HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: SKYDIVE@f15.n233.z1.fidonet.org (SKYDIVE)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: 1 in 80000 dies.  Oh dear!
Date: 4 Sep 92 22:24:50 GMT

Reply-to: Bill.Caefer@p0.f853.n102.z1.fidonet.org (Bill Caefer)
Fido-To: romulus!srv.pacbell.com!jcwasik

 r> I recently read in a parachuting magazine that in the 
 r> USA, one in 80,000 jumps
 r> ends in a fatality.  
 r> Please say it ain't so.  ... Think I'm going back to knitting.

Well, just how long do you think it's going to take you to make 80,000 jumps?  (Keep in mind that the high jump person is under 20k and pretty old).

But if that's how you feel, I'd like a nice blue and green sweater in a large.


--- Maximus 2.01wb
--- eecp 1.45 LM2 

 * Origin: <X> Infinity Ltd.  HST/DS (1:102/853)
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Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: mmh2941@rigel.tamu.edu (Mary Hankins)
Subject: Collegiates
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Texas A&M University
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 21:25:00 GMT

COLLEGIATE SKYDIVING COMPETITION WARM-UP MEET

Come strut your stuff at the "Aggie Warm Up For Collegiates Skydiving Meet"
being held October 9-11. Events will include 2 and 4-way RW, Accuracy,
Style and CRW (3 rounds of Accuracy, 2 rounds for all other events). Pick
up teams are available. The meet will conform to collegiate rules. Special
features include nationally rated judges, fast climbing airplanes, low
entry fees, camping, a fish fry dinner, air demonstrations and more.
Registration and practice jumps start at noon on friday, October 9 and the
competition starts Saturday morning. Come and *try* to knock the national
collegiate champion Aggies Skydiving team off it's throne. The meet is
sponsored by the Texas A&M Skydiving Club and will take place at the 
Aggies Over Texas dropzone in Bryan/College Station, Texas. For more
information call Jim at (409) 822-5074 or Aggies Over Texas at (409)
778-0245.  See ya in October!

Mary Hankins
Horticultural Sciences
Texas A&M University
E-mail at MMH2941@RIGEL.TAMU.EDU
From: Alan_Barclay@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan Barclay)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Reserve Chutes
Date: 15 Sep 92 20:18:32 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Can anyone help me with some details about reserve chutes and emergency
procedures.  I'm a writer and I need some details for a scene.  I haven't been
able to find some of the nitty gritty in reference books of skydiving.

1) Are reserve chutes still worn on the front of the body?  If not where?

2) When the main chute fails, is it necessary to release it or cut it free,
etc.  What are the physical actions involved?  (In particular, my main
character's canopy hit a diver above him and burst--this leaves the main chute
trailing.)

3) Is there a quick release for the parachute harness in sport jumping?

4) How many jumps does a neophyte complete before he can hold off on deploying
the chute and do some freefall?

5) How do you keep track of when you should pull the ripcord?  Altimeter,
counting, or timer in helmet?


Please E-mail your responses to me.  I am not a member of this group.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: dbriggs@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: Computerized LogBook
Summary: Compugeeking -- no skydiving
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 20:39:38 GMT

In article <BuBpHK.28I@virtech.uucp>
  mark@vti.com writes:
>Okay, so it's not windows... hey, it's not even mine.  I grabbed it
>ages ago from r.s.  I don't even remember ever typing in my data to
>it; goodness knows why I've kept it so long.  No guarantees.
>
>========================= jumplog.c ==================================
>/* Logbook program - Joe Peterson */

Cute.  Maybe even useful -- I dunno.  (I don't have nearly enough jumps for
worrying about this kinda stuff to be worthwhile.)  But it occurs to me
that such programs should calculate freefall time for you.  After all,
repetitive tasks are what computers are for!  The only problem is, one
formula, *any* one formula, isn't going to be good enough.  Different
freefall rates for different people, and for different types of jumps.
This program dodges the problem by making you tell it how long the freefall
was.  Others just make a simple minded calculation.  What you need is a way
to specify what your standard ff rate is, and maybe some exceptional rates.
Thrashing that into freefall time would take a little work, but it shouldn't
be too bad.  The header of your data file might specify a key into the
rates.  Say...

FF 109  # standard freefall
FL 100  # floater suits
FS 120  # freestyle
B  140  # skyboarding or standups
.
<jump data goes here>
10000          # default to first rate in the file
10000 FS       # or override it for a special type of jump

Of course, for a real electronic log book, there are all sorts of stuff
that you'd like to record.  Where, when, with what equipment, how far
out....  Probably just better to toss it into a spreadsheet.  But if one is
anal enough to worry about a couple of seconds plus or minus, then the
machine should probably do the freefall calculations for you.  (One of our
local jumpers got his 12 hour freefall badge a few months ago.  The
majority of his jumps were 3 & 5 second hop and pops!  There, I guess a few
seconds plus or minus does make a difference!  :)

-- 
| Daniel Briggs  (dbriggs@nrao.edu)                      |        USPA B-14993
| New Mexico Tech / National Radio Astronomy Observatory |            DoD #387
| P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM 87801   (505) 835-7391        |
Support the League for Programming Freedom  (info from league@prep.ai.mit.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: tjreynol@zephyr.cair.du.edu (The Jumpin Dude)
Subject: Re: Canopy Reaction To Wind (Was Re: Airspeed vs Groundspeed)
Organization: University of Denver
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 22:48:00 GMT

In article <1992Sep14.215216.24451@cass.ma02.bull.com> jmills@cass.ma02.bull.com (John Luke Mills) writes:
>Bill.Caefer writes
>
>>The only word for that is: Nonsense.  A canopy can not and does not
>>ever  feel anything but forward wind.  Think about it.
>
>I have thought about and felt it a lot.  In a completely steady wind
>this is quite true.   In the situation were there is a sudden gust of
>wind from the side,  the canopy will accordion.  Early canopies would
>sometimes even collapse.  This  is one of the reasons that cross-ports

i've seen canopies collapse from sudden gusts from the sides and from rear.
the examples i can think of were PD 9 cells.
From: bchurch@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Robert Church)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: HELP: Things to consider when buying a hand altimeter?
Date: 9 Sep 92 22:41:58 GMT
Organization: Ohio University School of Art. Athens

In article <1992Sep9.160938.14839@ncar.ucar.edu> nws@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Eddie Roberts (The National Weather Service)) writes:
>
> I am about to purchase my first piece of skydiving gear.... an
> altimeter that straps onto the back of your hand ( for some
> reason I have a hard time with the chest mounts provided at
> our DZ). Anyway are there different things to look for 
> in altimeters or are all altimeters about the same? Is there a better
> manufacturer etc. etc.?


Here are two things that I consider very important. One, can you replace the
lens? This is true on the altimaster II and some other altimeters. Your 
altimeter can get pretty bunged up (but only if you use it right :-) ) and
a new lens can make it look new. Two, and much more importantly, is the
knob for adjusting for altitude. If the altimeter uses a knob make sure it
doesn't face up. I had a North Star like this and was so worried about losing
a tooth on a hard opening that I got rid of it. That is of course if you ever
decide to try it chest mounted. I actually cracked the lens on my old Altimaster
III once. It split my lip but if it had had a protruding knob it probably would
have taken out a tooth. 

-- 
*********************************************
*    bob church                             *
*    bchurch@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu           *
*    D-8195 NFS #27                         *
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: jray@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (johnny.r.griffith)
Subject: Hinckley crash
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 02:16:28 GMT

The information available is sketchy at this time.  There were 12
fatalities, 3 first jump tandems, a third or fourth jump tandem,
the tandem masters, two video people, a solo (low experience?),
and the pilot.  Nine names were released, three withheld.  I expect
the names will be in tomorrow's paper, and I will post them if they
are.  I hope everyone understands that any such posting of names
would be in an effort to calm the concerns of those who may be
acquainted with jumpers from Hinckley.  I've had two friends call
to see if I was all right, and I remember wondering who I may have
known that might have been involved in the Perris accident.

A witness to the crash said the plane appeared to be attempting to
land in a soybean field when a wing tip dipped, caught, and caused
a cartwheel into the ground.  They did not hear any engines running
at the time of the crash.  It occurred roughly 2 miles from the
airport, apparently without the aircraft ever getting above a
hundred feet.

This is all second hand from the local (Channel 2 in Chicago) news media.
They have been covering the crash quite heavily.

Johnny R. Griffith  D-5455	jray@ihspa.ih.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: jcwasik@srv.PacBell.COM (Joe Wasik)
Subject: Re: Weeee...My first jump
Keywords: tandem
Organization: Pacific * Bell
Distribution: rec
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 15:57:10 GMT

In article <5674@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> 6500fly@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Carmen Mullenhoff) writes:
>I went for my first skydive out at Lodi, CA on
>Sunday.  It was a tandem jump and was a great way
>to get introduced to such an incredibly exhilarating and
>cool sport.
>I'm so excited about it that I'm considering taking the
>class (either static line or AFF). But I'm wondering if
>now would be a good time with cooler weather on the way
>or if it would be better to wait for Spring time?

I also took my first jump at Lodi.  The class is only one day -- but you'll
remain on student status until 12+ jumps.  Should you wait until spring?
Well, as a student jumper you'll be required to suit up.  And come summer,
those fields where you'll come down are mighty, mighty hot!  You decide.

-- 
Joe Wasik, Pacific Bell, San Ramon, CA (510)823-2422, jcwasik@pacbell.com
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: tjreynol@zephyr.cair.du.edu (The Jumpin Dude)
Subject: freestyle stuff
Organization: University of Denver
Date: Sat, 5 Sep 92 01:16:09 GMT

has anyone seen 'A Video Guide to Freestyle" yet? (Daniel?)
does anyone know how much it costs?

i've been doing freestyle almost exclusively since Lost Prairie
and i'm having a lot more fun with it than with RW; i've been 
doing LOTS of layouts :-) as well as pinwheels, flip throughs,
and arabians, and flipping daffies too, but i haven't got any 
of it on tape yet, so i don't really know if it's any good.

anyway, i'm just wondering if the video is worth getting. if i 
look anywhere near as good on tape as i feel in the air, i'd
semi-seriously consider competitive freestyle as a goal.

also any ideas for trick exits is welcome. last weekend, on 7 dives, 
i did a fun facing the tail - butt to earth exit that was really
cool :-) tho much easier from the Beeche than the C-206s. doing a 
backwards sort of swan dive from the sitting position was pretty nifty,
watching the plane go bye, surprised the hell out a newly off student 
status guy :-)


happy weekend! i'll be jumping for 3 days straight :-)

and Jan's sister will be making her 1st atndem on Monday!


tim
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Tuesday, 8 Sep 1992 18:59:22 CDT
From: <U50281@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: Hinkley

In article <92251.195033U14663@uicvm.uic.edu>, <U14663@uicvm.uic.edu> says:
>
>Does anyone know what happened at Hinkley(?), Illinois today?

I can't believe I haven't seen anything on this here in netland today, so
I guess somebody's got to start:

A Beech-18 went down shortly after take-off from Hinckley Parachute Center,
Hinckley, Illinois.  I wasn't there, but witnesses say the plane had only
gotten a couple hundred feet off the ground when apparently it developed
some engine trouble and as the pilot was attempting to land the plane, a wing
caught the ground, the plane cartwheeled, and went nova.  The plane was too
low to attempt any kind of emergency jumps.

There were no survivors...  the list is:

Don Anderson
Matt Bailey
Chris Baron, son of owner Jim Baron
Ed Baron, another son of owner Jim Baron
William Bayne
Bill Davidson
George Dvorak
Ron Harris
Glen Holden
Jim "Streak" Mahr
John Murphy
Rick Olchevik

Don, Matt, William, Glen, and John were students.
The Chicago Tribune incorrectly listed George as a student.

Jeff Hauser
Sky Knights SPC
East Troy, WI
From: bleck@aztec.ai.mit.edu (Olaf Bleck)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: How to calculate freefall time ?
Date: 9 Sep 92 02:12:13 GMT
Article-I.D.: life.27647
Reply-To: bleck@ai.mit.edu
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory



Note that C-code was entirely a joke... 

Nevertheless, there's lots of ways to "calculate" your freefall time, so pick
the one that gives you the amount of fftime you want.  I used, 5sec/1000ft. 
except for the first 1000, which is 10 sec.  *7 + 3 works too, or check out
the charts in the back of most logbooks.  I use the 109mph chart for my
logbook.

-Olaf
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: joe@avs.com (Joe Peterson)
Subject: Re: dreams
Organization: Advanced Visual Systems Inc.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 16:54:36 GMT
X-Posted-From: hal.avs.com
X-Posted-Through: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

The Jumpin Dude (tjreynol@zephyr.cair.du.edu) wrote:
: then the dream faded away, like it was on video tape. i woke up screaming
: IS IT DEATH, OR IS IT MEMOREX?? (not really;-) this was the first time
: i never pulled out of the problem at the last minute; but i've still not
: gone in in a dream.
: i have dreamed of about 8 people from my DZ going in :-(

Strange things -- those dreams!

I have had many dreams about skydiving also.  I have not gone in in any of mine
either.  But like "Dude", I have had several dreams in which I saw people
go in (in some cases, whole formations - 8-ways, whatever).  I think it
has something to do with just not being able to comprehend the experience
in a personal sense (probably a good thing!).  Never having experienced death,
I guess a person cannot dream about it really happening.  Any near-death
experience people out there wish to share their thoughts?

						Joe Peterson
						D-13839
From:  (wine@stress1.nrl.navy.mil)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: 1 in 1 dies  (was RE: 1 in 80000...)
Date: 9 Sep 92 16:45:21 GMT

Just remember:  life is deadly, no-one makes it out alive.



On a serious note:  all our prayers go with those of Hinkley.  Please let us know
             if there is a memorial fund for the families.


Jim     A-12602   and friends.
As for me, I'll take the sky less travelled by. 
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: dbriggs@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: Looking for pictures of formations
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 05:46:49 GMT

In article <BuC7JL.BsG@virtech.uucp>
  mark@vti.com writes:
>Hiroto Shibuya (shibuya@mailhost.bl.cad.slb.com) wrote:
>: I want to go even further.  I want to have electric representation of
>: sequential RW....
>
>Wow!  That would be really neat.

This problem seems to have much in common with the electronic
representation of dance.  There are a few programs in progress, and it is
an active research area in CS.  (Tho' small.  Active means > 1 program.  :)
Somewhere deep in my "files", I have a flyer for one such program.  I was
supposed to be a beta tester for it, but I never heard anything back from
the researchers after the initial information packet.  I never got any
code.  The problem *is not easy*, but progress is being made.  You can get
usable animation rates with stick figures on a Mac II, though obviously
more cycles are better than fewer.  If you're really interested in the
topic, I'd suggest a query to rec.arts.dance, and maybe rec.folk-dancing.
Ask about electronic representation of dance, and see what you get.  If you
really hit it lucky, maybe you can interest one of the researchers in the
skydiving aspect of the problem.

-- 
| Daniel Briggs  (dbriggs@nrao.edu)                      |        USPA B-14993
| New Mexico Tech / National Radio Astronomy Observatory |            DoD #387
| P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM 87801   (505) 835-7391        |
Support the League for Programming Freedom  (info from league@prep.ai.mit.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: mark@virtech.uucp (Mark Smith)
Subject: Re: HELP: Things to consider when buying a hand altimeter?
Reply-To: mark@vti.com
Organization: Virtual Technologies, Inc.
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 22:16:47 GMT

traurig@ncavax.decnet.lockheed.com wrote:
: Yeah, wear your old chest mount anyway, so that those of us who prefer
: to look across the formation to read an altimeter can still do so.

At my original dz, we have figured out a unique place for the
mounting of altimeters.  You need to make a little crush mount
for it (not unlike a chest mount) and then mount it on your "mud-flap."
Your mud-flag is the little piece of fabric that is found just under
the large ring of the 3-ring release mechanism (it is on my vector).

The advantage is that you never lose your altimeter because it's
always connected to your rig.  It's conveniently positioned for
other jumpers to be able to see it.  I find that I can see it
in ff and under canopy quite easily.

If you want some more information, see the article appearing in
parachutist some time ago about altimeter placement.  It was written
by Darlene Kellner.  We had fun testing out hypothesis about altimeter
placement while jumping in DeLand.  (She wore 7 altimeters at various
placements and flew upside down--most were way off).

Oh BTW, I personally wear both kinds of altimeters at the same time.
I look at whichever one is closest to my line of sight at the time.
-- 
      /_\   Virtual                  Mark Smith          USPA D-13761
    /-~_  \    Technologies          mark@vti.com
  /      ~-_\     Incorporated       703-430-9247,   FAX 703-450-4560
/_____________\      46030 Manekin Plaza, Suite 160, Dulles, VA 20166
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: kathy@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (kathleen.e.mckernan)
Subject: Re: Hinckley
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 19:55:48 GMT




A memorial fund has been set up for the families of the victims
of the plane crash at Hinckley.  The fund will be used to help
cover funeral expenses, and hopefully there will be enough to
start trust funds for the children (education, etc.)  You can
send contributions to:

Hinckley Skydivers Memorial Fund
c/o Hinckley State Bank
P.O. Box 1247
Hinckley, IL  60520

Thanks for your support.

Blue Skies,

Kathy McKernan (A-11716)
kem@iexist.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: eap@leland.Stanford.EDU (Eric Perozziello)
Subject: Re: Spotting and Ground Speed
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 20:08:24 GMT

In article <1992Sep9.020400.12349@mercury.cair.du.edu> jvilhube@diana.cair.du.edu (Jan Vilhuber) writes:
>In article <6730163@hplsla.hp.com> artb@hplsla.hp.com (Art Bori) writes:
>>same relative horizontal separation.  Other jumpers I talked to argue
>>that *ground* speed is irrelevant.
>>What I wanted to ask was: 1)  Do you agree or disagree and why?
>>			  2)  What (other) factors do you consider when
>>			      multiple groups exit?
>>
>Ground speed would indeed seem to be irrelevant. The wind, after all. is


I don't have the entire answer here, but I do think ground speed plays
a role (less so than r-wind speed, maybe?).  Take this scenerio:
A plane (say a porter, with a cut speed below 40kts) is flying into the wind
where the uppers wind speed is the same as the stall speed.(IE: plane's
shadow on the ground isn't moving) Ok, now 
group one (say a tandem) exits, and they fall. Now, I wait the requsite (5?)
seconds and bomb out. I will follow the same path as the tandem, but wait, the
tandem opened at 5k !!!!! boom, if we're lucky, we buy the beer tonight.

Not trying to flame or anything, just playing devil's advocate......

>what carries the jumpers away from the aircraft. The plane could be standing 
>still with respect to the ground, which means you would be doing roughly 
>the speed of the wind forward, and being pushed backwards (makes sense?).
>So the jumpers would get blown away just the same.
>
>I would say neither airspeed nor ground speed matter, (maybe airspeed a little)
>but the size of the group and what they are doing, and what you feel more
>comfortable with.
>


Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
From: tjreynol@zephyr.cair.du.edu (The Jumpin Dude)
Subject: sinus pressure
Organization: University of Denver
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 16:33:16 GMT

last thursday i got something of a cold, and was pretty congested 
on saturday when i went jumpin; my first freefall was pure agony
by 6,000', i thought my head was going to explode. something
seems to have. i took some decongestant stuff (suphedrine?)
and things were fine after that. then sunday, i took more pills
before making a jump; after each jump, i had a mild pressure
that i had thought due to my taking the foam thing off of my 
over-the-glasses Kroops, but i started spitting a bit of blood
and on my third jump, i had blood running up my goggles :-(

this ever happened to anyone else? 

tim, still bloody nosed
From: bleck@aztec.ai.mit.edu (Olaf Bleck)
Newsgroups: rec.skydiving
Subject: Re: Computerized LogBook
Date: 5 Sep 92 19:41:48 GMT
Reply-To: bleck@ai.mit.edu
Organization: MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

In article <1992Sep4.182506.1@acad3.alaska.edu>, fsbgf@acad3.alaska.edu writes:
|> Is there any good shareware/freeware program available to track freefall
|> time. I'm looking for something like a computer logbook for a MS-DOS or
|> windows environment.
|> 				Thanks,
|> 				Brandon


/*This is shareware.  Send me $500 before you use it, or I'll sue you
for your gear */

#include <stdio.h>
#include "traps.h"

#define INFINITE 0xFFFFFFFF
#define SKYGOD 1
#define TOAD 0


main() {

  unsigned long ff_time = 0;
  int i;
  int jumper_type= TOAD;
  int standard_ opening_altitude=2500;
  int num_jumps;
  unsigned int hours, minutes, seconds;


  printf("Enter number of jumps you have:");
  scanf("%d",&num_jumps);
  
  if (jumper_type == SKYGOD) {
    ff_time = INFINTE;
    err_msg("time out of calculatable range");
    trap(1);
  }
  else 
    for (i=1; i<=NUM_JUMPS; i++) {
      printf("Enter Exit Altitude (in feet) for jump #%d:", i);
      scanf("%d",jump_altitude);
      ff_time += (jump_altitude - standard_ opening_altitude)/200 + 5;
    }
  hours = ff_time/3600;
  minutes = (ff_timeff - hours*3600)/60;
  seconds = ff_timeff - hours*3600 - minutes*60;
  printf("\nFreefall time %d:%d:%d\n",hours, minutes, seconds);
}



Of course you might want to use a file to save all those numbers in, so that
you don't have tyo type them in every time. I was just to lazy to do all that
in the five minutes I allocated to this task.