mcrocker

All you can eat buffet SUYT Rate 'em

If they are disabled/semi-disabled, old enough to be vietnam vet. I give them $5-$10 and thank them for everything they have done for this country. If they are young enough to get a job I ignore them. I have offered jobs to young homeless people but they never show up for the interview. I'm not going to work extra hours so they don't have to. If they have a closing pin necklace I take them to the nearest DZ and buy them a jump ticket.

Nah, When you set your Cypress tell it your landing area is 1000' higher than where you are setting it from. The Reserve will pop at 1750 feet instead of 750'. Just make sure you set it higher not lower or you'll make an ugly hole. For 100 Million I would do it. I trust my equipment, if I didn't I wouldn't be jumping it.

Once on AFF1, weather moved in so I couldn't jump, rode the plane down. Once on AFF3, I got scared and wouldn't leave the plane. Once around 120 jumps, I didn't like the look of things from the air. Lots of cloud cover, didn't know where the DZ was. I let the other 3 people in my 4 way go. They barely made it back to the DZ Once around 200 jumps, I rolled up the door (Cessna 206). Looked out and had to give a major correction to the pilot. This to a pilot that is normally dead on. I gave him '20 left'. He responded by putting the nose toward the ground and landed faster than I've ever seen. Once we landed he said there was a warning of a severe thunderstorm in our area. A couple minutes later it came ripping through and flooded/destroyed most of the DZ that wasn't nailed down. Thank god I didn't jump out. It is kinda fun to land with the plane. Some pilots are crazier than skydivers. They really like to show us what they can do.

I stayed in the plane on my 3rd AFF jump. It was my 9th jump total (5 tandems, 1 solo drouge, 2 AFF). My jump master (Nikki Fagen) at The Ranch got up and asked me 'Are you ready to skydive!?". I wimpered a response 'yeah....'. She asked me again wanting a hoorah!. I gave a slightly less feable response. As she was walking toward the door I smacked her on the ass and told her I wasn't going to go. She double checked and when she was sure there was no way in hell I was getting out of the plane she sat me down, buckled me up and rode down with me. At no time did she ever make me feel bad. She was sure it was something she did/didn't do or said/didn't say. She was upset because she thought she scared me out of the sport. I was at The Ranch with a bunch of other friends. I watched them make 3 AFF jumps during the day. I sat and watched, slowly feeling better about my decision. On or around Wednesday the following week I called up The Ranch and signed up for some jumps. I asked the girl on the phone to make sure Nikki knows that I am coming back and I want her to take me up again. Long story short, I finished AFF about a month later. 5 years later I'm at 300 +- jumps with my D license. I stayed in the plane a second time on my 120ish jump. Looking out I was not confortable with the spot and clouds in the area. I didn't know where I was even though the very experience video/staff jumper on the plane assured me I was in the right place. I stayed in and rode the plane down. I turned their 4-way into a 3-way. They weren't too upset... That was at 100+ jumps. Don't ever feel that you 'have' to leave the plane. If you are not comfortable just let the others jump and ride it down. I think I was more scared coming down in the plane that last time than I would have been if I jumped. The experienced video guy barely made it back to the DZ....

There is no cloud.... It is all just evenly distrubuted industrial haze. Sometimes the industrial haze is so bad you can't even see the ground on jump run. Sometimes the haze forms big clumps that look like clouds BUT THEY ARE NOT. You aren't supposed to jump through clouds after all! Jumping through industrial haze is sometimes unavoidable ;)

That is all well and good in theory, but what happens when the exit funnels and the runway lights turn off. The last time I looked the thing on my left hand didn't have marking for NSEW on it. I think 180 deg off of formation center is still a good decision. I knew where the other jumpers were. I tracked away from them. What good would tracking N be if the other jumper thought he was tracking E but was actually going N. It is a lot easier to remember 180 deg from formation center than it is to look down, locate the airport (very hard when runway lights are off) then turn in the approriate direction and track. The initial problem was this jumper was NOT ready for a night jump and brain locked down to 2k feet. Setting up complex tracking rules just for this one jump would have made matters worse. I don't have anything against people who for whatever reason WANT to jump at night. But why should the USPA require someone to jump at night if they aspire to become a Tandem master or get their PRO rating. I have yet to see a night tandem. Maybe the USPA could have a 'night rating'. I know Steve Woodford 'owns' the night and does big way night dives. More power to him. It seems the whole night jump requirements for the D license came about over a late night sitting around a bon fire back in the 70s. Everything else for requirements revolve around safety and/or demostration of basic skills that are required for normal skydiving use. Night jumps are not normal skydives.

As always, consult your local rigger and your AFF Instructor. Ask questions, listen to the answers and give time to digest the information. You have plenty of time to make a smart choice on a rig. Don't feel the need to buy a used rig that might be forced on you. There are plently of used rigs on the market, if you take the time you can find one that is perfect for you. Personally, I bought a new mirage after about 40 jumps without a main. I demo'd PD 190s for a bit and settled on my PD Spectre 170. I'm 165lbs so about 1:1. I have been very happy with it. I went new because I didn't want to buy somebody elses problems. I wanted to be sure everything was in perfect condition. I was scared, asked a lot of questions and have been happy with the results. 250 jumps later I'm looking at trying another canopy but it will fit in my existing container. I bought the smallest container that would fit the largest canopy I needed to fly (190 F-111). -Matt

Fear, shock and sensory overload. It wasn't hypoxia. He was just freaking out, got it together for a bit in the plane and lost it again when we left. I didn't have the 'authority' to 'ground' him in the plane, he wouldn't have listened to me even if I tried. He should have rode the plane down but then again, At a small DZ you get your night jumps when you can or you don't get them at all. You are right though I shouldn't have jumped with 'D'. The problem is, nobody wanted the job of doing a 2 way with 'D'. We all decided to make it a 4 way because we figured the 3 of us could keep him under control. I never figured he would completely shut down. That is why I think night jumps should not be a requirement for a D license. The jumper would have never done a night jump if he didn't have to. And the stigma of someone walking around with a 'lowly' C license after they have 200+ jumps makes people want the D license. Essentiall peer pressuring people into getting the D, the night jumps and a scare of a life time. I recently got my D license, I have 290 jumps and have all of the requirements done since 210 jumps. The only reason why I got it now was because the requirement is moving to 500 jumps in a month. I was constantly being asked 'Hey dude, get your D yet?' 'When you gonna get your D?' 'Gotta get your D if you plan on doing tandems, AFF Instructor ..' Honestly, I love working with new jumpers, I think I would love becoming an AFF Instructor and possibly a Skydive U coach. It seems silly that I needed to make 2 night jumps in order to get that privledge. The idea of being a Tandem master scares the crap out of me. I'll leave that to the experts ;p -Matt

Night jumps were scary for me. 1st one was from 5k feet out of a Cessna 182. I did a couple front flips before getting stable (purely intentional ;). Landing was pretty good in front of a bunch of headlights. I was *very* awake and never saw any other canopies in the air until I landed. That is the scary part. I couldn't see *sh!t*. 2nd night jump Plan was for a 4 way + video from 10k out of a king air. I was to give the count. The king air was full so we decided to let 1/2 out do a nice slow go around and jump out on the 2nd pass. The airport runway lights are triggered by the pilot when he 5 clicks on the radio. They say on for x minutes (not sure how many). In the plane on the ride to altitude one of the members of my 4-way has 'shut down' all glassy eyed, non-responsive. I shake him to get his attention and ask 'Are you ready to skydive?' He gives a feeble response. I shake him more and ask again. He gets upset and pushes me away 'I'm fine, leave me alone...' Ok, I say lets get to the door and check the spot. No one leaves until you have seen the runway... Video guy at the door, looks, spots, points to the runway. Jumper A looks, spots, sees the runway. Jumper B looks, spots, sees the runway. Jumper C (me). I look, spot, see the runway Jumper D (shutdown dude) still up by the pilot. We all yell at him to come down. Jumper D looks, doesn't see shit Video guy, looks, points, points, points, D still can't see it. Spot is getting LOOOOOONNG but we have screaming uppers so we'll be fine. Jumper D still looking, can't see it. Just about to call for a go around and D says he found the runway (way behind the plane at this time). Video guy asks 'Are you sure you see the runway?' Jumper D 'Yes, I'm fine lets go'.... Climb out, video out, A, B, C out, D in the door taking chest straps. I check the video, see nothing but a BIG ass light shining back at me. check A, B, D, Ready!, Set! Go! .... funnel, 4 way breaks apart. I dock on jumper A, B & D stay together, video guy is getting us from above. Forget the 4 way lets just burn this 2 way down. That is enough to meet the requirements... The plan for break off was... Video dumps in place at 5.5k 4 way breaks atd 5.5k and tracks D dumps at 4.5k C dumps at 4k B dumps at 3.5k A dumps at 3k At 5.5k Me an A turn 180 from center and track away. I track down til 4, look, wave, pull. Nice chute, where the f am I? lights all on, strobe flashing, where is the airport? Can't see the runway. Shit, we took to long, the runway lights have shut off again. I'm hanging out over Walmart!!! wholy shit that is on the other side of town!!. Turn to the airport, I see the rotating white, green light at the airport. Good I'm heading back now. Looking down I see I am moving across the ground. The uppers are cranking. 2k over the highway, 1k over the potato field, downwind, base, final, nice and square. Land in the peas! woohoo!. I do a head count. I see Jumper A & B, Look up for Jumper D and video. I hear video come down (he has a whistle). He lands, and should be the last one down. Where is Jumper D? Everyone freaking out. nobody saw him open, nobody saw him land. Where is he. We all start driving around looking for him. 30 minutes later he shows up, turns out he landed in the Industrial park. Apparently Jumper D doesn't remember leaving the plane. He remembers turning away and tracking. Then while in freefall he sees someone track, wave and dump. Thinking he was going to hit the jumper below him he curled up into the fetal position. He didn't recover until below 3k and dumped at 2k. He couldn't make it back and landed in the Industrial park. We drove by the next day it was trees and powerlines everywhere. I have no idea how he didn't hit anything. He doesn't remember tha plan and the fact that he was supposed to be dumping at 4.5k and should have been sitting up under a deploying canopy as he passed through 4k. He nearly killed himself and/or someone else on the jump. Luckily nobody was hurt. I swore off night jumps that night. I'll never do them again. I'm glad I did my two and I have my D. Personally I think it is stupid to require 2 night jumps for a D license... In short, night jumps are scary. Make sure you and everyone on your load knows what the plan is. Plan your dive and dive your plan! -Matt

TurnersFalls MA? That would be the French King bridge (Rt. 2), pretty damn big and high. I know someone who flew a bird dog (Single Engine, high wing tail dragger army spotter plane) under it once. I know someone who BASEd off it (Hi Willy). He didn't get any video because the videographer was filming the skinny dippers when he heard the chute open.

I always thought the standard procedure for a double mal was to track into your rigger...

Nope, not kidding. I can't quit because I own the company. I need the insurance to cover loans for the bank. I might be able to get away with normal insurance that will cover me as long as I don't die while skydiving. If that is the case I'll have to leave instructions on my canopy to remove my rig upon impact and place me on the highway or something. I'm working with an agent and I'm trying to get a skydiving and SCUBA rider so I'll be covered no matter what happens. I have 50 employees to look after as well so it isn't as simple as walking away.

I need to get about $1M in life insurance for myself (company requirement). Does anyone know of a good insurance company I can use that can handle a skydiving rider? I also SCUBA so I'll need a rider for that as well. I'm afraid that if I can't get insurance coverage while I jump I'm going to have to sell my rig and plant my feet in the ground.

280:1 The :1 was ALL my fault. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

What about climbers that climb el Capitan then BASE off of it. It isn't trespassing to climb the mountain but jumping in the air surrounding the mountain is trespassing? Why is one sport legal and the other illegal?

Anything is possible. If that was the case then I'm a big schmuck because everyone was in on the joke. It sure as hell looked real. Everyone was expecting him to auger in. If it was a movie stunt I would like to see if it ever made it on film. I know his helmet was fully powered up, not just props. The wing was very nicely formed around his rig and had its own cut-away system. If it was a fake someone put a lot of time into building it. There has got to be someone from Eloy on this board that remembers it. I don't do drugs, I swear!

100% certain. I saw it in person. I was sitting next to him on many rides to altitude. He was in the front of the skyvan facing back sitting in the middle. The wings fit in the skyvan. He had the pods on the wings and some hard plastic fins for his boots. I went a couple days early to Eloy and made a bunch of fun jumps. I think Omar shot the video for him but it could have been Steve. 100% guarantee that there was a guy (blond hair, coming from California) jumping a Red, fiberglass hard wing with boot fins and jet engines from the back of a SkyVan in Eloy. He had a digital alti installed upside down in his Shoe motorcycle helmet and a mirror for a heads up display. On his left forearm a bunch of switches to control the engines. In one of his hands he had a trigger for a throttle. I never saw him jump with any fuel or with the engines installed running but he did have the pods hanging under the wings. I did my airspeed skills camp in November of 2000. So it was a week before/during that camp.

A couple years back I went to Eloy for Airspeed camp. There was a guy who had a 8' red wing with 2 80lb thrust jet engines attached jumping out of the skyvan. I don't think he had the jets installed just the pods at the time. A motorocycle helmet with heads up display and throttle, arm switches to control the jets. Everyon called him Buzz Lightyear. Does anyone know what happened to him and his wing? Did it eventually become the Red Bull wing that Felix flew? His plan was to light the engines in the plane !!! jump out and be able to fly around for about 30 minutes before running out of fuel. I remember seeing a video of his main deployment. The pilot chute (spring loaded) just bounced off his back for a while before getting clear air. I can imagine a 8' wing span makes a huge burble

It will end when we are all walking through airport security butt nekkid. We will then be given a shot, fall asleep and move stacked in the plane like cargo. Flight attendents will be replaced with anestethiologists (sp?) to make sure the passengers stay asleep. Just think of how many people they can fit in a plane when we are all crammed in like luggage. I think all future planes should not have a door between the cockpit and the cabin. Make the pilots enter the cockpit from outside the plane. Either that or give all passangers guns and make the plane bullet proof

Hrm, My 3 yr old dive table says max no decompress time at 35 feet is 139 minutes when breathing compressed air. I don't have a nitrox chart handy but it would be longer. So, my original post was about 1 hour off. 139 minutes at 35 feet puts you into pressure group V. It will take you 2 hours and 48 minutes at sealevel to release all of the built up nitrogen in your blood and put you back into pressure group A. A safety stop at 15 feet is still HIGHLY recommended. The point is, if you remove pressure too fast you will boil your blood. I don't think climbing to 25k in a plane climbing 1k feet/minute is 'too fast' but it is something to be concerned over. prebreathing O2 will reduce the nitrogen that is in solution in your blood and reduce your risk of getting bent. Symptoms of the bends can be very subtle and not noticed initially. Continued exposure can compound the problems. There is a lot of medical information on tissue absorbition rates relating to SCUBA and nitrogen absorbtion. Some of that information is relevant to high altitude low pressure exposure.

There are two issues really. 1) O2 levels in your body as you gain altitude you take in less O2 and your O2 level drops. Breathing pure O2 or O2 enriched air helps with that. Low O2 can lead to black outs, grey outs and hypoxia. 2) depressurization. Under pressure gases (O2, Nitrogen, etc) are more readily absorbed into a liquid. As you release the pressure the gas is forced out of the solution. (think soda bottle) If you do it slow enough your blood supply can absorb it and return it to your lungs. Do it too quick and you create bubbles which can collect in your joints (bends) or in your blood supply (cardio embolism). Getting bent HURTS A LOT. It can cause permanant nerve damage and even kill. A bubble in your blood is almost certainly lethal. You can reduce the risk of getting bent by prebreathing pure O2 at ground level (increasing O2 and decreasing Nitrogen) or you can decrease your pressure slowly. If you went from sealevel to the top of everest in one day you will more than likely die even if you were breathing O2 on the summit. Take a look at some SCUBA charts. If you spent 1 hour in 30 feet (2 BAR) of water breathing compressed air. You cannot just shoot to the surface without getting bent. You need to surface slowly (1 foot/second) and a safety stop at 15' for 3 minutes is highly recommended. I don't have my diving charts handy so the numbers/timing might be a bit off. The difference in pressure from 30 feet below to sealevel is one atmosphere. What is the difference in pressure between sealevel and 25,000 MSL ? A plane in a large formation going up high for a big way may climbe slow enough for the nitrogen in your system to release without a problem. Symptoms of the bends can go unnoticed for days

Same thing as Skymonkey. I check my handles, actually touching them in the proper order, hacky, oh shit, and plan B. Check my connections points (leg, leg, chest) and look/spin my 3 rings on EVERY dive. The thing on my back wants to kill me and I REFUSE to let it. I know it will the first chance it gets!

My 6th or 7th AFF jump.... Running to the plane, finishing up my gear with my instructor.... Hop on the plane, get up to 12k. AFF instructor gives me a gear check and a thumbs up. I look down and notice my chest strap is misrouted. I whacked my instructor (he who shall not be named) and pointed. He freaked out and fixed it up for me. I learned then and there never trust anyone for your own safety. You are responsible for your own skydive. I do a gear check before I put it on, after I put it on. when I board the plane, at 5k feet and 9k feet and before I leave. Pin checks at 9k (Airspeed drilled that one in). I know I'm anal but I do it every time. If I miss one I still have 4 other ones that will catch a mistake. If this sport is going to kill me I sure as hell don't want it to be for something stupid.

Been there, done that. Had the exact same thing happen to me last year. Dove out of a 182, dumped unstable and had the bridle, lines, spaghetti, pile o' shit wrapped around my right leg. Luckily the bag spun up so much the main never came out. I cut-away and went to reserve. I landed under a nice clean reserve with the mess still attached to my foot. Bag still had 2 of 4 locking stows intact. Scary, I don't know how I would have handled it if I was a student. -Matt