obelixtim

At the briefing just tell everyone..... "If you smash yourself up, you'll be in a lot of pain for a long time, then you ARE gonna DIE!!!." Who wants to be first!". My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Ah...never mind, if he makes it past the DZO and onto a plane with his handkerchief on his back then he'll be subject to the law of Natural Selection, Murphys Law, and the Law of Averages..... Fits John Waynes quote perfectly.... "If you're gonna be stupid, you better be tough".... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

If you do it without a proper intentional cutaway rig, and without doing some serious training with an experienced instructor, you are doing it the stupid way..... And yes, I ve done my share of cutaways...they were all intentional.....but only a few were planned....with a 3 canopy rig.... I've seen a guy try a transfer right beside me at 2 grand......of course cutting away from a good canopy meant a very subterminal delay, his body position went all to hell and he ended up with his reserve bridle cord nicely hooked around his ankle and off he went towing a horseshoed reserve...... Got lucky because it came off, and after a short streamer it opened at about 600 feet...... Tough Stan had brown undies just after that one..... If you want to try subterminal, do a chopper jump..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

The seller doesn't seem to have made much of an effort to find the owners. The canopy wouldn't travel very far when it was chopped, and wherever it was found must be close to the DZ... and there aren't that many DZ's in Australia.... Keeping the canopy and then putting it up for sale comes pretty close to theft in my book...whatever happened to handing it in to the local cop shop.... I reckon the seller is, at the very least, dishonest.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Everyone here has said everything you need to hear and do.... As an instructor I make a point of inviting spouses, parents and friends to sit in on my training sessions......and I know it gives them an enormous amount of reassurance to see and hear what is involved, and to learn for themselves exactly how a parachute is built, rigged and deployed, and all the bits that go with it....also they can see how their loved one handles the training....and how they are trained......I also ask them to read the literature (training manual) I give to the trainee...... Knowledge dispels fear........ Many of these observers have gone a lot further and asked to make a jump themselves.....(part of my cunning plan of course).... I've never had a negative reaction from any of these observers, but in fact many of them have expressed their thanks to me for helping them through an anxious time........and really its easy to do and costs nothing to make happen...... I've trained over 10000 solo jumpers in my career, and never lost one....but I know very well that could change on the next load I take up.....so my vigilance never wavers......EVERYBODY I take is special....... I'd say that is probably the case with the instructors taking your wife through her training as well.....even though I don't know them personally..... You didn't say your wife did a jump with Santa Claus!!!!!..... How good is that!!.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Confucious say......... Bag lock, brain lock, wedlock........you choose......you lose...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Reminds me of the story of the guys who were always dumping at 2 grand......next to the DZ was an orange orchard, and it was noticed that at dump height you could just see the orange colour of the fruit on the trees......jumping at the weekends only... All well and good, until one day a whole load went low,dumping at around a grand.....the base man was responsible for altitude and break off, and was looking for the oranges..... They'd picked them all during the week..... D'OHHHHH!!!!!....... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Yeah, I agree, the Mark One eyeball never lies..... Another way of "training" the eyes to recognise opening altitude is to look out of the plane at that altitude on the way up....look at the size of buildings, cars, trees, or anything on the ground that you can use as a visual reference...it could also be a hill top or something on the horizon.... Also look down immediately after opening....you'll start to recognise opening altitude after a while.... If you get used to doing that regularly, soon you will get to recognise your deployment altitude visually......after a few years I never looked my alti at all, but on opening I was always smack on the correct height..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I predicted many years ago that numbers of sport jumpers would decline, as a result of changes in training methods....and so it has proved... The advent of AFF is the main reason I feel.... It is more expensive, and its harder to sell than SL as a result of cost, and the "fear" factor... Static line jumps were easier to sell to large groups because it was sold as a "parachute jump". Potential recruits could get their head around that concept a lot easier than making a freefall or skydive, as in AFF.....for a first jumper the psychological aspects (differences) between the two methods are enormous.... I used to get groups of 30 or 40 for a weekend ofstatic line jumps and get them all out, with just myself and one helper.....big groups of friends would show up...some would do 3 or 4 jumps....it was easy to turn them around once jumping started about mid day Saturday... The AFF guys by contrast would take all weekend with 2 or 3 first jumpers......and spend most of that time training......with 2 instructors per student....much more complicated training than SL. Simple Maths....more first jumpers, more would stick around.... I think Tandem hasn't really affected numbers much, perhaps has encouraged a few who would never have tried. I remember espousing my theory about the future decline in numbers, and why, back in the early nineties....and the reaction I got was to be laughed at.....the concensus amongst the mainly new hotshot jumpers on the scene was that Static line was dead, and that AFF was the way of the future.... I also think the advent of professional skydiving has meant that the experienced jumpers have been too busy working at the DZ, and the interaction between older jumpers and newbies is much less than it used to be, and that has led to less retention..... Plus, as has been pointed out, many of the skydivers who have spent the best part of their lives on DZ's making it happen are/have retired and have other fish to fry..... But hey, what do I know????...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I'm amazed that nobody has come up with the easiest and most obvious solution of all...... Bugger the ring..... Lose the wife!!!!!............... (Flak jacket is on.....) My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

one thing i forgot to add was he could have kept going straight and landed in the dirt. nothing in front of him but open desert for at least 100 yards Proves the theory of natural selection still applies.... As for the guy who lifts his legs.....ask your instructor /DZO what those round loopy things you find on the end of your brake lines are for.....because you shouldn't do another jump till you learn how to use them..... Otherwise, do not pass go, go straight to hospital, do not collect 200 bucks..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

What was the problem with the corn field??..... Corn doesn't have teeth.....in fact because the ground has been ploughed it would be a pretty soft area with no hard objects hidden in it.... So you smash down a few cornstalks.... Anyway you got away with it....so learn the lessons.... There wouldn't be a skydiver around who didn't screw up at least once....most of us get away undamaged.....but not always.... I found skydivers with about 50 - 200 jumps to be the ones who made most mistakes.....normally at that stage you are 10 foot tall and bulletproof, and get a little overconfident and cocky with your own ability.... get past that stage and you've probably calmed down a little and begin to take a few less risks... When overconfidence outweighs ability, the difference is potential disaster..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Why thank you Bryn....doesn't bother me at all....... I do think mods get a bit overanxious about a bit of winding up....... You are the first skydiver I've ever met who trusts the media to give skydiving a fair go..... Hope you enjoy the programme....I won't see it unfortunately, but I trust you'll come back on the board and tell us what it was like, and whodunnit...... "Investigative journalism"....bit of an oxymoron isn't it.....a bit like "military intelligence".... Blues...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I jumped at Anyang in 1991, at the World Cup of CRW that was held there. We had a great time, and the Chinese went out of their way to give us a great time.....but then they were under the direct orders of the central committee of the PRC..... It is a military airfield, and at the time it was not possible for civilians to skydive in China....all the Chinese jumpers were military personnel..... Things might have changed since then, I don't really know, but if experience back then is anything to go by, I doubt if its changed much at all..... The problem with China is the fact that it is a bureaucratic nightmare trying to get anything done and even if you are a native speaker of Mandarin it will be almost impossible to make it happen....because of their system, no one will make a decision about anything, especially anything important, in case it comes back and bites them on the arse later.....as it often does... As an example, at the end of the competition, we had a few days to spare, and a bunch of us wanted to go to Xian to see the buried army...about a 40 hour train trip all round....didn't have time for that.... One of the guys had the bright idea of hiring one of the AN2 jump planes from the airfield to fly us there......so we approached the General who ran the airfield, and asked him if it was possible....he said no.....(as we expected). We then flashed a big roll of US banknotes in front of his eyes (part of plan B), which lit up like a Xmas tree...... He was absolutely desperate to get his hands on the cash, it was easy to see that....he was wrestling hard with the problem, but declined our offer.... His planes only had jurisdiction to fly within a 5 mile radius of the airfield, unless he had orders from above to do so...if they went outside that zone, they risked being shot down by his neighboring general, who had orders to do so..... Had that happened....he would have been up against the wall next....... You might be able to find out about it if you can find the Chinese delegate to the IPC...at the time we were there it was a polite guy called Jimmy Chang, nice guy, who spoke flawless English, and I think who had some important political connections high up in the Chinese Govt, because he seemed to have a lot of power....he made things happen...... It was back in 1991, and I have no clue what has happened since, but it might be a starting point.... Good luck..... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

You obviously don't really have a clue how the media treats skydiving, do you.... They just love words and phrases like plunge, plummetted, death defying, terrifying......get the picture???.... In this case..... The first conclusion the police had was murder.....they jumped to that one big time..... But after a couple of months of fruitless investigation, looking for perpetrators and motives, they were forced to look at other possibilities....and the discovery of fibres from his risers, on a pair of scissors, locked in his car, gave them reason to come up with the suicide scenario.... What makes you think tabloid TV is going to suddenly solve the question??.....Do they have access to the forensic labs, equipment, mountain of information the police collected......No way Jose.... I've had dealings with the media involving fatalities over a 30 year skydiving career, and believe me, the interests of skydivers is the last thing on their minds.... I am well aware that interest in jump courses increases with each fatality....but thats not PR really, is it.....its individuals trying to look brave in front of their mates when the news is full of how dangerous the sport is..... PR disasters like this, mean when you are going around corporate sponsors trying to raise funds for a team, or you are battling the local council for access to airfields, airspace and facilities, you come up against brick walls instead of open doors....... I've done all of these things, and I know damn well how frustrating it is to have years of painstaking work educating the public about skydiving, doing lots of unpaid PR for the sport, to see it undone by some punk reporter trying to make a name for himself at our sports expense..... The media don't give a dead rats arse about our sport.....and every negative headline costs us...big time.... So stick that in your pipe and smoke it!!!. My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

It will be garbage TV...the DZ were mad to let them onto the airfield...... The problem with these sorts of programs is they'll make up anything to fit the story they want to tell......in this case it'll be murder..... The other problem is the great unwashed public take it as fact....... It'll be a PR disaster for British skydiving.....but then British skydiving is run by the BPA........a disaster in its own right anyway........ So nothing new there then...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

CAUTION...... Do NOT use the aircraft alti as a benchmark for your skydiving alti..... The aircraft alti will very rarely agree with a skydivers alti.....unless your DZ is at sea level.... Aircraft altis are set at sea level.....skydivers altis are set at the level of the DZ..... Both are usually reset on a daily basis, as a result of the natural change in air pressure......this can vary as much as 500 feet or more from day to day.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

You've never heard of "Murphys Law".....have you???.... It applies to students.....by a factor of about 10....no matter how good the instructor..... Back the stiletto truck up.....don't even go there.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Just be a bit careful with hot smoke.... Stuff thats out of date, is out of date for a reason......Most of it is OK, but you can get some that doesn't go off at all, and now and again it can go off with a bang, all at once (the chemical ripens up a bit I guess)......like jumping with a hand grenade...... I recall a jumper somewhere years ago having his foot blown clean off.......and another burning the saddle out of his B4 harness and falling clean out of it on opening..... However, if you do have hot smoke you need to have an insulator between yourself and the canister if you are using it in FF. Under canopy you can attach it to a piece of wire and let it drop 6 - 8 feet below you....just be careful when you land if its still fizzing not to let your canopy come down on top of it.... And for any newbie who wants to try jumping smoke...Don't!!!.... till you have a bit of experience, and until you've talked to someone who knows all about it.....usually one of the old DZ dinosaurs...... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

After you've plucked your pilot chute, try supporting your head with one or both hands, you can keep your arch on with head and elbows back, but you should be able to use one or both hands to hold your head on.... Camera flyers in the old days used to carry huge heavy cameras and stuff, and it'd be ...dump....grab the head.....because a hard opening with weight on your head could quite easily break your neck......probably happened once or twice.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Yeah, well I was lucky, it was quite a small town, and Mr Thickys brain cell wasn't working too well....greed got the better of him.... I left him with a few lumps for his trouble....they don't call me Obelix for nothing..... Thick as a whale sandwich........ My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

I posted a "wanted to buy" ad in my local paper, offering a ridiculous price..... Sure enough, I had a response from a guy who had my gear...... It was all fun after that.....but not for him.... Most gear gets pinched because people think its a backpack full of goodies.... Give the cops all the info...photos, serial numbers..... Sometimes it comes back untouched if you're lucky... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

p rie qm Out of curiosity [and this may be a discussion for another thread or it may be simple], when is a "low turn" a "low turn"? I.E. when should one look at the ground, think about their altitude and say "nah, I'll take this downwind". If you have time to be thinking that you are probably OK........ But when you think ""FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKK" then you've probably blown it.... Difficult question to answer with precision because there are too many variables......body weight, canopy size, weather conditions, (wind, temperature,) turbulence, landing altitude, amongst them.....probably a few others I hsaven't thought of just now..... The altitude you turn at might be fine one day, the next day might be too low....the best advice to stay injury free might be to err on the side of caution, make your decisions early, and have an escape plan that enables you to bail out of the situation safely....... Pushing the envelope all the time pretty much guarantees that an accident is certain....sooner or later.... My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....

Reminds me of the old pilots proverb..."there are old pilots and there are bold pilots......but there arn't any old bold pilots"... Great earlier post by AFFI.......took the words right out of my mouth...... .g My computer beat me at chess, It was no match for me at kickboxing....