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neilly

Urban myths in skydiving

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The way I heard it was the Russians did just before WWII when they invaded Finland. The Fins started painting the rocks white and the Russians stopped it.



I can say with confidence that this is complete BS. I've never seen or heard it mentioned in anything regarding the Finland-Soviet war.

I've heard the legend before, but not the 'painting rocks' bit. If it has been done, it probably wasn't a very widespread(or long lasting) practice.

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funny how lots of wuffos dont realize there is a reserve chute. and cant believe we can steer parachutes. or move around in freefall. and they all think they whole way down you get the same feeling you get from a rollercoaster. or when you say "chop" they think you have an axe or pair of scissors up there and actually "cut" it away.

-yoshi
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this space for rent.

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One I have heard often over many years is skydivers surviving impact in freefall without any "nylon" out. I only know of one confirmed one from WW2 where a British bomber crew member survived by hittting large trees and there was a lot of snow on the ground. He was badly injured so. I saw an interview with him.




http://www.manbottle.com/trivia/Terminal_Velocity.htm_answer.htm


It seems, that most people who survived all landed in snow. What's that got to do with it??

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I would say that without a doubt the most pervasive myth in skydiving is that you can't breathe in freefall.

Well, while watching an internation program on TV, the "object" of the story was training with a french team, and was told (seemingly in jest, that "skydivers do not need to breathe in freefall as the oxygen is forced through the skin." Well, and the end of the show......
A written factoid was written decribing that very thought!

Proves: some people will believe anything.
http://www.curtisglennphotography.com

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"§ 91.211 Supplemental oxygen.

(a) General. No person may operate a civil aircraft of U.S. registry --

(1) At cabin pressure altitudes above 12,500 feet (MSL) up to and including 14,000 feet (MSL) unless the required minimum flight crew is provided with and uses supplemental oxygen for that part of the flight at those altitudes that is of more than 30 minutes duration;

(2) At cabin pressure altitudes above 14,000 feet (MSL) unless the required minimum flight crew is provided with and uses supplemental oxygen during the entire flight time at those altitudes; and

(3) At cabin pressure altitudes above 15,000 feet (MSL) unless each occupant of the aircraft is provided with supplemental oxygen.

Jumpers don't have to use the O2, it simply must be available. Here is CO, jumps are made all the time from 17,500 MSL and no one uses O2.

Derek

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Here is CO, jumps are made all the time from 17,500 MSL and no one uses O2.



Living at 5,000 feet gives you an advantage. I hope that sea-level visitors are encouraged to use O2, rather than succumb to the peer pressure of the locals. 17,500 is definitely a problem for many people, certainly me, even young, healthy ones.

-- Jeff
My Skydiving History

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Living at 5,000 feet gives you an advantage. I hope that sea-level visitors are encouraged to use O2, rather than succumb to the peer pressure of the locals. 17,500 is definitely a problem for many people, certainly me, even young, healthy ones.



I haven't seen a jumpship in CO where everyone on board could use O2. The only people I've seen use it is the pilot and one TI.

Derek

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I don't know if this is an "urban legend" or real, but years ago I heard a story about a guy that wanted to film (this was before video) cats in freefall. The way I heard it, he had some cats in a box and released them after exit.

Either through desperation or natural coordination, the cats got to him in freefall and dug their claws in. According to the story, the guy got torn up by the cat claws during opening, but the cats all hung on and ran like hell after he landed.

I heard this story years before "The Man who Loved Cat Chasing" was published in Skydiving magazine, so this wasn't a regurgitated version of that story.

If this really happened, I'd love to see the film!!!

Walt



Believe it or not but studies have been made on what cats do when falling.
If they fall from 2-3 stories high they have their legs below them and risk getting hurt by their own legs on landing. From higher altitudes they reach terminal, about 100 km/h, and spread their legs to the sides, thus presenting as large a area as possible. On impact they risk breaking the jaw, but usually can survive. I wish people had that ability to survive terminal velocity impact.;)

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I note that in all other forums Mr. Booth speeks with an air of authority that comes from experiance. It is this experiance that puts peoples concerns at ease as they give weight to his knowledge.

In this instance however, it is the note of experiance in his post that concerns me. :P

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Sometimes I'd like to have a more colorful past than I actually do. I've just heard stories of people trying to throw a cat out of an airplane, I haven't actually tried. By the way, the cat always won.

Dogs, on the other hand, will willingly jump static line or tandem. They just want to go where ever you go, by any means possible.

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It's so long since I read this whole thread thru that these might actually have been mentioned, but I recall a couple to do with bad neighbors - one was of a dz flying their plane over a Farmer McNasty's one nite and dynamiting his barn????

Another urban myth I heard was of some jumpers who were doing a demo at a mall one time throwing a dummy out without a parachute from 500' into a corn field across the road... The legend had it that a spectator watching suffered a heart attack and died... Anyone else ever heard that one?>

Then there's the one about chickens...
If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

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Ok all you peeps,

I am sure there are lots of Urban myths to do with skydiving, So who knows some good uns, if nothing else they make for good stories for the wuffos, lol



In our DZ we take a ride with a van from the landing area to back to the hangar. Every once in a while we find a group of tandempassengers (in fluorescent yellow jumpsuits) waiting for it trying to get rid of the pressure on their ears by jumping up and down while holding their ankles.

They are told by the 1 person in the entire DZ they trust (TM) that it is a very effective way of clearing their ears. Whenever we walk up we ask them if they have trouble with their ears. They all agree it's improving after a few tries...

- - - - - - - - -

We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!

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