Zennie

At my DZ many very experienced jumpers still do pin checks on the plane at the very least. I've jumped with people who still do a quick gear check before a dive. The big 3 check is highly encouraged at our DZ. I always do my own, but I think a check is a good habit to get in. As far as "image" goes, I personally don't care whether someone thinks I'm a "geek" for being safe. It's my life and I'm going to protect it. If others want to look cool burning in, fine. If you stay in the habit of doing gear checks, once you are one of the "experienced" skydivers, you'll be a good example for the newbies. And this is good for the sport in general. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

OK, just for the sake of discussion, here's the opposing view. It's the way I was taught. Pilot chute in tow is an extremely high speed mal. I was told don't waste time with the cutaway handle because the chances of your main coming out are pretty slim... just get the reserve out because time is critical. Just pull the reserve. Of course the counter-argument has been presented... you don't want to waste time figuring out which procedure to use in a mal. If you have one procedure... cutaway & pull reserve, you'll react quicker. This begs the question is there any situation anyone can think of where a cutaway before a reserve pull would make the situation worse? I can't think of one (other than the time factor). ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

No offense, but I think I'll pass on discount LASIK. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

As far as hook turns go, I don't plan on trying 'em below 1000 anytime soon (then, I suppose, it's not a real hook), if ever. At my stage of the game, it's just tempting fate. As far as canopy control goes, I watched Fly Like A Pro. Pretty good video. Talks a lot about wind effects, how to figure out if you're long or short, setting up approaches, etc. Worth watching at least once. I may start taking a frisbee out to the DZ and just toss it out in the field and make that my "target" to go for. I figure that might be better practice than a stationary, pre-determined spot at the DZ where you start learning how to get there by rote. If the "target" moves, you really have to start understanding how your canopy flies, wind effects, have better altitude awareness, etc. lus it keeps things interesting. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

They don't call 'em discussion "threads" for nothing. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Isn't AIF the new curriculum that the USPA just came out with? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Stupid follow-up question... Will most DZs let you jump if you've been signed off student status but don't have your "A" yet (assuming you have documentation that you've in fact been signed off)? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

As long as there are lawyers who will take these cases knowing full well that most big organizations will settle even meritless cases to avoid the costs of defending themselves, this kind of thing will continue. And I can say that being a retired lawyer myself (yes I still work, just in a different field - I didn't say I retired wealthy ). One can only hope that eventually they'll all take themselves out of the gene pool -- problem solved. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Someone owes a lot of beer for that. Taking out the beer lady... isn't that like Commandment #1: "Thou shalt not take out the beer server."? On a more serious note, I like his response: "It wasn't my fault". Huh? I thought it was the skydiver's responsibility to be aware of his surroundings, be in control of his canopy, pick a safe landing area and not biff people on the ground. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I normally don't say bad things about people, but when it comes to Dennis Rodman.... what the heck. They guy is such a poseur. He tried to play the "bad boy" on the court and then would duck behind the refs once he managed to get someone so p#$%@ed off that they went after him. Then he'd shoot of his mouth with the ref in the middle. You have no idea how badly I wanted to see Barkley just level his a$$. He's nothing but a punk. So it totally wouldn't surprise me if he wimped out. That would be about his speed. He likes playing the part, not living it. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I visited his site and emailed him when I had decided to actually do the tandem jump. He actually wrote back with some words of encouragement. And it wasn't one of those auto-respond things, it was pretty clear he read, and was responding to, my email. The cool thing about Troy is that he doesn't seem to have the big head that Hollywood seems to give people. And, like a lot of you said already, he's always smiling and having a good time. He doesn't seem to have a Sky-God complex, which is nice to see. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Why sleep in the streets when you can crash in the packing room at the DZ? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

You are exactly right and I thought I was clearly distinguishing the two with the second situation. Apparently not. But that was my point. You don't want to have the thought even enter your mind that your Cypres will bail you out after a cutaway because there are situations where it will think you're under a good canopy even when you're not. Chopping without an RSL and assuming your Cypres will bail you out is a recipe for disaster. That was the point of my second statement. Hope that clarifies things. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Has anyone ever rigged up a camera mount for a Pro Tek helmet? Are there any directions online anywhere (or can you post the directions here)? Thanx! ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Hehehe.... Driving my in-laws around is always good for a few yuks. My mother-in-law about rips the ceiling handles off each time I take her somewhere. Almost made her hurl once. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I've been looking for coveralls to wear as my "jumpsuit" for a while now. You know how hard it is to find them? Nobody carries them. I mean nobody. Coveralls and a sweatshirt/long-sleeved-t-shirt would be just dandy for me. Meantime I generally jump jeans & sweatshirt/long-sleeved-t. Works for me. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

In a high-speed mal situation I don't think fumbling around to unhook the RSL is a good idea. You did the right thing. In a way you sort of answered your own question. In this case, the RSL probably beat your reserve pull, but you did pull both handles. The RSL is intended to help in two situations: 1. For the person who cuts away but doesn't pull reserve. 2. For the person who is below Cypres altitude/speed and needs the reserve out ASAP after a chop. I think you've proven that you don't need it for #1, so the real question for you is whether you think you may need it in situation #2. If you stick to your decision altitude, I don't think #2 is a problem either. I'm not advocating RSL one way or another, it depends on your own unique situation. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I think you're winning. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

How 'bout a pouch or pocket? Obviously there are a lot of safety issues to consider: the biggest one being a bunch of divers swooping around. That's why I threw it out for discussion. So please don't flame me too much.

Aaahhhh, yes, the WWF version. Knock as many people unconscious as you can. The one that lands under his/her main, rather than Cypres, wins. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I've always wondered if you could tap the camel's hump if you ever got thirsty. 'Course then people would fight over the German camels. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Yeah, that was kinda the only drawback I saw. Then again, you'd only want the experienced skydivers playing the "multiplayer" version. Beginners could probably play the one-on-one version safely. Maybe if it catches on skydiving can make it back into the X-Games. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

The only thing with skyball is that if someone doesn't catch the ball before pull time... well... it's just bad. That was the other thing about the "flag" angle that I liked. Worst case if you drop a flag, they're just streamers. Nobody gets bonked. You could also play the game one-on-one. First one to get the flag snatched loses. I'll bet better players would do a lot of jockeying for position and then bust out a move. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

I've been trying to cook up games to play that will make learning swooping/RW skills fun. My first idea was Sky Tag. Then I got to thinking, that certain things -- like the rig -- would have to be off limits to taps. The other problem is that everyone would just track away from the "it" person. Also, it'd be really hard to score. That made me think of a new game where the swooping/RW component would remain intact, people wouldn't be just grabbing at anything, and, most important, everyone would have incentive to stay "in the fray" so to speak. I'm calling it Dogfight, but it's basically a variation of flag football. Each person would have a 2ft streamer attached to themselves (ankle?) via a small snap or velcro. The object would be to snatch as many other people's streamers as you can. The great thing about this is that there is an actual objective scoring element so you can have "winners". Plus, you can have several variations on the game. You could have a variation that scores just based on how many flags you have when you land. Each flag scores a point. You could have multiple rounds and the person with the most points wins. You could have a Last Man Standing version where the last person still with a streamer wins. You could have teams. On the safety front, there would have to be a hard cutoff altitude where you could no longer grab for streamers. You would be penalized X points for grabbing past the cutoff. You'd prolly also need to require full face helmets. Whaddaya think? Good idea? Bad idea? Too dangerous? ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie

Hahahaha.... if Yanks not using turn signals drives you crazy, then don't come to Houston. I never use mine. Why? 'Cuz every time I do it just signals to the jerk in the next lane my intention to come over. That's the point you say? Not in Houston. Signal and he/she will, without fail, speed up to block your turn. So I basically make my move and hit the signals at the same time. I'll also cross 2-3 lanes in one swoop. When you see an opening 'ya gotta take it. Survival skills my friend. ------------ Blue Skies! Zennie