TheDoctor2608

Just to finish this thread: everything worked fine so far, your information was really good. Already worked for 2 month on a dz as a tandem packer, got my packer B and got 2 new jobs on other dropzones. It's a dream! Thx a lot. Blue Skies! :-)

Thanks for all your answers. So from what i read here, flaking doesn't affect the openings, but that way you can extend the life period of a canopy. And that is worth the little extra effort. Now i will flake my canopy everytime :-)

Right, flaking was the word i was looking for. Thank you very much. If it reduces the wear i will take the extra seconds in the future to keep the gear i hire or soon hopefully my own gear in a better condition. So far i was only aware of the fact that it might prevent some lineover malfunctions.

Hey skydivers, i got a question which might sound a little stupid, but because so many people i met had different opinions, i'm still interested in this thing. The question is whether sorting the material and lines inside the canopy during packing has a great influence on the opening? During my whole student period, i wasn't even told the option to sort the material. I just got to know it later because other skydivers told me about it. So what is your experience? Does it matter? More on-heading openings? Less malfunctions (lineover)? Softer openings? Personally i currently jump a 150 and normally don't sort the material inside, got wonderful openings without doing it. I really don't think you will have worse openings, just so that nobody complains that you don't have all the options ;-) Cheers for all your answers and forever blue skies :-)

I never wanted to be a 'one trick pony' so through out my skydiving 'career' I limited myself to no more than 25%...if I wanted to jump more I found ways of doing it either for free or getting paid to do it. That way I also had enough financial resources to to do other things that interest me as well...ya have to step back and look at the BIG picture. Because I maybe sat out a few weekends I now have the time, resources and experience to skydive when, where & as much as I want to. I no long 'budget' my salary...I tap into the interest on investments that are earmarked 'for shits & giggles'. This is a fascinating sport but don't let it take over your life...it's tough to stay focused on long term goals when the adrenalin is pumping, but doing so is advisable. If ya spend 1/2 your income (or more) you've become a slave to a past-time...don't be THAT guy. Well, i think when you reach a jump number like you have, that you're not as enthusiastic anymore as I am at the moment. I just got around 130 skydives, at that point you can only think about jumping :-D

Since i still live with my parents, i don't have big expenses there. That's why i spend all the money remaining and all the money i saved or earn in casual jobs on skydiving. But it is really worth it, found the passion in my life. :-)

It's always a good thing to ask your dropzone rigger what he/she thinks is apropriate for you. Blue skies and a good skydiving career. :-)

Sure that test isn't realistic, but it gives you an idea that disconnecting your helmet with pull force on it is much harder. And like i said, no more jumps with camera until i got my cutaway helmet :-)

So did i get it right? You can do your Packer B licence with every rigger oder Chief instructor? http://www.blis.tas.gov.au/BLIS/prod/licence?licence=6332

No, i don't have a cutaway yet but helmet with cutaway is ordered. A friend of my pulled at my helmet while i tried to release the connector. Not absolutely realistic, but i gives you a feeling about how it might be if your lines wrap around your camera. I stop jumping with a camera until i got my new helmet.

Yeah, on my first jump with a camera (99th) there was also a camera guy filming everything from the outside. But we also wanted to have an inside view (jumped with a team partner). And i will never forget that i got a camera on my head. Thx for your comment. :-)

Yes, i see your point. I just want to make a video on few very special jumps. I did also train to quickly disconnect my helmet and asked some people what the important things that you have to be aware of are. The dangerous part about jumping with a camera isn't the fact that lines could wrap around it, which is quite rare, the most important fact is that before exit in the plane you don't check your gear completely anymore and you get distracted by the camera in freefall and while flying your parachute. But i turn on the camera very early, do my normal triple check in the plane and don't think about the camera. People say you need this routine to jump with a camera, so you don't forget you checks. And i can say since i did those 105 jumps in 2 month, i did get a routine, and got aware of all the risks. And the fact that i ask you people about how i can make the gopro safer to use, shows, that i do really care about my safety :-). But thank you for your comment. Blue Skies.

With the visa, it's no problem. I got a working permission there. I'm also doing a farmwork course and already got a job on a good paying farm, but i really like the idea working at a dropzone at least for some time, being as close to skydiving as possible. I'd really like to pack student gear, but tandems are also ok.

I've heard a lot about Sydney Skydivers, and that is the first dropzone i will contact. How do you get the Racker "B" rating? Are there courses or can any rigger give you that licence?

Thx for the answer. Most of the time i will be around sydney. The 4 pack jobs are on Tandem gear (Sigma), and i think it's quite easy to pack them. On normal sport gear i got around 150+ packjobs. I'm especially good at packing student gear or other moderate canopies. I don't mind working at a manifest or do other ground jobs, because the salary isn't the most important thing for me. It's more important for me to do enough jumps (did over 100 jumps in the last 2 month), but for that the salary also mustn't be too bad :-) 10-14$ an hour doesn't even sound that bad, if i get a little bit of a discount on jump tickets :-D blue skies

Hey, on the 15th i am going to australia for 8 month. Because i really love skydiving so much, i did think about working at a dropzone, maybe as a packer for student gear oder tandems (i did around 4 packjobs so far, and it's not a big deal), working at the manifest or do other jobs. It seems like there is really a need for people to work at dropzones there. Can you guys recommend a dz where i can work (best would be around sydney, i think Picton might be worth a try, but i'm very flexible), or do you know where they are currently looking for workers? Are there any qualifications i need? Blue Skies and thx for any answer :-)

Wow, that video really made me think! Thx for all the posts, i will now buy a case for the gopro to protect lines from wrapping around it! Blue Skies and stay safe

Hey guys, i started jumping with the gopro few days ago. But i really feel uncomfortable with this camera on my head. The big screw and the edges of the case just seem to be very unsafe. I mounted it with the curved adhensive mounts, because i hope that if a line gets stuck somewhere in the camera, the camera will be pulled off. Are there cases or other ways that make the gopro a safer camera for skydiving? Lower mounts? Blue Skies

I do like the Solo II. It's very easy and quick to adjust. The cons i see in this product are that the scale is just in feet. I'm just to meters so it's kind of a mindswitch and a little bit harder to figure out the exact altitute if you jump with other guys. My bigger problem is that i think that the Solo is not loud enough. I often overhear the first alarm and only hear the second when my parachute just openend. This might be because my helmet isn't very isolated against the wind noise. But overall a very useful device i really recommend, especially if you just started skydiving. Blue Skies