elfanie

Could you please explain what bail out bottles are? Thanks.. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

*look at her own chest* Ok...can someone explain to me how, in that second picture, her boobies don't invert and look like bowls? How can they possibly still be sticking OUT from her chest when she's belly-down?? *totally confused* -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Some DZ's do offer high altitude jumps occasionally... however... 1. you're right that there's O2 issues, both with the plane and jumpers 2. they are expensive as heck If you're dreaming about flying forever....read about the lady who's planning a jump from around 130,000 feet... expected to reach ungodly speeds, too... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!! THE 45 DEGREE RULE DOES NOT WORK!!!!! HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO POST THIS. YOU WILL NOT ATTAIN A 45 DEGREE FROM EXIT EVER!!! PLEASE STOP SAYING THIS!! You know that the 45* rule doesn't work... however...I also recall Bill (von) saying that he, too, saw value in the 45* rule...not because the previous jumper will get to a 45* angle at the appropriate time.. but because it makes newbies, who are otherwise overwhelmed with everything they have to think about, stick their heads out the door, scratch their heads, and wonder if that's 45* or not before they climb out and exit the plane...therefore usually giving themselves enough separation. Having value doesn't mean it's accurate. it means usually it is effective. although it could be said that it would be just as effective to place the rule that after the person before you exits, you have to touch all your handles, check your chest strap, and pat yourself on the head 3 times before you can exit. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Hrm... first off...ever been 320 pounds in a 110 degree plane? I have been 320+ pounds. My smell was just fine, thank you. and are you actually saying that you believe that a fat person smells worse than a thin person?? You can't be that naive....(although you could be that prejudice, I suppose) If you're suggesting that we sell jump tickets now according to how someone smells...then there are a LOT of thin people who would get booted off the plane. (and I can absolutely guarentee that my DZO's plane farts are infinately worse than any fat person's BO you could show me. ) This is just ignorance...and in very bad taste....and arrogant. smell is about hygiene..not body size. Yet again...arrogant and ignorant. You have no idea who this guy is...how tall he is...how much muscle he has on him...you know nothing about him except a number. Feh. Sad...(you, not him) Oh good.. because Atkins will make him healthy, right? Or smell good? Oh wait...if he does Atkins then the whole goal should be for him to lose size, regardless of the cost, so that people like yourself will stop spewing distaseful remarks under the guise of being "helpful". Ah.. so the problem really is you. interesting...that you can have 3 - 200+ pound men climb out and prepare to do a 4-way and you wouldn't think anything of it. Have one 320 pound man and you're sweating with fear? I'm sorry for you....(and for those around you who have to smell your sweat. Oh wait..you're not fat, so your sweat doesn't smell, right?) Hate to burst your bubble..but skinny guys play football all of the time. Maybe not professionally...but they play with their buddies all of the time. this guy probably doesn't want to become a GK or anything like that.... just have fun. imagine that. Sad. your prejudice and self-righteous attitude...sad. You know nothing about this guy yet you presume to make this recommendation.. sad. here's a hint: You're NOT being helpful. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I dunno if you started high... I weigh about 140. I started on a Manta 288...jumped that throughout AFF. went to a Nav220...huge difference. Jumped that for...I'd have to look at my books, but probably 10 jumps? Sihouette 210..jumped that a handful of times. Silhouette 190 jumped twice...landed with it once, went to the reserve the second time so I've ever actually only flown the Sihouette190 one time. PD190 jumped once. Sabre190 I've jumped for the last 50 or so jumps. I jumped a silhouette170 one time in the middle of this (someone else was jumping my 190 to check something else for me, so I took the sil170). Now I have a Sabre2 170 that I just got from PD as a demo, but I haven't jumped it yet... so I have never even jumped a 1:1 canopy yet....but I also only have 78 jumps under my belt. (since September) but I can say that the Manta 288 was a flippin' BOAT!!! -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Married for 11 years. Deliriously happy. Could it be better? No. We have 3 children...and I won't speak for my husband (who also reads here), but for me...he's my best friend, my prince charming, everything I could want in a man. Have we had hard times? Ya know..not really. I mean, we've had personal difficulties, yes...but not marital difficulties. There has never ever been a time that I wondered if we should be togther, or wondered if he would leave, or thought about leaving... I couldn't imagine being happier in my life than I am with him...and I wake up every morning feeling blessed and like I won the lottery.

King air's prop blast is notoriously horrible. they get to altitude quick...but exits are a pain in the butt. I've A-L-M-O-S-T gotten blown off...I was rear float, as front float was climing out he hit my front arm and so I went belly-open to the prop blast...just about blew me off and I pulled my shoulder (slightly) pulling myself forward and re-grabbing the bar. nice place for getting to altitude (and zero-G's are fun to play with) But that tiny door? And that prop blast? Not as nice... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Huh..I'm going to have to try that...with both the sabre2 AND the sabre, to see if that helps with the swinging/shaking... I'm hoping that the sabre2's openings are, like I said, less dramatic...I come home from the DZ every weekend feeling like I have a moderate case of whiplash. (maybe it's closer to shaken baby syndrome. ) I'll try the legs-together thing.... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Bill, in the case of a contagious, and terminal disease, the risk is not imaginary. The risk of transmission may be low, but it's not imaginary. I already know that skydiving is dangerous, the DZ did a pretty good job at communicating that. Why should my right to evaluate the -additional- risk be compromised? To spare someone's feelings? - Jim He's not saying that you don't have the right to evaluate risk... he's saying (sorry bill) that if you are wanting to have the right to evaluate risk, then start at the top. Evaluate your risk of death from the canopy not opening...what can go wrong with canopies. Then evaluate your risk of death from the landing...what can go wrong with the landing. Evaluate your risk from opening shock..from freefall.... that's one group of risks,a nd it's usually covered. Now lets focus on how YOU make it more dangerous...the risks involved with having YOU as the TM. How many tandems have you done? when was the last one? etc etc (Bill's list) those things pose imminently more risk to the tandem student than your HIV status. NOBODY yet has died from HIV they contracted from a tandem skydive...nobody. people HAVE died from other things like not being current or having canopy issues... He's saying that there are times when the risk is so teeny tiny...that there are larger issues we shoudl focus on if we want to be effective at establishing risk factors. Instead of asking a person who is selling a car whether they ever had anyone with HIV bleed in their car...you should probably focus on when the brakes were last done, if the car has been in any serious crashes, if the air bags work properly, how the steering is...all of the things that post a true and imminent risk to yourself. leave the petty little nitpicky items for when you have all of the bigger issues already covered and still have time on your hands. (if I'm misunderstanding you, Bill...please feel free to correct me) -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Hrm. I saw a video of my husband's opening...and couldn't believe the difference. he just...went vertical. Me? I get yanked enough that my legs swing forward and into a "sit" with my legs straight....then they go below me again and I get shook enough that they kinda flop around and knock into each other.... That's kinda something I'm a little hoping for with the sabre2...is maybe a little less dramatic of an opening. That's exactly what I do... because I learned the first THREE times I jumped the sabre (ok, so maybe I'm a little slow) that I got some pretty hard riser strikes on the back of the head. third one just about took my helmet off and stunned me slightly. Now I reach, toss, remain stable until the canopy yanks me vertical (doing so usually throws my head down and forward so that my chin is on my chest as my body swings forward), then have my hands by the risers while it snivels and watch it inflate and slider come down.... if I look up before then...I've gotten smacked pretty hard. *nods* This is something I"ll have to check out in altitude...stall point, wraps, etc. (as it is, my sabre takes 2 wraps to stall. I'll see what the sabre2 takes...) -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

*nods* I jumped a silhouette 170...but only once. soft standing landing...but, again, that was just once and that's a hybrid not a ZP. That's the only 170 that I've flown... I'm about 140 pounds or so...exit weight would be around 160-ish. But I only have 78 jumps so far...so trying to stay relatively conservative on the canopies...I hope this isn't too much of a change too quickly... So the sort of "shaking" on opening my sabre gives me that kinda tosses my legs around...that's going to be more of a problem with the sabre2? What are some things to be aware of with body position? (I'm opening stable, no turns while pulling etc....and figured that most of the 'shaking' was from trying to create a longer snivel and softer opening from the sabre...but maybe it's my body position...?) eep. I'm 5'2"...with short little arms. I have 17" risers right now, but could possibly do with 18". Is this possibly going to be an issue for me?? And if so...what should I be on the lookout for? ie. what can I do to compensate if I find this to be an issue...and is there another canopy out there you'd recommend someone such as myself try out? (and yes...standard disclaimer applies, I know...I am in contact with my DZO and instructors and such....) -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I was thinking the very same thing... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I know that they are totally different canopies, sharing mostly just a name... But right now I'm flying a sabre190. I just got (today, actually) a sabre2 170 from PD to demo. I plan to jump it this weekend. What can I expect to feel differently between the two canopies? opening? turning? flaring? Obviously I'm going to play up high....but I like to know what to expect as much as possible ahead of time... for those of you who have jumped both...what did you notice was different? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Stetson - My husband. Lavendar - childbirth chocolate chip cookies - my children roses - my husband -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

I'm actually curious to see how many ladies admit to faking it... vs. how many guys know about it...

My reply was yes, but only on the ground... however, the correct response from me would be "yes, several times...and I've always caught it on the ground because I always check my handles." -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Yup...that's correct. If you wouldn't have sex (unprotected) with someone who is HIV+...then you shouldn't have unprotected sex with anyone... the exemption to this is if you know that they have been tested...are in a monogamous relationship...and have decided to put your life on the line for them. that's how they become a "spouse, children, or other close family members". If he said that he would only take close friends/family on a tandem but nobody else....that would still be understandable. If he says that he wouldn't take an HIV+ person on a tandem, but that he'd take a stranger who simply said he wasn't HIV+ on a tandem...that's on the verge of silly. if you wouldn't have sex with an HIV+ person...then should you come across a stranger who wants to have sex with you - even if they say they are clean, you should still say no (or protect yourself like you would against an HIV+ person.) -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Did I say you were a complete idiot????? Did I miss that? He was responding to this.. His response of "Because I'm not a complete idiot" probably means "Because even though you don't think that I have anything at all of value to share...I actually do have a brain and have used said brain to learn from others around me and learn from what experiences that I have..." He didn't say, "You called me an idiot." More like, "don't talk to me as if I'm an idiot.." Well I would be willing to bet that a guy with 100 jumps knows more about skydiving than a guy with one. Or a guy with an instructors rating knows more thana guy with 50 jumps and no rating....I may not be right 100% of the time...But I would be willing to bet I would be right 99% of the time. What difference does it make? Do you have to know EVERYTHING before you know ANYTHING?? On a thread of mine which I was getting opinions about a hard landing of mine, I made a post that said, "lessons learned..." included things like, "Always be prepared to PLF..." "watch for traffic", etc. Ok...that's all fine and dandy, right? heaven forbid I say that to a student.. (at least until I have a rating...) So instead of giving advice that you know to be correct you would just parrot that advice? Unless you've experienced EVERYTHING...then I guarentee you are parroting as well. Parroting what you've read...what you've been told... (same thing to be said to instructors.) How about this one... "What did you do when you went through AFF?" "I got so unstable on my AFF 8...diving exit? I flipped over onto my back, looked at the plane, JM, and cameraguy, and thought, 'this isn't right!' I arched, it flipped me right back over, and I continued the jump...it was a blast..." It kills me that some guy that has done 50 jumps now thinks he knows enough to teach it... Where did he say that he knows enough to teach it???? Did I miss that? he said that he has learned some things...I don't think he ever claimed he was an instructor or qualified to teach AFF classes. Oh bologna...you do too. You give advice on this board all of the time to people you've never even met... Oh sure..you end it with, "talk to your instructor"...but he probably does, too... to say you don't give advice to other people's stupid isn't true...you do it here...all the time.. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

the morality of disclosure wasn't the issue I was responding to and wasn't the point I was making with you... if you know so much about universal precautions, then you know that they apply regardless of whether you beleive you know the status of the victim or not. You don't choose to wear gloves only because they told you they had a disease....you wear them ALWAYS, even if they tell you they don't have anything. Bringing that over to being a TM....if you wouldn't jump with someone who disclosed, then you shouldn't jump with someone who didn't. Universal precautions. If you wouldn't jump with someone just because they have HIV....then you shouldn't be jumping with everyone. (in this comparison - not jumping tandem with someone is equal to wearing gloves. It's an action taken in the event of a disease present to protect yourself from the risk that disease presents. If you use universal precautions, then - IF you wouldn't take an HIV person on a tandem, THEN you shouldn't take anyone on a tandem. IF you wouldn't tend to an open wound on someone with HIV without gloves, THEN you shouldn't attend to anyone's wound without gloves....) Universal precautions states that you treat everyone as if they have an infectious disease... wouldn't jump with an HIV+ person? Then you shouldn't jump with anyone. The morality of disclosure is a different issue altogether. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Not that I would ever presume to speak for Bill....however... Not going out to a femur break without gloves...that should be the same regardless of whether or not you know that person has HIV, Hep, or anything else. Even if the person said explicitely, "I do not have HIV or Hepatitis.." you should still be yelled at for attending to an open wound without gloves. That's what Universal Precautions are for...and they don't require disclosure on the part of the victim. So you say, then you shouldn't do any tandem jumps...period. Universal precautions means you treat everyone as if infected without prejudice. According to the statement above...you shouldn't do any tandem jumps ever. Do you HONESTLY believe that everyone you've been strapped to is without illness? And that everyone who has HIV or hepatitis knows about it? If you were smart...you'd never attend to an open wound without gloves on anyone but your spouse, your children, and your other immediate family members. Universal precautions means EVERYONE is treated as contageous...to do otherwise is unsafe. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

However...being an instructor *also* doesn't guarentee that you have all of the correct answers.. One of my JM's..with 9000+ jumps, considered an awesome jumper, very very experienced, master rigger, TM instructor, S&TA, Pro rating, been doing this for years and years... and HE told me the 45* thing... Thinking you're right doesn't always mean you are. There's good and bad on both sides....those with 10K jumps have the experience behind them, but sometimes they think they know everything and therefore aren't good at learning new (and sometimes better) ways... those with 100 jumps don't have crap for experience and know very little, but they are usually good at learning new things because they are still open to learning. Then you get the arrogant 100 jump wonder who knows it all and won't listen to anything. And then you get the 10K jump person who will listen to a 100 jump person without rolling their eyes and dismissing them because of their jump numbers and thinks, "Just because I've been doing this since God was a child doesn't mean someone, even a 100 jump wonder, can't possibly come up with something useful...they might have something good to say." I strive to be the 100 jump person who knows that they don't know crap, and wants to grow up to become the 10K jumper who listens to what somebody has to say regardless of jump numbers and knows that we never EVER stop learning. -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Not hard at all...depending on the guage of the needle and what you're injecting. I had to take daily 10CC in oil of progesterone...but we used an 18 guage needle for that and took about 25 seconds to inject it... (side note: I have said several times "or hepB or any other contageous diseases.." This, to me, is not about HIV...but about health and diseases that can be transmitted..) I agree with you... both should be reported. I would jump with an HIV+ TM....sure. but that should be MY choice. And I was never talking about HIV in particular...I was referring to any contageous non-curable lethal disease... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

Deliriously happy..married for 11+ years to my absolute dream person.... God in Heaven only knows what I ever did so right to deserve someone like him.... -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings

It depends on the profession. Aren't boxers legally required to share medical status? I know that thre were things I had to be screened for when I was a preschool teacher...and that was not private. it's not the quality of work that concerns people....it's the safety of those you are working with. Or maybe they didn't know. Do you have any idea how many people are HIV+ and just don't know it? (this is the reason we in the medical field use universal precautions) Not true...not true at all. big difference between walking around with a sign that says, "I had a threesome with my roomate" and telling someone you are becoming intimate with, "I have HepB.." the thing about telling TMs or telling a tandem student about HIV or HepB status isn't a morality one as to how they got the disease....it's one of protection from the other person who might be at risk of contracting the disease from them. big big difference. Although I wonder why you'd assume that disclosing this information in a tandem situation means that there is a stigma attached to it..? I cringe from HepB...not because of the person or how they got it, but because I don't want the disease! Big big difference... and allowing people the opportunity to protect themselves...what's wrong with that? I've caught babies without gloves...not intentionally, but it's happened. (sometimes it happens quickly) If I knew that she was HIV+ or HepB+, I wouldn't have taken my gloves off..period. Now, does that make it right for me to not have used universal precautions? No..absolutely not...it was stupid and risky... however..not as risky as it could be as medical information was disclosed. I have no a problem with disclosing risk factors and allowing people to choose whether they want to accept that risk or not... what is the benefit to hiding it? -------------------------------------------- Elfanie My Skydiving Page Fly Safe - Soft Landings