fpritchett64

Why do you need to wait until you can pass the APFT to enlist? Unless things have changed a lot since I went to basic training (about 6 years ago) all you need to start basic is 13 push ups, 17 sit ups and run a mile in 8 minutes. In order to graduate basic training, you will need to score at least 50% in p/u's, s/u's and the run, which I believe for your age range would be less than 35 p/u's in 2 minutes, around 49 s/u's in 2 minutes and run a 2 mile run in somewhere around 16 minutes. The thing is, nobody should have any trouble hitting those numbers after 9 weeks of basic. Then to graduate AIT, you will have to be at Army Standard (60% in all areas) just a few more p/u's, s/u's and a little less time on the 2 mile run. Although, if you're going 11B, I think you will go through a program where they combine basic and AIT into one course, but I still don't think you will have to pass the APFT before beginning your training, unless things have changed that much in the last 6 years.

Was she using fins or her tail to initiate the turn? Could it be possible that she dropped her tail, causing her to hit the other dolphin?

Does anyone know if this was a USFA member tank? How deep was the dolphin when she initiated the turn? Was she wearing swimming goggles? Did she have an AID (Automatic Inflatable Device)?

Well, I'm not quite to that point yet, but I am excited to at least feel them now. Hey, Andy, by the way, did you ever get in touch with Rick down at Emerald Coast?

Whats up everyone!! After a wonderful jump Saturday, first one from a Casa (BEER) I had 2 line twists on opening. I felt it during the snivel and was kicked out in no time, jumping a Triathlon 190. The cool thing about it was that I am beginning to recognize line twists during the snivel just from the feel of it. My question is: Is this pretty common for everyone else, being able to feel it? If so, how much experience did you have before you were able to "feel" them on opening? I think it's a great thing because you can react and begin correcting the problem before the canopy has even finished inflating.

I don't know whether it's legal or not, but why is the wait so long in this right turn lane? Chances are, it's because once the light turns green, the people in the turn lane don't know how to push the pedal on the right side to go. It sounds to me like the OP doesn't feel like waiting on them to decide what they want to do once the light turns green, so he improvises since he has places to go and things to do rather than lolligag around on the highway all day. Damn I've got serious road rage!!

Just curious, one other thing....how many of you...lets say, below 100 jumps who own a rig just take your rig home after a weekend at the dz, store it in your gear back and throw it to the side until the next weekend? I feel that everyone is making excuses as to why they don't pack or don't know how to pack such as, I want to jump more, my canopy is too slippery, etc...again, this is why I don't place blame on instructors..I just feel that not enough of us are taking an interest in the gear that saves our lives on every jump, and I'm just scared that this may prove dangerous to someone at some point if it hasn't already proven dangerous. If we don't know our gear, how can we honestly know what to expect out of it?

In order to jump, your rig has to be packed, if you're profficient at packing, you can pack your rig as fast or maybe faster than a packer can get to it. Unless you have 2 rigs. Do you have 2 rigs? Please dont misunderstand me, I am a packer at my dz and love having people to pack for, it helps me pay for my jumps, however I feel that just because you were checked off on packing to get your "A" doesn't necessarily mean that you will always know how to pack. If you've had enough practice packing, you shouldn't have any trouble making loads.

This is what I figured would be one of the major causes and should be 100% preventable, the whole point in me making this thread. How can you misroute a bridle if you're paying attention and know what you're doing? This is another reason I posted a separate thread in the safety and training section about shouldn't we know more about our gear?

My, my my...aren't we the pleasant one with the snide remarks to Gabor? I have no idea what type of PC/bridle you are using but on mine, the pin connetion point is fixed on the bridle and there is no opportunity to leave an optional amount of slack on the bag side of it. yea, this one was kinda confusing me a bit. On the d-bag to pin portion of the bridle, I'll leave whatever slack I'm able to leave. On the pin to PC portion, I always tuck everything in and leave no slack. We don't want anything catching air prematurely...right?

How many times have you demonstrated that you know how to pack? How many times have you packed any parachute since then? Edited to add: How many jumps are you trying to get in once you get home in the evening? If you are proefficient enough with your packing, you will have developed a method to get even the slipperiest of canopies into a d-bag. What do you do with you rig once you get home, stuff it into a gear back and into the closet until the next weekend? I guess this is why I don't blame instructors, because I trust that they're teaching the basics of what need to be known at that level, but it's up to the student to take the iniative to learn more. If you were proefficient enough at packing, you should be able to get that rig packed almost as fast as that packer, you can't jump it until it's packed again anyway..right? I passed my final exam in Spanish II in highschool, never messed with Spanish again after that. Do I still know all that Spanish I learned? I can count to 10 and say, "May I go to the bathroom." Ask me how thats relevant to your story

So, this I can see as maybe not being preventable, maybe having a little more control of the pc on throw out, maybe not, I don't have enough experience to really give my opinion, but if it can't be preventable, then that is only one scenerio with a reasonable excuse so far.

Again, it seems here from what you're describing, can be prevented with the correct combination of gear, or paying more attention to your gear...and, if the tension was too tight, again due to the closing loop, make it longer. IMHO, if it takes 2 people, 4 feet and 4 hands to close a container, the loop is too tight Am I not seeing the big picture, or is it more complicated than what I see, it just seems that this mal can be soo easily prevented and so many lives saved.

This may kinda be a grey area, so moderators, if you feel this should be in gear and rigging, please feel free to move this thread there, but I would like to keep this more so concentrated on the safety aspect of the sport. I know that I am a somewhat of a newbie, although I have been around skydiving since I was 13 and I probably have an advantage over most newbies, I'm still concerned and would like to know what could we do more or different to help educate our fellow newbies about their gear that they put on their backs. I'm really concerned at the number of people I've heard of just this week speak about not knowing exactly how their gear works, what the cutaway handle does, what the reserve handle does, what is an RSL, when should it be disconnected, etc. One converning comment that I heard in the incidents forum went something along the lines of, I don't know what my cutaway handle and reserve handle does, I just know that I pull one, then the other in the right order and I'm saved from certain death. How many people early in their skydiving career start having a packer pack for them before they're even proefficient at packing for themselves? How many of us newbies actually know how to give a proper gear check to other jumpers, let alone ourselves? What more can be done to ensure that we're fully aware of our gear and how it works so we're more prone to spot something wrong? I am by no means blaming anyone for this, especially instructors, because I am very confident that all of this is covered in the FJC and on every training dive thereafter, but I just worry that we as newbies don't show enough interest in our gear that saves our lives on every jump. One suggestion that I might be able to make that may help out, and please give your opinions on this as well, but it has to do with having someone else pack for you at an early level. Should we be allowing people with low jump numbers pay for a packer? Would this be a start, what else could we do?

Sorry Aggiedave, made my second post before I saw yours, I was thinking that as well, just forgot to include it

I also know that an uncocked pilot chute (again almost 100% preventable with a good packing routine) could possible cause a PC in tow, but then again..at terminal, wouldn't that at the bare minimum just cause a baglock? I know this would still be a high speed mal, but I think would be safer than a PC in tow since you should be able to get a clean cutaway from this type of mal

Hi After some discussion in the Incidents Forum on a recent fatality it got me to thinking, what all can cause a pc in tow, and can't this easily be prevented? I know some of the most common causes may be a bridle misrouted, closing loop maybe too tight or the container not closed in the correct order...with of course the bridle being misrouted in the closing pocess. All of these seem to be pretty easy to prevent. What else can cause a pilot chute in tow? It just seems that this mal can be almost 100% preventable.

If he enjoys big objects being shoved up his ass

Did anyone watch this episode last night. Some guy was brought in to a trauma center in Orlando after falling from a 10ft ladder and being impaled though his asshole by a tree branch. The branch had to be cut out in segments because it went so deep. Docs said it stopped just centimeters from his heart. The only major damage was a tear in the bladder. All I can say is damn that had to hurt!!

Thanks so much to everyone for all of the kind words. It really helps out a lot. I called my mom more times yesterday than I normally call her in a month and I'll probably check in on her again in a few minutes. This is just the first pet that I've lost as an adult and it just really shocked me that it hurts just as much as losing a best friend, brother, sister, etc.. Now, if tomorrow would just hurry up and get here so I can go fall out the door of an airplane, I know that'll lift my spirits.

Well, my mom just called me and informed me that one of her cats that has been in the family since I was 10, I'm 23 now got hit by a car this morning. Shes devastated and I'm actually surpised that it's difficult for me to keep a dry eye. I've been to more than several funerals in my life, mostly when I was younger, even losing a grandmother when I was 10 whom I was extremely close to didn't cause me to bat an eye. My best friend was killed my junior year in highschool, and that really tore me up, but other than that, I'm usually not that emotional. Why the hell does it bother me so much over losing a cat that I hardly ever see anymore anyway?...Damn this sucks!

mmmm...boobs

I thought it was kinda odd that they went back to the old way of landing, in a capsule under a parachute. Think they'll use ram airs this time?

F-Word!!!! CASE OF BEER!!!! I know I know...I've gotta be careful with that word. I have started trying to find other ways to describe "Firsts" without using "First"....it's kinda difficult, and sometimes just plain impossible.