dthames

I never met Dan but not long after getting my license I met Vanessa at the Labor Day Boogie (2012). She left an impression on me with her super friendly nature and smile. I ask her what got her into skydiving (not knowing the story) and she said, "My Dad". Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

***Sweeping floors and begging for work is nice. But just finding a real world job, making real money, and jumping your ass of on weekends to gather jumps/skills and have fun, is all this is about.[url] I would say the same thing. To the OP: I have kids your age and I was your age once (believe it or not). I started jumping at age 54 just so that I could be a skydive WS pilot. Many....not all...of the very successful people that I know in skydiving employment also have a 4 or 5 day a week job outside of skydiving. The outside job pays the bills and takes care of the family and the skydive job pays for the skydiving. I do know a couple of young men that started packing and are now flying wingsuits. One of them is putting himself through college and the other is truly a professional skydiver. The guy that is a professional travels a lot and largely lives at the DZ.....homeless buy some people's standards. If you want a family, keep their needs in mind as you work toward your goal. You asked about a fast track, but understand it will take a number of years. Learn perseverance. For me it seemed like an uphill battle at every turn. There is an old saying that is something like, "The faster I go the more behind I get". There is also the story of The Tortoise And The Hare. If you want to progress quickly, make choices that will reduce injury risk, not increase injury risks. I said "no" to things that most people do while working toward the magic 200 jump number. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I watched for about 10 minutes, saw the plane take off 4 times. Never saw Jay under canopy or land. 95% advertising. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

The high power for lifting is developed from a turboprop regardless of how much or how little fuel you carry. The power output does not greatly change the dead weight (within some normal range of power) But when you need more power for electric motors and you do that with batteries, then you are now carrying more weight just to get more power, which means you need yet more power for the extra weight, or less cargo.......degrading spiral. If you wanted to climb at 200 feet per minute, it might be a lot different story than say 800 feet per minute. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Since jump planes haul weight to altitude, "work" is a huge part of the endeavor. Jet Fuel, 43 MegaJoules per Kilogram Battery, less then 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_density Lots of luck jumping on battery power. Hydrojet powered fuel cell,......maybe someday. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

You can find the numbers on a "micromort" chart. 9 micromorts per jump by US stats. 230 miles per micromort, driving....if you can believe the Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micromort Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

In 1978 at the age of 21, I thought skydiving would be great. In 1995 at the age of 37, I rode with Golden Knights on a jump, tied to the plane right at the door so I could take pictures, and I knew I would jump if given the chance. I didn't pursue it. In 2011 I was watching some Jeb videos on Youtube and saw this quote by Helen Keller, "Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." This was the same day my mother suggested I find time to do the things in life that I really wanted to do before I got too old to enjoy them. I was 54 at the time and started skydiving a couple of months later. I think Helen nailed it. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Could you PM me too? (why is it secret?) Is this what you are looking for? http://flysight.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Firmware_upgrade It has talking firmware you can download. I believe those are still the old beta's at the moment. Could someone PM me too? In the latest beta I've seen, there are 'audible alarms', which you can set manually. ***note: the alarms are 'Above Sea Level', not necessarily 'Above Ground Level'.*** The posted 4 Mar 2014 "stable beta" had the Above Sea Level alarm. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Could you PM me too? (why is it secret?) Is this what you are looking for? http://flysight.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Firmware_upgrade It has talking firmware you can download. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Nice. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

One of our outdoor activities as a kid was running and jumping off a high creek bank, over the water, and crashing on a gravel bar 10 feet away and 7 or 8 feet below us. We were all the time jumping off of something. A controlled crash was just part of everyday life. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Jumped from a chair at one DZ. At another DZ everyone that wanted to jump had to PLF from progressively higher platforms until you could do a good PLF from 5 feet, onto a gym mat. At yet another DZ, jump 23 going from the student 288 Manta to my 210 Pilot, I did PLF practice from a step ladder into the pea gravel pit right before my first flight on my canopy. Some do still insist on practice. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I think I followed the radio direction for my first jump. Since I was pulling high compared to the fun jumpers, it was pretty easy just to follow their pattern down. I felt the radio was more of a distraction than anything else. I know a couple of times I could hear it clearly, the instructions were for someone else and following them would have put me in a bad spot. By the time I got to jump 4, my instructor knew me pretty well and told me he was only putting the radio on me because that was the policy with students, but he knew I could get myself back to the ground without it. I had documented hearing damage by the time I was 15 years old and I have always worked to protect my hearing since I learned how easy it was to have it damaged. I jumped one AFF jump without earplugs and then went to wearing earplugs on all jumps. I could still hear the chest mounted radio even with earplugs in. Of course I had to "listen". Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

It is welcome to hear that not everyone is dependent on radios. I am surprised to hear about students on their 10 jump, still needing radio help. To the OP, I have heard of DZs that have ground signals for those that are not able to use a radio. Reading "A Parachute And It's Pilot" might help you to have a good start on understanding canopy flight. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I feel like I do a fair job at this. I can tell you what my process was, and to some extent still is. 1. Get some idea of what the upper level winds are doing. A forecast is normally good enough. 2. Estimate your forward speed, into the wind, with the wind, and 90 degrees to the wind. Get in your head the differences in those three, which will vary a lot depending on the uppers. 3. Determine what your ideal deployment point is, relative to your exit point. If you are last out and you fly for 2 minutes, you can navigate back to your exit point, or close to it. I will use that for an example, now. 4. If you are facing the uppers and they are 25 MPH, your headwind and tailwind speed will be different by about 50 MPH. If you are flying about 75 MPH (no wind), that gives you 50 MPH (into the wind) and 100 MPH (with the wind). Flying into the wind for 100 MPH/50 MPH times as long as you fly with a tailwind will take you back to the same part of the jumprun, not considering the offset. In this example 60 seconds into the wind, 30 seconds cross wind, 30 seconds with the wind should put you about 5/8 mile offset and about the same place up the jump run that you exited. 5. Record the track with a Flysight and study the track on a map to see if you did what you had set out to do. 6. Adjust according to step 5. The first image is a bit far out but you can get the idea. Knowing the upper is a key factor. [inline track1.jpg] [inline track2.jpg] Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Speaking for myself, it is often clear that the OP does not have English as his/her first language. I find it easy to look past the minor errors and focus on the content. I knew what you meant, and I don't speak French. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Thanks guys. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Ever since this thread was started I have been meaning to stop and take pictures of an airport fence that I drive by (once in a while). I finally took the time to stop. Normal "security" fence [inline fence2.jpg] End of normal "security" fence [inline fence1.jpg] Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I am happy you found your stuff. I wish I had learned this earlier in my WS jumping, learning to take hold of the handle, holding it, focusing on position, and then pitching without being rushed did wonders for my deployment. My deployment skills were indeed just fine. But one day I was practicing sinking in and delaying deployment because of high upper winds at 4,000. Holding the handle for 3 or 4 seconds a few times, changed my perspective on things. It settled me down a lot and really put an end to the feeling of "get it now because it is pitch time". I am not suggesting going low but being good at 3600 is better than sloppy at 3800. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

How does the TonySuits Super Mach One compare to Tony's current designs? I mean is it close to an R-Bird in size? Closer to an S-Bird in size? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Exactly. I figure I can "quick-draw" in a pinch with either hand. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I didn't start jumping until after the kids were grown. My wife is very supportive. I think part of her support comes from understanding that I need my "thing" of interest to be an outlet and keep me sane. We have been married many years and maybe that helps. I do think family should be ahead of fun. With a young family I think I would give all aspects very careful consideration. Sacrifice is the true sign of love. Have you asked her what level/amount of skydiving that she would be okay with? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

I did some AFF jumps and some SL jumps, mixed. I finished my initial training with SL progression, mainly because I had some difficulty. Both AFF and SL/IAD have their own merits. My suggestion, Do what you think best for you after talking to the instructors at the DZ(s) where you plan to train. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

Not pretending I have a solution but just trying to understand. The error 43 comes from Flip when you try to use Flip to program the Flysight? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”

The Zoom/Crop feature was working before the recent changes but appears to not work now. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”