Programmer

Just write it as 6/6/2006 and Beelzebub won't recognize it. Only the good people updated their software to use 4 digit years.

A real quick scan of incidents shows several of these clusters. For example, 1 base fatality and 2 in a single canopy collision in Europe over the weekend of 6-7 May; in 2005 over the weekend of July 4th, 1 TI killed in a collision, 2 swoopers in a single canopy collision, and a base fatality in France. Memorial day weekend might have stood out more because of the unusual nature of one incident and the fact that a couple of the people who were lost were well known and their passing generated a lot of comments. As Billvon pointed out, there's no common element here. The people involved were current, they were experienced - something went wrong. I'm trying to think of something eloquent to make sense of it, but all I can think of is BSBD.

I didn't notice if you said how she dislocated the shoulder. That might not matter, but if her shoulder is prone to that sort of injury, it makes Councilman24's concern that much more serious. In my very limited experience, flare force can vary a lot depending on the type of canopy, trim, etc. One possibility would be a tandem jump where she tries a few practice flares up high with TM's help. If she can flare that thing, she can certainly flare whatever she's jumping solo.

You could call it Big_Swinging_Dick.jpg. I'll bet people would think it's something different.

If I may offer one bit of advice: don't go back to jumping until you can run a mile without discomfort (or something strenuous like that). When I had mine out I thought I felt fine after a few days - until I tried to play a game of tennis. I almost passed out. Take care of yourself and give it plenty of time to heal and you'll be fine.

Sorry, didn't see your last post. No, ATC doesn't care.

Do you mean how high can you ride in the airplane w/o oxygen, or how high can you exit without a bailout bottle? The first is covered by FAA regulations (FAR 92.211, I believe). As has already been answered, that is 15,000 msl for passengers. The SIM discusses high altitude jumps, including the need for a bailout bottle above certain altitudes.

*bump* It's not abuse. The mullet love it. It's their second favorite thing to do.

Another good one from Beezy. Thanks, and keep 'em coming. I would like to add a historical note to this story. There actually was a great blind golfer name Charlie Boswell who lived in Birmingham, AL some years ago. He had never played golf until after he lost his sight in WWII, but he went on to become a champion. Word is, when he met Ben Hogan, they had almost this same conversation.

Port

With apologies to GOOSE491, 42 would be an excellent answer in some cases, but it is not prime. Perhaps 41 would be more appropriate in this case.

One time I told a guy he was thin-skinned and he got offended.