strop45

Of course, much better to have people running around with no idea whatsoever what to do. IMO, everyone should do a first aid course, but of course I live in a country where you don't get sued for helping people. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

So if it isn't cocked or is tangled or is damaged to the point where it doesn't pull the pin, what good does manually pulling the pin do? The other situation is where a perfectly good PC is struck in your burble. Having a look has generally cleared this for me at about the time I'm looking back for my handles. Stay safe The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Not sure about your maths. If you deploy at 2500', then spend 5-6 seconds thinking, you will be at 1500-1600' when you start EPs. One of the things they taught me in AFF was 5 seconds =1000 feet. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

It seems to me that the main problem with the FMD "rule" is that it doesn't give any guidance on the landing pattern. If it is used with a bunch of other rules e.g. left/right hand pattern, no turns >90 degrees, no spiraling below 1000', first man down must land into wind, then maybe, just maybe it might be OK as it would be reasonably clear who was going to be the first man down and which direction they were planning to land. Overall it seems like a good idea that has gone past its use-by-date. Stay safe The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Agreed, but I think that everyone who skydives should have first aid training. IMO, this is a good idea because: 1) You might be first on the scene of an accident and help could take some time to arrive e.g. off landing 2) If you have some basic training, it helps focus you on what you should be doing when you come across an accident - this prevents panic which only makes things worse for the person hurt. So in the interests of your fellow jumpers, spent a few dollars and a few hours, attend a first aid course, learn something new, and maybe, just maybe they will return the favor. Of course I live in a country where you are extremely unlikely to be sued because of something you do, or don't do at the scene of an accident, but if this is one of your personal considerations, I hope that you can rise above it as at best it seems a perverse outcome of the legal system. Stay safe. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Even with a 747, the only way the manifest can be accurate is if it is submitted after the doors close. Up until boarding stops, some people will always change their minds and others may buy last minute tickets. If its in advance, it will not be 100%. I guess that any manifest submitted for a skydiving operation would just be considerably less accurate..... The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

This was during a boogie and HP landings were against the rules, everyone was supposed to flying standard left hand patterns. agreed - I was watching where I was going and the other people on the ground, see OP Yip, actually I suggested something altogether less friendly than taking a hop 'n' pop. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Some very good points in this thread, and I think there is a lot that can be learned from "close calls". In that light and the discussion on LZs, have a look at this http://nz.youtube.com/watch?v=BSvPK0uM3os. I had just returned from a wingsuit flight and flew a standard left hand pattern. At no stage in my approach did I see the other canopy. Plain and simple I fucked up, but got away with nothing more than a fright and a lesson for the future. The red arrow is the designated landing direction, which all jumpers are supposed to follow. The other jumper is one of those select few true "skygods". On a previous load, him along with his friends arranged it so that they were first out as despite the fact that they were freeflying, they "had highly loaded canopies and would be down first." I disagreed with their logic but was overridden so gave them a long delay, and still managed to just miss them landing downwind against the arrow. I discussed this with them, so am 100% certain that he knew which way they were supposed to be landing. In summary keep your head on a swivel is good advice. Stay safe, Wayne The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Fox Glacier, New Zealand The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Hi Granny Have a look at http://www.apf.asn.au/documents/pdf/Manuals/B_License_Manual_04.pdf Some useful drills for improving your RW skills. BTW I suck bigtime, but only at exits, freefall, and canopy flying. Blue ones. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

This is just a misuse/misunderstanding of statistics. 40% of deaths of the road involve alcohol, therefore 60% involve people who haven't been drinking, i.e. it is safer to drink and drive. Similarly more people die on the roads then skydiving, therefore skydiving is safer then driving. This is of course nonsense, you have to take into account the number of people doing an activity when calculating the probability of a particular outcome. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Agreed. The only silly question is one that doesn't get asked, although for a student, its better to ask your instructor than seek advice from the internet. I think that the most amusing thing here is the OP's assumption that he will be somehow be able to out-fly his instructor. On my final AFF jump, I remember feeling like I was tracking like a real pro only to finish the track and find my instructor back in my face giving me a thumbs-up. Blue Ones Wayne The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

I don't disagree with anything you have said, but the difference between a good coach and a bad coach isn't a couple of hours of training or a certificate. I'm no expert in teaching, but suspect that its more to do with empathy, being positive and finding the right teaching style for each person than had a few hours of instruction. Having said that, I personally jump at the chance to take any instruction, you can always learn something new, and sometimes it comes from people or places which are surpising. blue ones The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Go to a doctor or physiotherapist who specializes in sports injuries. I 'hurt' my right shoulder flying in a wind tunnel. After one day and about 30 minutes of air time, I could hardly lift my arm to place it on the steering wheel of the car. I went to the doctor who was about as much use as yours, then tried a physiotherapist who gave me 3 or four exercises to stretch and strengthen my shoulder and my rotor cuff. Once the pain had cleared I went to the Gym where they gave me a number of additional exercises to strengthen the shoulder. 12 months later and I'm as good as new now. Blue Skies Wayne. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Boy, I hope so too, at least unless they were pretty and willing. Seriously I can see Andy's point. If you have never knowingly broken a rule or two, then maybe its fair enough to criticize those who who do with such certainty and self-righteousness. But next time you jump though some industrial haze, exceed the speed limit in your car/motorbike, or otherwise break a rule or two, give a thought to those who use base gear from aircraft. I don't plan to ever use base gear from an aircraft, but I can see the reasons and rationale for so doing. Wayne The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

I think that you made some very good points and wonder whether many of the "train your eyes" replies actually read your post. It seems to me that using both your eyes and your alltimeters gives you the best result. Whether you use your eyes to check the mechanical/electronic or vica-versa seems like a moot point. One issue seems to be people who don't use either their eyes or look at their visual altimeter and rely on their audible. At least if you are using a visual one, you have a chance to pick up that its has failed. Regardless of everything else, using your eyes and knowing when you left the plane, you have a sense of how high you are and can tell if the altimeter is working. or showing nonsense. If you rely on an audible and it malfunctions, isn't turned on, set to the wrong height, fails off your helmet, or you don't hear it, then you are asking to become another post in the incidents forum. Personally, I'll keep using my eyes, my commonsense (my time sense was destroyed recently by flying a wingsuit, which made me check my altimeters with my eyes more than normal), my altimeter and my audible (set to 500' less than breakoff). Wayne. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Fair enough, but I'm not so sure that a wire fence with a barbed wire on the top is any worse than a solid block fence or solid wooden fence should you fly into it. Barbed wire fences are very common here and you couldn't draw any interference about its purpose or the thinking of its builder just from the fact that it had a barb wire on it. Maybe its different in the region around the DZ under discussion. At least you can climb over a barbed wire fence, an electric fence is a whole other kettle of fish. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

I agree 100%. Its his property and he should be able to do anything he likes with it within the law. Once the fence is there and the DZ is aware of the hazard, its up to the DZ to manage it. The suggestions from some posters would see him unable to use this property in any manner whatsoever as someone might want to land there. So now he can't park his car there, build a fence, graze cows, put a building just because someone might want to land there. IMO (not a lawyer), its up to the DZ to manage any hazard the fence produces, just the same as they manage the hazards caused by other buildings and obstacles on or near the air field. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

Woohoo, many thanks to Greg and Elaine Cox. At the Good Vibes Boogie in Motueka, New Zealand, Greg and Elaine provided a number of hire wing suits. Together with Tomas Zahradka they ran FFCs everyday and introduced many of us to the thrill of wing suit flying. That first flight bought back memories of AFF - simply amazing, but you all know that. The photo is just some of the people introduced to wing suits. I made 5 wing suits jumps at the boogie and others made up to 20 after completing the FFC. Amazing, thanks Greg, Elaine and Tomas The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

100% agree. Postings on these forums, especially by anonymous posters, carry about as much weight as "overheard in a bar". Sure they may give lawyers some idea of where to look and what questions to ask, but a good lawyer will find that information anyway. Personally, I think it would be a shame if these forums became less due to concern about lawsuits. While there is a lot of rubbish and nonsense in the postings, there is also an occasional gem and many opportunities for thinking and learning more about skydiving. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

IMO your analogy isn't a good one. I agree that when you lock the brakes up, you may or may not need the airbags. When you cut away you NEED to deploy your reserve, no if when or maybe. Your argument is primarily that you can deploy your reserve better/safer than an RSL will. Maybe/maybe not. There appear to incidents and examples to support both points of view, however there appear to be more examples where an RSL would help than where it would hurt. The same type of arguments can be applied to most safety devices - you can generally find examples where the safety device poses a hazard. This usually isn't an argument for not using the safety device, just one for being aware of its limitations. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

If you find being crammed into a skydiving plane in close contact with other skydivers offensive, well ........ The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

roughly 40% faster than the same jumper with the same canopy of 190 sq ft. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

IMO, its more about attitude and the way you go about "challenging anything", than just jump numbers. At my DZ, questioning is encouraged, know-alls of any jump number don't get much attention and don't have much influence on what happens. For example, I went to my first boogie at around 100 jumps. Landing pattern was left-hand and direction was supposed to be agreed for each plane load. A combination of light winds, three planes operating and poor communication resulted in people landing in every possible direction. I personally landed 180 degrees opposed to another jumper. This was mainly an error on my part, but only one of many potential landing/collision incidents. I asked why we couldn't use the student landing direction arrow (used if radio fails) to set a common landing direction. I did this in a quiet/questioning manner and while I didn't get an a hugely positive response, I did get listened to. Next boogie, the student landing arrow was used to set direction, and everyone had to land in the direction indicated. So don't expect everyone to immediately agree with you or do what you want, but do keep asking the important questions, what, how, why?? blue ones The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein

My mistake, it was a cypres 1. Canopy was a XF15 89 (cross braced 89 sq ft canopy from jojowings) not sure about precise wing loading but >2.2. Swoop was a 540 and started from 1100'. Yes, every landing is a swoop and he is making around 1000 a year at present. The other 999 didn't result in the cypres firing. BTW the regulations here now require all jumpers to have an AAD. The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." -- Albert Einstein