Divalent

Weather forecast looks very good for your stay. I'll note that your math above is a bit off, since you lose an hour with the time change, so if you leave 1:30 CDT and travel for 4 hours, you'll arrive about 6:30 EDT. (On the bright side, Friday rush hour in Rockmart is from 5:00pm to 5:05pm, so you don't have to factor in a delay for that.

Okay, now you are just being silly. A very high percentage of all jumpers on a typical load could not tell you what the upper wind velocity was, let alone the direction. And of the few that did know, some of them could not tell you the plane's air speed. And of the remainder that know both, I'd be willing to bet a lot that, in the last year, of the millions of jumps made in the world, only a tiny tiny fraction of those jumpers actually did the math in their head to derive a time for whatever exit separation distance they wanted. But I will also bet that almost all of those jumpers, if told that XX seconds is the normal group separation for the conditions at the moment will be smart enough to add more time to account for a big way in front of them. And most big ways I've been behind, at least one of the participants was reminding the groups behind them to give them more time. This is not a problem: I've seen that typical jumpers do get this, and they do attempt to adjust accordingly. Any method is useless if it is impractical and/or complicated and/or goes against the known abilities and actual behavior of the bulk of the skydivers on the load. It's not so much the complexity of the math, it's the number of variable in the equation. There is absolutely nothing wrong with teaching everyone the logic and the method (in fact, better to state that "it is absolutely the right thing to do"), but the reality is that it isn't being put into practice. The original thread (that you started) is 7 years old, and don't you think it's telling that the author of the best selling canopy book and teacher of the most famous canopy course is (was) advocating the 45 second rule? (I heard "the 45 second rule" being urged on a load last month.) It seems to me that you have to keep beating down the "45 second rule" like a whack-a-mole because no one is advocating a practical workable substitute. A working GPS will tell you ground speed regardless of the conditions: air speed, wind speed, whether flying directly into the wind or crabbing, the otter or the king air or the 182, whatever. Yes, instruments can fail. Jumpers should use their eyes to make sure what the GPS accords with reality. But a GPS does do the math for you (with the correct data). It get you the penultimate number you need: ground speed. The ultimate number (exit count) is just one step away, easily obtained from a simple chart, that requires the jumper to know only one variable that is apparent only from the grouping on the plane: exit separation in distance. So are hand held calculators, altimeters, airspeed indicators, speedometers, and fuel tank gauges.

Clear logic, if that is how you would treat everything you won that you didn't want/need. A helmet, or altimeter, or book, or Go Pro memory card, jump ticket, canopy course, etc: all disposed of for at most the cost of your ticket. (Could you trade your newly won altimeter for someone's newly won helmet? How about if it is just like the one someone else won, but this person actually bought the helmet earlier, and is now in the market for an altimeter? And if you give up the sport and sell all your gear, do the items you won in a raffle get priced based on this?) In my view, the manufacturer was donating a coupon with the expectation that they would have to sell a canopy for $XXX off their list price, and the value of their donation is roughly $XXX minus the usual discount that dealer's offer. Their main motivation was to earn publicity and good will. But if it is not transferable, then the value of their donation is far less. Because it is worth nothing if the winner can't/won't use it. (we're into risk-based pricing here :-)

You do if jump run is not heading into the wind. At the Farm it almost always is due E or due W, regardless of wind direction, since the LZ is very long E/W, and not so much N/S (so even if winds are from the north, unless they are really honking, its an E/W jump run). A GPS will effectively do the math for you, and it will be using actual conditions at that moment, not projections that are old. Of course, but unlike using a valid method for generating an appropriate exit separation time, I think most jumpers are aware of this, and will adjust accordingly.

Spotting for exit separation, as far as I can see, was never an art to have been lost. (Or else, why did they have the 45 degree rule?) [Spotting for exit point is a different matter.] In the age of GPS, for the life of me, can't see why is isn't used for separation (backed by visual confirmation). You look through the "45 degree rule" thread (the one you resurrected) and the various alternatives are complicated, and require the jumpers to know wind speed, plane air speed, directions, etc, then either do the math (pretty complicated) or do some math and then consult a spreadsheet. And at best it is an approximation, since most winds aloft values are estimates generated many hours in advance, and might not be relevant to conditions right now, as you are poised in the door frame about to jump. That fact that the suggestions in that thread have little value is made clear by the fact that it’s a 7 year old thread that gets resurrected about every 6 months, and none of the suggested alternative has become the universal standard method. A working GPS will tell you correct information at that instant. Many planes have them. Why not have the pilot announce the value as he begins jump run, and then a quick consult with a simple table will give you the right number? It's the simpliest fucking thing ever! Pilot: "ground speed is 70 knots" One jumper consults table posted in the plane: 70 knots = X second for 1,000ft of exit separation Jumper: "use a count of X seconds between groups!" No math, no having to remember winds aloft speed and direction (old data anyway) and then having to vector that with jump run air speed and direction (applying pythagorean theorem and doing square roots to get hypotenuse). Ground speed, ground speed, ground speed. There is an app for that!

If I understand the take home message from the long standing thread on this issue, Ground distance traveled is the best tool. Counting is the NEXT best tool IF (and ONLY IF!!!) you have determined the proper count time based on the ground speed. And usually ground speed can only be estimated by wind and plane speed. Ideally planes would have a gps that gave actual ground speed at jump run time with that information used to determine the best count.(but apparently it's not common for plane gps information to be communicated to jumpers for that purpose).

I'm not sure I get the logic. What is special about the value of a coupon that makes it different (in terms of what one is morally/ethically allowed to do with it) compared to other items of value that someone might win in a drawing? I mean, why would it be ethical to sell an altimeter, or a jump ticket, or a t-shirt, or a massage session, but not a discount coupon? (And would it be ethical for me to trade my coupon for the altimeter that someone else won?) Or perhaps the rule is that any item won in a raffle must be given away if not wanted/needed, regardless of value? (If so, even if I paid for the ticket to enter the raffle?) [note: I get the point Dave was making, about the true value of a discount coupon. But assuming it was sold for at or below it's real value, what's so special about discount coupons?]

Add at least another minute, since it will be Friday rush hour in Rockmart. (BTW, using 1195 Grady Road, Cedartown, GA rather than 1195 Grady Road, Rockmart, GA in Google Maps will get you to the right place.)

Well, you might be right, although I'm thinking more along safety lines here. Of course, injuries from canopy collisions are more prevalent than total mals, and I bet a major contributor is those sharp corners on the canopy. I wonder if they could make them with some sort of shape that doesn't have corners? (Does such a shape exist?)

Good thinking outside the box, but you need to go further: mains on the front too! PC in tow? None of that "oh shit, what's going on ... can't reach ... can't see ... (should I cut away first or not?) ... arrgggghhhh!" It's all right there: look, assess, fix. Simplicity = safety. And bonus: students wouldn't need to learn to arch!

"This video contains content from EMI, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. (Sorry about that.)"

Here's the link to the publisher's page of the abstract (The British Medical Journal), which gives more author detail, and there is a clicky tab to read the responses to the paper. http://www.bmj.com/content/327/7429/1459

I you sure about that? Yes. The whole purpose of a patent is to give the inventor a limited period of exclusive rights in exchange for them disclosing to the world how to make/use the invention. (A patent could be invalidated if the patent application does not full disclose this information.) it depends on the law in your contry, does it? Yes, although in general, the laws and protection are almost the same for countries that are members of the World Trade Organization. Not sure if the Ukraine is a member, but regardless, a patent would prevent you from using, making, and selling a patented device in a WTO country without a licensing agreement from the patent holder. Fine if that is Ukraine law. But making and using would be precluded in most other countries.

FYI, if you reverse engineer a patented invention, or just read the patent application to figure out how to make one, or even if you just independently came up with the same invention on your own, you still will be infringing the patent by making the item.

He's just ignorant or deliberately slandering the fine country of Mangan. The Manganese have pretty good personal hygiene, and so their presence in your well water is unlikely to harm you. (They're not quite as fastidious as the Japanese in that department, but it could be far, far worse. Imagine if it was Portuguese in your well water? Yuck!)

Oh, come on, Andy! You've met Nigel and you've met his wife. For God's sake man, think!

Scotch tape will get those old favorite prints onto the new digital frame.

You meet the hot girl of your dreams, your income goes up, you look better, and you become way smarter. (Either that or you have to drive to the minimart and buy beer; I can't remember which it is at the moment.)

We've all seen the video, so everyone know how to do that now.

No, 5 of the 2011 fatalities were students (6 if you count the tandem pax). Fatal - Midair Elsinore - 26 Aug 2011 canopy collision (2 students) Fatality - Snohomish WA - 18 AUG 2011 dual mal student Fatality - Skydive Chicago - 8 May 2011 student main mal no EPs 2 Fatality *2 - Spaceland, TX - Mar. 2, 2011 canopy collision (2 students) Wanna be safe in skydiving? Don't be a student. And if you are a student, don't jump with other students, keep your head on a swivel, and practice your EPs. And don't swoop. And don't jump with swoopers. And don't turn low near the ground. And don't have a heart attack or take off your rig after your chute opens and your are still 1000's of feet in the air.

Here's the 2011 number of fatalities under a good canopy: 13 Fatality - Perris, California - 27 - December 2011 HP landing Fatality? - Lake Wales, FL - 12 November 2011 Low turn Fatal - Midair Elsinore - 26 Aug 2011 canopy collision (2 students) Fatality - Skydive The Farm, GA - 23 July 2011 HP landing Fatality - Hollister CA - 17 June 2011 Low hook turn Fatality - Skydive Cross Keys - 27 May 2011 canopy collision Fatality - Ft Morgan,CO 5/7/11 Landing Incident HP landing Fatality - Canopy collision - Perris - 4/15/2011 HP landing collision 2 Fatality *2 - Perris, CA - 31 March 2011 HP landing collision *2 Wamego, Kansas fatality - 6th March 2011 hit tree 2 Fatality *2 - Spaceland, TX - Mar. 2, 2011 canopy collision (2 students) so 13 out of 24 (54%), or 13 of 23 (57%) if you toss out the suicide.

The answer to your question for 2011 appears to be 18. These are the 6 fatalities that clearly involved HP landings: Fatality - Perris, California - 27 - December 2011 HP landing Fatality - Skydive The Farm, GA - 23 July 2011 HP landing Fatality - Ft Morgan,CO 5/7/11 Landing Incident HP landing Fatality - Canopy collision - Perris - 4/15/2011 HP landing collision 2 Fatality *2 - Perris, CA - 31 March 2011 HP landing collision *2 So 25% of the fatalities involved HP landings. Whether that "distorts the trend" or not is (I'm sure) a matter of opinion. One additional fatality (Lake Wales, FL - 12 November 2011) apparently involved a low turn on a HP canopy flown by a highly experienced jumper who did not swoop, but who did a low turn that at least some speculated might have been survivable had he been on a canopy more appropriate to his normal landing protocol. And we still don't know the circumstances of the canopy collision fatality at Cross Keys on 27 May 2011 (despite eye witnesses); that one may have involved HP maneuvers at altitude. BTW, one fatality this year was a suicide, (Northumberland NY Fatality Sept 18th 2011) so if you only count "accidental" fatalities, it's 23 for the year.

Great save on the reserve closing loop!

Could you look at my list above (in post #5, I believe) and let me know what additional one I overlooked? That list is (I think) in reverse chronological order, and I got them from the threads in the incidence forum. (I didn't include purely military fatalities, but did include the death of the british soldier training at Elsinore)

Half of what? Are you talking worldwide? US? North America? The incidents forum here list 24 total civilian US fatalities in 2011 (and I think at least 4 more in Canada). I'm pretty sure that is more than last year. Here's the US list (excludes purely military fatalities): Fatality - Perris, California - 27 - December 2011 Fatality? - Lake Wales, FL - 12 November 2011 2 Tandem fatality X2 - MESQUITE, Nev -9 October 2011 Northumberland NY Fatality Sept 18th 2011 Fatality - Air Capitol, Kansas - 13th September 2011 Fatal - Midair Elsinore - 26 Aug 2011 Fatality - Snohomish WA - 18 AUG 2011 Fatality - Lost Praire. MT - 30 July 2011 Fatality - Skydive The Farm, GA - 23 July 2011 Fatality - Skydive Hawaii - 10 July 2011 Fatality - Hollister CA - 17 June 2011 Fatality - Skydive Cross Keys - 27 May 2011 Fatality - Skydive Chicago - 8 May 2011 Fatality - Ft Morgan,CO 5/7/11 Landing Incident Fatality - Palatka - 30 April 2011 Fatality - Canopy collision - Perris - 4/15/2011 2 Fatality *2 - Perris, CA - 31 March 2011 Fatality - Cross Keys - 3/25/11 Wamego, Kansas fatality - 6th March 2011 2 Fatality * 2 - Spaceland, TX - Mar. 2, 2011 Perris fatality 2/27/11