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Even if integrated circuit chips become more readily available or even larger I, for one, am sticking with toilet paper.

I gave Ulis credit for moving on from Sheridan and you deserve credit for moving on from Klansnic.. He ticked some boxes but didn't really fit the profile..

I suspect that if it ever got to the point where Trump was not on the front page of all the major news outlets he really would shoot someone on 5th avenue just to get back in the headlines.

Todays FJCS might have great m subject matter. But it doesn’t mean they are taught well. And the standard “show up, get blasted with a bunch of info over 4-5 hours and jump method” isn’t the best way. And then the “rush you onto a jump because I have a video or tandem to do and I don’t get paid enough for this” attitude means the students aren’t receiving the info over a period of time either. I’ve seen so many A license check dives get posted where the student is flying like crap or backsliding all over the sky and the instructor goes “my student did so good!” Shoot, one of my students didn’t finish in time for the season end and went to another well established dropzone. They flew from upwind to downwind, cut people off in the pattern and landed downwind on their check dive and was passed. I’m sorry but if you were training to be a pilot and flew the wrong pattern do you think they examiner would give you a pilots license? Not a chance!

Fossil fuels have allowed us to achieve a standard of living that was beyond that to which what royalty could aspire in the remarkably recent past. They have also allowed the population to expand to previously unimaginable levels. The fact that fossil fuels are finite seems to escape some people. We will never completely run out of coal, petroleum and what have you, but we will reach a point where it will take much more time, energy and money to extract that last ton or barrel. To those people who think producing oil is simply a matter of sticking a tube in the earth and sucking it out, I recommend studying up on the geology involved, as well as the technology involved. I won't digress into that, but suffice it to say that it is not that simple. The bottom line is that there are 8 some odd billion people on this planet, most of whom are dependent on fossil fuels for their way of life - if not for life itself. When sufficient fuel is no longer available to power agricultural equipment, and synthetic fertilizers and pesticides go away, things will get interesting indeed. At that point we might wish that 'climate change' was the worst of our problems. I'm reminded of a line in an old movie where a woman, whose life has just been saved by Jimmy Stewart, asks "just what is a human life worth?!" To which Stewart's character replies "whatever the market will bear, lady, whatever the market will bear." Thus it is with petroleum. BSBD, Winsor

typical right wing idiot thinking there, why not both? is it possible for both to be true? if you want someone to think for you, i doubt you could afford me or would like the results. i have friends, and some of them even have college degrees, while one is a professor. access to a jstor account isn't that hard to get when you have friends. i suggest getting one. yep, only the article. all studies that show something of this nature appear to me to be common sense, so yes, it does appear that way. i believe the new insight is that it doesn't matter what the opinion is; as long as it's not the mainstream opinion it will lead to fanaticism more easily. honestly, i just can't discuss it now, i'm over it. i had some things in mind a few days ago, but have since moved on and that's about all i can muster now. appreciate the banter. reminds me to stay the hell out of this part of the forum.

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Naah, not even close. The quality of jumper training today, mostly AFF, is head and shoulders above the highly variable S/L FJCs of yore. Your last sentence makes me wonder about your familiarity with todays FJCs, by any method....

I have indeed dropped Klansnic. He was a hell of a candidate and an integral part of my journey in the vortex. I definitely wouldn’t be where I’m at today on the cusp of closing NORJAK if it wasn’t for him. He was instrumental in keeping my interest in the case alive and honing my investigatory skills. Raising a martini one olive on the rocks, I bid you farewell Ed. A truly fine representation of americas greatest generation!

About a year or so (just guessing) before USPA changed the opening altitude minimums Bill Booth did an interview during the PIA Symposium where he said he was raising his own hard deck 500 feet. I don't recall all the details but some of it can be explained by this: we have higher skydives than ever, the parachutes take longer to open (trust me, I jumped rounds) -- the built-in snivel is for comfort and safety. When Bill Booth talks, I listen, and so it wasn't surprising when USPA acted. There are still fatalities for failure to employ EPs in time to get a reserve out. Some of this is due to an aging cohort in the sport.

I think just putting a pin in it temporarily takes the thought of it off the table. After six months or even a couple years, new skydivers are better prepared to make decisions about their journey. For example, when I was 18, during my skydiving FJC at a little FL DZ in ‘93, my instructor mentioned he jumps off an antenna not that far from the drop zone. I was floored and instantly wanted to do whatever it was he was doing. I asked, “When can I do that?” He responded, “I’ll take you when you have 1,000 skydives.” I got focused on other skydiving goals because it seemed like it would take FOREVER to get to 1,000. I got to 1,000 and beyond before he went in at a different antenna in ‘98 (BFL 43). Who knows what different path I would have taken had he not been looking out for me.

Hahahaha 100%! Best post in the thread.

Not true. I travel extensively and see AFF instructors jumping a variety of canopy types and sizes.

Chuck, I'll be the first to bow out to your knowledge of skydiving as a whole. However, I think Mr. Moe's point spoke more to the human element. Legend has it that, once upon a back when, instructors knew the students. Had conversations with them. Tutored them. As my Pops would say, "Made it real to 'em.". Now I'm not calling anyone out or speaking ill by any means but I would bet you dollar to doughnuts if I walked up on one of my AFFI's they wouldn't even know my name. Because I have. And they didn't. They took my money, taught me a handful of tricks, told me I had to pay extra if I wanted my videos (you know, to review, maybe learn from) and then put a big blue stamp on my forehead and "Congratulations! You owe a case of beer!". You've jumped that DZ. Many times I would wager. It has a reputation. And that's how they produce "the safest skydivers".

Hi – I have zero jumps. I am doing research for a book and need some specific info I haven’t found online yet – or links if possible. I realize from a helicopter it’s not a BASE jump and that it is a skydiving jump: 1. Can you/should you however use BASE gear when doing a low altitude heli jump? Or would there be specific gear for this. 2. What is the lowest possible jump that you could do from a helicopter. (100ft, 200, 300, more?) 3. Could you/would you have a reserve to do another low altitude jump (350ft) immediately after doing the heli jump? 4. Would you be able to jump from a bridge right after someone jumped and catch up to them on a 350 ft. jump and still have time to open a reserve at 80-90ft. (I've seen online this is the lowest recorded) (I realize it’s pushing critical limits for deployment) – or is this beyond the realm of reality? This will be into a river. I expect one character to (likely) die and have no problem giving the other one broken bones. Thank you for any help!