LawnDart21

HI Terry, I was just responding to the original question: I'm assuming the original poster was inferring a total reserve mal, to which I'd go back to my other post. A total reserve mal (the container not opeing, nothing coming out, while possible, is highly unlikely, hence I place it at the bottom of my worry list. I guess how I correlate reserve malfunction versus frequency/survivability, and where I would rate it on the worry scale is this: Given my opinion that: 1) total reserve mals are a very rare event 2) partial reserve mals are not a common occurance either 3) most partial reserve mals can be fixed in flight 4) the highly unfrequent unfixable partial reserve mals that cant be fixed can still be survivable. Given all that, I choose not to worry at all about my reserve malfunctioning, either a total or a partial. Why? 1) If it is a total mal, it will only bother me for 15 seconds or so. 2) If its a partial, chance are I can fix it and it wont kill me. 3) If I'm wrong about #2, see #1. So, I would say "why worry?". -Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Thats kind of an odd statement. I ask in all seriousness, does anyone jump a container with a reserve in it they dont trust to open? Properly maintained containers/reserves, inspected and packed appropriately, should work as intended, with a high enough frequency of success, that a reserve not opening, hence a total reserve malfunction, should be extremely low on the "Things I should be worrying about" list. If someone out there "doesnt trust" theri reserve to open/work as intended, and chooses to jump anyways, I would seriously question their particpation in this sport. (Edit to add, BASE jumps excluded from that comment). Lastly, I would recommend to every skydiver out there, either A) get your riggers ticket, or B) (probably more realistic) arrange to spend time with your local rigger and ask them to explain the reserve pack job process to you. Learning about how your reserve is designed to work and why it is packed the way it is, will give you a greater understanding of why we "trust our reserves to open". -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

So once our jumping season ends late Fall each year, my winters are typically spent as a couch potato on weekends........catching up on much needed rest after working 7 days a week April 1- Oct 31. This year I decided to get a part time job at a local ski slope on weekends, just to see what its like. So, I'm basically like the guy at the bowling alley that gives out and takes back the bowling shoes, only I do it with skis/boards and boots....lol Its a $6/hour gig, with free ski passes for my wife and I all season, and I can wax/sharpen our skis/boards in the shop whenever needed. The thing is, I found that I genuinely enjoy being there on the mountain, its actually a fun job and the people I work with are cool. Skiers have similar subculture to skydivers. Migratory workers (go to the snow) and genuine sense of family amongst the group. So what started out as something to just help me get out of bed on weekends and bide my time till jump season starts, has actually (surprisingly) turned into a fun little part time job. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

No worries....lol......You were very clear in your post you weren't lookng for advice. I just have a habit of posting: Or some bastardization of that idea whenever gear or training is the question. It helps me sleep better at night......lol -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I'm 220lbs out the door, and my experience has been that very very few canopies I have ever jumped have felt "twitchy". Sabre 190 = Not twitchy Sabre 170 = Not twitchy Sabre 150 = Not twitchy Cobalt 135 = Not twitchy Cobalt 120 = Not twitchy Cobalt 105 = Not twitchy Cobalt 95 = A little twitchy Crossfire 99 = twitchy VX 99 = Not twitchy Xaos 88 = Not twitchy Twitchy canopies (in my opinion) are just canopies (at certain wing loadings) that are highly sensative to the body's harness symmetry in the harness. If your not symmetrical in your harness, your distorting the trim of the canopy, even ever so slightly, it will cause the canopy to "search" for a direction to go, hence it appears twitchy. Add to that, if a harness is inducing a slight turn, it is very likely the jumper is not aware of it, as they subconsiously may be countering the turn with slight toggle pressure in the other direction, thereby causing the canopy to continue to fly straight, but with a slightly reduced efficiency, hence it feels twitchy. I've heard the same thing you have from people about canopies under a certain size being "twitchy", and I've asked these people to explain what they meant by twitchy. 9 outof 10 times the answer is just "You know, twitchy". For me, I have found that over 2.2 on a non-crossbraced canopy, that there exists a slight twitch in those canopies. I have flown crossbraces at 2.5 that did not feel twitchy in the sense that I described above. Do canopies react faster as they get smaller? Yes. Are they more sensative to harness and toggle input as they get smaller? Yes. Do they all get twitchy below a certain size? My answer would be no. Hope that helps. ps- Regardless of what is posted here, your instructors should be your conclusive resource on the topic. Blue skies, Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/parachute.asp -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Good to hear. I hope my post didnt come off as being pissy (probably did......lol), I posted before I had my 1st cup of coffee for the day, and I have learned those posts can be abrasive....lol.

If I may offer a suggestion. If your having trouble standing up your landings, you should consult your DZ instructors and ask them to help you correct the situation. Secondly, landing on your knees is one of the worst ways you can land. Why? Eventually you will land off the DZ, on a road, a parking lot, etc. Somewhere not covered in soft grass. When you do, if you land on your knees, your not going to walk away from your landing. We had a jumper in an identical situation at my DZ this year say "Thats just the way I land (on my knees), I'll be fine, I'll figure it out (standing up landings) on my own." A few weeks later, he landed in our gravel driveway and tore his knee cap cleanly open when he landed on his knees in the gravel. He lwas lucky, he only got 4 weeks off from jumping while all the stitches healed. I'm not trying to hijack this thread, I simply want to suggest that canopies are designed to be landed standing up. If your consistently not standing up your landings as you indicated in your post, it's either pilot error (you) or the canopy isnt working properly, that is causing the problem. The important thing is that you must find out where the problem lies and correct it. Continuing to jump your canopy the way you are jumping it, just landing on your knees, again and again without seeking help, is neither appropriate nor responsible . Lastly, has anyone at your DZ witnessed/talked to you about your landing problem, or offered to work with you? Again, sorry for hijacking the thread. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Hi Erica, yes, that is the EXACT scam email I got. UK skydiver named Joeline Coleman that was in West Africa. A business associate owed her $3000, and she was going to use that money for my $1200 Mirage, and going to pay it to me........, I'd pay her back the difference, becuase she knew she could trust me to do so......... Side note a co-worker of mine had a similar experience in selling his used car, he actually received a $25,000 check (for a $16.000 vehicle). He took it to the bank, explained his suspisions, and they verified it was a bogus check. He contacted the local FBI office and gave them all the info/emails he had. He got an email from the scammer wanting to confirm he had the check and would be sending payment. He replied back that he received the check, but that the FBI would be delivering the payment to him. He never heard back from the scammer...........lol -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Thank you for illustrating my point. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think there is anything wrong with the non-skydiving related forums, they are there to used. What I am saying is there are different types of people on this board, 2 of the primary ones are 1) Those that come here to learn/discuss/read/ask questions about skydiving in the skydiving related forums. There are also 2) alot of people that are here primarily for the social aspect, to read and post about all things Frenchy, and among other things, post whore back and forth with other "Type 2" posters (not saying there is anything wrong with doing that if its within the rules of the forum, just observing that type of poster does exist). Anyways, my point was and still is, that its the Type 2 poster, that typically seems to be embroiled in intense debate about this or that, takes things personally, retaliates with PAs and ends up getting threads locked, banned, etc. Does it happen in other forums? Sure, I'm just saying there is alot more of it in the non-skydiving related forums and its typically that Type 2 poster involved. Ultimately, as long as we abide by the rules, I guess it doesnt really matter why we are here, where we post, or how many posts we make. My whole post here in this thread was simply to say to the original poster (as I said in my 1st line, 1st post): Who cares? This is the internet, its not real, go outside, talk to a girl, get away from the pc from time to time......lol -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Not to go off topic in my own thread........., but one of my favorite commercials today says something like "Chicago, the city that just sort of ignored that pesky Prohibition Law in the 20s" That make me laugh every time I hear it. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Some people are incapable of that. Look at it this way, if a person has 2000 posts in 2 years, and 1990 of them are in Bonfire, and 10 are in Safety & Training, I would say, that while there no rules as to where you post or how often, that person is sort of missing the point of this site. And it is typcally that person, consumed with the "social aspect" of this site, rather than the "skydiving aspect" is way more likely to get banned or spoken to for abusing the rules. (Ron excluded from that comment......lol, he gets in trouble as much in the technical forums as he does here.....lol) -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I misread your post. You are correct, that in this guys case the threat of a death penalty didnt dissuade him, the "case" I was referring to was/is Singapore itself. That having a death penalty for drug smuggling dissuades a great number of people from selling drugs, that might otherwise be ona street corner selling it if the penalty was lighter. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Penalties, ie years in jail, financial penalties, executions, etc, are theoretically in place to deter people from committing crime. In most cases, the penalty (in the US anyways) doesnt typically dissuae people from committing crime. Its actually considered a "rite of passage" for certain people to go to jail, like gang members, and actually gives the person more credibility within his (or her) circle upon being released. All I'm saying is if you take two scenarios, even away from drugs, lets say DUI. Right now if you get DUI'd in my state 1st offense, you lose your license for one year. And people drink and drive all the time here. Why? Loss of license for a year ain't much of a deterent. If they changed the law to state that unquestionably, if you are fairly convicted of DUI once, you lose your license for life, no appeal possible. Do you think there would be anyone wiling to drive home from a bar after having 10 beers? Nope. Thats what I mean about current penalties not dissuading people from committing crimes. If you were fined $10,000 for every mile you were caught speeding over the speed limit, would you drive 56 mph in a 55 mph zone? Probably not. By that rational, if we abolished all laws, there would be no crime. The crime rate would be zero. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Honestly, who really cares? Reminder: while there is no requirement to post about skydiving, or even skydive, to post on this board, there are alot people on this board that actually read/post/contribute to the site to actually contribute the sport, not just to try and piss people off. Posters that sit in bonfire and speakers corner all day long are kind of missing the point of this board, IMHO. The fact that anyone could get riled up enought to break the personal attack rules and get banned from this site is quite literally mind blowing. Is DZ.COM such a big part of some peoples lives that if it or they are disrepected by someone else, they must defend their "E-Honor" and stop following the rules, rather than just turn off the PC and unplug for awhile. I mean think about it seriously, how hard is it follow the very few rules we have here and not get banned. Someone getting banned from a forum is the funniest thing about this board to me. Its an adult version of kindergarden "time out"......lol. C'mon, really, how hard is it to follow a few simple rules? I will occasionally post in SC or Bonfire, but I try to keep the vast majority of my periodic posting on here related to skydiving, as I think may have been one of Sangiro's primary motivations when he first started this site, to give us a place to talk about the sport we love, skydiving, not to spend all day post whoring in Bonfire trying to get people upset by being "controversial". -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I just read on Yahoo News that a 25 yr old Australian man is going to be executed in Singapore tomorrow for being caught with 14 ounces of heroine at the Singapore airport. Australian news are calling it "barbarick", unproportional to the crime, etc, and it got me thinking. Could you imagine what it would be like here in the USA if we executed drug dealers? I know nothing about heroine, but I can't believe that 14 ounces is a monstrous amount of it, and this guy is being hung for it. If that type of penalty was enforced in the US, do you think it would help curb the flow of drugs? (I ask the question with the assumption that the verdicts would be carried out quickly like in this case, and that the US court systems wouldnt put up with its typical 10-20 yr appeal bureaucracies. So, If you knew if you got caught with a big bag of heroine, that you would be executed, without hesitation, by the government, would you sell drugs? I think we'd see a much smaller number of dealers on our street corners. Thoughts? ps- I don't agree that this 25 yr old should be executed for his crime, but it does make you wonder about what life would be like if criminal penalties actually dissuade people from committing crimes, like in this case. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Yup, its a scam, I searched the forums (go figure...lol) and found the same scam, with a different name. Thanks! -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I got an offer to buy a container I am selling for 3 times what I am asking for with the intent that I send back the difference........... I told the person "no thanks". If anyone else has had a similar experience, I'd like to hear about it. Thanks, Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I had a conversation with my (Catholic) priest about this topic a few years ago, as the whole thing about going to hell for committing suicide, never really sat well with me, as I always thought it the most unfair rule of the church. My thought was always like , "okay someone's life on this planet is so bad, painful or upsetting that they feel they must take their own life, and then what happens, God punishes them by making it worse? By sending them to hell for eternity? Didn't sound too fair or compassionate to me, and I have always believed my God to be compassionate above all else. So here is the very answer I got from my priest. He said that he did not believe that someone that commited suicide would go to hell. His reason being, was that whole "going to hell for killing yourself" was cretaed a very very very long time ago, before society's revelation of mental illnesses and how they can affect personal choice, especially, in a situation where someone commits suicide. The priest was very clear to say that for someone to take their own life, they were obviously not in a mentally stable condition, and as such, they weren't in control mentally, hence suicide, by that light, isnt a defiant act against God. Hence it was his belief, and what he had always been taught, that you do not go to hell if you commit suicide. If like me, you believe in the Christian God, then you can rest assured that the person you are worrying about, is most surely in heaven. Another thing that I took from the conversation with my priest, is that there is only one single "sin" that absolutely cannot be forgiven when committed, and that is violating the trust of confession. If a priest brekas the vow of silence of a confession, that is the only sin that another priest cannot absolve. That specific sin aside, committing "sins", premarital sex, stealing, whatever your choice of sin, is only a serious sin if it is performed in a competent mental state (deleberately) with the direct intent to hurt God by committing the sin. Committing sin due to weakness of personal constitution (say having premarital sex if you believ that to be a sin), is entirely forgivable event, if it was not done with the direct intent to hurt God, to do it specifically to show him up, so to speak. As long as it wasnt a "I know its wrong, but I dont care, Im gonna do it anyway" kind of thing. Lastly lastly, given God's compassionate nature, I'm betting hell is a pretty lonely, empty place, with only the worst of the worst from our existence down there (like Hitler and some day Saddam). Hope that helps. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Not all used gear has something wrong with it. Venting is fine, no one would begrudge you that. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

How about: "Untamedog- Self Important Idealogies aren't just for Skygods" -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Wrong person, I think you were replying to Zenister. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I'm not a mod, that said, has been discussed at nauseum in past threads. Please try to keep this thread on track, its essentially about the morality of jump operations continuing if a fatality occurs, not about whether or not its tragic to die doing what you love to do. For the record, I think it's appropriate for a DZ to continue operations if continuing to do so does not impact the safety of operation. Skydiving is a business, and every slot/ every load flown can make the difference in whether or not your DZ is able to stay in business. From a personal morality stand point, I can recall a few years ago when a close friend died on landing after an 8 way we were on together. It happened late morning. After we left the hospital late afternoon, the rest of the jumpers of the load all returned to the DZ and made the same jump with an open slot for him. The consensus was we needed to get back in the air that day, I don't think it was disrepectful to do so, and I am thankful that our DZ chose to continue operations to allow us to do so. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Ask Javajunkie, I was simply replying to her analgy that CKs was basically no different than Delta along the lines of what I posted about Delta. If your gonna throw stones, atleast read the thread. For the record, I love CKs, think its a great DZ, my only question (generic) is why any DZ would feel justified in charging a cancellation fee if the cancellation was made with enough time to rebook the slot. I still don't have an answer for that, other than, "thats just the way it is" -- My other ride is a RESERVE.