JeffCa

Don't know about the particular thread you linked to and don't know any of the history of jackass troll, but there were at least ten threads about 2 days ago that he targeted, all old and dormant. He also created a couple of new ones. My best guess is that's what you're seeing, but maybe the mods will tell you something different. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

That's exactly what I'm worried about. A terminal opening in perhaps a less-than-ideal body position. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

All options are brand new. PD still makes custom PD-R's with Dacron. It's on the order form. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Jackass troll posting randomly on old threads taunting mods. They were all deleted. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

I believe I can gain a safety advantage over a regular PD Reserve by either getting Dacron on the PD-R 193 or getting more square footage with a larger Optimum 218 (only comes w/ Spectra). Both will give me a reserve WL < 1. Which do you think will be more likely to add to the safety of my future reserve ride(s)? I am not considering cost here, so please don't factor in the higher cost of the Optimum. I am ordering my container to fit the reserve I choose, so that is also not a factor, but it is my understanding that both will fit in about the same space. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Thanks so much for sharing that video! You don't have to sell me on this anymore, that was a mighty impressive/shocking display. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

The survey answers only go up to 2010, but my purchase was 2013. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

As a newer jumper who is just getting the hang of even basic landings at WL < 1.0, I can say that I think setting some hard rules down is the way to go. I understand the concept of basic requirements for entry, such as 200 jumps for the wingsuit or camera. It gives me a goal to shoot for and an idea of how and when I can progress. Some do not understand this, particularly those who think cameras with low jump numbers are OK, but opening above 6,000' is not. However, I suspect most do get it. Swooping right now seems to be a cowboy thing, with no set path to follow for those who wish to enter, resulting in confusion and probably a lot of injury. I'm reminded of the "if you can't beat 'em" attitude taken by authorities in other areas of life, such as the cops who provide car racing coaching to street racers on real race tracks, or the safe-injection clinics being set up in some cities for heroin addicts. Budding swoopers need a safe place to train and high-quality coaching. There should be (if there aren't already) widely-accessible swooping training camps, held in various locations on a regular basis, hosted by top canopy pilots. The locations chosen should have distinct areas available for HP landings. Participants would be divided into groups based on skill level and experience, and given coaching suitable for their stage of progress. Completing these courses satisfactorily could be required for swooping at a DZ without getting kicked off. I'd suggest that laying down some basic requirements for entry, combined with a checklist of the style that Doc has proposed, combined with frequent swooping training camps hosted by top canopy pilots, would provide an excellent way for somebody at my stage of the game to determine how to (relatively) safely move forward in the game. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

I just bought a new Pilot a few days ago. Waiting for production, should be ready by August. I don't get to demo here, so I just listened to a ton of opinions and reviews. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Congrats dude, I've always liked the combo of black and red. I just ordered my first canopy to go into a container that I'll be ordering soon. I went with the Pilot 188, Dacron lines and ZPX. I'm happy to hear you had a good experience with Aerodyne service. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Kramer: Do you? Jerry: No, I don't. Kramer: But they do. And they're the ones writing it off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEL65gywwHQ "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

The Shadow Racer is a compelling value. I took another look at it last night after you posted this, and it's probably the current front-runner for my first container, which I'll be ordering by the end of next month. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Better yet, give it its own website off of this one. I hate seeing it in the list of recent forum discussions. It's perpetually taking up a valuable slot in that short list. I tried to actually open and follow it once. Newbie mistake. Is the domain www.batshitcrazydbcooperconversationwebsite.com taken? "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Why are you being so difficult? I only want to learn how to swoop. Will you teach me to swoop? I have a new Velocity 84, I heard they're great for swooping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGBe-Rh7o4U I'm a grown ass man and I can make my own decisions. Power first, control second, safety third. Always trust my rears, and never give up the gates. https://www.facebook.com/groups/sofpidarf/ "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

The USPA will send your licence to you in your country. I just got mine in Japan. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

So I got my brand new G3, and what happens? On my first jump with it, some bozo set the pattern downwind. I know I should have PLF'd, but I REALLY, REALLY thought I had it under control. I flared too early, and dropped myself on my front, with a couple of rebounds. Good thing I was advised to keep the visor down, even during the canopy flight. I couldn't stop laughing. :-) I think I'll be PLF'ing next time I'm on a downwinder. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

I just called Bev at Bev Suits a few days ago, and she walked me through the materials and gave recommendations about options. Then my instructors refined the options and placed my order. It will be my first suit, so I was totally clueless. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Thanks for your advice once again, everyone. I went to the DZ today and started noticing the helmets. We had lots of G3's around for me to try. Turns out I'm a Large. My head is measured at 23.5 inches over the eyebrows, and Cookie's measuring guide online had me right in the middle of XXL (made me self-conscious that I had a giant head), so I'm glad I got that opportunity to try it on before ordering. And as it turns out, we do indeed have a small gear store, off-site. They carry 2 models of helmet, the G3 and the Phantom. I'm going to keep it local and I'm more impressed with the padding in the G3, so I'll probably be going with that. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

What kind? Kick to the face/head, hitting the door frame on the way out, out-of-control docking resulting in head strike from above, etc. I'd like to see somebody modify a Benny to add some jaw and nose protection. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Rehmwa, it would be much more economical for me to have a bunch of helmets shipped to me out here with the understanding that I'll choose one and send the others back. One major US gear store already told me that's pretty common and they're fine with it. Thanks everyone for the input so far. I'll see what I can find at the DZ to try on, and I'll check out that after-market helmet padding company. Please keep the comments coming if you've got them in you. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Sure, except I'm wondering about the protection it offers when compared to other models and brands. What's the padding and visor strength like? I forgot to point out that I am in the unenviable position of having to buy without being able to try it on first. I think my closest gear store is at least a 5-hour plane ride away. We do have some jumpers with G3's at our DZ, so I'll be able to check those out if I ask nicely. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

I'm shopping for my first helmet and have some questions. I hope you can provide some input. I've read several other threads about helmets on this site, but many of them are 7-10 years old. I am looking for head protection, and am aware that the open-faced Benny and Pro-tec are generally agreed to have the best protection. The issue for me is that I'm very protective of my dental work, so I consider a foot to the face far less acceptable than many other jumpers might. So then I began looking at full-face helmets, but realise that they really don't seem to offer much head protection (ie. less than Benny and Pro-tec). Is there a good compromise out there? Or do I have to choose between my head and my teeth/nose? Is there a full-face helmet out there that has reasonable protection for the head? I've also read about cases of feet going right through visors and injuring eyes with the visor shards. I saw the PIA 2013 video of DSE beating the crap out of that Z1 visor with a hammer. He seemed pretty impressed, so is that the current best effort of the skydiving helmet industry regarding visor strength? I also see that SkySystems is using Poron XRD for their open and full-face helmets that they're suggesting offers better protection than other kinds. Has anybody used this stuff? They can put it in the Factory Diver, but I really don't like that you can't flip up the visor on that helmet. Thanks once again for your advice. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

The 45 degree rule does not work! And everybody should know this. You know, I actually questioned my instructor on this one when she said it, because I couldn't figure out how it would work. Intuitively I thought that it was weird and couldn't understand how it would get to a 45-degree angle. I was kjnda shot down and it was explained to me how it works, but I still didn't get it. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

What's with the 45-degree rule? I know what it is, but what is the problem and why is it dead? I was just taught it at Elsinore last month. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth

Thanks BillVon and NWFlyer for your comments. I'll try to think about it more thoroughly next time. You're right that if I had been forced to land downwind, I probably would have been in trouble. It's hard to say, having not done that before, but I'm not willing to intentionally put myself in that position to experiment. "So many fatalities and injuries are caused by decisions jumpers make before even getting into the aircraft. Skydiving can be safe AND fun at the same time...Honest." - Bill Booth