tbrown

tbrown recommended it.... as did one of my brothers... I was also impressed with the stealth, AND technique that they used, to run that line from one twin tower to the other. The logistics of running a bandit operation like that are daunting. Just scouting out the rooftop, let alone getting the cable up there, strung and stabilized is a story in itself. We LOVED this film so much that my wife snapped it up the moment she saw it in some DVD sale bin. So now we can watch it anytime we want ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

The student with three canopy cutaways in 30 jumps didn't respond well to the friendly approach. Maybe I'm not hearing things right, but why is everyone fixating on this student's status as a student ? (It also took me something like 34 jumps to get off student status, back in the day.) What concerns me is why this student has had 3 cutaways in just 30 jumps. Who does his/her packing ? Are there stability problems ? Are these real malfunctions or just a very nervous student ? What kind of a student operation is this place running anyway ? It's not unheard of for a student to have a mal somewhere in their student progression, but three ? I'd be concerned about ANYBODY who was running a 10% malfunction rate, let alone a student. If nothing else, I'd give this student an attaboy for having the sheer determination to stick with it ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well, you all make some valid points. But I had so hoped to see a picture of Ghadafi's body hanging by his heels, or neck, ala Mussolini. He's more than just an asshole, he's an international terrorist. He personally gave the order to carry out the Lockerbie bombing. I'd just hoped that his own people might be able to do what not even Ronald Reagan could - kill the fucker. Anyway, here's hoping fuel - and jump - prices start to come back down. I mean, WTF... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Moamar Ghadafi has almost got Libya back under his control now, it might only take a few more days. While the west does nothing. Ghadafi says the rebels will be "forgiven", which might mean a speedy execution with an AK-47, but I doubt it. So what has the west been doing ? Well, we've frozen a lot of his bank accounts, that's nice. Oh, and France officially recognized the rebels as the legitimate government of all Libya, very nice indeed. But impose a no-fly zone ? Well.... that's "difficult", i.e. expensive. The Europeans won't do ANYTHING expensive. Hell, they allowed the slaughterhouse in Yugoslavia to go on for years, while they sat back on their asses sipping champagne. The U.S. is feeling a little tired from prosecuting two wars already and we should feel sick and tired of having to stand in for the fucking Euros every time they won't lift a finger. But we're going to allow the Bomber of Lockerbie a new lease on life and probably a lifelong hold on power. Just like we're standing by while Saudi troops move into dubai to quell pro-deomocracy demonstrations there. I suppose the tradeoff is that we might (or might not) see prices at the gas pump return to a more comfy level. It's disgusting. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And if it had entangled with the bridle, it's still very likely that you would have had a reserve deployment. Thats one of the reasons for the free bag system. I've since discovered that the main pilot chute was damaged badly enough that I've replaced it. There had to be enough friction heat going on to light a camp fire up there. It makes me even more thankful for the freebag system and for how short square canopies are, compared to how long rounds are. If this whole thing had happened with the rig I was using thirty years ago, I'm thinking the round reserve may well have been trapped and/or too severely damaged to inflate. Bummer... Safe skydiving is still more than just modern gear - but modern gear is SO much safer. Now if they could just cook up something new to prevent or cure the PCIT altogether ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

As a lot of these people have said, you're lucky to have got your first cutaway behind you so soon. I know one or two people who have gone over 2000 jumps without a cutaway, one is even close to 5000. Luck them. But they still don't know what you know - that it's quick, it's easy, and IT WORKS ! However, with only 15 jumps, I also recognize that you're at that early stage of the game where the ride up on every jump probably still scares you. Having had a malfunction SO early in the game doesn't help, as your survival instincts are screaming at you, "Look you've only done this 15 times and already had a malfunction !" That and I'm sure some of your friends and family have told you you're crazy and going to die. Best thing for you to do is to keep jumping. You didn't mention whether you do your own packing or not. I'm not talking trash on packers, but would urge you to do your own packing as a confidence building excercise. You will develop an intimacy with your gear, even if you're renting. You'll be more involved in the process, you'll LEARN more than you would if you leave it to a packer, and feel more in control. Good job with your first cutaway ! Now get out there, do your own packing, and jump as much as you can ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I don't know there should be a BSR change just for the sake of avoiding the huge project that changing a BSR always turns into. I do know that Bill Booth is right on the money, that things have changed, and when it comes to altitude and working time under canopy, they have not changed for the better if you intend to take it right down to the letter of the law (BSR). First of all, I'm grateful that the USPA Board shot down a proposal last year to raise the minimums. Secondly, I know better than to argue with Bill Booth, who I have boundless respect for, even if he is only human. I think we're mostly on the same wavelength. I didn't see anything in your post that I fundamentally disagree with. Personally, I have always pulled at or above 2500, even in the good old days when "pairchutes wuz carved out'n wood". I'm appreciative of the general tendency to pull and breakoff higher, with "standard" breakoffs on most loads at 4500 and most people, myself included, pulling between 3000 and 3500. Raising the minimum to 3 grand for A license is another good thing. But I have a major pain in the butt when a good friend, who has over 300 jumps, WHINES about wanting to break off a 4 Way at 5 grand, because she's not comfy with 4500. and then, when we grudgingly give in, because she is our good friend, she goes wonky and breaks off at 6 grand on us anyway, costing us at least two more points (that's right, count 'em - TWO MORE POINTS) we could've safely made. I say bullshit. I'm not asking ANYBODY to even pull as low as 3 grand. But on my PCIT mal, I was waving off, hadn't even extracted my p/c yet, as I fell through 3 grand. I had a high speed mal, evaluated my situation, acted and was still under a good reserve about 3 inches above 2 grand. I rest my case. I don't like going much below 3 grand. I'll do it in a larger group. I'll do it if I'm told to on a 30 way. I'll do it if that 30 Way funnels and there are people tumbling every which way. And I probably won't ever go anything larger than a 30-40 Way load, because I'm not comfortable with an assigned pull below 2500. But if the people WANT to do 100+ Ways, and some of them NEED to take it down to the 2nd Floor, then by all means, God bless 'em. But I do think a whole generation of AFF kids (young & old) have been BRAINWASHED into an unreasoning fear of being in freefall below 5 grand. Those of us who started with static line at 2500 and our first freefall at 3200 know better. I'd love to find the LIFE Magazine cover shot of the World Record 24 Way round star completed at Perris in 1971. That baby broke off at 3 grand ! Talk about old school, yeah baby !! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think in practice most people have raised their pull altitudes to 3 grand without being told to, usually because today's canopies take longer to get their nice soft openings. I also came up in the days of rounds and early generation squares that opened faster - and harder, when pulling at 2000 - 2500 was common. Even in those days I was pulling just under 3 grand and people used to ask me what my problem was, that I was maybe being just a little "paranoid". We didn't have AADs or RSLs in those days, nevertheless in 1980 I chopped a streamer malfunction and was still under an open reserve by around 1800. Nowadays I pull a little higher. My pull alarm is set for 3 grand and usually goes off as I'm hitting line stretch. On larger formations (anything larger than 8 or so), I'm perfectly happy staying in my track down to 3 grand before even clearing myself and I'm still sitting in above 2 grand. I recently posted about a pilot chute in tow mal that I had. I was tossing my p/c right at 3 grand, and was still under my reserve a foot or two above 2 grand, even with that high speed problem. There is no question that the lower you go, the quicker you need to be on making a decision to keep or chop a canopy. I don't think anyone has a problem with an opening that's an obvious piece of shit, we're usually grateful to be rid of the thing and under a reserve just as fast as we can. The malfunctions that seductively LURE us down are the "low speed" mals; the hung up brakeline, spun up canopy, the misfired brake. We're fooling ourselves when we think they're "easy" to fix. I've been there, I've been STUPID with a spinner, which I managed to clear at a lower altitude than I had any business being. It happens a lot faster than we'd like to think. I think the phrase is "spending the rest of your life" trying to fix something, when you should be giving it ONE try and then going to your handles. From what I've heard from people at Perris, that poor woman took her problem down too low and simply ran herself out of options, and NOT because she'd been instructed to pull below 3 grand. On another subject, we used to have AADs that fired at a grand (I'm thinking of the Sentinel). The reason the activation altitude was lowered was to give us all the freedom - and the responsibility - to save ourselves. AADs fire as an INTERVENTION, after we have clearly failed to save ourselves. That's how it should be. Our sport is NEVER going to be completely safe and anyone who thinks it should be is in the wrong game. We CANNOT make the sport any safer by endlessly raising the minimums, because gravity, the ground, and human error will never go away. Be smart, be safe, and leave it be. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I was not aware that one "gives up" anything for Fat Tuesday. Mardi Gras, Carnival, or whatever you want to call it, is the last BLOW OUT before Lent, which starts tomorrow (Ash Wednesday). I'm not giving up a damn thing tonight, though for Lent the wife and I are going to make a go of no alcohol again this year. We've done it before and it's a good reality check, especially for two people from Irish and Scottish families. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Not nearly so dangerous - or inconvenient - as punching a line stretch crater in the ground in front of a bunch of tandems and their families. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Truthfully, I never even think about it. I like having a snug feeling to my harness before leaving the plane. Then after opening, I just collapse the slider, pop off the brakes and negotiate the traffic back to the dropzone. I'm not a swooper or a crewdog, to me my canopies are just the ride home so I can jump again. That doesn't mean that I don't take canopy courses, nor do I fly on auto pilot. I'm just more of a freefaller is all. Finally, I don't pull the slider down either. I have tried it and I have noticed better performance. But I don't like the hassle, and especially don't like the way the slider interferes with my peripheral vision, especially as I like to jump with fairly large formation groups. I'd rather sacrifice a wee bit of performance to keep an eye on everyone else. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I think it's a good thing for a beginner to practice. So, it may not be quite the wild ride of a real life misfire, but then again Jan is calling attention to the possibility of creating line twists. The object of this excercise is not to induce a real life choppy-chop, but to give some appreciation to the feel of a spin and seeing just how quickly altitude is lost. I had a real life misfire several years ago with a Spectre canopy that induced a violent spin. It was my fault, a packing error that destroyed a toggle keeper. But it was so disorienting that it took me a moment to remember to pull both toggles down - which cleared it immediately. But the altitude I'd lost shocked me, lesson learned. And by the way, pulling hard on the opposite rear riser did NOTHING to help. Considering that a woman with over 2000 jumps lost her life last week to an apparent brake misfire, this is NOT a malfunction to just be shrugged off. It has to be fixed or chopped, and quickly either way. Any kind of training to approximate the feeling is well worth it - even for those of us who think we're "experienced". Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

You can probably get better canopy performance using your rears, but your arms won't be able to hold out for long, it's hard work. Pulling down half brakes and hooking your thumbs into the harness is recommended. Remember, you want to able to flare for your landing, so don't wear your arms down to jelly. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Why not - besides, it's protected free speech. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

I go to an elderly Korean barber. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Does anyone have some diagrams of these old rounds ? I'd really like to see them. I remember when 4 Way and 8 Way first came in back in 1977. At the time I was a hundred something jump novice and thought of sequential as completely beyond me (my, how the learning curve has changed - for the BETTER). So I knew teams were sequencing, but didn't really pay attention to what the routines were. Then some years later of course, the block system came in. Sure would like to see what these dive rounds looked like, maybe even try a few for grins. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Surplus B4 harness/container was $55, a 28 ft. 5TU tie dyed cheapo was $65. Surplus 24 ft. reserve from Midwest Parachute was $125. My first altimeter was $40. Spent about $50 on a "style" jumpsuit, maybe $35 on a Bell helmet, and a whopping $55 on a pair of French paraboots. And I was good to go ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Holy geez, that must be why there's a mob in tank tops and tight shorts in our front yard ! They've been rocking out to Queen all morning. My wife and I have been awfully careless telling so many people about our 30th anniversary coming up in April. Where is Bill Clinton now that we need him ?! His vision and courage in defending the institution of marriage in the face of an election year has been an inspration to us ever since he signed DOMA in '96. At least the moaning from under his desk was a throaty female moan.... Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Agreed. Perhaps the way to go then is for Congress to formally declare that a state of war exists against any and all pirates on the high seas. Furthermore, that the penalty for piracy will be the sinking of their boats with no attempt to rescue the survivors. The big mistake is that western nations have been catching and releasing pirates for the past several years. Probably because they don't want the trouble and EXPENSE of transporting them to Europe or the US and imprisoning them for so many years. Keep in mind that prison costs more than a Harvard education. So the pirates are holding hostages for YEARS at a time, and now are wantonly shooting them. It's time to put a stop to it by upping the ante to a death penalty on the high seas. Put a shell into their boat and sail on, the sharks will clean up for you. If the bastards surrender, a quick Captain's Mast proceeding will put some semblance of legality on the hanging to immediately follow. And yes by God, HANG them. What would you do for an alternative ? Bomb the towns where the pirates live, killing women, children, the elderly and other innocents ? When you get the bastards on a boat, on the high seas, they're PIRATES. Fuckin' kill 'em. And remind people with yachts full of Bibles of the risk they're taking sailing into these waters, most pirates can't read anyway. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Well it's been ten years and a lot happens in a lot less time than that. You only have to screw up once for real consequences. I'm not so ready or so quick to throw words like "hypocrite" around either, it's overused and usually in a malicious context. I am glad the cops got her off the road. Driving at 0.24 suggests a real problem that's been going on for quite some time. Now it's time for her to QUIT and I hope she can find the inner strength to do it. In the meantime, thank God that nobody got hurt, or killed. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Seriously, this arresting them and taking them to stand trial in the U.S. is bullshit. I don't know if modern warships even have a yardarm anymore, but they must have some kind of crane devices. some TELEVISED hangings at sea, with a complimentary copy streamed on the web straight to al Jazeera, might have a deterent effect. Piracy on the high seas should be punished with swift and sure hanging, followed by throwing the bodies overboard with a bucket of chum. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Every jump, on the ground. I not only open the flap and look, but I tug a little on the cable to watch the swaged ball move up & down in the handle. I climb out in floater positions a lot and want to be very sure about my pins ! Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Interesting article and interview. though I object to categorizing Shannon as a "victim". We all know what we're doing and Shannon was no exception. Just wish I'd met her sometime. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

Legalizing the killing of anyone is unconstitutional for the simple reason that it deprives a citizen his/her rights to due process under the law. Due process is something we've even accorded to the likes of Charles Manson. To permit the killing of law abiding citizens who engage in a lawful practice that is protected by an entire body of case law is a blatant violation of their civil rights. Time to send in the FBI. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

And yeah; how was that 10-way? We did very well, finishing with the Bronze Medal against two formidable Gold & Silver Medal teams - just 4.9 seconds behind the Silver team. This was a 10 Way speed event; all that crap about flying your slot before taking grips is for another day. HUGE fun ! I tried to post a picture AND a vid of my cutting away the main, but have had no luck with either. Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !