Tinystiletto

In most of our daily activities there is an assumption of safety, the roads are statisticly 'safe', cops are on patrol to ensure compliance with laws to highten that perceived 'safety' etc etc. A drop zone has none of that. It is not 'safe' to skydive, it never was and never will be. If you are the type of person that will sue after an accident then you shouldn't be assuming the risk of making a jump. You should accept the fact that you are unwilling to take the risk and stay on the ground. That would help the skydiving community in a huge way. The legal aspect is not interesting to me, what I find interesting is the moron that wants to blame 412 people for an accident. IF YOU DONT GET ON THE PLANE YOU WONT HAVE A SKYDIVING ACCIDENT. You have that control, use it well. Jazz

Thats funny, I thought I was the only one who enjoyed a rolling look at the sky above before deploying.....8)~ Jazz

You got me there, hmmm.... Jazz On second thought, It is unethical to blame others for a situation that you put yourself in. Even more so with all the financial devastation that could result.

If the TM makes a mistake, the student can avoid it by not getting on the plane, if a packer makes a mistake, the jumper can avoid the risk by not getting on the plane. It would be great if we could get past the 'who's to blame' game wouldn't it?. Whatever the nature of the accident the jumper holds final responsibility, the jumper can just go bowling instead, thus avoiding the humans who make mistakes. If a new jumper wants to make a jump he/she should be aware of the risks involved, I was aware BEFORE my first jump that I might not live through it. I had read and signed a waiver, researched the subject and had decided that I would accept the risk. If a first time jumper doesn't know the risks they should not be on a plane, period. as always this is just my opinion, most of my opinions are not accepted well by the general public, but its not my fault, maybe my parents were mean to me, or maybe I had a bad teacher, or maybe it was society, or......you get the point I'm sure.....lol Jazz

How would that apply to a student on a first jump, or a tandem passenger; people who simply don't have the knowledge and experience to understand the risks in the first place? Do you believe that a tandem master or AFF instructor has an obligation to such people? Here is how it applies to first time jumpers and tandem passengers, If YOU are not willing to take responsibility for yourself, then dont jump. If you feel that some one else should be held accountable for YOUR actions then DONT JUMP! Skydiving is not 'safe', every jump involves risk. The only way to 'eliminate' that risk is not to jump. So, if you are not willing to accept that risk, then dont jump. Dont whine at the TM, the AFF guy or the DZO, just dont jump! If the concept of taking full responsibility for your own actions is strange or just doesn't seem right to you then dont jump. I hope that clarifies my opinion, Jazz

How many people can you blame for an accident at the drop zone? There's always the obvious ones, DZO, DZM, S&TA, the person that sold you the canopy, the person that sold you the shoes you were wearing, friends, Family, Some one who may have thought that you might be jumping a canopy that could be too small for you. etc etc etc. How about being a little creative? Shouldn't the guy who you bought your car from have known that you might drive to the DZ and possibly get hurt? How about the guy that told you to wear 'sturdy shoes'? If you had been barefoot your wingloading would have been less, and that could have saved you right? Or the weatherman who said it would be a nice day, he should of known that would cause you to head for the DZ right? If YOU are not willing to take responsibillity for yourself, then dont jump. If you feel that some one else should be held accountable for YOUR actions then DONT JUMP! If you are worried about the 'image' of skydiving and dont want the accidents to have a negative impact on the sport, then find one of these jumpers who blame everyone but the jumper for an accident and GROUND THEM. Find the jumper that doesn't know you cant do a 180 at 50 feet and ground them too. Or, take care and make sure YOU know what YOU are doing. Be aware of the risks and use YOUR head. Make up your own mind what risks are acceptable and which ones aren't. Make that decision and live with it. I feel a little better now,..lol..... Jazz

The link posted by Relyon is very good. Excellent reading! Thanx Jazz

The person jumping the rig. You can of course avoid the problem by packing yourself. Jazz

I stole this from one of Mr.Vons posts from the other day. It fits very well here. Can you land in a 10 meter circle reliably? Turn 45 degrees in the flare? Flat turn 90 degrees at 50 feet and land safely? Land with rear risers? Land in no wind, crosswind, downwind? Land on slight uphills and downhills? Jazz

I have had the same experience, I demoed a 120, a 107 and a 97. The 120 didn't have the low end lift that the 107 does. I dont know why. I jump a 107 now and load it at 2.0. I can sink it in or swoop it, great all around canopy and the openings are schweet. Jazz

Now this is an interesting thread...lol... 1. If I had been jumping at a DZ for 1 year, nevermind 7, and didn't see anything remotely familiar when I looked out the door, guess what?.....no jumpy. 2. If you need a guarantee that you will NEVER land off, or if you need a guarantee that every spot will be perfect, dont get on an airplane. 3. I dont think many injuries can be blamed on a bad spot. There are a few cases (mostly involving water) where a bad spot is to blame. I believe there is much more to an injury than the spot. The choice of where to land, the choice of which direction to land, the choice of canopy and the pilots ability probably have more to do with a botched landing than the spot. 4. As for the jerk yelling at you in the door, him, him, well you get the picture. Jazz

USB 2 is even faster than firewire. If you have a newer mobo it probably has the USB 2 interface built in. Jazz