nigel99

Doc - he didn't name you. There have been dozens of posters over the years in the same place as you. A couple are still on dz.com but now have substantial number of jumps, others are dead or no longer jump. Yes at the moment you are the poster child, next year will be someone else. The only way to stay permanently in the limelight is to make claims of exceptional ability and then go in the next weekend, so far there is only one member of that club. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I can't give you any advice, but like some of the others here I really struggled. I had a love/hate relationship with jumping, on the way up I would swear I would never do it again, on the way down I would swear I would never stop! In my case I could not afford currency, and was bumping along with 1 or 2 jumps a month. I was always terrified. Coming back into the sport after a very long break, I have none of the original terror. I can't say whether it is the time in the tunnel, better equipment or just age. In fact I can guarantee that my re-currency jump after a 15 year layoff was less stressful than my last few jumps before I quit. One suggestion is to look at what parts of skydiving you really enjoy and if possible focus on that for a while. I loved canopy flight and used to regularly volunteer to be a static line dummy for trainee jump masters. It made for very low stress jumps that I loved doing (especially when I could do a SL exit at 6 or 7k). I realise that at your level options are very limited. I can't stress enough how much currency helps though. Personally 4 jumps a day is perfect, the first 2 dial things in, 3 and 4 I make progress, then I am tired and start to lose the edge. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I am soo envious of you guys who have racked up jumps quickly. My best mate started jumping within a month of me and is currently on ~11k! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Good result.

Thats about as long as I have been out of nappies. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

A couple of threads and my last visit to the dz have got me thinking. Out of curiousity how much time in the sport do you have? My first jump was almost exactly 20 years ago, I virtually lived on the dz for just over 4 years and then took a long layoff before becoming active again. So I believe the real answer is 5 years. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Can even break your leg under a boat of a canopy. THAT takes skill! Bro that's cold. Bad karma man....never poke fun at another injury. On the bright, by bending yourself early you are cautious about canopy flight and are unlikely to make stupid downsizing moves

So that you know precisely where to set your audible for your final turn Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sorry but you are wrong. Prior to your A license you are under the supervision of an instructor. The DZ is part of the problem, even if it is simply the fact that sloppy procedures let people who shouldn't be jumping through the net. If you are truly concerned then perhaps making a call to the DZO yourself and stating your concerns about the claims your friend is making would help? At the very least it should ease your mind if things go wrong. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Part of the problem is that the new generation is so enamored with the wonder of electronic gizmos, that they value those toys over the knowledge, experience and wisdom of "whining dinosaurs"... The electronic gizmo is simply a gadget that captures the knowledge, experience and wisdom of a bunch of whining dinosaurs without the whining Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I could have sworn I told you 11.5 and 5.5 but such is life. There are anvils and there are feathers. No I think people in Southern africa are more dense and fall faster. You said 11.5 & 5.5 but that is difficult to count... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I was originally taught 10 seconds for the first 1000ft and 5 seconds for every 1000 ft after that. It makes the maths pretty easy to do. Now like Divelent I just log 60 seconds Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Except that the message gets lost of time and it becomes the norm that you "need" to have an audible to land. I seriously think that he missed an opportunity with his article. He talked about landing stress, a lower wingloading is going to be a better way to reduce stress than an audible. * I realise that I am a 100 jump wonder telling a guy with 13k jumps what to say. Don't get me wrong I love all the new toys that have made it into skydiving since my first jump, and possibly more than anyone else I know how much less stressful it is to jump with the reminders and extra safety nets. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sunset jumps are no more or less dangerous than any other jumps..... And Michael.....I think this post will be revived every time there is an open canopy injury or death.... It will prolly be around for some time to come.... Sorry to disagree, but twilight is known to be a dangerous time to be driving a car due to the reduced visibility. I know that jumping has differences to driving, but I don't see how reduced contrast/visibility doesn't add an extra dimension to a jump. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

In recent weeks there have also been a couple more serious low turn injuries with broken bones, one in Texas and one in Wisconsin. I don't know details other than that they happened. When I started this tread it never occurred to me that it will never run out of material to post. That’s really sad. To answer a question I was asked on the subject, yes skydivers are that fucking dumb to learn. Sparky In all fairness the latest incident highlights the risks and dangers of being on the sunset load. It reminds us all that on "special" jumps extra vigilance is required. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sounds fun. By the way can you imagine the look on Shahs face if he had been at the farm this weekend? My god I have never seen so many hot women. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Is that for students who won't jump? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

What drinking games do you like? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Well WTF is up with that! I want a London Broil...do I go the Peking? You guys are weird. Grimmie is too. I was rolling along and good to go until he said that arrogant American shit about the Beatles. Screw you Grimmmie. Beatles are for old people Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Yeah, it's definitely heavy with "food court" quality fare. I'm not sure which lounge you're in, but I don't recall the food choices in the Delta lounges being all that great, either. There's only so many Biscoff cookies one can eat. Though I do recall a good nut mix last time I was there ... British Airways lounge (concourse E). Free beer but no food. The chinese fast food place on E is edible, I don't do Sushi but it is the only quality place to eat... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

True. It also seems to lack quality food. Johny - you mock, but I've crossed paths with people that I know in much smaller places, and more bizarre circumstances. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

2 weeks in London in 09 didn't change my mind. It could be that I was really really unlucky with random picks...The greatest tragedy was the steak I got. You don't go to London for steak @Shrop - you need to go to the pubs/tapperies here in the USA. There is a huge selection of excellent micro-brews. Much more variety than back home. @Grimmie, nice post. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

If anyone is stuck in ATL this evening let me know. I have 6 hours to kill here On the bright side I have lounge access with unlimited free beer Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

There is no hurry. I met a young guy this weekend, who at ~40 jumps had just bought his first gear - with a 127 reserve. Nice guy and full of enthusiasm but what it is the hurry? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

You can't ask a question like that on a skydiving forum, where people like Andy Copland fly the flag for the UK I find the following funny about many Americans that I work with over here. 1) High level of interest in the Royals 2) How many trace their lineage, back to specific towns or counties in the UK. 3) When they ask if you know "Jack from London"? As a broad generalisation though, most Americans seem to "like" the Brits, and among the redneck tribes the UK appears to be one of the only other countries that is accepted as being "free world". Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.