ryan_d_sucks

I've been out for 1.5 months with a shoulder thing. But at my dropzone, I've been told that when you're a student (static line) like me you just need to make a jump every 120 days. After 120 days you have to repeat FJC and I think start back on the dope rope. I'm heading out tomorrow to see if the shoulder will tolerate jumping, and I would be really surprised if I have to re-take the FJC or repeat my last 5 second delay.. I'm pretty sure that's how they do it, unless I just heard completley wrong or misinterpreted what somebody told me.

Now that I'm moving along in my student progression my DZO has started helping me look for a rig to buy, so I can quit paying the $45/jump ticket for rental gear and altitude. So far I've been jumping Mantas (260 sq feet I believe), and I've felt pretty comfortable. I haven't done any stupid shit (yet) and I've had pretty good landings most of the time. The DZO, who is also the S&TA and the rigger has a rig he thinks would be really good for me with a Spectre 190 in it and I believe a PD Reserve 194ish square feet I believe? I know its a few square feet larger than the main.. Anyway, I weigh 190lbs without gear on. I've talked to him and others at the DZ about what my wingloading would be on a 190 main, just a little bit over 1:1. I know that it is generally not a good idea for students and novices to exceed a wingloading of 1:1, but this gear is what he is reccomending to me. And I know none of you can make a decision about it, because you've never seen me fly. He has seen me fly, and he reccomends going straight from the 260 to the 190. So, is it ALWAYS a bad idea for novices to exceed 1:1 (even if only by a little bit)or does it really depend on the individual? I trust him, he is a good guy, and I don't think he wants me to buy this rig just so he gets some cash. What do you guys think about a student jumping a 190? Further, what do you think about a student transitioning in one jump straight from a 260 to a 190? I assume I would probably be on radio or something for that jump. Blues, Ryan

Haha, man this thread is awesome. To OP, that sucks people try to take credit for your club to look cool. That's way lame. Whoever posted that Run DMC video was awesome. I had a similar situation at work the other day. A new kid showed up and we were shooting the shit. He told me he's been to Iraq and Afghanistan (he's only 17, I'm not entirely sure that's even possible), and that he fucked up his knee jumping out of airplanes in the Army. When I asked whether they were HALO jumps or static line jumps he just said "Yeah. We had our own thing on and everything." I then showed him the copy of parachutist in my backpack and he never brought it up again. And BillVonNovak, I would really love to hear the story behind your fake AFF1 jump, that sounds like it would be really funny.

August 4, 2006- a tandem at Skydive the Rockies in Colorado. I was on vacation with some friends in New Mexico and we drove all the way from Santa Fe up to Canon City to make a jump. I liked it. I hope to make it back to that DZ someday, they had a really nice view.

Truth.

Weirdest news story I've read in a long time: http://www.wivb.com/global/story.asp?s=6768851 Sorry if this is a repost- its hard to think of good search terms for a story like this.

Fucking sucks-- I'll be at Subway in about 15 minutes, working from 5pm-~11:45 PM.... Atleast I get a free sandwich..? I would much rather work during the day today and have the night free, but its just not in the cards. Man, my job sucks.

That isn't even the point. What makes you think you are mature enough at 16 or 17? You have to set the limit somewhere and 18 is the best place to start. Otherwise it's like saying the speed limit should be 65 instead of 60. If it's 60, 99% of people are going to do 65 anyway and push the limit by 5 miles and plenty will push it to 10-15 higher than the posted limit. If we change it to 65, they will still do the exact same. So whats the point of adding 5mph? The limit has to be somewhere. --And that's what you should have said in the first place, rather than knocking his age. The DZ (most) needs you to be 18 to legally sign the waivers. You're right, the age limit has to be set somewhere, for legal issues.. But what's that got to do with maturity? Granted, if someone seems wayyy immature, they probably shouldn't be allowed to jump. But, I think maturity based on age varies greatly from person to person. Making people be 18 to jump doesn't ensure they're going to be any better off. Just because you weren't mature enough to jump at 17 doesn't mean he's not.

Wow this sucks- Everything I've read has given me very little hope for a speedy recovery without going uncurrent, and more disheartening-- without surgery. I went to the doc today, and she stated ~1 month before I think about going up again, and offered a physical therapy referral. However, she's only a general practice doc, and I think I will go to an orthopedic guy for a second opinion. I see no reason not to go ahead and get x-ray/MRI rather than just play the 'wait and see if strength training helps' approach. If something's fucked in there I'd rather find out before I waste a month of not jumping and doing PT that won't fix a torn ligament. However, I am thinking about just taking a couple weeks off until the soreness goes away and making a couple more jumps. I don't think it will dislocate in freefall, as its never dislocated before, and it never hurts while skydiving, it starts the next day.. Good luck to all of you still battling your shoulder problems. And for those of you who did only physical therapy/strength training (no surgery)- how long did it take for your shoulder to be jumpable? Also how old are you? I feel like as a healthy, young 20 year old male I shouldn't be bogged down by such a weird 'injury.'

Thanks for reading my mind. I feel the same. Reading this has really made me appreciate the atmosphere, attention, attitude, instruction, and friendliness I receive every time I go out there.

Hey, I'm kind of in the middle of my student progression, and I was hoping to have my A by later this summer, but I've hit a possible bump in the road. I noticed a few weeks ago that the day after making 2 jumps my shoulder felt kind of 'loose' in the socket, and a little bit painful on rotating my arm above my head and back. However, after a day or so the pain went away, and I went again to jump a week later. After that, the same thing happened again. Now this weekend I went out Sunday and made 2 jumps (5 sec. delays) and my shoulder is pretty damn sore today. Much more than previously The thing I can't understand is what part of the skydive is causing this. I'm not taking grips on anyone and therefore not getting slung around the sky. I'm not tweaking it on exit- its just a poised exit from the strut of a 182. I feel like it COULD be the opening shock of the canopy, but the fact that I'm only doing 5 second delays and not quite even reaching terminal seems to disprove that. However, my next jump will be a 10 second, so if its the opening shock, can I only expect it to get worse? Unfortunately I have had problems with this shoulder before. About 4 years ago I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum. But, I went back to play 3 seasons of competitive baseball after that with just a little pain. I'm wondering if I have re-aggravated a previous injury or if this is something totally new. Obviously if this continues I will go see my doctor and look into surgery again, but its SUCH an inconvenient time in my progression to take 4 recovery months off. That would put me back in FJC and on the dope rope. Usually my shoulder recovers during the weekdays and I head out to the DZ with no pain. I will not jump again if its hurting at the DZ, because I don't want to be unable to reach my BOC hackey. Does anyone have experience with shoulder injuries related to skydiving? What part of the skydive was causing the problem, and was there anything you did to correct it? Any home remedies or specific PT exercises that helped you out? Thanks a lot. Ryan

"War is Peace" -1984

Wow..! I definately have been considering the whole packing thing. I introduced it to some of our packers at my home DZ and they told me once I learn to pack I can definatley join on and pack for cash. The only thing is we are a smaller dropzone and its not always terribly busy. Wed-Friday we're only open from like 4pm-sunset, and all day sat and sunday. We're a small cessna operation. And I think the going rate for pack jobs is 4 for SL rig, 5 for tandem, and between 4-8 for someone's personal rig. What do you guys make for packing a rig? I am definatley thinking about canning the subway shit and trying to get on at a real restaurant.

Money is a hard thing to come by. I used to just scrape by, do an odd job here and there when I needed to finance something. I'm a full time student, so that shit takes the majority of my time. But now that I've gotten into skydiving I've found that I need lots of money, and I need it comming in regularly. So I applied all kinds of places around town and finally about a month ago got a job at Subway making shit sandwiches. My boss is a drag queen (seriously) and a general douche (true). As much as the job sucks, today I got my first paycheck and I was stoked to go pick it up because I knew I had about 40 hours, so it should be a decent chunk of change. The thing is they never told me how much per hour I was making. I asked a few times but they said "it depends" and shit like that . So I pick up the check, and after taxes walked away with $161. Shitty. The pay rate is $6.00 per hour, and after taxes translates into a cool $5.33 per hour . Damn! I can't help but laugh a little bit.. I'm glad I'm only trying to finance recreation with it. So, its off to the plasma bank to bleed twice a week for $60, and then to the psych building to be a test subject in the paid experiments. What a bummer! The experiment I'm signed up for next week tests your ability to select the correct word and image combination, but for incorrect answers punishes you with an electric shock. The point of my long ramble on here is: I'm broke and I like skydiving a lot. What more besides work at Subgay, sell plasma, and be a psychology guinea pig can I do for some extra cash? And no prostitution isn't an option for me (my drag queen boss at subway honestly tried to convince me to be a 'topper', seriously) Have any of you done any similar funny things to raise jump cash? Take it easy.

No it does not count. Because the runner at first is a 'force-out' the runner from third does not score. The same would be true if a person was forced out from 1st to 2nd, or 2nd to 3rd. If, however the runner made it to first base, and then got caught between first and second in a 'rundown' or 'pickle' and was tagged out after the runner at third scored the run would count. Edit: I used to play a shitload of competitive baseball, and even umpired for a few seasons, and I've never heard someone say something like that. That announce must have made a mistake or been confused.

0:2:? Went to the dropzone Saturday, but was too hungover/still drunk to jump all day. (7 am bedtime, 2 pukes at the bar, etc.) So I came back Sunday and did my first 2 jumps on the BOC containers (was using ripcord before), and also my first 5 second delay. That 5 seconds beat the hell out of all of the other jumps leading up to it combined. Way fun. I'm told it only gets better.

Haha, you don't like your instructors/coaches? Your profile says you've got your A, so unless they're doing solely advanced stuff why can't you jump with the folks you like?

Good choice on the Asics, that's all I wear for running. Take care of your feet! Don't run in shitty shoes if you can't find/don't have your running shoes. There's not many other minor injuries that will prevent you from running the way a dearching foot/plantar fasciitis will. Also, try to get in a breathing rhthym and stay in that rhthym, seems to help me a lot. Good luck.

I would have voted big spoon-- BUT usually when I turn over and realize that this girl just had sex with ME I get grossed out. I think, "Damn! Who would be so insecure/drunk as to do that?" Then I get grossed out by the fact that I just had sex with someone who would have sex with me and demand she leave so I can sleep. Then I usually scratch my balls and fall asleep.

Nashville, Tennessee. Beautifully maintained state with plenty of natural beauty, copious amounts of outdoors recreation, good downtown section with all the pros of a decent sized city without the cons, great cost of living, great weather. I love Nashville, its worth at least a visit.

Me too. It's not a bad thing, a vidiot once jumped without a rig Seriously? Yeah...but he only did it once. What in the fuck?! I tried doing a search but came up empty handed with way irrelevant posts. Is there a thread or incident report about this? When did, and how could that happen?

Me too. It's not a bad thing, a vidiot once jumped without a rig Seriously?

"I know there's at least one jump I was on where I was very happy to NOT have one. " Would you mind elaborating on your experience? Lately I've been wondering what types of situations having an AAD would be detrimental.

Word. Tonights episode was kick ass. It faltered a little bit mid-way through season three, but finished up strong.

I was taught in my FJC that when landing I should enter my downwind at ~1000 feet, base at ~600 and final at ~300. However, most times when I'm being talked down I'm usually lower than those altitudes when advised to start each phase. I know low turns onto final are large contributors to injuries and fatalities, and I was wondering-- How low of a turn onto final is TOO low? How low do you all usually turn onto your final (assuming you are doing just a standard landing)? Where's the real danger zone for too much toggle input in terms of altitude? I'm jumping the student rigs-- Manta 280's (weighing 190) if that sheds any light or reasoning for starting a bit lower. Thanks, Ryan