redlegphi

Digital altimeters (at least the one I have) activate when they sense a high rate of ascent. Hausse was asking if the rate of ascent of a balloon is high enough to activate a digital altimeter. If not, then the altimeter would just think it was driving up a really long hill.

Oh I'm under no illusions that there are several major issues with the way that USPA is run and that these issues would need to be resolved before the reporting concept I suggested above could be implemented. Viva la revolution and all that.

If I might make a suggestion... It seems that if USPA is going to have a General Membership for DZs and allow these DZs to put the USPA crest on everything they do (implying that the USPA endorses their activities as safe) maybe USPA should actually inspect the activities at these DZs. I'm not saying we need to have anything like monthly inspections. Just have the Regional Director visit and jump at 5-10 DZs in his region each season. While he/she is at the DZ, he/she can also check things like their Instruction program, aircraft maintenance, pilot/rigger certification, etc. The RD could then write up a report that could be posted on that fancy new USPA website that they keep talking about, so that anybody with a little bit of interest could quickly check to see if a DZ has any major/minor deficiencies and what has been done to correct them.

Go to the "Dropzone" tab at the top of the page. Make a list of your local dropzones. Start calling them and asking them if they'll take you. School isn't the only place that requires homework.

There is absolutely nothing in the SIM saying when you can and can't do a helicopter jump. That being said, it is entirely possible that you were told that you couldn't do a helicopter jump until you had your B, as individual DZOs can add requirements to the rules as they see fit.

I understand what you're saying, but I'd wager it doesn't happen very often for a couple or reasons. From the digital v. analog threads, it seems that some analog jumpers aren't really focused on reading the numbers so much as looking for the needle to reach one of the colored zones or for it to make a familiar angle. Based on that, it seems like most experienced analog jumpers wouldn't run into the problem you suggest. This leaves us with the inexperienced (mainly student) jumpers who aren't yet quite used to reading an angle off of the analog altimeter and are therefore actually trying to read the numbers. These are also the jumpers who will be pulling at 4500 feet (earlier in their training) which isn't really near the colored zones of the altimeter. So these are the most likely candidates for what you suggest to happen. Which brings me to why I don't think what you suggest will happen often enough to be noted. There aren't that many students doing that many jumps each year. If it's happening at all, it's happening infrequently and to a fairly small subset of jumpers. Just my theory on the matter.

I think, for some reason, that labrys thinks you're a dude. Either that, or he was trying to point out the sexism of billy's statement by pointing out how obviously condescending the same statement would be if delivered to a man. Or perhaps a combination of the two.

The burble is the area above you as you fall. The air around you rushes to fill the space you were just occupying, which can cause the air there to behave in an odd way. Kinda like the turbulence right behind a big rig as you drive down the highway. Giving your pilot chute a nice strong pitch away from your body when it's time to open can help keep your pilot chute from getting caught up in your or your instructor's burble. Also, if I'm reading her post right, maestrabella had line twists, which isn't really the same thing as "tangled". Think about sitting on a swing and twisting in circles so the chains get all twisted up. Same thing except now the chains are the parachute lines. It's common enough that there's a decent chance it'll happen while you're a student. As long as you pay attention in the FJC, you'll know how to deal with it. If I had to guess, I'd bet maestrabella's chute got twisted while her pilot chute was jumping around in her burble.

I'm fairly certain that Perris accepts Skyride (they're on the Thanatos list), which is why that number can be used to get you a jump ticket at Perris (or any number of other Skyride affiliates). Or you could just call their regular number that they have listed on their site.

You'll have to do a currency jump with an instructor, who will basically make sure that you can still jump without killing/hurting yourself or others. I'd also recommend that you come back into the sport slowly and conservatively each time. Also, click on the "Dropzones" tab up on top of the page. You should be able to search the entire Middle Eastern region for dropzones there. Remaining current can mitigate some of the risk inherent in our sport.

Unless there's a body, I'd say DNA won't help at all. Even with a body, the DNA may have broken down and decomposed. Also, I seriously doubt that any fingerprints on anything are going to survive over three decades in the ground.

I tend to disagree. In our sport, it's extremely important that if something goes wrong, that we, as a community, can quickly figure out what that is in order to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Meaning we need to have witness reports from everybody involved in an incident. If some of those involved in an incident feel like they could be held liable because of things they say in their statement and therefore want to post anonymously in order to avoid that liability, so be it. It's more important (to me anyway) to know what happened than to know who is telling me what happened.

The ATC should be able to do a lot of things. I'd prefer not to entrust my life to a guy in a booth several miles away who is looking at a radar screen and who probably has several things ahead of "planeload of skydivers" on his list of things that he's focusing on.

The story I read said it was unearthed when a farmer was plowing his field. I think the forest thing was a misstatement. Also, I'd point out that there's a big difference between "D B Cooper Found..." and "D B Cooper's parachute (maybe) found..."

I would also point out that just because GPS can tell the pilot where you are doesn't mean the GPS is telling the pilot that you're at a good spot to jump. Just because a pilot marked a location as a good spot on one day doesn't mean the same spot is good on a day when the winds have changed. And, as you pointed out, it won't tell you where the airplane below you in the clouds is. In short, trust your eyes, not your gizmos.

Well, clouds mean you can't see the ground, possibly from altitudes below your opening altitude. This makes it impossible to spot accurately and assume a good landing pattern. Also, the difference between light rain with moderate winds and a full out thunderstorm can be a tiny little increment of time. In short, they make skydiving unsafe for just about everybody, not just inexperienced skydivers.

I believe you have just witnessed the death of the horse, followed by its continued beating.

Do you happen to know what the reasoning behind the ban was? Was there an incident that provoked the ban?

I think his point was that you didn't go from 75mph to nothing in no time flat, like you would do if you impacted the ground during a botched swoop. 50-60m isn't a lot of distance, but it let you bleed off your speed instead of just a sudden stop. A comparable motorcycle incident would be if you were riding your motorcycle at 75 mph and ran it into a wall. I don't think they make practical armor that could save you from that.

Meaning pull the reserve first and then cut away if possible? And isn't the established standard for when under 1000' (which this jumper wasn't) to pull the reserve and just hang on to as much fabric as possible?

My understanding was that they found that if the two canopies weren't of similar size, there was more likelihood of a two-out situation ending in a side by side or downplane.

Which method are you saying has more of a negative impact on safety: handicams because of potential snags on opening or a camera flier because of potential collision?

This was recently discussed, at least partially, over here.

Are you getting them for a reason or just because you think they look cool? Double pillows are used on rigs used by freefliers because of the increased risk of a metal reserve handle getting pulled while freeflying with others. Basically, it's increasing risk in one area (ease of reserve deployment) for decreased risk in another (risk of premature deployment). I can't really think of any other good reason to get them.

I suggest going to the container manufacturer's website(s) and checking there to see what size canopies they say will fit in what size containers. Most manufacturers will list that kind of stuff, along with if the canopy will fit in "tight", "normal", or "loose".