rapper4mpi

I'm going to agree with everyone here. You've got to go to other DZ's around the country, especially the Northeast (a lot of old timers seem to flock at small DZs around this area) and sit around a campfire to hear the stories. That book called "Skydiving with your Pants on fire" or whatever it's called has great old time stories. As for new stories, there are many to be heard, but they are never as good as the old ones. -Rap

"I guess no matter how hard we try, big money will always wins out!" Hmmmmmm...I think I said that in the original post....hmmmm -Rap

The only problem I see is what you alreay stated, currency. You need to stay with it, keep current, especially in those early learning jumps. Make it a part of your life, and you'll have no problem staying current. Good luck! -Rap

I have been jumping with a Cool & Groovy Time Out! for 4 or 5 years now. This was the predacessor to the Evolution. As far as the time out goes it has been great. Customer service was great as well. A Pro Track however is in a class of it's own. More like the Cadilac of audibles. For a trouble free, low cost simple to use audible, go with the C&G. -Rap

"Well here's an obscene thought ... turn the tv off!" Obviously you have forgotten what it is like to have skydiving be a total part of your life. Let me remind you of something...When skydiving is just about all you think about, when not actually jumping you try to do things that are closely related. So when you see a commercial that has skydiving in it, you watch, when you hear about a TV show that has skydiving in it, you watch, when there is a movie coming out, no matter how bad it is, you watch. I happen to work for an advertising firm, that buys spots on broadcast TV. In reality this paid advertisement which I buy spots from pays your salary. Part of my job is to periodically tune in to area cable stations and get a feel for the types of ads that are being run, this is where I saw the clip, and this was quite a while ago. Anyway, please get off your high hoarse and quit the lesson on what sells and what doesn't. You totally missed the point of the post. So I'll restate it. The post was to illustrate that we don't always have control of how we are portrayed in the media no matter how hard we try. Thank you., -Rap

Check out Jumpshacks web site. John's got a whole article on 3 ring maintenance. -Rap www.jumpshack.com

I'd say you should have a minimum of 100 jumps on that 170 before going to the 150, then after you are completely ringing out every bit of performance out of that 150, then the 135 can be a consideration. With only 20 jumps, why get a new canopy now? My views may be conservative, but I watch what the pros do, and they have been quite conservative as well. Good luck. -Rap

guess this ones gonna die :(

Does anyone remember that poster by Sky Systems that read: "I Love The Smell Of Jet Fuel In The Morning". Well a non-skydiver friend pointed out that it was rather ironic after September 11th. All the stories from survivors is that, that morning, they could smell jet fuel in the air. Just thought it was interesting... -Rap

I'm spending the time toying with the idea of making my own camera helmet, and I was wondering if there is any reason why most side mounts are done on the left side? My camera would fit best and work easier on the right, but every picture i've seen has cameras mounted on the left. Is there a logical reason behind this prectice, other than the fact that some helmets have audibles on the right side making it impossible to side mount a camera on that side. Thanks for your help. I've also posted this in photography. -Rap

I'm spending the time toying with the idea of making my own camera helmet, and I was wondering if there is any reason why most side mounts are done on the left side? My camera would fit best and work easier on the right, but every picture i've seen has cameras mounted on the left. Is there a logical reason behind this prectice, other than the fact that some helmets have audibles on the right side making it impossible to side mount a camera on that side. Thanks for your help. -Rap

I would suggest carrying it with you in a non-descript gear bag. And resist telling anyone passengers what is in it, unless asked by the security people. Another handy little tip that was given to me. Tie a brightly colored hankercheif through the reserve d-handle and around the main lift webbing. This will prevent any unknowing security guy from deploying your reserve if they inspect it. Just remember to take it off before your next jump! -Rap

Easy Chuck! That was just a figure of speach. Obviously it won't take a good rigger an hour to reconnect links to the lines. BUT it could take someone who is being careful that long. The $100 figure was just a number, not to worry, no one is being charged for that. As for Merrick's response about the toggles, well those go with the risers! -Rap

You must be kidding? Anyone that would sell me a canopy without links would really make me upset! Just think of all the time to be spent reconecting the lines and organizing them! That alone is worth $100 in time. -Rap

I think one of the best ways to show our sport to the public is to just do demos for good causes. But then again, how many wuffos do we want joining out sport. Skydiving is not for everyone... -Rap

I never said I was getting Parapak...I want to know why it is still offered. There must be a reason/benefit to it. Please someone with knowledge on this answer. Thank you. -Rap

It's amazing how fast a post can be lost and forgotten forever...... -Rap

Does anyone know what the benefits of parapak are over cordura as a container material? I never see parapak on containers unless they are really old. Why do manufacterers still offer it as an option? Thanks for your help. -Rap

Thanks, I think this story clearly illustrates the problem and how easily things can get out of hand. We had a tandem master at our dropzone that was approached by one of those TV talk shows. He was asked to make a jump with his mom attached to him. He turned the offer down because he did not trust the producers. You never know what spin they might put on it! -Rap

Flexivision goggles are much better too, possibly the best! -Rap

Glad to see everyone loved my post... -Rap

Glad to see everyone loved my post... -Rap

Check out my post on a similar topic in Talk Back, under "skydiving portrayal in the media", I think you will all find it very interesting. -Rap

Check out my post on a similar topic in Talk Back, under "skydiving portrayal in the media", I think you will all find it very interesting. -Rap

This is similar to the post in Safety and Training on how skydiving is portrayed in the media. Real TV and any skydiver that submits accidents to this show is not helping the sport. BUT sometimes when we try to help the sport as in Skydive Miami's attempt on MTV, it can come back to smack us in the butt. Check this out. The first part in an email I sent to Skydive Miami, the 2nd part in the response. I apologized to skydive Miami since then. After watching the MTV Road Rules/Real World Challenge segment on skydiving, I was a bit confused. Why would a reputable DZ let MTV show the sport of Skydiving in the manner that it did. Your chief instructor said "If your reserve fails you will die", come on, you know it is not cut and dry like that, and I hope you would know that whatever you say, may be taken out of context. I'm not blaming Skydive Miami, or trying to start an argument, I'm just concerned that when we can get the kind of coverage that you did, that you take every precaution that everyone lands safely. Two of the "cast" members hammered in pretty hard, how could you let that happen? Just so they could score some points? I was not there, but this seems like it could have been avoided. What were the busses doing parked where they were? What about the prize X-terras? I feel safety was slackened just for the opportunity to host this event. I know MTV is influential, but someone missed the boat on this one. Why were cast members giving radio commands to the students? This coverage singlehandily could have attributed to many possible students choosing not to try our sport. Speaking only on behalf of myself, I say thanks a lot....Try to be a little more thoughtful in the future. I would welcome a reply to my letter. I may forward this to the industry publications, but I am not one to write something without hearing both sides of the story, so I hope to hear a reply, otherwise I will assume my assumptions are true. Again, I mean no harm by writing this, I'm just very concerned, I would appreciate being proven wrong. Thank you for your time. blue skies Hi, thanks for your concern about how our sport is portrayed by the media at times. As you can well see, MTV presented a very one-sided view of the complete training process for an AFF Level 1 skydive. I will answer your questions in the order that you have asked them : They repeatedly asked the question (the film crew) "What happens if both parachutes do not work?" to which our CI, after trying to work diplomatically around the obvious, finally provided them with the answer to their question. It's a tough situation because they could also have also shown on TV a negative version of him avoiding their question (which he did for a long time). Landings: We have a ten acre landing area for our operation, bordered on all four sides by open farmers fields (literally hundreds of acres). The buses were on the south edge and the Nissans were on the north edge, winds were out of the east at 5 mph. Canopies were the latest Navigator 280's from PD. We use the standard flight plan were a student remains in the holding area until 1000 ft, then they do their downwind, base and final as per normal. The way they edited the footage makes it look like other cast members were giving last minute instructions to their team-mates, nothing could have been further from the truth. After a student had deployed and done their canopy check and was in the correct holding area, this was the only time that team members could say a FEW words to their partner under canopy. The instructor then took over as per normal and assisted with the flight plan. We had numerous safety briefings (not shown on MTV) were we told the participants that if we noted any un-safe practices under canopy that they would be immediately disqualifed. MTV wanted the viewing public to be under the impression that it was a competition, so they edited accordingly. In reality there was no competition because the instructors, using the radio, set-up each student on a long final approach, it was pure luck if they landed in the peas, undershot by fifty feet, or overshot by fifty feet. MTV obviously thought that this lacked drama, and edited accordingly. Please also remember that out of this group of twelve students who did not exactly choose to come skydiving, some had a lot of natural talent, while others obviously did not. I am an AFF instructor myself, and the reality of it is that no matter how comprehensively we train a student, there is a certain percentage that will overload and be unable to perform up to standard. I agree that two hard landings out of twelve is unacceptable, but these were twelve unique individuals, to put it mildly, and we did our very best with an extremely experienced staff to look after everyones safety. MTV and the viewing public unfortunately want only the drama, we as skydivers always seem to struggle to get people to understand why we love our sport so much. Michael, I could go on and on about all the extra safety precautions we took, MTV chose not to view a single one of them. Please reply to my side of the story, I do understand your concern. Sincerely, ******** I guess no matter how hard we try, big money will always win out! -Rap