Doug_Davis

I was looking at moving to Amelia Island. And contacted Skydive Amelia. The owner says they are restricted by the city to tandem jumpers only. Of course if its a federally funded airport they cant restrict his business in this way. But I dont know the particulars on the funding. Also even if it was allowed legally, they are his planes and choice would be his. Consequently we are looking at Savannah, GA or down around Tampa, FL instead.

Again this is why I said if this is allowed to stand, and is not challenged then kiss 105.25 good bye. And every dz in the country that is using an off airport landing area should be taking notice and and doing something about this case to help. IMHO this is a national case and issue! Then quite frankly he needs to man up and file suit. Quote "Off-Airport Jumps. A skydiver may make parachute jumps away from the usual on-airport parachute school, club, or center location, as long as landowner permission is obtained for the off-airport location." And tell them they (the city/county) dont have the authority to shut him down. File for an injunction. The end. Edited to add: ^ This. Heck I have friends in Boulder. Im not a local. I would volunteer to fly out there, jump, allow them to try and arrest me as the test case. Ive got nothing better to do. As long as the USPA will provide probono attorney.

Its a normal reaction for some to a stressful situation. The precursor to adrenaline is dopamine, which can cause drowsiness. Jumping for my whole career in the army, on any typical airborne operation 1/4 of the guys on the plane are puking due to stress/airsickness (google nap of the earth flying), 1/4 have their heads banging out to music in ear plugs, and half are asleep. I was usually one of the guys asleep, unless I was safety or jumpmaster for the load.

Well I would imagine for these purposes something super light like they use for world cup sailing so something similar to the composite used for those competitive sails. I also own a lot of outdoor gear (stuff sacks and full backpacks) for ultralight speed hikes made out of it.

Wow...then what are your regular rates going to be?

How would a fabric/material like cuben stack up in use for a purpose like this versus nylon?

You're using the word "retarded" as a put down or in a negative connotation. For those with children or family members who are mentally disabled its an insult.

Please tell me Sparky how comparing two adventure sports by use of standard per 100k rate in fatalities is not "rational"? Because Im fairly certain people compare fatality rates between numerous different activities or health risks or other such factors on a fairly common basis. Havent you ever heard a skydiver say, "Im more likely to die driving on the way to the dropzone, than I am skydiving"? So if we can compare mortality rates in traffic accidents with mortality in skydiving accidents, I am fairly certain we can accomplish the same thing between kayaking and skydiving. Put I will be waiting to see how you claim this cant "rationally" happen. Hi! Welcome to 2014! Where most of us have accepted the fact that using the term "retarded" is not socially acceptable. Also you might want to Google the term "mental retardation" which will show you that it is in fact an intellectual disability, or general learning disability. Here is the wiki link for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_disability

If as you say the person in the tandem rig is in fact a student I would agree with you and everyone else. If its not a student I wouldnt agree with you. Lastly my point in saying skydiving was doing great in terms of safety, wasnt to say people should be less safe, it was simply to point out that over all the sport has done very well in terms of a safety record. Thats it. Just a "hey the sport seems to be doing well when we look at it over all" note, thats all. Dont read to much into it.

You know this for a fact? Because according to everything I have read on the thread no one knows if the passenger is a student or not, and some in an attempt to prove their point are just assuming it is.

Not really because while I see your point and concern, according to the survey most paddling participants only go on a single trip. So a single paddling trip would be the same as a single jump for our purposes. If on average the survey showed they were doing 2,3 or more trips per participant than comparing the two would be much more difficult as you said.

Yes, I should have known better than to try and have a rational conversation in this forum, where I assert that skydiving is safe in anyway or not the king end all to be all #1 most dangerous and cool adrenaline sport of all time. Please return to discussing how you are two seconds away from death and any point in time while skydiving, but that this particular jump upped the death quotient to an unacceptable level. Oh and you and Dave should throw around use of the word "retarded" some more because insulting everyone who has a family member who is learning disabled definitely helps your case and makes you look even cooler. Now I know why everyone warned me about DZ.com.

Firstly, I dont know anything about you personally, but as for myself I find the use of the word "retarded" to be insulting to anyone who might be mentally or learning disabled, or for those of us who might be parents to children in such circumstances. I would ask that you not use such terms please. Secondly, I didnt say he shouldnt be upset. Thats his right as his feelings are his own. Thirdly, as to whether or not the stunt was "stupid" is your own opinion. If it was four experienced skydivers, knowingly and willingly participating in the "stunt" that decision is up to them. Personally I think it was probably much safer than the wingsuit proximity flying that happens these days. Your opinion is your own, but it doesnt make you right and everyone else wrong. Lastly, I assume you are trying to make some point given your comparison of the particulars of skydiving versus kayaking. However I am not really sure what it is. No, the two sports are not similar from a technical standpoint or from the ease of access point. However they dont need to be in order to compare fatality rates between the two. Just as death from stroke and from car wreck are two very different things but we can still compare the rates of incidence to see which is more likely to happen. I quite agree with you that the access restrictions and required training are what help keep the fatality rates down in skydiving. And if those were in place for kayaking, you are likely right, the fatality rate would probably be even lower. But that doesnt seem to matter as it isnt required and isnt happening at the moment. Although in some cases I do wish training was mandatory.

I went bungee jumping after I had already been jumping for well over two years. I found it utterly boring.

Look I dont want to get into a manhood measuring contest but I did want to provide a little perspective on things. I returned to skydiving, as a sport, last year (after having been airborne my whole career). I have been a professional whitewater kayak instructor and participant for over 20 years. Its what I do for a living. I have served on the board of directors for the American Canoe Association (the paddle sports version of the USPA), and still serve on the national River Kayaking Committee for the national Safety, Education and Instruction Council. I help set national policy on what is taught and who get to teach it in the whitewater world. In 2012 (latest available data) the paddle sports world had approx 26 million participants. With 135 fatalities. For a rate of .506 fatalities per 100k participants. Two of which were very good friends of mine, and one of which I participated in the body recovery for. During that same time period according to the USPA, there were approximately 3.1 million jumps and 19 fatalities, for a rate of .6 fatalities per 100k jumps. So while skydiving is seen as much more dangerous than your average kayak trip, your fatality rate is almost on par; ie as a sport and industry you guys are doing a great job in terms of safety. Would having zero deaths be better than 19? Sure. You should always strive to improve. But I just wanted to provide some perspective that given the big picture this sport is actually doing really well, and in comparison to other extreme sports such as climbing or mountaineering (3per100k if I remember correctly) you are doing much much better. Cheers!

Tony did my suit custom for me, but due to some color shortages I ended up providing my own material. According to the production team they said it was good stuff. I got my water resistant/proof nylon supplex (supplex is just a brand name weave of nylon, not a different fiber altogether) from..... http://www.rockywoods.com/Fabrics-Kits/Supplex-Nylon-Fabric/SUPPLEX-Water-Repellent-Nylon-Fabrics They will send samples. I got my spandex (for back and sleeves) from... http://spandexworld.com/c3/catalog/browse/33 I ordered the "milliskin" matte variety which is supposed to be tougher for "athletic" purposes. They will also ship samples.

There's been a second spill. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/1/31/another-spill-reportedatwvirginiasfreedomindustries.html

Pretty nice stuff. Was watching how you exited and pulled. Not wanting to mix too much into the language/writing discussion. But when someone does jump 10-200 as solo tracking jumps, thats for sure detrimental to his progress, and those people usually miss a big background in safety and awareness that is of great importance when they put on a suit that allows them to head-but a person with 200 mph differences in speed if they screw up. Tracking is a good skill, but you dont need more experience beyond seperating from a good freefly or RW jump that had a decent plan/debrief to be a safe and skilled wingsuit pilot from 200 freefall jumps or (preferably more) onward... Good points thanks Jarno!

................................................................................ You jumped into battle at age 17???? Where was the battle ... er ... enemy-held territory? Panama, Operation Just Cause 1989.

Im retired army. I was in Iraq from 03 to 05. After being out for a number of years and missing being on airborne status (234 military jumps) I also got involved with sport parachuting here in Kentucky last year, as you are now. I also did the whole newbie day dreaming about what part of the sport interests me most bit. Its normal and ignore anyone who gets a hair up their ass over it. Hell Im still day dreaming, during this long cold dark winter about all the jumps Im going to make this summer and what discipline I want to pursue. Ive also been flying down to Florida and the Deland DZ to get my jump fix in this winter. Going again in 3 weeks. Ignore "Mike Stafford" the guy signed up on the forums 3 days ago. Who the hell knows if this internet tough guy is even real. Anyone can create a profile and claim to have thousands of jumps. From one soldier and newbie to another: ask questions, have fun, and good luck once you start training.

Agreed. From the description given it sounded like a competitor to a PD Storm, and since I was looking at buying a Storm I decided to see what a JVX is in comparison. From the website: "The JVX is the first competition swoop canopy designed for rear riser flight!" How is something which is a step up from that an everyday canopy? Unless you like taking a Formula 1 car to work and to get groceries. "She’s a 7-cell (21-chamber) crossbraced performance wing designed using Petra technology and shaping" Really? I claim newbie ignorance.

Agreed. From the description given it sounded like a competitor to a PD Storm, and since I was looking at buying a Storm I decided to see what a JVX is in comparison. From the website: "The JVX is the first competition swoop canopy designed for rear riser flight!" How is something which is a step up from that an everyday canopy? Unless you like taking a Formula 1 car to work and to get groceries.

I bet you get lots of dates (in case you didnt really know its internet speak for I Am Not A Lawyer)

LOL obviously you havent been through airborne school. Mine was a three week blur of running and getting screamed at. I wouldnt have ever used the terms airborne school and quality in the same sentence, heh heh. We learned three things: PLF's, how to count to 5, how to pull the reserve handle if needed.....okay four, bicycle kick turns in the event of a line twist. And while Im sure some DZ's run shit AFF or SL courses, I am just as sure there are other DZO's running quality courses. And like I said there is no such restrictions on whitewater kayaking and plan to allow my children to follow me into that. To each their own.

I had my first combat jump at just 17. As a father I would be okay with letting my daughter start jumping by 16. She will be 2 in March and Ive already purchased her her first whitewater kayak, paddle, life jacket, skirt and helmet. Plan to have her running whitewater this summer.