mik

I am very sorry to see that Mark Andrews died yesterday, 3 June 2023 in a BASE jump in Italy. British base jumper, 65, dies after plunge from side of Italian mountain (telegraph.co.uk) Brit base jumper, 65, dies after 400m fall - LBC I did many jumps with Mark in Kolomna, Russia, where he was well known, not least for his unusual hairpieces on his helmet, a pink mohican being preferred for most of our jumps. He was a top bloke, and will be missed.

Blue Skies, Lisa.

Some expert advice on landing without a parachute "when you pull the cord to open the parachute. Except nothing happens". Typical level of jounalism related to skydiving, with references to this case. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41883027 *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

It might not be so strange. From my reading of events, it seems as though there would only be 9 jurors left, meaning that a unanimous decision would be required, instead of a majority. Reconvening with a jury of 12 makes sense, albeit the Easter timing / delay making it a very stressful wait for those involved. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Sorry for the slight highjack but...absolutely do track up jump run if that is the direction you need to track to get away from your 16 way. No more and no less than is necessary to gain adequate opening separation from your group. Then fly your canopy off the line of flight until you see the next group open. There is no such thing as tracking "no more" than is necessary to gain adequate separation unless the breakoff is abnormally high. A typical group has 1,500 to 2,000 feet of altitude available to gain horizontal separation. Every inch of it should be used to track as hard and as far as possible. Additionally, a group should never exit so close that the group before has to restrict tracking distance to avoid interaction with them. If adequate separation is given between groups it is perfectly safe to track up the jump run (and down the jump run for the following group). Wasn't there a fatality / dual fatalities a couple of years ago attributed to a collision between jumpers from separate groups and one / both tracking hard and fast? I don't remember it involving people tracking up / down the jump run. My flawed memory suggests it may have been people tracking at an angle from the jump run, perhaps a little too far. I am sure someone on here will have a better recollection than I / will know how to find / link to the incident I have in mind. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Just trying to understand how this would work... The low time jumper I saw at the boarding point playing with his shiny new camera but who had forgotten to put on his rig would not be reported as evidence of camera distraction because it was picked up before boarding? Is this correct? *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

It was well over 100 jumps before I stopped being absolutely terrified of the door. Learning to pack helped (there was an unsolved murder - at a boogie so the perpetrator could have been from anywhere -at the time, involving both main and reserve parachutes being sabotaged, which did nothing to help calm my nerves - the relief I used to feel when seeing the canopy opening was amazing). The fear became a lot less during a skydiving trip involving 6-10 jumps a day over a 2 week period when I was pretty current. As mentioned, everyone is different. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

An American Fan of "Yes Prime Minister". I am seriously impressed! (with an assumption that you might be American) *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Well.. .that might be your opinion. I am not so sure. An attack within sight of "Big Ben" is likely to be strategically important in the context of potential impact on tourism revenues, which ought to be of significance to both terrorists and the affected country. Citizens of France, Romania, Australia, South Korea, Germany, Poland, Ireland, China, Italy and Greece were affected. Having lived in a number of cities subject to multiple terrorist attacks (London - the so-called freedom fighters of the IRA, Moscow - the Black Widows and the bombings of the metros and the airport, Nairobi - the Westgate Mall) I feel that they are generally pretty safe in the aftermath of a terrorist incident. Not everyone feels the same way. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

I was in Bahrain for less than 24 hours a week or so back and met up with a non-skydiving friend who lives there. He is convinced that skydiving has started there within the last couple of weeks. He is adamant this is skydiving and not the wind tunnel. Does anyone know anything about this? *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

I have jumped probably a couple of hundred times in the UK. One of the issues I have seen at a few DZs is the military influence of the owners / staff. The can result in the mentality somewhat similar to treating customers as new recruits to the army ... so I have had a few bollockings for not complying with rules specific to a DZ that no one has ever mentioned to me. An example.. when I crossed the runway - which was clear - on foot but without waiting for everyone else in the load... because no one had told me that was the rule. This led to one of the owners of the DZ screaming at me until he was red in the face. Not really pleasant Another... because I plugged my mobile phone into a socket to recharge in the packing area as I did not know that customers had to use another area etc. A third ..although not directed at me... was the bollocking some of the newer jumpers got on a very windy day when they were helping to catch tandems and did not manage to be exactly in the right spot when the tandems landed. Generally I think that some of the DZs in the UK don't really understand that they may have jumpers who expect to be treated as the paying customers that they are. I do wonder whether this "military shouty.... follow my rules or else "attitude is prevalent within some of those in the BPA. Some of the DZs I have jumped at across the world seem to do a pretty good job of treating customers with respect and at the same time making sure the rules are followed. I think a few of the UK DZs could learn from this. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Agreed - I have also done quite a few jumps where the ground temperature is minus 25 celsius or lower (minus 13F I think, and much colder at 13,500 feet) and always use an open face helmet, albeit with a motorcycle style face mask. And it's not just me - plenty of other jumpers do the same, so a full face helmet is not an essential item. Totally agree that keeping hands warm is the real challenge in such temperatures, especially under canopy. The cold really causes my hands to hurt, at times, despite winter gloves and liners (neither so bulky as to interfere with feeling for the hacky sack, getting my hands on handles etc). *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

In Russia, it used to be that there would be a bottle of "champagne" taken onto loads to celebrate many things. 100 Jumps. 200 jumps. First mal etc. The bottle would be passed round the junpers on a Let 4 (think Twin Otter but a bit bigger). Probably the half bottle reamaining would go to the 2 pilots. On some days I would be on 5 or 6 loads where a bottle of "champagne" was passed to the pilots. (Multiple planes so multiple pilots). Over 100 loads a day in the summer. Although I did not notice any impact on the pilots, I was pleased not to land with the plane, especially towards the end of the day. I guess the DZ just let those pilots be adults. I am not sure it was in anyones best interest though. We all thought a few swigs of "champagne" would not really affect our judgement, but who really knows? (A few years back it changed - strictly no alcohol on the planes, strictly no alcohol when jumping - and I have been breathalised by the doctor in the daily pre-jump check...so zero tolerance nowadays). *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Sorry , but your response is entirely misleading ie BULLSHIT, Aerograd is no longer the place to go and bang out 10 jumps a day in the summer (as was the case for many years). I used to reckon on 20 jump weekends in the summer if the weather was ok. Last time I was there I got 3 jumps. Mainly because of the military. Many of the fun jumpers have gone to other DZs, partly as a result of the military operations having a HUGE impact on the ability to jump, and partly because of the totally different vibe caused by a load of military types on the DZ training for jumping in full kit with weapons etc. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Transport by car can be comfortable but if it coincides with the traffic leaving Moscow (Friday afternoon / evening) may be very slow (5 hours to travel 120km is not unusual during the rush period). Travelling back on Sunday / Monday morning can also be slow. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Nope - he cut and pasted a long article from ACRU without giving any credit. The link in his first sentence was to something else altogether and was actually part of the article he plagiarized. He didn't put the cut/paste job in quotation marks. He didn't put it in a Quote box. He didn't put it in italics, another way to suggest it wasn't his own writing. He made NO reference to its source. He didn't even say it was from somewhere else. He just posted it as if it was his own writing. Finally, and only after being called on it and first denying it, he posted the link . Apparently YOU didn't bother to read what was posted OR to check your facts either. I have also not seen one post from you where you offer a single number or statistic with any hint of a reference. I have also not actually seen any contribution to the discussion at all other than to try and say I'm lying. N From the article you quoted... The countries that have gun control but high death rates are the likes of Brazil and Estonia. Most intelligent people would compare the U.S. to the developed Western countries. The comparison to russia (murders 4 times the rates of the U.S.) included the period when Russia was transitioning from the Soviet Union and the Mafia were all over the place. Perhaps comparing murder rates to the time America was being colonised and the Indians were being murdered might be more reasonable. Currently Russia has about twice the number of murders as the U.S. does. But Russia is also a country where those who are well connected or have enough money for bribes can literally get away with murder. I would suggest that if all people faced consequences of their crimes in Russia, the murder rate would drop very significantly. The article is flawed, is selectively picking statistics to support the point of view that lots of guns do not equal more deaths. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

There is no good reason why he can't get a paypal account. Really??? Getting a paypal account in some parts of the world is not as easy as you might think. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Another reason...... in the pre-aad days some of the very experienced jumpers at that time would advise others to get a smaller reserve than their main. The rationale was that as it was their last chance, a small one was better than nothing (in those days if you didn't pull, you were dead). A friend of mine continued this practice until very recently. A 150 main and a 120 ish reserve as recommended, many years ago, by someone who is still very well known in the sport today. I suspect the advice would be very different these days. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Point is more that if the LO isn't keeping an eye on that to the best of his/her ability and hammering on it post jump (to the point of possibly grounding someone from their jumps if they are willfully ignoring the DZ's safety rules), then yeah, he/she isn't doing their job, IMO. Is it the LO's fault - no, the jumper who violated the safety rules fucked that one up all by his/herself, but an LO can (and IMO should) be an important safety influence at a dropzone. This thread did start out with a ridiculous presumption - that someone who's a highly skilled tunnel flyer is necessarily not a good organizer. But it's also brought up some good points that organizing is about a lot more than being able to design the raddest skydives. For that, I think it's been useful, not ridiculous. The presumption that I read into the original post was that someone with sub-100 jumps (also a highly skilled tunnel flyer) is not necessarily a good Load Organiser. That is a presumption that I think many people might subscribe to. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

It might matter to most people's bank accounts. Feel free to start another poll that is of interest to yourself if you don;t like ths one *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

I was wondering about those who never been paid to jump, so excluding all the instructors / staff at DZs... People who have paid for every one of their jumps (perhaps excluding a tandem jump of it was a gift etc). How many jumps do you have? And feel free to post the total amount you have paid for jumps (at today's prices charged by your local dz). Perhaps in USD for ease of comparison. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Closest Train station to Aerograd is Galutvin (not Kolomna). It's the next stop from Kolomna and there are taxis, ATMs, McDonalds, the bus station (see below), a mall etc. Train tickets can be bought in advance on-line http://pass.rzd.ru/main-pass/public/en. Timetable allow people to select the fast trains (pre-bookable, seat allocated etc.). Admission to the train by e-ticket / passport. It takes a couple of hours for the system to be updated so best buy the day before. Also, buses are an option from Vykhino metro (purple line, towards the end of the line at the bottom) BUT the buses will get stuck in the traffic and 4-5 hours to travel the 100km or so to Galutvin is not uncommon in the summer at peak hours. Taxis are for the brave - some foreigners do get ripped off significantly. Also, it's worth contacting Aerograd for their advice on travel from Moscow. Staff speak English and are helpful. My preference is the fast train from Kazanskiy. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Sorry to hear that. My experience of him was when I was a low jump number guy that no one wanted to jump with when I was working in the area close to Z Hills. He introduced himself, and we did a few 2 ways with free coaching for me. Instead of fairly boring solo jumps I got a decent learning experience. Nice guy. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

Out of interest, has the guy who deliberately fucked up a head down record attempt in the US a couple of years back (skeleton jump suit, "Bones" or something) been invited to participate? Or is he blacklisted? Good luck to all with the record attempt. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example

One friend of mine 18k plus jumps no mals. Another with 20k jumps is close to his "b" licence in malfunctions (50 ish). I was at 5 with 1500 jumps. It varies. *********************************************** I'm NOT totally useless... I can be used as a bad example