dreamsville

Quote: I'd jump something much smaller for the speed if I was only landing straight-in. In response, I think this is how some people start a downsizing. We can do the same straight-in approach and get more speed out of it, just for using a smaller canopy. As long as we can handle it. Then, if there is a temptation to try more aggresive turns near the ground before much practice, all of a sudden an accident happens. Make sure you know the reasons why you want to downsize for the way YOU fly, and then make a downsizing decision. I have canopies loading at 1.4 and 1.2 (2 Stilettos), and have for some time since I haven't decided to do aggresive landings. It's up to the jumper to decide where they really are on the curve. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Moving your arms down when moving forward may cause you to float a little, so as you get closer you may have to raise your arms or push down on your feet to sink. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I recently bought a suit from a current World free fly competitor (in Brazil). He was taller than I am, so the legs are baggier. For head-down it seems to give me a little more range to slow down. For sit, the baggy ankles make me less agile in flying forward and falling faster. When I switched back to the suit that was cut for me (medium baginess), I got better sit control (both are Tony suits) where aggresive moves were needed, such as catching a faster faller without resorting to head-down. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Smaller venues with large fields (>500,000 ft2, a number of things in the SIM) are much easier to do, because not all require a Pro rating. However, I believe you need a D license to do those, officially. In the case of a college football stadium, that's a whole 'nother thing. Work on accuracy, cause if you can do the 10 pre-declared landings, the rest of the Pro shouldn't be too difficult. Having said that, I have read the SIM, work on accuracy, but have never gotten around to getting the rating. I have, however, done some demo jumps at small-time venues with good-sized fields. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

What has happened at Sebastian, ZHills, Lake Wales, and any other DZs in the path of hurricane Jeanne? | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Skydiving is dangerous, and I tell people what the safety procedures are and that today's gear is designed to land us softly IF we follow procedures and maintain gear. I also say that we have decided that our equipment and safety procedures give us a level of PERCEIVED risk that we as skydivers are prepared to accept, each in his or her own context. Not everyone's perception of risk and knowledge of the sport is the same, obviously. So there will always be a vast number of non-skydivers and just a few of us. To the extent possible, patient education is the best course. Beyond that, a scary image of the sport in many people's minds (and fear) is hard to help. Edited to add: Just imagine if the sport became MUCH more popular because someone found a way to convince large numbers of people that skydiving was not so dangerous, so many took to it. Imagine the shortage of aircraft and DZ-usable airports and the wait for a load. You'd yearn for the good old days when you could walk in with a few friends and fly to your heart's content. The sky would shine a deeper blue (in your eyes) and your rig would gather a bit more dust. It would be like golf tee times on the popular courses. Maybe those public perceptions do have a lighter side. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

There was a person who initiated a strong toggle turn at 1500 feet recently. The canopy twisted and the cells were not totally and properly inflated through the landing, by the jumper's admission. The jumper was more scared after the incident than during once time was available to think it over. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

$14 (if 100 purchased before year began) at Skydive Chicago. Can't say how long that will last. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Team USA-2 are my friends. I hold out little hope that challenges will change anything. Brian on Omniskore said quite a few people were upset about the judging in the Freefly meet. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Hey I'm a squash player (well, not for a few months actually)! There are estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 skydivers in the United States, and I think about the same number of squash players in the US as well from what I have read. Since I do both I guess I must be a tiny statistical aberration. If you are not on the East Coast, most people don't know what squash is, just as they don't know much about our sport. I stopped for a cocktail after work yesterday (hey, it's almost that time again!) and someone I know asked me if the jump was about 10 minutes or so. WELL, I NEVER (heard such bunk)! I guess we shouldn't wonder why sports trickle into the Olympics this way. I guess due to the ad dollars involved, it's too risky to try to lead the way by exposing viewers to sports they might enjoy, so the Olympics need to trail by a decade or two just to be sure. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

One of my biggest privileges in skydiving was to have jumped with just about all of the free-flyers in the lead-in at the beginning of the Adrenaline Rush video. Rook Nelson tells me that the big chest-mount camera has enough capacity for about 30 seconds of video, so high is the resolution. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

How can I avoid it? - canopy collisions: be watchful, try to find an out in a courtesy trap - people not tracking . . .: ensure a high enough break-off for the jump, a slightly de-arched aggresive track helps (watch the next group though) - people corking you: if you can't avoid it, watch where others are and get horizontally clear as best you can of there is no time/not safe to close the distance - people coming in too hard: can you see them and get out of the way? - tracking into each other, airspace collisions: Russian radar - people push you into airframe: plan your exit body position, not too many people abreast than is realistic, although esp in 10-way or other stuff it's tough to avoid sometimes. - wind rotors: land somewhere away from the objects or just stay on the ground altogether (sometimes that's the best idea). Rotors may occur up to 5 to 10 times the height of the object away from it sometimes. - dust devils: tough call, esp in places like Eloy. We grounded ourselves midday after some kicked up and it was gusty. - wind that inexplicably . . .: tough one to guage sometimes, although usually there are choppy conditions that warn about this in advance. At our DZ I notice the high-timers (jump numbers) are sometimes the first to self-ground. - Equipment failures: check your gear and check the inspection box on the form on each re-pack if available, all you can do is your best or ask others if loop is frayed etc. - lines snagged . . .: removed breakaway helmet sight mount, relying on goggle dots or other method not involving things sticking out. Remember, you can make it safe enough for YOU to accept it, based upon your view of the risks. If you can't, don't jump. Edited to fix grammar, spelling. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

When I get within about 20 feet or so of the ground, I start looking out straight ahead. Once you are used to your canopy you will flare according to where you are looking relative to your height. That should assist you in determining when your flare should flatten out your wing (canopy, it's a lot like a simple airplane wing). Done right, your feet should be just above the ground. Also, don't forget, for a straight-in landing, your toggles should be all the way up prior to flare so you don't lose any of the lift you will need for the flare itself. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Team Loki from Skydive Chicago is going to Perris. Even as we speak, they are one of the US teams representing us in Brazil. Here's to Loki, the Viking god of mischief! | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Someone start a thread on backwards tracking. I have seen it done recently but have not tried it myself. That is, moving feet first FORWARD. How is it done? | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

After much trying, I finally in the last few weeks am able to fly stably and fly in and take a tensionless dock. I used to think all the time about the right body position and analyze it to death. It drove me nuts and held me back, perhaps. Then one day I looked at my partner as we left the plane unlinked and just headed for him and stopped. No thought about body position, just following him and his fall rate. I guess it's a progression. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

When I was carving on an earlier coach jump, Steve Blincoe (1st School of Flight) recommended pointing my toes at 90 degrees instead of letting the foot just hang. That was less universal advice than something to help me be conscious of leg and foot position if I was carving. I suppose it's one way to help get more control when needed during learning progression. Now I don't have the carving problem on most jumps. I mentioned this example to agree that things we learn early are intended for good habits, even though we will evolve our skills with air time and then sight and feel will take over more as we hone our skills. I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Unless you are on a jump where the break-off plan requires you to pull lower, I have always thought that 2500 to preferably 3000 is best, or even 3500 sometimes. I say this due to line twists or other problems I have had, albeit infrequently. 2500 may seem like a lot of altitude until one or more things go wrong. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I don't presume to know your situation, but can you drive or get a ride with someone to the next county for a beer? The whole area can't be dry! I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Always keep that attitude so you can still enjoy the sport. You will have less frustration and improve faster. So many of us have, at one time or another during our history in the sport, lost sight of that and allowed our zeal to achieve a goal rob us of some of the fun. Remember, we must be safe, but we're here for the fun. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

It reminds me of full altitude cross country at Ixtapa, Mexico this year. The views on these jumps are priceless. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I was worried that you felt like a victim or something. I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Lincoln Park | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

I have seen the points about what rights can legally be signed away and what can't (enforceability). I have seen people talk about degrees of negligence, and about a sense of honor. Many were reasonable, some repeated what had already been said. I just wanted to relate a situation of a school buddy that lets you know how I view it (and of course every situation is different, with varying degrees of negligence). My friend had become an experienced hang-glider. After some time in the sport, he got into a situation where the winds and available "outs" were out of favor. He chose the best option he could figure at the time and still ended up paralyzed from the waist down. At every Eaglebrook reunion I attend, there he sits, spirits high, in that wheelchair. I limit my talk about skydiving because I get the impression that a piece of him misses that sort of thing he can never have again, what with him practicing backflips off the roof of his house in the winter when he was a kid. He was a top skier. Nevertheless, after his accident at least one lawyer approached him and told him he had a case to sue the manufacturer of the equipment. BTW, I don't know if one signs anything at all in the case of hang-gliding. He told the lawyer that he was experienced, brought it on himself, and that no one else was responsible but him. He asked the lawyer to leave and hasn't sued in the 15 or 20 years since this happened. Not everyone would handle this the way he did, but I respect him for it. My opinion, and yes I'm a bit off the topic. Edited to fix grammar. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143

Renee, 1) The first picture is one of true beauty. It is one reason we concentrate on managing the risks so we can obtain such rewards. 2) In your second picture, it looks as though the inlet to the northeast of the DZ is in the photo next to your leg. Here is a picture of the sunset at Ixtapa, Guererro, Mexico. You can see a canopy in the upper left corner. There was a lot of humidity at this hour. More pictures will follow as time goes on, showing the beauty of where we jumped two weeks ago along the beach. | I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane. Harry, FB #4143