AlRedler

Glider. Shuffling out on the wing before rolling off with minimal forward speed. C141 Starlifter at 1000ft, and watching the next 5 fly over my canopy with bodies coming out.

The video is on the ipad version of the Times newspaper in the UK this morning. It is linked to an article about Felix's altitude record attempt rather inappropriately.

Yes, paratroopers and acohol can result in a lack of clothes! Even better when there are girls willing to administer correction, so I hear.

Except joining the rugby club in a UK university seems to make Animal House seen tame, according to stories my daughters tell of their rugby playing male friends. Some boys don't seem to have spent much time wearing clothes in their first term!

Yup. There is a great beach just outside Alicante in Spain that is a "Playa Libre". We go everytime we are in Spain. It is a great feeling, especially swimming in the sea with no wet material against the skin. With other naked people around, including the obligatory older men standing naked on the waterline, being naked doesn't feel as awkward as people think. My daughters did think that snorkelling off the nudist beach was a bit inappropriate though!

Our two cats do that with mice, usually to let them run around a bit before going back to kill them later. I have got skilled at catching the mice now. I can beat the cats to it! A dish cloth flat in the hand so I don't get bitten, and just grab it fast when it is in a corner.

Just seeing how quickly they get in to formation after exit is impressive. Nice stuff.

In UK, C Licence and 500 jumps, or 200 jumps in the last 18 months.

Many years ago, as a new skydiver, I had two cats called Track and Eight. As in Track the cat, and Cat Eight. ( in the UK, Category 8 was the level when students could jump solo). My DZ at the time had 3 cats called Frap, Wrap & Bounce.

My understanding is that the the Euro wingsuit big way camp is to be in the Czech Republic on 5-10 September. There will be FS bigway too. Initial details at http://raisethesky.org/events/ Al

Each dropzone has its own character so it is worth trying some out and see what you like. Beccles and Sibson are probably closest to you, as others have said. Headcorn has some very good skydivers, and you get to dodge the sheep and llamas when landing! The bigger the dz (in numbers of skydivers), the harder to get noticed and fit in I reckon. English weather is not all bad in winter. When it is a high pressure day it is cold but the air is clear, the views good, the winds low and the planes climb faster. And packing warms you up afterward! I got 6 jumps a day in January and February last year at Dunkeswell. Hope you find the right one and have some good times.

Great, look forward to hearing. And a possible European record attempt too. I'd better not book anything up yet.

Thanks, those are book marked. The15k weekend in May looks good, and a reasonable drive from London. Is there a 15k event in Texel too next year?

Does anyone know what wingsuit events are planned in Europe in 2010? I am planning holidays and it would be great to fit one or two around some boogies or record attempts. Al

A lazy pull on a wingsuit can lead to the wings being partially open and asymmetrical, so you start turning under the canopy as it deploys. It can spin up fast. I have had a couple where I had my hands on the handles ready to pull when the canopy stopped spinning up and started to unwind. I reckoned I would cut away when the twists reached the top, or the canopy started diving. It is important to get the arms in and the legs closed.

warning, very very NSFW! But answers some questions! http://www.bangamidget.com/

Fairly recent, as being discussed here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3649641;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

Actually "gotten" comes from old English and used to be correct in England in the 17th century. But if it isn't how it is spoken in England, how can it be proper English!

When we had the briefing for the 100 way camp we were told that the reason some people from the big way camp the week before were not there was because they had violated the landing rules the first week. As they were not safe with 50 people in the air, they would not be safe with 100. Post: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Reply To Were those people named and/or sat down? It might be time for some actual rather than threatened consequences. At least if there's a repeat offender. There are always realtime situations, but dang. It's not like they say you can't whine about having to land off and in a less-than-perfect direction. Wendy P.

I have always enjoyed being there. They went through a period with poor facilities, when there was no canteen, but that has been fixed for some time. There are very experienced instructors and Pablo is Europe's top canopy pilot. It is also a real Spanish small town, definitely worth staying out late on a Saturday night.

It doesn't matter whether it is legal or not. In the UK it is strictly forbidden to have any alcohol before jumping. I have seen a DZO make a tandem student pour away a just opened bottle of champagne because having open alcohol on the DZ is not allowed before the beer light. I have also seen the rule enforced in Spain. I don't smoke dope as I prefer alcohol to get high, but can't see how jumping with cannabis in the body is different to alcohol. It should be zero tolerance. Skydiving requires concentration and drugs that impair that are just a problem waiting to happen. As Skymama says, it is the times that fast reactions are needed that the rule is in place for. That includes malfunctions, digging out of hook turns too low, and avoiding collisions whether in freefall or under canopy. I am not a puritan, and will drive after having a drink, but hopefully always under the legal limit. However I think that skydiving does need to set clear rules for the safety of all of us that do it. Personally,I would be unimpressed if one of my staff thought it was alright to have a joint occasionally during the day, or keep a bottle of whisky to sip on at work. Most of them are at little risk of harming themselves at work, but I do need to rely on them being fit to do what they are being paid for. More so if I was skydiving with them. Al

My most memorable was a C141 Starlifter. A four engined jet the size of a subway station with an awesome run in speed, and then getting out to see the other four in the formation behind. Only a static line jump from 800' but what an exit and view. And paid to do it too!

Once you get the movement it is easy to do with one hand, just squeezing the top frame of the visor and lifting. I do that under canopy with no problem.

The other option is to use a pull out rig, and minimise the risk of a horseshoe mal. In the UK, students aren't allowed to though.

Most rigs here have a tag on with the reserve repack date. The type of plastic band they use in hospitals for your id. It is not compulsory to have that at all dropzones though.