Baksteen

The rank and file of the German army - even of the SS - weren't all psychopaths (though far too many of them were). Also, the person giving the order for mass-murder is not necessarily the person being forced to actually perpetrate it.

I agree with Gowlerk, but I also think that the death penalty is 'too easy' for the perpetrator. But having said that, a lifelong incarceration for crimes currently punishable by death should indeed be lifelong. Not 30 years with option of parole. I also feel that punishments for what I view as truly heinous crimes such as rape and pedophilia are way too light. But that is a different discussion.

Well, I mean of course nobody disavowed Trump. It wasn't as if he was talking to a non-Caucasian person, now was he? Sarcasm aside, we have our own political party of insanity as well now. The Forum for Democracy panders to conspiracy theorists, racists, Putin and every other unsavoury crap out there.

I said I don't like *Musk* and anything he stands for. But calling himself the Chief Twit, now *that* is self-awareness.

I don't like Elon Musk and anything he stands for, but one of his actions I can get behind: https://www.complex.com/life/elon-musk-changed-twitter-bio-chief-twit

For me personally, it depends. How many other people are in the air, what are we doing, how current am I etc. After a sequential jump I have had no problem with accepting a center dock at, say, 2K or 1500 if we're doing 2-way. I've also been known to be part of a "post-stack" which is complete at the altitude previously indicated, but flown down to 100 ft or so. I do that only with people I really know and trust. Offset docks, that ends at 3-3.5K if we're doing 2-way and isn't happening at all after a larger sequential jump. I don't coach people for their first canopy formation jumps (I'll leave that to @IJskonijn) , but I'd like to submit that the minimum docking altitude would also greatly depend on what gear everyone is on. For the purpose of this discussion I regard bumping endcells as "docking" where newbies are involved. The most important thing to know is, cross your legs once you reach the minimum altitude you're comfortable with and people know to stay away.

I see. Well as I have been told, in a nutshell, back in the good old days a lot of Dutch skydivers were getting hurt under then-modern canopies. IIRC that was around the time the original Sabre came out. The Dutch authorities took note and told our national association to regulate ourselves - or they would. So, since we don't sue as easily as the US, we got 'rules' instead of 'recommendations'. The association, however, does not have the power of the law.

The Netherlands. :-) In 2019 we made ~86.500 jumps total, with ~175 reported incidents. Two incidents were fatalities. Two fatalities (or any fatality at that) is a lot for us; but as Wendy indicates there can be no meaningful comparison to the US due to the difference in absolute jump#s.

No, I probably didn't explain myself well enough. The rules are basically for when you want to downsize. Look at me: I have a D-licence, ~1050 jumps, 0 in the last 12 months and I estimate that my exit weight is now 105 kg. I typically jumped a L160 loaded at 1.35. The calculator would put me on a skymaster or something, but since I already have experience with that canopy, the calculator does not apply. Instead, I would have to discuss with the instructor on duty what my "reintegration plan" is. Maybe a couple of solos, then some two-way CF with center docks only. Of course there are still grey areas, such as the infamous jumpers who'd feel restricted by the downsizing rules and go to a neighbouring country to jump the canopy they wanted. They would return triumphant saying they now already jump the canopy so the rules do not apply anymore. Unfortunately for them, the instructor still has the authority can keep them on the ground - no matter their experience/license.

I have no problem living in a nanny country. Your right to kill yourself doing shit you are not ready for is to me way less important than: 1) the grief you cause an instructor (who is a whole different animal from the US-version) who has to reason with a bull headed jumper without being able to throw the rulebook at him 2) traumatising everyone who you force to watch you femur in 3) the bereavement of those you leave behind 4) the bad image you project onto the sport 5) and even the paperwork you cause the emergency responders. The Dutch rules limit your canopy choice and wingloading based on the canopy model, your total number of jumps, the number of jumps you made in the past twelve months. (https://skydivekompasroos.nl/en/). They are complained about by many, but I have never found them too restrictive. These days a Chief Instructor can allow a jumper to jump a canopy one size smaller than the rules mandate. If more leeway is wanted, you can apply to the national organisation (KNVvL) for a waiver. This obviously applies to normal progression. If, say, I was to start jumping tomorrow after the corona-break, the guide posted would put me on a first jump canopy (which I would seriously consider anyway). The rule however is that I have to make my first jump(s) in consultation with an instructor (been a while though since I read the exact procedure).

In a large aircraft I might -just might- overlook people jumping if the open parachute is contained far away from the door by more than one person. In a small aircraft like a 182 or 172 not so much. IMO the risk of fabric escaping containment and inflating is much larger. You'd get at least a talking to. I'm no S&TA, but if you'd close your container and jump, I guess you'd get your ass grounded. But then again, I've always been known as a cautious jumper.

Unpopular opnion: I've stopped watching their content long agao, but I'm not sure that the Red Bull guys are doing our sport a favour.

In all fairness, that is also true of many skydivers.

Given the nature of your continued questions in light of the excellent responses you got made me wonder what answer you were shopping for. Thanks for clearing that up. What, in your opinion, would be the added value of allowing "people jumping BASE canopies in dual harness rigs to open at whatever altitude they want?"

I think my views would be best described by saying that personally I don't believe in religion. But If someone else is religeous, I respect their viewpoint exactly as far as they respect mine.

No matter how long it took, the solution was achieved. Hopefully you can get some closure now. I sincerely wish you the best and hope that you can now start the healing process.

Granted. I too see "freeze" as an involuntary response / panic. That is not what I meant and accept the change to "Flight". I should not have called it "doing nothing", even though I can imagine it would feel that way to a student in that situation. You read all kinds of advanced stuff about changing stable two-outs into a downplane to cut it away. About canopy transfers. About hook knife use. About bloody standup bloody landings being the golden standard for a good landing. About sliding in on your arse. As a beginning student I do not want you to do any of that when the shit hits the fan. I want you to remember your decision altitudes and act accordingly. And I want you to PLF your first few landings, or I'll make you PLF all the way back to the hangar.

I think it's a good question. In my opinion the biggest issue you face is that someone is in a high-stress situation with a potentially fatal problem. Doing "nothing" (not cutting away) is against every instinct you possess. Also, I have not conducted any research into this, but I'm willing to guess that most people with a mal at low altitudes actually started with a mal at a reasonable altitude which they couldn't fix in time - adding even more stress / panic / sensory overload.

Next up: Off-duty foreign military personnel killed in drive-by after bar brawl. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-62712298

Well, I guess it would be country specific - or even dependent on the type of job you're looking for. From my experience (medical laboratory staff in the Netherlands) LinkedIn and Indeed are pretty heavy players. But "networking" is the most important, yet most easily overlooked way of getting a new job.

People like slim make me wistful for the Good Old Days, with quality trolls like Nipp1e_boy.

Damn. I am ashamed to have overlooked this thread. I jumped with Mark back in 2008, when I was a hundred jump wonder, with almost no FS-experience over 4-way. So it may be better to say he jumped with me. :-) I'm from a small Cessna DZ and this was the first time I jumped from a twin otter. I did jump from caravans previously, but unlike in the Netherlands back then, the Perris Otters had benches. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the loading order. No matter where I was in the formation, I always seemed to end up in a (to me) illogical seat, where others would need to push past me from both sides. Until I overheard Mark telling one of the other Perris organisers to "put the Dutch guy in the cold seat. He won't notice". Which was very funny and true enough. The only way I could cope with the California heat was because I could look forward to the next jump, when the door was raised slightly and cool air was allowed into the plane. As I recall they kept a shoe in the plane for exactly that pupose. Mark also made a great impression on me by telling me the following: Mark's coach at the time forgot Mark's lead vest and had to go back to fetch it. This caused Mark to miss the flight that would become the Perris crash.

Kliff was on my first CReW jump in the US. It's now almost 15 years and hundreds of CReW jumps later, but I still have very fond memories of that day. BSBD.

OK, so in order to protect the life of the mother, US-citizens are now allowed to shoot anti-abortion oriented politicians and "power brokers" (for want of a beeter word)? That's an unexpected turn for the good.

Fluent in English or nearly so. I can make myself understood in German, though reading/listening is a lot easier for me. I know the bare essentials in French (Donnay mwoh beer sil voos play, Carson) and can say at least "thank you" in Polish and Rumanian :-)