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.

There have been a few posts regarding this question and people have offered opinions, some being contrary to others. I can’t find a response to the question from someone who would be considered an “authority” (MD, Physicist, Aero Engineer, etc.) on the subject: Why is there no feeling of dropping when stepping out of a plane? I get more of a falling sensation jumping into water from 15 feet. I’ve heard the following responses as plausible explanations: No visual reference of things moving rapidly towards you (i.e ground rush). Yes, I realize the earth is rushing to meet us at 120 mph, but at 14K there’s no ground rush effect (for me). The plane is already moving us forward at nearly 100 mph, so the downward transition is gradual and pretty much imperceptible. Brain is so overwhelmed by everything else going on that a falling sensation is least important sensation to be generating. Also, I’ve heard that when jumping from Helo or Balloon the only sensation of speed or falling is the rapid increase of wind noise.

Just a one-timer newbie perspective….. After reading many of the posts regarding “what to expect in the tunnel”, I increased my exercise schedule from 3X per week to 5X and included lots of weight training (low/moderate weight, concentrating on high reps. and endurance) in the month prior to attending camp. I had 1 hour split between two days. Did the intense exercise help? That’s questionable. Mid-way through day two I was one tired, stiff, sore, and unfocused puppy. Do what nearly everyone else is suggesting….drugs, lots of drugs.

Please don’t throw me over the edge for what may be a naïve question. I have never seen a BASE rig. Is there a reserve canopy in the container? Or is it more like….”There’s no time to deal with a malfunction so why bother with a reserve”

What's the running time?

I attended the Skyventure camp for two days last weekend. I didn't know what to expect, and was concerned that I'd get with a group more experienced than I, and hold everyone back, or get left behind. With 95 jumps I figured I'd be the rookie in whatever camp I chose. The experience was completly the opposite. The coach I had worked with of us (there were three of us assigned to one coach) as individuals, working with us based on our abilities and catering to our individual goals. It was kind of like the old Burger King tag line "have it your way". I 'm sure I improved my flying 100%. I saw great progress in the other campers as well. I'm sold on the concept and intend (if I can swing the $$) to go back another time this year. Do it! You won't be disappointed.

That rots. Although it doesn't help you, I'll share my experience so that others know what to look for in a DZ school (not that there is a DZ on every corner to choose from). The instructors, and Christ even one of the packers, kept checking up on me to see how I was progressing and what else I needed to get the "A" card sign-off. The Packer involvement was totally unexpected and involved the transition of spring loaded pilotchute/ripcord equipment to BOC. Standing around one day and the Packer says "how many jumps have you had solo" (after AFF jumps). After my response she said "you should have done your equipment transition dive by now". A near by Instructor heard the exchange and said something like "O.K., head over to the class room and I'll get a BOC practice Rig". On another day during a weather hold a different instructure asked me if I'd taken the oral "A" license quiz. I said "nope". He said "let's do it now". This was all good for me because I had the newbie jitters and was aprehensive about venturing beyond my comfort zone.

Is subjecting a competitor to inherent physical peril a requisite for an activity to be considered "X"? If not, how about some Tunnel competition? I saw some Tunnel promotional video this past weekend of Freefly and RW that would get plenty of wow from whuffos.

Wadd'a you mean spoof? I already sent my money in.

Ha, ha, ha. What a bunch of yucksters. To be more specific, was the alleged camera mounted on the helmet of a fellow tracker, or was the trio tracking past a sit flyer? Or was it all trickery & deceit done on an Apple G4 like the advertisement for the wrist mounted combination canopy condition analyzer, cut-away canopy finder, and push button cut-away system. Anymore smart ass responses and I’ll have no choice but to post as many mindless questions to this forum as I can during my next day off, consuming massive amounts of bandwidth. If I stand in my living room, with my rig on and deploy the main, will I go crashing through the ceiling? When I watch skydiving videos I’m amazed at how high people get pulled back up in the air when they pull the parachute out. If you pull your parachute right after you step out of the plane will it pull you back up so you can climb back in case you get scared? Someone told me that if you don’t pull you need to concentrate real hard on grabbing the grass when you first hit the ground, because it’s the bounce back up and down again that actually hurts