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Everything posted by gimpboogie
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I have my freefall alarms set as follows: 5,500f (to remind me that in 1000f I will be deploying, so I will at that time do a circle of awareness in case I need to track away from others near by-mind you I haven't had anyone near me-yet-but that's the purpose of that 1st ff alarm). 2nd FF alarm is set to 5000f reminding me it is my last time to get ready for deployment-turning myself towards the DZ for deployment. 4,500f is when i want to deploy. I've given myself a fairl high/conservative hard deck for two factors: 1) IF I need to cut away, I will have altitude to safely do so-and still have plenty of time to pull up my legs/ my system is such that I pul my legs up high for landing once under canopy-with the straps inside pockets sewn onto my pants so during freefall i do not have any aterial flapping around to potentially hinder cut away and reserve deployment-so once under canopy i take each strap out of the pockets on each leg and clip them to my chest strap and then pull up te legs as high as i can ge them to go 2) I want a higher hard deck so I have time to fix minor prolems with the canopy, line twists, end cells which didnt inflate, to orient myself accordingly depending on the winds, so when I work on my getting my legs up I am not flying away from the DZ. I've had once line twists up to my slider and past them as well, so I needed to be vigilant of the altitude as I worked out the twists-so having a higher hard deck is the safety measure which I rey on to give me a chance to deal with unusual situations and still be under a good canopy with enough altitude to work on getting my legs up. These FF alarms are there as reminders only, i do not rely on them-my wrist mount visual is what i rely on.... and infact I'm planning on getting a chest mount as well and I just haent yet figured out which is the best location because my chest strap has a hook knife allready and I need the space for the leg straps to be attached (talking of hook knives-i have two-one on my leg strap and one on chest strap-because if I end up in water for some reason i will need to cut away my crotch panel to get out of the gear-the typical front flip wont work when my leg straps are routed through holes in my crotch panel. under canopy I set the alarms to 900f, 600f, and finally 300f. These are not relied upon-as others say, i go by eye, but i have them on-since they are available-and in the beginning it has been helpful for me to learn to gauge what altitudes look like-as i learn to rely on my eyes=for my landing approach. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Thanks TK for all the work you've put into making Pookies dream come true! Definitely an impressive amount of support and planning has been put forth for this 1st jumpl I'm very curious to see how the stability will work out in further jumps -especially once you get to level 5. Certainly a very unique approach to the lower limb 'issues'-never have I seen such-except for tandems. Excellent job there on keeping a hold of Pookie till deployment-critical as you knew (was it you in the background at the end of the video saying something to the effect of "I was more scared then..."? Regardless of how the future unfolds in this project-I'm VERY IMPRESSED with Pookies determination and your exceptional support in not giving up over the years-you've certainly made one mans dream come true-kudos to ALL of you who offered their support. I'd really like to see the video from the 2nd instructors camera and the one out in the distance who seemed to be in front of you guys through the points that this particular video wasn't able to kee up to. POOKIE! you rock!, what's the next plan? by the way, you certainly did experience a great deal of what skydiving is about, its not always just flying on your belly To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Angus Smith on right, "FuzzyDave" Hatherly on reserve side and photo by Steve tambosso To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Sorry for Not understand The importantance
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
no worries pookie i understad its hard to learn new foruns rules, and ways of posting etc. we all are excited about your skydiving-as for "allowed" to post your video-its YOUR video-you own it you can do what ever you like with it all is well-and im looking forward to your photos as well as yhe video. i keept wondering what it meant by the instructor 'fell off' so i asked my DZO (dropzone owner) and apparently it is a safety measure-if the instability is at the level that someone could get hurt- either you or that instructor-the secondary (one on your left) instructor lets go... actually we discussed a real 'unusual situation' where one guy was doing an AFF jump and the coach kept trying to put his hand on the deployment handle-hackeym but the guy kept putting his hand back on his cut away handle-over and over again-until the guy actually did pull his cut away handle=so now he was in freefall without his main! the insturctor actually had to go dive after him and pull the reserve for him ... so keep that story in mind... and always tell yourself, what ever happens, happened, you didn't do that im proud of you lets keep up the good spirits To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
much of this depends on the manner in which the knees are held up to the chest strap. I explained how mine are, in the section where I show my pants. Here are some photos of 3 different paralyzed skydivers, all of whom have a different profile while we are flying, and therefore affects the position in which we are in, while we land. The first photo is from Dale's thread -a real nice side view shot of him flying. The second one is me and the 3rd is Peter's flying profile To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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zippers on the pant legs is important for a few reasons. 1) the knees are braced together with various methods (DAle and Peter use fibreglass formed into 90 degree angle with straps to put around the knees to keep the knees at a 90 degree angle which has so far been found to be optimal freefall angle) I dont have the money-or anyone to help make them for me, so i do not have fibre glass knee braces. I bought from ebay used knee braces that lock into a variety of positions (again, I also use the 0- degrees) and i wrap them as best as i can with athletic tape (or tensor bandages that stick to themselves) each time i dive-so they stay on properly and in the proper position. so it is important to have these zippers because the legs of the pants would be otherwise too tight to fit those knee braces inside them, and secondly many/most paralyzed individuals utelize a catheter system of some sort-i use a leg bag which i need to have easy access to-without having to take off the pants completely. This is important because getting dressed is a major chore for some of us-the higher the level of paralysis the more difficult it is, for me it takes a good 30 minutes to just put the pants and knee braces on-thus the zippers are a great time saver in that sense. I also can adjust things, either leg bag or the braces by undoing the zippers more easily then if i had to take the pants off, To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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1) My pants have a 'crotch panel' (similar to the idea of the traking suit by Pheonix Fly and Birdman) the purpose of which is to allow the airflow to provide some 'lift' to lower limbs stopping them from falling towards the ground at the waist (this allows me to fly with my legs parallel to my body instead of falling perpendicular to my body at the waist) 2) the black 'seat belt' looking straps sewn to the knees of the pants are made such that they have buckles at the opposite end, with a D ring and a carabiner on both so once under canopy I can clip the carabiner to my chest strap and use the Dring to help pull up the straps lifting my legs up. I pull them as high as they will go-meaning that the part attached to the knee is almost at my chest strap-giving my feet he highest possible position for landing-with the purpose of trying to avert any possibility of my feet catching on any rut in the ground. An added benefit of this is that on early morning days as the grass is wet i have a decent amount of slide on the ground as I land. There is one photo of me that I'm desperately looking for and cant find which shows a decent side view of how my legs are parallel to the body rather then falling downwards, this is because of the crotch panel. but if you really want to go see how the legs stay parallel with that crotch panel you can check out my 7th AFF video at: http://www.youtube.com/user/extremewheelchairs#p/u/12/sUk54JMfgk8 Even the positioning, sizing and type of panel makes a difference for people. While looking through Dale's thread for his photos, I noticed that he decided his potato chipping may be due to the crotch panel being not porous enough-it was catching too much of the air-while for me it was the opposite (as far as the panel goes). I needed to add a second layer of the material to my crotch panel and reinforce the sides to make it less porous, and my potato chipping was due to being too stiff-once I relaxed more it stopped- (there was an exercise called "swimming lessons' while in freefall to show that the arms can be in what ever position, if the body is relaxed and allow the wind to cradle my body the stability comes-so the idea was to literally move arms around as if swimming, while staying stable-i did it in one of my jumps alone and relized it is true-which is why my arms can be in the mantis position-thats another thread altogether though) Dale's first tandem jump photo shows what I mean by the legs 'hanging down' at the waist. The crotch panel helps to stop that from happening. Dales threat is found at:http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3348407;page=2;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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i am hoping that those of us who are paralyzed and skydive would take some time to post pictures of the various gear modifications we have that have been helpful in letting us get up to the skies and become solo skydivers. We all are different people with differences in our needs-and therefore most of us basically have custom modifications of one form or another. Not every modification works well for every paralyzed person, and this is why I hope to have a thread filled with various pictures and details on what the modification is, why it was done and what was the result (ie. posting even pictures of modifications of things that did not work is important so long as there is explanation as to why it didn't work). I understand that all of us active paralyzed skydivers have our own threads where we have discussed our particular modifications, as well as posted photos for new people coming to these forums who do not know which person here is necessarily paralyzed, and which thread has photos this may be a good way to collect these all into one message easy to find. Also differences in landing techniques would be good to see Just today looking back to Peter Hewitt's photos he sent me I see his legs are positioned very dirrerently then mine for landing,,, his are pointing more straight in front of him and his ankles are well below his butt level (perhaps his landing area's were very smooth surfaces-unlike mine which are bumpy in p,aces yet grass on top so i have no idea if there are ruts in the ground where my feet can catch and end up breaking my leg-so I fly with my legs pulled very high up at the knees trying to keep my ankles as high as possible to provide a greater element of safety for my feet). ANYWAYS ENOUGH TALK-PHOTO TIME. I will take the liberty of posting some of Dale's photos he has in his threads-and add the link to the original post since they are allready up on this forum (Dale if you have a problem with that just pull them down-or ask me to pull them down( but the photos I have of Peter's gear I will wait till I get his permission to post them, (unless I happen to find them online here but i havent yet). To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Hi Pookie, I thought to post this for you, i hope it is useful in some way. It is about posting, how to add information, how to add photos etc. first I will share some links: In the “GENERAL” forum in the “announcements” section the top message is called: New to Dropzone.com? Read this first. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1008849;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread it has a lot of basic information on how to post things, and where to post them-that sort of thing. The FORUM FAQ’s (frequently asked questions) thread is found here http://www.dropzone.com/help/Forums/ this link brings you to showing how you can attach pictures or links to videos to your messages –like the links to where your video will be when you post it on the internet. http://www.dropzone.com/content/Detailed/347.html Now I will try to explain how to add message to your post-so that you can continue adding more information on a post you start. For example, if you started a message called: "information about my 1st solo jump" then wanted to add the information in it, and as people replied you could reply to them separately (to a single person who replied to you) or just a general new message discussing what is going on. You've obviously figured out much of this already: 1) how to start a post which is using the button :post new: in the upper right corner of the forum you want to post your message in. 2) this brings you to the screen which has a blue line at the top with white letters :subject:-that's where you put the name of the subject you are posting about-as you've been doing-. 3) in that same screen you will see a clear box with nothing on it (it is the box I am writing in) which again you have figured out how to do) 4) on the left side there are many yellow faces, if you put your mouse over them and click on them that face will appear in your message (I've seen you doing that also-you basically got the hang of most of this already) 5) below the box where you are writing your message there are small boxes with the words " code ", " reply ", " quote ", " b ", " u with a line under it, " /i ", " email " and "/url". These give you the option to do the following: the /i lets you change some of your words into italics (this slanted writing ) bold or underlined IF you want to use any of them, then you highlight by right clicking over the words you want to put these effects on and go down to that button and press it. so when i want to make something bold i highlight that word (the word bold in this case) and go click on that button with the " b " on it. sometimes when you have written a post and several people reply, you may wish to reply to one person specifically (I will use Peter as an example kus if he doesn't like it, next time he comes jumping in my backyard I will just shove him out of the plane-since we got no door its easy-and he wont let me admire his vintage canopy collection-but its worth it- on you Peter ) So lets say you wanted to reply to Peters message go up to his message and you will see on the right side of his message two words " reply" and "quote". you can reply directly to him either way. the difference is that if you press the quote button, his words will appear at the top of the screen you will be writing in, and then you write below it-this can be helpful if you are trying to make a point in reference to something he said specifically, because you can use the bold, and underline over his words also-so when your replying to him you can underline the words of his you are specifically referring to. if you choose to just make a general post referring to what he is saying, you can press the reply button and then the subject line at the top (in the blue line with the word subject and the box in it), will have these words: Re: Peter-and followed by what ever is the name of the subject matter. 6) changing the subject line in the same thread-posted message:notice in this post I am making, i changed the subject like from "Re: [pookieland] I am so Happy!!! " to: "information on posting in the forms-hope it is helpful." This can be useful when you want to do what I just did-replying in your thread to a subject that has come up for discussion but not the exact original message that was posted. I did that because I wanted to give a title to my current message-because it is not directly related to your original message-about being happy for having done your jump-but rather a message that is adding information to the discussion on the way posts have been made-so it is now replying to a section of what this post has within it 7) the /url button is used when you want to make a link to something in your message. Like at the top of this message I put a few links from this forum to direct the reader to have a look at those links. That is how you would put the link to your video when you get it. when you get the video, just go to the page where ever it is going to be-whether skydivecity or on youtube and copy the URL at the top of the screen (the 'address' to your video) and post it in your message and then click that /url button. One final note-sometimes when I click on those buttons, nothing happens-i need to click on them a second time. Once I see that the .url (or what ever i was intending to do) shows up between the words I typed then i know it worked, but i hope that gives a general idea of what i mean. now im excited for tomorrow-VIDEO TIME! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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AWESOME Pookie... just what I was hoping you would start to share with us. As you said TK is a sttraight forward guy-I haven't met him, but he must be if Angus calls him a friend-Angus is perhaps the most respectable individual ive known-and chooses his friends wisely and carefully. Having said that I'ts great that you let us know whats up with the video-you didnt even see it yet. Clearly your video guy has something awesome planned for your video because typically we get our videos within 1/2 hr or so of landing. The yr's of notes and drawing's is a great sign. I am so happy to read that-it means you've kept in safe place all the information it took to get you here and I feel confident you will keep doing the same from here onward (At least till you get your license -seems after the license many even start to get sloppy with filling in their log books-not good-I also keep my own notes besides my log book which is is the 'official' thing that is required for me to show to the officials to get further licenses after this one that I now have. THANK YOU POOKIE for putting much thought into how you replied to us, because if you were not a gentle heart guy you could of easily slammed me ahnd peter (and the other guy in that thread thats missing now-who i tried to correct for being harsh-my bad on that-you took the high road and didnt tell him off). I hope you didnt mean that we think you have some big secret-no it isnt that. i will show you in an attachment here what i mean by the question on gear and modifications. as an example, Tonto (whom the skydiving world and his friends and family lost Oct 2007) came up with the idea along with his student Peter Hewitt that having our skydiving pants modified a certain way is helpful. Dale came up with an additional modification that helped him -which i have not adopted-yet but perhaps need to some day-as my condition is progressive. So by the fact that Peter shared with me pictures of how his pants were made=we made pants like that for me. By me showing in my post how i made the pants, Dale was able to take the basic idea and make his pants, and add to them to fit his needs. Now someday when you get more comfortable with the posting part-perhaps you will show pictures of your gear=if you have pants modified also=so that way the next person who wants to try something like this, will be able to look through my postings, Dale's postings, and your postings to get as much information as possible-so that person will be able to get the basics of what is helpful and what wasnt helpful-so they can try their first AFF jump as safely as possible and just as importantly find an instruxtor willing to teach them. As Angus said, TK is perhaps one of the only instructors he knows of, who is highly qualified, and capable of teaching paralyzed people. I know in several other areas others with paralysis have contacted me and said they have tried to go to dropzones and found that they cant get anyone willing to try to teach them/ As you know from experience, it is a BIG PROJECT and the instructor has to be someone truly with a big heart willing to give up lots of his time/and potential earnings (if he was working with others he may get paid more=in my case because i live on disability and have minimal inome Angus waived his fees completely-that is a BIG sacrifice-he could of had a paying customer each time he jumped with me. Thanks for replying with such kind and informative words. We all look forward to the video when it arrives and surely that video will answer most of our questions we have now, because we will get to SEE YOU and how it goes, what happened to that other instructor who fell off, etc. thanks for your patience with us all. now here is the example i wanted to show you on what i meant by "modifications". the pants at the top -with the 'thor written on them are my modified pants (but ive modified them since-a little and this winter project im modifying a jumpsuit i got to my purposes-bought a ton a rigging equiptment and when im done i should have a freefly suit-because these pants last only a couple of hundred jumps before they are so worn they cant be used anymore). now the 2nd picture is Peters pants, you can see the similarities and how with the help of Peter sharing the pictures of his modified gear we were able to modify my gear to suit me which help in my ability to skydive. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Agreed with Dalel Yes this IS a forum for people with disabilities,'yes we got all sorts of disabilities-I for one,have a severe head injury (in a coma for 3 weeks-rehab for 6 months to learn to talk, eat, dress myself etc. all over again). I was born as an individual with autism-yah Im autistic and apparently social skills is not a forte for us autistics-in fact more often then not we are left behind from almost all social activities (it sure is evident if you were to spend a week viewing my life-I can count in one hand the number of times in my live I've had visitors at my house in the 43 yrs I've been alive-and it isn't because i never want visitors-its because im just too 'weird for anyone to want to stick around near me for too long-here at the DZ i spend more time alone in the fields taking pictures and video listening to my Ipod-then I do talking to people. And that isn't by choice-i would like to be invited to evening activities with other skydivers as much as anyone else who goes-i just don't get invited) - and finally my paralysis, & ALS... ok so its a 'jumble of 'differences'/'disabilities that I deal with, but who in this forum posting as a person with a disability doesn't have lots of sh*t to deal with? Having said that, I've done my best to try to encourage pookie to continue with one threat (or maybe a few?), and actually even post something in the body of that message. I mean the reality is, that in the last 15 days, pookie has made 12 separate threads, and out of those are threads with a subject but nothing in the body. In one thread i did my best to try to encourage pookie to add information, via various methods-explaining how it helps us all to have something in the subject as well as the body of the message, how important it is for us to know what he is doing, how, his progression to date, and what worked and what didn't. furthermore, when it was initially brought up one of his ;count down threads;-which seems to be lost-I cant find that one- SOMEONE already posted a comment about not just giving us a different thread for each count down day but perhaps just adding to the same thread day after day as the count down was going on. And that he should start adding info in the body of the message, I jumped in and stood on pookies side-sharing that we DO have a variety of disabilities, and they affect us in various ways-physically, emotionally, cognitively etc. but to sum up what has been happening in the last 15days, Now to put this all into some type of perspective, looking at posts purely from those of us who are paralyzed here is a bit of a summary. Dale was a first time skydiver-he has posted a total of 3 separate posts Over a period from Sept 2008 until Dec 2009-yes each thread has LOTS of info, photos links to videos etc. With the first one being ParaChutePlegic in sept. 2008 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3348407;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread I chose the route of making one post-and adding to it-lie a blog format-if people want to read it they know what they get the whole picture from beginning to end. Starting with my 1st introductory entry on Sept 20th 2007-well after I had done my first few jumps and the final entry to date being on Nov 27 2009. That threat can be found at: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=3055760;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25 As for pookie One of the first of his posts was on Dec 15th-that poll to choose between: “Is there a Gimp Sky Diving Team” and “2 weeks until..1st USA paraplegic skydiver Coming Soon” 1st USA paraplegic skydiver Coming Soon http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3743088;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread (maybe I’m not intelligent enough to see the connection between those two questions, but to me it is difficult to see such a poll as a poll-to me the questions are very different topics-like I said I’m autistic and have a head injury so maybe im not noticing some basic easily recognized logic in that poll)[/] Only...5 Days until my 1st Solo FreeFall ; http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3753533;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Only 4 Days until my Solo Jump!! http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3754476;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Solo Dive in Z-Hills this weekend http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3759526;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Saturday Z-Hills Be There !!! http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3760520;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Happy Holidays to all Cloud Jumpers!!! http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3761061;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread I am so happy http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3763070;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread Out of a total of 12 new messages.posts there are 7 without any message in the body of the post only the title. It IS frustrating to not get any info-which is relevant as Dale mentioned. I did my best to try to support pookie in learning how to add information, and suggested that if writing wasn’t ;his thing’ then one of those friends he speaks of, could give him a hand and sum up his experiences and share these with us, but somehow that particular 'count down' thread is now missing (I think it was his 3 days left count down threat-since that ne isnt here anymore) After all, Pookie’s jumping IS IMPORTANT, and remarkable-which makes it even more important to know the details then just any first time skydiver. Would those who know pookie-care about him, were there to cheer his landings-please take the time to give the fellow a hand... in adding some details? if asking pookie himself is not a viable option, i know TK is an articulate man, and who ever this other instructor was who 'fell off' maybe they can add some details of at least that jump. I've heard of pookie since April 2008, and have some info on his situation back then with the wind tunnel trip (s) but it is NOT MY PLACE to detail 2nd hand information, as to what happened then and what the 'issues' were-since I was not there. Like i said in the thread that is now missing, if the Zhills folks care for pookie as much as it is evident in these threads-why is no one giving him a little bit of a helping hand in adding some information-particulars of these last two jumps -since it seems some of you were there - perhaps share with us what type of modifications has pookie been given for his gear? debrief the jumps, tell us details, why did that instructor fall off, and the video like dale csaid chop chop chop=as Dale put it. -if pookie doesn't have the computer program or skills needed to put up the video hello friends of his? where are you.... its great your here to offer support -clearly it is helpful and pookie is excited, as we all were on our first jumps, and all 3 of us paralyzed folks on this forum who are active (yes Peter Hewitt was te 1st one and his instructor Tonto is not with us, I have Peters gear now since he isnt jumping but out of us active paralyzed jumpers -Dale, Pookie and mself-the two of us try to add details (some of us-il.e. me-wrote a little too much at times-wich is why you don't need to read my words if it bothers you- but come on this is getting a little more then frustrating... we get the count downs, the building of excitement-believe me i was thinking of pookies jump on and off all day when i knew he was doing it-and to be given no details, no video, ...its certainly a let down and if it wasn't for the fact that pookie is 'one of us' (jumpers with disabilities) i would of stopped reading this stuff a long time ago. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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He's prolly just bent out of shape because he's up to his ass in that cold, white stuff and all the planes up there are frozen solid to the ground. Just can't stand someone else having all the fun!
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can you tell us what happened so that "one fell off"? was it stability? (meaning were you going up and down-what we call potato chipping-as in head goes up higher to look to the skym then lower, to look towards the ground-over and over again). I'm very interested in the the fact that it you were "more stable with one" instructor. It sort of happens to me also... when I did a dive with 2 AF instructors for some points (needing to move forward towards them to grab a hold of them, then let go, move backwards and then move forwards again to get a hold of them) I noticed that during the moment of letting go-there was instability for a moment-that "potato chipping" for a bit. I have hard for about 2 yrs of your determination to get to this dive- (like I said, I heard of you on my wind tunnel trip in April 2008, when TK was asking if Angus could come down and do AFF with you-but it just didn't work out then for what ever reasons) so to me, reading of your dive is like as if it was my dive-like my 1st AFF dive was-such a long wait and finally it happened. I AM SO VERY PROUD TO KNOW YOU THROUGH THIS FORUM, and glad you finally showed up here to share of your story. I NOW REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE DALE COME TO THE USA AND I WOULD TRAVEL DOWN AND WE COULD ALL 3 JUMP ONE AFTER THE OTHER IN FLORIDA (besides FL is a place I want to do some other jumps-been planning that trip for a while now) representing 3 countries, 2 continents- and to think that this all really started back in 2007 (me) then 2008, (Dale) and now 2009 (you).... it would make a good video for many reasons- -if we could only drag Lonnie along for the trip that trip to jump...would make it sweet-but Lonnie is a busy guy-(and perhaps doesn't read these forums often-) To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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you should be!! THAT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME THAT YOU WENT TO 1 INSTRUCTOR AND THAT YOU DEPLOYED ON YOUR OWN. as for landings-check out the videos i got up on youtube extremewheelchairs is the name on there. ook for them and see the landings on the vidoes where i am diving alone. it is sort of a PLF-but not really because now that ive done so many jumps i slide on my butt for quite a distance (and am praticing blind man landing-i practice the turn around and control of toggles up high at approx 5,000f -i usually depoy at 6 grand on the days i want to practice something new for canopy control so i have lots of altitude if it all goes to shit and i have to go for the reserve=which hasnt happened yet). anyways, as long as my legs are strapped up high enough-that my butt is the lowest thing to the ground i can slide as long as i winds let me To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Great job dude! I'm SO proud of you-working so hard to make this happen-and im sure your friends and everyone around were total exstatic about it =... yes the freedom is nothing ever to be able to explain-you just got to do it to understand :) great job-keep on going forward. tell me how the free fall was.... did your instructors deploy for you or did you? im so stoked to see the video! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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Happy Holidays to all Cloud Jumpers!!!
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
Thank you, and same for you Pookie,'may you have a great holiday season and exceptional weather coming up this weekend :) To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
1 Day Until My Solo Dive !!!
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
absolutely! good call on that one Pookie. So where are you doing this jump -im confused. I thought i read somewhere that its going to be in arizona-but then think its in Zhills-because isnt that where you and TK been working on this? just curious if your at the same DZ as you started. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
Only 4 Days until my Solo Jump!!
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
keep up that positive spirit, and believe in yourself.... Sat. will be an awesome day To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
Only...5 Days until my 1st Solo FreeFall
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
Pookie-keep that determination you have -you've WORKED HARD FOR 2 1/2 yrs to get to this point, Saturday is truly as important as the countdown to a NASA launch is! YOU have the spirit of a skydiver, you have not quit (I know of two fellows who wanted to start skydiving as paralyzed individuals but found the work too overwhelming-they couldn't do it-mentally-they never did a single solo) YOU ARE A SKYDIVER regardless of what happens on Saturday-you've done 29 jumps (tandem I assume)... ONE makes you a skydiver!... keep up the spirit-I am counting down the days with you dude!, and surely many who read this forum also are. I'm sure your friends @ Zhills are, I'm sure TK is looking on with pride in you for how determined you are to keep on trying. Please remember, that no matter what happens on Sat. YOU ARE A REAL INSPIRATION.... I don't know of anyone-paralyzed or not- who has worked for 2 1/2 yrs to get themselves ready for their first solo skydive. Be proud of your accomplishments to date. If you find it difficult, boring, or just plain not liking to write much-would you consider telling verbally to one of your friends at Zhills what youve done so far, and that person could start a thread sharing your progression, what you have done so far, the things I wrote about in the previous post (your 6th day thread) I understand writing is not everyones favorite activity , so that's why I said maybe one of your friends can help with the writing if you dont like writing much, and share your story-details-of your progress to this date. Like I said before, what your doing IS SO IMPORTANT to know about-we're not just being nosy, but the details will help someone else some day who has similar level of paralysis as you do. KEEP ON WORKING AT IT POOKIE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, and glad you came online because I heard about you 1 1/2 rs ago from Angus who is friends with TK ( that was April 2008), and since then have often wondered what has happened.... and here you are-and here you belong, your one of us! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
Only...5 Days until my 1st Solo FreeFall
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
i have no opinion on your social status (asshole or not) since i really dont know you at all but i think you have a point. i chose to write about my 'progress' [or lack of it at times ] in ONE THREAD ONLY BECAUSE: A) It's easier for those who choose to read about it, to do so if its all contained in one thread-becomes almost a mini 'blog' of the paralyzed woman who left the skateparks and came to the dropzone. B) it's easier on the forum itself-instead of each post I'd make being a different thread and filling up the forum with more and more threads [I tend to write a lot when i do write-so i think i would have had dozens of threads had i chosen a different method]. C) finally, for those who choose to try to follow suit-others with paralysis-and want info about how I did it - can easily find it because its in one thread (like Dale-when he first started-he read my posts and from there contacted me and we emailed at the beginning stages of his progress) Having said that, its important to remember that we all have varying degrees of internet knowledge-and the social 'protocol' involved in posting in forums and other such activities [i.e. when I first started I didnt know capitals was considered as shouting i used them as emphasis for certain words-and stil do-forgetting about the shouting perception]. Furthermore, most of us with paralysis, became this way due to an accident of some sort-which typically means also some level of head injury [regardless of the manner in which our 'accident' happens-having our head hit a bit-or more in some cases.] which further hinders our abilities in social situations-either due to short term memory loss, having lost skills we had prior to the accident, or new ways of thinking and expressing ourselves. [(before i had my motorcross accident i was a programmer at Apple Canada-1st week of work there-but when i woke up from my coma i coudnt remember anything about programming-not a thing! after rehab. i had to go to university to learn new career paths [or relearn programming which I chose not to do]. Rod Mack is a good example of this. When he became paralyzed he also had a serioous head injury. To this day, his written expression is unique, and sometimes needs a little more patience to get the point he is making-yet his intelligence is there-(heck he has done huge amounts of work since his accident in not only designing his MackStrap's to help paralyzed people do tandems safer-to his music career). His written expression is slightly different then it propably was prior to his accident but his intelligence is as sharp as ever! Now either I'm going to be an asshole also along with you (if you are one for this post-then clearly i will also be one), or this was informative and helpful not only for readers in this forum-to understand why some of us express ourselves in unique ways-or for those of us posting-hopefully gaining a slight understanding of why it is helpful to make one thread and keep our progress notes, and receive encouragement and helpful info in that same thread. take it as you wish, but the intent is only good-to try to help us all in this forum to better understand each other. -gimpboogie To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
Paraplegic Skydive - Ideas on Landing
gimpboogie replied to peter_d's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
any new developments? have you made some progress on putting the plan together on paper as you mentioned? I notice its been about 5 plus months since our recent update from you... let us know what your up to, or if youve decided skydiving is not for you, or??? your a part of our world, so its important we check up on each other once in a while to see how things are, have you checked out Dale's threads, or mine? and now we have Pookie going for his 1st solo this Saturday coming.... keep us updated if you can :) To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
6 days until my Solo Dive !!!
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
awesome!!!! hope you get video! go for your dream dude!!!! the freedom you will feel on saturday is going to be beyond anything ever experienced in life! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
1st USA paraplegic skydiver Coming Soon
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
I remember hearing about you from Angus in spring 2008. Actually what I had learned then (I was going to the wind tunnel at that time) was that you had been in the wind tunnel and TK had actually asked Angus to come down to be the 2nd AFF instructor with him to help you. Then for some reason that project sort of didnt go any farther-from what I understood-so I AM VERY HAPPY to see you posting here now. even more excited to know you are going to go do the 1st solo-now let me understand-do you mean your 1st AFF (solo for you-you wear your own gear but the two instructors jump with you and hold on to you for the 1st jump at least and then as you progress you would go through the r=program myself and Dale went through-complete level 7AFF and then you are solo certified skydiver not needing the instructors anymore. is this correct? I am expecting that you would be going to do the AFF and not either a static line or a IAD (instructor assisted deployment-basically the jump master deploys your pilot chute as you exit the plane-instead of the static line). As Angus and I have discussed, and I would think Dale and his instructors would agree-that AFF is really the only safe method for teaching paraplegics to skydive. Static line method is too difficult because for our 1st freefall it is only a 5 second delay and I tried that once-depoy immediately out the door like I see CRW guys do-that was the jump I ended up deploying on my back and had a pilot chute hesitation-it was caught under my container and was flapping in the air in front of my face-NOT a good place to be-especially without lower limb control-had that pilot chute gone between my legs instead of out the right side of my body-it would of been a high speed mal in very difficult conditions. So having said that, I will be awaiting your post on Sat. or as soon as possible after that to see how it went. I am assuming that your trip to Zhills is not far from you-hopefully-giving you the chance to go often. That is another key in this sport for all people but for us paralyzed ones especially-CURRENCY CURRENCY CURRENCY!!!! the AFF progression hopefully can happen fairly quickly in the sense that you would be available/able to go for the 2nd jump fairly soon after your 1st one. Please elaborate/explain what you guys are doing with your legs? Dale and I have similar 'systems' for our legs and the way in which our pants were made but yet somewhat different. I'm very curious as to what your system for working with the legs is. I think it is critical to know these things, because as Dale had said, once he has jumped more-he is interested in writing in detaill some of the methods we have used. Since we each have a different level of paralysis-its also important to then note which level of paralysis uses what type of system. i.e. Dale if I recall correct is T10, your C6/7, I'm currently now at the level of T1/C7, but with problems with diaphram supply (C4). Anyways my thoughts are wandering-sorry-i would just be so interested in learning what you guys have done so far, what happened when you did it, what did you change if anything, and what happened then... I know you've only been in the tunnel to date-that I know of--propably done lots of tandems though? so when you get some time, would you try to write down the info on those questions. It will be so helpful for others who wish to learn also, and the instructors who choose to take on these projects. When Angus and I started there was only TK to talk to after we lost Tonto (Peter's AFF instructor). Initially we had contact with Tonto on this. Now Dale, he researched this stuff on his own, contacting me a year ago Aug. or so, and from there talked to Peter and others perhaps even... explained it all to his instructors and off they went-they did not have the chance for a wind tunnel-there isnt one in his contry... but generally Angus and TK both seem to believe (and I agree what ever my opinion matters LOL) that a wind tunnel test is almost a must before going out the plane without knowing what may happen in freefall. Dale proved that wrong-he never had the wind tunnel and went on with what was believed to work and modified things from there as he needed to. His detailed info on what he did, is very helpful and i hope mine is also-thats why i keep writing in the same thread-so the info stays together in one place.... helping whom ever is going to be some day putting the info together and hopefully making a manual of sorts on what worked for whom/what level of paralysis and what didnt work and so forth, wether you know it or not, your experiences in this are absolutely critically important-please consider writing down the best you can info on everything youve done, to date and as you continue on with your jumps explain what hapened and why. i hope someone will jump and do video for you, that is also so important. Dale and my AFF progression is documented on youtube and my wind tunnel testing videos as wel. i hope gathering this iinfo together one day will be helpful in others like us who wish to fly-to come join us in the skies. I'm currently in contact for about a year now with a fellow John, who is hoping to join us in the skies one day (check out J2rolls on or extremechairing in google to find John). We are planning a wheelchair -trip- from some place to a dropzone where i hopefully will be allowed to jump (this will be in the USA) and John will do his 1st tandem. John has taken it upon himself to bring awareness to spinal cord injuries by making several day trips across certain states-yes travelling the whole state-and his website is of individuals with disabilities who are pushing the limits and are doing -extreme sports- im on his site as a skydiver. pookie i hope you understand that your jump on saturday will be special for us all, surely it will be a huge leap for you-literally- 2 1/2 yrs in the waiting!!!! that is totally awesome!!! im so stoked for you-now i wish i was going to zhills for the canadian invasion after christmas but i had plans to go to FL for some B.A.S.E. jumping in march or so OR go to the wind tunnel.... IF i go to florida I would like to look you up and come see you if that would be ok with you. :) keep at it dude!!! To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works -
Hey Dale, I've done a bit of tracking, and am learning about atmonauti. not because i am ever going to be an accomplished atmo freeflyer but there is something to be thought of in regards to the body position in atmo vs tracking. check it out at: http://atmonauti.com/main.html I find that the angle of flight (yah atmo you end up covering much more distance then tracking-and going a LOT FASTER :) which is what i like-faster-if you go to youtube and find freeflychild-my buddy has a video of his 1st atmo fight here at our DZ-he's flying -and made 2 points-with one of our more accomplished skydivers-you can see at the end of he video when he says 'faster, faster, faster' he leaves Ryan and flies right back to the jump run, then away to deploy-but that final section is not on the video because Ryan is taking the video (freeflychild is the one in red) and this is Ryans 1st atmo attempt so he has to deploy becore we get to see freeflychild deploy-but we do get to see him flying right back to the jump run qas ryan is deploying-covers a lot of distance and speed is easy to see once he leaves ryan at the end-its like he has turbo kicking in) anyways, that 45% body angle seems to be a better answer for having our legs locked into the 90% angle. that angle seems to slow down tracking, and reduces the distance possible but in atmo that angle actually is helpful and increases the effectiveness of human flight. body angle to the ground is about 45% vs. tracking basically straight on belly.... which leads me to next summer working on atmo body position instead of typical tracking, and this should be allow me to fly on my back. To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works
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1st USA paraplegic skydiver Coming Soon
gimpboogie replied to pookieland's topic in Skydivers with Disabilities
keep at it dude! TK is a friend of my AFF instructor and know your in good hands. What has been your skydiving progression to date? I see in the photos you got your own rig on-not tandem... thus you are now doing the AFF program, is that correct? if so, what level are you at? how many jumps? you seem determined enough-keep at it. it took me a while and im out there on my own now flying solo. done over 100 skdives as a paralyzed person, ifyou keep at it, it will happen i believe.' as my instructor Angus said "i saw you werent going away, you wouldnt quit" so he started the AFF program again with me and off i went to finish my level 7 AFF and from there to become solo skydiver. What are you doing with your legs for stability? and what level of paralysis do you have? sory, im trying to understand your situation better... hope your not offended by so many questions. be well n take care, To become active member in the Bonus Days Club you must very narrowly escape eternal freefall ... one exciting time.)-Pat Works