LyraM45

orlando was my home tunnel for a bit when I first started flying. It wasn't until I moved some place else that I realized exactly how tough that tunnel is to fly in. Tough, but totally doable if you learn to fly a little bigger and fly your body well. I've seen people tear it up in there still. I ditched my tight suit and opted for one of their baggy suits. Wear some under armor or layers under it if you're flying a lot in a little amount of time though! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Are you seeing a sports orthopedic for this injury? If so, he'll know best when you can resume activities like skydiving. I'd just ask your doc. Each injury is different, and healing is different for everybody. I just got plates/screw in my upper and lower jaw after having it broken and I was told 3-4 months to go back to something like skydiving. I'll take longer if it doesn't feel right. Take your time to heal and there will always be days to jump in the future. Good luck! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Really? Matt is a pretty experienced wingsuiter, wingsuit videographer/photographer, AND an aeronautical engineer. I'm pretty sure not only does he understand what caused a simple spin on exit as a wingsuiter, but he can break the aerodynamics of it down too. You should quit while you're ahead. I'm pretty sure there are some other people on this forum right now laughing behind their keyboards because you said Matt (and other experienced people like Matt for that matter) doesn't understand your simple spin Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I don't think there was value at the point you posted it because at that point the people who were legitimately interested in helping you were already done responding to you since you shut them down and belittle them for a few pages of posts before it. If you had posted them to begin with instead of getting nasty with people, do you think they would have ignored you still? I don't think they would have. I know quite a few of these guys personally, and they're not assholes. At the point you finally posted the numbers, these people were done with you because of the way you acted in the thread instead of them not touching it because they couldn't use your numbers to crucify you like you want to believe is the reason. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Well, I didn't even catch what question you're referring to, so maybe he didn't either if it was buried in a long post. Sometimes that happens and it does help to re-post the question directly if you're going to call the poster out on ignoring you. I usually do it and it works well sometimes if they honestly missed it. RE: your reply above talking about all the shit in this thread and the focus on your numbers. If you're afraid your numbers are going to be an issue and they are going to hammer on it, shouldn't you step back and ask yourself if you have the jump numbers to be doing what you're asking about? Experience/numbers are part of the assessment of what happened on this jump. It's legitimate to be concerned with it and ask it as part of the assessment, critique what went down, and hopefully in the end you're provided with some constructive criticism. You didn't even let anybody get to the constructive criticism part because you shut everybody down and started acting childish when they asked you a simple question as part of the assessment. I know if I went into the swooping forum and posted a video of me eating it on a small/fast canopy and asked for feedback, I would expect people to ask me my jump numbers if it wasn't in my profile or I didn't post them as part of the whole run down of what happened. Why would I not post them? And why would I be offended if somebody asked me to post them? If I was in fact doing something wrong with respect to my numbers and being on a canopy that the experts felt I shouldn't be on and I thought otherwise, I would be open to their opinions on it for sure. I wouldn't call their advice shit and belittle their expert experience (which I have no place doing as the novice coming for advice) because they were not telling me what I expected or wanted to hear. You've got to stay a little more open minded if you want to learn in this sport.... and not be dead too. Seriously, listen to the example I just posted in this paragraph and step out of the box for a second to see the bigger picture with this thread. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Excuse me while I pop my head in the wingsuit forum right quick..... Says the guy with not enough WS (at least on larger suits) experience to a guy (and other guys in this thread repeatedly) with LOTS of WS experience who very well know and understand what caused and what can cause a spin. Why? Because they have the experience. Seems to me that if you calm down a little bit, YOU could actually learn something from THEM. Funny, because you are completely ignoring his video response to you. You said nobody was bold enough to post video of a botched exit, let alone a video of almost the SAME exit. He posted it. And instead of having an educated, calm, cool discussion about it, you respond childishly with, "I'm not even going to speak to your shitty jump." If you think that jump was shitty, what say you about your jump in comparison? You could take this opportunity to say "hey, 111, how did you regain heading/control that quickly compared to my exit? What can I do in the future to prevent what happened to me?" But nope...... Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I'm still working off a bunch of tickets I got for $18 at Skydance. I know a lot of places run specials during the season, or turn a week day into '$15 fun jump Fridays' and stuff. So, always worth keeping an ear open for those kinds of things. Just remember.... some things in life, you get what you pay for! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Maybe in certain situations they do, but the laws are definitely not equal for everybody right now, IE: marriage. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

And therein lies the problem with these laws. Their focus is not equal treatment for all, but to "protect" one group from another. Group specific protection laws become reverse discrimination. If both groups had the equal rights/privileges under the law, then one of them wouldn't need 'protecting.'

I'd actually like to hear an answer to that too. Just something I always wondered when I hear of this 'liberal take over' of the education system. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I will counter that to say that higher education is more accessible to lower income persons via scholarships, grants, and student loans. The only reason a person doesn't finish is they chose not to. Exactly this!!!! I get a little defensive when I hear the whole "poor people can't go to college" thing. They can for all the reasons you mention. You just have to want to. I grew up in a SUPER poor family. I was a free lunch kid all my life, never had insurance, heat or electric being turned off in the cold of winter, etc. My parents knew they were poor but the best thing they did for me and my sisters is look us in the eye and said do well in school, get some scholarships, go to college and don't do what they did. They were very on top of us with our grades, made sure we stayed out of trouble, and did the right things that set us up for scholarships and grants. I applied for every scholarship/grant imaginable. Filled out my FAFSA and figured out how the whole process worked since my parents had no clue. Between my grades and aid, I got pretty much full rides to all the schools I got accepted to-- some of them expensive private schools. I'm the only person in my family with a degree and the job I always wanted, and I'm pretty damn proud of it because I did have to overcome a lot to get it. It can be done, but you have to want to do it. That is true even for the rich kid who can just say "I want to go there," and mommy and daddy write a check. The poor kid just has to be a little more motivated and ready to do a little bit more work to make it happen. That little bit of work pays off for the rest of your life! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Smart lady! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I've always had fun ear/nose/throat issues all my life. When I first started jumping my ears would always get all stuffy and I would have trouble hearing the rest of the day-- very much the same as you. Same after I fly commercially and my ears would get full during the descent and then I couldn't hear right for a few days. At the time I would just try to yawn and if that didn't work, then I was screwed. Few years later I finally learned how to valsalva when I started to fly and use it a LOT when I scuba dive. Now I just grab my nose and blow gently after I'm under canopy and it usually gets the jobs done. Same when I fly. And if it doesn't work or gets painful to clear, then I've probably got a little cold or allergy inflammation and shouldn't be jumping at all. ETA-- I should have read all the responses before posting mine, because it seems like everybody suggested valsalva already! Anywho, my post is another vote for valsava I guess! :) Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I would laugh at it just the same if the tables were truly all the way turned and it was the homosexuals who first made the ban against christian patrons. In that case it's apples to apples and I would laugh just like I laughed at the case in the OP. At the end of the day, one is not better than the other, so how about everybody stop trying to make laws that limit any other groups to the same rights/services/etc as other groups and we'll all be fine, MmmmK? Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Oh my... I don't even know what to say about this AZ representative! http://www.upworthy.com/state-senator-who-supports-anti-gay-law-spends-10-minutes-proving-he-has-no-idea-how-the-law-works-4?g=2&c=ufb1 Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

But you did label them. You keep saying "perverted." But you mask the fact that you're labeling somebody by saying that you're labeling their behavior. If a child acts out, they are choosing to behave bad. If somebody breaks into a house and steals something, they choose to behave badly. It might be a moot point to argue this because you may not see it as a choice, but gay people are not choosing to be gay. Being gay is not a behavior. If being gay is a choice and a behavior, I guess the rest of us hetero's must really stress ourselves out with the battle every day to choose to be straight and choose to behave "un-perverted." How's that struggle going for you every day? Personally I don't even think about it because I am naturally attracted to men. I was born that way and it's a part of my being! How is that not the same for another human being? I think I've made it clear that I don't consider loving who you love, whether same sex or not, perverted. But, for the sake of arguing and making this next point, lets consider it perverted and vile. Even if I did find it perverted and vile, I can go on living my life having an opinion like that, but not impact my beliefs on those people by restricting what they can do and limiting how they are treated because of my beliefs. If I didn't like black people (totally theoretical here), my opinion/belief is not being taken away if they are allowed to sit at the diner counter and get the same service I have. Why does my opinion of their (homosexuals) morality have to legally restrict them from the same rights I have as a citizen? I'm not Muslim and I don't agree with everything Muslims do as part of their beliefs under strict Islamic law, but I'm not creating laws that say Muslims can't get the same service I can or be treated the same and legally have the same rights I have. If I am turned away from a business because I am white and the owner doesn't like serving whites because it has something to do with his beliefs/opinions, is it special treatment if all I want is to be served just like every other race that gets service there? Please explain to me how this is special treatment. I really want to understand what you mean. Again, person A walks into Starbucks and wants the same service person B got. Lets say person A is white, and person B is black. I believe the white customer should be served like the black customer and vice versa. Both equally. You believe one of them should get lesser or no service. Tell me who at that point is getting special treatment? Tell me who at that point is getting something taken from them for not believing the same as you do? Apologies for the long post. I'm not asking these questions in a rhetorical sense. I'd actually appreciate your response and a polite conversation. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Maybe because gay business aren't trying to deny you service. Maybe because people who are for gay marriages or want a gay marriage aren't trying to limit anybody else from being married. Maybe because gay people who want the same legal rights for their partners are not trying to stop hetero partners from having the same rights. See a trend here? Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Let me get this straight-- person A (gay/white/black/straight/or whatever) wants to walk into starbucks and get served just like person B does (again, gay/white/black/straight/jewish/etc). Since A wants exactly the same service B got, that is trampling on starbucks rights? What rights would person A be taking away from starbucks for being served like the other HUMAN BEING who is person B? A and B just want EQUAL RIGHTS to service. So, in AZ and KS, person A can be turned away now because of something they are; something that is a part of their being. You don't think that is trampling rights? And it's now special treatment if all I want it to be treated like everybody else? If I walked into a private clinic to be seen and they looked at me and said "we don't serve your kind here," because I'm a woman, I'm sorry, but I'd be pissed off and feel wronged. No matter how you slice it and dice it, this goes back to the ways of segregation. And we see how well that all turned out! Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I think you've got tracking and angle flying and/or tracing all mixed up. Like others have said, I would lump it closer to head down with a little bit of tracking thrown in instead of thinking of it as tracking with a little bit of head down thrown in. And in terms of the carving that you are talking about, I think you've got that mixed up a little too. Carving is definitely not a flat move left or right like you would do on a track. It's more like head down carving, which is totally different. This is not stuff you just want to go up and try by yourself at 30 jumps. You'll be all over the sky and up and down jump run before you know it! I know this is something you want to get in to, but there is a reason there are not angle flying camps for people with 30 jumps. And even more so if you can't even find somebody worth their salt to give one on one angle/tracing coaching to somebody with those jump numbers. You're just not there yet, and rightfully so, you shouldn't be. And I'm right there with you-- I'm definitely not even close to being ready for that kind of stuff yet! It really does pay to get good foundations in all the flying you should be concentrating on after you get your A license. Go do some belly jumps, tip toe into freeflying, hit the tunnel if you can, do some tracking dives (yes, true tracking is much different than what you think you know and mastered just on your AFF jumps-- start small since they can get fast and zoo like, especially with a bunch people fresh off of A license...which I guess in that case won't be fast, but definitely zoo like ) and definitely for sure do that canopy course. Stuff like fast freefly big ways, super big way belly jumps, small canopies, fast tracing/angle flying, and wingsuits will be there when the time is right. Lots of fun to be had still while getting to that point, though! I'm not expert on the subject. Just my .02 on all of that.... but then again, I'm like a conservative granny sometimes.

^Generally what he said ^ Really though, I'll echo what others have said in that Skydance is a little bit more, but worth every penny IMO. Facilities, vibe, aircraft fleet and quality, diversity of talent and different types of flying, and reputation/track record make it the top of my list for area DZ's in NorCal/Bay Area. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

^This.^ I'm not an instructor, but have spent enough time around new tunnel people when I worked the front desk of a tunnel and enough time flying in one as a customer to know that instructors just don't grab you and tank you for no reason. More than likely you were about to go out of control anyway and he was trying to spot you. You may have felt like you were fine and it seems like he's responsible for grabbing you out of nowhere and causing what happened, but more than likely you just don't know what you don't know on this one. Sometimes spots don't work out, especially if people tense up, ball up, and react in some way and makes them crash to the wall/ground even faster-- and that is totally a natural to do as a new flyer. These things happen, especially when you're new to the sport and the tunnel. I'll echo a few others-- have video of what happened? We're all just making a logical assumption of what happened, but who knows, maybe there was an oddball mistake and we're assuming wrong. Regardless, hope you feel better and get back in the tunnel to try again soon!

Is it really worth it? There is always another day to skydive, even if it's not for another few months or however long it takes to heal and get back. Maybe when I was 18 and a newer jumper I would be more 'go go go go,' but it's just not worth it in my (now older) humble opinion. I had a complete tear of my LCL back in March and was out for 4 months-- no tunnel, no jumping, no nothing. Sucks, but it is what it is when something like that happens. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Maybe it's not as funny as you think. I think I insinuated that Californians wouldn't get it. I think you missed the part where I said I was giving my opinion not really as a Californian, but as a 'Caliexan' half breed that has lived in both places-- and hopefully I can have an unbiased opinion on both places since I'm actually not from either and have only lived in these places for work as an adult. I agree with the others-- this guy is wrong on a few things, and misses serious points on others. It's not really that hilarious to me. And it's not that I can't laugh at liberal hippies being made fun of. Or their state. Did you ever catch this article on 'surviving whole foods:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-maclean/surviving-whole-foods_b_3895583.html Now THAT is funny. If that is the kind of humor this guy was going for, he totally missed the mark. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

I've lived in TX for a few years, and now I've lived in the Bay Area for a few years. There are things that I like, dislike, and absolutely despise about both places. One may be good for one thing, but not another. That could be said if I were to compare any of the places I've lived across the country over the years. The only thing I don't like in this piece are the things this guy talks of as absolutes, IE: -Everything works better because of religion: There are many reasons why many families work well together or are a shining example of a 'perfect' family unit. Religion is not the end all be all to sort the good from the bad. As others have said, there are stats that can argue against this, IE: divorce rate of TX, rate of families on government assistance in TX, etc. -Shooting in the back yard: I lived in Houston when I lived in TX. I couldn't shoot in my backyard there, just like I can't shoot in my back yard here in the south bay. But I can travel a little ways out of the city, just like you can in TX, and probably do a lot more in the country like you can in TX if you did the same. I have a friend that lives in the sierra foothills who can essentially do whatever he wants on his property, including hunt and shoot for fun.... or ::gasp:: have a bonfire in his backyard! -Bonfire: again, you live in downtown Dallas, good luck with that. Same for urban CA or particularly santa monica, which is what I think this guy is really talking about he says "California." At least CA will let you have fires on a lot of the beaches! I could never do that when I lived in TX and always wanted to! -Prop 65 warnings: I agree, this is stupid. Really stupid. I don't even notice the signs anymore. This guy is basically talking about Santa Monica and saying the whole state is as strict and fun free. He's bragging so much about seeing the country and going to TX, perhaps he should get out to rural CA and see what that has to offer. Maybe visit some of the beautiful peaks, national parks, and amazing terrain that TX does NOT offer. I bet he has never been on a backpack, or skied the back country, or watched a meteor shower from a 10,000 foot peak in Yosemite. I bet he's never been hunting in these areas. I bet he's never had a bonfire on the beach or in the back country and cooked a fresh caught dinner over it (because yes, despite what he says, you can have a bonfire and do that in CA... well, outside of a nasty dry fire season like the one we're having now). I'm assuming he hasn't done these things because he just put a whole piece together essentially saying TX is so great because you can do these things there, but not here. Santa Monica, or any urbanized area of a state, is NOT representative of the state all together. This guy needs to explore more of CA and then rethink where he stands, because he's pretty out to lunch with a lot of his comparisons-- at least per my experience in both states. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

Well... I haven't really weighed in on this before I suggested that both sides of this particular argument are being incredibly superficial. At least that's what I think I might have said in my own head. Absolutely. I try to get to a deeper level and get branded a troll. Or get told I'm "one of the stupidest smart people." Because that"s what the free exchange of ideas is about - trying to improve one's jive by disjiving others. To your benefit - you pointed that out. And I spent most of my posts asking for clarification on what you meant, mostly agreeing with you, and trying to engage on that deeper level and I'm basically superficial, making the posts about the poster and nothing else? Hhhmmm..... Pass the tylenol, indeed. I think I'm out of here with the few others that already left. Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)