Luke

I don't think cats care who feeds them, so long as it happens. My cat never seemed to notice my absence when I went skydiving. I take my dog Vinnie with me though, and the cat used to miss him like hell. Whenever I go abroad Vinnie pines for days, apparently. Then when I come back he growls at me, while he wags his stump; then ignores me for an hour before he forgives me. He was a real bastard as a puppy, but cute as hell. Turned out to be a brilliant dog though. Ron

This pic (LOL)? http://members3.clubphoto.com/_cgi-bin/members/compact_slide_show.pl?album_item_id=12470903\%27,%20\%27520\%27,%20\%27600\%27

Skreamer also did his 300th there (sitting directly above the rabbit in the screen grab). I don't think anyone that actually jumped with him got any beer though. Running around naked in the woods looking up trees for a hidden case of beer? What's up with that Will?

Very good advice. As a one off 10hrs away is doable, but not every day. Different dog's do have different needs. My Rottweiller is happy with surprisingly little exercise (happy with a 6 mile sprint too), but *needs* to be "worked". He's an incredibly social animal and absolutely loves going to various dzs to see all his fans. On the other hand he resents people being around at home during the day, that's his time. He does expect his owner to be equally up for a walk at the end of a tiring day at work though. People do successfully work and keep happy dogs, but they make lots of choices to suit the dog. You've *really* got to want to keep a dog. Up to about 3-4 months old, a puppy pretty much needs an owner that can be there all the time. No way round that at all, ignore it at your peril. Read books on your chosen breed until you know everything about them, it's not a decision to take lightly.

There are some real bastards out there: http://makeashorterlink.com/?K1D322611

"What pisses me off here in London is cars using the bus lane to cut up the regular lane. There is supposed to be an £80 fine for people misusing the bus lane but it never gets enforced, as a result these road-hogs slow things down for the rest of us when they cut back in AND they slow down the buses. " In addition to a fine I believe it's an endorsable offense and the Police do enforce it sparingly. No big deal though- just make sure none of the punters in that bus shelter have bird shit on their shoulders and a funny knob shaped hat. Those bus lane cameras are a real trial too- having to scoot back into the congested car lane for a poxy 30 feet. LOL Ron (Full time opportunist "cutter", apparently)

and here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?M235237D and here too: http://www.dropzone.com/news/Coolpilotsaves11skydiver.shtml

Something that's not been mentioned by anyone is that the length of the kill line should be checked. Hold the PC up by the bridle and look through the mesh. Once it's fully cocked there should be some slack (I'd say 1/4" min) in the kill line compared with the confluence line (not sure of the terminology- the piece that runs from the bridal attachment point to the other end of the PC, inside it). If the kill line was a little too short when the rig was supplied or natural shrinkage has resulted in the same, the PC will appear to be fully cocked at first glance, but even a half inch too short and the efficiency of the PC is seriously compromised as air spills around the side. A fully cocked and properly configured PC in good condition exerts a phenomenal amount of pull force at flat terminal and should be able to pull *just about* any pin.

295MPH 2-way freefly. Both of us had Protracks, mine inside my helmet, hers outside. Not sure TAS/SAS- whichever is recommended in the manual. Proper speed skydivers say that helmet mount is subject to significant errors and I personally don't think we actually went that fast. Then again, she was a big ol' unit and we were definitely honkin' along. :o)

It takes poor judgement or planning by both jumpers to have a canopy collision. On the other hand, with very rare exception, only one pilot needs to take action to avoid a collision. At the very least, the less experienced jumper has the option to choose not to be within the same air space: land somewhere else at a different time or maybe even go on a different load. The experienced swooper should have better spatial awareness and a far broader skills set to draw upon. It is an important measure of a good landing that it shouldn't inconvenience anyone else, for what ever reason. Truely impressive canopy pilots never conflict with others, regardless of what they do. With the exception of record attempts, a really good canopy pilot can deal with all of the challenges mentioned in this thread safely and still impress the hell out of their target audience with their swoop. On the other hand, an experienced pilot conflicting with a newer jumper whilst executing their super monster ballistic swoop is deeply uncool. To then bawl that less experienced jumper out is even more uncool as it confirms that they do not appreciate the part that they played in that conflict. The question is: what can I do to stay away from trouble? There are plenty of answers to that and a predictable and predefined landing pattern is one of them.

Your critics are right in so far that you apparently got off an otherwise good canopy that could have been landed to take a chance with your last canopy that no one could guarantee wouldn't be a malfunction. If you had several hundred jumps and a few years in the sport, a little gentle ribbing would be warranted. The description you give of your experience and normal landing skills suggest that you made the right decisions at the right times and should be fully supported. Developing the skill to be able to land your canopy on the rear risers with the brakes set is well worth while and will give you the confidence to happily land in the smallest of outs; or when you next find yourself in a similar predicament. That skill may be built up by landing with more and more brake applied, inch by inch over many jumps, but only once you have become competent at normal full flight approaches. A friend found himself in a similar predicament and elected to land using the rear risers with the brakes set. Although much more experienced and competent, he was loading his elliptical a lot more than yourself and was jumping at a new dz, of higher altitude and hotter than he was used to. In retrospect he made the wrong choice: he broke his ankle and ended his holiday. In retrospect, $300 for getting drunk with friends and jumping the next day would have been a great bargain. You should be commended for your timely decision process so that you will be equally decisive next time. If that lady who died recently in Empuriabrava hadn't sat under a slow malfunction for an unbelievable 27 seconds before cutting away too low, two young kids would still have a mother. I guess you already know that blaming the packers in any way for this problem is not the way to go and that your landing skills should be addressed as a priority. Bribe a competent and responsible canopy pilot with beer to watch your landings and help you at least achieve graceful full flight landings. Remember: there is a really simple acid test to determine whether you made appropriate decisions in this non trivial sport: did you walk away to jump another day?