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For the UK, as best as I can remember ('cos I can't be bothered to look it up at www.bpa.org.uk) FAI membership (to prove your licence level) Membership of BPA or home country if it provides insurance of £1m (I think, it may be a litle less but it's a lot) - however USPA is NOT recognised as insurance in the UK. Medical form (under 40 and in good health you self-certify there and then, above 40 you need a doctor's signature). Generally a logbook or proof that you are current. Reserve card for your gear - 6 month reserve re-pack (not sure if the BPA recognise longer re-packs for countries that allow 1 year). If packed by UK packer then it will also have an "MOT" form stating what was checked, reserve pull force, serial numbers etc. You must jump with a reserve, which is packed by a qualified reserve packer/rigger or foreign equivalant. If the gear is grounded in the UK then you can't jump it. AADs not mandatory (individual DZ may have local rules requiring AAD). ALL jumpers in the UK have to wear suitable headgear (frappe hat is the minimum required - but you have to 200 jumps to use one). Oh and I think the BPA also required you to wear shoes for a jump (though no other clothing is specified). Good links to a local witch doctor to stop the rain, winds and clouds long enough to jump Blue skies Paul

Having jumped a a few DZs in multiple countries, the rules around the world are fairly standard for being charged. Experienced (licensed) jumpers make the call about the weather for themselves. If you chose to get on the plane then you pay regardless of if you jump. Students under the command of instructors are not considered able to make the decision themselves. As always there are a few exceptions to this rule, the most common being that if the DZ calls you back down then you don't pay. Many DZs/countries have wind limits, and if the wind goes over these limits while you are on the plane and you are then re-called it is not your choice and so the DZ adsorbs this cost (nb to the OP turbulence is does not mean winds over limits on the ground so this would not count). However for clouds etc you are expected to be as able as the DZ to see the weather coming in, and so you make the choice to get on the plane or not based on what you can see. Aborting for clouds and getting a re-fund is rare. The other big exception is competitions. Any FAI competition runs by the same rules - which state that when called by the DZ you MUST get on the plane or score a zero. HOWEVER, you may refuse to jump on the grounds of safety (which can include cloud cover or winds), and you will not be charged for this. Of course, if you are not happy with the conditions it is generally better to tell the meet director first so as to avoid the cost - but if they still tell you to get on the plane and have a look when you are up there then you have to get on the plane regardless. Blue skies Paul

You should be able to get temporary BPA membership if you are only there for a week or so, however if you are staying longer then you will need full membership (and it's not cheap). Aside from that all the usual stuff (logbook, etc) are needed, but the CCI (Chief instructor) should recognise your US qualifications assuming you are current. The only issue may be if you do not have the international (FAI) licence, in which case you will have to get the UK version of one. To get different levels there are certain pre-determined tests that need to be passed (packing, canopy control, spotting etc). If you can prove that you have already achieved these then there SHOULD be no problems - but everything is always under the CCIs discretion. Blue skies Paul

From the OP's language I'm guessing he is not American. In some countries the pilot (and possibly the skydivers) were correct in their "go". In many European countries jump planes and pilots are cleared to fly into and through clouds. At many European DZs the green light means "pilot is ready for you to jump when you are ready" - green frequently DOES NOT mean "jump now". The actual go/no go is up to the jump master/spotter. The actual rule depends on the drop zone. As such the pilot may have broken no rules etc (although you can argue that if in a country where jumping through cloud is not permitted then the pilot was not very smart to run in through cloud). However in some countries it IS LEGAL to jump through cloud, and the green light MAY mean "jump now". In which case the pilot and jumpers would be correct in saying "go". That being said - if you are not happy to jump do not allow peer pressure to over rule your better judgement. This is just one of the reasons why it is important to know what the local rules and customs are BEFORE getting on the plane - not every DZ or country has the same rules and standards. Blue skies Paul

In the Skelaton in Whistler they are pulling over 5G on the last corner (so I read), and they are laying down and lifting their head up. Do you really want to have a big heavy helmet on with that G loading? it would probably do more harm than good. Also, if they came off it would not be a direct 90mph impact with the ice (in which case it wouldn't matter what helmet you had), rather it would be one at an acute angle. There is also no reason to think that the Olympic athletes are any less vain than Skydivers - and the Z1 looks the best and is one of the most aerodynamic of the available helmet IMO.

I have also had a few floating reserve handles (8-way exits with the person in front of me doing a strange kick as he left the plane), which resulted in people discussing if you should go straight to reserve or not (I pulled my main with no problems). I suspect the discussion is partly due to the fact that the "text book" is typically what they teach to students and that may not be what people do once they become more experienced. I can understand that for a student the best training option is frequently to teach them one response to as many problems as possible. If the reserve handle is out, then pull the reserve. This removes potential issues such as the student pulling their main, seeing the reserve handle is out when they get low and then cutting away too low - or just not seeing their reserve handle is lose and knocking it while playing under canopy etc. Blue skies Paul

Also for the UK you must either join the BPA (not always the cheapest option, but you can do temporary membership) or if you are not a UK national, you must prove that you have 3rd party insurance up to either £2m or £5m - I can't remember which. USPA licence would be valid, but it's insurance would not. Other European countries may accept USPA membership for insurance. Blue skies Paul

There is more than one type of velcro-less toggles and like most things some are better than others. The ones I have, and have jumped for about 600 jumps are very good (PdF). The 2 main styles I have seen are ones with a pin (similar to a pull out closing pin) that goes through the cats eye, or ones with a large hard fabric point that goes through the cats eye. The pin ones (PdF) are good, and are not likely to be pushed off by the slider. The fabric ones I don't like so much. Not only can they be pushed off by the slider on a hard opening, but over time the fabric point becomes slightly distorted making it harder to take the brake off too. I still prefer velcro-less toggles to velcro. Blue skies paul

I had the same problem about a year ago (although this was after about 1500 jumps on it). Contact Parasport Italia (manufacturer) and they should be able to help. When I mailed them, they requested a photo of the clip as they changed the type a while ago and needed to know which one it was. They then sent me a new male clip which is easy to attach through the post. I received it within a couple of days (note this is in the UK, so may take longer for other countries), Hope that helps BLue skies Paul

The great thing I've seen on continental European DZs is that you generally manifest in metric, so people like the Brits have to convert feet to meters if you want to altitudes other than max. (ie 12500ft is 3800m). Manifest tells the pilot who converts it to feet as aircraft are made to the global standard (US) who work in feet. BTW European law means that we are not supposed to use imperial measurements any more in the UK. As such we manifest in increments of 0.3048m. Blue skies Paul

I don't know of hypoxia symptoms including tingling sensations. Hypoxia symptoms are normally fatigue, euphoria, incoherrent speech, shortness of breath, headaches etc. However, given you have only 10 jumps, a possible cause could be hyperventilation - breathing too fast and too much. A common symptom of this is a pins and needles sensation, particularly in the extremeties. This is a much milder form of a panic attack or just being over excited (NB, I am not a medical doctor). As was posted earlier, if symptoms persist consult your Dr. Blue skies Paul

I use AXA. They stopped issuing new policies a few years ago (well, changed it to only cover parachuting, which doesn't include freefall so they say). However I had heard that they were re-issuing it again a few months ago.

Forget water, it has 10 times the density of air and is virtually uncompressible. Hitting water at 120mph is as good as hitting concrete. True a few people have survived big falls into water, however in the cases I know of it appears that something has hit the water just prior to the person (ie construction worker falls off bridge and tools or scaffolding falls with them). The object to hit the water before them has broken the surface tension of the water and introduced air bubble reducing the local density of the water. Therefore, if you are going in over water, remember to throw your alti/helmet/camera/handles into the water a split second before you hit to give you a chance. Also remember to keep you left hand higher to reduce the damage to your wrist - that way we may be able to salvage you watch. Blue skies Paul

I also thought (and I may be wrong here) that the level and type of cover offered by most other groups (ie USPA etc) is insufficient for the UK. ie a few hundred thousand dollars for USPA or other European agencies and/or not covering enough eventualities for the liking of the CAA. Many years ago you were allowed to jump in the UK with insurance from a foreign agency (even to set up a DZ) but that loophole was closed many years back. To the OP, while Empuria will let you jump there with just USPA, you may find that as a non US resident you are not actually insured. Yes the price for BPA membership is very high (and the vast majority of that is because of the insurance), but if you are living in the UK that is the price to pay. Also, there are quite a few half decent DZs in the UK with quite a lot of quality jumps happening. You won't find the turn around or number of things happening that you see in Empuria - but then again it is the bussiest DZ in the world (yes, even more jumps per year than Eloy) Blue skies Paul

Some full face helmets (particularly some of the older designs) severely restrict the vision - especially with regard to seeing you handles. As such the BPA felt it more practical to impose general restrictions on below B licence jumpers rather than test each and every type of full face for visibility issues. However there have been a few limited cases where someone has learned abroad and done all of their jumps with a full face before returning to the UK. At the discretion of the CCI some of these people have been allowed to jump a full face without their B licence. NB in the UK you also need the new C (red) licence before you can wear the frappe hat, and jumping without a helmet is not allowed at all in the UK. Blue skies Paul

Current UK airport restrictions are pretty tight. You are only allowed to take 1 bag through security on to the plane INCLUDING hand bag/purse etc. The actual size and weight of the bag is generally limited by the airline (security does have a max size, but it is generally higher than the airlines own restrictions). As to rigs etc, you are normally OK with them from a security point of view. The CAA (UK version of FAA) has no problem with them, but doesn't have it actually written anywhere. It is possible that you find some jobs worth security screener who will not let it on as carry on no matter what you say or show them. Saying that, I have only once known it to be an issue. Standard rules apply - don't volunteer information unless specifically asked. Take your Cypres card with you, don't mentioned detonators, explosives, propellants - even "cutters" may upset them now. Happy travels Blue skies Paul

UK cloud rules are that you must be able to see you planned opening and planned landing point from the exit point. As such it is possible to go through some cloud, and it is very possible to be jumping through holes in clouds. Jump pilots (assuming they are instrument rated) are also allowed to climb and descend through cloud. We are not supposed to jump through solid cloud, although I have attended competitions where the exit altitude was raised so that 35 seconds would be up before hitting the cloud!! As I understand it (and I'm sure a friendly Yank will correct me) there are 2 main reasons for the strict cloud rules in the US. The first is that the US operates primarily under a "big sky" theory (ie there is so much sky and so few objects in it, that you should be able to avoid each other), which allows for vast amounts of unrestricted airspace with no flight plans, but only works if you are able to see most of the sky (although given potential closing speed of objects/aircraft with no radar and locators can be thought of as a pretty naive theory at best). The other reason is that skydiving in the US is conducted under VFR (Visual flying restrictions) which states that all pilots (including the jumpers) must be able to see a certain distance in all directions - I think about 2 miles for the entire flight. So you CAN jump through holes in clouds - they just need to be mighty big ones! Finally pilots, jumpers and DZs allowing jumpers to go through cloud may receive heavy fines from the FAA for violating the rules. Pilots may also have their licence pulled by the FAA for violations. Blue skies Paul

To the OP, the short answer is YES. Many people (myself included) have had terminal velocity reserve deployments. These CAN be slammers due to a range of factors (poor body position, poor packing, poor canopy design) - however it is possible to have a fairly smooth deployment. My terminal velocity reserve deployment was "brisk" to say the least, but it was also smooth and not painful at all. In fact I have had much worse main deployments. As was mentioned above, the deciding factor is max G-force, and the angle that force is applied through your body (90 degrees to the body 'cos you are belly to Earth, or straight through 'cos you have already been stood up). Blue skies Paul

lintern, as you jump in the UK every lift will have a designated jump master on board (NOTE, what a UK jumper means by a jump master is NOT the same as what an American calls a jump master). The job of the jump master, among other things is to decide the correct exit order and separation between groups. To do this they should have checked with DZ control and/or the pilot about speed and direction of the upper winds. If you are not sure about what separation to give ASK them. You can ask DZ control and/or the pilot yourself too of course. As a note, you may have seen 1 group start to climb out 5 seconds after the previous group left, but don't forget that for even a 2-way to get in the door and exit takes a few seconds so the actual EXIT separation is 7 - 8 seconds, especially if there is an exit count. As a solo, your climb out/exit is pretty much non existent so you need to include the extra time in your delay before you exit. Blue skies Paul

I know that at Empuria in Spain the tandems always exit first. However the jump run is always in the same direction too, from the sea, over the town and then over the DZ. High opening tandems can open over the town and make it back easier than the lower opening jumpers. That being said, putting your largest group out first generally has many more advantages. They can do their long climb out a little early and leave at the correct time with out using "jump run time". Other jumps in the plane can also act as ballast to counter the high weight in the door of the large group, and large groups often fall slower than solos etc (although not always).

Question: What is the outcome if the members vote against giving the BPA a blank cheque? Do the BPA have to go back to the members once a quote is given? Are we unable to renew at all for next year? Knowing the potential outcome of both votes would make it much easier to make an informed decision of which way to vote. Blue skies Paul

Something else to think about. If you attempt to go head high before you deploy your reserve you run increased risk of going unstable. However you are down and dirty with a pilot chute in tow so just have to dump the reserve (now unstable). The question is, where has that towed pilot chute gone as you tumble? What has it wrapped around? Has the reserve deployment allowed the main to now deploy, except that the main pilot chute is wrapped around your leg? If you have a pilot chute in tow just get the reserve out. You may or may not want to chop first (been debated a lot) but don't waste time you don't have trying to get into some interesting body position. Blue skies Paul

I believe that the US does refund taxes paid if the goods are to be taken out of the US (receipt and passport required and it is a long winded process). However if it is just a 2nd hand sale of goods then you will not be paying tax unless you go through a dealer, so there will be nothing to be refunded to you. I have heard that, on occasion some skydivers (and non-skydivers too I'm sure) bring goods back to the EU without declaring them on arrival and therefore avoid import duty. This is not legal, but does happen. After all how do the customs people know if that 2nd hand rig is one you took out with you, or one you brought over there? Blue skies Paul

I should just point out to you that you are not legally allowed to bring more than £250 worth of goods back into the UK without making the declaration at customs and paying import duty. (about 20% I think). Of course many people do bring high value goods back into the UK without declaring it, but customs will not be very happy (and neither will you) if you are caught. Thought I should inform you of the responsible and legal way of importing goods (not that I know of anyone who has ever done it in the slightly less legal way). Blue skies Paul

I wouldn't be too worried that you were kicking. While not desirable it is something that a lot of students do - you are not alone. As to why people kick I'm not sure, possibly because they are searching for something to stand on or grab as they are falling - it appears to be an auto reflex thing that training and experience gets rid of (being calm and visualisation help to stop it too). Blue skies Paul