wildblue

I tend to throw popcorn at those people, and tell them to shut up. I guess there's a time and place for talking shop, but at the bar or dz is not one of those times or places. Never argue with stupid people.They just drag you down 2 their level & beat you with experience

Here's how I see it (which in no way means it's right) First of all, I don't really think you can draw a comparison between wuffos and squids. Wuffos and cagers would be more accurate. Look - with any culture or community of a specific activity, you have those who understand, and those who don't. We tend to make fun of those who don't because of their views of us for doing what it is we do. No matter what you do, if you boyfriend/girlfriend/friends in general don't understand it, they may not be your friend for awhile. To show a couple different levels of this: Let's say you're a computer geek. If your friends tire of you "geeking out" with your other geek friends, they may not want to be around as much. The geeks out there know exactly what I mean - you talk computers a lot. And you don't think we make fun of the computer illiterate? C'mon, I almost bought a shirt one time that said "You are dumb" in binary. We all share a good laugh over the latest luser story now and then. People who ride bikes, may sit around and tell bullshit (and most of them are bullshit) stories and bitch about cagers. They don't understand why we do it - how many times have you heard "Why do you ride that death machine? Donor-cycle rider. My brother/cousin/roommate/uncle died on one of those things" You don't understand it.. doesn't mean you have to bash it. I dunno.. call it retaliation - we'll sit around and bitch about you and your cell phone talkin no paying attention soccer mom way to fucking big SUV cage driving ass. Again, if your boyfriend/girlfriend has a serious problem with you riding, chances are you're not gonna last together. If you jump, you're going to talk about jumping a lot, it's something you know, it something you enjoy (a lot) you're going to talk about it all the time. It's exciting to just relive! I don't think most of us get overly carried away - just completely blowing off our "wuffo friends" - but we probably do tend to annoy them with our constant excitement over something they don't understand. They make stupid comments about "can you breath in a cloud?" We find it funny because they don't know and don't understand something that we know very well. Geeks laugh at those who don't understand the difference between megabytes and megahertz. Bikers laugh at the people who drive through the world they ride in. Do any of these groups feel they're better than the ones that don't participate in their activity or have their knowledge? Maybe. Not in a god complex type better, but just better because they know something these other people don't... kinda like when you have some juicy gossip on someone, you have that feeling of power over them. Maybe we feel superior. Even that might be too strong of a word. But anyway, that's what I got on it.. take it or leave it. Never argue with stupid people.They just drag you down 2 their level & beat you with experience

You too huh? I had to have my roommate drive me back to my car this morning. wheeeew... Never argue with stupid people.They just drag you down 2 their level & beat you with experience

Are you crazy? You get $30, have a pilot chute in tow on every jump, some wuffo in front of you stealing your air, take a beating on every landing...... crazy man... crazy.... I wanna do it! Never argue with stupid people.They just drag you down 2 their level & beat you with experience

mmm.... beeeer... good thread bastardization ok, so anyway, hope you get to feeling better. don't jump. could be painful Never argue with stupid people.They just drag you down 2 their level & beat you with experience

Umm.. did you read the second post on here? (mine) The old guys in the balcony... singing... ya? I have a MP3 of that song if ya want it Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Nerp. Greene County. One of these days I'll check the other DZs around! Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Why do we always come here? I guess we'll never know It's like a kind of torture To have to watch this show Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Hey! You guys stop being mean to Emma... or I'll take you our back and beat you with a stick! Respect ma authorita! Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Been there, done that, got the polo shirt. You know most adults actually have a shorter attention span than high-school kids? Not to mention their brain hasn't been in "learning mode" for god-knows how may years. Then add to that that most adults don't really like being lectured (especially if you happen to be half their age) ... that whole "Adult Learning Theory" crap. Ahhh... sorta glad I'm not doing that anymore, it was exausting. This thread sure has been all over the map... Anyway, back to the main point (or was it the second main point?) - at what point do you go back to teaching students? And who's responsibilty is it? You can't try to teach them everything in their first 5 jumps. Should there be like a after graduation class? Where you go into the more specifics of Cypres and RSL, how to buy gear, one size doesn't fit all emergency procedures, canopy wraps, difference in different deployment methods, etc etc. Or do you just hope they take it upon themselves to talk to experienced jumpers? And hope the experienced jumpers don't accidently give wrong/inaccurate information. I don't think this new training program addresses that. Have to pay a coach... phhht... we need mentors, not coaches. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

How's the weather in Florida? It's 41 here (and dropping) won't stop raining, and the wind is 36mph gusting to 51! It's ok though, there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I think that tunnel leads to an airport terminal, and I'm pretty sure it's the Tampa Airport. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

No shit.. that's what really put me off of the whole thing. Did you get the mass email they sent out too? They sure are trying hard for this. Had they just stated what Mike did in the first place, a lot more people probably would have signed it. I've become really un-interested in the USPA lately. My boss is a pilot, and a member of the AOPA. We were talking one day about the differences between the two organizations, and the more we talked, the more pissed about the whole thing I got. He laughed pretty hard over the whole proxy mess too. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Wow.. we sure have bastardized this thread... good content at least, just a completely different direction from where it was originally going. That's good, you've thought it through and decided on your course of action. When the time comes, you won't have to think about it, you just act. You've learned the facts, weighed them, and then made your personal choice. Me personally - a bail out at 1600 ft and I'm going for my reserve. I have faith in my rigger and my equipment. And I'm not sure I want to try to get out of a plane that has something seriously wrong with it (no poised, controlled exits here) get relatively stable, pray my main opens quickly (at a sub-terminal speed), and if it opens with a problem - still have altitude to cut away, deploy reserve, and find a suitable landing area. I'm sure I could do it, I just don't want to try, you only get one chance. There's not usually an absolute right or wrong answer in this sport. You must do what you feel is right, of course. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

The point alan started (and I"m kinda continuing) is that people don't know as much as they should about the devices they're using. Yes, for most people, getting out of the plane < 2000" they just go for their reserve, some people might try their main first without realizing that in this case, their cypres could hurt them. I think the one instance alan was talking about, someone got out of the plane < 1500' and didn't do anything. Did they thought "well, my cypres will just fire" go through their head? Possibly, stranger things do and have happened. I'm not saying trust your devices, I'm saying know when they can and do hurt you. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

You could go head-down right out of the plane, and be doing 300 mph at impact, and your Cypres won't do a thing for you... I think that's what he was getting at. Now, do you know why? A Cypres doesn't "arm" itself until 1500 feet. Once you pass 1500' - it's an issue. And since we know that a Cypres can fire as high as 1000' under the right circumstances... if you're getting out at 1600, are you sure you want to try your main to save $50? a) if your main mals, you have no time to react b) if your main takes long enough to open, you could end up with 2 out pretty easy. Go through the Cypres owner's manuel, learn what it is your trusting your life to. Should you shut it off if you're riding the plane down? Do you know how to tell the difference between a student cypres and an expert cypress? What's different between them? (in case you ever end up in a rig with a student cypres for some reason) When will a Cypres do nothing? How do you know if your batteries are almost dead? How does it actually work? Ok, so it "fires" ... what does that mean? How many people has it saved? How many has it killed? It's not a "set it and forget it" piece of equipment. You need to learn everything you can about it to a) decide if you really want one and b) understand how to use it, how not to use it, and how it may affect your emergency procedures. This is why we plan ahead, expect every situation so we know what we're doing when something like this is presented. Just like your "decision altitude" - you always have it in mind, so when the time comes you don't have to think about it. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Are you ok? Do you need the hindlick maneuver? I know someone that can teach me CPR if you need mouth to mouth. Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

Just do what everyone else is doing - sell anything Enron related you have on Ebay. No, seriously! Do a search on Ebay for Enron, you'll find tons of stuff! Ok, all joking aside, I do feel for you. That has to really suck. I've lost a job twice in my life due to a comapny closing (closed once, got bought another time) and that sucked bad enough, and I didn't even lose multiple thousands of dollars in retirement $$ Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

In my fridge. If I ever run into you somewhere, I'll pay up. Alan started the following "Choose your own adventure" story: No, it will not affect my emergency procedures. I don't rely on the Cypres to do anything for me. However, I *do* know that my Cypres-equipped butt can fall flat, dumb, and happy all the way to impact if I do nothing... we haven't passed through 1500' feet yet. [troll mode] I don't have a RSL on my rig, so I don't need to know what one does [/troll mode] Did you know that "if" is the middle of the word "life"?

I wonder how many people actually watch during this time, to see if any error codes are shown... Poll time? I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

Steve, Here's sorta what a downplane would look like: http://www.kaybee.org/~kirk/pics/skydiving/crw/downplane/ In this case, it's two jumpers (two mains) creating the downplane. What's we're talking about is the same looking thing, except imagine one of those mains is your reserve. And though it doesn't quite look like it in the picture, they flying almost straight down. Take the wing off an airplane, point it straight down... think it's going to slow you down any? Not a survivable configuration. Hope that helps. I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

very good point alan, it usually amazes me too. How about offering beer for the first person that knows how to adjust "0" on a Cypres? (you turn in on at one level, but where you're going to land is a few hundred feet higher) Or maybe for who ever can tell you what the numbers that it stops on means? (during the power-on countdown) I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

Hehe.. I've had a dream like that before - arm wouldn't move, I think I was sleeping on it. Depends on the canopy, but I'd say your best bet is to leave the brakes stowed, and do a nice plf. Another reason for not heavily loading your reserve. I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

Same as some other people have said - have here 'pinch' you with her knees, not wrap her legs around. Besides the obvious possibility of snagging a handle, I guess one leg lower/more wrapped around than the other could cause a spin. That, and have her keep her arms straight out. Then be a real man, and fly on your back while she straddles you.. that's much more fun! I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

http://www.wildbluesky.com/first_jump_stories.htm 'bout 11 of them there. Good reading. Feel free to send me yours to add to the collection. I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag

paula - I don't think loading it lighter will help much. "twitchy" is the exact word a lot of people use to describe that canopy. That's why I didn't really like it, too twitchy, and the control range was incredibly short - not a bad thing, just not how I like it. Try something else, there's a lot of good canopies out there. I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad I got sunshine, in a bag