riddler

You're right, Bill. I still consider someone that doesn't have an A license to be a student (following the terminology of the USPA program). What I've seen for the most part with these students that jump solo, but don't have an A license, is that they tend to repeat the patterns of AFF, so for the most part, they don't pick up bad habits at this stage, as long as they don't have too bad of influences. Most of them don't have the face-time with their AFF instructors after they graduate, because the instructors aren't getting paid to work with them anymore and are busy with new students. I think a big crack in the mentoring or coaching program in USPA is the hand-off from AFF instructor to student. The AFF instructor might help here by taking some time when the students is at level 6 or 7 to start introducing them to a few different coaches. They don't even have to jump together right away - even if they just chat when they're on the ground, it gives students a reference at the DZ for someone to talk to and gain knowledge from if not their AFF instructors. A student can (and definitely should) take some time to do solo jumps after AFF, but a coach can provide good direction on the ground. I've seen skr spend a great deal of time with students on the ground, during weather holds, at the end of the day, etc, just talking with students, giving them things to think about, and "cooking up nutritious jumps" as he would say. He might spend a few hours over several weekends just chatting with a student on the ground before he ever jumps with him/her. My opinion is that AFF instructor is probably the second toughest job at the DZ. There's a lot of pressure to crank students out the door and not spend time educating them on the ground. The instruction is so fast-paced, there's not time to do everything you want with students. But just a few minutes spent at the end of AFF introducing a student to a coach can do a lot for a new jumper - reduce the isolation they feel at the end of AFF and help give them good direction for continuing education. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

jumpwally's wife Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

SEeing as how they call themselves "sport parachute clubs", and the fact they were jumping into a stadium, I assume they were using squares? When I hear military, I always think rounds, but I can't see anyone jumping rounds into a stadium with 40 MPH winds Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Last time I was in Vegas, tickets to "O" were impossible to get. It might be easier now. Wind tunnel is fun. Roller coasters are fun. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

No! And this is indirectly the point. Skill is most definitely helpful when teaching, but don't assume because you are skilled, you are the best person to teach students, or that your advise is sound. Instructors don't always have the most experience, but they are taught the proper way to instruct students. In nearly every case of a student getting "bad" advice, the experienced jumper that gave it was more experienced than me. But the advice was in direct contradiction to the way that the dropzone teaches students. An experienced jumper doesn't necessarily know that. The instructors are taught and briefed on new policies, etc, when it comes to students, and it's the instructors responsibility to stay abreast of the new guidelines for students - a task that non-instructors aren't required to undertake. Case in point - an experienced jumper with more than twice my number of jumps recently told an AFF level 1 student that the student can wear scuba gloves on cold days to stay warm. That may be valid for experienced jumpers, but is not something my dropzone allows for students. The experienced jumper is saying something that is completely true and perhaps safe from his perspective, but probably forgot how hard it is to find your handle when you start jumping. Instructors are taught these things and are expected to be mindful of them when instructing students. That is why the training and ratings exist. I'm not saying that it's bad for experienced jumpers to give advice to students. I am asking that you append to said advice "ask your instructor". Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

How much is too much? Is it suspect if it sticks out at all? I have two slinks that I keep repositioning, but there's always just a little bit of corner on the tab that juts out of the riser. I'm trying to slowly train the slinks, but with my risers, it's pretty hard. I hope I'm just being anal, and it's OK if just a little corner shows, but maybe not?? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Experienced jumpers - please be cautious when giving advice to students, and append recommendations with "ask your instructor". Students - please pay attention to what the experienced jumpers say, but use caution when taking advice from anyone that isn't an instructor, and remember to discuss anything you hear with your instructor. Students look up to experienced jumpers and want to hear their experiences, glean from their knowledge and feel like a skydiver by just hanging out. I hope we can encourage more experienced jumpers to welcome students - I was pretty much ignored by the skygods when I started jumping and had to make my own friends among fellow students. I'd just like to ask this favor from experienced jumpers. Please remember that students are not experienced jumpers. They don't have your skill level, awareness and confidence in the sky. You were at that level once, and you've probably forgotten much of what is was like. Instructors have taken classes to remember what it's like to be a student, and also to make sure that we teach students in a uniform, consistent manner. If you tell a student something different, you may undermine that teaching and confuse them. We all know that moving 120 MPH toward the ground is not a place for confusion. I haven't been teaching long, but in my short time, I often hear students repeat some tidbit of information that they heard at the bonfire from an experienced jumper. Said information may be fine for some or even all experienced jumpers, but not for students. In my opinion, it's great for up-jumpers to chat with students, even give advice. But if you do give advice, please append your statements with "ask your instructor". Maybe even throw in a "this is just my opinion". I know this has been discussed here before, but I don't think everyone is listening, because it keeps coming up. Rules in your country or dropzone may be different, but it's important that the students hear the same thing from everyone that jumps at your DZ. When they get their A license, then they can start making their own decisions about how to skydive.

30 sucked for me. From the very first day to the entire rest of the year. Right at the end of it, I started skydiving, and things started to improve. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Get a Blackberry instead - much better device. I have had a Treo and a Blackberry through T-mobile for a few years, and they work fine in the cities, but you will get NO coverage in outlying areas, so hope you have a tri-mode mobile phone. The Treo sucks as a phone - don't even consider it. T-mobile's service is OK - the web browser doesn't work about 20% of the time. Make sure you have a cheap second phone iwth AT&T or Verizon to make calls in those remote areas. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

CrazyIvan - how many jumps you got now? And you still ain't packed?? Shheeeeet. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A laptop. Go to http://www.ubid.com - you can get some great laptops there for $600-$800 - some are even cheaper. If you have a bit more money, go with the Sony Vaio - those start at about $1000. Otherwise, the IBM Thinkpad is pretty good. Toshibas are also very good, but harder to find. Use it like a desktop - spend another $30 and get Logitech's cordless freedom keyboard and mouse, and it's as good as a desktop system. And you can take it on the road with you if you want

Kind of sounds like "port fee" is the cost of ferrying the plane. DZs normally pay a ferry fee to get a plane in for a boogie, so it doesn't sound that unusual to me. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Pablito and I had this discussion on another thread. USPA requires 300 group freefall skydives and 50 camera jumps. RWS states that they require someone who has an instructor rating plus 100 camera jumps. I'm sure there aren't a lot of DZs that abide by the second rule. Probably more than a few that don't even abide the first. Edited to add clicky

I have one of these for each of my two rigs. Mine don't have steel cable, though - just the same plastic yellow cutaway cable. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Think of it as a long-term benefit to your employer. The more you learn about skydiving, the less likely you are going to die doing it, which means in the long run, you can contribute more to your corporation. How's that for a weak rationalization? And with that pointless post, I am now Pooh-Bah. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You know the story - it's cold at altitude, but it's even colder under canopy. You want to reduce canopy time to stay warm. You've been meaning to get those PolarTek gloves, but haven't gotten around to it. So do you pull lower? Or do you play it safe? Me? I don't like groundrush, so I always try to pull at 3,500.

Generally wear earplus in the windtunnel in Vegas, as well. Is that also true in Orlando? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

It's a great way to meet new jumpers. USPA has formalized coaching and made it mandatory for students. When I started jumping, the skygods didn't talk to me, and I never approached them. Coaching bridges that gap. Now for some unholy reason, some students seem to this that I'm a skygod with my all-of-240-jumps. But at least they're not afraid to approach me. They need a coach, and I love to help out

The last two weekends I've been at the DZ, the temperature was reported at 24 below at altitude. I thinking the needle may just be frozen at 24 below Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

My opinion - focus on your "core" first. Strengthen the abs, obliques and lower back. These muscles get used more than any other muscles in freefall (unless you count the brain as a muscle ) You can do abs and obliques every workout - those muscles regenerate faster than the other muscles in your body. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Arch! But Relax! I have AFF students tell me all the time that it's a contradiction. And it is. That process must be learned. You learn to use a few muscles and relax all the others, the same way a rock climber uses a few muscles, and keeps the rest relaxed to save energy. There's all sorts of good advice on this thread. My advice - go out and have fun! Your instructors will keep you safe while you learn to fly. And eventually you will learn, but don't expect miracles. That's why there's 7 levels (and usually more) in AFF. It takes time to learn to fly your body. Have fun and you will keep going. Keep going and you will graduate AFF. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That makes more sense - a longer recovery arc means more forward speed on the horizontal part of the swoop. Longer lines (i.e. bigger canopy) give you more recovery arc. But you need to keep the wingloading high to increase your total downward speed, so you add weight to offset the bigger canopy. Does this mean that big fat skydivers make the best swoopers? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That makes no sense to me, but I'm not an aeronautical engineer either - just a plain ol' EE. Lift is a force pulling up on the canopy, gravity is the force pulling down - one is opposed to the other. If you have more weight, you need more lift to make that weight fly. If you add more weight to our body, and increase the wing size, you're just getting back to where you started. A bigger wing might help with landing, because more surface area would be exposed at the rear when you flare. So if you are looking for more stopping power, this might be a good strategy. But I don't see the advantage of putting on more weight, then upsizing, unless you upsize more square feet than you add pounds. Even then, you could do the same thing with just getting a bigger canopy with no weight. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

No need - I used to work for Lockheed Martin Chuck Yeager's autobiography - good reading. I kind of suspect the same thing - if a door opened at supersonic, the aircraft would most likely break up. Any other opinions? Just idle speculation ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yeah, I was kind of thinking a side door would be a bad idea - not only for the jumper, but also the plane to open one at supersonic. The door would probably be better directly behind the aircraft. Is there a supersonic tailgate aircraft? I don't think I know of one, but I'm not an expert on airplanes. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD