CanuckInUSA

And who said that men were the only risk takers in this sport? You're definitely progressing fast. But as long as you seek help (which you seem to have done), and know your current limits, then there's no reason to believe that you can't suceed. But be careful out there. All it takes is one bad judgement call (by any one of us in this sport). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Be warned that skydiving is a very expensive sport. Regardless of how much you pay for a rig and regardless of how much your DZ charges you for a jump ticket (I'm not so lucky as my jumps usually cost me $21/jump). But if you turn into a skydiver like many of us, you'll be consumed by the sport and will channel as much $$$ as you can to your jumping (and gear purchases). I have spent many many thousands of dollars in my short 13 months in the sport (which will likely be my financial demise in the future). But I can't see myself going back to my old whuffo life. Skydiving is just way too cool to give up once you're hooked. So keep us informed as to your jumping experiences. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Welcome to the great (yet dangerous) sport of skydiving and welcome to the great DZ.COM website and on passing your AFF. If you can find a used Javelin Odyssey that fits your body for the right price, then go for it. But as CrazyIvan pointed out, you will be waiting about six months for a new one (thanks to Sunpath having a huge military contract). So if you are looking for a new container, there are better choices right now. But regardless of buying new or used, get a container which is freeflying friendly. You don't have to be a freeflier to be flying a good solid safe rig and most modern rigs are freefly friendly. As far as canopy choices are concerned, you likely won't be disappointed with a Sabre2. I'm currently flying exactly what you want (a Sabre2 170) and it's been a great canopy for me (within a month I should be taking delivery of a Crossfire2 though). But the Sabre2 is not the easiest thing to find used as they get snapped up pretty quickly. So if you can't find a Sabre2, talk to your instructors as there are other good canopies choices out there as well. Good luck with your skydiving progression, keep us informed (I was just like you not that long ago) and don't forget to be safe. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

From a 1st person point of view, that was a bad ass fast swoop from Hook (one can only image how farther he could have gone if he used a slightly larger canopy). Of course I was hoping that someone was videoing him from the ground (as I'd still like to do sometime in the future). Is Hook still kind of semi-retired from Skydiving? There was apparently a pond swoop competition out at Brush yesterday (which I was NOT a part of) and I wonder if anyone told Hook about it. I'm also wondering (hoping) that nobody hurt themselves yesterday and since I've yet to see a new incident report, I'm hoping this is the case. Of course it's no guarantee. And I also digress from this topic "Hook's swoop video". So what software are you using? I know a lot of people like Adobe's Premiere, but recently I started making my own skydiving movie with VideoStudio version 7.x and it does what I need it to do. Also, I know this isn't the case as Hook does have a hot swoop, but you can't always believe what you see in these videos as the speed can be sped up or slowed down with the right software. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My home DZ has indoor plumbing (as well as two of the other three DZs in CO). But I have visited more DZs with port-a-potties than with with indoor plumbing. So maybe I'm spoiled as I sit on the throne at the DZ. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's funny, I guess you could say that I have a malfunction (I'd have to check my log book, but it occured somewhere around 250 jumps), but I've yet to have a reserve ride after 385 jumps. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why is it, that with the exception of AggieDave (and now myself) only belly fliers have responded to this thread? I agree with a previous poster that freeflying is flying your body in any position and yes we freefliers don't spend very much time on our bellies (heck it's time to think about pitching when I find myself on my belly). But to insinuate that freeflying will be the death of skydiving is naive. Haven't you ever heard of evolution? Freeflying is just taking skydiving to new levels and any competent skydiver should be able to fly their bodies in any position. Now I'll likely never be a world class belly flier because the discipline just doesn't interest me (and I'd also like to say that I have no interest in sharing my immediate skies with many many many other skydivers the way many big-way belly fliers like to). But who says that a good freeflier can't be a good AFF instructor? Good freefliers are able to position themselves in the face of another skydiver and they'll use whatever skills they know how to use to do so. So even though I don't think it's necessary, what's the problem if someone uses their freeflying skills to get relative to another skydiver before using whatever skills (ie: belly) to match the other skydiver's fall rate. Come on people, wake up and smell the java. Do you want to see skydiving evolve as a sport or do you want it to become stagnant? Maybe we should go back to using round parachutes because too many people are hurting themselves with modern sport parachutes? LOL ... NOT ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Why do you think you encountered those belly fliers on your jump? It's possible that they were sliding a bit, but chances are that you were the one who slide into their airspace. When learning freeflying, it's important for you to align yourself perpendicular to the flight line. Freeflying is awesome, but it's so much easier to accidentally slide horizonatally across the sky (especially when doing a solo with no one else to judge your flight with). Have fun with your freeflying, but do so in a responsible safe way. Your life as well as the life of others you share the sky with depends on this. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

As someone with a fast fall rate (but likely not as fast as yours), I know what sort of challenges you'll go through. But that doesn't mean you can't over come them. But you will have issues staying with smaller people (especially when it's time to go head down). One thing is for sure, you will likely need to spend most of your freeflying time in a sit. So concentrate on becoming proficient with this discipline. You (as well as myself) likely will not be able to spend an entire jump head down, but instead will want to become good with your transitions between sit and head down. And this isn't such a bad thing (becoming good at transitioning). Good luck ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm D-26396. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm about 20 minutes away from my home DZ. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So is the narration in French in Quebec? I know how SOME (not all) of the k-beckers are towards the whole English/French thing. In fact I'm sure the "L'Office de la langue Francais" (the Quebec language nazis for those who don't know who I'm talking about) would have a field day if this movie was only playing in English. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

With all due respect, there are very few people making RW videos and tons of people (myself included) making freeflying videos. Why? Because freeflying is more graceful and conducive with music playing in the background. Huh??? I don't understand what you are trying to say here ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hey no need to worry this year as I plan on terrorizing the poor people staying in a team room with me instead. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

In all my exploits to relive my WFFC '03 experiences, I forgot to mention that I purposely went out of my way to drive a little farther on my way to Rantoul in order to check out the "Adrenaline Rush" movie. Instead of taking the slightly faster route from Denver to Illinois (I-80), I took I-70 and stopped off in Kansas City on the evening of 7-31-03 in order to watch the 10:00 am showing the following morning. There was only six other people in the theater with myself. Grandma and grandpa with their 10 year old granddaughter, Over weight mom, over weight pa and their over weight teenaged son as well as yours truly. So I think it was safe to say that I was the only skydiver in the theater watching the movie that morning. Anyway I digress ... I really would have like to have sat down with these other people to get their impressions on the film and on what they thought of skydiving and of base jumping, but I still had many more hours of traveling ahead of me and I needed to hit the road. "Adrenaline Rush" is a fantastic movie which should be seen by everyone who is known to take risks in their lives (ah hell it should be seen by everyone regardless of their risk taking tendencies). It lived up to every expectation I had towards this film and I wanted to see it to determine if what the film makers said about people like ourselves being true or not in terms of why we skydive. And to have the film displayed on a giant Imax sized screen only added to my positive experience. It is hard to imagine why some people would dislike this movie, but at least one person who wrote a review openly stated that they thought it was a waste of Imax film. I believe that the people like this do not have a clue as to how difficult some of the stunts in the movie were to make. But I was thoroughly impressed with not only cinematography, but also the narration of the story the film makers were trying to get across to the audience. For more information on this flick, check out this http://www.bigmoviezone.com/filmsearch/movies/?uniq=261 link. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

So how do you like my new signature? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That's impressive. And here I thought I was the only obsessed person (NOT) since I've also managed to make at least one jump every weekend since late January (and my bank account is now almost empty to prove it). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

and that, ladies and gentlemen, is a freudian slip..... Hey I haven't woken up yet. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'd like to give Cora a hug just from myself, but that's mainly because she's a real skydiver hottie. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm with you bro ... I've been in the computer biz since Dec of '84 and it's been a long haul. The career pays well, but I'm tired of the constant drive to meet schedules to keep management and investors happy (ultimately making someone else rich). But I honestly don't know where to turn myself (I've only been in the sport a little over one year, so I'm not about to become a tandem master or an AFF instructor). However, in a little over 100 jumps, I'll be able to try my hand at being a tandem videographer. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

That's a cool pic. Too bad it's sort of difficult to identify the canopy as you never know, it could be one of us? But we'll never know. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Have a good one Duece and we'll meet again at the Eloy Holiday Boogie this December? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I did the symantec fix last night as well as installing the patch. It was easy to disinfect my home computer, but kudos must go to Kansasskydiver and others for providing the information up front. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Yes I have one (count 'em) birdman jump under my belt. It was fun, but it requires new (expensive) gear and I still have my freeflying and swooping goals I'm working on. But I'm sure one day down the road I'll get myself a birdman suit. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Count me in on being in Eloy this year for the Holiday Boogie (I had such a good time last year). For most of the boogie, I will be hanging around the darkside, but I'm sure I could be convinced to sacrifice one day for doing some flat work. I'm thinking that a spot on an intermediate 4-way group would be right. I currently have 380+ jumps (I'm thinking I'll be 450+ by the Eloy rolls around), but most of my jumps have been done in the darkside. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over