Baksteen

I'm donating it to our reunion this weekend.

Mile high skydiving or club? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I don't. Not from the students perspective (or best interest) anyway. Every individual student will have a method that's best suited for them. The argument as you quoted iit only makes sense from a cash-cow perspective: 'If only ten percent of students continues to make even a second jump, we'd better have them pay $1000 instead of $300. For the student both methods average out if they do continue to skydive'. But I'm not slamming you buddy - I'm slamming the ones who made up said argument.

Of course I read it all. And I quoted the most important sentence of your entire post. So what you have to redo level one? You just went and did something that is some people's worst nightmare - for entertainment no less. Skydiving is never about completing tasks, it's about FUN.

I have searched and while I got an awful lot of hits on the subject, none of the threads I found were exactly what I was looking for, though many single, buried posts relate to the subject. I often see posters claim that they stood up one or more landings, which they obviously regard as 'the' golden standard for being proficient at canopy control. OTOH, people who PLF get mocked or asked "What did you fall over for?" or even "[they] have twelve jumps already and still cannot stand up [their] landing." Why do people emphasise the fact that they can stand up their landings? Why is standing up a landing important to you? What do you consider a poor landing? How do you define a good landing? Are you an instructor/coach and what do you say about landings in front of new jumpers? (EDIT2: non-instructors, please note that i say in front of new jumpers, rather than to new jumpers.) When do you (have to) PLF? EDIT: Please note that I am most definitely not talking about faceplants - people who faceplant can be mocked and should be. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Worth repeating. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I'm sorry to say that I irrespectfully decline your semi-generous offer as I perceive the invitation to be supremely egotistical. You should pay me. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

When my internship in Belfast was finished, my collegues gave me a few farewell presents, including a quarter bottle of Glenn d'orangie. Even the most chauvinistic irisman I knew allowed that 'that stuff' was 'alright - for a scotch'

Thank you for the replies so far. Even though the thread isn't heading where I originally intended it to go, I have learned a lot from the replies so far. Now, I'd like to try and get it headed where I originally intended, as Pops's reply made me see the error I made when writing my OP. It's al due to cultural differences, i fear. I wasn't thinking about AFF-students and had forgotten the fact that in the US you can get your A at as little as 25 jumps. I should have said 'novices buying their first canopies', which in the Netherlands can easily be someone without an A-licence yet with over fifty jumps. I was thinking about a light person buying a 150 or even smaller as their first canopy 'because otherwise they'll back up with low winds' and then having to add several pounds of lead to keep up with other people when doing/starting to learn RW. I was wondering if the (perceived) effect / danger of the lead would be more pronounced with the smaller canopy - after all, on a 100 lbs person 10 lbs of lead is a 10% increase in weight. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Thanks for explaining - thought the OP was talking about the sport, not the TV-series (movie, whatever). I'd never even heard of the guy who comitted suicide.. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

could be - it made absolutely no sense to me the first time I read it. Mainly because I no longer have the patience to even *try* and figure out what the hell he's talking about. Yes, that he's pissed is obvious. *WHOOSH* So Slyde - why don't you set aside the outrage and the ranting and tell us what's really going on...without the riddling. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

It looks no worse to my uninitiated eye than let's say, oh.. 99% of other bonfire threads.. You feeling OK today, Lisa? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Ruh-roh... someone been watchin too much Scooby doo "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

I think people would take Slyde, or more recently SlyD a lot more seriously if he'd just explain himself every once in a while instead of randomly starting new cryptic rants multiple times in every forum. If only he'd stick to the USPA forum... "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

It looks like he actually reaches for and grabs the powerlines! WTF? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Which IS a room, so.... "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Nice job! I like it

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

This is a nice summary of what i was referring to. I note however that there is no 'right to loving parents', but there is a 'right to protection from abuse'. As to the fundamental right of reproduction (quoted by some other poster), I think that too little emphasis is placed on the right of the child. IMO the child's rights to a [normal] life (can't think of the correct word there) are way more important than the right of people to just have children. But how to solve the dilemma of who should (not) have children is a different can of worms entirely. I certainly don't have the answer. EDIT: whoopsy...fixy clicky "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

A French tourist died Tuesday after she was attacked by a shark during a diving trip off Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The woman, who was in her fifties, jumped into the water for a closer look when she mistook the shark for a big fish approaching her boat, according to a French consular official. clicky "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Option six: I wasn't there so all information I have is hearsay. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

Today a gardener is coming over to see whether something can be made of that jungle behind my house. I never knew grass could grow three foot long stalks.. EDIT: Is that what they mean with a skydiver's lawn? "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

What about the right of a child to have loving parents? anyone who has it in them to abuse children has been evolved out of the gene pool "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

So are Osteriches. How DO they get under that sand their heads? They don't. They just put their heads ON the sand. From a distance, it looks to the uninitiated just like the ostriches put their heads IN the sand. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom

During my first jump... I had line twists after the static line pulled for me...and I laughed. Then I solved the line twists. I knew I was hooked. "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport." ~mom