I thought this story was pretty incredible. It's nice to see that there still are people out there that are selfless and would do anything to ensure the safety of others.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/10/assignment_america/main6471254.shtml

What a stupid thing to do. I would have used granny as a cushion. Jussayin.

Very cool... Thanks for sharing :thumbsup2:

wow...i went tandem skydiving for my first time a few weeks back.

What a stupid thing to do. I would have used granny as a cushion. Jussayin.

:shifty:

wow...i went tandem skydiving for my first time a few weeks back.

ive been wanting to go for a while, a bunch of my friends have done it. i know there are risks involved in doing these things, but you kind of fall into this bubble when you see a bunch of people you know going skydiving and coming back in once piece. you kind of forget what you're doing is absolutely nuts.

I went tandem skydiving when I turned 18. It didn't freak me out until I watched my video.

Some serious heroism there whether it was his "duty" or not. Self-preservation is down in the lizard brain, and overcoming that is a big deal. Lady is very lucky this guy was her instructor.

That said, I just cannot see being so cavalier with my life. I rigged emergency chutes for the Air Force for many years; these were the ejection seat chutes (and drag chutes) on B-52s, and the emergency chutes for crew use in KC-135 (and other) refueler and cargo aircraft. Though the "premeditated-jump" chutes are fundamentally different in design and descent rate, an old saying among the riggers was that there was no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and I always agreed. In a decade plus, I met only one other rigger who also jumped (and he hurt himself pretty badly BASE jumping a couple of times). I know it's statistically safer than driving on the freeway, but "thrill-seeker" activities have never really appealed to me.

Some serious heroism there whether it was his "duty" or not. Self-preservation is down in the lizard brain, and overcoming that is a big deal. Lady is very lucky this guy was her instructor.

That said, I just cannot see being so cavalier with my life. I rigged emergency chutes for the Air Force for many years; these were the ejection seat chutes (and drag chutes) on B-52s, and the emergency chutes for crew use in KC-135 (and other) refueler and cargo aircraft. Though the "premeditated-jump" chutes are fundamentally different in design and descent rate, an old saying among the riggers was that there was no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and I always agreed. In a decade plus, I met only one other rigger who also jumped (and he hurt himself pretty badly BASE jumping a couple of times). I know it's statistically safer than driving on the freeway, but "thrill-seeker" activities have never really appealed to me.


I figure; I'm half granny's age and have twice as much to do. Why waste my life on hers?

What a stupid thing to do. I would have used granny as a cushion. Jussayin.

:thumbsup2:

Some serious heroism there whether it was his "duty" or not. Self-preservation is down in the lizard brain, and overcoming that is a big deal. Lady is very lucky this guy was her instructor.

That said, I just cannot see being so cavalier with my life. I rigged emergency chutes for the Air Force for many years; these were the ejection seat chutes (and drag chutes) on B-52s, and the emergency chutes for crew use in KC-135 (and other) refueler and cargo aircraft. Though the "premeditated-jump" chutes are fundamentally different in design and descent rate, an old saying among the riggers was that there was no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, and I always agreed. In a decade plus, I met only one other rigger who also jumped (and he hurt himself pretty badly BASE jumping a couple of times). I know it's statistically safer than driving on the freeway, but "thrill-seeker" activities have never really appealed to me.

i gotta be honest, if i was in the given situation, i can't comfortably say that i would do that same thing. it really takes a certain character to pull off something like that.

what a hero... at times like this when you're in the air and you seriously think you're about to die... i would honestly have probably used her as a cushion.. i mean i'm a nice guy and all but when it comes to my life or your life... it's my life... this guy's truly a hero. much respect

i gotta be honest, if i was in the given situation, i can't comfortably say that i would do that same thing. it really takes a certain character to pull off something like that.

damnit you basically just said the same thing i did lol :chair:

+1 million karma points to this guy.

I want to go skydiving someday, found a program somewhere where you aren't forced to do a tandem for your first jump (two other skydivers are diving with you though to keep you steady). Something about tandem skydiving just doesn't make sense to me. Yeah that sounds weird, but your usual 'common sense' is put to the wayside when we're already talking about jumping out of a plane ;)

Um, I think I just read that mr. hero is paralyzed from saving him?!

Um, I think I just read that mr. hero is paralyzed from saving him?!
He saved a her, and the fact that he's paralyzed as a result of the save is sorta the point. :hmm:

He saved a her, and the fact that he's paralyzed as a result of the save is sorta the point. :hmm:

or we could say it was pointless:hmm:

Look, the guy did an awesome thing for the lady no doubt, but there must've been a better way to stop the fall.

or we could say it was pointless:hmm:

Look, the guy did an awesome thing for the lady no doubt, but there must've been a better way to stop the fall.

both could have used the ground:shifty:

but srsly...1015, you seem to know some stuff about chutes, any thing else they could have done?

both could have used the ground:shifty:

but srsly...1015, you seem to know some stuff about chutes, any thing else they could have done?

Flapped their arms.


A refreshing article. Ironic that today one story was posted about a man paralyzed from saving a woman's life, and another about a man paralyzed after being wrongfully shot by a police officer.

or we could say it was pointless:hmm:

Look, the guy did an awesome thing for the lady no doubt, but there must've been a better way to stop the fall.
In the absence of both the main and reserve chutes, what would be your suggestion? Telekinesis? Prayer? "The Force?"

both could have used the ground:shifty:

but srsly...1015, you seem to know some stuff about chutes, any thing else they could have done?
I know how emergency chutes are designed and how they deploy, but they're pretty different from chutes that are designed for "premeditated jumps," which I never rigged.

What I do know about the latter is that most are designed to fill up and create an airfoil (aka "wing" :shifty: ), and you therefore land a lot more softly than with a flat-circular canopy such as those found in emergency/ejection seat chutes. Those are designed to open reliably at the expense of some "comfort." From what I remember, the "jumper" chutes land you at a rate of about 11mph and you're landing almost like a plane; low degree of incidence, almost like gliding in to meet the gorund. An emergency chute, and you're hitting the ground at roughly 35mph, and at a higher angle of incidence (i.e., basically dropping out of the sky). Broken legs are not atypical.

I'd say this guy did about as much as he could. Frankly, I don't even understand how he was able to invert their positions and end up being the "cushion." Crazy situation nonetheless... I'm shocked that he lived.

that's quite a story

I wonder if she thinks that God helped her

wow... just wow. I really hope someone who is very well off throws that guy a bone and pays for anything to get him walking again. he deserves it, what a guy. Imagine if the world were full of guys with his attitude... world would be a better place!

:halm: dude.

What a guy

I figure; I'm half granny's age and have twice as big an ego. Why waste my life on hers?

fixd

commence :banstick: whenever's clever