gale

I don't know. I just assumed it was legal.... Let's call it hypothetical then, shall we? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

OK, yes, this is what I was looking for. I know how to adjust for landing altitude, I do that all the time. The question was more about the unit getting confused because of the long plane ride. It sounds like it won't? So just to clarify, I could set my Cypres, get on a plane, fly for 5 hours, and I would still be OK? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I know we've been seeing a lot of Cypres chatter lately, but I've got one more.... I'm leaving my airport to jump in at another one. The ride will take less then 2 hours. (Estimates vary) Departing airport is quite close to sea level and the airport I'm jumping into is at 1133 MSL. Can I use my Cypres? Sorry, if this is a dumb question but I can't really find this exact senario in the manual. One of the skydivers I talked to said I couldn't and I just wanted to see if anyone knew for sure. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Well I had a pretty major illness a few years ago. Things weren't looking good and at one point my doctor actually gave up on me! But then I tried (another) new drug. One that only works on a tiny fraction of people. It turned out I was in the tiny fraction. It was just about the time when the meds started kicking in that the local drop zone had a booth set up at my university's clubs day. I always thought it was something I should try. So I walked up to the booth, and as I started writing down my name the guy sitting there said, "don't you have any questions?". I replied, "do I get to jump out of a plane?" "Yes" he said. So I said, "That's all I needed to know". I figured I'd only do one. Just to try it. And then I figured, well, just one more to see if I'm less scared.... I still wonder if the next one will be less scary. Maybe that's why I keep coming back. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Well, I plan on going. It will be my "beer" boogie. I hear it's one of the best in Canada. We've got a plane load of 17 going from my drop zone I think. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Absolutely true. It should be said loudly in every first jump course. But the thing is, the same is true of driving. (And lots of other things) Some drunk idiot can kill you as even if you've done everything you can to avoid an accident. Life will kill you. The only question is how. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

May I just ask: Why isn't membership in the USPA mandatory for drop zones? The answer to this might be obvious, I don't know. If membership was mandatory then the USPA would have power over the drop zones and it would still prevent the FAA from regulating. Just a thought. (Don't know much about the system thought...) Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Hi Michele, Well I will say that your story of how great your canopy control class was has encouraged me to take one. However, I don't know of ANY in Canada. From the people I've asked they say there isn't one. (Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.) I'm on Vancouver Island which is in Southern British Columbia, for those who don't know. Great scenery, but not a huge jumping scene like you would find in some of the southern states. I did however read the post about the canopy class happening in Oregon and I'm planning on taking it. It's the closest one to my dropzone I've heard of. These are the details I have about the course: "Our teaching is based on an understanding of aerodynamics. There is a four hour ground school, followed by two full-altitude hop-n-pops. Then three jumps from 4000ft agl. All designed to be completed in one day, with additional coaching available." And yes, it's expensive for me because it's in American dollars. I'm going to try the best I can to come up with the money though, because as some postings keep reminding me - you need to land every jump safely so you can enjoy the next one. I'm at around the same place you were when you went. My goal is to be able to FLY my canopy instead of feeling like it is flying me. I want to land as safely as possible. I want to feel more confident under canopy. I must say I'm really intimidated by walking into a room and asking for help with my landings. I know I need it, but I'm embarassed to be so far behind the curve. This isn't a good reason not to do it, but I must say that it definately goes through my head. It seems like everyone but me can stand a landing (and boy do people keep reminding me). But that's why I want to go. I hope some structured training with someone specifically critiquing my landings will help. It's tough to get this where I am especially since we don't land at the hanger. Good question. I'm looking forward to what others say. Thanks for sharing your experience - it inspired at least one person to do the same! Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I said don't do it - bad! But that's mostly for the fact that I beleive the pilot can get in trouble if YOUR reserve is out of date. Apart from that, it's your life and the amount of risk you find acceptable is up to you. Me personally, I like my rigger and I like knowing that someone experienced is looking over my gear every so often. But that could be because I'm a newbie. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I'm not an expert either but I do think part of what contributes to PTSD is the fact that you are not prepared/trained for what happened to you. For example, a child is not prepared to see his mother beaten, a women isn't prepared to be raped, and although soldiers are trained I think one could argue that no amount of training can prepare you for what can happen to someone in war. Skydivers, however, plan for a malfunction - a lot. We look at video of them, we imagine them, we're taught what to do when they occur - and we expect them to occur! This might be the major difference why everyone who has a cutaway doesn't exibit PTSD. (Of course I've never had one, so what the hell do I know?) Just a thought. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Just a thought. I'm a newbie too and people told me to buy a 190. I'm not ready for it, and I know it. I jump a triathalon 220 and I'm happy to do so until I feel I'm ready for something else. Advice is good. Good advice is better. A realistic veiw of your abilities and comfort level is best. Just a thought. Good luck. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I seem to have this conversation with whuffo guys a lot: Me: I like to skydive. Him: Really? Me: Yes. Him: Really? Me: Yes, Him: Really? Me: YES! Him: REALLY? Me: Do you want to see the pictures???? I think that some people (mostly men) find it hard to beleive that a girl with pigtails and sparkles would do something they are way to terrified to even contemplate. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I think it really depends on where you live. I'm on an island on the "ring of fire" so obviously earthquakes worry me. No, not a 5.1 earthquake but statistically we're overdue for "the big one" and that worries me. Oh, and if the big one hits, I suspect there will be a tsunami to go with it. (Did I mention I like on an island.....tsunami's bad) Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

"We have a new bylaw that prohibits smoking in all indoor public places. (includes bars, restaurants...)" Yup, we have that bylaw here too. (Victoria, British Columbia) Smokers were really ticked off because they didn't get to enjoy a smoke with their beer anymore. I think I can see their point, but I really hated going out to bars where the air was grey from all the smoke. My eyes hurt, and so did my throat by the end of the night. It's really nice not to have to deal with that anymore. To anyone who might be wondering why, it was the Workman's Compensation Board. They didn't want employees to have to breathe in the smoke. It's a good point I think. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I beleive you need your A at least. The US doesn't have a "solo" license and I would suspect definately wouldn't be recognized. A do know people who have had an A and jumped just fine in the US. Make sure and take your log book and all paperwork (licenses, etc) though. Also, keep in mind they have a 120 day reserve repack cycle instead of our 180 day one. This may make your reserve out of date in the states. Oh, and I hope someone far more knowledgable then me answers your post because I could be wrong. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I'm an exceptionally new skydiver, so my opinion means almost nothing....but here it is anyway... I started on Mantas. It's a really good thing because I think I might be broken right now if I hadn't of. I'm not what one might call a "natural" at canopy flying - in fact I would say I'm behind the curve. So what about me? I doubt anyone in their right mind would put me on an elliptical. I personally think there should definately be a large cushion when you're learing becuase you never know when you're going to run into a student like me. And yes, I'm jumping my own gear now, a Triathalon. The transition really wasn't hard, I don't think. I'm happy to put off transitioning to something else until I'm good and ready, and I'm really glad my instructors didn't try to make that at jump 15 or something. But like I said, what do I know? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Just a question here, and I imagine it will just show my newbie-like lack of experience but... If ripcords are so great why don't experienced skydivers use them? I've never even seen a ripcord deployed chute so I was wondering why. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Well, personally I would love the luxury of having a gear store to browse throug...ah the many hours of quality drooling time I could have..... But alas, it was not to be! I just bought my beer rig online from a classified ad found here. It was a hassle trying to coordinate everything with the seller but he was a really upstanding guy who just wanted me to truly know what I was getting so I would be happy with it. He even went so far as to give me transition advice! I put a downpayment down. He shipped it to an intermediary and as soon as my rigger gave it a thumbs up I paid the rest via money order. It was great. I think lots of communication on both sides helped a lot. You really do want to try to make sure you know what you're getting so you don't have to worry about the hassle of a return. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Yes, Vancouver is great, only beat by.... Victoria Of course, you have the advantage with 3 drop zones within driving distance whereas we only have one. Nevertheless, we do get more hours of sunshine per year. The view from altitude is great as we're on an island. And yes, our drop zone is open all year long (weekends only in the winter) but it gets pretty cold at altitude. Last time I was up -12 celcius. However, I would like to ask, WHY IS ALL THE SUN DURING THE WEEK? The weekend comes and it's cloudy and windy. Arg. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Does anyone wear seatbelts in a c182? Hypothetically you could have a plane with some padding on the floor and the seatbelts are under it. Does anyone know a way around this? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

I hate to be advocating decreased responsibility for parents and individuals, but... There really are some very serious side-effects from Accutaine. And the thing is, doctors often don't warn parents of them. Now, if I were going to give a child medication you would be darn sure I would do independant research - but there are a lot of people who trust their doctors. This is taken from medscape.com "After all these years, some have associated Accutane with causing depression. Depression is so common in teens these days anyway, are you sure that Accutane may be causative in some? If this really is a bonafide problem, how long after starting Accutane does the depression emerge? And, how should it be used, if at all? A: Accutane (isotretinoin) is a powerful and important medication, with a number of very serious potential side effects. Depression is definitely one of them. Like most depression, Accutane-induced mood changes seem to come on gradually and insidiously. The teenager is rarely aware of it, and "on the outside", little may change that can alert the parent or physician. Typically, it has taken several months to be recognized, but retrospectively it seems to start within 4-8 weeks of Accutane's introduction." The article (found here: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/445762?mpid=7681&WebLogicSession=PiB74cqvRMQL4qz50MuUqoDxKDwXoAKzpUdgl3AsI7rbN1HMfmr1|1087333368875638137/184161391/6/7001/7001/7002/7002/7001/-1)goes on to list many more danger envolver with this medication. If a lawsuit against drug companies forces doctors and drug companies to better publicize the side effects of their medication, that would be great. That, in my opinion, is not a waste at all. Drug companies need to take responsibility for the products they make, for testing them and using them responsibly. If a lawsuit helps this to happen then a childs depression and suicide may not be in vain. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Where is that from? I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

All our student rigs contain round reserves. I know a couple of jumpers who, when there were students, had to land one, and they didn't seem to have any problems. I, however, am really glad I didn't have to. My boyfriend who weights 250+ (without a rig) really doesn't want to have to land one either. OW. I think people are pretty concious of them and try to spot for them - I know I am. Of course, the student rigs also all have FXCs. All in all, not the ideal rigs once you have more then a few jumps. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

oops... Sorry, I've heard that opinion from many people who weren't joking - my mistake. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

"I believe you are born either straight or gay. Bi-sexuals piss me off. They need to pick a side." Ah, yeah, and I'm not too fond of people who are "pissed off" because of who I'm attracted to. Be intolerant much? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind