fastphil

On a missed spot I've landed in a road and stopped traffic so then I could ask for a ride to the DZ...

It bothers me too that only a few people like yourself see thru the media hype and realize their self proclaiming ratings driven agenda. Godspeed to the "lunatic" fringe...

The Roundie, with it's perfect rotational symmetry, is the shape with the highest area for a given length of perimeter; that, and they are cool. Got round jumps...

Never will you know if you have enough time until it's over; I think when it's time to use a reserve it's time to do it immediately...

At least you're laughin' now...

Head south, young man; and make some skydives...

Funny, I don't feel Old Old Old, but I was very young at the time (and that pic of Suni, is she over 15). Here are some of the regular Old Old Old crowd...

I saw a very damaged airport on the news this morning...

All the cutaways I know of just required a repack and a substantial amount of beer. I've had several...

Well then, lets talk about it - In the first video I am wondering why deployment did not happen sooner. First thing that comes to mind is the jumper did not see the plane. I have been in a similar situation but dumped out of it with much more vertical seperation. As I tracked and scanned the airplane below me stuck out like a sore thumb. Wondering if I just got lucky or if scanning (for other jumpers as well as anything else that might be in the air) while tracking helped. - I agree; Should always keep an eye on where you are going and who else may be there. Cool close call though...

Absolutely, Spaceland started at the front of the airport, next to Dead Baby Curve, complete with machine gun range, round canopies and a twin beech buzz job after last load...

hmmm... should I include the beer cost, seems like that was the biggie expense.

In the beginings of antenna, we used to climb slow and stop a lot to engage in intellectually bankrupt conversation in order to get good and scared. I could do the 1100 foot climb in about twenty minutes but we would usually take a couple of hours at least. Then we might hang at the top for a while also; weird huh???

I think the salt water is probably safer on your gear than fresh water until it can be cleaned, at least it won't mildew if left wet with salt water...

I've watched a lot of guys pull at a grand, most had hundreds or thousands of jumps and I felt they knew well what they were into. The low pull that will always stay in my mind was a 30 jump or so female student. After exiting at 10,000 feet she finally pulled and got line stretch at about 100 feet, and to top it off she didn't seem to think anything about it...

I think it's the vertical speed that will seperate the sliders from the PLFers. And if you are in a high verticle speed situation you'll hope you have horizontal speed also, coming straight in has to be the hardest way to land...

goodnite udder...

This is an important thought in any sane skydivers mind. I started with shot and a halfs and got my first 3 ring when Bill first started putting them on Wonderhogs; and the first of us were self taught. Instinctively we knew that two canopies at once was the last thing we wanted, but for me, I always wanted a hand on both handles before the sequence began. My first cuttaway I think I threw both handles into the next county, cost me a couple of cases plus the lost handles, but the "hand on each" worked for me for a half dozen cuttaways. After one or two cutaways I did manage to start holding onto my cutaway and reserve "blast" handle till landing...

If you get into stunt jumping you will have to offer a lot more than just skydiving stunts to make a living, and don't forget you'll take on a lot of risk not associated with sport skydiving (I have friends who shortened their life span this way). And most of the demo jumps I've made barely paid costs and a few free beers...

Yep, 'cause learning to leave the airplane stable by yourself really isn't all that important, especially if there's an aircraft emergency where you have tons of time to get yourself stable You're more likely to learn how to pack and spot with s/l than AFF, which are both as much a part of skydiving (or should be anyway) as being able to do turns, four ways or flips. Ohhh, that was a punch in the stomach. Okay, I change my mind, go the cheap SL route and shoot for more skydives. My learning curve consisted of 5 SLs and 500 first year jumps...

AFF; static line jumps offer little more than canopy time...

I've been on an SCR jump that was also the recepients first jump. The group I jumped with at the time lived by a rigid set of laws, Mother Natures...

Anytime beyond static line is where I draw the line...

From skydivingfatalities.info So, it looks like he ran out of altitude and ideas at about the same time. Like I said, the slider ride is not for the general population...

I'm going to have to disagree here. If you can't do a successful 2-way, you won't be able to do a succesful 4-way. I'm all for having fun with friends, and as long as you can maintain relative proximity, are aware of everyone's location on breakoff, and can track to a clear piece of sky in a timely fashion, go for the gusto. But I believe you will learn faster by getting feedback from a more experienced jumper on a two way than you will by flying all over the place trying to get a four-way together. As for the advice above about bringing your arms back to promote forward motion, I would caution against this. You need to be able to both hold still and move forward with your arms in a natural, "grip-taking" position. If you have to move your arms back to move forward, you will never be able to take grips. Again, work with a more experienced jumper to improve your body position. - Dan G When he asks "how do I know if it is me who is unable to manuver into position of my partner continually sliding away from me?" I have to think that two or more partners will solve that. If the two can not even get into the same vacinity then the two way is garbage. I do agree about the value of a good dive though, even two way, and there should be nothing his partner can do that can not be caught...