mofo554

Again........the DZ I jump at COMPLETELY closes down during the winter....there is no jumping whatsoever once it gets cold.

Ok...so I've done 8 static line jumps, quite a few solo freefalls after S/L, and 4 AFF jumps. All together, I've probably made 17-18 jumps. Do the static lines count towards my A? Or, do only the freefalls count? Thanks.

If Lutz can do it....well, damnit, so can YOU!!! Here's the Lutz link for your enlightenment: [/url]http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=653448;page=3;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;[url] Watch 4freefallin off of the "From TV" section of www.skydivingmovies.com to see Lutz in action.

The DZ I'm jumping at doesn't operate during the winter....otherwise, I'd be there!

After 10+ static line jumps, I switched over to AFF. I took the course in early July, but because of many factors (weather, scheduling conflicts, plane being grounded, etc.), I was unable to jump until mid August. Anyways, I have successfully completed the first four levels in four jumps. Two problems exist at this point. First, I am in college, and as a result I am lacking much of both time and money. Second, Michigan weather will soon make it impossible to jump, thus grounding me until spring. It is not possible for me to get my license before winter, so either way, I am going to have to do some sort of refresher course, and at least one check dive once spring begins. My question is, should I try to finish AFF before the weather sets in, or should I stop completely and wait until spring? How would each option likely pan out? i.e. how would each affect the total costs, time investment, etc.

Senior year in high school, I was taking a blowoff class called Publications. Basically, all we did was sit around for weeks on end and shoot the shit with friends. Our only real assignment in the class was to write one article per month for the school newspaper. Well, despite this being the easiest class I ever took, I still wasn't doing so hot. It was my last semester of senior year, and I REALLY didn't want to do work. Most of the kids in the class would write these lame stories about the new science teacher or the basketball game or whatever. I never wanted to do this. So, I started coming up with random ideas which I thought would be cool. I called Ken Kal (radio voice of the Detroit Red Wings) and told him I wanted to do an article on his profession. A little sweet talking and I had two VIP passes to a Red Wings game...even got to go into the locker room and take pictures with the players after, (Thought I'd beat my own drum there for a sec) Anyways, I'd always wanted to skydive, and knew it would make a great article. After two weekends on weather delays, I went out to Skydive Tecumseh on a Wednesday, made a tandem jump, and have been hooked ever since. That's my story. Wussah!

What are the reliability statistics of a cypres? I am assuming that a brand new or newer, well maintained cypres would not be prone to failure. Of course all electronic devices can fail.... Anyways, for $100 Million....I'd jump it.

Hopefully, this wasn't directed towards me. If so, you missed the entire point of my post. In case there is confusion, the object of my original message was to ask if what I had witnessed during my short encounters in this sport was the norm.

Last March, I went out to California for spring break. Before I left, I looked into DZs that would be near where I was going to be (LA and San Diego). I was surprised to find that some of the DZs that advertised themselves as "Skydive City A", were no where near City A. My guess is that it's just a convenient use of a well known city name. This, however, leads to my question. Are there any large cities that have DZs anywhere near (i.e. within 10 miles) them? I realize that DZs require lots of land for the runway and landing area, as well as undeveloped space somewhat nearby in the case of a bad spot, but just thought I'd throw this out there to find out.

I've only been in the sport for a short while, and only jumped at two DZs. During this time, I have not once seen a non-white fun jumper at either DZ (Tecumseh and Napoleon in Michigan). There have been a few black, latin, and Asian tandem students, but they were few and far between. Is this typical in our sport? It's not something that bothers me....just curious.

I've seen it done out of a Twin Otter.

Anything you bring onto a commercial flight is subject to being searched. This has been the case for a long time. After 9/11, the whole process was stepped up to increase security. So, anybody who is dumb enough to bring a contraband onto a commercial flight deserves the punishment they are likely to receive.

Felix Baumgartner "flew" across the English Channel early this morning... from msn.com: http://www.msnbc.com/news/946434.asp?vts=073120030915 LONDON, July 31 — A skydiver known as “The Missile Man” on Thursday became the first person to cross the English Channel in an unpowered flight, free falling at up to 230 mph in the process. Wearing high-tech carbon wings, Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a plane at 30,000 feet above Dover, England, and flew to France, parachuting into hills above the port of Calais. “IT’S PRETTY cold up there. I still can feel nothing,” the self-styled “God of the Skies” told reporters after a hard landing. Baumgartner told reporters that he had a close call as soon as he jumped out of the plane. “I went directly into the opening with my legs,” he said, “so I had to cut my glider in pieces because it was hanging up on the lines, but I made it and that’s great.” Setting off early to avoid commercial flights, Baumgartner used oxygen supplies during the 18-mile flight to survive the rarefied air that was as cold as 31 degrees below Fahrenheit. His team estimates that he attained a top speed of 230 mph during the fall, which took around 10 minutes. In contrast, Louis Bleriot took 37 minutes to make his ground-breaking flight across the channel in 1909 and Matthew Webb took 22 hours to swim it for the first time in 1875. Baumgartner’s wings, with a span of nearly 6 feet, are made of the same special lightweight carbon composite used in Formula One race cars. Baumgartner tested it by speeding around the tarmac of Salzburg Airport on the roof of a high-powered Porsche. He has also trained with the German air force. Baumgartner, 34, set world records for the highest and lowest parachute dives in 1999 with daredevil jumps from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro. The Austrian started parachuting as a teenager before taking up the extreme sport of BASE jumping. BASE stands for Buildings, Antenna, Spans (Bridges) and the Earth (cliffs). Members of the club must jump from each of those before being allowed in. One bookmaker had quoted odds of 3/20 for a successful jump and 7/2 against. Baumgartner, who was equipped with cameras and high-tech tracking gear, said he had to follow his two planes over part of the channel when cloud cover blocked his view. The flight was stressful but well worth it, he added. “I flew into my own shadow, which the morning sun exposed on a cloud together with a rainbow,” he said. “I don’t think anyone has experienced that before.”

Flying is a privelege, not a right. I agree there. However, our rights, as far as flying is concerned, are not being trampled. Without straying too far from the purpose of this forum, it is my opinion that the current precautions being taken by the FAA, commercial airlines, etc. are absolutely necessary to maintain safe skies.

How do people die bowling? Slipping and falling? Heart attack? Comparing skydiving to other sports is a bit like comparing apples and oranges. There are few sports I can think of in which the end objective is to literally save your own life. Every time one jumps from a plane, they have only minutes/seconds until impact with the ground. The same can't be said for bowling, baseball, basketball, etc. Skydiving is an inherently risky sport, while bowling, baseball, basketball, etc. are not. While these risks can be mitigated to a certain extent, the fact remains that the risks involved are clear from the beginning.

Just interested in what others have to say. I've heard both sides of the debate from a few people.....

Not to be picky, but the third and fourth choices are the same.

What is "the hill"?

When did I give Aggie "TUDE"???? The only post I put on this was saying that I agreed with the original poster on this topic. In only two sentences I said I thought everybody should respect his right to privacy. That's it. That's all. I said nothing more. I made not one single personal attack. Furthermore, not one SINGLE POST has mentioned Aggie. So to claim that Aggie has left the website because of "TUDE" he got from me is INSANE. The only person I have belittled on here is you. This is because you keep making comments that seem to be baiting somebody into a response. Let's briefly look at the history here: That is the very first time I said anything that even comes close to belittling anybody. Your post makes it sound as if I have been on other peoples' cases for a while now. The record obviously shows that this is not true. After the post above, you proceeded to respond with your smart alec comments. To even infer that I am paranoid in any way is ludicrous. So, I responded to your post once again. Name calling ensues....then you accuse me of yet another untruth (driving Aggie of the Website). I don't know where you came up with that lie. Seriously. Also, you missed my point in saying that you're UGLY. That's not what I meant. It was purely social sattire on my part. Don't get what I mean? PM me.

So, you've stooped to name calling now, huh? HAHAHA....ok...I'll return fire. You're UGLY.

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Wow...I guess some people will never understand. File that one under "classics" in your baiting history.

Why don't you bait more people? Nobody has to release information about themselves on this Website. If it isn't in their profile, it's probably for a reason. Respect other peoples' right to privacy. It's really that simple. Alternatively, you could just start the whole argument again.....and then maybe you could post your past "baiting history" in your profile for everyone to see......

What is the average height? I'm 5'10"....

Totally agree with Andrew here....if he wanted his information available, he'd have made it that way. Just my 2...

NICE!!!