rickfri59

I'm headed to Jamaica next week. Tried a web search for a DZ there but didn't come up with anything. If there is an operation there is anyone familiar with it? If so please advise as to whether it's worth a jump (safety over $$) or I should stick to drinks on the beach :).

I have SKYDIVN in NH.

Male 44 .2619

Is what you describe as a burst fracture also known as a compression fracture? Back in May I flared too late (was looking down between my feet instead of out towards the horizon) on a no wind day and drilled it in on my butt, ending up with a compression fracture of T-12. I spent 2 months in a torso brace and the third month doing lots of back strengthening exercises. Doc said wait three months and I did. Yesterday I made my first jumps since my crash and all felt well.

After about 75 “smart” openings from my Sabre 190 I recently had a pocket sewn into the slider (after reading numerous posts on the subject). There is a remarkable decrease in opening stress. Now it’s an soft transition from belly to sitting up in the harness, rather than the wham bam smackers I’ve been putting up with.

Be careful......nothing worse than getting scammed by those losers...*** Yea, I never likes snowmobile people either.

44 for me. Started out as a Tandem for a Fathers Day gift 2 years ago. Thousands of dollars, a few scratches/bruses, and a f***ed up back. It's the rip

***I would recommend looking in to getting a WingsHarness/Container System.*** My experience is limited to student gear, a Vector II, and my Wings, so take this for what you consider its worth: I got brused with student gear, I was uncomfortable riding the Vector (bought used) down. My Wings was custom cut for me and I could fly under canopy all day

Ditto... Back in May I came in hard (pain and wind knocked-out feeling) and tried to shake it off before driving myself to the ER. Compression fracture of T-12. Two months in a stiff torso brace and I'm out until mid-August. Summer shot to hell. Go to Dr.! If something in your spine is broke and shifts you may have bigger issues. The ER Doc. I saw said I should have been on a back board in an ambulance and not driving my self to the ER. I was an IDIOT, but I got away with it.

Damn, I wish I was sitting on the floor with my rig instead of sitting behind a desk right now because this is driving me nuts trying to visualize. When you "slip" the bridle attachment out, do you mean slip it out to the side and pulling the top skin with it? If so, I thought that is why a bridle extension was important to a psycho pack.

On TV I saw something very similar (one of those Emergency Medicine shows on The Learning Channel maybe). A man was impaled with a 2X4 as a result of an automobile accident. The 2X4 went completely through his abdomen and out the back. He survived with the loss of a kidney and maybe some other minor parts

I posted this back in March 2004 to someone who commented that hitting the water was almost as bad as hitting concrete: Almost would be good enough to say you're F'd either way. But here's why I post... There was a program on TV last week that examined what happened to a stupid stunt gone wrong. Five or six guys decided to swing off of a 185 foot bridge over water. Without going into detail about how they attempted to do this, the bottom line is that the cable/harness assembly snapped nearly at the bottom of the swing (they were at the end of thecable swinging like a pendulm). It broke at the "perfect" point on the arc of the swing to send them into the water at an estimated 45 degree angle (this was of course all video taped from several angles). The only reason anyone received significant injuries was that they all crashed into each other upon entry to the water. Big question was how did they survive hitting the water at almost 80 mph. The answer was the angle of entry combined with the cushion effect of the PFDs. O.K. here's the point... The people doing the analysis then considered the question; Is it any more survivable, in general, to hit concrete or water at high speed. They made two identical dummies with skeletons and flesh from materials that were close in density and strength of human equalivants. Dropped the dummies from the same height as the aformentioned bridge. One into a pond, the other onto concrete. Speed at impact was about 80 mph. Both hit the surface in nearly a feet first orientation. Bottom line..... The concrete was worse, but worse really didn't matter. If the dummies were made to human like specs., I hope to hell I never have to see anyone who's gone in at high speed

Anyone got a picture or drawing of what a slider pocket looks like?

Anyone have experience with an Australian company called Total Control Skydiving Gear? They sell FF suits and pants relatively cheap under the name Headfirst. It's off the shelf sizing (that's their claim to keeping prices low), but I'm more concerned with quality of materials & workmanship.

Almost would be good enough to say you're F'd either way. But here's why I post... There was a program on TV last week that examined what happened to a stupid stunt gone wrong. Five or six guys decided to swing off of a 185 foot bridge over water. Without going into detail about how they attempted to do this, the bottom line is that the cable/harness assembly snapped nearly at the bottom of the swing. It broke at the "perfect" to send them into the water at an estimated 45 degree angle (this was of course all video taped from several angles). The only reason anyone received significant injuries was that they all crashed into each other upon entry to the water. Big question was how did they survive hitting the water at almost 80 mph. The answer was the angle of entry combined with the cushion effect of the PFDs. O.K. here's the point... The people doing the analysis then considered the question; Is it any more survivable, in general, to hit concrete of water at high speed. They made two identical dummies with skeletons and flesh from materials that were close in density and strength of human equalivants. Dropped the dummies from the same height as the aformentioned bridge. One into a pond, the other onto concrete. Speed at impact was about 80 mph. Both hit the surface in nearly a feet first orientation. Bottom line..... The concrete was worse, but worse really didn't matter. If the dummies were made to human like specs., I hope to hell I never have to see anyone who's gone in at high speed.