annna

CONGRATS AIRKIX!!!!!!!!!!!! You are my heroes hurrah!!!!!!!!! looking forward to buying you all a beer on the weekend (if u can still face booze ... or was it a nice quiet party .... ;-) Anna xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ah but Hib is also about a three hour drive from London and petrol is not free !!!! Weston has no bunkhouse but you can camp, or make friends with someone who has a spare bunk in their caravan ! There is a showerblock, nice ones, boys and girls. Bar open Fri, Sat and Sunday nights. Fri jumping... Lots of good people around to teach you FF, FS n wingsuit. That or just come when its cloudy for archery n minimoto competitions ! also, it is military but you don't have to call anyone sir ;-0 c ya, anna

We just got back from an awesome Easter boogie at Empuriabrava (Spain) and did lots from this phenomenally stunning Beech KingAir (who knows!?) but looked like the prev picture and went like a rocket. You could also, as has been mentioned, get practically the entire load outside with huge step and float handles. Wild plane i want one. No ideal if its a permanent feature at Empuria or not i';m afraid .... but jump one if u can ;-0

Back when i'd just done my first 'one-off solo skydive in Oz' (aka AFF level 1) 'You may as well do level2, its only half the price of level1...' Closely followed the next day by second best piece of advice... 'Hey you've basically paid for the entire course now, you may as well finish your AFF....' Abso-bluddy-lutely ! ta to Rick n Pete, Goulburn, 1999 ;-0 ap x

Funny - we were talking about a related theme the other day - that being we wondered what the average wingloading was for girls v boys of the same experience level. Here in the UK, at least, the girls generally have far more conservatively loaded wings than the boys. I think i'm fairly representative and have 700 jumps on a sabre 135, loaded at roughly 1 but i have many many male contemporaries of similar jump numbers but at least 20 or 40 lbs heavier on far smaller canopies. Reckon its a fairly common theme ...... ??? anna

Perfect; that makes excellent reading - thank you. I shall agree to JM my next load with renewed enthusiasm ! cheers, anna

Regarding: GPSs are so cheap now. Saw one for under $70 today. Why not just have one attached to the plane interior near the door reading out groundspeed? Groundspeed tells you how much time to give the previous jumper before you exit. Sooner or later jumpers would get used to using groundspeed numbers to time exits. Some jump pilots are really aware and will caution the jumpers about really low groundspeed and the need for long delays between exits, but they seem to be the exception. That sounds like one of the most practical solutions to this problem i've heard so far ..... ? In lieu of that, does anyone know of some kind of decent table which gives a rough guide to group spacing based on groundspeed, or better yet - you can look up your jump plane and the windspeed that day and look up the advised time to leave between groups. ??? If i had something like that to refer to it would make me a much more confident jump master i'm sure. And in time, i'm sure i would cease to rely on it and would instead have taught myself something damn useful for the rest of my skydiving career. if i'm talking nonsense please excuse me, haven;t jumped since i broke my ankle before Christmas so feel decidedly rusty !!!! anna

hey there ! I'm 30 years old and i got my braces two days before the Nationals .... !! But we still got a medal so don't worry - you'll be fine !! But you'll have to learn to drink more to take away the pain over the first couple weeks ,,,,,, that's my excuse anyway for being rather conspicuously ill and then passing out about 10.30pm at the big after Nationals piss up !! hurrah ! braces are great - a conversation piece plus you get to try out all colours of elastics one day pink the next turquoise a la mode darling blue skies, anna (born again teenager i like to think) ps i wear a Z1 and it's absolutely fine in freefall ;-)

When i didn't get the A level grades i needed to take up my place in medical school many people told me to join the army and i'd get it all paid for no worries. I didn't go that route cos i know i could never go out and take part in armed combat. Years later i went crewing on a tallship and discovered the simplest way to engage in a career at sea was to join the marines. I didn't cos i knew i could never shoot someone should war break out. I've always been jealous of the military assault courses, the gruelling exercise and training stuff you get to do - i sign up for toughguy type races for fun so i can get wet and frozen and haulass through streams and up hills in vile conditions - i'm a freak but i love that stuff. Now i skydive and i;'m jealous that the military guys get all their training free and get to jump for almost half the price i do. I watch them get their ratings and make loads of cash and be on the dropzone 24-7! BUT i still don't sign up cos i know i could never go out to the desert and follow orders to shoot a fellow human being. Basically, i'm a pacificist sandal wearing vegetarian who doesn't believ in killing. Of course, i'm priveleged enough to have been brought up in conditions where those comfy morals haven't had to be challenged. BUT, bottom line is, you don't sign up for the privileges - you have to accept they're softeners for the reality that you may be called up to fight for your country - to give and take life. If this story is in any way correct, then this woman is a disgrace. but it's a friday afternoon, i had some beers with lunch and i am a bit pissed, laters xxx

Aha ! You are a star. Thank you! Basically your O is what i call a bust .... i.e. lose 2 points. And the J is an NJ much like over here too. In fact, knowing my scattiness, it could well be written as an O here in the UK too and i just never noticed ,,,,,,,,, ? ahem. anyway - thanks lots. Airspeed must've been reallllllly gutted with that round huh .... still, way to go Majik !!! glitch won't let me see the jump ;-(

errrr thanks but it was reading those tidbits that left me with the question !!!!! obviously i didn;t read them thoroughly enough ?? ho hum anna

A question - having just belatedly caught up with your US Nationals ... what is the difference between an O and a J ? Over here my understanding is we have busts (X) and NJs (not judgeable from the video provided). But what's this O ?? ta, anna

It was a very wierd feeling hearing this report (about the arrests) on a Radio 1 news bulletin earlier - a real stop-you-in-your-tracks kind of thing. I don't know much about our own British legal system but wondered how much evidence they need to actually arrest people. I imagine they need some evidence, to back up a suspicion of murder, in order to make the arrests ? I just find it hard to imagine what that evidence could be..... Or do they just need to establish a motive ?? Does anyone have some knowledge that could help me out ? I also feel caught between feeling relieved they're making some progress, and (as someone else mentioned) concerned to make sure the right people/person gets punished. Severely. Gruesomely. And thoroughly. oooopss i'll stop now ;-) anna

This article is in the gear section of this website - so i guess you already read it - but i think its a decent summary of a lot of the stuff in this thread ... anna Facts about the "Reserve Staticline Lanyard" Posted Thursday, October 15, 1998 By Relative Workshop Facts about the "Reserve Staticline Lanyard"Lately there has been a big push towards the use of the reserve staticline lanyard (RSL) for experienced jumpers. Most proponents of the RSL have only been dwelling on the positive aspects of the RSL without considering the negative consequences. The Relative Workshop wants to educate each jumper regarding the pros and cons of the RSL system so you will be able to make an informed decision about this popular, yet controversial modification. For those of you unfamiliar with the RSL system, a short description is in order. The RSL is a simple lanyard connecting one or both of the main canopy risers to the reserve ripcord. In the event of a main canopy malfunction, and following a successful breakaway, the reserve ripcord is pulled as the main risers depart with the released main canopy. In essence, the RSL indirectly connects the breakaway handle to the reserve ripcord handle. Unfortunately, this simple lanyard can easily complicate a routine emergency for those who are more than capable of handling the problem manually. The RSL has gained much of its notoriety through its use on student equipment. The RSL is ideal for students because the probability is high that a student might breakaway from a malfunction lower than the recommended altitude, and delay longer than necessary before deploying the reserve. Having the reserve deploy in a unstable body position, while far from ideal, is preferential to not having the reserve deploy at all. Waiting for the AAD to fire if the breakaway is extremely low is a chancy situation at best. For these reasons, the RSL is quite compatible for student gear and most instructors would probably agree! RSL's work great on tandem systems as well. The tandem instructor really has his hands filled during a malfunction so the speedy deployment of the reserve is a big advantage. Stability after a breakaway is generally not a problem as the tandem pair have inherent stability qualities due to the positioning of the passenger and tandem master. If the tandem master has properly prepared the passenger's body position, a tandem breakaway has a greater potential for instant stability than a solo breakaway. Both student and tandem jumps are carried out at higher altitudes and rarely involve other jumpers in the same airspace, minimizing the chance of canopy entanglements which can complicate matters severely. RSL's and the experienced jumper - Pros vs. Cons Remember, the RSL does one thing and one thing only: It will activate (providing it does not physically fail) the reserve container following a main canopy breakaway. That's it! Now lets talk about the disadvantages of the RSL. 1) Most jumpers don't realize that utilizing a RSL correctly requires changing their emergency procedures. Why? The reason is simple: Most RSL systems offer the ability to disconnect it from the riser. If it's disconnectable, then there will be situations that may require a disconnection before proceeding with the breakaway. An obvious one that comes to mind is a canopy entanglement with another jumper. If one or both jumpers have an RSL and they mindlessly breakaway without considering the consequences, they might very well find themselves entangled again, possibly for the last time! Canopy entanglements are happening more frequently now than ever before due to several reasons: A) More inexperienced jumpers engaging in larger RW formations. B) The recent popularity of ultra-fast zero porosity canopies. The result is: Skies crowded with more inexperienced jumpers flying faster canopies. Emergency procedures for systems fitted with RSLs would change in the following manner: Before the breakaway, you must ask yourself (considering your present malfunction) if an immediate reserve deployment will be in your own best interest. If not, the RSL must be released before proceeding with the breakaway. NOTE: Anytime the RSL remains active during a breakaway, the jumper should automatically plan on pulling the reserve handle anyway just in case the RSL connection fails to activate the reserve container for whatever reason. This lack of awareness regarding the need to back up the reserve pull manually is an increasing and disturbing trend among some of today's jumpers. 2) The average jumper will take more than several seconds to analyze and determine if the RSL disconnection is necessary. This can obviously consume valuable time. No doubt the average jumper would be better off handling the emergency manually by pulling both handles, which is not a difficult task. 3) Lets examine the cause of malfunctions in the first place. The biggest culprits are improper packing and rigging, or bad body position during deployment. (Bad body position can be defined as shoulders not perpendicular to the relative wind.) It's almost impossible to be stable within the first second and a half following a breakaway from a malfunctioning high performance main canopy. Therefore, the typical RSL user is most likely unstable during the reserve deployment. Instability causes malfunctions and allowing the RSL to open the reserve container for you will increase the chance that the reserve canopy will malfunction as well. One might argue that this would be a rare occurrence, but why would an experienced jumper take the chance? Some would consider this an unacceptable risk! 4) CRW enthusiasts, for the obvious reasons mentioned in point 1, do not want or need a RSL. For those that have one, it should be disconnected prior to boarding the aircraft on a planned CRW jump. 5) Freefall videographers should never jump with an active RSL system. The last thing a camera-person needs is the reserve deploying while they're unstable. Just recently in France a fatality occurred when a RSL-activated reserve canopy entangled with the jumpers helmet-mounted camera equipment. 6) The RSL will not work during a total malfunction of the main container, and do not assume that it can take the place of a functioning, properly calibrated automatic activation device. An RSL is not an AAD. Summation The RSL system was developed over 25 years ago and found its proper place on student equipment. Due to the fact the skydiving community encounters several deaths each year attributed to the "no-reserve-pull-following-a-breakaway scenario," we have many individuals who feel the RSL is the answer for the experienced jumper. Our belief is quite simple: If every jumper had a RSL, then the amount of RSL related deaths each year would be many more than we now encounter with no-pull situations. Naturally we have tremendous concern whenever someone wants to take a simple, 3-handle system and turn it into some complicated apparatus in an attempt to make up for the inadequacies of the poorly trained or ill-prepared jumper. We believe if you stick to the basics, constantly rehearse your emergency procedures, and assume you'll have a malfunction on every jump - you'll be much better off. Remember: The RSL is not a safety device for experienced jumpers because it takes more time to operate it correctly than to pull the breakaway and reserve handles manually. Now that you have been presented with the all the facts, we hope you'll make the right decision for yourself regarding the RSL. If you would like to have a consultation on your personal skydiving equipment needs, please call Relative Workshop at anytime during the hours of 8am - 6pm EST. We have a highly experienced staff of riggers and instructors who are anxiously awaiting to assist you. If we don't have the answers to your questions, we probably know who does! Remember, we're here to help you make the right decisions concerning your skydiving equipment and its proper use. Send comments or questions to [email protected] Copyright © 1998 The Uninsured Relative Workshop Inc. Reprinted with Permission

Ahhh !! You must be the same Tom Buchanan that so gallantly lent me your rig when i was at the Ranch in May with no riggers seal on my rig (and thus couldn;t jump it) ?? You saved my trip ! Hope i left you with not too bad a packjob ;-) Thank you for the extra stats - shall wow and confound friends and family with my new statistical armoury ,,,, ! kindest regards, anna