Lazarus_762

sweet little app...I will be using it to rehearse my AFF dive flows, it looks just like tha alti Im using, and for the price of a candy bar, I have no complaints at all...good job! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

Here's an easy way to tell the difference. If a gopher go into the hole and you scream...its NOT a gopher hole. but, Yes, it is a good package. BWAAHAAHAA!! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

just got Skydiving Survival Series, a collection pf 5 instructional videos...none of these will win an Oscar, but the instructional content seems solid. As a total noob myself, I may not know my ass from a gopher hole, so you might want to get a second opinion from someone more experienced...but Im really enjoying it so far. Thanks, Paragear! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

thanks for all the great info guys! Beimg a Total FNG, I'll make sureI talk about all this with my instructors...cant wait to try it out! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

lean, like leaning on a motorcycle to induce horixontal forces, thereby vausing the airfoil shape to curve in its trajectory...hmm, need to cautiously experiment with such inputs in clear airspace with plenty of altitude. thanks! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

I was reading an article from USPA about canopy piloting. It mentioned harness inputs for turns... sounds interessting - how do you do it? I understand toggle turns and riser turns but harness turns have me baffled...a little help here? gracias! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

muchas gracias to youu, Rob, Karen, and the whole crew...see y'all ASAP. Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

Just landed a few hours ago from repeating AFF2...that whole Arch-on-exit thing really does help! I had a few small technical booboos, but all in all, this jump went WAY better than my last one. Really looking forward to my next jump - too bad I'm gonna have to wait a couple weeks. Dang kids keep insisting on the whole food and clothing thing - as if I have money for that! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

LOL! yeah, yer right...there is something deeply disturbing about clowns... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

this may not be what you had in mind, but my biggest fear is failure. Not the consequences of failure, but actually failing at whatever I am doing. Spiders are cool, I love snakes, sharks are awesome, not afraid of high places, neckties, public speaking, and I *love* green lingerie...but the idea that I somehow don't measure up, that I am not adequate for the job, scares me to the very bones...and when I do fail, I am merciless with myself. I may laugh and tell the story a hundred times, and actually enjoy sharing the chuckles with anyone dumb enough to sit still for it, but deep down, I HATE failure, and I refuse to tolerate it in myself... maybe my Daddy should have bought me a pony when I was little, or something... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

you know, I would like to hear them telling about that particular dive, too. Karen said that I actually didn't do too badly, that I was still responsive and trying to run through the drills, staying aware of altitude, etc...at the time, I was thinking she was just trying to be encouraging, but maybe not. She and Joe told me they have seen "much, much worse". and I do sound like a moron using the wrong terms. Sometimes the wrong word just pops out. I know the difference between a toggle and a handle, but I still find myself saying "canister" instead of container, and "toggle" instead of handle maybe I've just killed too many brain cells the last few years. As long as the bedsheet still pops out of the backpack when I pull the monkey pud, I'll keep working on this stuff Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

yeah...these days, I practice on a particular doorway at work, and as I rock, I say, "ready, set, dick-in-the-wind!" I do try to make sure nobody else is around at the time I was at the DZ today, just hanging out, and I told a guy there that I did a Mighty Mouse arch, poking my chest out like I was bullet proof. He knew exactly what I meant, but I had to explain it to my 10 year old daughter - the kid had never heard of Mighty Mouse! How sad is that? Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

thats how I figured out what I was doing wrong...instructor told me to stand a foot away from a wall and poke it with my zipper. About 3 seconds later it all came together for me. Now I just need to win the lotto to pay for it all Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

not cleared for next level, and would have refused if they offered...I am too demanding of myself to accept my lousy performance...we all agreed I needed to do it over. Im planning on doing it next weekend. Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

40 years... cool! What kind of shooting do you enjoy? I try to attend each of the 3-gun matches in the area, and as many of the pistol matches as I can...... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

I'm really looking forward to learning how to pack a chute...the first time I jump my own pack job, I expect my heart rate will be elevated some significant degree! "Damn, I hope this thing works!" LOL! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

I dunno, maybe you just had to be there...he and I get along great, and I didn't take it badly, I took it as words of wisdom - both a subtle hint to not be cocky, and a way of telling me that training jumps are frequently surprising because deficiencies and knowledge gaps are quickly revealed....and they certainly were! I learned alot, and I'll be going back as soon as I can, hopefully with my mouth shut and my ears open, actually listening this time, instead of just nodding and saying "Yep! Gotcha, uh-huh!" Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

I understand your point, but to be honest, I was being an arrogant, annoying ass, and he was correct to smack me down... I sincerely hope we jump together for the rest of my training cycle... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

well...I got everything else wrong on that freefall, I probably have that term wrong too. I'll figure all this out eventually, Im just not too bright somtimes...LOL! OK, so the instructor on my left is on the same side as my reserve ripcord handle, so he's the reserve side instructor. And the one on my right is on the same side as my cutaway, but also the pilot chute deployment handle...anyway, she pulled for me... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

toggle...yeah, yer right...the correct term is "doohickey". LOL! I actually call it the "pud", but some folks might get the wrong idea. Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

I did a tandem several weeks ago, loved it and wanted more, so I signed up for Tandem Progression training, and got 2 more tandems a couple weeks ago. They were great, learned alot, was cleared for AFF 2, and did that Sunday...I mentally rehearsed till I could do it in my sleep! I was totally stoked and feeling eager, ready, and a little bit cocky...my first solo jump! WOOT! On the ride up, my jumpmaster said."you have this one down cold, right? You know this jump front and back, got it all planned in your head, don't ya?" "Yeah, man, I'm ready to rock!" "Let me just tell you this...it will not go as you have it planned in your head!" Uhh, OK... We climb out, check in, check out, rock, rock, jump! I throw what I thought was a good strong arch, and we tumbled like dice at a craps table!, I'm falling ass first, cussing a blue streak, and wondering WTF just happened. Instructor gets me face down, I do a few practice touches, and it's time to pull...no problem, I've pulled before, and I just touched the toggle 3 times, right? Beating on the bottom of the canister will not help you find the toggle no matter how frantically you flail at it. Finally, reserve side instructor has mercy on me and pulls the stupid thing - how embarrassing! I got a good square chute, kicked out 3 or 4 line twists, and checked for control, all was good. I had a very nice ride down, did what ground control told me, got on final, and the radio shits the bed! Nothing but this God-awful howling and clicking noise...OK, I've watched other jumpers land, it can't be that hard. I gave it my best guess, flared smoothly around 15 feet or so, and did a somewhat too fast home plate slide into the grass. The chute dumped right at my feet, I checked for incoming, gathered the lines, and strolled to the packing shed, thinking to myself. "Well, he was totally correct - that didn't go at all the way I imagined..." Oh well, I jumped, I lived, a good start! During the afternoon, the more I told the story, the funnier it got, By the end of the day, I was laughing my ass off, but I also learned alot. You're supposed to arch at the pelvis, not the chest, and losing your cool and getting pissed off doesn't help one damn bit! It was one butt-ugly jump, but I learned a lot, and I'm ready to try that one again, as soon as I get a few hundred practice arches in Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

demo jump before I buy...learn something every day!

and absolutely LOVED it! Have signed up for jump school, will be starting training next saturday! WOOT! I am already gear "shopping", reading about different canopies, and wondering if the Silhouette chutes are as good for new guys as all the design reviews say...any suggestions will be most welcome...thanks in advance! Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

honestly, the way things are going, I may die of old age before I get the chance to jump...I'm so broke, I opened my wallet, and a moth flew out...taxes going up, insurance is killing me, kids in college...selling toys just to buy gas and groceries. Sad, very sad... Airtwardo:"There is a bit of difference between a rigger with a nipper and a guy with 138 jumps and a swiss army knife...usually!"

Hello everybody, I'm a new guy, haven't jumped yet, still working on physical fitness...too fat to fit in the plane, but I've lost a huge pile of lard, and will continue to do so. I am SO looking forward to my starting AFF training in March (my birthday present to myself!)...any advice for a total FNG? What should I concentrate on? What should I not worry about? thanks in advance for any advice...