NeoX

See my earlier post. The only people making this topic seem "trolly" are those replying negatively and polluting it with nonsense. I actually want to know more about how these stunts are sanctioned and all it yields are the usual bozos trying to "protect their forum". Get off the Internet already and let my question be answered by those wanting to properly answer it (such as piisfish and RiggerLee)! He's doing his Superman thing.

I'm just waiting until you start bringing your wit and sarcasm into the conversation again and then cry about us being unfair to newbies. Answer me this - what's the POINT of your question? What lessons or value does it bring to other posters to belong in this forum? If it's just discussion for discussions sake, that's fine. Put it in the Bonfir - not in here. If you're asking HOW certain stunts got done, why not ask that? Stop being boring and negative and dictatorial. You don't own the forum. If you don't like this post, ignore it and move on. If you missed the POINT of my question, read it again (to spell it out for you, not how stunts get done, but how they get sanctioned). I asked a serious question with some banter added in and some have answered sensibly. You're the only one making an issue because you're a "SkyGod". Skydiving and BABC jumping are not the same sport. Cool. And the other options?... He's doing his Superman thing.

I love how people cry 'troll' just because I include some banter in my otherwise serious post. Stop being so serious, people. You're only big-paunch skydivers. He's doing his Superman thing.

It wasn't a guess. I read that he was wearing "another harness under his clothing". I thought it was just bad terminology and the writer meant "rig" not "harness". But I stand corrected. I also read that he was connected to the rig by a strap. So, I guess that's what makes it "not what it seems"? This is still nuts though because he unhooks himself after deploying so he can hang by his feet. That's crazy enough just on its own! He's doing his Superman thing.

Actually, it's a serious question, but I thought I'd throw in the back-reference for fun. However, it wasn't the main agenda. I really have been wondering how such skydives get sanctioned since watching the Greg Gasson video. Yes, I'm aware he had a rig under his clothing. Still nuts though! He's doing his Superman thing.

You missed the bit that says "regardless of level of planning and experience". However, I'm coming up to my 100-jump wonder soon and want to do somefink CrAzY. He's doing his Superman thing.

I've seen some skydiving vids of skydivers doing some crazy things like: Jumping while holding onto their parachute in their hands, deploying it while only holding on to the straps and then hanging off the leg straps by one hand or by their feet (upside-down) and swigging a drink from a bottle. Rolling out of the back of a plane sat in a convertible car and pretending to drive it while freefalling before eventually leaving the car and deploying. Setting their canopy on fire and waiting till it fully disintegrated before dropping and pulling their reserve. Jumping out of a plane without a parachute then being ridden by someone else rodeo before being strapped to them as a tandem while in freefall before deploying. Receiving a phone call on a hands-free headset and talking for 30 seconds to someone while under canopy at high altitude. Chasing a glider while in a wingsuit and catching and holding on to the wing. Jumping out with various inflatable objects like sharks and dinghies. Having sex while leaving the plane and continuing during freefall. Jumping off a building, antenna, bridge or cliff. Flying a wingsuit down a mountainside so close to the ground they were lower than the treetops at some points. These all seem like really cool/fun/dangerous things to do. How do dropzones get such stunts sanctioned by the authorities (BPA/USPA/CAA/etc.), and is it really that dangerous to jump out of a plane without a parachute and hang off it by one hand if the person doing it has the right level of experience and the jump is planned well with the proper safety measures in place? I've put the above list in a poll - please vote which ones you think are more dangerous than playing Russian Roulette regardless of level of planning and experience. The reason I'm asking this is because I find it astonishing that such stunts can get sanctioned in a sport where even forgetting your goggles can get you grounded for the day by the CCI. Safety is very important and some CCIs and DZOs are anal about it. What would they say about some of these stunts if one were to ask if they could try it? Skygod: "Hey DZO dude, do you mind if I roll out of the plane in a car while having sex, then get out the car, get a parachute out of the boot then hang off it by one hand before setting the canopy on fire and then pulling the reserve while upside-down hanging from the rig by my left foot?" DZO: "Yeah, sure - just make sure you do everything safely." Skygod: "Of course! No probs." He's doing his Superman thing.

With retorts/comebacks like that, I reckon Trafficdiver is like the embarrassing uncle you see at wedding receptions, throwing shapes on the dance floor to 80s music. And tries to be down with the kids in his street but they just see him as some sort of local weirdo. Agreed. It's just too easy with these "regulars". But, I think what caused this thread to become so ridiculous with a whole host of nonsense answers where the repliers just had to say something when faced with the question, no matter how silly they sounded, was because my question was actually Jimmy Kimmel's Confusing Question of the Day. In fact, are any of the stars of these clips members on this forum?... http://youtu.be/5P31VRPfkRc http://youtu.be/1ZwKfG-I1-A http://youtu.be/-ueOtQdVe3Q http://youtu.be/WcaiM2Uywac Only in America, ey Bless your little American cotton socks. He's doing his Superman thing.

Anywayz, everyone else, thanks for your honest opinions, really appreciate it. And it's been emotional. I definitely won't be making phone calls while skydiving ever. Never really intended to anyway. I was just exploring the concept out of curiosity. As it's so easy to do, and I have no doubt in my mind it has been done a thousand times already... which is why I wanted to ask the question. My conclusion is that most experienced skydivers are in denial that it happens as often as it does. But when faced with the question, they'll loosely concur that it happens, but never condone it and evade the reality of how common it probably is. Thanks to everyone, except Krip xxx He's doing his Superman thing.

So now you want to tell us how to do something else we're experienced at? You asked your original post in a daft fashion when a clear question would have gotten a clear answer, and then tried to obfuscate the message with some sort of international battle of wits. If you don't like the turn the thread has taken, then you need to bear some responsibility yourself. Communication via text medium doesn't convey subtleties. You, with all of your (IMO poor) attempts at what you see as sarcasm, irony and wit are confusing the message more than anyone. Many newbies ask a question in a straightforward manner and get a good answer. They show an attitude of wanting to learn. Within 3 posts you'd shown a completely different attitude and that's the reason you're getting this kind of response. Unfortunately it's difficult to make a 2nd first impression... And yoink gets first prize for responding exactly how I alluded to. I don't dislike any turn the thread has taken. I've got what I need, now I'm just using it for entertainment while I spend Sunday buying bathroom furniture online (boring as fook btw). And not really interested in making a second first impression as I wasn't too fussed about a first first impression tbh. Seems this forum is full of egocentric sociopaths. Which is ironic as I'm one, too, but the difference is, I'm a rookie skydiver and you lot who've replied are (mostly) experienced. Goes to show what becoming an experienced skydiver can turn you into - overly protective of the sport, uptight and rookie-bashing, and I've seen a lot of those already in real life - I tend to avoid them but I recognise it comes with the territory of skydiving - it's a sport that is well-known to attract narcissists, egotists and sociopaths - the ones to avoid are those who don't believe they're one of them. I'll ensure I stay out of those circles and stick with those who remember their roots. I've met some very cool peeps in skydiving, too. They make up less than 10% of skydivers. I suspect Chris-Ottawa is one of the cool ones. He's doing his Superman thing.

Are you fucking serious? You don't take risks but you'll make a phone call during a skydive? Jesus, stay across the pond... Are you American living in Sweden? I thought you would've sensed the deliberate irony in my statement. Not that it's completely without truth, but you did take the bait there pal. This thread is indeed becoming retarded and it's definitely brought the keyboard warrior out in all of us. Goes to show that no matter how cool you think skydiving makes us, push the right buttons, and you can get anyone tapping that keyboard and arguing with usernames on a browser window on the Internet. Now, I did actually concede the risks of using a mobile phone after Chris-Ottawa's reply earlier and I said: The problem is, repliers thereafter tend to read only the first and latest posts and miss all the ones in between and the discussion ends up going around in circles and the OP gets repeatedly harangued for things he already conceded but then got drawn into other unrelated arguments (such as the one that billvon started about mobile phones) which then causes other repliers to lambaste him further about the original topic. Frankly, it doesn't bother me and I'll likely get berated further for this post (the usual narcissist, arrogant, sociopath, whatever word is fashionable, etc. jibes) by those who just can't help their emotive keyboard tapping because they have to say something. But I do find it a little entertaining. In real life at the DZs, I'm regarded as a very safety-conscious jumper. And if I just decided to jump and make a phone call without questioning if it was safe at all, none of you would've even heard of me, yet that would be the most stupid thing to do. So, well done guys for frightening off any other novice that might want to ask a "stupid question" so they might go ahead and do it anyway without asking and get themselves killed. Bravo dropzone.com forum members. He's doing his Superman thing.

LOL - why are you (and others) replying then? That's ironic! He's doing his Superman thing.

The thing is, some of my posts have been very sarcastic or ironic (obviously I know that because I wrote them), so you're not really in a position to tell someone else they're not being sarcastic when only they can know if they're being sarcastic. To think you can is rather ironic in itself, especially as it proves all the more that you don't get sarcasm or irony. 1) I doubt I'll ever do BASE because I don't like to take risks. 2) You're right about one thing - I don't take skydiving seriously at all unlike most of the repliers on this thread. Skydiving is meant to be fun and I've ended up in an argument on here with a bunch of uptight protective egotists with too much to say and are probably part of the "superior" 1000+ jump clique on DZs that like to exclude the novices. What I do take seriously, though, is skydiving safety, hence why I posted this topic. But not skydiving itself. I do skydiving for fun, not for seriousness. 3) *clap clap* You're American and can do sarcasm. I'm impressed. Good I don't have that attitude and posted this topic then, ey? You should know "your enemy" before making such statements. I was also one of the people who developed the mobile phone technology you use now having worked in telecoms for the largest mobile handset manufacturer in the world (plus other mobile tech firms) from 2001 and probably know a lot more than you. If you can quote the WCDMA stack (PHY, MAC, RLC) and can read GSM packets at bit-level and know the 3GPP spec like the back of your hand, as well as know and understand electromagnetic theory and formulas to a level where you can apply Gauss's Law to improving the performance of an internal mobile antenna (I was taught at university by the inventor of the ubiquitous internal mobile antenna), and wrote software for Agilent base station emulators for LTE development by Samsung, Motorola, Nokia et al (4G in layman terms), then feel free to make such statements. Otherwise, don't make assumptions about people you don't know as that can often lead to embarrassing situations. #justsaying He's doing his Superman thing.

And you want to take a selfie....I guess that proves age is just a number. ^this - yet another example of when Americans don't get irony/sarcasm. No...we get irony and sarcasm just fine. You are poor at both. Don't blame that on my country. But you didn't get the 'selfie' sarcasm, and you don't get the irony in your last post. You're kinda proving my point here! And if you get irony and sarcasm just fine, why does the world believe you don't and you - an American - believe you do? Don't you see the irony in that? Oh wait, of course you don't He's doing his Superman thing.

And you want to take a selfie....I guess that proves age is just a number. ^this - yet another example of when Americans don't get irony/sarcasm. He's doing his Superman thing.

We're almost the same age The key word is 'most'. Nope. I am as narcissistic as many others, I am part of the majority. I am just less narcissistic than you. For me (and for the majority) it is enough to share one video from time to time on Facebook or similar. I don't need to call somebody midflight to make sure that they are aware that I am the coolest kid on the block. Among many other things (like considering more important taking care of that planet coming at me than a phone call) because I am not. And neither are you. That was a really insecure and narcissistic reply. Good work! I'm Batman. Hmm. I don't know anyone like any of the above. All the novice skydivers I've met (quite a lot across several DZs) are quite humble and recognize their low skill levels. But then, this is the BPA (British) not USPA (Americans). How many posts about boredom are you going to post? No one has mentioned anything about being bored apart from you. Thankfully, we don't, as you're at the other side of the Atlantic to me. But I get your point. Rather than speak to someone under canopy with a hands-free headset (even though my visual focus is still on the skydive), I should probably do something much safer such as BASE jumping off a cliff, doing a rodeo skydive with someone filming it, or even something as safe as this! All those things are apparently permitted, but a quick hands-free phone call at 4000ft under canopy is like inviting death in! Think you old-timers just have an issue with mobile phones to be honest. He's doing his Superman thing.

I was hoping someone would bring that up I do have a question: when did skydiving become so boring (especially at 80 jumps???) that we have to look for other things to do while doing it?? I guess it was when narcissism became the main reason behind becoming skydiver. But I guess you consider yourself in the minority and not narcissistic? (a major trait of some types of narcissist is that they don't believe they are narcissistic.) Dunning-Kruger effect... hmm, I wonder if I'm a victim of that... I think I'm a below-average skydiver. Does that mean I'm better than I think? I think it does, therefore I must be a highly skilled skydiver. But if I think that, then I'm probably less skilled than that. So that is my conclusion. But then that must mean I'm a good skydiver. But by thinking I'm good, I must be bad. But then that means I'm good again. Bad. Good. Bad. Good. Oh crap, now I'm f*cking confused. Can I call someone? He's doing his Superman thing.

What an absolute load of c**p, a euro problem! Gee thanks, I'm on the plane with a miss routed chest strap, but it's ok he's from Europe. My wife caught a jumper at Elsinore with a misrouted chest strap, his friends who had sat opposite him for the plane ride up hadn't noticed it. Red light on, door opens and their he is knee on the edge ready to go. Did we say it's ok he's American? Did we f**k we grabbed him, made sure he did his chest strap up to stop him becoming a statistic. Yep, the Americans on this forum are just proving how much they conform to the typical dumb American we-are-the-center-of-the-world stereotype that is well-known across Europe. I lived in Illinois/Maryland for 6 months when I was 18/19, and even at that young tender age, I was astonished at how much of a brainwashed and clichéd society it was. Most of the people I met had never even left the country and they thought Scotland was a city in England and some asked if I knew the frickin' Queen. The problem on this forum is that there's a massive bias towards Americans. I made some comments about Americans earlier in this topic in reaction to negative comments I was receiving about being British. My comments were deleted. Then Krip posts as if Brits can just go ahead and die, and the post remains up. Next, he'll be saying humanitarian aid to war-torn countries should be stopped because they don't own 65" LCD TVs and SUVs on the driveway. He's doing his Superman thing.

In just about everything, including driving and skydiving, there are various levels of skill. You seem to forget that. Some drivers are better after drinking 20 pints and then texting and skyping at the same time than others who are sober and in full control of their vehicle. Of course, I've used an extreme example, but the same point applies at all levels of distraction/skill. The quarter million in 2013 may have been very bad drivers. Skill level is a factor whether you like it or not. You really are a master of grandiose wide-ranging statements. I disagree with this statement. I think driving an F1 racecar during a Grand Prix requires more attention than a student on a tandem skydive. Hell, even a flat-flyer can fall asleep during a 120mph freefall and survive. I doubt anyone falling asleep while driving 120mph would survive. If you're going to make big statements, at least qualify them in some way. He's doing his Superman thing.

Chris-Ottawa, I've gotta hand it to you. You've explained the dangers of using a phone while skydiving pragmatically and in granular detail once again, in a way that makes perfect sense and painting a picture of a real situation. Yes, all the scenarios you raised can be a distraction, and it only takes one distraction to kill you. I think the key is to treat it like doing your first BASE jump or wingsuit flight or formation skydive or surf skydive or camera jump. Each of these requires a lot of extra planning and thought and instructors are aware and mentoring you on ensuring it is done safely and properly. A phone call dive should be no different - planned, communicated, all scenarios considered and limitations set and strictly adhered to. When I first posted this question, it was fairly whimsical in that I could just enter a call under canopy without a second thought and it would be simple. But, I now understand that it carries the same level of risks as many other types of jump and should be treated as such in terms of planning, safety, communication and limitations. I disagree with billvon's car comparison, though. Half an hour is a lot longer than a few minutes. And all skydives last a few minutes. Car journeys can last several hours without stopping. Plus, I tend to make calls while driving. With skydiving, I'm really talking about receiving a call and only answering it if under canopy and at high enough altitude. By the way, Chris-Ottawa, this is actually nothing to do with me planning to do this or getting some heat at the DZ for it at all. I posted this because I was joking with a friend about calling them while freefalling, and I thought, why not ask the question on the forum, so I did. He's doing his Superman thing.

OK, cool. Good article about cameras physically strapped to your body and used throughout the entire skydive. But we're talking about a hands-free phone call to an earpiece while under canopy here. I agree there is some overlap, but that is minimal at best. Snagging - no issue. Distraction - yes, some issues. What, though? Let's see, using your article as a reference... Trying to "get the shot" - I can't think of an equivalent in a phone call. Trying to "get the call"? Nah. Forgot to switch on - well, a camera not switched on means a video of that jump will be lost forever. A phone or headset not switched on means what? You won't receive calls for the next few minutes. Big deal. Nothing lost. Not something anyone in their right mind would fumble with for a sake of missing that all-important call that can't wait a few minutes. Especially when the caller can text or leave a voicemail. Of course, there's the "planned" phone call to a mate while in the sky. And that might result in someone fumbling to switch on their phone or headset. I agree that could be as dangerous as a camera, but 1) such people are stupid and subject to the Darwin Principle, 2) no more dangerous than fumbling to switch on an 'off' camera (which are allowed). Other than the "planned" phone call situation, I can't see any other congruence with the camera dangers. Also, on your own arguments against mobile phones, why don't we disallow cameras then? Or, perhaps we should impose a minimum number of jumps before phone calls are allowed, just like with cameras. Or maybe even have a mobile phone skydiving course, call it TS1 (Telephone Skydiving 1). He's doing his Superman thing.

Receiving a call on a hands-free Bluetooth headset doesn't require any physical interaction such as reaching and turning it on. So, your analogy doesn't quite work. Out of interest, for novices such as myself, rather than leave me guessing, could you explain what the danger is. I'm assuming it's fumbling for the on switch and then tumbling through the sky or letting go of your toggles under canopy. And please don't have a go at me for asking a question - we all had to learn at some point. Seems you just like to assume all novices should know everything about skydiving and not ask any questions, even ones you feel might be stupid. Why? Justify. He's doing his Superman thing.

The most rational and well set out objective reply on the matter. Neither condones nor disapproves of the idea, but puts it into perspective at a more granular level. I think the problem is that most people just think, mobile phone + skydiving = problem. No rationale behind it, but just driven by the "tabooness" of the very notion, probably because of the media surrounding mobile phones and driving and how the world is becoming very anti-mobile phone (ironically) in many respects, be it teenagers all looking at their phones at a party, the #selfie culture, tweeting this, instagraming that, etc. However, skydiving can be a dangerous sport if not done safely. Belly flying is probably the safest form of skydiving. If someone says they want to do a tracking skydive, do we say, oh no, that can be dangerous, it's not allowed? No. It's an accepted form of skydiving and ingrained in skydiving culture. Same with wingsuiting and formation skydiving, and BASE jumping!! All of these things increase the risk of injury/death from belly skydiving by a large order of magnitude. So... does having a quick chat to a mate at 4000-3000ft under canopy using a hands-free headset where you don't even have to touch the phone cause any real increase in danger above all the other things you are "allowed" to do? I leave that as a homework exercise for you to answer pragmatically, but try to imagine yourself in a world where a wingsuit has just been invented and an earpiece has just been invented through which you can talk to someone under canopy. You are a flat-flyer. Someone offers to give you the wingsuit (ensuring you are trained well in wingsuit flying) or the earpiece (ensuring you are trained well in canopy flying). Which is really more dangerous? It's worth remembering that on every skydiver's first 7+ jumps, they were chatting to their instructor via an earpiece. Granted this is instruction on canopy control, but I recall some banter with mine when I was doing my AFF, and I imagine someone with 1000 jumps can fly their canopy and talk to someone at the same time without becoming dangerous. But if certain measures are taken as Chris-Ottawa suggested, such as planning the skydive, letting others know, doing it at high altitude only, etc., it can probably mitigate the risk to zero or as near as damnit. He's doing his Superman thing.

Thanks for all the replies so far. Seems quite divisive, especially judging from the poll results! However, I really don't see what is so unsafe about using a phone with a Bluetooth hands-free headset. Can someone explain what the actual danger of doing this is in black and white? PS: If you're someone who performs a physical task less well if having a conversation with someone (e.g., you crashed your car once when your passenger spoke to you, or you chopped your arms off while chopping down a tree when your wife brought a cup of coffee out), then please don't answer. He's doing his Superman thing.

No! But I want to take a #selfie and send it to my friends while under canopy