Abedy

Bowling. Erm... doesn't really go with your avatar? I'm confused. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

More reports on TV and passengers complain about crew. They say crew were much more occupied with rescuing themselves, did not really attend to passengers, did not tell them what to do etc. Might be exaggerated but not all of it. The captain is indeed accused of manslaughter. It#s also said he send out SOS way too late, and gave order to abandon ship way too late -> ship was already so tilted that some lifeboats couldn't be released into water. A preliminary report should be available in a few days I suppose and should provide us with more (exact) facts but what's out so far sounds really sad. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

I like your "lights are on but nobody is home" description. Had two or three as well. They could remember next to nothing about freefall just were kinda absent with no arch, legs dangling and flopping; quite good their hands were still (reflex?) clasped to MLF. No fun. Learned it's better to extend arms and legs as far as possible into clean air than to arch really hard. Even then it's still a little rocking. All of them did much better during canopy ride, strange. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Something similar happened to a co-TI here. The guy got wasted the night before and almost passed out. TI kept him conscious by continuously talking to him... I had to practise landing with an unconscious student 4 times during my TI training, every time with heavy guys. Not really fun, but at least it helped learn how to do it. BTW: I had several lightweight students who had problems picking their legs up and let them "rest" their feet on mine which helped. But this ain't gonna work with heavyweights, I suspect... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Good hint, brought to the point The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Huhu, reminds me of the old joke: In the old days I came home, looked into the fridge and went to bed straight. Now I came home, look into the bed and go to the fridge straight. Well, not that it applies to me Just wanted to share. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

There have been threads where packing videos where recommended, just look for them. But frankly said, I'm not a fan of videos. Looks and feel "logic" as long as you watch them but once you try to pack that stubborn huge piece of fabric you're stumped. OK, might be just me. I'm more the practical type of guy. Came to the DZ when the weather was lousy. Had a guy show me how to pack. Well, wanted him to but he had me pack the damned circus tent five times in a row. Gave me loads of valuable advice by showing and then having me do it. Helped me more than the "Pack like a pro" video I had watched several times before. But again, could just be me. But if you're also the more practical guy, now's the time if you are not in one of the warmer states. Go to the DZ and have an old fart help you. If it's a true old fart he will do so and just for one beer as my mentor was only willing to accept. Anyway, just some links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WXiK89iWhg&feature=player_embedded - part 2 etc is easy to find ;-) This one, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZi2TAe7Of8&feature=player_embedded The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

And after repeatedly munching such loads of junk, they are true belly flyers The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Gets a lot of coverage here. I feel sorry for the people who drowned. Hope the folks still missing will be rescued. The captain is also accused for abandoning ship way before the last passenger did. Just watched it on TV. Hope it ain't so - if yes, that would be unbelievable, cowardly and liable to prosecution. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Bungee jump and para sail. Too dangerous Camping. Done away with it when I was about 25. Camped when I was at another DZ in 2006 (16way competition) and hated it, rather spend the bucks for a decent B&B Married? Well, have been for 28+ years, marriage has survived 10+ years of skydiving, so no. Ferris wheels, roller coasters etc - tried a "magic carpet" ride in 2004 with two skydiver friends. "Faster!" we yelled and so the owner did... until he pitifully replied "Doesn't go faster!" Didn't even have a tingling sensation in my tummy. Apart from that, it's quite expensive considered the thrill-money ratio Scenic flights I can do without. Well... better than nuttin' if on holiday. Oh wait, my missus doesn't like riding them small planes. Nuff bitched. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

When I got my second own rig I decided to stick with my PD176R. I had the rig tailored for a 169 Safire1 but asked whether it would safely house a 149 Safire2. Got their OK, had it delivered. Turned out it even worked, jumped it several hundred jumps. Worked even at the strange combo of 176R with 129 XFire2. OK, a two-out would have been very interesting, but it worked. Looked a little uncool but I'm old My new rig has a 135 Speed2000 reserve (low bulk) and the 129 XFire2. Reserve still bigger than main The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

A reply to an article on the "tandem - chuckers" gave me the idea to start a thread about students who faint during the ride. Didn't have a student who passed out/fainted. But I've only did 250 so far. I had one when I did video. Saw it when they landed. The guy had totally passed out. Helped to do sort of first aid - "autotransfusion" (i.e. legs up). Edited the scenes where he was recognisably unconscious (=cut them out). Turned out he hadn't drunk anything since morning on a really hot day and did his jump at about 2 pm. 'Membered this and - weather/circumstances requiring - ask my students whether they had enough to drink to not dehydrate (and whether they had something to eat to not go low on their blood sugar level.) Some folks got alert, indeed - "XY told me I shouldn't drink to prevent peeing my pants coz it takes so long to get up and..." - or "YX told me not to eat anything coz this prevents me from puking!!!!11" - usually told them to have a glass of cola (provides with both water/liquid and carbohydrates/sugar, huhu) Nevertheless had one guy who almost passed out, "talked" him down, and he stayed awake. And heck, I know a good way to induce problems is to fasten leg straps too tight. Thus asked old-fart TI's for advice on how to not too over-fasten but also not to put students in danger due to leg straps not tight enough. A few minutes of practising worth a lot of hassle prevented, huh. But even the old farts had had one or two or even more students who fainted. I wonder if there's sort of a "global" ratio? The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

A group of AFF students did almost the same: Went to the nearby bistro and had a really good lunch. One of 'em puked on her canopy ride down. I usually ask tandem students whether they had "a little" to eat - "to prevent you from fainting due to low blood sugar level" - and give a little hint that a huge meal (especially with loads of fat and cream and stuff) isn't helpful either Fainting... gives me an idea for a similar thread The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Our chancellor Angela Merkel, who is a Conservative, speaks Russian (did her doctorate (nuclear physics) in Russia) and English and I bet she also can speak some French since there are photos with her and Sarkozy talking without an interpreter nearby. This isn't considered a disadvantage to her reputation here, though. But I live in Europe The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

AOL!!!!!11 I usually jump at only one DZ (Gera, Germany) and thus rent a locker for my gear (and another one for camera/video stuff etc pp) But now and then I go to another DZ and noticed that having a bag just for the rig, a duffel for stuff like jumpsuits and a bigger bag for packing mat, fullface helmet (in its bag) and bit'n'pieces just comes handy and prevents "accidents" to my beloved rig and allows for easy checks The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Years ago, in GDR times when "parachuting" was 99% military or para-military, an instructor - who most obviously should have done anything else but "parachuting" - asked a student for their helmet and... yepp, started purging. Since I only was told this (by two independent reliable sources, though) I dunno how the story continued but I bet the student got out without his helmet... Another story: I sat in a cramped Caravan, years ago. Someone farted and it was a real stinker. A girl who sat in the middle couldn't bear it, took her Z1 and started chucking. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

LMAO Very twisted sense of humour, indeed, but entertaining to read. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Brilliant, as always. I liked the fleeing lobster most. Congrats to your successful jumps, especially the second one. Yes, you're getting better and better and as long as you just feel like Super Duck now and then but always keep in mind that you aren't Super Duck you will do fine. Tnx4sharing

Yes, I confused the OP and the fellow from the UK who answered to him. My bad. Anyway, DVB-S should be an option in the USA? The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

C'mon, 80 million Germans... should at least make up with California Well, as long as he had a part in Predator,...... Speaks German ... but is Austrian Just like "Dan Ackroyd, famous American actor" The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Well, according to a rule (the name of which I have forgotten) this thread has come to an end. JFYI: I'm not someone to tell any remarks about Nazi Germany. Polish and Jewish ancestry. Lost family during the 3rd Reich. DO YOU NEVER EVER CONSIDER NOT ALL GERMANS ARE THE SAME? I'M SO SICK OF THESE REMARKS! And just for "lost interest" - I'm glad they and the other allies who LIBERATED Germany didn't lose interest but brought the Nazi leaders to the Nuermberg Trials. I wish they had been more thorough in what was called "Entnazifizierung" (Denazification) though. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

The next person I'm gonna imitate on this shadow play is Tricky Dick. And thanks again to the Moro... Mormon with the only bright shirt around. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

And the price for the most oafish grin goes to... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Whenever I was in Oz, people told me that crocs especially love calm water - easier for them to approach their prey without being spotted and/or disturbed. Muhahahahaha. Gives a whole new aspect to the term "Rumspringa" The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks