Yossarian

i thought andy was the cci of skydive spain? (seville)

looks a bit dangerous to me, and you cant really do it with other people apart from a cameraman, it looks impressive though. another problem i think is because nobody really does it its hard to get into, lack of equipment/instructors etc, what are the requirements anyway? id imagine youd have to be a pretty decent freeflyer

i did it on 45 jumps, 20 cat 8 pre-fs1, i didnt get very close though, at least 20ft separation, mostly more cos i was very cautious, great to see ur mates face as u climb onto the camera step, different setting to when u usually see them...

i got twists on just about every single static line jump, first time i didnt (when i got onto freefall) i felt like something was wrong when i looked up and just saw what i now know to be normal... the only annoying thing about raps is dummy pulls, i ended up doing 7 and when i was finally on freefall it was nothing like the dummy pulls (the real thing is soooo much easier in case you were worrying) but theres no other way to train for them i dont suppose

depends on definition of remaining current i suppose, and im only from a small dz but the people there seem fairly committed

that most of us go uncurrent over the winter is one hell of an assumption and i should think unfounded aswell, i dont know of any, we brave the cold and sitting for a few days in the hanger watching videos but everyone ive ever known either jumps during the winter (albeit wearing more clothes) or goes abroad. the flightline check should never replace checking things yourself but just like i wouldnt jump without an aad i wouldnt get on the plane without a flightline check and i see no argument against them

i did RAPS and dont regret it, theres no way i could afford the money required for aff so i spread it out, also i started in october so low-level jumps forced on the dz by cloud (UK winter...) didnt bother us static liners :) by the time i qualified the next easter after around 27 jumps i was perfectly confident with my canopy control, was off the radio after 3 jumps and therefore never had to worry about that part. the only thing thats annoying about that is that by 27 jumps i was more than ready to downsize and was very very bored with a shagged out f111 288, spiralling was an impossible dream, let alone a 360 before i touched down! also you become a fully licenced jumper without ever touching anyone else in freefall, and you only see someone else in the last 3 jumps. an advantage aswell though is that you get well used to jumping from very low level, ive been on hop'n'pops from around 3k without an issue when aff graduates have thought it too dangerous, their lowest jumps being from around 5k for their level8

its not only the senior instructor that does flight line checks, anyone with JM1 can do it so people usually just pair up, that parts no slower than casual checking and makes me feel alot safer, and making people feel safe is very important as far as enjoying the jump goes. ive only ever been at a dz in the uk once where there have been enough people manifested to do a speedy back-up load, and the only paper work that has to be done during the jumping day is signing off the aircraft manifest which is a legal requirement anyway and not specific to skydiving. i also think the FS1/FF1/FF2 system is very important, as a very recently qualified FS1 it scares me to be alone in the sky with those who are newly licensed when i see them tearing about the sky without any realisation they are doing it, it seems even more important for freefly because a bad sit can very easily be an unwitting backtrack. id much rather do it the british way, and when i jump abroad i insist someone gives me a proper check before i get on the aircraft, or im not getting on

theres no falling sensation as the relative air is still quite fast, theres no more than you can feel on a tandem

laws of physics dont allow bumblebees to fly, all they have to do is ignore them and theyre fine, maybe those atmonauti guys ignore them aswell...

and so the camera man can keep up...

i think thats basically right, not sure about the maths (i am but a lowly politics student) but its to do with mass and surface area, its why short stocky people fall faster than us lanky tall blokes.

you jumped a 150 on 30 jumps?! that would give my CCI a heart attack!

we had the convo about the lead seals before i just didnt hear anything about thread, so if i went to the US and took a rig with me would the reserve have to be repacked and sealed properly before i could jump?

whats that red thread for?

what is it?

i dont walk stiffly to the door (im very tall so i tend to sort of crawl) but not to say cheerio just wouldnt be very polite now would it?

i dont see the problem with a little handshake, by now its part of the pre-jump ritual, 2000ft before u get out, helmet off, goggles on, helmet on, helmet strap, chest-strap, handles, hackey, handshake... its now so much a part of what goes through my mind before ive left the door that if i dont do it i feel like ive forgotten something, and thats not a nice feeling standing in an open door. what i do hate , and ive only encountered this with americans (no offence) is whooping and hollering and shouting 'yee haa' at the top of their lungs, the few times ive seen it, its confused the pilot, annoyed me intensley and made tandem passengers and first jumpers a little more nervous than they need to be. i know jumping out of a plane doesnt make immediate sense to the uninitiated but i get nervous thinking i might be jumping with someone whos actually got a screw loose. still, each to their own i suppose

i hope the pilots are getting some sleep too... how much would something like this cost? keeping a plane running 24hrs must be hard work aswell, how do they manage refuels without losing time? does he keep bananas in his jumpsuit for snacks under canopy? this guy is obviously a legend, if not for the attempt but having to write up 600 log book entries the next day!

sounds very dangerous to me, considering a fair proportion of them will be night jumps, hopefully hes got enough rigs there that theyre not rushed pack jobs, but hell be tired, and imagine having a total at night on jump 599 from 2000ft whilst absolutely shattered. all it takes is during one of those 600 jumps to misroute your chest-strap during the 8.5sec kit-up. im not saying hes not a very capable man and can pull it off safely, im just saying theres a ALOT more room for error

how the hell can someone do 600 jumps in a day?

its all about the real ale, though if we're talking about lager I'm thinking XXXX or Primator

ive always been taught that a lineover = malfunction = cutaway, its not a nuisance factor, you dont know what its done to the canopy, and im not waiting to find out if it clears. if theres a line over, its gone, the sooner you get a reserve out the better as if you leave it too late and you cant clear it, then you could be over something nasty under something nasty, and id prefer to have neither. thats not advice by the way, just my opinion

how are reserves packed to make them open so fast and reliably? are they made from a different material? (ive seen them out and they seem thinner, smoother than mains if you see what i mean). has anyone got any pics showing the stages of a reserve pack?

im assuming the limit for a reserve repack is what it is for a reason... pencil packing surely is an unnecessary risk? what can happen to a reserve after this amount of time?