jdfreefly

you forgot the two sitting on your feet! Common man, dream big! Methane Freefly - got stink?

Don't forget the skydiving mistakes people make at boogies. Try to be more aware of your limits at a boogie. People are much more likely to try things at a boogie than they are at their home DZ. Also, things like bird suits and different parachutes might not be available to your average jupmer at your average small DZ. They get to a place like Rantoul, and they want to do everything they can't do at home. This is an easy way to bounce. Respect your limits. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I don't know, I saw Johnny Anderson base jump off a ladder truck into the pond at crosskeys. Not sure exactly how high that was, but it looked lower than that cliff. Methane Freefly - got stink?

That is the best advice I have received yet. I will definitely give it a try. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Tomorrow I go under the knife to repair my tallus and my heel bone which I fractured while landing a velocity 111 withour flaring it at all. There is a brief post about it in the incidents, something about lost toggle and one lucky skydiver. The tallus injury has me a little worried. Apparently, the tallus has a very limited blood suply. Whenever you tramatize it, as I have, you disrupt the blood suply and the bone may die. If the bone dies, you will probably end up with your foot ankle and shin bone all fused into one. That would really suck. I am hoping it doesn't happen to me. Blue skies! Methane Freefly - got stink?

At crosskeys, Stuey had a rule back in our campsite where we used to hang out. "First call, I give you a warning. Second call, that fucking cell phone goes in the fire. Yeah, keep fucking laughing. I'm not kidding." I have seen him stick to that rule. Also, I am seriously considering buying a portable cell phone blocker from over seas(they aren't legal here). I would use it while driving. When some no talent ass clown in front of me was yapping away on their cell phone and doing 55 in the left lane, just pull it out and begin to laugh. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Tree, Try talking to Dave Brussin. He's my boss, tall and lanky and jumps an infinity container. His girlfriend works for a sewing machine manufacturer. No guarantees, but see what he can tell you. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I would look for a kennel that has a doggy day care kind of a feel. Especially if your dog like to play with other dogs. My kennel is great, they have a huge fenced in area. Three times a day, all the dogs are let out to play with each other. Be warned though, my dog usually comes back with a battle scar or two from things getting too rough. I am not the kind of dog owner who freaks out over a little scab on the ear, so to me it is no big deal. Plus, I know my mutt loves the exercise and meeting new dogs. Look around and you should be able to find a kennel like that. Under no circumstances should you ever leave your dog with a kennel that uses the "concrete run" method. These places are basically a step up from leaving the dog with the spca. It usualy has about a 5x5 foot indoor area and a 10x5 foot outdoor area. The dog goes in there when you drop them off and doesn't come out until you pick them up. My friends and I have had numerous problems with places like these. Methane Freefly - got stink?

When I hear people say that skydiving is better than sex, I always reply, "You must not be doing it right." Unfortunately, at this moment, due to injuries inflicted upon me by an unforgiving earth, I can neither jump nor hump. Methane Freefly - got stink?

One of the best reasons I have ever heard for "beer rules" is this: On a DZ, beer causes the passing of knowledge from the buyer to the consumer. This means that when someone buys beer, don't just run up and snatch one for yourself and take off, but grab one, ask who bought it and why. Get to know the person. Most often, beer is bought by the new jumper. This gives a conduit where by the new jumper can end up in a social situation with more experienced jumpers. I get very annoyed when I see a sub 100 jump skydiver buying beer, and some skygod with a couple thousand runs up, grabs 2 beers and runs away. How is that a good idea? Why would that person ever buy beer again? At the very least you should ask the guy his name. Find out why he is buying beer. Methane Freefly - got stink?

"Jay Moledski took my lunch money.....again." That's hillarious. The biggest bummer about getting hurt was that I missed watching you guys tear it up down in Wildwood. The best swoopers in the world converge on my back yard, and I'm laid up in a bed. FUCK!! Methane Freefly - got stink?

cooking like that, it's no wonder you call yourself theAnvil...I'd fall like an anvil too if I could cook like that... Wait a sec, I already fall like an anvil....damn cheese steaks. Methane Freefly - got stink?

1) Dropped a toggle on a velocity 111 very close to the ground 2) Landed a velocity 111 without flaring it Methane Freefly - got stink?

I have landed my xfire2 straight in on several occassions. Never had a problem, and it's loaded at 2.1:1 Methane Freefly - got stink?

I didn't vote. What I feel wasn't there. If I decide to sell my canopy to some one, I will make a serious effort to find out if they are ready for it. That is my decision. If someone else doesn't feel the same level of responsibility, that is theirs. Methane Freefly - got stink?

You can't cross the 1.5 wing loading line until you can tell a story about how you fucked up and scared the shit out of yourself. Seems to me, every decent swooper can tell a story about a mistake they made. I made mine under a low wing loading. The mistake gave me a deep respect for just how hard and unforgiving the ground can be. The low wing loading gave me the ability to walk away from it. When someone wants to down size, ask them what mistakes they have made under their current canopy and what they learned from their mistakes. If they say they haven't made any mistakes, well, then they haven't learned enough yet. Mistake doesn't mean hooking it in. A mistake can be as simple as misjudging how much room you have on an off field landing and being really scared for a brief second that you were not going to be able to shut it down before you went full speed into someone's tool shed. I guess what I am getting at, is that an important question to ask people is, "What valuable lessons have you learned under the canopy you are on, and why do you think this new knowledge makes you able to move forward?" Asking someone how they think they are doing on a canopy is useless, they want to get your approval to down size so they are just going to tell you what they think the right answers are. But getting them to show you they've learned something on that canopy, there is a good indication of a canopy pilot who is paying attention. Just a thought. Feel free to add your own thoughts and make mine better. Methane Freefly - got stink?

Actually, that was from 2 weeks ago. $100 bucks on the line and I choke like the Eagles in an NFC championship game Methane Freefly - got stink?

Just saw the video..nice job all around. As a side note, when I hook up the student, I first do both side laterals and then feed the student ripcord underneath the side laterals and clip it into the student harness. That way, when we tighten up, the ripcord housing is pinned between the student and the lateral. If the stitching holding it in place breaks or it comes undone it has a chance of staying looped under the side lateral and it won't end up floating on your back where you can't reach it. Also, this decreases the chance of snagging the housing on something on your way out the door. Methane Freefly - got stink?

You mean, I make a splash like a rock Methane Freefly - got stink?

Pretty bad fuck up on my part. I think I need to work on my aproach. To my credit, I actually flew this to a standup landing out of the pond and damn near ran it out. Won 3rd place for "most entertaining" swoop. well, this is another fine mess I've gotten myself into now what do I do? Methane Freefly - got stink?

how about containerd or skydork? God I miss snigglets Methane Freefly - got stink?

Absolutely not. And besides, I don't have the choice of that since an RSL is required for AFF students. I would have to check the BSRs but at our DZ it is required for anyone without a license. This is not about RSLs. This is about RSLs on a tandem rig. The 2 things are entirely different animals. I am not an AFF student. I am a skydiver with decent experience and the input of other instructors with over 5000 tandems under their belt. I feel the risk of me not pulling that silver handle in time is far lower than the risk of that RSL pulling my reserve for me when I do not want it pulled. Just my opinion. Methane Freefly - got stink?

I don't see it that way. Untill I am given a satisfactory reason on why that riser failed and I am convinced whatever the problem was is fixed, that RSL stays disconected. And no, I don't inform them of this fact. I try not to freak them out any more than they already are by giving them a history of tandem fatalities and how those fatalities have affected how I choose to instruct. The information I was given on that fatality indicated that the riser in question was well within it's usefull life range. Also, I know of at least one riser where there was wear in the spot I mentioned with very few jumps on it. The wear was found during a pre flight inspection and the rig was immediately grounded. When the riser was sent back and tested, it failed at considerably less stress than it should have. Don't ask me for numbers, I don't have a photographic memory. They do not and I do not know why. At least, none of the 20 some rigs I have jumped had them. Maybe people have installed them on rigs they personally own. If they have, I would like to hear about it...that is kind of the point of a thread like this. And I defy you to conclusively 100% absolutely prove to me that the fatality I mentioned was not caused by the RSL. Regardless of whether or not the gear was properly maintained, that RSL was a factor in that fatality. If I saw a system that could ensure me a clean release of both risers on the Strong rigs I jump, I would use it. But as long as it is a single riser RSL it will not be connected on any rig I jump. Methane Freefly - got stink?

This is mostly for Strong Tandem jumpers but it applies to both. I was reading over one of the other polls and I saw someone, I think it was Aggie Dave, state that he disconnects the RSL after a successfull opening. Before I get flamed, I am not banging on whoever said it, just interested in our collective opinions and the reasons for them. One of the Fatalities I was told about during the course resulted from a broken riser that deployed the reserve, due to the RSL, and resulted in a main reserve entanglement. I have never made a tandem jump with the RSL hooked up and I never intend to. In fact if I went to a DZ that insisted on it I would decline to make the skydive. Also, part of my gear check is to check the spot on the riser where the ring rubs on it. This is where the riser that broke failed. I am not Vector or Sigma rated so I don't know the rules and regs on those systems. Are you even allowed to disconnect it? Methane Freefly - got stink?

Slotperfect described what this exit was supposed to be like, kind of...actually, it would be a 180 back loop into the relative wind. If you think about it, a 270 would put you in a stand relative to the wind since you are still on the hill. I was doing this exit because I thought it was a good way to clear the door and initiate the 180 back loop. Obviously itwasn't. I learned the best way to exit from that plane was with a 180 back loop. I was never instructed to use the floater bar to do it. I had seen others do it, and I had successfully done it myself a couple times. We don't have a policy on this type of exit that I am aware of. However, I have not seen anyone else attempt this type of exit since. It is much easier and safer to get in the door and launch forward diving out. If you rotate forward enough, you can pull off a straight forward dive. If not, you can back loop to the relative wind. I have tried to start a thread where TMs post their horror stories. Unfortunately, the thread did not last. It might be because people are hesitant to post their horror sotorry because usually, it includes one or more mistakes that they made. My view on it is that we are all human, being a tandem master is not a natural thing, and we are bound to make mistakes. Hopefully we have enough training that we can get out of the bad situations we put ourselves in. I am happy to share my mistakes because that way, someone else might not have to learn that lesson the hard way. My lessons: Bad Points: Clear the door...Also, be on your toes when you are in the door. The exit on a tandem is probably the most dangerous part of the skydive. The next 10 seconds decide what the next minute, or more, of your life is going to be like. Good Points: Get obssesive about touching all your handles and touching them in order. If I hadn't developed this habbit, I might not have been able to find the drogue under duress. I would say on the average tandem, I go through a handles touch about 8-10 times from the time I put on the rig to the time I exit the plane. Once the drogue is out, I touch the remaining handles at least 2 times in freefall. Have a plan. In tandem jumping, shit goes real bad real fast, and when it does, you better have a plan. Keep the student calm. Once under canopy I did an excellent job of taking care of the student. Obviously I am my first concern in this instance, if I can't land us, it will be ugly. But once I was sure I was ok, I took care of her. She didn't get freaked out untill we got down and everyone else made a big deal out of it. Even when she saw my arm was streaked with blood from my had to my elbow. And finally, when Glenn Bangs says, "Damn Daless! You got knocked out by a girl!" You should make sure to respond so that all can hear, "Well, I was going to whack her head into the door, but then I figured, hey, she's not the fucking president." For those who don't know, Glenn was on ex-president Bush's skydive in the very airplane that this incident occurred in. On exit, Mr. Bush whacked his head against the door. Methane Freefly - got stink?