry 190 at ~1.2. I deploy at 3500 to 4000 or higher as I like that 'extra' time to deal with anything that may arise. I'm sure in time I'll maybe take it down to 3, but likely no lower. I like altitude, it's my friend.

How true, how true... the closest that I'll ever come to being a somebody is the fact that my first name happens to be Bill. I share that name with some famous and infamous guys alike... Heads back for a second bag of pop-corn and back into lurk mode. Oh and BTW, it's the people in skydiving that keep me coming back...