bradcurn

Just over 1500, and I paid for all of them myself. Too depressing to calculate what that translates to in cash, so I refuse to do it. Plus there's all the other costs like tunnel coaching, travelling to boogies and Nationals, gear, etc. so the calculation would probably be quite tricky. I suppose I could have spent it on more "sensible" investments, but as most folks here have pointed out, at the end of the day it's just money, and the fun and friendships I've had over the years is easily worth what ever the grand total turns out to be.

Although not common, and not required by regulations (AFAIK) it is not true to say that none of the jump planes here in SA have seat belts. The blue PAC certainly had them when I jumped it before it left the country :-).

Until the advent of "angled tracking" this foolishness of putting the trackers out first was always understood to be dangerous. It has unfortunately been introduced at one of the dz's that I jump at, and my only experience of it has been dangerous and scary. Opening after a 4 way FS training jump, the "angled flyers" who got out before us were under canopy directly below us as we started tracking. So now, I refuse to exit on a jumprun where trackers are getting out first.

I ordered mine Now just 138 more orders whoohoo!!

whoohoo! Made it! No longer a tourist Now where's my tshirt, dammit?!?!?

From the company's perspective it is completely reasonable to want to make sure that they have a backup plan if you are no longer able (or willing) to service this client, in the best interests of the company. It is not necessarily an indication that you are about to get screwed. It may be, but that would depend on the culture of the company and the integrity of the individual manager. Do you have any experience or knowledge about those issues that would lead you to believe it's likely that you are being set up for a screwing? Final thought - when you took the job, you agreed to a contract in terms of which you would use your skills, knowledge and energy during working hours for the benefit of your employer. In return you would be paid some form of remuneration for your efforts. Ethically, I think it would be problematic to intentionally embark on a course of action which would significantly harm the interests of the company, based on a position of power that the company made available to you when you accepted the job. Ultimately it's your decision, and you need to do what's best for you. But if it were me, I think I'd be uncomfortable with the idea of screwing the company, unless I was absolutely convinced that they were planning to screw me first.

I have visited IPC while on holiday in Ireland, and speaking as a visiting, low time jumper at the time, I just wanted to say that the reception I received from the instructor who checked my logbook and the manifest person was awesome. In fact, this is one of the DZs that I would love to revisit if I had the chance. The jumpers and staff at IPC ROCK!

Hi I have just bought a Sony HC96 with a Sony 0.7 wide-angle lens. I am busy organising my camera helmet to use it with the new camera, but in the meantime before I get to jump it, I have a question. Previously, I used a Sony PC109 with a Kenko 0.5 lens and mostly used it to film footage from the inside of the formation while doing 4-way. (I loved my PC109 but it unfortunately got stolen a few weeks ago.) So my question is how will the Sony 0.7 lens compare to my old Kenko 0.5, bearing in mind that I will not be using it for outside camera but will be filming from inside the formation? Will it be too narrow? Should I rather try and get a 0.5 lens to fit my camera? Will it be necessary to get a 0.5 to get decent footage from inside the formation? Thanks.

Hey you muppet florist! What Porter?!?!? If you were up here and didn't tell me, your arse is grass

When I started jumping I did most of my jumps at a DZ that operated a rear door 207 like that one. I jump at a DZ now that uses a Porter. It's a helluvalot quicker and easier with the Porter, but sometimes I must admit I get a little nostalgic for the Cessna.

I have jumped with a Vladiball and it is very cool. If you are thinking about doing this, the Vladiball is a very good and "safe" option. But do listen to the other advice here and make sure that you take an experienced ballmaster along on the jump. It will cut down some of the chances of losing the ball. We have had a couple of cases where the ball was not retrieved by the breakoff altitude and the mechanism does work as advertised. Good luck, have fun and be safe. Blue skies Brad

Well if you're gonna be around that weekend you should definitely come and join us at Citrusdal. We are gonna be having a huge party at the DZ that weekend!

We go out the back as well but we have a long rail above the door, which makes exits quite easy. Without a rail though I can't think how you guys would be successfully launching anything bigger than a two way. Are there any plans to fit a rail to your 207? I reckon it's pretty crucial if you're going to be doing FS out of it. Good luck! Bradley

Too late now. It's gonna be at the DZ this weekend, so I guess we'll just have to figure it out. Thanks for the offer though

Thanks everyone for the input. I am comparing this aircraft to the C207T that we currently fly at my DZ. Should be able to jump it in a week or two and then we'll know for sure whether we can launch exits from it with any sort of smoothness. Cheers Bradley

I'm looking for some advice from people who have done RW out of this aircraft. My DZ may have the opportunity to get one of these in the near future and I wanted to check whether they lend themselves to FS or not. I have already heard that their door is not the greatest for putting out a 4 way with camera. Anyone out there have experience with these that they can share? Thanks!

Yeah, I didn't think of that. Probably a good idea to chat to an MD who actually understands the sport (if you can find such an animal). Cheers Bradley

Sounds like Mark's suggesting you shop around till you hear the answer you like. My view would be to get a second opinion, but if it matches what your doc is saying, then BELIEVE it! I came back quicker than I was advised to do when I broke my collar bone and I think now that I didn't let it heal properly. It still bothers me and now I wish I had listened to the advice. Hope you recover soon and fully. Cheers Bradley

Hi Chantal I heard about your injury, how's it going with the recovery? I assume from the post that you are now carrying some metal yourself. What's the prognosis from the docs on the length of time before you come back? Oh, and what the hell happened? I've heard some fragments but not the whole story. Anyway, I hope you recover quickly and come back to play. Cheers Bradley

So who is the clown? Come on you have to tell us Enquiring minds want to know Bradley

Yeah, the arm and shoulder are both much better, in fact I've already been skydiving the last few weekends (and enjoying some of that Mexican firewater but staying away from the runway and spudguns). I'm glad to hear that the 'Dal will still be your skydiving home

Hi Chantal I made the same switch you are planning, and for me it was definitely the right thing to do. Regarding your questions: I found that door fear was not really a problem, having gone through the SL progression. But I would say that you should be very careful of possible overconfidence, it's a real risk (and I had to redo one of my levels as a result). The experience of doing a freefall "on your own" on the SL programme is very different from AFF. On the SL programme all you have to concentrate on for the first few freefall jumps is stability and pulling on time. AFF jumps provide a whole new level of complexity and tasks that you need to perform. You are definitely not "stepping back". You are gaining two sources of valuable direct feedback and great learning opportunities. That's the real strength of the AFF route - you get one on one feedback and my learning curve was definitely much better because of it. Also do yourself a favour - if the option exists to get video of your AFF jumps, definitely go for it! The opportunity to actually see what you were doing on the jump and what your instructors are talking about during the debrief is invaluable. It will help your flying, and if nothing else it will be something for you to look back at and giggle when you are flying like a pro in a couple of hundred jumps time. I have checked your profile and if I read it correctly, then the small DZ you refer to is the 'Dal. Were you aware that AFF is also an option there? I did my AFF at the 'Dal and it only took a couple of weekends (plus you get to enjoy the great braai and party after the beer light comes on) It sounds though like you have already made arrangements to do AFF at Delta, so good luck and here's hoping you have that "A" by the end of the month!

Dude, I think your response to YahooLV was over the top. I read his post and it did not seem to me that he was being rude at all, just stating an opinion different from yours. By contrast, your response attributed motives and attitudes to him that I did not see represented in his actual message. I agree with him that you are setting our sport up to be seen as a punishment for sportspeople not performing well in their own discipline. In your own words, you do make the tandem sound like their penance for having stuffed up when you say: "So the presenters will then say how about showing how sorry you are to the nation and your fans by asking for forgivness and showing them you mean it by letting us throw you out of a plane at 12,000feet by tandem of course." You asked for comments and opinions on your suggestion so it seems to me that you should be willing to accept both the positive and critical comments, or did you only want posts that agreed with you? At the end of the day I guess you'll do what you want to, and I'm not foolish enough to think or pretend that my opinion will change your mind. But I offer you my opinion anyway, because you did ask for it, and I hope that you will accept that it's not motivated by "rude aroggance" but by a genuine desire to suggest a different viewpoint. Brad

I have to confess that the statement that "naked is not an option" made me very curious as to why this was so categorically excluded. Care to satisfy my curiosity? Bradley

Dude, I really wish I had your problems!! We have a Cessna 207T and at the worst times it can take us 40 minutes to get to 11 grand. God what I wouldn't give for 16 minutes! And btw the comment about smells being more pungent in the cramped confines of a small Cessna are definitely true. Bradley