softnotes

I am looking for information on Skydiving clubs that were operating in Cornwall in England in the 1990s. If you were jumping there at the time, or know someone who was jumping there could please contact me I would appreciate it. Thanks Francois

Hi Excellent to see one more person wanting to get into it! I did my first on at +-2300 jumps. Pull time on a trainer board is just like a belly deployment. Once under canopy you cut the board away so it only hangs from your toes. When you start to flare, you simply flick it off your toes and land as normal. I did my course with Scott Smith in Perris. He's a very good and patient coach. I can seriously recommend having him take you through it. It only costs about $100 which includes the equipment hire etc. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Another thing a rigger once told me is to take the pilotchute out of the pouch. This way the pouch is under less constant strain and will last a lot longer. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Come to think of it, my Dytter and alarm clock do sound very similar. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Man you sure do dislike a lot of stuff, and I am not so sure your likes are universal. I thought this thread was going to be about fun stuff like finding out you have to go for a pee right after you have put all your kit on, or discovering that the bag of elastics you just bought are about as elastic as rope. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Yeah, they're great!!! Got to have mine with my line manager, and his boss. When I was asked if I had met my objectives I said that my line manager had never bothered to set me any. It then got real funny when my line manager got a severe verbal thrashing from his boss, right there in front of me. I should at this point add that my line manager is a complete buttplug. I of course got the whole show for free from the front seat. Funny enough I got a really good review. The next one I expect to be even more fun since I STILL have not been set any objectives. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

It is a problem. I was doing a lot of camera jumping for 4 and 8 way FS teams. Logging that is dull as dishwater, so I stopped. Gave up jumping for about 8 years and had a massive problem when I wanted to start again. So I had to call up all my aquantances of many years ago and try and glean from their logbooks how many jumps I have. So unofficially I have about a 1000 more than I have in my logbook. I now try and be a bit more dilligent with my logging, and I must say the fact that Dytter now keeps a log, helps no end. Take it from me, keep on logging. It is a good thing to do!!!

When mom isn't watching we do the same. Except I take little dude to sit on the lawn and have a feast. This way the mess can easily be rectified with little more effort than a garden hose. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

If anything in a deal makes you feel uncomfortable, put your money back in your pocket and walk away. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

1. Whats your name? Francois 2. How old are you? 36 3. Why did you decide to start jumping out of airplanes? My mom wanted someone to do a first jump course with. 4. Are you single or taken? Married 5. Do you have kids? Yes 6. What do you drive? BMW 7. Have you ever done a kisspass? No 8. Where do you live? Milton Keynes - England 9. Do you have any pets? 2 Dogs. 10. How many jumps do you have? 2600+ 11. What color eyes do you have? Brown 12. What is your nationality? South-African / British 13. Have you ever dated someone you met off the internet? No 14. Favorite Movie? Brazil 15. What do you do when you arent skydiving? Work 16. Have you ever BASE jumped? Yes 17. If not... do you want to? more!! more!! 18. Do you have siblings? 1 brother 19. Where do you want to travel to the most? USA 20. What's your favorite color? Anything but brown 21. Where was the last place you flew to ( not skydiving )? Spain Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Ok, I am going to vent a little. Right, this weekend I made a classic mistake and misjudged a landing somewhat. Now, I am a cautious jumper, NEVER do hook or radical low turns, and land pretty accurately. The chief instructor at the DZ is a very safety conscious person, and has never made any negative comments about my canopy control skills. There was a lot of turbulence rolling over the hangars, and a bit of sink at the last moment had me eating dirt like it is going out of fashion. Well, I am REALLY happy to say that I got up with nothing more than a bruised ego and some grass-stains. On the way there one of the DZ operators shouts over from a crowd of mates and impressionables "you were looking for that all day". Now, this dude is like a big skygod (and I am using it in the most negative way), with the attitude to match. He's possibly much more current (although I have never seen him jump anything but a tandem rig) than I am, and better known than me at this particular DZ. Obviously to everyone looking/listening I am now guilty as charged and my credibility sentenced to death. Good on you wanker! I'll now be spending my money elsewhere and I hope you get a bunch of haemorrhoids to match that arsehole you call a personality. ....and now I feel much better

Oh man! I am reading it at the moment, halfway and nothing much is happening. Are you saying it sucks all the way to the end? Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Can anyone expand a little on the features/strengths/weaknesses of HMA2? Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Hi all I have a Saffire2 with microline and a Crossfire2 with vectan. Vectan, I am told, have benefits over microline in terms of shrinkage etc. Now should reline time arrive, whould it be possible to reline the Saffire2 with Vectan, and will the flight characteristics remain the same? Go on..... venture an opinion....

Three Colours Blue Chocolat Fried Green Tomatoes Sixth Sense Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Take up a job in IT. You can sit all day, work long hours, drink a stream of Coca-Cola, eat fatty foods and grow a huge arse. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Hi All I am in the process of setting up a Pub in England. At the moment the place no personality, and I thought it prudent to redecorate it in a theme close to my heart. So, if you have any skydiving stuff that has made history, has a good story associated with it, or is special in any way. Please PM or email me if you think this may have a better life being displayed and enjoyed in a public place. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

I also got the email. Seems a bit an the weird side. The document on the USPA websit he refers to can be found here. http://www.uspa.org/news/notices/VIGILSTATUSApril_04.pdf I think this could potentially hurt Vigil sales quite a bit. Either way I think it was a bad move to publish this letter. We can cook up a nice conspiracy theory on this one, but I won't even go there. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

0. Non-skyding friendly weather 1. Bad wine or warm beer 2. SPAM/Junkmail 3. Managers who can't manage 4. Mobile phone ringtones 5. Drivers hogging the middle lane....slowly.. 6. Line twists 7. Newspaper reports on skydiving incidents 8. People who are "politicaly correct" 9. Farts on jump run 10. When the jump is over 11. Sunday nights (except when monday is holiday) 12. Timesheets 13. When someone insists you taste something because it tastes bad 14. Etc. etc. etc..... Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Hi They generally acknowledge SA qualifications. It does however depend on your level of experience. If you can demonstrate your currency to the CCI involved by means of your logbook etc., they will let you jump. BTW. I am from SA as well and have been in the UK for the last few years. If you have any questions, please PM me. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

I agree. I am an uncomfortable 36, not quite old enough to know anything, but not young enough to be a . I am however confident than I will still learn a lot and not forget what I have learned over the last 15 years. BTW, I started jumping when my mother, then 45, convinced me to do a first jump course with her. She's now 60 and, though not jumping presently, a keen follower of the sport. She does not miss a single opportunity to hang around a DZ to talk to people and look up. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

I had a line-over, so, after trying all the obvious to get put it right I decided to chop. Looked down for the handles, did my reserve drills to absolute perfection and watched my reserve deploy. Meanwhile, a friend of mine was watching all this unfold, told me that the line came of while I was looking down at my handles. Go figure..... Well, lesson. When you decide to chop, don't hesitate, just do it. The rock is hard and coming nearer all the time. I am glad I chopped the canopy, even though it was aparently perfectly good. Last view I had of it, it was not flying , so it had to go. The feeling of returning to freefall was so good that I will in future not hesitate to chop, and may even do it for fun. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Waiting for my new suit from them at the moment, and I must say I am dying with anticipation, because their stuff is FANTASTIC!! Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

Hi I'm Francois Joubert and at present I am a contracting software engineer, I am in the process of purchasing a Pub in green old England and hope to quit what I do forever and ever and ever and..... I the meantime I just look forward to getting away from work as much as possible to spend time with my very cool two month old son and skydive. Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"

My Hornet opened anythig BUT slowly. I always felt it was a bit on the brisk side. With regards to putting a hole in the slider. I fail to see how that will slow the opening. If anything the slider will come down quicker and thus allow the canopy to inflate faster.. ergo faster/harder opening??? Blue Skies SoftNotes "That's not flying.... that's falling with style!"