Joellercoaster

BG: "No, sorry LucasArts. By a total coincidence, we named our canopy in a way pronounced identically to your intellectual property with connotations of unspeakable coolness and agility to an entire generation (who are now skydiving like no generation before them). BUT, it's actually a complete coincidence. See? It's spelled differently." Lawyers: "Oh. OK."

Yes. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I think "Lotus" is a very cool name. In fact I'm going to refer to my Pilot as "Lotus" anyway. Or maybe "Tim". Although, you just cannot go past "Jedei" in the cool canopy model name stakes, can you? I mean, what's cooler than that? Unless you go to ninjas and pirates, but that's just too obvious. (I guess there's probably a joke in there about Jedei and Sabre, but it's too early in the morning and I'm just not that funny anyway.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

If nothing else (and that's probably true), this thread has made me want to come check out the Ranch some time when I'm on your side of the pond again. *shrug* -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Personally (and IANAI) I'd suggest applying the same rule I was told when I first went to a DZ: minimum eight hours between drinking and jumping (I think this is actually law in Australia). Pot will definitely impair their reactions and judgement, so it goes under that rule too. Instructors' judgement aside, because they can't be expected to know about this, I would also never jump or do anything similar in the 24 hours after LSD or mushrooms, a couple of days after amphetamines, and maybe five days after MDMA or other ecstasy-ish compounds (assuming for a moment I were to take any of those things). Dunno how you'd pass that information onto students in conversation or FJC, though. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

My girlfriend gets annoyed at me practising my EPs waiting to board passenger planes... Spoilsport. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Actually, I was at a party on Friday night and saw a few kids who reminded me of you and your rig. They probably would, or at least maybe pick it up by mistake and wander off with it. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

"The diamond(s), Lao!" -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Only gonna help if you drop it on final -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Quotenot all that much skydiving is happening in my world (i hate british weather!) ...and that's why I'm going to Lillo this weekend. Of course, the weather gods know this, and the forecast for Nethers is pretty much perfect this Friday/Saturday, but the flights are booked and it's too late now. As to the original question, I have heard nothing more about the FFU saga than what's officially available from FFA, so why and how Dave Cowman's AFF rating went away will have to remain a mystery until I get there (and probably beyond ). Maybe he just didn't feel like paying USPA dues any more... I have absolute confidence in FFA's ability to continue as well as the previous school, and improve on it - especially since it's all the same brilliant staff, who are sounding motivated. And I'm really looking forward to seeing them this week -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

(Somewhat OT) Actually, does anyone have a picture, or a link to a picture, of any Wings container with the Yin-Yang option? I can't find one on skydivewings.com, though that may just be my defectiveness. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I know he's ordered at least one Wings for someone because Aerodyne don't do tie-dye Will be there in a week's time to measure and order, and I still just don't know. I was all set to go Icon, but now I'm leaning back towards Wings EXT. Since the whole reason (back on-topic) for my going with new gear was being a shape that made second-hand gear impossible to come by, why not go the extra mile and get a container designed for folks like me? The price difference is about seven dollars... [edit: Barry hasn't been the only person saying Pilot and Smart for canopies, though. That decision still seems sound. And I'll probably end up buying an Icon regardless, just because IMO they look one point cooler. Am I that shallow? Apparently I am ] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I dunno, sounds like you employed him to display it just fine -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This is entirely off-topic, but: clearly you don't read Bob the Angry Flower. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

He'll be measuring me for a rig the weekend after next, so ya reckon I can get a discount for dual-purpose tape use? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Getting fingers stuck in the pipe I'd almost be glad to get that much grip on the damn thing. I've had a couple of fumbled pulls already on plastic-handled throw-outs... I think it's just an impractical shape, no to mention slippery. No worries with the lightweight hacky handles though, so that's what I'm buying. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

"Why did it occur to me to borrow the rental Spectre on this jump?!" Nice post

So... out of curiosity, how did you end up with that division of labour between the G4 and G3? I'm curious about the whole decision-making process (more information is better, even about rigs I'm not in a position to buy), but in particular what makes a G3 more suitable for your birdman rig. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Skydive Lillo can hook me up with a Rainbow suit? That's worth considering, since I'm 80% sure I'll be there in about two weeks' time for a few more jumps, and won't be able to get out to Headcorn to talk to Symbiosis anyway... -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Just don't ask them about English. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Yup. As pointed out by many people here, tunnel time will fix a few things, but those aren't the only things you're trying to get sorted - which is why they won't let you jump solo after just a bunch of tunnel time. Pull Pull on time Pull stable - it's last for a reason I've never seen a wind tunnel up close, so the point was moot. But if you're one of the people who doesn't have body position problems because you listened to your instructor and practised until it hurt, then you'd be glad not to spend that tunnel money. If you're one of those people who has bad body position because freefall freaks you out and makes you tense, you won't know anyway until you get into the air. From my point of view, I'm glad I didn't try the tunnel first. I'll eventually try it when I'm doing some RW training with others, and probably not before. Since it's only a remedy for a few of the things that might give you trouble in AFF, why blow all that money before you actually have those problems? It's not *that* much cheaper than skydiving, and unless you're one of these people, doesn't sound like near as much fun - even if you're repeating a stage. Remember the fun! -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Hey, that part sounds OK. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Update on FFU: I got mail a while ago saying that Barry, Lamorna and co were starting a new enterprise called Freefall Addicts. The website is still under construction, but it sounds like pretty much the same instruction (and instructors) as before, at the same DZ. Dunno what's going on there, but I'm booking to go back in a few weeks to do FS1... I'm sure I'll hear all about the new-skool new school. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

What sweep says is worth noting. I did AFF in Spain, but still need to get my CH1 now that I'm back in the UK. My A license has to wait a little while, which doesn't bother me that much. CH1 is no big deal, anyway. And by the time you read this, BPA-aware dropzones in Spain will probably be offering it. Doing AFF in the UK, as often pointed out by others, is a bit hit-and-miss just because of the weather. There are plenty of good DZs with excellent instructors, it's just a matter of actually getting to jump when you need to. So, go somewhere else. I asked the same question a while ago, and got some good responses here. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Yup. I briefly considered getting a yellow cutaway pillow, because I have a few yellow details on the other stuff I'm buying (RW grips, rig trim tape) but nothing sizeable, and it looked cool. Now I think, having only one red thing on my entire set of kit doesn't look terrible, and has precisely zero ambiguity come freakout time. Look for the red thing, any red thing. Tear it off and pull it, then pull the silver thing. [edit: That and it'd be pretty damn embarrassing to die with a torn-off fistful of gripper, fantastically unlikely though that would be ] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?