Praetorian 1 #176 March 30, 2005 D in the US changed from 200... to 500 (I THINK) Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad judgment. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dorbie 0 #177 March 30, 2005 QuoteQuoteObviously jumping there Bill would instantly change his attitude to that piece of hardware then. I am curious what you think my attitude is towards AAD's? I hope your answer to this question will help me explain better my point. Derek I think I already get your point and have tried to point out where we agree earlier, however my post you quoted was only intended to highlight the capriciousness of citing a regulation as a differentiating factor in a debate over what is fundamentally the personal risks skydivers should be prepared to accept. That's not something you did. I think I agree with you on the principal that you shouldn't be relying on these devices or using them as a salve for your inability or fear of pulling etc. I disagree with relegating them to second class devices we should be prepared to jump without (even in a thought experiment / litmus test). I don't see an AAD as different from a reserve w.r.t. risk mitigation except that one might make a jump about 500-1000 times safer and the other makes it less than 2X safer on the average (*very* rough guestimates). I see these as simple abstract motivators that compel me to jump with an AAD, nothing else, just because shit happens. If a skydiver wouldn't be prepared to jump without one that might simply be prudent and it's not for anyone to tell them they therefore shouldn't be jumping at all. I do agree that if a skydiver has issues with pulling or deliberately goes low & takes more risk because he thinks an AAD will save him he shouldn't be jumping (they're taking a huge risk and probably don't even appreciate it if you see my earlier post on probability). I don't see that as directly related to a simple choice based on historical data that an AAD makes a jump much safer, shit can happen and it's a jumper's choice and nobody else's if they would or wouldn't jump without one. I still haven't stated whether I personally would consider jumping without one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites