Baksteen

The vaccine was developed faster because a lot of money was pumped into it short term rather than over the course of years, allowing companies to have a broader approach, testing several options in the lab instead of only the one which looks on paper the most promising. And, cynically, the regulating authorities had a vested interest in reviewing all documentation regarding COVID vaccines. It's quite the difference to your research process if the authorities come asking whether you have something for them yet, rather than you having to chase after them for months on end trying to cut through the red tape.

Well, it never really only affects "them" does it? A 50 jump wonder jumping a handkerchief as a main and a postage stamp as a reserve as a H&P on their own pass may only be endangering themselves - but a lot of innocent bystanders are likely to be affected if (when) they bounce. A smoker is getting the lion's share of the unhealthy substances in the cigarette, but second-hand smoke is a health risk, especially for their children. An anti-vaxer is not endangering just themselves, but also their innocent children - and indoctrinating said children into the same pseudoscience as well. Let alone the fully vaccinated people who for whatever reason have a weak response to the vaccine and end up in the ICU because some @$$hat is maintaining that they have "just a cold" and therefore do not need to quarantine.

After reading the entire thread I'll come back to the OP. Getting quality (e.g. useful) video during a skydive is a discipline, just like any other one (FS, FF, CReW, Swoop, instructing, tandem). You cannot expect any skydiver to be usefully competent in any discipline without investing some time in it first. I mean, I have enough jumps to wear a camera. I have enough jumps to make a freefly jump, if I were so inclined. Would that make me a suitable person to get video from a two-way headdown?

It's a sad fact of life that conspiracy ..people are much better at providing catchy, easily digested "information" than science/governments. This is of course partially due to the fact that science is slowed down by well, the need to backup their claims with actual science, basically. As to "our leaders" (as in the government), they are politicians, not medical experts. This means that in case of COVID-information they are at best well-informed and well meaning amateurs, not experts.

I think the US have lost their "leader of the free world"-status for quite some time now. At least in all countries which are not actually the US themselves. You guys merely have the most soldiers; that is not the same.

We need a popcorn emoticon.

Yes, well, I can relate. I mean, I have to confess I wore a mask when I got vaccinated.

Be that as it may, JoeWeber's comment is still funny as hell. :-) To the OP, in my opinion a "standup landing" is the most overrated type of landing there is. Personally, I have been making PLFs for most of a year when recovering from a knee injury (which I sustained while participating in a ballroom dancing contest, if you believe it). I reasoned that while my knee was finally good enough to jump safely, I was not going to jeopardise it with "having to" land on my feet as experienced jumpers are "expected to". I reasoned that I was jumping out of an airplane - no need to try and look cool. :-)

As you yourself correctly remarked above, the virus may mutate in people who are not vaccinated. You were talking about entire nations, but the same holds true within nations in which not enough people are vaccinated. That might mean that a mutation arises for which the vaccines becomes less effective. Also, if you are vaccinated, you can still get it - and spread it. You just have a way lower chance of becoming hospitalised or dying.

The key is not to get discouraged too easily. If the instructors told you you cannot jump right now they might not necessarily consider you a lost cause, but merely someone who needs some extra training. There is no shame in that. Every jumper will hit a bottleneck sooner or later in their jumping career. This can be anything from the exercise they cannot master, to getting back into the air after taking some time off due to personal reasons, after witnessing their first incident up close, all of the above, or something else entirely.

That is technically true. I meant indirectly, with rich countries buying up all the supply at high price before the poor countries have a chance. Though I also vaguely remember one of the vaccines being in short supply because it was manufactured in the US and because the US would not release it until it's own demand was satisfied.

Fear not, America, your political leaders do not have the monopoly on stupidity. The Dutch government made a bid for the top of the list in the hall of Infamy with their latest bout of mind-boggling ignorance and stupidity. Not only had they let go some of the more unpopular covid-restrictions at breakneck speed (exactly as they did last year when the situation threatened to become stable and under control), they also naively declared that teenagers could attend night clubs and bars immediately after getting their vaccinations "as they would be fully protected". In bars and night clubs there would be no need for social distancing as long as people could prove they were either vaccinated or had tested negative for Covid in the past 40 hours. You could prove that you were eligible with an app. Unfortunately the developers (who were on government pay) forgot to make the system watertigfht, so people could just share the QR code the app provided them by sharing screenshots via Whatsapp and suchlike. That worked, if the venue in question even bothered to check in the first place. The prime minister and the minister of health and safety have made their apologies for this "lapse of judgement" in a separate press conference and have asked anyone who attended bars or night clubs past weekend to go into self-isolation and get tested. It's depressing to see that the people in charge have not learned a thing during the entire pandemic. I guess I'll be staying in a self imposed lockdownish for now.

Correct, actually. It's therefore in the rich countries best self-interest to stop hogging the vaccines and start making the vaccines available to second and third world countries. The Dutch approach, filtered trough my own cynical interpretation: Astra has been taken out of the Dutch vaccination program since the government has questions about the vaccine's reliability, what with the talk about side effects and all. The government have also announced to donate several hundreds of thousands of doses of Astra (aka crap we do not want) to other countries.

Don't be a fool. Have you seen the general willingness of Joe Sixpack to compy with masking, social distancing and similar easily followed measures, even during the height of the aforementioned pandemic? Would you like to make such measures permanent?

You know, I sometimes am embarrassed to be a white male in his forties. That is, embarassed on behalf of other white men. To me everyone is just people. Where someone is from or where their roots lie is not important to me, unless it's important enough to them that they elect to tell me. At the risk of undercutting my point: I do not have a problem with diversity programs, in fact I am very much in favour of them. However, I am against the idea of a "diversity quotum" as it is or was sometimes called in the Netherlands, mainly because the person(s) in question will be put under a magnifying glass. Some people will wonder out loud if that person got hired merely to fill the quotum which means the person has to work twice as hard to prove themselves.

No, they would probably storm the Capitol.

I thought this whole thing was Bill Gates' fault?

Do you think zero-pilot ops for skydiving lifts (remotely piloted from the ground) would stop "pilots" trying to make things more "exciting" for passengers?

Pre-2020 we politely sneezed in our hands. Then COVID happened and alternatives were sought. Sneezing in your elbow, for instance. Pre-2020 we shook hands. Then COVID happened and alternatives were sought. The elbow bump for instance. For the time being, I'll wave at you, thanks.

I'm aware that you say "not very likely" as opposed to "impossible", but I would like to point out that the risk could still be significant. You can be fully immune for a disease like Polio, but still 'shed' the virus into the environment (sewage). Subsequent improper treatment of this sewage can then lead to infection of non-vaccinated people. Not much of a risk in the Western world, maybe, but a very real one for developing countries. Now vaccine protection against Covid on the other hand is something completely new. I would advise caution in abandoning all safety measures based on having had the shot, or being in contact with someone who did.

RW-balloon suits. Nuff said. ;-)

With AFF there's at least "levels" you have to pass. I thought the OP was driving at that with the question.

The "number of rejumps" question is not really relevant for SL. You'll get there when you get there (freefall). You might need six jumps, you might need sixty jumps. Either is fine.

What is the assessed impact on the intended use, and is the intended use conform the manufacturer's guidelines? How much has the tensile strength of the old rope diminished compared to a new one of the same make and type? How much does the tensile strength vary between lot numbers? Is it still within specification?

Is a Super Bowl made of silver? Inquiring minds want to know.