Abedy

If she wants to combine it with "Go to another country" I (and all my TI colleagues) in Germany would be willing to make her wish come true. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

We have a 206 here, which is usually quite packed... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Just one funny add-on: We attach the laterals right after boarding. I also tell my guests what I am doing but one day my colleague couldn't stop giggling because I told a nice young lady "Now yer pretty tight down there." (Jetzt bist Du untenrum schön fest!") She didn't mind, though - I'm sure she didn't catch the ambiguity of the sentence Anyway, I am a more aware of what to tell my students now, that for sure. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

It's amazing how time flies, huh? Or to put it more correctly: Amazing how fast you progress

We use this one here on our balcony. It's extremely safe (should even be safe with an old lady ) and takes only about 3mins to be ready for the steaks or sausages to put on. Uses charcoal but the coals are put into a "cage" and are lit there. It's equipped with an electrically powered ventilation system, for a steady glow of the charcoal (adjustable). Really, really nice. Doesn't smell of charcoal fire, nor do you need any special hazardous fluids to light it - a special (fool-proof) paste for lighting is provided. So you might be lucky enough to not get caught Maybe you're lucky enough to find something similar in the US? This one here is electric with a CERAN field, haven't tried it, though. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

"The older you grow, the smaller the world" - an Aussie friend of mine after meeting a long-lost old acquaintance from Carnarvon, WA at a caravan park near Yeppoon, QLD. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Have learned on manual transmission and driven manuals. Had to drive an automatic when I was in Canada in 99 and loved it along with cruise control. Driving a Skoda Octavia with automatic transition (6 shifts), mainly around town. Sucks up less petrol than my 5-shift manual Mitsubishi Lancer in the early 90s

After hooking up I also tell them when checking again: "Left upper - fastened and secured, ... left lower... left leg strap... chest strap fastened and secured, now I'm checking my gear... Everything is attached and fastened as it should be, we're ready, have fun" I also cannot but emphasize that routine is everything here: Do it in each and every skydive the same way at the same time. Like an experienced TI told me: "It's gotta work like a juke box with one disc - you insert 10c and will always get the same song." The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Hehe, nice cartoon (as always). Congrats on passing. I liked the pic with skydiving duck tracking most Good luck for level 8, though that sounds interesting to me as we only have Levels 1 to 7 in Germany, then students are handed a leaflet labelled "Level 8 - Solo skydiving, what now?" But if I guess correctly your Level 8 should be pretty much the same - solo skydiving accompanied by an instructor, huh? Wish you lots of fun and looking forward to your next cartoons - reading stuff for long winter evenings The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

This post did not get to my attention in April, shame on me. Very interesting article, will read it in full, just skimmed it: Matches very much what we can find in Germany: Intentional low turns being #1. All three low turn fatalities last year happened to very experienced jumpers with 2,500 to 10,000 jumps. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Just a short re-reply: I just can mention that Helmut told us that they quite early when testing got to know that some riggers used "adventurous" material for reserve loops like parts of tension lines etc - which got hard, rough etc and thus could get stuck. To deal with the problem they developed the CYPRES loop along with the accompanying CYPRES disc (the "smiley disc".) They decided to give it away for free and keep on doing so and AFAIK they have handed out 3 million loops so far. For free. Just mention this as this was the work-around to make sure CYPRES can do what it was primarily invented/thought for: Cutting a reserve loop without any problems. I know CYPRES cutters have been used in other fields, even in space, but I think dealing with the material issues for OTHER purposes can't really be handed down to Airtec Just my 2 Eurocents The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Calls for a reply in German (only works in in German, sorry): Das Bild is ja wohl voll fürn Arsch! The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Reminded me of the cartoon attached. Reads "The only mentionable attraction of Wesseling (town in Western Germany) is the Marian apparition on its station loo" PS: I like the artist and his dry, black humour. See here The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Reminds me of a very interesting childhood memory of the early 1960s when I watched the "gas-lighting guy". He was dressed very much like a chimney sweeper and wore a black top hat (which impressed me deeply) and rode a bicycle. He leaned it to the gaslight-pole and started the gaslight with a long rod (there was sort of a hook or whatever at its tip) and whoosh, the warm light shone into my bedroom. I took comfort in this light and liked it much. I was sooo disappointed when we got electric streetlights in our street somewhen around 1969 or so. Yeah, we lived in the very outskirts of my Brandenburg hometown (Cottbus), gaslights were considered obsolete and quaint even in those days And then there's another memory most Americans might be unable to share: When we visited my grandma we walked past houses with holes from shelling in WWII. When we roamed the forests around there were a lot of bomb craters and even remnants of trenches here and there. (Mom was always afraid we might find blind shells...) Or mom, dad or granny telling us stories about the terrible time during WWII. Some of them so vivid I dreamed of it. No child should collect memories like that... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Uhmm... wasn't that the pic related to "Spanking isn't bad for your hand?" Sorry, could not resist. (ducking...) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Thanks for that post. I read it with interest and it made me once again think about what great a sport we share. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

I don't have any deeper insight into the physics. But when we paid Airtec a visit Helmut showed us examples of reserve loops some riggers had made of old tension lines. These became hard, rough etc after some time and thus were a hazard - they could get caught (especially if the reserve container is very tight) and might also have issues re. cutting. (IIRC) That is why they developed the "CYPRES loop" which they gave and still give away for free. Helmut told us that they had given away 2,9 million of these loops - this was in April 2010 - so they must have given away 3 million loops by now. For free, to be used with ANY model. It's a similar story about the CYPRES disc (the smiley-style disc). This is simply outrageous and an extremely rude insult. Not only towards Helmut Cloth who I got to know as a very polite, open-minded and helpful guy. There might be questions he won't answer fully because if he did so it would harm his business. Some facts you found out the hard and expensive way you will not give away for free, huh? So if this is "bullshit propaganda", go and ask sensitive questions to any other entrepreneur! But your "these are Goebbels descendants" comment is also an insult to "these folks in Germany." Not only are there people whose fore-bearers fought the Nazi fascists, or who lost most of their relatives (Jews, Romani, mentally impaired...) And even those whose grandparents didn't resist the Nazis or even were followers - are they guilty just by "descent"? Think hard! I personally feel deeply hurt by your comment. Have a look at my personal website and you should know why. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Not of the one at the meeting but the video in my 1st article shows two cutting demonstrations very much the same as I saw there. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Just impressions I wanted to share, don't intend to start a "My AAD ate yours" discussion, so Nelyubin please just read. I attended the annual DFV (German Parachute Association) information and safety meeting yesterday. Airtec were there too and we could see cutters "in action". First, a steel cable was cut (about 4 or 5 millimetres thick). I saw pics before but watching it happen right before your eyes is much more impressing. They the showed us a CYPRES loop and only slid it through the opening of the cutter without the loop being pulled tight. It hang loose, so to say. Everybody could have a look and touch it. The 3-2-1 and it was cut cleanly. Hehe. If you want to read more or watch a video with a loop and a steel ripcord being cut click here. (Last 10s of the vid are hilarious!) But again, watching it in "real life" is even more impressing After that I happened to meet Helmut Cloth (pronounced kloat ) and he didn't feel "too superior" to talk to a me. Really nice man. Ah, and well... got me two of their free pull-ups, really good one (see here) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Heard an interesting story of a female skydiver who was born with her left arm only partly developed (lacks forearm). See here (Google translate should help): http://www.one-hand-skydiver.de/ She uses a prostheses. Another girl reported that this website made her go for it as well. Her left forearm is sort of way too short and so is her hand but she can grab with it etc, so they developed a totally different approach - Canopy (main AND reserve) modified so that she can work with the different lengths she is able to pull the toggles down in a sufficient way. Folks at the meeting were deeply impressed and applauded both girls. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

So, to make it a documented use, apply for the role of the quack-gynaecologist when the remake of "Dirty Dancing" is due. OK, wouldn't really be used but that's OK, huh? The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Congrats on your long TI career and the way you finished it. Your decision is a bold one. I'm 50 so I also thought about age limits etc. 60 was a number that came up my mind as well. But I got a couple of years to look into it. Again, nice story of yours and I hope you'll have a lot of more skydives w/o someone strapped to your belly . Last thought: OTOH there might be oooold students/passengers who might feel more comfortable jumping with a TI not too much younger than them? Just kidding The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

I guessed you'd like it The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Well Shah, sorry. ...this post is just about a nice piece of music I stumbled upon by chance. Just wanted to share. Watch and feel free to comment. There are some other mash-ups listed. The ABBA-Van Halen (Super Jumper) is nice, but well... the Lennon-Queen-thingy is just extraordinary IMHO. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Liked it very much, thanks a lot. Though I did level 4 to 7 in one day I can relate to your comics 'cause I blew level 4 and spent the night tossing and turning and thinking it over and over again. Also had problems to arch correctly when I started... No worries - I like a well-drawn cartoon better than any hastily smeared "artwork". Looking forward to your next cartoons and wish you good luck though you obviously don't need that much luck (due to the skills you've mastered so far) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks