Sanjak

Been around for 29 years and never heard of such a thing. A lot of boogie events and competitions that drew participants from all over would do that. As part of registration, they would have a rigger check all gear for whatever recent set of gear problems had been happening, like leg strap replacements, soft 3-rings, or whatever. Or just checking general safety items like riser wear and reserve seals. And then they would put a colored or coded cable tie on the handle to show that the rig had been inspected and passed. I've also seen this used as a means of showing that the boogie fee was paid, so that as people are boarding the plane, the DZ employee can scan all the jumpers and see that they're not sneaking on for free. Many jumpers would not remove those ties after each boogie, and would accumulate quite a collection, as a sign of how well-traveled they were. They became like a badge of honor. Nowadays they seem to use those plastic hospital wrist-bands instead. Want to drink the free boogie beer? Let me see your wrist band, buddy!

Likewise, why is it not considered a drawback to have the same look and feel with two pillow handles? Has anyone ever in the excitement of a malfunction, accidentally pulled their reserve pillow first, when they meant to pull their cut-away pillow? (I saw message #26 after I posted this!) Seems to me that having two completely different handles helps you identify the correct one. Isn't that why they alter the shape of different aircraft controls, so that pilots can identify the correct knob/handle by feel alone?

It's an ordinary skydiver who drinks red bull. And wears a Go-Pro!

Well that could put a whole new spin on a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey!

Probably not a James Bond film, however it could be the remake of Point Break. It started filming this month and Italy is one of the locations where they are planning to film. They are using actual extreme athletes to perform the stunts, so it could have been a scene with some of the wingsuit flyers filming a scene. what the hell is an "Actual Extreme Athlete?" Probably just means real stunts done by real people, rather than Hollywood fakery. Like that freefall scene in Point Break where you just know they're suspended from a ceiling by wires with a fan blowing up on them to tussle their hair.

Quote: "Ping-pong balls rained down on Interstate 15 north of Blackfoot last Saturday when an annual giveaway event for Blackfoot Pride Days went terribly wrong, but luckily no one was injured scrambling to recover the wayward prizes..." Story: http://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/witnesses-surprised-no-one-hurt-when-pingpong-balls-dropped-by/article_5381621e-0cb3-11e4-8ffb-001a4bcf887a.html Ha! They shoulda hired a local skydiver as a spotting consultant. And yes, it's my first post, so free cyber-beer for everyone who responds to this message.