wildblue

can't help ya.. I don't think I've missed a weekend since sometime in May (with a couple weekdays thrown in there too) :)

Yes, you're destroying that 10% average you had going.

When I was jumping student gear (with FXC) I was told to deploy at 3k or above. I've seen many two canopies out because of those things. You set it for 1,000 ft, and it's "plus or minus 1,500 ft" ... it's the minus that scares me. Actually, wasn't there a case like that in Indiana this year?

Is this what you're talking about? (I don't think she was a student) This from http://www.skydivenet.com/fatalities/fatalities_us_01.html Description: Best guess is that this jumper deployed extremely low, and then had her CYPRES-fired reserve entangle with her snivelling/malfunctioned main. She managed a cutaway somewhere below 250', but it failed to improve the situation. The prior weekend, she had been chastised for pulling too low, and otherwise taking too many chances. She was jumping a Safire 130-ish, at a wing-loading of around 1.1 lb/ft^2. Lessons: It would appear this jumper may simply not have respected the risks inherent in skydiving, and eventually they caught up with her.

I like the long, very well written stories. If you don't, then don't read them... not that big of a deal.

hmm... make it around the 9th 0r 10th, and I know another pair of DZ-dot-commers that might join you.

I would choose "c", regardless of if they were paying my ticket or not. I do that sort of thing even if not asked. If I see a freebag or main with no one already near it, I'll follow and land as close to it as I can.

Bummer... I was really hoping to try one out next week :( Guess I'll just have to get on the list.

christ... I can't even believe I'm reading half this shit on dz.com .... so very disappointing... jokes or not...

The complete fuck-ups are usually the coolest, most fun, most memorable dives I have! :)

I don't use one. My reason: I'm going to pull my handles in order if I'm capable. The scenarios I've gone thorugh where it would help me, does not outweigh the scenarios where it could hurt me.

http://www.identitychecks.com/

Let's all "say a little prayer" for Josh... (in unison) "Dear Lord, please don't let josh fuck this up" (immediately followed by a safety briefing....)

This makes three http://www.gulfcoastgateway.com/news/072701/Local/ST001.shtml Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.

Remi - I think he was replying to Clay who said: eek! And no, cameramen don't always take the middle and dump right at break-off. NOT a good way to make friends.

ya, that's it, I was "clearing my airspace" But seriously - be aware of what's around you!! If you know you went low, track a little longer, pull a little lower. If you know someone's low in your group, pull a a little higher. Low man give a good wave-off, do a barrel roll if that makes you feel good, or just look over your shoulder. If you have to, go work on your tracking. Take someone out with you that knows how to track well (remember to track 90 degrees from jumprun) and practice your "break-off tracks" - track for a few seconds, stop, do a 180 and do it again. Remember, 99% of the time, flatter is better. Ever watch a big-way from the ground? There's usually one or two guys WAY far away from everyone else at pull time? They didn't leave early, they didn't pull low - they can flat track. Catch them when they get to the ground and ask advice.

I would guess "waffle stomped" meant getting a boot print embedded in your backside - the result of a good swift kick in the a** I could be wrong :)

what kind of aircraft? what were the winds like? On the first jump: the people you opened above, did they leave the plane before or after you? On the second jump: You opened between them? Or they opened on either side of you?

How much do you weigh? The difference between mini and standard rings COULD be a big issue for you if you're a bigger person. If I remember the numbers correctly, under perfect conditions (the rings are properly aligned, cables aren't dirty, etc) the standard rings give you a 200 to 1 advantage, where the mini-rings give you 30 to 1. Here, this may explain much better than I can: http://www.jumpshack.com/the3ring.htm

You do know if you left the plane at 750 ft your cypres would never fire, right? And you only need to hit about 80 mph for it to fire. Back to the original question - For fun hop n pops, I like 3k or more. Anything less than that just doesn't seem as fun. Emergency exit - under 1000 feet I'd just pull silver. I'd probably get out as low as 500. Depends on speed of the airplane too.

Aren't they supposed to last a couple years? I've had my Pro-Track for 6 months maybe, it started acting up this weekend. It didn't record 4 jumps (yes it was on, I even checked it a few times in the plane, but once I got to the ground it had shut off) Doesn't it have a low battery warning? I changed the batteries, and it recorded the next jump, so I'm assuming that's what it was. I leave it on the ECO setting, and usually shut it off at the end of every day as well. What's your experience with them?

No kidding... let's kick 'em while they're down?

If you don't want to tie a glow stick to your alti, you can always get a digitude. http://www.altitudeconcepts.com they have a really nice back-light too them, almost like an indiglo watch

warning: wreck.skydiving is not to be taken seriously.

I think they're talking about Cutaway.... I could be wrong, I didn't commit much of it to memory.