tbrown

A good reason why people should take the time to study an aerial photo of any DZ they're jumping at, especially if they're new or visiting. You can even ask somebody to point out things like power lines and other hazards. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Incontestability depends on the laws of the state the policy is sold in. Can also depend on the company, within the limits of state law, i.e. a company can say 2 years while the law says 3. Ask your agent or look at your policy. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I seem to have stirred up the pot a bit with my speculation about a base anchored PC being harder to hold onto. In truth, I have never used a pullout system, so have never experienced what, if any different forces a jumper might experience using one. My views are speculative, but have nevertheless contributed to my not using a pullout, at least not thus far. The incidents I mentioned happened, whether I reported them in this forum or not. My best friend had a pullout flip over his back and found himself under a baglock, pulling both handles simultaneously as he went thru 500 ft. He made it, and still uses a pullout. My impression is that a pullout can be a safe, perhaps safer system, if you're willing to take personal responsiblity for how you use it. In principle, I like the idea of personally opening the main container before releasing the PC. On the other hand, someone in this forum also voiced the opinion that her PC would do the job more forcefully than she could. I don't use a pullout, my views may well be mistaken, but they are why I don't use one. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

"opting Out" of madatory controls through approved canopy training is an interesting idea. It would imply that there would first have to be some enforceable wing loading regulations. Opting out through qualified instruction would satisfy safety concerns as well as our American character streak that insists we be as big or as great as we dare. Sure, you can be as great as you dare, as long as your friends don't have to give you first aid and pray that the medevac chopper arrives in time. But if you take some ono-on-one instruction and pass some kind of test (that you can also fail if you just don't get it), then hell, why not get a 15 ft Project X Deathray canopy with just 45 jumps. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Some of the best dives I ever made scared me to death. I jumped El Capitan in 1980 (legally) and was so scared my voice cracked. Fear just keeps us honest. The moment you're launched, you are going to be back in ECSTASY. You will be soooooo glad you did. at Perris, everybody gives each other "some skin" on the ride up. Personally I think it's just an excuse for us to wipe our sweaty palms, but it's amazing what a pickup it is. You're gonna be just fine. P.S. I think everybody at this site just loves you. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

It's a real beauty. So where's Barbie's pink Skyvan ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Looks fantastic. So what do you use for your cap, a chin strap or thumb tacs ? Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Don't you mean how's these ? Hey now !! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

As a group we tend to drink a great deal. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I relate completely (in fact, checking up on your profile, I also live in HB, right in your Zip code). I've just started back from a long layoff and am trying to get my flare act together again. I know at Perris you can rent Sabre2 demos up to 210 ft, but you can also get a 230 Spectre, which is what I'm using, at least for now. My exit weight with gear is probably 240, so I'm loading at about 1.05, but even when I screw up I don't thump it too bad - and I'm getting old. Before I buy anything I'm going to try the Sabres and the 210 size, but not until I've got my act together with the 230. And if I end up just being an old fart with a big 7 cell, I'll still be doing things in freefall and to me that's what it's all about anyway. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Sucking a 10 way to 3500' is LOW in my opinion, but I've seen it and done it. reply] Sounds like nowadays it would be from what I'm hearing. For those of us old enough to remember, it was quite normal and by no means radical, but we were also opening with a "fwop and a oomph". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

That's very true, turbos are such sweet machines, they get us way up there and fast ! I'd really like to thank so many people for responding, within the hour no less. As I said before, I'm quite comfortable and prefer to pull at or just below 3 grand, always have. I agree totally with thhe person who said things are looking awfully big at 2 grand, they do. My few jumps back so far - there will be a lot more as soon as I get another job - have been with Spectres and I've found myself looking up at the snivel and thinking, "now they said this would happen..." and then getting an opening that's something like "aaahhhh, wowwww, that was niiiice" and seeing 2200 on my Alti. It really does look like we're getting our opening safety together. Now we just have to pay attention to safer canopy flying. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I knew of a couple incidents like yours, where people deployed a pullout into their burbles. Sometimes they cleared, but there were also one or two baglocks with VERY low cutaways and sub 500 ft reserve openings. One such incident ended in a line stretch fatality (the person was a known low puller who initiated deployments below 2 grand anyway). The fact that the PC is anchored at the base, rather than the apex means that you get considerably more drag on the thing as you pull it out. If you're not trained for that, or expecting it, the PC could easily pull itself out of your grip and flip over your back. It's definitely something anyone converting to pullout needs to be aware of and prepared for. But on the bright side, a lot of peole who switched to Racers twenty years ago were amazed and very pleased with how much faster they opened, without opening any harder. Knowing you've already got your container open has got to be nice. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

In the good old days you'd progress from a round to a square by borrowing a rig from a friend, who would instruct you from his/her personal experience/opinions. Or not. People mostly learned by their mistakes, either getting hurt or yelled at. Traffic control never discussed beyond the most obvious, which is not to fly 180 degrees into the face of everyone else, which would earn you a "lurking death" reputation. I've got a few hundred jumps on the older squares, but I'll be taking a canopy course just to review the stuff I should know anyway as well as to learn the new stuff, because today's canopies do fly quite differently. Getting it to open is only half the game. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I just returned to the sport after a very long layoff (22 yrs) and it seems to me like everyone's pulling higher than we used to. That's not a bad thing, but some of the breakoff altitudes leave me wondering what's going on. I've been in 3 ways with breakoffs at 4500 ft, when I questioned it they asked if I'd rather breakoff at 5 grand (not...). One of the first things I noticed coming back is that canopies really do snivel a lot more than they used to, but the openings are sooo much softer now. So I can see where a "legal" pull at 2 grand might not leave you under an open canopy 'til below 1500 ft. Personally I was always comfy pulling around 2500 to 2800 ft anyway and would sit in above two grand, so I don't mind pulling anywhere below 3 grand. I'm not into pulling low, but believe people should at least feel confident (if not happy) about taking it down for things like safe separation. But we used to breakoff up to 10 ways at 3500 ft and everyone would be opened by 2 grand. So has there been a change in thinking these past twenty years ? I'd just like to know what the current thinking is on this. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The answer, like the question (which you appear to have figured out, based on the nature of your inquiry), is in the ad. Look harder, take your chances, and give it your best shot. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I used to be an agent for one of the biggies and our Agent's Manual said we would cover skydivers IF they were USPA members in good standing. Skydivers are usually rated though, which generally means higher premiums than a smoker. An important issue is called INCONTESTABILITY. The law says that when you buy life insurance, the insurance co. has three years (usually) to investigate you and find out if you lied to them about anything. Once the three years are up, they had their chance and they're stuck with you - so long as you keep up with your premiums. So if you have any life insurance from your pre-jumping days, hang on to it ! In my own case, with a wife & kids, I took out a rather sizable policy about 10 years ago, when I wasn't jumping. I TRUTHFULLY said no when they asked if I'd done anything hazardous (skydiving, etc) in the past three years and I ended up with a really good rate. My policy's been incontable for the last seven years. Now this year I started jumping again and so long as I keep up with my premiums - they're STUCK with me. They can't even rate me! Bwuhahaha !! Don't be shy about life insurance, especially if you have a family. When I read about the young families of dead skydivers having to hold out their hats for charitable donations from our community, it makes me feel sick. If you can afford a rig, if you can afford to jump, you can afford to provide for your family, because shit can happen. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

My first bank loan was $500 for a rig. The bank made me take out life insurance. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I agree, can't believe she's 61. Martha is a vixen. I'm still waiting for her to do her show on how to make a leather suspended harness. Maybe somebody should tell her about 3 ring releases... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

QuoteSpeedie, If it had been typical mass-produced pisswater, they would have starved. Not so with nice, substantial homebrews full of vitamins.

A man and a woman find themselves together in a berth for two on an overnight train trip. It's a little crowded, but they manage to get themselves changed into pajamas and into their bunk beds, the man above and the woman below. Some time later, the woman knocks on the man's bedframe and says, "excuse me, but I'm really cold, could you please get me a blanket from the closet ?" The man looks down and says, "Why don't we just pretend we're married ? (wink, wink)". The woman giggles and says, "That would be OK, I guess". The man says, "Oh good, then get your own damn blanket!" Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You might also try some of the over the counter ear wax kits available in any pharmacy. You get some ear drops and a rubber bulb for flushing your ear out with water. If you hear or feel the drops in your ears getting "fizzy" that's because they're breaking up wax. The wax is pretty deep inside, you can't reach it and Q tips won't get it either. You might be amazed/horrified at the huge chunks you could flush out. Lots of good clean fun! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[Those shows apparently had some inpact on me as I became a jumper, a helicopter pilot and fly corporate jets for a living. Good thing they didn't have any adventure series about Kamikaze pilots (nyuk-nyuk)! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

12. When the Officer says "Gee Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?" You should have peel a label off the bottle and slap it on your forehead, so you can tell him you're on the patch. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Pitching your tent at least 30 ft away from manifest helps, if you're a real lady's man you might try a far corner of the field near a tree line or something. Of course the greatest protector of privacy is plenty of alcohol, it shuts the world out no matter how much noise you make ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !