dthames

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Everything posted by dthames

  1. Being a student is often difficult. You must be ready.......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRX6hSGeZs4 Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  2. No one here is "average". Didn't you know that? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  3. A good friend had a ball-under with a Sabre 1. We actually heard him scream from the ground, he thought he ruptured it but fortunately didn't. Jock strap Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  4. Do you pull the toggles down close to your body, bending the elbows as you go? That's the correct way to get the most flare. Some people mimic swoopers by flaring with their arms out to the sides. Takes more muscle, it's harder to do and many don't flare all the way down like they should. Flaring too high? Very common problem judging height. I heard someone say the other day "Flare at the height you could kick somebody's head that was standing in the field." Sounded about right, but it takes practice to judge. Keep your eyes on the ground out in front of you, not straight down. Get your landings videoed. Continue PLFing. Good luck.
  5. These are not entirely "straight in", but I try to fly a normal pattern, which is a bit low at times. I tried to provide a mix of some good and some not so good examples. You might try to predict or to "see" where I am headed before I get there. I am not sure if this is what you asked for or how it will help, but maybe it will. http://youtu.be/gFMhsU8Y560 Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  6. ++ Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  7. I can recall as a student with less than 10 jumps that i had read the book A Parachute And It's Pilot, when I went for my next jump. I was doing SL training and I told the instructor, "See that box (trash) out on the field, that is my target". I was on my base leg and I was watching the box/target. My thought process was, "If I turn toward it now, will I land there?" Suddenly the answer was, Yes, and I turned. I came in about 20 feet short. Yes, largely luck, but the concept is pretty simple. Every second of the landing pattern should be about, what will it look like after I turn and when should I make that turn. As you get experience, it should be almost second nature to go where you want to go, within some reason. If you fly a good pattern others will thank you, even if you miss your target a bit. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  8. What do your instructors say? Wrapping the brake lines once around your hands will allow a deeper "flare" but also might stall the canopy. But sure to get proper instruction before trying such a move. Many students just need some practice to get the hang of it. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  9. I would suggest you watch some others night jump first. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  10. Dallas was in there somewhere! [inline photo.jpg] Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  11. I have typically been the last guy to my slot in a formation jump. I have always stayed well within my control limits and I don't go charging in too fast. Recently I have noticed I have learned a much better control and have started working to not be “dragging up the rear”, so to speak. I never would have expected to put myself or anyone else in danger with my formation approach, but I did. Maybe by sharing this, someone else might learn something. As I recall there were four of us. I was the last to exit the plane and was in pursuit from behind and above. My slot was on the right side of the group and I pressed hard to get there, putting on the brakes, to settling in very nicely. Everyone was right out in front of me as I approached the formation and it was all ideal. I felt really good about my performance. The next jump we had five birds. Again everyone, but one (Right slot) was out in front of me and I was headed for the top slot in a vertical diamond. “Right” was above me and to my right making a fairly slow approach. We seemed to be a long way away, so I needed to cover some space and close it up. About that time, the base started into a slow turn to the left. At this point in time, I thought I had a clear path to my slot and I pressed on. In doing so, I deprived myself of the ability to keep any visual clue as to where “Right” was at. While is seemed safe to assume I knew where the two flight paths would go, it was in fact not safe in any way. I didn’te even knew I came close to the other guy until we were on the ground. But I passed very fast right beneath him, at a dangerous speed and dangerously close. In retrospect, my behavior was that “this will work” or “this is okay” without very much consideration for all of those factors that I didn’t have direct control of. Big mistake on my part. So, I am demanding of myself to do better…way better. So, it is not okay that this “looks fine”. It must be fine under changing conditions. It has been stated before that our behavior needs to be tempered with the knowledge of who is where and that we need to know where everyone is. This was really driven home for me. Thankfully no one was touched, but it could have been very bad. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  12. If you don't know anything about flying, it might be wise to read a book like "The Parachute And It's Pilot". A good understanding of what you want to do flying the canopy and landing it will help you. Going to the DZ and watching students land might give you some insight as long as you don't let it prejudice you causing, you to be "un-taught" before you can be taught by your instructors. Beginners flaring high is common. Watch how people recover (with a good PLF) or how they fail their training by improper PLF. A good PLF will cover a lot of minor mistakes. But overall, if you just do what you are told by your instructors, things will go well, unless you one of the unlucky few.....(Understand the fact that when all goes right bad things can still happen). Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  13. Nice! As you progress, progress your confidence in your ability at the same time you progress your skills. My 2 cents. You might have a case where the best place to land is tight. Without confidence some jumpers might make a less desirable choice because they don't trust themselves. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  14. That is my story as well. On vacation, gearing up, phone vibrates(work calling), no way am I going to answer it. "I must have been in the air, very unreliable". Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  15. Skydiving can be a great source of fun and an equally source of disappointment. I have found that some places have less to offer than others and some places are spoiled by one or two people’s actions. Try to get past the disappointments, look for the good stuff/places, be careful/safe, and have fun. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  16. Seeing another canopy collision incident, I am reminded of an idea that I had after a recent jump. I was on the Sunset formation load at Flock and Dock (Zhills) with two Otters full of jumpers. Our landing instructions were to spread out and not everyone try to land in the traditional landing area. The wind was out of the southwest and I (green dot) was not in the position to easily fall into the normal pattern (red pattern), so I was going to “spread out”. Clearly is was not a good idea for everyone to make up their own landing spot as patterns would be crossing each other all over the place. I saw three others in front of me flying a pattern (yellow pattern) to take them to the pea gravel pit area that is north of the boarding area. I could fall in behind them and that should work just fine. I think specific use of this area was mentioned as well. I continued to watch the big picture and noticed a few people coming in from the east and northeast, against the wind. So, largely they were coming straight in and I noticed one (green arrow) heading right for the main area, putting that person in the position to cross in front of me. Not a big deal, we had plenty of room, but it got me to thinking. It would be nice if there was a no fly zone between the two landing areas. The main area, everyone is very familiar with. But the second area location was not defined enough for good separation between the two landing areas. Things were a bit tight. I started thinking about how it would have helped if there was an easy way to set up a no fly rectangle (red dots) to break up some of the crossing traffic. This would in effect create two defined landing areas with their own normal patterns and some separation between the two. Some wind blades or road flares could be set out on large jumps after the landing direction was established. The amount of difficulty would vary based on location and wind direction. But in cases where it would be easy to do, it looks to me like it would help reduce some risks. Not a solution to anything but maybe enough risk reduction to make it worthwhile. Or, maybe just have two or more declared landing areas with their own respective patterns so that the separation would be a result of the known areas. This almost happened without anyone saying anything about it on the jump I am referring to. But as I said, it was a bit tight and would have been better moved a bit north with everyone understanding we had a no fly area for separation. [inline split-landing-area.jpg] Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  17. On another thread, some months ago, someone described 2 type of skydivers. 1. someone that wants to be a skydiver (likes the notoriety, loves the DZ activity, loves the people, etc). 2. someone that wants to skydive (wants to jump). It is good to understand what drives you. Something to think about and to understand about yourself as you become a jumper. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  18. With 22 jumps I purchased a ZPX Pilot with about 150 jumps on it. It was not hard to pack. I had to learn a few things, but that is the case no matter what you have. edited to add, with your own rig, you can take it home and practice packing as much as you have time for. That helped me when I was struggling at first. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  19. The head of the company that I work for, copyrighted this business formula some 25-30 years ago. It expresses very clearly what drives customers. http://www.baldor.com/about/value_formula.asp Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  20. cause you went to the dark side. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  21. Welcome back to the sport. Older "new" jumpers are not uncommon. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  22. Are you most interested in preformance tracking (first paragraph) or angle dives (last paragraph)? Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  23. I understand the benifit of this. But to me it has to be one of the funniest things in skydiving.....to watch it played out, ignoring the context. It looks like a mime that has lost his/her way. imagine that played out on a bench in the mall. I mean no offence to those special people that can remember all of those moves. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  24. I have seen people do a couple of WS flights and decide they are not all that interested. But if you want to do it, follow your interests. It is serious business (just like all skydiving) and for me, my element. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”
  25. "Not very good" means "no mad skills" to me. Starting out a bit late in life, all of skydiving has been pretty difficult for me to learn. I always feel, "not very good". Jump 201 for me because WS is my primary reason to be in the air. Instructor quote, “What's weird is that you're older than my dad!”