vt1977

Yep - I use skype and I LOVE it.

They can take out temporary BPA membership - unsure of the cost but it is only valid for a month. Otherwise, the only option (unless you are German!) is full BPA membership. Crazy, I know. Vicki

If you want to jump at any BPA DZ (unless you are German - long story...) you have to have BPA membership which costs ~ £113 per annum. Spanish insurance is an option for jumping outside the UK though. hth Vicki

Happy Birthday Regan!

If it's not the early hours in the morning after a monster drinking session and there's no ice in the pool then it doesn't count!!!!!!!!! Have an awesome day! Vicki

Happy birthday! I hope you have as much fun on your birthday as I had on mine. Wish I could be there to drink a cocktail with you! Vicki

I have fly from the UK with a rig approx 5 times per year - last year I travelled from Luton, Heathrow and Gatwick and I always take my rig as hand luggage. I was only once (at Luton, a couple of weeks after the 7/7 bombings) even asked about my hand luggage - most of the screeners seem pretty well trained. I produced the Cypres card and CAA letter and was informed that it was the airline's policy not to allow rigs as carry-on. I stood my ground, asked to speak to a supervisor and made them call the airline who confirmed that I was indeed allowed to take my rig as carry on. That is the only problem I have ever had in several years of always taking my rig as carry-on.. My advice: Make sure the rig is in an appropriate sized/protected bag. Ensure that you have the CAA letter (because you can then counter any argument - politely of course - with "well, the CAA don't have a problem with it, look here...") and Cypres card. DON'T mention that you are carrying a parachute unless asked! The chances are that you won't be asked and your bag will simply be screened and you will be sent on your way. If you are asked, answer all questions in a helpful manner. If you raise the issue, you are likely to encounter problems! I have flown out of the UK with BA 3 times in the last year and never known them to weigh my hand luggage (in fact my hold luggage was something over 35kgs going to Spain last time and they didn't seem to care...). Good luck! Vicki

Happy Birthday!

Why?! Vicki

Me! I LOVE skype. I bought a USB skype phone on ebay for around £10 ($18) and the call quality through that is awesome. I bought skype phones for lots of my friends for xmas and now we all talk for free! Vicki

:20:1 20 minutes tunnel time on Sunday with friends to celebrate the 12th anniversary of my first jump!

1 in 1175 Jump no. 1156 - total malfunction. Vicki

Sorry... did a direct copy and paste... then remembered... now *******-ed out! Sorry! Vicki

ITN Article Base jumpers in Park Lane **** stunt 2.13PM, Thu Feb 2 2006 The ***** has launched a probe after two men risked their lives by base jumping from the roof of a 28-storey hotel in London's Park Lane. The jump was captured by a passerby, who, ironically, was scouting Park Lane for the next James Bond movie. Base jumping involves parachuting from tall buildings and structures rather than a plane. *****, the ******* and ****** have all been targets for base jumpers. And this is not the first time such an incident has happened at the *****. In 1992 a similar attempt ended in tragedy when base jumper Darren Newton fell to his death parachuting off the hotel building. **** Lifestyle Extra Article Base jumpers leap off ***** Hotel Thursday, 2nd February 2006, 12:21 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - Two daredevil base jumpers risked death after leaping off the top of the 330ft high ***** Hotel in London's Park Lane. The unknown pair's astonishing stunt was caught on camera by a film location manager taking shots for the new James Bond film Casino Royale. Astonished Charlie Somers, 35, was walking past the 28-storey building when he spotted the men parachuting past the Windows restaurant and bar. He said: "I just heard this almighty whoosh. It was like someone had just set fire to a whole load of petrol, a huge crack above my head. It was unbelievable "I looked up and saw the first man sailing down, land on the grassy area outside the hotel, calmly gather his parachute and walk over to his car. "Then the next man leapt off and he must have fallen about 100 feet before he pulled his parachute out - it was amazing. They jumped right off the top and at first I thought may be they had not paid their bill in the Windows restaurant or perhaps the food had been really bad. "I have been in the film business a few years and we have shot some exciting scenes but this was really something else. It was such a dangerous thing to do but both men were so calm - they just gathered up their gear and sped away in the waiting car. "I could not really say what they looked like because they never took their helmets off and it was dark." Mr Somers, from Clapham, south London, said he would love the chance to base jump himself. He said: "I know it's dangerous but it must be so exciting. I have to take my hat off to these two guys. I have bungee-jumped and done a parachute dive in the past and would love to have a go at base jumping." Base jumping - parachuting from high buildings, cliffs and mountains - became a popular extreme sport in the mid-eighties. Fourteen years ago, Darren Newton, 25, was killed when his attempt to base jump from the roof of the ****** went wrong. Londoner Jason Rooney was killed when his parachute failed to open trying a 25 storey jump in Sydney in 1993 *** Pic from the ITN article attached. Vicki

Pic and another article here: http://www.itn.co.uk/news/britain_1335195.html Vicki

Link here. No pic though - sorry. Vicki

Together with full page picture. Sorry, no access to a scanner. Vicki EDIT BY REMSTER: guys, feels free to post links to reports, even if THEY name the sites, but do not name sites in the forum. Thanks

I can't believe no-one's mentioned it yet! Phish Food of course! That and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough... Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Vicki

None!

I seem to remember, off the top of my head, that the maximum recommended exit weight was 165lbs. Vicki

Well... I eventually had my first reserve ride on jump number 1156! Vicki

That's like saying that the best travel insurance policy for a skydiving holiday is the cheapest one. In fact that's not the case because insurance in any area is not a question of whether or not you are covered : what's vastly more important is what you are covered for. There are substantial differences between the things that are covered under people's individual German insurance policies and the things that are covered under the BPA's group policy. My understanding is that the DFV policy for the average experience jumper with no ratings (the one costing €59 per annum) provides perfectly adequate insurance. As we were told, Germans are insured such that they and not their association ae responsible for their actions. If there is an accident involving - say - a collision between a German skydiver and a British skydiver, the German's insurance would pay up. In the case of a German dropping something on an expensive car/plane/building, their insurance would pay up. The only possible area that I can see where the BPA could conceivably face a claim is if an experienced German jumper brought a claim against an instructor. How likely is it that an experienced jumper would have reason to bring a claim against an instructor??? I hate to be a cynic here... if I were the BPA's insurers, I would also be keen to ensure that the policy remained with them, on their terms! The fact that everywhere else in the world gets by on considerably cheaper insurance says to me that we are getting horribly ripped off somewhere. Can you give me a scenario in which this might occur? Genuine question... I can't see one. And who are also taking our money year on year. It realy disappoints me (and I think most BPA members) that we pay through the nose for insurance which is considerably more expensive and provides less cover than any other country I know of and BPA Council don't appear pro-active (maybe they are, but if this is the case they are keeping terribly quiet about it!) in looking into the option of obtaining our insurance elsewhere in Europe or re-structuring in some way... Are you aware that in Spain, for example, their annual dues are LESS than ours, provide a high level of cover throughout Europe (possibly also US, but can't quite remember) and also pays for private healthcare if you are injured in a skydiving accident in Spain. The Swedish have a similar deal. By comparison what do we get? For more money per year we get a decent level of cover in the UK, a pointless level of cover abroad and no chance of anything like private healthcare in case of an accident. I might have a lot more sympathy with Council members once insurance options and structures from all over Europe had been considered. Everything from using a Spanish/Swedish/German company, to adopting a system whereby instructors pay more for the increased risk of litigation they face (and frankly - as an aside - why shouldn't they pay more? I don't get paid £35 per jump at the weekends. If you're making money, you should be prepared to pay more insurance), every possibel option should be investigated and presented to the membership. Perhaps followed by a consultation period and a vote on what is best for us, the whole membership. I get really fed up with the numer of people on Council with a financial interest in the sport. Many hold ratings, so of course they're not interested in paying any more when the rest of us can subsidise them! I'm not saying that there is an easy answer, or that I have it, but I would like to see all of these options investigated rather than just a blanket "our insurers and Council know best" when I see us paying more and getting less for our money than anyone else in Europe! Rant over! Vicki

In the past I have bought them from both the Kit Store and DZ Sports. hth!

There are some quick tests on the BBC website to gauge your level in 4 languages. Check them out: French Spanish German Italian Post your scores! I got 12/12 for German, 10/12 for French and 5/12 for Spanish. I didn't even attempt the Italian test...

Personally, I'm glad the vote went as it did and we should extend it to allow any jumper who has valid and adequate 3rd party insurance (cover greater than or equal to BPA membership) to jump at a BPA DZ. You say that the vote will make BPA membership go up next year. I really don't see why it should for so many reasons: - We have no claims history involving German jumpers on BPA DZs. - The fact is that they are insured, so if there is an incident involving them, everything is covered. - In fact, in the case of an incident involving a British and a German skydiver, the BPA insurers would end up paying LESS than they would for two BPA members because they would only be paying one set of costs. And finally, we all enjoy trips abroad and being able to skydive on our BPA insurance all over Europe. We can't expect this to continue if we refuse to extend the same courtesy to skydivers from other countries. A step in the right direction, IMHO. Vicki