Pulse

No tandems. STATIC-LINE ALL THE WAY! "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I think you can get them at any cheese factory. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Crap....'cuz I'm sick of him already. Glad he made it but c'mon! "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Say you track to 2,500 feet, do a quick barrel-roll to check your air above you. Then see someone is actually there? What do you do then? "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Perhaps it's less about the possibility of death and more about passion? I remember a whuffo party I attended during my first season in the sport. I sat and listened to a guy tell us about how he was an 'adrenaline junkie' and like to do 'extreme rollerblading'. It was from that point on that I realized labeling one's self as EXTREME is only for those with self-image issues. I guess it goes as such. It always looks like the other guy is more extreme. I would classify air-racing as extreme, both the unlimiteds and the Red Bull tours. But to racers, it's just racing. It's what they do, it's their passion. But think of that word.....PASSION. Anything that involves passion can be construed as 'extreme'. Not because of the nature of the activity itself. But rather the participants mindset. I once used to work with a pro-golfer. He held the same passion for golf as I with skydiving and flying. On the surface you could probably not get any further apart on the sport spectrum. But he attacked it with the same vigor and mindset. I called him the 'extreme golfer'. Passionate. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I'd say he's lucky! Being able to cash in big time after surviving something that quite a few people have before him without the recognition and $$$$$. Very lucky! "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Really? No 'real' expertise required? Low level of fitness? Interesting. I guess I see it like any other sport. Falling out of an airplane, if you want to call THAT skydiving is not hard. But skydiving WELL does require these things. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

If the unstowed toggle IS loose and dangling, you've got something else wrong! That means you might not be able to steer the canopy with that toggle since the line is anchored somewhere besides the trailing edge of the canopy. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

[replyYou've probably seen this, but maybe not. http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=xtreme_bullshit[url] Thanks for that one! I'm still giggling. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Start at the bottom and move up: - Shoes tied - legstraps - wing clips fastened - cutaway/reserve handles (also go thru emrgncy prcdrs 3 times during plane ride.) - Chest strap - 3 Rings - Main handle/pin check (myself) - gloves fastened/swoop chords DOOR OPENS - Quick once overe - Helmet buckled - Red light on "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I'll [email protected] "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I'm not one for labels in the first place. I think skydiving in the 50's and up through the 70's was 'extreme'. But it seems a little more watered down now. I don't know what EXTREME means anymore. It's attached to everything. It just seems to be a term used to sell stuff by getting idiots excited. It's a term non-skydivers use but even they can't define it. It has nothing to do with skydivers. To me, when I'm at the drop zone, skydiving is just my activity of choice. Because it's fun.....not EXTREME. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I have definitely been in your shoes. At the very least, I have jumped with stuffed sinuses and upon opening realized that I felt like I had been shot right between the eyes. In DeLand, I was under canopy after shooting a 4-way team jump. Again, I had that pain in my ear extending to the area between my eyes. It hurt so bad that I started doing the valsalva. They say not to do it 'hard' but I was desperate because the pain was getting so bad. Around 2,000 feet I heard that little 'squeal' you get when your ear finally clears. It did feel better. Back on the ground I noticed some blood on my slider. It was from my ruptured eardrum. At the DeLand walk-in clinic, (a must see for anyone interested in the whole cultural experience), Dr. Vavashita informed me to NEVER skydive again. Used to this kind of response from doctors. I'm still skydiving. But I did take some days off and was still able to make the nationals the next week. Today I still carry a small bottle of nasal spray in my bag. Not that it's the whole answer. It's no substitute for sitting out if needed. My story is pretty benign, but I was out $100 for the doctor visit. Could've been much worse. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I can definitely see your point in regards to how you were treated. This is not an excuse but also one must realize that there is a certain amount of, "Here's another one..." when someone starts pointing out how good, how conservative, and how safe they are. I might just be speaking for myself and I'm not saying it's right. I'm just saying that's how it is...for me anyway. But I don't think I called you an idiot or anything like that. When talking about canopy issues it seems that we focus too much on fatalities. I mean it's easy to start gtting the idea that either you're fine or your dead. But there is a large gap in between. My first canopy was a Raven III (249 sq ft 7-cell/F111) I weighed 160-pounds at the time. Yup...a wing loading of about 0.75:1. I put about 200 jumps on that canopy before downsizing. For all the talking we do about having a smaller canopy for turbulence, stability, better flare, yaddayadda. Guess what? I never sat out a day of jumping because of the size of my canopy. I jumped in conditions just like everyone else. I also had the bonus of not having to sit out any weekends because of anything even as small as a twisted ankle. I made the same mistakes my friends did and maybe a few more. Yet when they had an ice pack on their ankle or went to the hospital, I cussed the dirt on my suit but was still able to pack and get on another load. Something else new jumpers don't have the chance to do when flying such high wing loadings is experiment. It's wise to learn 'high performance' flying on lower performance canopies and then move on simply because of the margin for error. This goes for all of aviation. Most pilots learn to fly aerobatics in Decathalons or something like that before moving onto the Extras, Pitts, and Sukhois. Transferring known techniques to another parachute is a much more prudent approach. Note: I'm not saying it's not without it's risks. But once again, skydiving is dangerous. Another part of this experimentation is just simply being able to throw the canopy around a little. I always jokingly called it 'confidence building manuevers'. We used to have a ball 'trashing out' our canopies. Hold the toggles until they 'horseshoe', let one side up to get it into a flat spin, things like that. http://www.pulsevisuals.com/video/details/stallram-air.html Today I don't know of ANY A-licensed jumpers who do this sort of thing and at the wingloadings I see them flying I wouldn't recommend it. (I started running into 'issues' with recovery when my wing loading got to about 1.3:1.) Believe it or not, you learn a ton from this stuff. Also, it's just plain fun! Today I fly a Jedi and a Velocity. So, while I can appreciate the draw towards highly loaded parachutes. I honestly don't believe the same learning/experience curve applies. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

GREAT! Sounds like we're in agreement. Where did the riser thing come from? And where's the 'fire'? "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Yup, there are the losses. One of my favorite quotes that drives the point home comes from an NTSB official: "Gravity is constant and speed kills. Together they are particularly destructive." How I read this? SKYDIVING IS DANGEROUS. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I see this as a decision that should be done at the drop zone level. By people who know and work with the person in question. I don't carry a lot of faith in organizations to make decent decisions in regard to matters like this. I know, it's a simple bias. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

EXACTLY! Bad mouth swooping and hook turns all you want. There is much to be learned from them. I've always looked at a good canopy-pilot as being aggressive, but conservative-minded. Understanding that staying 'safe' may (and probably will) require not-so-conservative flying skills. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Wait, what exactly are we talking about here? In a 'toggle fire'/premature brake-release, why does one have to use rear risers to flare? The answer to the problem is to release the stowed toggle. Am I missing something? Also, I think some people never really take the time to look at the situation. I've seen numerous jumpers cutaway when their canopy made a "wicked turn" during opening but they never looked up. I'm also not sure if people really understand the differences between canopies. We recently had a jumper proclaim she "nearly cut away" during her first jump on an elliptical. She freaked because it made a sharp turn and dove more than she was used to during opening. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I was involved in a bandit-jump once. A big issue was that two of the jumpers had "...broken USPA BSR's..." concerning their landing proximity to a hazard. (The hazard being water.) Though the jumpers were far over-qualified for the D-license, they did not hold the license. This was just a nit-picking point for non-jumpers who were upset. It's really meaningless. But in a world that's impressed with print on paper, it seems to mean everything to the idiots out there. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I find that the very basic wingloading calculation should be briefly discussed in the FJC. Exit weight / canopy size = wingloading, and their wingloading should be at/around .8:1. At that point they don't need to know the mechanics behind a .8:1 wingloading versus a 1.2:1 wingloading... they only need to know that they should be at/around .8:1. That is just part of the basic gear understanding that they should be learning about from the beginning. What good does this info mean when there is nothing to compare it to? Wing loading is a concept of relativity. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

This isn't to say any such 'trend' is to be ignored. But I've always wondered how much one can criticize if someone chops and lands safely. It's a blurred line. I'm curious as to the orientation of the term 'brake fire'. It's always been known as an 'unstowed toggle' to me up until the past few years. Which is a much more descriptive term I must say. 'Brake fire' just makes things sound more impressive than they are. There is no fire involved. If there was, it would probably be called something else. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Hate to say it. But incident reports are loaded with 'safe' and 'conservative' skydivers. I don't know you, but I think there is such a thing as being too conservative. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

Oh...you're not an asshole, (as far as I know) and you're not out of line. I'm not saying students would never get the concept, but I'm sure you would agree there are some that wouldn't. I myself would never include it in a first jump course simply because it's not needed. If something is not needed, but has the potential to confuse, I'll leave it out. Afterall, tell a student they have a 0.8:1 wingloading...what does that mean to them? By the time the get an A-license they should have a grasp of the concept since they are going to be buying gear soon. But I still wouldn't expect the A-license holder to have yet formed a 'philosophy' behind it or even realize how far reaching the implications are. That sort of thing takes years. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."

I don't think wing-loading needs to be covered in a first jump course. Since it really has nothing to do with that first jump and would only serve to confuse people. "Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentleman's apparel is clearly asking to be mangled."