jdfreefly

I prefer to call them suicide bombers. To each their own. Methane Freefly - got stink?

The sim used to refer to the D as an expert license. Regardless of if it still does or doesn't, it is still too easy to get in my opinion. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Big difference between a 180 and a 30 degree front riser turn. There is no rule out there that says you have to have a D license. If you don't want to ever touch your fronts, don't get one. As far as adding a CRW, a big way RW, and Freefly component to the D license, I'm all for it. It is too damn easy to get that little card that claims you are an expert skydiver. I would even be all for having an E license with all those requirements. But that is an alltogether different subject. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I like the wing loading portion of this. I'm not so sure about the front riser requirements. I would be worried it would encourage people to get involved with front riser maneuvers who would have otherwise stayed away from them. That doesn't mean I am dead set against the idea, just uncertain. Maybe add a rear riser landing to the C or D requirements. I feel like it is a skill people should learn and they generaly don't. Also, in the instructor manual, we would want to add a reference for teaching. I know you have your 7 things people should be able to do before downsizing. Things like that need to be in there. There should also be a section on the progression of getting to know a new canopy, ie - what drills to cycle through to familiarize yourself with the new smaller canopy you just started jumping. edit - bills list has 7 things, not 10 Methane Freefly - got stink?

You found a daughter? How odd. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Downside: Living near bankruptcy for the first 5 years I was in the sport. Close friends who don't jump are not as involved in my life as they used to be. Haven't gone sking since I started. The only camping I do now is at a dz. I will walk with a bit of a limp for the rest of my life and probably have arthritis in my ankle very early. Scared the hell out of my family and friends by nearly killing myself. Emotional pain over losing girlfriends I thought were "the one", although I realize now I was fortunate it ended when it did(this really belongs in the upside portion). Got to experience the wonderfull feeling of losing close friends to stupidity. Upside: I met my current boss at the dz and thanks to my current job, have been financialy stable for the past 2 years, sort of. Met some really great people and made some great friends. Met my current girlfriend at the dz and thank the stars that those previous relationships went south due to skydiving. I have seen sunsets from 13,000 feet, you just can't beat that! Things I used to get sick worrying about just don't seem that big. I smile a lot more than I used to. I have been places and seen things that I never would have without skydiving in my life. I have taken about 200 people on their first skydive, that is very special. About twice a week, I get to go out and just play. How many 30 year old men get to do that? Surviving an accident that you saw coming and thought was going to kill you gives you a whole new perspective on life. The sky giveth, and the sky taketh away! Methane Freefly - got stink?

Bill Ottley Methane Freefly - got stink?

Also, learn to carve. It will save your life. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I was able to reach it some time last night. I saved a copy to my hard drive. Thanks. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I saw your tutorial and his. I wanted to see his again becaues it also appeals to me to be able to make something with gaffers tape and beer. Thanks for the help. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I finally got my switch in and this site is no longer reachable...WTF!!!!! Methane Freefly - got stink?

600% less stretch means more opening shock. This is one of the reason that modern canopies open harder. When spectra lines were first introduced there were a rash of hard opening related injuries. The spectra didn't stretch like the dacron lines and as a result, transmitted the opening shock instead of absorbing it. The solution was new packing techniques and slider mods to soften openings. Diablopilot is right, stronger is not always better. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Did the bio-bay last year, plan on doing it again this year. It really is fucking awesome. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Many many people from Crosskeys, Namely ME!!!! I leave tomorrow for 4 days in Vieques pre-boogie. Methane Freefly - got stink?

That is Doug Urbany in the pic. I was standing about 30 feet away from the guy that bounced himself. I did not think he was getting up. Methane Freefly - got stink?

actually, I think it was 2 loads before sunset, maybe 1, I had to go out to buy the basketball hoops and beer after that. Methane Freefly - got stink?

My teamate swooping at freeze fest. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Which is exactly why you shouldn't use a factory diver as a camera helmet. Methane Freefly - got stink?

When I had a factory diver, I used to have real problems with that little velcro strap coming undone. You might want to chose a better helmet for your camera setup, just a thought. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Now, I don't scream go at these people, but one thing that really pisses me off, are formation skydivers who grip and regrip and regrip again in the door. I don't have a lot of rw experience, but the experience I do have tells me that this is a direct result of not spending enough time on the ground dirt diving the exit. And since they did not properly prepare for this skydive, they are going to screw everyone else while they try to figure things out in the door. Once in a while, I can except, but if there is a team that does this on every load, I get really pissed! I still don't shout at them on jump run, but it will earn them a very stern talking to. I may even wiggle my finger at them. I am all for doing back to backs and training hard, but don't let your training disrupt everyone else. Methane Freefly - got stink?

If you think you can make it back, land out. I only go for it when I know I can make it back. The second you have any doubt, you need to find an alternate spot you know you can make it to, and head for it. I jump at Crosskeys. The landing area is huge. But so are the woods that suround it. There is a definite "no mans land". That area of the sky where you can be over the trees, with plenty of altitude, and not be able to make it out. If you are jumping somewhere with lots of wide open fields, no pressure, you can wait a while to make a decision, but at places in the north east, you need to be assessing the situation immediately after opening. Methane Freefly - got stink?

None of them have screamed at me since, but I have caught some still doing it to others. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Our sport hangs by a thread, and it is very thin. More people in the sport would just make it that much harder for our government to regulate us out of existence. As with anything though, it is a trade off. Allready we have grown to a point where there are many people jumping who probably shouldn't be. Personally, I think the good things outweigh the bad, but some close friends completely dissagree. I will say this, I have never pushed any one I know to make a skydive. I talk about it all the time, and I have friends who have never been to the dropzone who would probably be very bored in a first jump class because it would be a lot of review, but I never put pressure on anyone to come out and make a jump. If they decide they want to go, I will certainly encourage them and help in any way I can. Seven years in and only 2 people have come out to jump with me and neither of them stuck with it. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Another good story.... Very marginal day, lots of clouds and the wind coming out of a direction that usually means bad weather. There are some breaks in the clouds, and we decide to throw a load up in the skyvan. All tandems and our three way free fly team. All the members of my team have been around that dz for at least 3 years and, at the time, had between 600 and 1200 jumps, two of us are tandem masters and we are, for the most part, well respected around the dz as heads up skydivers, or at least I would like to think so. Exit order is us, then tandems with video then solo tandems. During the climb up, I go to the front of the plane and talk to the pilot, a very seasoned jump pilot. He says, "I'm gonna throw the green light on early. You and Doug make the call when you should go. DO NOT PUNCH THE CLOUDS!" When the green light comes on, I look down and see the top of a cloud 500 feet below us. After about one second, the shouts start. Not everyone is screaming, just some people, generally the less experienced instructors and camera men. I take a mental head count of who is yelling and who isn't. We wait about 20 seconds and all of a sudden it is like a huge valley opens in the clouds and we can see down and, by leaning out, in front of the plane. We are still very short, but since this may be the only hole we get, we go....and if we are going to fit all the tandems through it, we better hurry. That spot was such that my group all made it back, although we pulled at around 5,000...and all of the tandems and video guys made it back. That was the only load we put up all day, which suited me just fine since it gave me a chance to go up to each person who was shouting and shame them. I also went up to each person who wasn't and thanked them for trusting us to not hose them. ...the thing about shouting is, it doesn't work...especially not on jump run. When I was doing tandems, if someone took what I thought was too long in the door, and it turned out that they hosed the spot, I would wait until I was on the ground to discuss it with them. One more thing, all you TMs out there that are guilty of shouting/screaming at people in the door, do you really think it puts your passenger at ease to have their TM screaming frantically a few seconds before exit? Methane Freefly - got stink?

It looks to me like the line was hung up on the flap itself. I have never heard of this happening before. I have heard of gromets snagging lines, but not the flaps themselves. It would seem to me that this would be easily solved by extending the stiffener inside the flap further to the point where it attaches to the rig. The lines were hung up on the point between the end of the stiffener and the point where the flap connects to the bottom of the reserve container. Methane Freefly - got stink?