pompita

Hola, I'm traveling to Argentina for New Year's and will be in Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and Patagonia. Skydiving in Patagonia doesn't seem possible for me, as I won't be anywhere near a dropzone. However, it seems as if both Buenos Aires and Mendoza have dropzones nearby. Any preference for you guys between those two cities? Any preference between the two dropzones? Hope someone has some thoughts, otherwise I'm just gonna go with the flow and see what happens. Thanks, Alex

Well, I will say that right now, I can easily imagine spending an entire week jumping. What a blast that would be! Day after day of skydiving...heaven. But that's today. Looking back on my AFF jumps and those pre A-license jumps, pulling it off in one week may pose a challenge for various reasons: -Unpredictable weather - You assume that you are going to get a full consecutive week of perfect weather, light winds, etc. -Failing certain jumps - ego crushing when it happens, but I have met few people that have not failed at least one or two jumps, which means you have to redo it. -New jumper stress - My first day of jumping I jumped four times. I was really focused on not failing and that intense focus was draining. I needed a rest and days in-between to regain momentum. All of this said, I think it's doable, again with perfect circumstances. Even if you don't get your A-license that week, you'll probably get a shitload of jumps in with maybe only a few left at the end of that week. Depending on your perspective and ease with which you take it all in, you might be able to pull it off. But I will say that there is plenty to enjoy at each stage of the process, so what's really the rush?

So, I started thinking about this after my last jump. On my last dive, I was on my first jump with a non-coach on a simple two way (jump #33), but I was a bit nervous since this was a significant jump for me. I tracked away at the end of the jump and did not reduce my speed enough prior to deploying (e.g., did not sufficiently return to neutral position before tossing the PC). The result of this was that the bag smacked me on the top of my right foot as the PC pulled it from the container. I can't explain how or why that was but it happened (I'm guessing because of my speed). Luckily I had an uneventful deployment and remainder of the skydive, but I feel like I was close to a horseshoe malfunction. Clearly, I will now focus on returning to not just a proper body position after a track, but also an appropriate reduction in speed before deploying. However, I wonder if one of the mals that a hook knife MIGHT be helpful with is a horseshoe. I agree that there are EPs that need to be adhered to, even for a horseshoe mal. But there are unquestionably certain very specific situations that may not be remediable with standard EPs. I am a new jumper and had the hook knife question so I'm glad I ran across this thread. All this being said, I can only speculate on the use of a hook knife in a horseshoe situation, where really it's to cut away a line or two, altitude permitting, if reasonable. Is this accurate? Thoughts?

Thanks guys! I was looking for comments in English and completely missed that one! Blue Skies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l7WWN58JEes My reaction here would have been to simply cut-away and get my reserve out. Watching his feet being tickled by the lines as he tried to release his main was disturbing to me as a potential horseshoe malfunction. Just want to make sure you all agree that this is not the correct and advisable course of action. He should have just cut-away and deployed the reserve, yes?

Hi, I previously posted about my interest in the Revolve helmet back in September 2010. Shortly after my post I tore my ACL (non-skydiving related injury) and had to take a hiatus from the sport. I recently returned to the sport and finally obtained my A-license. I am, once again, looking into gear options, including a new helmet. My question is a newbie question of sorts. So, at my level, I don't yet have a good feel for whether I want to focus on relative work or freeflying. My immediate perspective is to focus on relative work for a while and then perhaps try freeflying intermittently or later on in my development. So, in that regard, I feel like most skydivers will either be belly flyers or freeflyers and generally stick to one discipline. If you agree that this is a true statement, then do experienced jumpers really have a need for an open face AND a closed face helmet such as the Revolve? I'm assuming that if you are doing relative work you are using a full face versus an open face for freeflying (from what I've read). I think for someone like me, who is new to the sport, I might benefit from having the option since I don't know where my interests will lead me. What about those of you with experience? Are there any experienced jumpers out there that use the Revolve and use it as both full-face and open-face? Can you share anything about your experience, specifically from this regard and also what you think about this helmet for a new jumper? Thanks.

Thanks man. Gotta change my perspective, that's for sure. It can definitely get frustrating, but it's a part of life. Paycheck, paycheck, paycheck...yea, it's going to take some work.

Holy crap, I hate my job. Spent all day thinking about skydiving while being asked questions I could give three shits about. Need to pay for my jumps and gear somehow I guess. One of the many reasons I love skydiving is it requires complete focus on the very moment. No other thoughts may interfere, nothing else can get in the way. What a fantastic way to detach from the real world for a while! pompita

Thanks for the link to that thread. I'm very conservative (I'm a bean counter by trade) so I have read a ton about self-control in this regard. It never hurts to be reminded though! Thanks again. I don't plan to push it. Really I was just sick of driving 45 minutes to the DZ for 2 months worth of weekends with no jumps, even when just 1 mph over the USPA student limit. But after two knee surgeries, health and safety are #1. Thanks to Skydive Miami for being ultra conservative when it comes to student safety. They even place wind limits on A-license jumpers, despite no wind limit requirements in the BSRs.

So I FINALLY obtained the coveted A-license on Saturday. I'm very happy to no longer be on student status and grounded when the winds reach 15 mph! I started my AFF in April of 2010, in part to celebrate the one year anniversary of having ACL reconstructive surgery on my left knee. Fast forward to Nov 2010 when I was scheduled for my last two jumps on black Friday. It was however, not in the cards, as I tore the ACL in my right knee playing turkey day flag football with some old high school chums (yes, flag football) just one day before I was slated for my remaining jumps. Anyway, after yet another ACL reconstruction in January of this year, and many months of rehab, I've spent the last 6 weeks trying to finish off the remaining 2 jumps, yet unfortunately grounded due to inclement weather (rain, winds, clouds...you name it). Saturday was finally the day when it all came together, so I'm very happy and looking forward to the next chapter of good health and skydiving in my life. Blue skies!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/skydiving-sex-bakersfield_n_1010063.html Is it wrong that I want to see this vid?

Hi, I just read through your blog. So sorry to hear of your recent string of injuries! I feel lucky to have avoided the CPM machine, you poor thing. I'm in an odd place right now since I am relatively mobile (not active, but mobile) and my surgery is still weeks away. It's allowing me alot of time to think about what's coming which is kinda strange. Thanks for the tip regarding the knee pads and the jumpsuit. I hadn't thought about using knee pads and it makes sense to size the jumpsuit accordingly. Get better soon. I'm sure I'll report here again post-surgery. Blue skies!

I was playing Turkey Day football with some friends. It's a game we've played every Thanksgiving since we were kids. With age, we've gotten away from tackle and adapted to flag football. I was playing defensive line, pushing up against the offensive lineman (probably the most physical part of our game now) and I heard the ligament pop. The sound was eerily familiar and I immediately knew what happened. Ruined my long weekend... Nothing I can do about it now. I guess I'll have two new knees!

Hi Everyone, I'm still a newbie so I think this is the right place to post. I am an A license student and have 24 jumps under my belt. Only a coaching jump and a graduation jump stand between me and the coveted A license. On Thanksgiving I suffered a non-skydiving related injury to my right knee resulting in a complete tear of my ACL. I go under the knife for ACL reconstructive surgery on January 5th which means that I'll be spending at least 6 months on the sideline waiting to be medically cleared once more. I have some experience with the surgery (had my left ACL done last year) and can tell you that even after 6 months I'll probably still have some issues kneeling in the plane and such prior to exit, so it may be more like 7-8 months. Anyway, I don't have a real purpose for posting other than to vent about the whole thing. AHHH! It's very difficult for someone like me who enjoys the outdoors and who has taken a liking to the sport of skydiving to stop and shift focus to rehab an injury. I know what it's going to take to get healthy and it's a long road, for sure. Anyone else out there that's been out of the sport for an extended period of time due to injury/illness? What about similiar stories on ACL rehab and how it translated into your return to skydiving? Like I said, I went through this last year, but I was not a skydiver then, so I'm curious what I can expect when I finally come back. Hard landings will be much more unpleasant (a motivation to work on improving them), so I may really wait it out until my new ligament is rock solid. Also, any thoughts on the recurrency process? I've passed the 30 day mark a time or two, and the process was a quick recurrency ground school and a coaching jump. After 6-8 months off, can I expect something similar or something more? I'll still be on dropzone.com, especially next month while on bedrest. Thanks all! pompita

Yes, excellent point. I didn't think of that. Work has fried my brain this week! Thanks for the quick response. Right now the plan is to get my DZ's feedback this weekend on my potential purchase. Hopefully BH will have an order from me next week!