baign32

Hey Gravit8 where did you go? Things were just getting interesting.

I keep hoping Jay Stokes will comment on this thread.

I crushed my right heel on demo jump in '98. Landing area was very tight and concrete as far as the eye could see (demo was into Port Kembla Steel Works - just south of Sydney, Australia). I was 4th out of 5 jumpers on the demo and the last two of us got blown back by some wind gusts. I had to sink in (full brakes on a PD210) between power lines and portable toilets. The guy behind me crushed his heel as well. Lesson learned: stay away from demos that don't have good 'outs' also don't stay too long on morphine (in excess of 4-5 days) 'cause you'll end up having really bad nightmares. Sounds like that would have been a fairly high Demo license requirement. Like B or A? I held a Display D at the time but in hindsight everyone on the load agreed that the demo should have been called off. So yes more like a B or A or shouldn't have happened kinda thing.

I crushed my right heel on demo jump in '98. Landing area was very tight and concrete as far as the eye could see (demo was into Port Kembla Steel Works - just south of Sydney, Australia). I was 4th out of 5 jumpers on the demo and the last two of us got blown back by some wind gusts. I had to sink in (full brakes on a PD210) between power lines and portable toilets. The guy behind me crushed his heel as well. Lesson learned: stay away from demos that don't have good 'outs' also don't stay too long on morphine (in excess of 4-5 days) 'cause you'll end up having really bad nightmares.

a photo would help I'm sure.

I feel for you! I've got a new Sabre2 190 as well with only 5 jumps on it. it's like packing spring loaded grease paper.

what was her level of experience btw?

I don't know about a frenchy but there's this german dude that's planning to visit the US and would like the work I'm sure: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi4206561049/

did you take a look to see if the pilot's still there? remember he would have had a slim pack at hand.

Scariest I was on was back in the 70's. They brought in a beech for a local boogie, blew a jug not long after take-off and the guy closest to the door just rolled out...I was about 3rd to the door but about 5th out. Didn't have a whole lotta jumps & I remember looking down thinking FUCK we're LOW! Two little guys wormed right past me... I had a Jerry Bird belly wart with the Velcro opening flap...I 'think' I remember hearing that Velcro ~s l o w l y~ peeling and the pilot-chute finally shooting out...no doubt felt longer than it took. Some people said the exit was 600 feet, but I think we were higher, I was under a 24' flat @ 500, and didn't think to look at my altimeter for bit, until I got my heart beating again. I was also in a 180 that quit shortly after take-off, I was jump-mastering students and was on my knees by the door, maybe 3-400 feet up...the pilot just looked at me and said STAY, he landed safe, I'm glad because it was 'back in the time' before seatbelts and I was kneeling facing forward with no door on! Plane was down and sick, so the beer light was on early...it wasn't cold yet but, never tasted better! I was in a plane crash with 5 jumpers on board in Nowra, Australia March 6th '94. There was never any talk of trying exit the aircraft. The Cessna 206 engine cut out at 300ft on jump assent and during the attempted landing the plane stalled at 50ft over a grass strip just next to the runway. The plane flipped on it's nose after shearing off the nose gear and ended up on it's back. No deaths but lots of broken bones. Me: Broken right leg, back and crushed C6/C7. I was back jumping after 8 weeks.

Does yer boss know about this?

There's also Don Mayer at The Parachute Shop.

I'm not a subscriber to Parachutist but would love to read it - can anyone post something here?

Remember that if you do have something shipped out to Australia customs will stick you with GST (10%) plus import duty. In the case of the new rig I purchased recently the total tax bill would have been equal to a round trip ticket. When did customs start imposing import duty, I have been buying gear from OS for 9 years and never once charged import duties I know when I looked into having my rig shipped out the ATO/Customs web site indicated import duty on top of GST - it scarred the shit out of me. It appears you have 1st hand experience dealing with them and I'm glad to hear that this isn't the case :-)

I thought this thread was to discuss what a GREAT job the Seals did taking that towel head Bin Laden. Oh well GO SEALs anyway!

Remember that if you do have something shipped out to Australia customs will stick you with GST (10%) plus import duty. In the case of the new rig I purchased recently the total tax bill would have been equal to a round trip ticket.

What country are you looking at buying your rig in? Over here in Australia rigs are quite pricey compared to what's on offer in the US. It's also mandatory (here in OZ) to have an AAD fitted as well...

I bought a new rig from the US and was lucky enough to have some FF points to hand carry it back over. There's lots of good deals in the US now with the AU$ being so strong. I think you will have a hard time finding something decent for 3K especially as you'll need an AAD to go with it for jumping in Australia. I do wish you the best of luck though. That being said I would suggest keeping an eye out on the used gear listed on the APF web site.

I bought a new rig from the US and was lucky enough to have some FF points to hand carry it back over. There's lots of good deals in the US now with the AU$ being so strong. I think you will have a hard time finding something decent for 3K especially as you'll need an AAD to go with it for jumping in Australia. I do wish you the best of luck though.

QuoteTracking speed. I was on a track dive with a few friends the other night....Quote Dude - night tracking? really? How do you swing this with 28 jumps?

If they can track down my passage being shipped some time in the next week from somewhere in the US to somewhere in AUS from half my name then they deserve whatever money they can squeeze out of the deal But yeah that would suck. I hope it works for you! A flight over hand carrying the rig is always best but I guess that may not be an option for you. Good luck!

Let's all hope that no one from the ATO (Australian Tax Office) is watching this post.

I've got a brand new rig shipping from MA to Calif. later this week via UPS. It's insured - I'll let you know how that turns out. It's then being hand carried to Australia after that.

so the three that voted 'one per month' and 'never / rarely' in the poll should stand up and name themselves. I hope to not end up on the same load with you pls.

The odds of this happening again are exactly the same - that's just the way it is. I was in a plane crash in '94 going up for a jump in a C-206. the engine cut out at 300ft and the plane nosed in after stalling at 50ft. Lots of broken bones for everyone but thankfully no one died. I was back jumping in 6 weeks as soon as I got the cast off my leg. I had a crush C6/C7 in my neck but it didn't get diagnosed until 6 months later. I also had a bad landing in '98 crushing my right heel on a demo jump. That was really painful but I was back jumping after 8 weeks. It's just the love of the sport that keeps me going. There's a lot of great advise on this thread you can do it!