eyeinthesky

joe kittinger jumped from a balloon in 1960 for the military over new mexico. it was a major event for space research. without that jump, who knows if spacesuits wouldve been created and tested adequately for the '69 moon landing. that guy must have a wheelbarrow to carry his balls on! look up the time magazine article from august 1960, very interesting reading. speed of sound freefall! never let anyone in your will pack your chute! hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

i agree. theres too much concern anymore for how things are worded. people who concern themselves with what to call their mates are probably the people who call garbagemen "waste disposal engineers". being "proper" sucks, leave it to the british! haha never let anyone in your will pack your chute! hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

i am 26 and ahve 11 jumps through static progression, into 30 sec delay. i get nervous every time i go up and the thought had crossed my mind too that id quit "after this one" too, but i keep going back. seems i get more nervous each time in a way, kind of feel like i cheated death the last time and it will catch me sooner or later. but, statistically, its no more dangerous than driving. statistics show driving 10,000 miles a year poses the same risk as 17 jumps per year. at my rate, my driving (especially mine!) and my diving are equal risks. last week as i was suiting up, a first time student didnt follow directions and slammed into the building and got a ride on the ambulance. then on the plane up, i was to be 3rd out the door. first jumper jad to use reserve, then boyfriend jhumped out to check on her, and he had to use the reserve. then i was up. after all that, i still didnt let it bother me. i get tense on the ride up, not scared. once out the door, the only worry is whether i'll pass my required tasks. havent had to repeat a jump yet. it would be bad if you didnt get scared early in your jump career, i figure. it is instinctive, and theres a difference between courage and stupidity. stupid jumpers dont worry about anything. you worrying suggests to me that youve thought about the risks extensively and probbly therefore know how to handle them. happy leaping! never let anyone in your will pack your chute! hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

everyone jokes a bit at our dz in KY. ive never done a tandem but was watching our new instructor get ready with the other TM. he said to the other TM's student, "when the parachute finally opens, you'll feel a big jerk, but dont worry, that's just jim". i about fell over. and i remember on my second jump a first time student messed with the JM. we were boarding the plane and he looked at the JM matter of factly, pointed to his reserve cord (static liner), and said "so, when i let go of the strut, i pull this?". haha, he caught the JM off guard, im sure the students rarely pull one on the instructors. everyone at a DZ has to have that kind of sense of humor, uptight people arent the kind of people who jump out of planes! never let anyone in your will pack your chute! hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

reading a previous post, it seems drop zones come and go. how common is that? i have 11 jumps at a dz thats been there since '69. i'd hate to see it ever go, its one of 2 in the state, and theres a lot of great people there. i am just wondering why they close, i guess. is it because the owner wants out to retire and no one offers to take over, is it legal disasters over accidents, is it FAA shutdowns, or is it unprofitability? thanks never let anyone in your will pack your chute hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

i am new at this too, with only 11 jumps. i went through static progression. it sounds hard to do considering what we are doing, but relaxing is really the key. once i let go of the strut, no matter what the instructor told me to perform, the only thing i worry about is getting stable. let go, and thrust your pelvis as far forward as you can and make sure your legs are back (that got me until an instructor went out behind me and told me what i did wrong). once stable, everything is pretty easy to accomplish. then i just have to worry about the landing ( i hit the target perfectly first time off radio and have never hit it since, not even close, haha). like already said, just enjoy the ride up, take in the view, crack jokes, laugh at the funny stickers in the plane, and give everything one last check before leaping. my last jump i had a slight turning problem like you mentioned also. i just lifted the corresponding arm a bit to turn the opposite direction. if youre that tense, you cant tell how funky a position youre holding your body in! never let anyone in your will pack your chute hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!

I'm new to the sport with only a dozen jumps and still a student, but I was wondering why experienced jumpers often choose to not use an AAD? Especially after reading the fatalities reports, seems 2/3 of them wouldn't be printed there if the jumper had a functional AAD in place and turned on. When I buy my first rig, it will definately have one! hey, i was stupid before stupid was cool!