nigel99

Well some good news. It seems that my skills are in enough demand that the defence guys are prepared to put through extra paperwork to try and get me waivered in. Wait till I give popsjumper as a character reference!! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I agree, Charlotte or Atlanta (skydive the farm). You get to meet real southerners who are super friendly. Very different feel to Florida (I prefer it) US Airways fly Gatwick to Charlotte. AA, BA and delta all have direct flights to Atlanta from Heathrow or Gatwick. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Don't take advice off the internet. If you or your instructors feel you are unsafe then stop. Otherwise so long as you are having fun, who cares if you are taking longer to pick things up? Not everyone is a natural and some of us are slow learners. I'm sure you've heard about Wendy. I took ages to get off student status - I was terrified of jumping and would promise to become a nun on the way up if I lived! That and being a broke student really slowed me down. But on the ground after a jump my smile was HUGE. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Squeak, Wife spoke to John about recurrence and was due to startup again this month (before mumbles). But due to the job situ on my side she's put it on hold. Daughter I want to go with Don, but that will be later in the year. I've just got to teach the twins to pack, to pay for my jumps :) Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Yes it can be done, but your spotting would need to be perfect. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

The problem I have with requiring "medical" clearance is that most GP's have absolutely no idea about skydiving and tend to think of it as incredibly dangerous, thus disqualifying many people who are perfectly OK to jump. Again older people are perfectly aware of their age and the limitations that brings, and are big and ugly enough to make their own decisions. It is up to the instructor to then assess their suitability during training. That should be enough. The link that was posted for the BPA stuff had a full page of guidelines for the MD to follow. Sadly I disagree with you. There is plenty of evidence that elderly people continue to drive when they are no longer safe to do so. If people have that problem with driving, then they will have the same with jumping. Obviously everyone is different, which is why I don't like a blanket rule of nobody over X years. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Rich The main point of my post originally was what extra precautions should jumpers over a certain age take? I have no problem with a 100 year old jumping if they are fit to do so. Personally I have no desire to die of a preventable heart attack, simply through ignorance or laziness. But as with driving there becomes a point where your motor skills simply make you a risk to others. My dad was a good driver, now he scares the crap out of me. Unfortunately it is part of life. At some point I think our abilities degrade to the point that we should stop. The BPA medical seems to cover it. There is no upper age, just a set of capabilities. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I like the BPA rules that were posted. I know the owner of our local dz told my wife he turns away people over a certain age as he isn't prepared to have the additional liability/hassle. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

My wife is uncurrent but jumps (her last just popsjumper stole her and left me in the plane). Problem with my wife is she is like that squirrel in over the hedge after its had coffee, Andy had to tie her to a chair to keep her still for her first jump course Strangely I trust my daughter more on the jumping and less with the boys and.substance abuse Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Andy, I very rarely agree with the views of lawyers on product liability. But I think this is spot on. I do sympathise with riggers (and product designers), we all make mistakes and sometimes they slip through. It is just that riggers and other safety critical occupations need to have fail safes in place. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

" ...................................................................... Struth! 39 years ago I discovered that chewing gum, sucking on a hard candy or even just a small stone kept saliva flowing, kept my throat moist, bronchial tubes moist and reduced my exercise-induced asthma to almost nothing. I eventually competed in 10 km and 20 km cross-country running races. Similarly, I have chewed gum on thousands of skydives ... primarily to help clear my inner ears with altitude changes. However, when I went for my last cardio stress-test, the technician was afraid to allow me to chew gum (for fear of choking) and needed permission from the cardiologist (medical doctor) before I was allowed to chew gum. Towards the end of my treadmill test, I was striding at 160 beats per minute, more than most 54 year-old men can tolerate. The cardiologist reported no problems and complimented me on much better exercise tolerance than most men in their 50s. Rob, Really interesting that chewing gum works for you. Personally until the 'drug' nothing stopped it and I was just convinced I was very unfit. I remember a person on dz.com getting totally crucified for suggesting chewing gum on skydives to someone else, so the tech wasn't alone Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sums it up perfectly. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Not an instructor so I may have this wrong, but being dz.com at least we know that half a dozen people will jump in and correct me On a diving exit you need to keep your feet right on your bum, while maintaining a hard arch - that stops you flipping over. That works for me anyway and pretty sure it is what I was taught. If you straighten your legs to soon over you go. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Well if she is going to learn to free fly she should at least have been wearing a gopro. Everybody knows you're not a real free flier till you wear a camera Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

My daughter has decided she would like to do a tandem for her 16th birthday! Thrilled that she wants to give it a shot, while be scared to death! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

As a kid I fell headfirst into a metal garbage can, and got a big gash on my eye ( bled like a stuck pig) Broke my foot trying to put a C9 down near the clubhouse. Missed and landed on a busy road, the injury was sustained trying to run out a C9 landing to get off the road quickly... My son last week. Bmx from about 4 foot in the air, managed to land all his weight on the tip of his thumb between the handlebars and ground. Ripped the nail off and crushed the bone... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I think you are seeing monsters in the shadows. Both of those wordings in there various guises are on hundreds of skydiving websites. Skydiving has changed SO much in the past 20 years. I wonder many Cessna haters have actually jumped a 182? Guys need to lighten up and wish the guys well. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Might as well be swooping! I'd prefer in bed...with your wife. Jeez Andy, didn't know you wanted to get shot. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Andy, In the UK it was standard practice for design engineers to rework their own prototypes. After about 5 years of running the consultancy I got pissed off with poor quality soldering losing us days of time. Dana went on a couple of soldering courses and took the bulk of that stuff over. But you realise electronics is just smoke and mirrors? Its all pretty simple. Keep the smoke in and it works, once the smoke gets out its broken. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

... i'm not sure the first two sound like they should be "thanks" They were definitely "thanks" i was having trouble doing it myself and needed a hand. Another "thanks" would be "thanks for not putting the video on YouTube. Earlier this week someone posted on fb "thanks for not posting pics from last night" I really need to ask her what the pics showed!! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

US skydiving is very light on rules and there is alot of resistance to ANY change in the status quo. I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand the Australian/British approach 'feels' safer, and it certainly costs alot more. But the reality is US fatalities are on par with the rest of the world (theres certainly not much if any difference) I like people checking my gear, but have stopped asking random jumpers since an AFF instructor tried to pincheck my poptop... Now I am happier doing it myself. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I'm a permanent resident. Yeah I know there is work its just finding something that fits what we need. Worst case I can fall back on being a licensed sparky on the mines. Would hate that though - been nearly 20 years since I worked at that level - also came here to spend more not less time with family... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Thanks. If it comes to the worst, I'll sell the wife and kids and get my packer B Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I'm feeling super stressed so any positive vibes or good jokes appreciated. The company I work for is being bought by a US defence company and because I was born in a listed country I will be losing my job. In Perth the jobs that I am properly qualified for (rf/electronics design) are in defence and as a non Australian citizen closed to me. I've designed telecomms systems and expected that the skills shortage would let me 'downskill' to repairing the stuff. There are loads of jobs repairing, but it is a struggle to find a match. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Yip, discussed at work here in Oz. The funny part is nobody believed me that Lodi is a 'dodgy' dz and has been subjected to FAA fines. They reckon that could never happen in the US. Something I don't like is the way at least one dz has publicly stated that due to APF rules it could NEVER happen here. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.