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Only to those who don't know the answer (the point of asking the question.) Which begs the question...why is that exercise NOT included in the SIM for any type of training or discipline? Not sure why its not in the SIM, I wish more tasks were in it for people to master. Ask your RD! If someone does canopy flying with me, its part of the course. Find out what ALL the controls do on YOUR canopy and the COMBINATIONS of those controls (at altitude!). Yes, not all will be something you want to use, but learning that is still adding to your knowledge base. All these people talking about how "expert" they are under their canopy after 50 or 60 jumps, and most of those were them in the saddle at 3K and landing. If you really want to know your canopy, you need hours in the saddle feeling every nuance of performance and how that performance can be altered with the slightest change (like elbows in or out). Controls should be an extension of your unconscious mind, not something fumbled for in desperation. Experts in all the disciplines spend hundreds of jumps working on the most subtle of moves to enhance their performance. Big successes are the sum of many, many hours of very small changes that work over time. top Jump more, post less!

Well, the third question is easy. 1- stupidity Boobies 2- stupidity Screwing around on a weather hold 3- stupidity Trying to impress a chick 4- stupidity 5- stupidity 6- stupidity 7- stupidity 8- stupidity 9- stupidity 10- stupidity There fixed it for you. You're right. I forgot another top reason. Another. Jump more, post less!

While technically accurate, if the person with 2100 jumps has just raced to the ground (as most people do) then you could argue they haven't really learned anything more about flying their parachute correctly than the person who's done it 500 times but really been focusing on learning. edit: That said, the person with 2100 jumps has a much higher likelihood of having been exposed to more situations that can develop than the 500 jump person. Ian Ian -- in the contrived example, what types of questions can you ask to each of those fictional jumpers that would produce answers to demonstrate that one person knows more than the other wrt canopy control. Let me interject with this: What canopy response would you expect if you pulled an equal distance on one front riser and the opposite rear riser at the same time? A "helicopter" effect. The canopy would semi-collapse losing air tension in most of it's cells and then start turning on the yaw axis in the direction of the rear riser input. Trick question. The answer is dependent on more than just the input on the risers. Depends on the trim angle of the canopy involved, the type of canopy (elliptical or not), and the distance pulled on the risers. (And many others, but you get the idea). BUT, it is an excellent drill to try on any canopy. Also, front riser and opposite toggle. top Jump more, post less!

The B license canopy proficiency card goes the direction I think we should continue. Have one for the C and the D, and if people want small, x-braced canopies and want to swoop, they most hold a D-license. At least we have had a chance to work with them three times to educate them. If we are talking about wingload limits, then they need to be enforceable without walking around with a scale under your arm. The S&TA or DZO us going to get real unpopular weighing customers who are on the borderline. And there is nothing to prevent someone "borrowing" a smaller canopy right after weigh in or flat out "forgetting" they have a smaller canopy packed up. If you look at Brian Burke's studies on twenty years at Eloy, he remarks that over 1.4 wingloading and turns over 90 degrees (especially on landing) are the problems. Start with those two and you will eliminate a lot of the issues, but a lot of jumpers are going to be unhappy..... top Jump more, post less!

How did you hear this on Pandora anyway??!! top Jump more, post less!

Congrats on losing the weight! Being in better physical shape is one of the best things you can do. We all talk about maintaining gear, but forget the we need to maintain (or improve) ourselves. I think the odds of you having a two-out are rare and low on the priority list of things to worry about. Keep losing the weight, keep jumping, and stay out of the gun range. top Jump more, post less!

Try this one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rSB4fowh1U top Jump more, post less!

I have lots of experience with "death strap" devices. Mostly good, some pretty scary. A few things to remember: They are call "death straps" for a reason. They are dangerous, unpredictable, and hard to get right. The weakest link on your system needs to be designed in. You don't want to find out that your chest strap, torso, or neck are the weakest link, design in a overload failure point. All systems work great on the ground under ideal conditions. Testing and analyzing the response under tension, with twists, and if misrigged need to be explored. Have way more release handles than you ever could imagine. The longer the strap is, the more likely it won't take any load until Mr.s Bill's arms/hands have failed, so he will be suspended by this. Where will it go on him as it comes to tension? Around his neck? Up his rear end? And where will it go on Sluggo? Through his crotch? Up his rear end? And really worst case scenario: Death strap attached, deployment malfunction, Mr. Bill swinging at the bottom of the strap creating an even wilder ride, can't get strap off, drop hook knife, cutaway malfunction in desperation before someone blacks out, tumble because no one anticipated being back in freefall, still can't undo strap only now its wrapped around one of the two, reserve deployed in desperation, both jumpers suffered debilitating injuries on opening, and the reserve blows up. Yes, I have a fertile imagination, but its the things you can't think of that will kill you. top PS. Work on slowing down the opening speed of the canopy and do it manually. It''s still dangerous, but more manageable. Jump more, post less!

Let me first congratulate you on surviving a main reserve entanglement and being okay enough to talk about it afterward. It's a fairly small group of people..... Whatever you did and survived is the right answer. If you felt that the main was entangled enough with the reserve that it could imperil the reserve's function by releasing it, then keeping it is the right answer. Control is the key: can you control the reserve and can you control the main (keep it out of the way or wrapped around your body, etc.) then not cutting away is a good thing. The difficulty lies in that how things are flying early may deteriorate during the descent and create issues. Honestly, the right answer is the one that kept you alive. There will most likely be a holy-war type discussion on the whole merits of cutting away a total or just firing your reserve, but the best answer is the one you feel comfortable doing when its your time as long as you have thought through all the scenarios. (And then you will find yourself in a completely different one!) Good job staying alive! top Jump more, post less!

Sell the Storm. Buy a JFX modded for CF or a Matrix2. Problem solved. top Jump more, post less!

I don't think small claims will work, because of the three items above. He paid for and received a product. That was the extent of the contract and it was fulfilled. Any expectations that the buyer has of the seller are purely his own. jkdrummer seems to have plenty of time to be online now, perhaps he should have spent a little more before the fact researching his purchase. top Jump more, post less!

Or not. Maybe they caught it in the 50 minute flight to altitude in the DC-3. He took his rig off, re-attached the main and repacked everything. Or, His main will stay in the sleeve and he will simply deploy his reserve. Probably a round, but people knew how to spot back then, so he will PLF in the pea gravel. On the way to get his gear, he will stop and get a twelve pack of bud, smoke a cigarette, and be bummed that he might miss the sunset load unless his friend loans him the "rat rig." top ETA: It is cool that Journey had a few skydiving photos in their albums! I think they had a five way round on the cover of one. Jump more, post less!

There is a less messy way . . . Please! Those are such messy, traceable, time-consuming methods. Drop the body at a local pig farm. They eat everything and leave no traceable remains, no rental receipts, no ballistics, etc. Hoffa? Hoffa? Never heard of him..... top PS. Keep your evidence clear, your attitude up, and show you are the better employee. Ultimately, a boss likes the employee that makes their day better. Jump more, post less!

This is a fallacy: Twisted risers don’t trap the cables in the cloth riser channels if the yellow cable is properly lubricated or if you have a red cable. Hard housing don’t help. Proof: In a suspended harness lubricate your yellow cable and route it as normal but by pass the riser locking loops. Use a temporary cable for the riser loops. Load the harness with an extra person hanging on each side (3 bloke test) and twist it upto the 3 rings. Have the person in the harness pull the release cable. Now pull each of the individual riser cables and compare the difference. You may repeat the test with hard housings but you will not need to. Okay.... with all of that said.... why not an SOS system? Does suck to have an SOS in winds. Can't chop the canopy if you are getting drug around the landing area.... It has its merits, but it just seems safer to be able to activate the reserve independently. top Jump more, post less!

Bastard! I almost choked on my chicken salad! That's the conspiracy! We're trying to kill Billy! top Jump more, post less!

Never heard of it. top Jump more, post less!

The only person who set you up is you. Every licensed skydiver is responsible for their own exit point. If you didn't like the spot, you should have stayed in the plane. if you didn't like the spot in freefall you should have pulled higher. You jumped without a PFD, that was your choice, no one else's. Your video makes some pretty wild accusations about people you have named. You could very well end up explaining yourself to an attorney in the near future. You should immediately pull your video. You should immediately post a public apology to the people you have accused in this thread and in the video. You should immediately apologize to the DZ and all the people there. After that, you should take a canopy course and learn to spot and fly better, learn how to spell, get your psychologist to unscrew your head out of your ass, and lastly, learn how to shoot and edit video. You are THE example of how not to be a participant in this sport. I know I sugar-coated this a bit so it wouldn't be too harsh, so I hope you still get it. top Jump more, post less!

That's fine unless you have to trash a business to reach your goal. He did nothing to trash the business. He has a tattoo that denotes himself as a nonbeliever. Not a lie, not a derogatory statement on another individual or a religion, just a statement about himself. The DZ bought into the argument that it demeaned the Qataris who were there also. The dropzone took it upon themselves to intervene on behalf on the Qataris. The person in question offered to go somewhere else rather than cover his beliefs, the DZ set itself up for a poor review. Not because he is a decorated veteran, not because he is a skydiver, but because he is an American on US soil and is protected by the constitution. What if the Qataris had asked someone with a Star of David tattoo to cover it up? Or Christ on a cross? What if the pilot had a St. Christopher medal hanging in the cockpit and that damned the aircraft for them? Those all indicate non-believer status. The DZO had an easy out: this is America and many people speak their mind in the form of art on their body. If it so offends you, you can look away, come back another day, or just deal with it, cupcake. top Jump more, post less!

Al Silver reported the gear in the condition it was brought to him, not the condition it was jumped by GF. From my personal experience, I can tell you that law enforcement has no clue how to handle and store parachute equipment as evidence. And that's after the EMT's have had their fun with it (not their fault, that is their job). So, the gear may have had issues, but that may or may not be the condition of the gear when it was jumped. Besides, he landed a fully inflated main in an open field, we should all be so lucky! top Jump more, post less!

The DZO could have offered duct tape to the offended jumpers and they could have covered their eyes. Problems usually have more than one solution. top Jump more, post less!

The Naval Postgrad School in Monterrey, CA has a very active club. They work with local DZ's to promote skydiving with the school. Check their FB page for more info. top Jump more, post less!

My team probably has 25000 jumps on diapered mains. I love them, but not sure it would work for a reserve. The pilot chute would have to stay attached to the reserve, like a round. Would we now loose people because of a horseshoe? top Jump more, post less!

So back to the sleeve? At least it could snake out. And probably be easier to find later.... top Jump more, post less!

Finishing the thread hijack... The WSI rating failed to pass the BOD. top Jump more, post less!

There is the cost of putting a mike on everyone, making sure everyone can be seen and heard even audience members who address the BOD, and someone sitting there making sure the webcast works. Also, the meetings are "open" to members and interested parties, but not "public." I think it will have to be put into the bylaws about webcasting meetings and a budget approved before it can be done. For each committee, do we run a separate webcast, even for concurrent meetings? Or do we just rely on the committee report out? I would love to see a webcast of a meeting, since I am one of those people that flew out to meetings even though I wasn't on the board. Eventually, I would like to see the BOD meet virtually rather than physically. Huge savings for everyone involved and they could happen more often. top Jump more, post less!