andym148

Im sorry that you've had a bad start to your jumping carrier in the UK, i certainly hope that its not put you off UK DZ's? Where was it, if you don't mind me asking? Sometimes when its busy we have to do back to back loads to try and cater for all the students, my routine is to check the student out fully and ensure they are ready to go in all respects. Then i'll put my kit on from start to finish with no interruptions, and then get someone to check it. Before going to the flight line, and then again a quick 3 point check of my kit prior to setting foot in the plane. I don't mind anyone pointing out something on my kit that looks out of place, id rather someone point it out to me so I'm aware of it rather than say nothing and something go wrong. If you pick me up and my kit is wrong, i'll be embarrassed and take it on the chin. If i'm good, then maybe i can show you something that you've never seen before and expand your knowledge of equipment?? Watch the following link of a video i posted last year (i hope the individual involved doesn't mind me bringing this up again?) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgQxNbasxJw The video was taken by my wife, I'm next to her in the white helmet. We both had AFF students, we had been jumping all day and were getting tired. And embarrassingly, we both missed it for quite a long time! Everyday's a school day, never be too proud to admit your mistakes! Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hi Molly, Please have a look at https://www.facebook.com/BLESMATrans4mers, if you drop your questions in their, you should get somebody willing to help you. Hope this helps, Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

To the OP, please PM me with your details, severity of injury, prosthetics etc and your experience. We have trained a number of amputee skydivers including a triple amputee, missing right lower arm. I'd be glad to try and help you out as much as possible. Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Lillo is a nice drop zone, just a little bit further from Madrid than Ocana. The last i heard they did not have BPA instructors there, although I'm happy to be corrected on this if it has changed. If travelling is an issue then Ocana would be better as its closer to Madrid and the airports, and as said above they have BPA rated instructors on the DZ. There is usually an advert for them to the right on the home screen on here for the school. When you want to complete your B license, is this BPA "B license" as in 50 jumps and needing signed off for it? Or the USPA Cat B AFF level? Each is different, and requires different rated instructors? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of students that turn up after devouring every clip on youtube about BASE jumping and malfunctions. They have assumed knowledge, now thanks to the endless clips on the internet. I had one student start talking about advanced canopy skills in the canopy handling lesson, when i asked him how he knew this stuff it was youtube. You can tell the ones that are not going to be easy by the look in their eyes, especially when their eyes are bigger than saucers behind the goggles; You know its not going to be an easy jump! I know a very experienced instructor who after finishing his adv packers course hooked his canopy on backwards. He said he knew something was wrong when he flew backwards on opening, flew it for a while and then chopped it and landed safely on his freshly packed reserve. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I think you missed stage 5 of quitting. Those that committed everything to being the best they could, those that train, train and train. Sit on DZ's waiting for the weather gods to shine so they could jump, getting up early or to bed late just to get some time in the tunnel to train. The trips across the atlantic for a 100+ jump training camp in less than 14 days. The entries on your calendar are no longer your families birthdays but training weekend, and obviously the nationals. Then its competition time, and your whole year comes down to 5 ½ minutes. Maybe you get not he podium, maybe you don't? But then you realise in a few years time no one will remember who came where, and your year of sacrifice is forgotten. Ive had the honour of going to a world meet and a world cup representing my country, and there was no greater honour. But what do you do when you've reached the pinnacle of your sport? Where do you go next? I've seen friends sell up and walk away, me personally I dove into teaching, coaching and instruction. But that only gets you through so long, I turned my passion/sport into a part time job and worked full time during the week and taught every weekend at the DZ. I truly love teaching, I love seeing people qualify AFF and go on to form teams with my other students and who are now medalling at UKSL events. Maybe its possible to just burn out? I no longer find the urge to go to the DZ as soon as i finish work on a Friday, i prefer now to go home relax and wait for my wife to come home from work and other things become more important..Maybe this is how it goes? At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

What an absolute load of c**p, a euro problem! Gee thanks, I'm on the plane with a miss routed chest strap, but it's ok he's from Europe. My wife caught a jumper at Elsinore with a misrouted chest strap, his friends who had sat opposite him for the plane ride up hadn't noticed it. Red light on, door opens and their he is knee on the edge ready to go. Did we say it's ok he's American? Did we f**k we grabbed him, made sure he did his chest strap up to stop him becoming a statistic. Should you go hands free on your phone, i'd suggest not. Do people take selfies while under canopy, yes and i'd say the palm DZ in Dubai holds the monopoly on it (my opinion). In the Uk, you can get 3 or 4G to 4Kft then some-how get it back around 8k. I've only ever used it on the plane ride to altitude, and never under canopy. Could i use my phone under canopy without being unsafe, yes I think I could. Would I do it, no! Think of it this way, you can drive a car with your feet; but it doesn't make it a good idea to try it! At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

We have changed the audio to make it playable on all mobile devices https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdOZwVxCV90 Thanks, the feed back. Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey, If you ever find your stuck and can't quite get the hang of something and find you're beating yourself up over it. Please take sometime to watch this, and learn to give yourself so slack. Over the last 3 years we have been taking wounded servicemen (no women so far...yet), and teaching them the freedom of flight. We decided to put together a documentary of this years trip, to show whats possible when you put your mind too it. The British Limbless Ex Serviceman's Association (BLESMA) supports injured British servicemen and women, this is just one of their many activities they conduct throughout the year. This year marked the first time we'd ever taught a triple amputee to skydive (both legs above the knee and right lower arm), they all managed to complete their course and prove lots of people wrong who said it couldn't be done! Please take 30 mins of your time to watch, be a little humbled, and appreciate the beauty of our sport. Please share around your skydiving friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOrMXiUaCvA Many Thanks, Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Thanks for everyones comments so far, we completed the trip in late March. Heres what we got up to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOrMXiUaCvA Please watch and spread the word. Thanks. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

There is plenty of USPA instructors at the desert campus, have you liked the desert campus on Facebook? They post regularly and will answer your questions pretty quickly as well. Good luck At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Im surprised a Safire 2 opened hard enough to injure someone, I've never experienced a hard opening on any Safire 2 or Crossfire 2 that I've owned.. and I've deployed in some pretty shit positions! I would send it back to Icarus for inspection and repair, send all the info you have and id expect them to do thorough testing on it as well as seeing if there was a faulty batch of canopies made? I understand you might be nervous in jumping it again, but don't be put off in buying an Icarus/NZAerosports canopies in the future. I hope you manage to get to the bottom of it soon. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

The link is www.facebook.com/blesmatrans4mers At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Thank you very much for the positive words! At the moment we are trying to organise a "test" event with the US "Wounded Warrior" programme with a hope to getting a skydiving events programme going over here. The end hope is that we can combine the two events together and run them at the same time, unfortunately red tape stands in the way. The beauty of skydiving is the gravity does not differentiate between able and (i hate to use the word disabled) less abled bodied people. They tell us there free form the confines of their limits on the ground when there in the air, and it's amazing to watch as they spread their wings and learn to fly. They should be BPA "A licence" by tomorrow (Monday), and then the fun really begins. We have put a quick 2 min Video on to the facebook site, if you haven't already looked please see what the boys have been up to.. Thanks, Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hi, For anyone out there that thinks that it's not possible to taste flight after accidents or injuries? Have a look at this.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytiYda62c78 The BLESMA Trans4mers was set up 3 years ago to teach injured British military veterans to skydive, this year we had out first triple amputee's. Anything is possible! There Facebook page can be found by searching www.facebook.com/bleasmatrans4mers. Thanks. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Definitely get a tunnel instructor who is also an AFF-I, I've seen so many people go into the tunnel talking about wanting to learn to skydive. And then just watch as the tunnel rat just puts them in the worst body position ever, imagine an ironing board, great for lift and getting them flying. This is not an ideal body position, from an instructors point of view. Also have you done alti checks? Don't get fooled into the normal 2 minute rotations in most tunnels, this sets a bad time precedence in your mind. I think its good to get into the habit of looking at your left wrist so to build in muscle memory of checking your alti, its the little things can build up to a big thing. In my opinion, if id have taken you into the tunnel and know what you can and can't do that would allow me to make a good decision on what to do with you. If you were good in the tunnel, id be tempted to take you up on a level 3, but with 3 good practice pulls. We can then decide on if one or both of us should let go dependant on how the jump goes. But the best thing to do is ring the DZ and they will tell you, but i can almost guarantee a FJC is on your horizon first though. Good luck At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

I'm not sure what he was thinking? He was not part of our group, he was jumping with his friends. Prob a quick call, and rushed to make sunset load and mid routed by accident. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

The Jump was at Skydive Elsinore in December last year, we look back at it now and think how did it take us sooooooo long to spot it. I guess flight line checks are there for a reason, even if there not in the rules, its good to get a quick once over before boarding the plane. Just think if he hadn't moved to the front of the door to where we saw him..... At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Sunset load after a long day doing AFF, we had been doing back to backs with the odd 20min call in there for refuels. We thought we were ok and still quite alert, it never dawned on me that i was this tired. Watch the video, and see if you can pick up what we failed for about 60 secs to spot. He had been sat in the boot all the way up to altitude and no one had noticed, green light on and knelt in the door...... [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgQxNbasxJw Could have ended up so differently, check yourself, check your friends and check everybody. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

PLFking, it was from a Dornier G92. They fly out of Target Skysports, Hibaldstow (UK). That one is based out in Seville, Spain. There the same company that owns the one in Bridget Jones film. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Jakub, i fitted a XF2 119 into my RSK-1 and it fitted fine. It should fit into a RSK.5, the rig comes with a 106 reserve which is well within the containers size chart so you should theoretically be able to do it? Are you happy jumping a 106 reserve? If not then you might be able to get away with an OP113? Nice rig, but id be wary about packing it out to capacity, reserve freebag hesitation and all. Come down to Nethers and see Steph and try it, see if you can fit it in? P.s this post comes with a no money back guarantee, I'm sure you'll do your due diligence prior to buying. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Welcome to the sport! Elsinore is an awesome DZ, very chilled out and very relaxed. Who are your instructors? Loads of british guys going over for the next month to do AFF, so loads of guys in the same boat as you. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Malfunctions are a part of our sport, the one thing for certain though is the longer your in the sport the more chance you have of having one. It's a case of get used to the idea and learn to live with it by practicing your EP's everyday and before you jump, or give up the sport. They really are nothing to worry about, as long as you have revised what to do; muscle memory will take over. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Is it me or did the jumper in the video go back down the line of flight? The track direction looked like it was 90 degs to the runway, after he gets hit the runway comes in to view as he (possibly) moves back towards it? Just a thought??? Personally i always barrel role after a big way track regardless, but thats just me... and yes you can see people above you if there still there. If you give a big wave off and wait 2 secs before pulling, and it works for you then all well and good. It's obviously worked for you during your jumping carrier, then why why change the drills your happy with? But on big way head up and head down drills i still think a 360 turn to clear your airspace around you before moving away from the group in a direction you know to be clear is a good idea and takes a few seconds to do. Move away, and then transition to your track and then you now nobody should be around you. At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!

Hey Kerb, I can confirm what has been said above. If you do stay in this sport long enough you will see people injured and killed, but thankfully it is very rare. Without sounding like Yoda, here are a few tips that have helped me down the ages. Have you tried visualising? Sit or lay down in bed or somewhere you feel relaxed, and then mentally take your self to the packing hall. Think about the noises you would here, the smells, and how your rig feel's in your hands as you do your hands on equipment check. Think about putting your kit on, feel the weight as you put it on. Feel the leg straps bite into your thighs as you tighten them up, feel the chest strap securely holding you in the kit. Think about walking out to the plane, feel the prop blast and the smell of the exhaust in the air. Keep going and keep thinking about every feeling you have had as you've been traveling to altitude, keep doing it all the way until the door opens and you can hear the rush of wind and feel the air whipping about, and how you feel as you get to the door. If you keep doing this, then you will get used to the feeling of getting in and out of the plane. As you feel more confidant in that environment, the easier it will be to relax. Are you feeling tense due to any part of the jump, from the exit to the deployment and or landing? My fear was always the opening, would my parachute open? This would cloud my whole jump, and I could not think of anything else on the jump due to my fixation/fear of the opening. So i started compartmentalising the jump, I would not think about anything outside of what I was doing. I basically broke it down to the following phases, 1-Kit on, 2-ride to altitude until i walk to the door, 3-exit and the skydive, 4 - Deployment, 5-canopy ride and landing. By only thinking about what i had to do at each phase i felt more relaxed, and over time the fear of the deployment faded and i could relax more. Try it could work for you? And never ever forget, everyone has been or felt exactly as you do now. I failed Level 5 three times, i could start a turn as good as anyone, it was stopping it that proved difficult for me. And I still get nervous, and I would bet most people on here still get nervous if they have not jumped in a while. Good luck, and relax Blues Andy At long last the light at the end of the tunell isnt an on coming train!!!