wwarped

a good BASE experience has 2 critical elements: - you leave with your rig - a few hours later, you return do that and you've managed the risk well, leaving no room for regrets. as 460 succeeded at both, GOOD JOB! DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

it looks like it has some Rastafarian in it's genes... sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

thank you, but the real congrats go to miss 1024. good work! I'd also like to point out the bravery of anyone who would address a woman as "kilo_____." (can't see any good coming from it...) and finally, for Jaap: there are 10 kinds of people. those that understand binary, and those that do not. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

yup. because 3f6=1014 DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

one difficulty in designing training really lies with the students and their personal expectations. - many can't objectively analyze their own skill set - some desire no effort and are happy with a death camp - others wish to be trained as extensively as a NASA astronaut these students are free to choose between the available programs and will vote with their feet. so even if this thread could create a single "magical" method, there is no mechanism to compel compliance. each instructor must make choices about what to teach, who to teach, how many to teach, etc. will these choices match every student's expectations? doubt it. some dissatisfied, potential students will always attempt to reinvent the wheel. it is the instructor with the significant knowledge base. each instructor should hold firm to their personal standards. afterall, they must sleep with their decisions. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

you're talking about a program that you can fail, and MUST be passed to continue in the activity, right? neither trait exists in a BASE FJC, so the comparison is lame. the problem is the students. some, like yourself, seem to want everything given to them upfront. (others will walk from a course that is too lengthy.) unfortunately, no one currently has all the answers. every jumper is a test pilot and their own rigger. it is a sport that many participants advise against. done well, BASE jumping demands self-reliance, judgement, and creativity. students should emerge from a course cautious and wary, not feeling like they have all the answers. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

sponsorship? DON'T. next thing you know, the bridge will be one giant traffic jam. all Colours customers will want in on the fun... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

as Nick said, the money would permit the mentor to make a decent living. and unless training is moved to a Shaolin monastery, I'm betting many would leave before completing a 150, 100, or even 50 jump cycle. a large cash upfront payment would show committment to the program (or just too much free cash). basically, it's the Mercedes-Benz vs Hyundai discussion... high quality, low volumes, and high cost vs low quality, high volumes, and low cost. and someone in a market based economy always seems willing to cut costs to attain higher volumes. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

your potential instructor is flawed and makes mistakes. he is subject to hangovers, fatigue, and lapses in judgement. while he probably has been hurt, these injuries contribute to his knowledge base. but I still don't know who he/she is... the above can be said about anyone. you must trust your gear and yourself. never completely trust your instructor. that is why instructors want you to ask questions and participate in discussion sessions. you need to own the information. you also might not agree that something is safe that your instructor swears by. you must find YOUR comfort zone... and let's face another fact. different people communicate differently. some styles may not work for you. some like a drill sergeant, some like the surferish, "hey dude" guy. read a few recent posts and you'll also realize BASE jumpers define "injury" different than skydivers. your potential instructor's injuries might be minor by BASE standards, but brutal by skydiving standards. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

proceed. as far as an audible warning, many won't trust it until it proves it's value. that won't happen unless it hits the street. and if people don't want the beeps, then they don't need to wear it next to their ear. (or provide a way to disable the audible warning.) the data collection aspect would be great. some already log an incredible amount of detail. why wouldn't they want more? especially if it lets them see the difference between a 46 and a 42 inch pilot chute. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

what she said! hey folk's get real. I have been to many dz's, and have yet to encounter the BSR police. you should not lawyer them to death. while it's true that safe skydivers follow the BSR's, it's NOT true that focusing on the BSR's & following them religiously makes you a safe skydiver. safe skydivers understand the environment, the various risks, and naturally follow the BSR's. they also realize that occasionally it can be safer to violate the BSR's than to practice strict adherence. (what if the person starting this thread had been sitting in the door of a Cessna, blocking it for everyone else?) remember, there are traffic cops that will cite people for speeding. the law considers it dangerous and unsafe. oh, and I had a high school teacher that told me it was unsafe to... DEVELOP YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

one thing to keep in mind when you finally go for the toggles... in skydiving, people regularly deploy, reach for risers, transfer to toggles, and POP their toggles with a quick flick of their wrists. it works quite well. don't do it on a BASE jump! a friend did this with an off-heading right, but the canopy would NOT turn back to the left. amazingly, he landed unhurt in a boulder field. it should not have ended that way... the problem was he POPPED his toggles and did not RELEASE HIS BRAKES. the little white riser loop sometimes just refuses to unthread through the brakeline fingertrap and the metal ring. I've seen it many times using the same brake setup on tandems. after grabbing the toggles, they MUST be pulled down far enough to RELEASE the brake lines. you should feel tension in the lines. attempting to steer with one toggle while the other line is still set is frustrating... the bonus is when both toggles are pulled far enough to release both line sets, you gain the option of raising your arms slowly. this can eliminate any sudden forward surge. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

as mentioned above, this topic has been discussed on this forum numerous times. Johnny Utah has written a strong opinion. others disagree. after reading the various thoughts, discuss what's best FOR YOU with your mentor and/or your instructor. keep in mind: - nothing beats experimenting off a friendly S... - preferences can change with experience, object, and even gear familiarity. with no consensus on this topic, I'd hate for you to use an anonymous poll as a deciding factor... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

feel free to beg, but I'm betting Tom is too much a gentleman to do much slapping...

ever try asking a pilot to slow down & open the door, low? by the time we take off & circle around, we tend to get 1000 ft or so. I've asked for lower, but it just doesn't happen. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Tom, care to share yours? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

why? why not just get a DVD player that plays both formats? here is a cheapo: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/AMW-DVD-Player-R99-/sem/rpsm/oid/11152 DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

so much about jumping can't be TOLD. it can be EXPERIENCED. the few posts the come close to expressing the moment are always treasured. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

survey our sport's history... how many groups have come and gone? what was accomplished? the most successful groups tend to be quite focused and tend to concentrate on a single site. BD, SBK, and the folks up in Idaho all do good jobs protecting their local, legal turf. (surely Jason spends enormous amounts of time for a 6 hour window, at a single object.) the best large scale leadership tends to flow from smaller scale projects. we need more of a grass-roots effort of people becoming politically aware and vigilant. from that, proper national leadership can emerge. face it, USPA relies on dz's as a first alert system. it can't monitor every piece of legislation in every state on it's own. we need to stop looking for a silver bullet, single method approach. people from across the US must try what seems right in their backyards. I'm sure we'll quickly learn of successes. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

yikes! I always thought that REFUSING to utter those words showed a basic denial about being a flawed human. it's the sort of statement you'd expect from megalomaniacal leadership. and if true, legal backcountry parachuting won't occur for some time in US national parks. I don't see any honest leadership out there that could tell you they DO know what will work... DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

I've heard it call "dead air skills." the best skydivers function well from the get go. they don't wait to accelerate to terminal velocity. and when you jump with others, you get visual cues to assess how well you are doing. once you think you're good from a slow flying Cessna, try a balloon jump. then try a helicopter jump with the rotorwash hitting your back... how can it not add to the safety of a BASE exit? DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Clicky DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

Holly Joan, congrats on the jump! and I'm happy your father took it well... too bad I missed you when I was up at the potato bridge. I did meet a fellow death camp survivor. he actually likened the event to a well executed stunt (a la fear factor...). his teacher had even forewarned him that he was NOT prepared to BASE. but he loved his experience. went to the dz for training, and then took a real BASE course. now I won't recommend this path, but you have access to lot's of friendly, knowledgeable people. just continue using this resource to lower your otherwise elevated risk! DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

huh?!? take a deep breath and back away from the keyboard... this thread lacks any reason for your comments. Holly did NOT mention jumping anything but her local S. and she is being guided by someone with vasts more experience than yourself. it's just not possible to judge her fear level, how well it's controlled, or her preparation from the limited comments made. so why be so harsh? and why add the second post when she never responded to the first? yes I could make and post assumptions about you, but I'll refrain. it just seems so, well, rude. DON'T PANIC The lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. sloppy habits -> sloppy jumps -> injury or worse

people have discussed showing support via armbands or ribbons. that mimics raising support for various charities, but rarely requests any other action. instead, should we consider the model set by 2nd admendment (right to bear arms) advocates? they have NO trendy, signature way to raise attention. they still get their point across by placing their opinion on hats, shirts, belt buckles, stickers, etc. and they heavily lobby lawmakers. oh, and many (both within the US and out) view them as, well, not all there.