nigel99

Good for them! I wish more would do the same! Although we all slip occasionally, it's the inconsiderate bozos who cause the problems. I agree. I do wonder how much word of mouth business is lost as a result of the crass behaviour during business hours. After hours is totally different - no problem there. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Oh well. bummer it worked for me using Chrome just prior to posting. It would have been interesting to see. The author that quoted the test is black and he stated that most western people have at the very least a slight white bias - including himself. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Bummer. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/takeatest.html Is everyone clicking the demonstration page? I forgot that is the route not the research link. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I recently read a book (Blink) where the author mentioned a test that Harvard university runs. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/ Select the Race IAT test. I am interested to see what people here score. I made it a poll so that if people are uncomfortable stating their results they can be anonymous. Personally I fell into the slight preference for white. It surprised me slightly as I grew up in Southern Africa and with quite strong racial views all around me I was not sure how much it had influenced my views. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I agree with Seal Team Six. Blink is a good book as well. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

It is not just on video. People do damage all the time without thinking. A little while ago I was sitting at the dz chatting to a mate who was swearing. I didn't notice the swearing or the kids sitting behind us, but it offended a tandem passenger who asked us not to swear in front of kids. We tend to forget that people come from really diverse backgrounds and that while jumping is in progress it is wise to behave appropriately. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

What's the issue if it's done safely and under supervision, pray tell? Try to make it rooted in fact, and not something made up from what you THINK American gunowners are like, thanks. again, quote the whole thing. well, here's proof, letting a kid shoot without ear-protection; that pretty much sums it up and i dont need to say anything more.. Only valid *IF* he knew that a 22 is capable of causing damage, which he evidently did not. . So now you excuse ignorance too. Jeez Kallend Mikes post was very reasonable. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Would you mind citing your sources and posting links to a sub-plethora of the complete plethora you claim? I have never seen any studies so I would like to read. Certainly not the best reference out there and Makeithappen did point to the proper search terms, however I use this document enough that it was easy to find. Look at Table III on page 33. http://www.everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD+(1400+-+1499)/MIL-STD-1472F_208/ Popsjumper - I am probably guilty of confusing accuracy with precision on some of my posts. Just because a digital altimeter reads 1021foot - it does not mean that it has a 1 foot accuracy. It is actually a valid thought because people using digital altimeters for "accuracy" to start things like swoops better be sure that the instruments measurement uncertainty isn't going to kill them. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

congrats. It is really fun to play with others in the sky. You know that you used the word though Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I think it is important to make the distinction that analog is best for approximation, while digital is best for precision. If you need to know that the altitude is > x analog is quicker. However if you need to know that you are at 5.6k then digital will be quicker. I use an alti to tell me when to deploy so analog works best as I honestly don't care if I deploy -/+ 500 feet of when I told people I would. If I needed to know more precise altitudes then I would replace or supplement with a digital. Out of interest it is not uncommon for scientific instruments or meters to have both digital and analog displayed simultaneously. It is surprising that the altimeter market hasn't followed suit. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

A slight hijack but I feel it is relevant. People are talking about helping students with learning the landing pattern. We have an excellent tool available that I believe is grossly under-used in training AFF students - TANDEM. Get students to do 2 tandems prior to AFF level one and actually spend time teaching canopy flight. Popsjumper recently supervised a student who did just this. Before AFF level 1 the student had actually practised landing a pattern, braked turns, full turns, flaring etc. Personally I think that what was taught was brilliant and added substantial value to the learning process. I wish to emphasize active engagement in teaching the tandem student though - ideally involving the AFF instructor as was the case with Popsjumper. No device dependency or failure and one to one coaching from an instructor, beyond cost I don't see a downside. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

It seems that some of the conversation got a bit side-tracked but I want to pick up on Peters post and where my concerns lie. Firstly I fully agree that a digital read-out gives better precision of read out and is better suited to canopy flight if used in this manner. But my main concern is in freefall where I believe an analog readout is less likely to be misinterpreted. It is far easier for a stressed student to misread 3000 for 8000 on a digital read out for example. I realise I am shouting negatives (and boy do I admire Bart for his thick skin with the bashing he is taking

Tonight wine... and lots of it. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

and it feels sooo good

Hi Bart, I am not certain that I can explain this clearly but I will try. I was taught to use reference points rather than altitudes for my landing pattern. The point being that if the winds are quite brisk a student may go deep downwind to reach their 600 foot turn altitude and then not make it back. At my dz this can put you in the trees. I realise this is regardless of digital or analog altimeters. Another point to consider is that while digital readouts are good for accuracy (of the reading) they are not conducive to reading as quickly. In instrumentation and control generally analog dials are used where the user needs to quickly ascertain critical information. I will try and find some studies to back this up but I believe you will comprehend a needle in the red quicker than you would interpret 2000 foot. edited to add. Not a definitive study but it backs up what I was taught http://www.raizlabs.com/blog/170/analog-vs-digital-dials Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I thought I would pass on some general observations on AFF training that people may find useful. I am certainly not out to criticize any individual instructors so would appreciate it if anybody who recognises an individual doesn't "out" them. I had the pleasure of observing a first time jumper from FJC training through to AFF graduation recently. The student had no background in aviation or jumping prior to the course. The person running the FJC spent a considerable amount of time ensuring that they had a solid foundation and clear understanding of emergency procedures and the basics of how the equipment worked. Student was continually referred to the SIM ensuring common terminology and a good reading reference. Other positive points where detailed drills prior to levels ensuring that the student had absolute clarify on what was expected of them. A significant amount of time was dedicated to PLF training. The student told me afterwards that the PLF training took away their fear of landing, as it did not hurt to land once they nailed it. A few minor negatives. Instructors who are taking on a student from some-one else need to make sure that they don't contradict the previous instructor. If they are going to do so make certain that it is presented in the manner of "more ways to skin a cat", not "no he was wrong and I am right". As an instructor make absolutely certain that you don't show your own fears and uncertainties to your student. This was probably the most damaging event that occurred, and nearly caused the student to stop jumping. I do realise that this particular instructor was fairly new to being an AFF-I and while I sympathise it was not good. Over-all it was a fantastic opportunity to see training up close and personal. I also saw just how damaging "helpful" skydivers with no instructor ratings can be to the learning process. Don't assume that a student will connect all the dots when you try and be helpful to the instructors. One example was someone trying to explain not flying up jump run. They told student to fly to(wards) landmark x and then to the playground. Luckily this was clarified, as student was concerned that they would not be able to fly all the way to said landmark and back again. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I am not sure where in the progression it is suggested that you use front or rear risers to assist in accuracy, so maybe talk to a local instructor on this. One point to consider is using the identical parachute on every jump. It is really difficult to dial things in if every jump is "different". Also try breaking it down into smaller chunks. Are you consistently over-shooting or under-shooting? Are you always left or right of the target? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Did he point a weapon at the police and/or was he holding a weapon and refused to obey their orders for him to disarm himself? If yes, then he got exactly what he deserved. Once again, cops are not my favorite people. But I sure do not want to live in a society where the only time cops are allowed to defend themselves is after the criminals have fired the first shot. That remains as yet unknown to the public. Just remember that in the UK possession of an illegal firearm means that the police WILL treat you as a high risk suspect. Mark was going to be arrested not by normal street bobbies but by officers from operation Trident. To my knowledge the only truly "innocent" person to be shot by UK police was Menezie (not sure of spelling). Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Hi Scooby, Very good article thanks. Sort of ironic that it is from the WSJ, with the recent Murdoch empire controversy

Holy shit. Tough on crime!! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

It would be very unlikely to result in a blood bath. The average legally armed citizen here in the US is not all that trigger happy. I am sure it wouldn't be that much different in the UK. Then you would be wrong. Americans grow up around firearms and learn to treat them as a tool. With a few exception (ma among them) most Brits grow up in abject terror and irrational fear of firearms. For the most part our youth are educated about firearms from Hollywood and Gansta rap. Its a totally different culture, your knowledge based on US culture is not transferable to the UK population. Spot on. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Remember the story about the guy who was helped up and mugged? Meso mentioned it in one of his posts. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14497763 Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

She could always pay with boobies rather than beer. I am sure that is acceptable. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

So a skydiver led company would have rules? I tend to side with Piisfish's analysis. I think that we tend to focus to much on quick returns. I personally think that lots of smaller family business's that build on what they have is better for long term stability. They may not grow as quickly but they probably last longer. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Maybe I am biased/screwed up. My kids have inherited my dislike of ball games. I grew up in Africa where I spent my early teen years fishing, shooting and camping in the wild. I agree that things should not have to cost much. I agree with this. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.