RandomLemming

Hi all, I know a load of ex-skydivers hang out here, but I guess this could be addressed to any addiction group really :) I've hit a point where I have to pack up skydiving but it's more a case of circumstances dictating than a preferred choice, and as with all things we love doing, it stings a little. I'm looking for advice on how you managed your exit. I guess for some people, it's a case of fear or injury, which I would think (hope?) makes it easier. But I'm really interested in hearing from those who had to quit when they didn't want to, and what they used to divert themselves or get past the longing :) And yes, I'm aware that 'Staying off of DZ.com' would be a good start, and I do plan to... I just need to flog my gear and get some advice on the way out :)

The main DZ I jump at is quite cliquey, and I'm planning to move to a new one when they open back up in March, but I do think people in the UK do seem to do a lot more solos than anywhere else I've ever been. Getting on jumps in the US, Spain and South Africa has always just seemed easier to me - Look at the load sheet, find anyone else doing a solo, and trying and make a group - it normally works. Part of my problem is that I don't know the best way to approach this in the UK. I know that some DZs want _everyone_ on an RW jump to have their FS1, other DZs are happy for the official rule of 1 non-FS1 in a group. The final, and biggest problem is me... I'm dead scared of asking someone else to jump and getting laughed or sneered at. Which is funny in light of the fact that I'm about to jump out of a plane from 13000ft, but I'm scared of people :( I'm also always worried about ruining a jump for someone and wasting their money, and I figure if _they_ ask _me_ then I feel less bad. Of course, if I screw it up, it's a waste just the same... One thing I have done every where I have been is try and jump with new jumpers, because I know how it feels to be standing on the flight line not knowing anyone, and doing your 5th solo in a row.

I was out there in 2006, around August, and I found it very slow during the week. I think they were only doing about 4 / 5 loads a day before the winds grounded them, so it's not really what I'm looking for.

I don't do this because I'm a 100 jump wonder, and I worry that I would offend someone by asking to jump with them.

Hi all, I've got 6 days leave that I'd like to spread to create two long weekends for jumping this year (so 2 x 5 day trips) I'm just looking for somewhere that I can get a load of jumps in. Empuriabrava is nice when the weather holds, but it sure does get winded out sometimes :) I know we don't have anything like Perris or Eloy out here, but what is the best bang for buck for a couple of short breaks?

I'm not arguing that it adds a level of complication or additional risk. What I am hoping to argue is the disparity between the regulations of various regions, as well as the current system used to measure readiness. My argument is that if 50 jumps and the ability to pack, land within a 15ft radius, read a map and do a flightline check make you safe enough, then why doesn't 100 jumps and an FS1 (formation skydiving certification)? What is the difference in risk profile between a jumper at 50 jumps with their B license, and a jumper with 100 jumps and an FS1 with regards to wearing a full face helmet? One of these qualifications demonstrates less experience but familiarity with equipment on the ground under controlled conditions. The other demonstrates more experience and the ability to deal with dynamic situations in the sky, as well as awareness and shared airspace. Yes, I've only got 100 jumps, but that doesn't mean that my arguments are not logical or without merit. All I will be asking is for a logical refutation of my points, and I'm quite prepared to accept the outcome. As it stands though, I'm mostly hearing "Because we've been doing this for longer and know better." I'm all for accepting wisdom and learning from other people's mistakes, but I want more than "Trust us, we know best" without any empirical evidence to back up the arguments. The last bunch of people that told me "Trust us, we know what's best for you" are the same bunch that arrest people under the terrorism act for walking on the cycle path. Finally, this has nothing to do with wanting to look like the cool kids. This has _everything_ to do with a FF helmet being more suitable than some of the alternatives under certain very rare circumstances for some people.

That's all well and good when you're jumping at your home DZ, but what do you do if you're a nomad, or jumping away from home?

Packing is a requirement to get your CH2. CH2 is a requirement to get your B :)

If it's working on Linux now, I'll give it another try. The Paralog website still shows a grayed out penguin for Neptune 2 support though.

Thanks all - that's useful information...

... loot, pillage and engage in orgies ? :D It's not so much that I believe the regulation is foolish, just that it is not justified in a way that is relevant to the restriction. I am most certainly doing my best to improve, including taking part in canopy courses and working on my B license. Availability of instructors at my primary dropzone is an issue with this, with the JM course only being run twice in the last year as far as I remember, and my shift work keeping me away from both of those. My reason for posting here is to get a sampling of what is required in other countries so that I can begin to investigate further and present a cohesive, researched argument to the restriction, as well as a reasoned alternative. By the time I present this, I doubt it will still be applicable to me, but at the same time, I don't see why future skydivers should suffer under rules that make no sense (in context) just because I had to.

All, We're having a fairly impassioned debate on another forum right now about the UK regulations surrounding full face helmets. I'm keen to get a better understanding of the requirements in other countries that have to be met before you can jump a full face. In the UK, I need a B license. This means that I need 50 jumps, have to be able to pack, be able to carry out a flightline check and be able to do a declared landing within a 15 foot radius 5 out of 10 times. If I cannot do 1 of these things even at 100 jumps, I still cannot jump with a FF helmet. I'm not sure what it is about the ability to do a flightline check (as an example) that would suddenly make me safe to move from an open face helmet to a full face one, but there you have it.

The Neptune software flat out doesn't work on OS X, but I'm not too worried about that. On the odd occasion that I need to do a firmware update, I grab one of the 20 IrDA dongles from my drawer and visit a mate. I'm trying to get something working that will let me download my jump logs. Paralog would be ideal, but there is no hardware support. In my opinion, the major value of things like the neptune, the altitrack and the protrack is that they let you get your data off of them and store it. I've contacted Alti-2 about getting the IR and data format spec from them, and I'm willing to agree to an NDA if required. At least then I'll be able to produce some software on Linux to get the data off and usable.

I've gone down all of those paths. The recommended devices are either no longer available, or not supported on the last 2 revisions of Mac OS X. The response from both Klaus and I think Peter from Alti-2 is that if you can get a supported IrDA dongle, it will just work. There-in lies the catch. This is how I've ended up with about 300 quid worth of IrDA dongles in my desk drawer.

Ahhhh, ok - now I know what that is. When we were shown that in packing training, they explained what to check for and how to check the lines, but they didn't tell us it had a name. My standard line checks should keep me from doing that, but I'll do this deliberately when I get my rig back just to make sure that my checks cover this. I always make sure that the lines from the top riser (when rig is on the ground for packing) go to the rear of the canopy, the lines from the bottom riser go to the front of the canopy and that there are no twists in the lines from the risers, up through the slider and from there to the connection points on the canopy. Yeah, it takes me longer to pack than most, but I'm a coward, and it keeps me from sweating too much :D

This is going to depend entirely on how your Altitrack communicates with the machine. I have an alt-2 neptune, which uses IR, so as a result it is useless with my Mac because there are no IR dongles available in the UK right now that work with the latest (Leopard) and previous (Tiger) versions of OS X. I've got about 20 in my desk drawer at the moment. I'm trying to write a driver for one of them, but it looks like I have to implement the entire IR stack at the moment and I'm tempted to switch the development focus to Linux, where a stack already exists. Apple aren't being too helpful, and have rejected my support request as being a problem for the manufacturer of the device, despite having a premier ADC account.

Stupid question, but what is a step through ?

I'm so sorry ... There were so many times when I was ready to walk away from skydiving because of the attitude and the people, and Tonto was one of the two people who kept me in this sport. If anyone has contact, please pass on my deepest condolences to his children - they are wonderful human beings! They probably just know me as the crazy foreign english guy if they remember me at all :( Blue Skies forever.

I was in California for 2 weeks in early April last year, and the weather was just foul for most of that time. We had 3 good days. I did my AFF on one of them (Thanks Ed!), jumped at Elsinore on another and spent the third at the beach. The other 11, well, they don't bear remembering!

Yeah, but has anyone EVER lost anything at your home dropzone ? I've never seen so much empty space from above in my whole life...

I'm sure that the UK has a 180 day repack cycle, which includes a full inspection of the rig, and I'm not aware of any increase in incidents in the UK over locations with a shorter repack period. I might be wrong though - I've been running around Africa for too many months now, and I'm not current right now :(

Not to throw stones at anyone, but take a look at people like Tonto and Ed (bodypilot). They both approach skydiving differently to most other instructors I've had to deal with. They both really seem to care about what their students do. They still seem to care about their students even when they're off student status and no longer worth any money to them. I've been to at least one place where not only did I not feel looked after, I felt lied to and robbed. That didn't really encourage me to stay in the sport. I've been to a couple of places where if I'm not there every single weekend come rain or sunshine, I'm not going to get any instructor time. Not even to sign off my packing license, not even now that I've got the job down to 30 minutes and done the last 20 packjobs by myself. That brick wall of progression doesn't encourage me to stay. And yet I can still drop Ed a line asking inane rubbish, and somehow he finds the time to at least point me in the right direction. This is well after a year after I stopped being worth money to him! You've probably got your own Ed or Tonto, but I'm sure everyone here knows an instructor or a DZO who is the Anti-Ed, the Anti-Tonto... That guy who treats the students like nothing more than a cash cow at best or an inconvenience at worst. How many times has someone on here been told that if they don't grow a thicker skin, they have no future in skydiving ? So now we don't just want to restrict ourselves to the people who are prepared to jump out of planes (always a limited portion of the population), we want to further whittle that away by restricting it to people who'll take abuse or accept being dealt with without tact? Genius! I love the sport too much to walk away, but I can see why people go. I can see why another weekend at the DZ with no-one to speak to if you're shy can push you out. I can see how an entire weekend of people walking past and staring at you but not saying a word or introducing themselves could be awkward. If you can stare at my wife's chest all weekend, surely it wouldn't kill you to say Hi and introduce yourself? Oh, I forgot - she's a whuffo so she's not worth anything. I really understand why people walk away. But I've seen how easy it is to keep them too and it's really not that hard.

To be honest, even I'm not sure how serious I am. Our marriage is pretty solid, but I just can't help but feel that she could do better. Hell, I was surprised as all get out that she agreed to marry me, for just that reason. The rut is pretty permanent. Because I'm a contractor, there are no chances for promotion or advancement within a company. With regards to the industry, it's just weird... There's also the issue of the UK work ethic, which makes the African run appealing. I HATE the slopey shoulders, 'more than my jobs worth guv' attitude that pervades most companies I've worked for. I HATE (to the point of real boiling anger) the HSE (Health and safety executive) and the 'pussification' of the country that I see every day. And I hate the fact that 90% of people I come into contact with on a daily basis would probably fail a turing test. We're talking real zombies here. Africa has an energy and spirit to it that I miss almost every day. The downside is that some of that energy is borne from desperation and that can make the continent an interesting place in the context of the ancient chinese curse. But at least you feel truly alive right up until the moment you're dead :)

I'd actually be doing the tech work - someone else has already done the selling bit. But yeah, I'd be doing stuff I have no idea about - that's one of the plusses though :)

Heh - On a serious note, I would have kidnap insurance as well :)