CanuckInUSA

A similar scenario has happened to me on at least two occasions. My home DZ in CO is about 5000 feet MSL and not long ago I was jumping in Calhan CO (at about 6400 feet MSL) and then came back to Mile-Hi for the sunset load and forgot that my cypres was turned on earlier in the day. Fortunately I remembered this in the airplane before I jumped and had one of my friends turn the unit off. Then a couple of weeks ago I did a similar thing jumping in Brush CO (4000 feet MSL) and came back to Mile-Hi for the sunset load. But this time I remembered and turned the unit off before turning it back on (having it recalibrate itself) before I got on the airplane. I know some people claim that the cypres is smart enough to notice these altitude changes while riding in my car, but I honestly don't really want to be a guinea pig testing these theories. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I couldn't have said it better myself Chuck. Sometimes I'm guilty of post whoring. But I visit DROPZONE.COM to talk about skydiving and to learn from world class skydivers like yourself as well as to maybe help some of the new jumpers with their questions when guys like you aren't around. Looking forward to partying (and maybe jumping) with you and Katie in Eloy come December. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not sure what they may have done in terms of NOTAMS (Besty might know because she sort of organized it), but last year at the Eloy Holiday boogie, I did my first cross-country jump and it was an awesome learning experience and for sure will be doing it again this year if/when the opportunity arises. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I hope I never need to be in the situation to see if my cypres will save my ass. I know it came close to doing me in instead of saving me not long ago. But it's debatable as to whether or not it was my cypres which almost did me in, or was it just myself who almost did myself in (most people including myself will blame yours truly). I still jump with a cypres, but I now understand why some people won't. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I met a girl in a Denver bar back in January and started dating her. I think she liked the idea of dating a bad-boy skydiver. But despite warning her, she really didn't know what it meant to date a skydiver until she started dating a skydiver. I would spend time with at night, but she wanted me to go roller blading with her on weekends, and of course I had to be at the DZ. So the relationship ended in late March or early April (I can't remember, I was too busy jumping). Oh, I know some people have been hurt worse, but I got the skydiving bug pretty bad making 330 jumps in my first year in the sport. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I guess I could make exceptions for the first person to give me a kiss pass in freefall. But only you. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Sorry no pictures yet, but I arrived at work this morning to have a pleasant surprise waiting for me. My brand spanking new Icarus Crossfire2 has arrived (I'll be loading it at about 1.5:1). It's color scheme is that of the Icarus Signature Pattern. The top and bottom cells are either neon or lime green (I can't remember) and the ribs are black. I hope the stablizers are also black, but it's not biggie if they're not. Once it's hooked up and ready to jump, I will need to spend lot's of time getting to know this new canopy (which includes plenty of hop n' pops). If I get it hooked up this weekend and people see me hook turning it, please slap me in the head. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

You're a POPS aren't you? MadJohn took up Freefying at about 50 Not yet, but once I am, I'll be looking to be in on some POPS freeflying records. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Instead of saving my ass, my Cypres could have killed me on one jump several months ago. But it can be argued that I almost killed myself instead of my Cypres trying to kill me. I'm out of here folks ... time to go play some volleyball. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

No, but I've made numerous trash packing jumps with one. This won't solve your potential slammer problems, but try controlling your openings with your rear risers. At first it may seem wierd to be reaching for them once you pitch, but in time it will become second nature and it just may save you one day if you open up next to another canopy. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Skydiving is remarkably similar to life. When I was first brought into the skydiving world, I knew I knew very little about the sport. But then once I hit 100 jumps, I knew I wasn't ultra experienced, but I felt I knew a thing or two about the sport. But now that I've jumped more, I look back at when I had 100, 200 and 300 jumps and realize that I knew jack. Now that I'm at 400 jumps do I know it all? Hell no. And what will I think if/when I make it to 500, 1000 or 2000+ jumps? Life is like this. When we were teenagers we thought we knew it all. But we didn't. Life is full of learning experiences and the more we live life, the fuller our range of experiences will be. So the next time you look at a senior citizen, don't think of them as old. Think of them as experienced. And the next time you look at a old time skydiver. Don't think of them as POPS, but think of them as a dam flat belly flier who's afraid to try freeflying. Okay I know that was uncalled for. But I just needed to break the ice and have some fun. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey how come I didn't get that email? Is one of the Otters coming this weekend? I may have to alter my plans for this weekend a little. I told a friend who's about to start her AFF training in Brush that I'd be in Brush this weekend. But if an Otter is at Mile-Hi, hmmm ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm in the Denver area. What DZ were you thinking about visiting? Longmont (the best weather and landing area in the state ... IMHO), Brush (the best DZ party MOJO in the state), Calhan (the highest DZ in the country) or Canon City (a decent DZ what with them having a Caravan and a nice landing area)? I was thinking about attending the Lamar boogie, but if Mile-Hi will have access to an Otter, I may have to change my mind. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

A ProTrack is nice to have (especially if you are freeflying), but not 100% required. A jumpsuit geared towards your style of skydiving is also nice to have. But you can also jump in street clothes. So my vote would be to start thinking about purchasing a rig. Buy one which is freefly friendly (even if freeflying isn't your cup of tea), but be careful to select a canopy and a reserve which are applicable to your experience level. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Maybe I could have used better words, but I did have some sort of warning. Sinking a canopy in is something I don't like doing unless I have no other options, but it was still worthwhile letting the original poster know about the technique. Good canopy control starts with controlled and subtle harness, riser and toggle steering inputs. Someone who is abrupt with their inputs run the risk of being where they shouldn't be (such as the corner) or in a high speed stall. And let's face it, most of the time (unless they are bad assed and ultra experienced), they are just guessing. When I first started doing 180 degree front riser hook turns, I was somewhat abrupt with my steering inputs (and found myself in the corner on at least one occasion diving toward Mother Earth faster than I was ready for). But a more experience canopy pilot (who's messed himself up in the past) talked to me about carving my front riser turns. And in that time, my swoop accuracy and approach speeds are mush better than they've ever been. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Oh man ... you've just slammed DaGimp. I got to meet DaGimp in Rantoul, but never jumped with him. Then again, I didn't jumped with any other DZ.COMers while I was in Rantoul and how bad is that? Now how's that for hijacking a thread. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Trigger has already told you about the accuracy trick. But one other area which helps with your accuracy is being able to read the winds. In low to moderate winds you will likely need to fly your pattern the way you've always flown it. But in fairly high winds, you will want to shorten up your downwind leg. You can also improve your accuracy by using the accuracy trick while flying your base leg (basically waiting for the right moment to turn final assuming traffic permits you to do this). A few other tricks: If you feel you will land long you can do one of two things: 1) Sit in half breaks and sort of sink it in. But be careful not to sink it in the entire way. You'll want to allow the canopy to return to full flight prior to initiating your flare. 2) If you think you will land long, you can always expedite the affair by using your front risers. But be warned that you will be adding both extra vertical and horizontal speed to your approach which you may or may not be comfortable with. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I am NOT a canopy nazi. But please be aware that a Crossfire2 is a high performance canopy (and all the good and bad which goes with flying a high performance canopy). I only have a handful of demo Crossfire2 jumps under my belt, so I am no authority. But my experiences with the Crossfire2 canopy (plus from what others have told me about their experiences) have convinced me that it's the right next canopy for me. The Crossfire2 has better opening characteristics and the bottom end flare is likely 2nd to none when it comes to none-crossbraced canopies. But once I get my Crossfire2, I will require many many many conservative jumps before I am able to fly it as aggresively as I fly my Sabre2 (not that I'm all that aggresive). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I can only comment about my openings, but my Sabre2 only dives once the canopy fully inflates. It stays on heading during it's snivelling phase and I control the diving openings with my rear risers. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... skymama is coming to Eloy this year? Cool ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My only complaint concerning the Sabre2 is that it has a quick recovery arc. And because of this, soon I will start flying a Crossfire2 canopy. But the Sabre2 is an awesome canopy and has taught me a lot about canopy control (plus I have video of myself out swooping someone on a similarly loaded Samurai). It's funny that people talk of the Sabre2 diving on opening. I've wondered if my diving openings were related to my often sloppy pack jobs, or if it is indeed a characteristic of the canopy itself (which I'm beginning to think is the case). But I rarely have line twists (maybe 2 or 3 in 300+ jumps) and the diving openings can be controlled with the rear risers. The Sabre2 is an awesome canopy for intermediate canopy pilots. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Back in the mid 80s, my picture made the front page of the sports section in the "Montreal Gazette", the city's largest English language newspaper. Basically my high school football team made the city championships for the first time since my team made it (in the late 70s) and the article talked about the schools football program then and now. The reason they choose me was because a classic picture was taken of me with my left arm in a soft cast (from a bicycle injury where lost the tip of one of my fingers) and my jersey was all torn up and super muddy. So the article talked about the heart and desire people endure to achieve a goal. It was quite the shock to be on the bus, reading a newspaper article about yourself from an event which happened at least 5-7 years prior. I wanted to yell out to everyone on the bus "hey check out the front page of the sports section, that's me". But I didn't. Anyway, ever since then I lost my lime light and slipped back into anonymity with the rest of you all. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes Britny is correct. Sony Sony Sony ... I have a PC120, but there are some slightly older Sony models (PC-9 as an example) which will be cheaper and still up to the task. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have over 300 jumps on a Sabre2 and have experienced nice soft openings as well as harder ones including one slammer which was particularily bad (rushed pack job on my part). My canopy usually snivels on heading before diving to the right (usually, but not always). Because of this, my hands reach for my rear risers on each opening to control the dive. It's possible that you have an anomoly, as PD's quality control is quite good. If you're consistently getting slammed, one would have to guess that it's either your packing or your body position come deployment time. But who knows, maybe you got a lemon in a field of oranges. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I also jump in CO (my home DZ is about 5k MSL) and currently am jumping a Sabre2 170 (1.35:1). But in the not too distant future I will start jumping a Crossfire2 (still waiting for it to arrive). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over