Pammi

Bwahaha! I love ya girl! You crack me up! Our webpage

I'll let ya know mouth. I guess if I can make myself jump out of a plane, I can make myself get into a lake :) I'd much rather jump out of the plane though! LOL! I just have this silly fear, don't know from where, of water that I can't see and/or touch the bottom of. Oh well...I'll try anything once! :) Our webpage

ROFLMAO!! Now a skydiving chick would be like "YEAH! Does this mean we're going?!" Then if the answer was yes, proceeded to jump your bones :) LOL! Our webpage

Ain't it great?! It just cracks me up the way skydivers will center their lives around how close the DZ is :) Merrick and I just can't seem to get our family and friends to understand that part of the reason we chose the place we want to move to is that there are TWO DZ's very close...big ones...and more a little further away. Now, c'mon, how can that NOT be a huge plus?! LOL! Our webpage

So, if whuffo wives are whyffos, then what are whuffo husbands? Huffo's? lol Our webpage

Hey Kris...aren't you, say, 2 jumps or so from your 100th?? [grin] Can't wait to see ya Sis...it's gonna be fun! Besides, I need a lot of support if you're gonna make me get in that damn water, particularly with a canopy over my head! You, Kris, Merrick, and Farmer are all gonna be having to tell me to breath so I don't hyperventilate probably :) I hate water! Have a fantastic fourth everyone...and Please, Please!!! Be Safe!! Pammi Our webpage

Very good points Aviatrr! I'm actually reconsidering my previous 'always cutaway first' thoughts... Our webpage

Well duh! I know the answer to everything! LOL! Sheesh. Our webpage

Ten Things You'll Never Hear From A Southern Boy... 1. Oh I just couldn't, she's only sixteen. 2. You can't feed that to the dog. 3. I'll have grapefruit and grapes instead of biscuits and gravy. 4. Trim the fat off that steak. 5. My fiance, Bobbie Jo, is registered at Tiffany's. 6. Honey, did you mail that donation to Greenpeace? 7. Duct tape won't fix that. 8. I just couldn't find a thing at Wal-Mart today. 9. I'll have the arugula and radicchio salad. 10. Nope, no more for me. I'm drivin'. Our webpage

Big plane?! They have those?! I've only been in a C-182!! No fair! :) Our webpage

The 'no red shirt' rule is because that's the color of the cutaway handles and the taping up the pocket is just a precaution because some of them that are kinda loose so that you don't somehow get your hand or handle snagged in one if you have to cut-away (as you're pulling them downward). At least that was what I was told :) Our webpage

ROFL! No, evidently *I* do as far as you're concerned eh Geek? LOL Our webpage

This is how I was taught also. BTW, I just wanted to hear opinions/answers on this...I don't presume to be experienced enough to know the 'right' answer yet, if there is one! :) Pammi Our webpage

You all suck, just so ya know LOL! I got excited when I got 12,500 once! Our webpage

Hey! Some of my closest relatives are rednecks! My brother/father for instance, Billy Bob! :) Our webpage

ROFL! Jackass :) lol Our webpage

These thought provoking threads that are coming up have really been enjoyable. Not to say our normal discussions about sex, beer, and so on are not, in their own way, also pleasant of course! However, along those lines, a pop quiz. You're in the plane, all is well and you're fixing to jump. DOOR! Then oh shit...someone accidentally pulls the reserve handle of the person in front of you!! What do you do?? (P.S. This is kind of a trick question...there are two possibilities. It pops out IN the plane with you, or it flies out the door...) Pammi Our webpage

Absolutely Carl. Whatever we do, just get it done! You guys have all brought up good points, and it's something more to think about. Thank you all for your ideas and thoughts! As for myself, I think I'll continue to research all of this a little further and talk to my coach this weekend. He's a very heads-up, safety oriented guy who I'm sure can go over some things and clear them up for me. First and foremost, I just want to make sure that I have these decisions made *before* I get in the air ... what my intentions are. That's the most important thing, IMHO. Thanks again guys, and you especially Diver for bringing all of this up, including exactly why they make us tuck in our shirts when doing student jumps (without jumpsuits!) BTW guys...just another thought. At our DZ, when we are jumping in just our regular clothing (if you're going thru IAD to just 3000-5000, you don't have to wear a suit), we weren't allowed to wear red shirts. Anyone know why? We also were made to duct tape down our jeans/shorts pockets. Can anyone say why they'd do those two things? Pammi Our webpage

Exactly. I wrote more on the other post but basically I agree with you. Unless there is a reason NOT to cutaway, that it might be harmful, I have to say that I will always cutaway. However, I AM open to saying "Doh, I was wrong!" if someone can tell me why this would not be a good idea :) Pammi Some new pics.

What was the exact situation? And this is really a whole different scenerio, not being able to get to your reserve. What I'm voicing my opinion on is whether to cut away or not. I, personally (I AM a newbie, so I appreciate these discussions and hearing things I probably haven't thought of) can't think of a reason that cutting away would cause an extra problem. I'm definately not trying to imply a thoughtless process, just the quickest one. Honestly, it's a little insulting to assume that because this is (unless I hear a good argument otherwise) my choice in handling the situation, that I haven't thought about it. I think about 'what would I do' a great deal before I even get in the air, not just while I'm there. Here is my exact thought process behind this one... If there is no harm in cutting away first, why not do that automatically as students are taught? There is a greater possibility of making a mistake and not cutting away first when you should've, it would seem, then an incident from cutting away when you should NOT have. Right? As an example...say in the situation of Diver's...he pulls the reserve and somehow the shirt gets loose and the pilot chute is partially pulled out because of the previous struggles with it, then it DOES come out during the deployment of the reserve, or perhaps just after. I'm just throwing stuff out here, keep in mind, because perhaps this isn't possible at all. But for the sake of argument, this happens...wouldn't it be better if you'd cutaway already so when it deploys it will just fall downward rather then deploy possibly into your reserve, or at least cause two out? I'm sure there are other circumstances in which cutaway is not possible or smart...such as getting a line caught in your camera helmet. I'm not saying that there aren't other times when I would not cutaway, but as a general rule, yes, I would. At 1800, I'd pull my main, PROVIDING that I was by the door, could get out immediately therefore wasn't going downward causing me to be actually lower then 1800 when I got out. That's pretty close for me...I've always thought 1500 and under I'd go for the reserve. Pammi (Gosh I hope all this came out where it makes sense :) Sometimes my mind works faster then my hands can - especially after only one cup of coffee so far

Yeah...however, I was taught and firmly believe (for myself) in the 'three-handle' rule. You waste time more by trying to figure out what kind of mal you have and whether you should cut away or not rather then just automatically cut and pull the reserve regardless. Three handles - pilot chute (hackey/handle/whatever), cutaway, reserve. Pammi Some new pics.

All I can say is 'wow'. Thanks for the heads-up! I'm so glad it turned out okay for you!!! I think we all need reminders of how even the little things can be a BIG problem if we don't take it seriously or slack off any. I have a question...you said you 'grabbed the silver' then 'chased down your mess'....so you cut away first I assume? Just curious for my own future info purposes. Pammi Some new pics.

Thank you for the tips! I was told similar things at my DZ. When I first started jumping my Sabre, I was loading it heavier and it has a whole different kind of flare then my Triathlon did. I was told to practice it up high to 'feel' the stall point, then bring it on down to the full flare. I *still* do that on every jump at least once even though I've jumped my new canopy about a dozen times now at least because it seems to help me when I get to the ground...similar to practicing your arch on the ground I guess. But it's actually kind of fun to play with :) Feeling the way the canopy flies when you're not worried about trying to stand up your landing. One of the problems I still am tending to do when I land, though, is not finishing the flare completely thereby having to really run it out or face plant :) Try it guys...even us newbies can feel when a canopy slows down and then almost completely stops. It's cool :) Pammi Some new pics.

Thank you guys for your posts! As a newbie with only 49 jumps, I am still working intensely at better canopy control, landings and learning how to 'play safely'. I always appreciate when those with more experience share some of those experiences with me as a lot of times it's something I hadn't even thought of. It's those like you guys who are willing to take the time to do such things that I admire a great deal and aspire to be like one day. Pammi Some new pics.

Were you ever able to get ahold of someone and get an answer to your question from an accuracy jumper? One thing to perhaps think about is winds too. I have personally been blown backwards more then once when I was flying just a 160 Triathlon (supposedly a pretty good accuracy canopy because it has more downward then forward drive because of being a 7-cell, but I am not really wanting to get into accuracy jumps). I have to say it's rather disconcerting to have trees or something under you and not be getting any forward drive! You would definately have to plan your landing pattern with those sorts of things in mind I would think (?) Let us know, I'm curious myself. Pammi Some new pics.