ShayneH

Your initial post made reference to a clear and pull from 12k, and then riding it down to 5k. That's quite a bit more than 1 or 2 attempts to clear a mal. Sorry. Let me clarify that: ...why not make at least one or two attempts.... As I've already stated 4 times: If my canopy is spinning/diving, I won't make an attempt to fight it. I will just chop it right off the bat. I am in no way suggesting anyone else try it either. Can we put the spinning mal argument to rest now?

We'll let natural selection worry about the guys that do things because it's "cool." As for finding your cutaway stuff... You can't "triangulate" a location with only the upper wind forecast. A triangulation can only occur if you have 3 or more surrounding points of data. All you can do is read that the uppers were XX out of the YYY and guess how far in that direction it floated. But this doesn't work for all of us. Maybe the folks at Eloy or other desert/deserted areas. But my landing area is nestled against mountains/forest, along with a giant reservoir and residential areas. So if I have a mal that isn't going to incapacitate me, I'll ride it down to a lower altitude so that I have a better chance of recovery. I'm not saying that this is the definitive way to do things, either. It's just my method that works for me in my environment.

The way I am interpreting what you folks are saying is that you would not attempt to fix ANY malfunction. And this is what I don't understand. Every FJC that I have been through or seen teaches a jumper to identify and fix a malfunction. Not reserve-specific, either. Here's how I see it: Your reserve is your last line of defense. Just as many (if not more) problems could arise from the process of cutting away your main and deploying your reserve than attempting to fix a malfunctioning main. So if you have the altitude, why not make 1 or 2 attempts at fixing that mal? It would be a tragedy to chop 2 or 3 linetwists on a non-diving canopy only to discover that your reserve was hooked up wrong, didn't fully clear before your RSL initiated, had a line-over, etc.... Not to mention, the only clear argument that has been presented (over and over despite retort) is the possibility of loss of consciousness from a diving canopy (which I stated a long time ago that I would chop right off the bat). But the fact is, the average jumper is on a non-elliptical 170 at a WL of 1.0-1.3. The chances of them being subjected to such G-Forces are minimal to none. On the other end of the spectrum, if someone has the skill to jump a high-performance canopy, then I'm sure they have the skill to recognize a hard dive and chop it. So in conclusion to my opinion, if altitude permits and your canopy isn't in a deathspin, it's better to make at least one quick attempt to remedy the problem before subjecting yourself to the possibility of a whole new set of problems. If anyone has a genuine opposing opinion to the above statement, I'd love to hear it. I'm always open to new information. But if it's the G-force argument, or you want to argue just for the sake of it, I'm not that interested.

You're right about that. But why do you assume that a mal from 12,500 is going to cost you your life? Unless the canopy is subjecting you to enough G-Force to incapacitate you (in which case I would chop too), there's really no reason not to try to fight it. Even fighting it down to 5,000ft is still going to give you a exponentially better chance of finding your canopy. And if you can't sort out a mal on your reserve from 5k, chances are that you wouldn't be able to from 12k.

Heh, let's hear you say that when you take your brand new $2000 canopy on a 12,500' high pull only to mal out the door in 40kts uppers. Anyways, be careful of the Safety Day Curse. It seems like 2 or 3 fatalities always occur within a 2 week span before/after Safety Day.

Also, the anti-fog layer tends to wear off the shields rather fast as well. I have a factory diver helmet with a visor that cannot be flipped open. One cold day, as I was half-way through my final turn when my visor fogged over on me. I had to bail out of the landing. The scariest part was not being able to clearly see my new path or any traffic in my way (since I was now landing crosswind in a full traffic pattern).

Hence why I'm here asking for other people's advice. No need be smug over a discussion of health insurance LOL You should heed your signature more ;)

Thank you for all the replies so far. Any info is welcome! @Ron, I'm in Colorado.

Wow, I had no idea that insurance companies were skydiving savvy enough to make considerations like that. Do they raise or lower the rates if you make over 100 a year?

Hi folks, I've been looking into getting health insurance lately. I do not have a job that offers any, so I figured that I would ask around here. What do you guys suggest? Are there any insurance companies that will consider skydivers not high-risk? Or should I just keep quiet about the fact that I skydive and twist facts a bit if a hospital visit comes around? Looking for advice from jumpers who have insurance, but not through their job.

Jeb Corliss' idea is fucking retarded, imo. The actual concept of landing a wingsuit without a parachute is pretty cool, but when you substitute the parachute for a multi-million dollar NASA built ramp, it looses all practicality. As for the guy who actually did it, can anyone provide any specifics? Specifically exit altitude

I'm a huge fan of huck'n'sort 2-way hop-n-pops. Take a dock, huck out, throw a twist or something in there, and see what kind of exit you get.

Porky's, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein

The handle will usually double as a foot strap on tubes.And obviously, if you're going to fight it, you have altitude. So lodge your foot in the handle area and start working at clearing your mal.

Alright, trying to convince me that astrology is non-existent is one thing, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here and let you criticize my intangible, yet deliciously meaty religion. BLASPHEMY!

Ya know, as I was digging through information about this new zodiac paradigm shift, I came across a short essay by a Minnesotan astronomer who explains why he doesn't believe in astrology. He makes some great points that I find myself agreeing with. I haven't jumped ship yet, but I'm going to keep researching it. You can find the same article here: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html **edited for clicky**

Started reading into this, and came across and interesting excerpt: "The stars are markers that drift, but our main points of reference are not directly the stars. They are the equinoxes (both spring and vernal) and the solstices which altogether make the four cardinal points of the zodiac which in turn determine the signs. The stars help us locate those points which define the SIGNS of the Zodiac which remain constant in relation to the equinox point. The CONSTELLATIONS do move about and we take that into consideration when locating planets." So it looks like the only reason you would want to reevaluate your Zodiac sign is if you had any interest in the original 13 signs that existed some two millennium ago.

I've also heard that NZaerosports has stopped selling the sail-material canopies to anybody but their sponsored athletes.

Ableton Live is a good choice to start off with. I'd also look into traktor. Cheers

See, this is where you guys are mistaken by even letting her have it. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=spiderman

What the hell is wrong with today's old folks!? Times changes and you need to accept it! I bet your parents were scorning you for going to that provocative, hip-thrusting Elvis Presely's concerts. But it was the sound of your generation. So if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go watch my rap music on MTV, respond to a salutation with ANOTHER salutation, and spend 20 minutes texting when a 10 second phone call would have sufficed.

To a degree, they are right. In order to legally ship HazMat items, you must ensure proper handling and conditions -- something that will cost far more than you are probably willing to pay. ...or pot! Funny story... My buddy works for UPS as a manager of some sort. He says they get packages all the time that smell like pot. Fortunately, here in Colorado, it's legal on a state level, so there's nothing that UPS can do. Anywho, an employee a few months ago was caught trying to steal such a package. The resulting actions taken were firing the employee, re-sealing and sending the package back off.

It doesn't being, nor end there. This is my primary problem with religion today. In all honestly, I don't care what your belief system is. What bothers me is when your belief system drives you to interfere with my beliefs and freedoms. As unfortunate as it is, religion dictates a large portion of our society's laws and regulations due to their governmental pull through lobbyists and politicians. The ending result is a system of laws that further limits personal freedoms, as well as hampers scientific advancements. Take stem cell research, for example. This is one of the most promising developments out there for perhaps the broadest category of health treatments. Yet, religious folks have been pushing to make such research illegal. In the realm of freedom examples, religion has been trying to abolish one's ability to have an abortion. Even in the case of rape. If the mother-to-be was a low income individual incapable of supporting the child financially and emotionally, and even at risk for birth complication resulting in death, some would still force her to have the child -- an inception she had no control over. In the realm of personal safety, how many wars, terrorist attacks, murders have been committed in the name of religion? One amazing principle of science is the fluid system of beliefs. Even if a highly accepted theory has existed for years, most folks have no problem transitioning their views in light of new evidence. The same cannot be said for religion generally. So, while the religious folk sit and pray to an omnipotent being [that might ignore them] for their quadriplegic child to regain bodily control, I'll take the side of the blasphemous scientific community whose empirical evidence and research points toward a brighter tomorrow.

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” ~ Marcus Aurelius