chrismgtis

I've been playing WoW on and off for about 2 1/2 years. I've got a 60, 45, etc. Spent way too much time playing that game. I always get burnt out after 1.5-2 months and take a break for several months. Just can't get into any of these other MMO's such as Everquest, CoV, CoH, etc. I think they suck honestly. Eve is not too bad at all, but I can't handle waiting 4 weeks to train a skill so you can do something slightly better. I play WoW on Blackhand (when I'm actually playing) under the main Mallikai. Not playing right now though. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

It must be nice to just quit your job and spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to go wherever you want. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

So does this mean we shouldn't fart en route to altitude too, because we are higher up in the atmosphere and risk damaging the fragile fabric of ozone? Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

In some cases, you have to use very common sense to determine what is obviously not acceptable. I have no tolerance for people who don't use the common sense their brains were formed with. When my drill instructor said to whack off in the bunk if we felt like it, I doubt he actually meant get naked and have sex with the M16's. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

After seeing the website, should I dare to ask how you are initiated into the RB? Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

You decided not to jump due to fear? Don't be ashamed. No jumper I've ever met is going to blame you or think badly of you for that. Jump when you feel comfortable. I found out early that this is an activity you have to find your comfort zone in and once you figure out how to make yourself relax it gets a lot easier. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I guess in some areas your only option is to ship the rig to a rigger like the guy above offered. You could always ship it to Rigging Solutions in South Carolina. I'm sure they would work with you to help you out the best they can. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

You still entirely fail to see the point that I'm at least trying to get across. The USPA is basically the only organization I know of that trys to protect our asses when something the general public or FAA doesn't like happens. I think it's for our own good to follow it's rules. These days one person with nothing better to do than ruin someones fun can ruin it for everyone. If you can't smoke in a bar, yet you can drink to your heart's content, you know something is wrong in the world. Hey, I'm just a 35 jump wonder at this point in time and new to the sport, but what I do understand is how quickly our privileges can be taken away. I hope that if someone jumping outside of a USPA dropzone is in an accident and dies, that the FAA and the public can simply be told "He/she didn't want to follow the rules that most of us follow. The rest of us follow safe regulations." and thats that. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I think most of you still fail, regardless of the numerous points some of us making some sense have given you. The rules/regulations/law is/are, you're 18 or you don't skydive because you can't sign a waiver and you're parents do not have that right as your guardian/parent. This may not be the case on a non-USPA dropzone, but it should be, because they are creating risks for this sport that those of us working with the USPA to play it safe are trying to prevent. When an accident does occur with a jumper that was not following the rules that the rest of us follow, it has the potential to hurt the sport, not just the person participating in the dive or his/her family. There is always that risk even for USPA licensed jumpers at USPA drop zones, but at least we are following the rules that the USPA and FAA have agreed on which create a lesser risk of problems in the event accidents do occur. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Yeap and when they say early they mean about 9:00am to ensure a slot. When the first student slot opens the first one on the DZ gets it usually. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I am up for a possible job in Rushville Indiana. If it's that bad, theres no way I'm taking the job. Although I am licensed now. In South Carolina we have had days that we couldn't get up at all as students on the weekend in the last 8 months, but it wasn't so frequent that it was a huge problem. Usually if you stuck it out till later in the afternoon you would get up. I've known of one day that I can remember that anything higher than A-license holders were grounded and it's rare that the A's get grounded. As a student it was hard at times to get up and frustrating, but I made it through and got the license jumping once or twice a week (took about 8 months). Personally I am trying to get a job in Florida because of the numerous drop zones and frequency of skydiving in the state, along with the better weather. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I took the water training course last year. If your instructor(s) went over the SIM information with you, you are supposed to learn from that. What the procedures are, what you should or should not do. If you jumped in the water and the canopy was thrown over your head after you were in and you had to get out of the harness and swim away, you got the training you needed. Try jumping in that water with the chest strap routed properly. The strap seems to swell up and it's not easy to get out of. I learned that the hard way when I forgot to loosen the strap before I got in the water and ended up floating on my back for two minutes trying to get the chest strap undone. That's the purpose of that course. Knowing what to do, what not to do and what to expect and getting some idea what it's going to be like if it happens. In an event like that, I'd rather have SOME kind of training rather than none at all, otherwise you're going to be like Oh **** what the **** do I do? Well, you die. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

The FAA or some other organization doesn't threaten to shut motorcross down when a kid breaks his neck riding. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

If you jump at a non USPA drop zone in NC, just make sure they teach how not to land on my house, k? Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

You're right and yea it's bullshit, but it's the way it is unfortunately. It sucks that we need to take it in the ass and play along with unbalanced laws to be able to take part in our recreational sport. Personally I have no real problem with kids jumping. It's the fact that if anything happened to that child theres a good chance it could really hurt other jumpers privilege to jump themselves, at least with as much freedom as we have currently. Yea, but thats the way it is. If you don't like the point the law recognizes as "mature enough to make smart decisions" then get it changed. Right now we don't have a choice, we have to go by that age. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Though the fact is it's pretty asinine to argue this, considering what the FAA, USPA and United States or other government laws say does and does not go. And as far as US law dictates, if you're not 18, you're not capable of making certain decisions. That is all that matters, because when a 6 year old kid dies on a skydive (it may never happen, but it's possible), lawmakers won't give a damn if it was on a USPA dropzone or out of some friends Cessna. They will come after USPA licensed skydivers and USPA dropzones. They won't blame us exactly, no. But the shit they stir up is what is going to hurt us. If a 6 year old kid steals a hand gun out of his father's closet and kills himself or another person, who suffers? Gun owners who legally own and are licensed to have weapons. Unless their lucky and the usual bitchers don't get their way. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Let's just say, "cloud rush" (much like ground rush) is fun. You're thinking "holy shit!....wow!....holy shit!.....wowww" Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Dayum, did I spark a huge debate? I didn't exactly mean that allowing your 6 year old child to skydive should be a felony exactly, it was just a comment pointing out that it isn't very smart. You have to agree though that if a child that young died in a jump accident, it could ruin the fun for the rest of us. Is it worth the risk? I don't think so. No, I know it's not. Fuck that. Pure and simple. I think you should have to be 18, no exceptions (or whatever age the law allows you to sign away your own life). The military allows it at 17. I signed up for the military when I had just turned 17 and went into basic at 17 years old about 7 months later with a contract signed for Infantry. I don't think, even at 17 that I realized exactly what I was getting myself into and that I was not able to make smart decisions that would greatly influence my life. Hell, I am 24 years old and I just now feel like I am mature enough to make smart decisions in my life and still have a ways to go. I may not be the most mature young adult as I make plenty of mistakes, but I try very hard to learn from them. I feel that I'm more mature than maybe 85% of people my age that I've met and was way more mature than the teenagers my age when I was a teen, but not really any smarter about making important life decisions, cause I screwed up plenty of times. Though I wasn't out smoking pot, drinking alcohol, beating people up for the fun of it and killing people when I was a teenager, which is more or less what many teenagers do these days. Really it doesn't matter, cause it's not my concern what others do unless it influences me and if I had a problem with anyone under 18 jumping and risking death which could harm a sport I participate in and love and influence my ability to be able to jump years from now, I'm obviously not going to be for it. I think any establishment that takes money from individuals and puts them on a plane for the purpose of jumping out of an airplane should have to follow laws and rules that govern all USPA dropzones. If someone wants to go up in a friends Cessna and jump out over a municipal airport, then thats great, no problem there as long as their a USPA member with a USPA license. If I've not made myself clear, my concern is is their potential to hurt this sport? At that age, their definately is potential. I'm not going to try and say that jumping is the only thing that makes me happy, but I know without a doubt I'm a much happier person that I've found something else in life that I love, can be a part of and am able to do. I don't want anyone risking my freedom to jump. We can all agree on that. I don't think there is anyone here that doesn't absolutely love this sport, or you wouldn't have as many jumps as the majority of you do. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I've landed on my rear plenty of times. This is just a brain fart, but I think depending on the wind, a student could actually do that pretty safely, but you would really have to know how strong the wind is and fly straight into it on landing. The reason I say this is, with the right wind I've been able to just softly plop straight down and on other days I come in fast and have to run a few steps. If it was one of those days that the wind was perfect for landing I wouldn't be *too* worried about attempting a riser landing. Personally, in those ideal conditions are when I would want to attempt something like that. At 33 jumps, theres no way I'm landing with risers in low winds, unless I have to. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

QuoteBesides the smart ass who will say stupid, is there an offical name for it and what do you call it and who has done it, if it has been done?[/reply Smart ass? Personally, I'd agree. That's like prodding the Grim Reaper with a hot iron while taking a piss on his leg. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I think my worst fear of landing in a tree would be falling straight through a spider web. You've never seen a grown man freak out like that, I tell you what. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Geez, 6 years old? That should be a felony. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

I love pulling high. My 29th jump (pop at 8k) was one of my most fun jumps to date. I popped at 8000' on my last two jumps (29 and 30) so that I could play with the canopy and enjoy the view. I always let the pilot know (and ask about wind speeds and direction), notify any instructors (or experienced jumpers) on the aircraft, and the DZO or DZM I will usually say something to if I plan on doing something out of the ordinary. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

Well, that is definately the attitude we need to get more people into this sport! lol jk, just don't say that to students k? :P Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

You know, personally, I don't feel THAT much safer with an AAD... I mean, I don't feel as if I am going to land just as safe as I would after a perfect jump. The way I see it, if an AAD has a reason to activate, I'm going to be directly over some dangerous obstacles with no time to find a clear spot and land in it and will probably come out of the entire ordeal with a couple of broken bones after a hard landing. Then again, I feel that it's more likely that I wont even be concious when an AAD activates, in which case I'm pretty screwed. I might live through it, but the injuries are going to suck. Point is, no AAD is going to make me feel much safer. I'd rather have one sure, but it doesn't make me feel immortal. Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033 Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan