redlegphi

The jumpers on your DZ are clearly just not gassy enough.

Same DA form and same 5-step process, just different risks.

Are you assuming that we don't?

Just a quick thought I just had. Would it be possible to set up blog-like pages on the website that RDs could use to communicate with their constituents. For example, they could let us know what DZs they'll be coming out to visit soon, tell us what they think about certain issues, or provide us with updates about what they've accomplished for us. Maybe there could even be a comments section where people from that region could leave messages for their RD or discuss the post that the RD has just made. I guess the real question that needs to be answered before anything like this could start is, would any of the RDs be interested in taking advantage of a system like that?

Go to maps.google.com Click on "Find businesses" Enter "Mixed Martial Arts" and "Lodi, CA" Look at results. There appear to be at least a couple of places in Stockton which could fit what you're looking for.

I'm fairly certain Jan was making a joke. One which made me chuckle.

If you think you can't stop thinking about it now, you're gonna be completely fucked after your first jump. Enjoy!

A different topic on swoopers. What about that highly loaded canopy - gets out in the front (first RW group out) gets to the bottom of the traffic (since he has a Vel 87 loaded heavily and "should" be on the bottom and landing first). then He sits in 3/4 brakes while trying to set up EXACTLY at 1200 feet precisely over his initiation point and floats the entire descent and everybody gets crushed into a lineup above him. What do we do about that guy? I see it a lot - Hot rods riding in brakes at the bottom of the lineup. 1) Different jump run/Hop n Pop 2) Different Landing Area 3) Combination of the above 2 suggestions

Bill I have a problem with this. What is defined as completely clear? The problem with some of these canopy collisions is that the person *thinks* the pattern is clear because they simply don't see the other canopy. Only separated landing areas helps when pilots "miss" spotting each other. Completely agreed. Unless "completely cleared" means that the HP lander got out on a low pass by himself, this sounds alarm bells for me.

I'd wager that if there's a requirement, the USPA probably wrote it down somewhere. Perhaps in a book of some type that can be easily downloaded from their website in PDF format.

To use the Thanatos trick: The simple fact is that education and experience and skill are not enough to prevent even the best of swoopers from not seeing a lower, slower canopy and plowing right into him/her. This fact is evidenced all over the Incidents forum for the past two years. If your dropzone isn't large enough to have seperate landing areas (deconfliction through space) then swoopers need to get out earlier to ensure they're on the ground while the rest of the jumpers are getting set up in the pattern (deconfliction through time). If your DZ won't let you get out earlier, I'd suggest finding a new DZ. As Thanatos pointed out earlier, arguments that you should be allowed to jump a full-altitude skydive and then swoop into the main landing area just because you have the education to do so are as irresponsible and reckless as the argument that you should be allowed to spiral in the holding area.

Here's a summary of that MythBusters episode The Kleenex box apparently didn't do too much damage, but the 2 pound fire extinguisher was enough to cause some decent harm.

First off, congrats on making the jump and welcome to the sport. The difficulty of AFF training varies from person to person. Some will complete the first 7 jumps without a repeat. Some may need 2 dozen jumps to get past AFF. I think you'll find if you start AFF, a lot of getting your license is just persistence. Sometimes it's persistence to get past an AFF level you're having trouble with, sometimes it's persistence going out to the DZ 3 weekends in a row and not being able to jump due to winds. If you're the kind of person that will stick with it and will focus on listening to your instructors' advice and improving, I think you'll be alright. As far as parachute price goes, they're pretty expensive. Go click on the classifieds tab at the top to get an idea of what used gear costs. I'd recommend holding off on buying any gear until you get your license, as what you initially jump and what you're on once you have your license may vary greatly. Your instructors will also want to give you advice based on how they see you developing under a variety of canopies. As far as jumping at another drop zone, if you have your license and log book, that is supposed to be all you need. As a pre-emptive warning, do not get any ideas about jumping into the wedding. You need a demo license to do that kind of thing, which requires a great deal of skill and experience. Once again, welcome to the sport and I hope you stick with it.

I disagree. It's more likely that you're preparing for a worst case scenario that, while unlikely to happen, still could happen.

I just watched your Cat C. You don't look relaxed at all. Your knees look like they're actually below the plane of your body. Relax and let the wind pull them up into the arch. Arching in the air should be a hell of a lot easier than arching on the ground since the air will help you arch. The air wants you to arch. Let it help you.

While I'm sure that there are skydivers out there that believe this, I tend to think they're rare since, as you say, this is a thinking man's sport. I tend to believe that most people who have the basic intelligence required to jump out of a plane and survive are smart enough to realize that the AAD is not a primary safety device and is there as a backstop. I, personally, don't want to jump without that backstop. And not because I'm going out and doing 10-way headdown jumps that I'm completely unqualified for. Rather, I accept that shit happens, even on the most basic jumps, and that having an AAD can increase my odds of surviving some forms of that shit should they occur. Had I started jumping prior to the development of reliable AADs, would I have jumped without them? Probably, just like I would have driven without a seat belt prior to their invention. But we have AADs and we have seat belts and I'm going to keep using both.

I don't think I've ever said that I use an AAD because it turns a jump that's too dangerous for me into one that is safe enough for me to make. I don't know why you all continuously misread pro-AAD arguments to say that. As for the significant the increase in safety is using an AAD, significant is a relative word. If one skydiver is alive today because of an AAD, that seems pretty significant to me. In short, much like a reserve, an AAD is something I'd rather have and not need instead of need and not have.

Neither do I. Had one for about 10 years, never used it. Why renew it? Perhaps I'm going to the Reserve:AAD well one time too many here, but if you hadn't had to use your reserve for the first 10 years that you owned it, would you have felt comfortable pulling it out (if you were legally allowed to do so)? I understand that reserves tend to be used a lot more than an AAD, but the whole "I haven't needed it yet, so I'll never need it in the future" argument doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

You miss my point, which is that an operational AAD, much like an operational reserve, is simply a tool used to further mitigate the risk that we all incur when we jump out of an airplane and that mocking people who like having an operational AAD in their rig makes as much sense as mocking people who like having an operational reserve in their rig. The fact that I won't jump without an operational AAD has nothing to do with having "a real good false sense of security". I have no illusions about the AAD being some miracle machine that will always save me from certain death, any more than I have illusions about my reserve being a miracle piece of fabric that will always save me from certain death. I simply prefer to use the tools available to me to minimize the risk of any jump I choose to do.

One thing I've noticed over the last few years is the number of jumpers who claim to refuse to skydive unless they have an operational reserve on their rig when they jump!! Only thing I can say is that they have a real good false sense of security with one!! That will kill them faster than not having a reserve!!!! Got that?

No. The risk associated with all jumps is not identical. For example, the chance of a tandem dying on a jump is not the same as the chance of a swooper dying on a jump. Each person makes individual choices before and during their jump which increases or decreases the risk associated with that jump. Pretending that each jump carries with it a uniform 1:100000 risk of death completely ignores risk management, which is probably the most important part of our sport.

I highly doubt you'll have any issues making new friends at any American dropzones. We tend to be a fairly social and accepting bunch. I would suggest calling ahead to the dropzones you plan on hitting to see if they have bunk space available, as that's infinitely more cheap than a hotel and means you won't have to risk driving drunk back to the hotel after celebrating with your new friends. Alternatively, buy a tent. How are you planning on executing this? Personally, I'd recommend going through all of your AFF and your student jumps at one dropzone up front. I think that'd be the easiest way to learn and would also lend you a little more credibility as a jumper when you show up at other DZs. Finally, as you go from DZ to DZ, make sure you're getting full safety briefings at each new DZ you visit. Probably not a bad idea to sit out the first couple of loads so you can see how things run before getting in the air yourself.

Safest answer is for you to contact the dropzone that you'll be jumping at and see what they request you wear. Personally, I jump running shoes. They offer a good amount of support without being too clunky. You'll see some people jumping sandals or barefoot, though I would definitely not recommend that until you've got your landings down to a science. Boots are generally not recommended, as they tend to have grommets and hooks and whatnot that lines could get snagged on.

I like this idea, but perhaps I'm a bit of an overidealistic dreamer.

I'm not entirely sure I understand the difference, so I'll explain what I think is correct, and then let you correct me. I have a neptune, which I refer to as a digital altimeter, since it has a nice little digital screen for me to read instead of the clockface of an analog altimeter. As long as I am landing at the same place I'm taking off from, I don't need to set the neptune to 0.0 before taking off. The neptune can sense the rapid change in barometric pressure (I originally said it was sensing the rate of ascent, which is not literally accurate I guess, as it is converting pressure data into altitude data and then comparing that against time to determine rate of ascent) when the plane takes off and automatically sets itself at 0.0 then. It will normally not set itself at 0.0 for slower changes in barometric pressure, such as when driving up a hill or changes in atmospheric pressure throughout the day. This, as I understand it, was what Hausse's question was about. On to freefall computers. In my understanding, a freefall computer is just a function of most digital altimeters that allows you to record data during a dive and check that data out later. If that is incorrect, I'd be interested to know what the correct definition is. Thanks.