Eiley

True in this context, but not as a blanket statement... nothing to see here

A loss of aircraft control is a very nice way of saying the airplane had no tail left. And despite the fact that the pilot was wearing a bailout rig, by the time he managed to get out he was under a grand. He was also a very experienced skydiver (1000+ jumps). As I recall, deployment was pretty much throwing the pc out the door at 500' hoping his body would follow more or less unharmed (which it did). nothing to see here

Strawman. 'Someone in need of a fix' describes 99.9% of recreational drug users as accurately as 'diseased alcoholic' describes social drinkers. It is not only possible, but very common, to have a productive, efficient, creative, profitable employee who just happens to enjoy recreational drug use or who prefers cannibis to chamomile for a sleepytime treat. And without their urine in a cup you would NEVER know unless they wanted you to. nothing to see here

Specially on 14K hop'n'pops on the sunset load... nothing to see here

An Australian publication, but may still have some handy tips: So You Want to Start a Skydiving Centre... A Guide for those starting a Parachute Club or Dropzone from Scratch nothing to see here

When I was working at Chicagoland, we had a few English guys come out and stay with us in the bunkhouse for a month or so and got their 'A' licences, coach jumps and bought gear. They had worked it out that, even including airfares and the costs of being away from home, it was cheaper than doing it in the UK. Still expensive though. If you are sure you want to learn to skydive, you can skip the tandem jump and go straight to AFF. That will save the initial tandem cost. If you are really serious, learn to pack, then learn to pack fast, then learn to pack reserves. You can definitely fund a skydiving lifestyle with packing. nothing to see here

On your Myspace page you claim: Are you sure that woman is being a 'prick tease' and not just being friendly?

Surely the only potential customers it will chase away are those who were previously deluded that the sport is safe. A lot of skydivers might argue that the sport is better off without the people who think its no more dangerous than a carnival ride. nothing to see here

I'm also fortunate enough to live in a country where free medical treatment arising from an accident is a basic right whether you are Joe Rich Bastard or Joe Dole Bludger. But, Squeak, if you are not shelling out the $55 per year to cover that helicopter ride (ie ambulance cover), then, respectfully, you are nuts. nothing to see here

In all honestly, if I was pregnant with half the bones in my body broken, I don't really think I'd be too concerned over the slight inconvenience to you of having to explain this to people. A little perspective, maybe? nothing to see here

I put out a call for a lift from airport to Picton over Easter on the Sydney yahoo group (name escapes me - Dave might be able to help) and was overwhelmed with responses. I can't imagine you'll have too much trouble.

Wow, you guys really know what's what. Between the three of you there is exactly 4 years of experience according to your profiles. You really must have seen alot. It's easy to buy into the rationalizations when you're new. Hi Chris, My partner was killed in a canopy collision (and died instantly) at age 27. He also had Huntington's Disease and we had spent many a long night figuring out what to do in the next 8 years when he started the long, drawn-out, humiliating process of first losing his mind, then the use of his body, then the drastically premature death that was absolutely 100% guaranteed for him. Will you accept my assertion that it was better he went the way he did? (Oh, and I had no problem whatsoever with operations at the DZ carrying on as normal). nothing to see here

A pair of Ray-Bans when I forgot I was wearing them for a hop'n'pop. I've only ever bought cheap sunnies since, and the uglier they are the longer I seem to be able to not lose them. nothing to see here

You know, I totally thought I could, and would've sworn black and blue that I understood the dangers of the sport and accepted them. I read the incident reports, had seen some nasty accidents, watched the videos. If someone told me then "you can never understand until you see it happen" I would have scoffed at them, assuming they were simply big-noting themselves. It wasn't until I was holding the hand of a far more switched-on and competent skydiver than me while the first response team pumped on his chest until blood came out of his ears did I realise that I'd been kidding myself. And yeah, it totally made me question continuing jumping. (However, I have to agree with grasshopper - although I wish Paul was alive today, I'm glad I saw it rather than being told about it). I don't think its such a bad idea to show videos of the real deal to A-Licence candidates. Understanding intellectually just didn't compare to the real thing for me. nothing to see here

Unfortunately, not until October (tell you cousin to change her wedding! ) Moruya boogie would normally be held end of Feb, but there are rumours that it may not run next year. Other than that, keep an eye on the APF Calendar as it gets updated ETA: Oooh, just took my own advice and looked at the calendar... Pre-Nox / Equinox / DeTox is not just a rumour... it's in there all official-like! Only 365 sleeps to go!!! nothing to see here

That is unbelievably awesome!!! Congratulations to all.

Yeah Baby You gunna pick m,e up from the airport at Xmas

The Nox? ROCKS. I went to the inaugural one in '94 and again to the last one in '04 and I plan on never missing another one again! They are two of my Top 5 boogies ever (and I go to a lot of boogies! ) Squeak and I managed to never meet each other because I was going to bed each day just as he was gearing up for first load... He was right though... party as much (or as little... they do have a quiet area) and jump as much as you like. There was one complaint that nearly all of the 400+ participants had last year - it finished too quickly and everybody had post-boogie blues. Rumour has it that Nox '06, in response to this complaint, will last 3 weeks - Pre-Nox, Equinox and Detox. nothing to see here

Damn! Thanks for wasting the rest of my afternoon! (Previously unaware of DZ Comics...) nothing to see here

"If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of MEAT?" nothing to see here

The second page of that leaflet is even better: http://www.furisdead.com/pdfs/mommykills.pdf "Do you have a puppy you take for walks or play ball with? Or a kitty who likes to chase string? Everyone knows that it’s fun to love and play with our animal friends. But how would you feel if someone took away your kitty or puppy, stomped on their head, and ripped their skin off their bodies?... keep your doggie or kitty friends away from mommy—she’s an animal killer!" Gee, kids, traumatised much? nothing to see here

My DZ has an AgCat permanently available to jump from, but it does have seats for two jumpers. Both jumpers can climb out at the same time and walk to the wing tips.

Well said Squeak - my thoughts exactly. nothing to see here

I think it's funny. nothing to see here

Too right.... 'specially with the free beer thrown in. I'll be there. nothing to see here