CanuckInUSA

Sometimes I act like I'm 12. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not obese or anything like that, but I likely could stand to lose a few extra pounds ... again. Too much beer drinking I guess. I did lose about 15-20 lbs last year at this time, but managed to put about 5-10 lbs back on through sheer lazyness and bad diet. Despite the fact that I look and act much younger than I actually am, I have a POPS membership. Of course getting old is better than the alternative right? Just don't ask about my lack of hair on top. I have enough negative aspects of my life working for me here. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Are you talking about me again? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Not even close. Besides it was either aim for flying over the truck or aim for the people congesting the landing area and not paying attention to the people still in the air. But if I ever do take the truck out, then you can call me "Ram Tough Jr". Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes scaringly good for my low jump numbers and only being in the sport a few years right. That was a joke people ... don't take this post serious. I'm only as good as my last landing. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Excellent. This is what we want to hear from not only you (and me) but more people as well. Plus don't be surprised once you start learning more and building experience that maybe just maybe your views on this topic will change. I know mine did. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You're right, most of us haven't seen you jump just as most people haven't see me jump. But unless I'm mistaken, we're not singling you out and talking about your current canopy control skills. We're talking about what is the best course of action to take to help this sport now and in the future. The evolution of the canopy will continue to progress to a point where the technology is above the skill and experience level of most people. The only way to counteract this is to start building the mindset into people that they can't just jump any old high performance wing they want just because they see someone else jumping one. The up and coming canopy pilot needs to seek further canopy control coaching from qualified instructors throughout their entire skydiving careers. Yes this will cost time and money. But people will be better canopy pilots and the sport as a whole will be better off. So while this BSR may seem like a restrictive bad idea to some (and yes I don't think it is perfect), it has got to be a better option than what exists right now. By the way, today I just arrainged some more high performance canopy coaching in late February from the world class PST pilot who has already instructed me in the past. I just started flying a new high performance wing and I want to get some coaching to ensure that I'm not developing any bad habits early on in the game with this canopy. Yes it's going to cost me a fair amount of money. But if this up and coming coaching session is anything close to the previous coaching sessions I received, then it will be well worth the time, money and effort. And if there are any other up and coming canopy pilots who are also serious about doing things the right way, they will be talking with the more experienced people they know to set out a plan instead of trying to survive through trial and error. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Since when is hitting the peas important in skydiving? What's important is walking away from each jump that we make. Who cares if you landed in the peas, on the beer line, swooped the pond or just landed in an open area. All that really matter is being able to walk away so that you can make that next jump. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm curious as to what you think the real problem is. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

No I doubt Dave was referring to people jumping lesser aggresive wings and wing loadings. But for anyone who wants to jump a high performance canopy using high performance techniques, they really do need to be current and 300 jumps/year is a decent goal to strive for (shit I wish I could make 1000 jumps/year ... but there's something called work that always seems to get in the way). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not sure I understand everything you are trying to say here (and I should NOT be confused with being a canopy nazi). You want mimimal restrictions with high returns? But I can't see that happening. The two seem mutually exclusive of each other. Personally I don't see anything fundamentally wrong with the possible BSR that has been proposed. Yes it is not perfect (I think having some sort of national standard for Canopy Control Coaching is going to be one of the bigger hurdles as well as having a standard towards testing out). But the bottom line is that there are many canopy designs (elliptical canopies, high wing loadings and cross-braced canopies) as well as flying techniques which require advanced canopy control knowledge and experience. Without some sort of proper coaching from knowledgable instructors, people are really only jumping with a "trial by error" paradigm. And sooner or later, something is going to go wrong as they push their limits. As I slowly gain more experience in this sport and progress as a canopy pilot, I start to understand why these people who are pushing for this BSR are passionate about this topic. Yes we are all responsible for our own actions and being able to choose one's own destiny is a desired option in life. But the lesser experienced people in this sport really don't know what it takes to fly a high performance canopy and really don't know how close they are to cratering without the proper experience and respect for the actions they do and the wings they choose to fly. It's not easy to stomache being told that you don't know shit when you've jumped out of an airplane several hundred times and survived. But as we gain experience we look back and realize that ... wow I really didn't know shit when I had "X" number of hundreds of jumps. It has happened to me and it will happen to you as you gain more experience. As previously mentioned, this BSR is not going to be an issue to those who are truly serious about their canopy progression. Those who are truly serious will put the time into the sport, will be current, will seek coaching and will jump the appropriate canopies for their current experience levels. Those who wish to cut corners are really the only ones who will be effected by this BSR and it is this group of people who the BSR is trying to protect. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Five more high alt hop n' pops today. Good stuff so far.

Hey Spizzz. Come out to one of our BASE trips in Moab in the near future. We've got enough landing obstacles to keep your heart contempt when it comes to accuracy under a canopy. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey Jim's Ground Launching stuff is the shits!!! Good stuff I tell you. But it's not safe and it requires good canopy knowledge, canopy control and of course the right survival attitude. I hope to use my past and future Ground Launching experience towards swooping. But swooping is different. Swooping requires hundreds and hundreds of jumps on each canopy you'll jump before you downsize to the next smaller size or more elliptical or cross-braced canopy. To skip a step in the process is only asking for trouble above the already high risks we already take swooping. The right attitude is good. But experience is what gives you a chance at survival. If you want to get into swooping. Talk to a more experienced swooper and set out a plan. To swoop through trial and error is only to ask for unnecessary risks. But what do I know. I'm just a newbie myself. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

meow Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm going to try and pay better attention to the nose tomorrow when I pack (it won't help me for my first jump unless I repack tonight). It's a brand spanking new canopy (slippier than owls shit) and in some respects, packing it is harder than packing my BASE rig when it was brand new. But I know from my BASE experience, my on-heading performance is mainly a body position thing-a-ma-bob. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Damn looks like I missed some action. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Absolutely leave your medical history off of your resume. It has no place there. Are you qualified for the job, that's all that matters (not if you have or haven't worked in the last year). If they ask why you haven't worked in a while, then be honest. But people take time off from work all the time. Plus if someone held this sort of thing against you, would you even want to work for them in the first place? Good luck with your job hunt. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I made four high altitude hop n' pops today in the Denver area (yes it was a little cold up top) and I got to jump my new Velocity 111 canopy. Wow ... what a fun canopy to fly and what a powerful flare it has. But I totally understand why many experienced people don't want inexperienced people jumping cross-braced canopies. This is not your father's docile canopy. It opens, flies, dives and flares like no other canopy I've ever jumped before. It's tons of fun, but it's also a canopy not to be taken lightly and definitely not a canopy for the untrained, uncurrent and inexperienced to be jumping. By the way Jason if you do read this. Thanks for the pre-jump info on the Velo. Pretty much everything you said about how it would preform was true. And watch out for those openings. I thought I'd be fine given that my Crossfire2 also has squirely openings. But this canopy is even squirelier. I can't wait until tomorrow to do some more high altitude hop n' pops with it.

I agree with Faber in that aviation WX reports are the best source of weather forcasting info. Now I definitely need to comment that Mother Nature looks like she's going to be messing with at least 1/2 of my weekend (Saturday here in Denver isn't looking all that nice despite the fact that yesterday was perfect jumping conditions). Doesn't the bitch know that I'm planning on jumping a new canopy this weekend and that reasonably nice weather would be appreciated to allow me to do some high altitude hop n' pops. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

All good stuff being said here about landing out. If you jump enough you'll ultimately need to make an off DZ landing sooner or later (sometimes even by choice when doing self inflicted back-country parachute activites like BASE and/or Ground Launching). But how about a twist to the original spirit of this thread? Not only do people need to have alternate landing areas on their jumps selected, but think about the type of canopy you may be flying in the environments and the harzards you may encounter where you jump (having an off DZ landing in a place like Sebastian FL is a lot trickier than an off DZ landing in the western US states). You could be on a fast hp canopy or even be under a reserve in a confined area where you've only got one chance to hit that one and only good landing spot. So not knowing how to fly the canopies you could be on in that off DZ environment could spell disaster. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Ha!!! You're only hope is the fly swatter. Everything else is futile. Beautify day in Denver today. Too bad I wasn't jumping somewhere. Now how's that for changing the subject. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have 4 different scars (they're not the easiest to see under normal conditions) on my face thanks to hockey (all these scars occured in the 70s and 80s). Two scars on my lip, one on my chin and one under my right eye. And it's a good thing I've been wearing a full face mask for the last 20 years as I know I'd be another Frankenstein had I not been wearing one. You see a couple of summers ago, I got pushed into the opposition's net and took a goalie skate to my face. Can you only imagine the damage that would have occurred had I not been wearing a mask? Hockey is one fun sport to play. But it's a rough sport and injuries do occur and often occur pretty frequently. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Swooping is fun. But it is also unforgiving of the errors that many of us will make at some point in our skydiving careers. If we are honest with ourselves in respect to our experience in the sport, our knowledge in canopy control (and seek more coaching when needed), are honest with our own risk tolerance levels and realize that none of us is immune from injury and/or death, then swooping is something that we can participate in, in a reasonably safe manner. But the important thing is to realize that swooping takes hundreds and hundreds of jumps on each canopy we jump before we move on to the next (smaller ... more elliptical ... or even cross-braced) canopy. And once we move on to a new canopy, we must realize that we need to start from scratch in terms of learning the performance characteristics of the new canopy and be patient with ourselves. All it takes is one moment of poor decision making (or worse being in the wrong place at the wrong time for whatever reason), to end it all. I'm about to tell you about my canopy progession which in some people's eyes will be aggresive, but not nearly as aggresive as others which often get's the canopy nazi's attention. Also keep in mind that my exit weight is in the 210 lb range and I do jump at 5000 MSL (meaning I come in fast and don't have much air to flare with, so you may understand why I jump the canopy sizes I do while some others jump smaller canopies). Now I was a licensed private pilot before I became a skydiver. So I was used to the sight picture of landing a wing. For my first 40 jumps, I used student/rental gear ranging in the student F-111 290 sizes down to rental ZP 210 canopies. On jump #40 through the next 50 jumps I was on a Triathlon 220 which I never really did much with except work on my accuracy and consitency with my flair. I did do some front riser work up high, but in retrospective I never did swoop with that canopy. Then on jump #90 through jump #175 I was jumping a Sabre2 190. It was on this canopy that I received my first canopy control coaching and did my first 90 degree front riser swoops (after receiving my canopy control coaching). In many respects, I should have stayed on this canopy longer, but I didn't. I downsized to a Sabre2 170. And it was on my Sabre2 170 that I learned to swoop. I did double fronts, I did 90s and 180s. I understood the recovery arc, but like any quick recovering canopy, I didn't push it because I knew my setup was low. I put 225 jumps on that canopy before I decided to move on to my first elliptical and it was on this canopy (the 170) that I came the closest (knock on wood) to pounding in. Fortunately I was on a large enough canopy that gave me some forgiveness as if I had made the same mistake I made on a smaller canopy, I likely would have femured or even worse. Anyway after 225 jumps on the Sabre2 170, I downsized again. Did I downsize too fast ... again? In reality the answer is yes. But I did so because I felt that my fast recovering Sabre2 canopy wasn't helping develop beyond the point that I found myself in. So on jump #400 I started to jump a Crossfire2 139. It was on this canopy that I did my first 270s with. In retrospective I was doing my 180s and 270s too low. Now it's not like I was constantly digging myself out, but I wasn't letting the canopy recover the way it can recover and part of this was becaused I didn't know any better and none of the more experienced jumpers around me really said much. I put another 225 jumps on this Crossfire2 139 and was pretty current with it. So after spending one long 4 day weekend last year in Eloy (feeling very current), I called up a friend who was selling his Crossfire2 119 canopy and bought his. And it was on this wing that I really began to learn the potential of this canopy. It was on this wing that I got swoop at sea level (wow jumping at altitude sucks) and it was on this canopy where I received my latest high performance canopy control coaching. The information I received about swooping after this latest batch of coaching was ... simply priceless. Coaching means everything when it comes to canopy control. Without it, we are really just guessing how to control our canopy's through trial and error. But with the added coaching, I no longer am a trial by error type of canopy pilot. Because a world class swooper has shown me how to find the performance characteristics of my canopy and he has armed with many tricks to add to my tool box in order to keep my canopy within it's performance envelop. The rest is now up to me to put the knowledge I've been given into use, to know my limits and be patient with my progression from here on out. So now I'm about to start the latest chapter in my canopy progression. During the Eloy Holiday boogie, two very experienced swoopers (one a former PST jumper) made identical yet independent comments about my swoops as they watched me. Both said that they thought I would be better off (and reasonably safe) under a cross-braced canopy. I originally was going to order a custom Velocity 103. But after I found out that it would take 4 months to make (not the 2 I thought it would take), I thought shit I won't be starting to jump this cross-braced canopy until May which means higher density altitude conditions and less time to learn this canopy before the hot summer months are here and the swooping competition circuit heats up. I could have stayed on my Crossfire2 119 from now until the fall (not a bad choice), but instead I decided to pick up a stock Velocity canopy and given myself five months to learn it before the summer arrives, to start off slow with it and to slowly start pushing myself on it until I get to the point to where I am now on my Crossfire. Plus I will be looking to seek more advance canopy control coaching with the Velocity once I learn the basics with it and learn it's performance envelop (by playing up high with it). So here I am, with a Velocity 111 in my possesion and ready to jump this weekend. And I chose the 111 size over the 103 because not only do I jump in high density altitude conditions, but I can always wear weight when I want to increase my wing loading (like when I visit DZs at sea level). Now If I crater because of stupidity, I only have myself to blame. But I do believe that while I have been somewhat aggresive with my canopy progression, I have also sought canopy control coaching, I will continue to seek coaching as I progess, I think I'm in tune with my personal skill, my knowledge and my risk assement limits. It's all about choices. If you want to become a swooper, then talk to the more experienced swoopers around you and set out a plan to get you to achieve your goals. But don't forget that the plan takes time to realize. None of the world class swoopers are people who just started yesterday. They are people with experience, with knowledge and are current with the canopies they fly. PS: If I ever find myself uncurrent on my new Velocity 111, keep in mind that I have many other canopies to choose from. I still own my Crossfire2 (I will ultimately sell it), I own a Samurai 136 (my interim Ground Launching canopy), I have a Spectre 150 (my canopy for wingsuit jumps) and I have a big 293 BASE canopy and another 303 BASE canopy being made as we speak. So I have choices towards how I want to fly my canopies and each choice will depend on the environment in which I jump, my experience and my currency. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I started skydiving at the age of 38 (I'm now 41) and at that time when I first got into the sport, I said that I wasn't interested in swooping as well. It looked dangerous and I wasn't interested in busting myself up. But look at me now. Swooping is one of my passions. Will I ever be the best? I think it's obvious that the answer is no. Will I bounce? I hope not, but it's also not safe. Are the risks worth the rewards? In many cases, the answer is yes. But in others, it's no. We evolve as jumpers as we gain experience and as time passes. So just because you say you're not interested in doing something today doesn't mean you might not change your mind in the future. It's not always the young men who are asking for it when it comes to swooping and flying small canopies fast. Every jumper has the potential to kill themselves up there. What it boils down to is the choices that we make. Are they educated choices? How about choices based on experience and choices based on individual risk tolerance comfort levels? Are we making smart choices? Are we flying the right canopy for our experience levels? For the environments we jump in and for our current skill levels? Do we know how to find the performance characteristic of each canopy that we fly and are we patient with our canopies jumping them hundreds and hundreds of times each before moving on to the next canopy? Or do we just want to go big and go big early on in our careers? It's all about choices. Have you made good choices for yourself? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over