SethInMI

Those are bluetooth trackers which are completely useless for skydiving. They have a range of 50' or so. It could be useful if you could attach a phone to a drone and fly a grid pattern. Look at the phone app afterward and see if it found anything.

This is the Late Late Show with James Corden / Perris Valley tandem jump video. Very well done. The bit with the creepers was great, and the "big box little box cardboard box" no contact flying plan was hilarious.

Yeah that is what I think was in effect before the big bumps in 2003, A-license was 20 freefall jumps. Then it went to what it is now, 25 total jumps.

I was just starting out in 2003 which was the big change that I recall. I remember the scramble for the D and Cs, this change feels small in comparison, and I seriously doubt it will have much impact on IAD retention rates. Can someone tell me what the A-licence requirements were in 2002? Google is letting me down on finding them. Seth

Again, I'm not saying communication is dumb. Communication is great. What I am saying is "opening at 5k should not affect the delay taken by the following group" and therefore not telling them is not a safety issue. there are two safety concerns I have seen raised: 1. tik168 is saying you need to give extra delay to account for the fact that once open if the person flies up the flight line they could fly into the airspace of the next group. I ran some numbers. First thing that stands out is this is not a concern if you are followed out by free-fliers, as they will catch up to you by the time you finish deploying, so if you do fly up the flight line you are flying over top of them. Actually they could give you a smaller delay if they knew you were pulling higher as the break-off spread would occur below you. (I'm not saying anyone would do that of course) (If they need to give a really long delay, still not a problem as see below) If you are followed out by a tandem with video, we need to consider the video flyer. How much closer will the canopy be flying for X seconds up the flight line? And what should X be? Let us assume the TI always plans to give solos 400ft of space. How long will it take our solo to cover that distance? With a 20mph speed, 13 seconds, so our vidiot could be in danger if the winds required a very long delay. But, and this is a very important point, the same collision risk exists no matter what the opening altitude of the solo is. If the solo opens at 3k and flies up jump run for 13 seconds, he will be under the vidiot too, the same position. In fact, he would most likely be closer at 3k, as in really strong winds typically the winds at 4.5k are stronger than 2.5k. I'm just a little depressed that some people can't understand the physics of this, or think the concern of running into someone while you are deploying is not a big deal. 2. Baksteen mentioned that seeing canopies above him freaked him out and caused a cutaway. This is a valid point, but I think the argument is a weak one. IMHO this goes in the "communication is good, but you should be prepared to handle your shit regardless"

If you are coming down on top of me, I am not sure which is better, for one to be in freefall and one under canopy, or both under canopy which would lead to an entanglement or wrap. IMHO the rules for horizontal exit separation have been written in blood. It is extremely important to maintain those rules for the safety of all jumpers, and if someone is incapable of doing so, he/she is putting any jumper in the previous group at risk, regardless of pull altitude. If it actually is that important, the rule should be spelled out somewhere, if someone opens above XX altitude, you MUST give them YY additional delay. Just telling them what is going on is not enough.

Yeah, maybe it was 3500. Dont get hung up on the number, you see the only point I was making, sometimes 4500 is against the rules.

True. My only point was if the other groups exit how they are supposed to, opening at 5k is not a problem. So if we are to not make assumptions, the correct conversation with the following group is not "I'm letting you know I'm pulling at 5k", it is "What exit delay are you giving me? 5 seconds? Not enough, with these winds you need 8. Don't short change me. Thanks!" The same exit delay for 3k opening is the appropriate one for a 5k opening, imho.

What if the tandem had a separate video flyer? Doesn't matter. I only mentioned tandem altitude b/c above that you really start to land late, and it does make sense to let the pilot and wingsuiters know there will be a canopy in airspace it normally wouldn't be in. But as well all know, it is horizontal separation that matters between groups, not vertical. If I end my skydive early, whether intentional or not, none of the other freefall groups should be affected. Even wingsuiters should be on a flight path well off the standard flight line.

Why is that important? I can't think of a reason why it would affect the actions of any other group. Reasons I can think of is if after opening someone is looking around counting canopies they may wonder why they are 1 short (because it is 2k ft above them), or it is a good habit because some DZs and boogies have rules about not opening above 3k, and announcing your intentions to do so will give others a chance to tell you that is not allowed. But if I was at a DZ where it was allowed, I would not feel the need to announce my opening altitude, if I was under Tandem opening alti.

You don't bring back concrete rebound hammer. Concrete rebound hammer will bring itself back when it feels like it.

True. In the USA his memory will fade, but I feel it will live on in the UK, by both being a smaller place, and the unique nature of the crime making it a good conversation piece (can you mess with a rig and make it look like an accident is a conversation I have had before just shooting the shit in the packing area).

I feel like he will become a skydive legend. Like DB Cooper or fictional Truman Sparks or Bohdi, his name will be a bonfire staple, enough that people will remember. It only takes one person to post "Hey remember that guy, his release date just passed, wonder where he is" and refresh everyone's memory.

Yeah, I don't think they will abandon the no-LCD display price point. My assumption is the session replacement will be thinner, look a little more pancake like.

Interesting. I can't find any concrete information about a session replacement, except for this from GoPro CEO Nick Woodman from Nov 2017: Reading between the lines, they will have a new Session style camera coming out some time this year, but it will be even smaller.