DZJ

I'm pretty sure you'd still get done by the law for publishing pornographic material of an underage person. Perhaps not for taking them or possessing them, but publishing them would probably have consequences.

The Janet Jackson breast incident springs to mind.

I felt like a 'real' skydiver the first time I managed a decent on-target, stand-up landing.

Fuck the weather! I did AFF this summer, was living on the dropzone for two weeks. The first week was shit - clouds, rain, high winds, everything. I only managed two jumps in a week, spent days on end doing nothing but watch packjobs, chat and read skydiving magazines. Then the second week came, and the weather was great - got 18 jumps done, got my A-licence and capped it all by jumping from a helicopter at the end of the week! Moral of the story? Stick at it, the weather WILL improve, and the jumping will be all the sweeter for it.

People collect Third Reich militaria and memorabilia in Germany and across Europe as well. Possession, collection and sale of such items is NOT illegal in Germany, only their display. Why does it vex you so much that a German cannot parade swastikas in the street or bedeck the outside of his home with Nazi standards?

How do you know he's Irish? The article doesn't say anything about where he's from, only that he serves in the Irish Guards, a British regiment.

Mr2mk1g, are you referring to the BCPA meet at Hibaldstow?

Hi moth. I see in your profile you're from the UK, whereabouts did you do AFF?

McNab's team was eight strong, and the accuracy of his account has been seriously called into question.

'When in Rome, do as the Romans do' - simple, eh?

That's not, strictly speaking, an RAF song. It originates with the Royal Flying Corps of the First World War.

Yep. America, just a bunch of fuckers!

While we're on the subject, has anyone here seen the news footage of the Danish fireworks store that exploded recently? Apparently the owners had a licence to store something like 300 tonnes of fireworks, but Danish police believe the facility may have been storing many many times that quantity. The TV footage was spectacular, but sadly at least one firefighter was killed trying to control the blaze.

So far, I've never really felt a great deal of fear before the door of the aircraft opens. For instance, I've never felt fear while travelling to the dropzone, or while gearing up, or doing my flight line checks, or climbing aboard the aircraft, on the climb to altitude, or even doing my final checks before exiting. When I feel fear is in the few steps towards the door. Usually it begins when the door opens - the rush of cold air and feeling the plane rock as divers exit makes it worse. I feel a clenching stomach and restricted breathing. I remember standing towards the front of a Skyvan, waiting for the JM's 'GO!', feeling the plane rise suddenly as a group of 6 exited and just thinking 'Ooh SHIT' It never lasts long - once I'm in the door (or in the case of the Skyvan, start running) then my exit drills take over and then it simply becomes a case of running through the dive plan as rehearsed - it's just the few seconds between the doors opening and exit. On my first jump, I remember feeling strangely calm and thinking that I ought to have been much more frightened. It is my belief that my ground school was responsible for alleviating those fears.

Liberating.

Sounds like the same film, but what I saw wouldn't have been value for money if it had been free, never mind being worth multiple cinema viewings and DVD rentals.

I'm forced to wonder if we saw (no pun intended) the same film...

I agree, Saw is a complete and utter waste of time and money. One of very few films that have had me leaving a cinema after a film feeling cheated of my money.

During my AFF course I freefell through cloud, flew through cloud under canopy and opened in cloud. The first instance was a non-issue, in the second the cloud was fluffy but fairly thin, and in the latter case I went into a hard spiral turn to get out of it. I discussed it with my instructor afterwards and he recommended shallow spirals in future.

"We're on an express elevator to hell! Goin' DOWN!" Private Hudson, Aliens

Depends if the government would send me the bill for a multi-million pound aircraft afterwards...

As much as I hate thieving scum, Tony Martin got the sentence he deserved (even if he was released early). You can't shoot someone in the back as they run away and claim self-defence.

The same's true of Tony Blair as PM over here. He's been in office 7 years but seems to have aged about 15.

A discerning customer, obviously! I'm feeling very humble, being happy to just blat away with .22LR at 25 yards!

I liked this metaphor, but it strikes me that the column might find itself a little out-gunned.