aussiefreefly

Yeah I gathered running would be a great reference to judge wether I'm ready to jump again. Coming in fast on a no wind day is the wrong place to realize that I can't run it out ;) The sabre is already gone, I never want to see that thing again. I tried to always be careful to quarter the slider and roll the nose and it almost always worked for a softer more sniveling opening.. this time it just exploded out of my rig. As for swooping, I have always had a lot of respect for the discipline but now the idea of it just scares me as I just see myself coming in too low/fast and my back just exploding into tiny shards.. Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

'Tell him to take his granny panties off and give you a real time table as it isn't a negotiation.' Haha! I had a few conversations with the doctors who had initially said that jumping again was not recommended. After they realized that it is more than just a sport for me and I have to be able to continue they kind of changed their opinion. As they weren't really familiar with the sport and its impact on the body they just told me anywhere between 6 months to one year depending on how well I do in rehab. I think when I can start working out close to what I was before the accident and running etc. then I will talk again with my doctors and hear what they have to say. Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

Wow, 4 months seems really fast to go snowboarding, you must have powered through your rehab! I had already thought that packing and sitting in the plane were going to be quite uncomfortable, especially seeing as though I jump a lot from a small Cessna. I am leaning toward an Aerodyne pilot when I start jumping again as I hear a lot about their slow sniveling openings. Are 7 cells generally softer openers than 9 cells? I think the first few openings are going to freak me out the most as I'll be worried about breaking something gain. Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

Thanks for the responses guys. It is reassuring to hear that you were up in the sky again after a 'relatively short time'(although there is nothing short about not jumping for 6 months). I was dreading that I would be out for a minimum of a year which would be almost impossible to deal with. Obviously it would come down to the individual and how hard I work through rehab. 'Videofly' your accident sounds brutal and I'm sorry to hear that you have lost feeling in parts of your hands and arms. I hope that doesn't affect your jumping too much but it's good to hear that you could at least get back up in the sky. Reading about your accident makes me feel lucky to be quite honest and gives me hope that at least I will fly again. I guess I just have a heap of rehab and months of lurking the forums on here. Thanks again for replying guys. Blue skies and safe landings (I will now add 'soft openings' to this saying from now on) Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

Hey guys, I tried to search the forums first but couldn't find anything close enough to my situation. Since a couple of weeks I lie in hospital with 4 fractured thoracic vertebrae and 1 that is completely smashed requiring a metal/titanium replacement with base plate and screws, all due to a hard opening on a Sabre1. I managed to land without further injury. I just would like to hear if anyone else has experienced something similar and what the physical rehabilitation times were like before getting back up in the sky. How did you know that it was time to safely jump again? I would appreciate any helpful info. Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

Good luck dude. I'm in the same boat. It seems it doesn't matter how many jumps I pump out in a day, by the time I get home from the DZ I already start feeling down again. I'm in the gym 4 times a week, eat very very healthy foods and see a therapist. By far the best remedy/cure I have found is a big fat joint.. No bullshit. My head is constantly full of worries and stress, after a few tokes all of my cares seem to just go away. It is of course not for everyone and I am by no means saying you should do something illegal. But I know I'd rather be high on grass than pumped full of man made pills anyday, plus I always sleep like a baby. Good like in the fight dude! Never give up! Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..

Haha, I was waiting for something like that! To be quite honest, if I saw this photo with a caption 'DZ work: clean shit everyday in return for the occasional jump and learn the ins and out of a dz' I would apply, without a doubt!

So it's finally time to start some sort of study or apprenticeship. The only thing I can really see myself doing is something involving skydiving, i.e flying camera, Aff coach etc. I just wanted to ask if anyone out there knows anywhere (prefferably in Europe) that offers some sort of apprenticeship or study. I am aware of the NZ diploma but I don't really have that kind of money just laying around. If I can't find anything then I will just have to work my way through the system untill I have enough jump numbers and experience to try and get a camera job or something. I'm just interested to know if any DZ's offer some sort of apprenticeship, starting off in manifest and working my way through packing then camera etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated. cheers, blue skies! Knowledge is safety. Ignorance and complacency commonly result in death..