darkwing

I don't think it is a good idea to do maintenance in the air when you are supposed to be paying attention to flying. Untwist on the ground. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

sometimes. If you decide to wait for it though you will die. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Another data point in my "don't do Mr. Bills" talk I give to the youngsters who think it sounds fun and easy. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I'd change your phrase "...fair number..." to "...virtually all..." But yes, I wear a helmet, and it is worth the trade off. I would prefer to have completely unobstructed vision and maintain protection, but I don't think it is practical, due to a combination of economics, ergonomics, and engineering. I'd like to have a perfect parachute too, but that ain't going to happen either. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Many people jump at Crosskeys, it is (I think) the most active DZ in the northeast. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I was putting three static line first jumpers out of a C-180. The first student was sitting with his feet out the door, next to the pilot, and I was on me knees just aft of him. I felt something strange on my legs (I was wearing shorts). I looked behind me to see student #2 puking. He looked at me earnestly and said "I'm fine! I just get motion sick. I'll clean it up." Student #1 was clueless, and I wanted to keep him that way, so I finished dealing with him and put him out. Student #3 was looking pretty green, so I asked him if he wanted to go next, instead of last, to which he enthusiastically responded "yes!" I got him out, and then got the puker out too. I had intended to ride the plane down, but no longer wanted to, so I jumped. The pilot descended with the door open, landed the plane, taxied up close and got out. The puking student did a good job on his jump, and promptly came over and cleaned up the plane. I hosed my legs off. It was a good day. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I did a naked 10-way speed star at a competition once. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

10-Way Wisdom from Jerry Lehnherr The line-up * Let the person in front of you settle before you get in place, * Keep your back straight, don't lean over. * Don’t push on the person in front of you. * If you grip the person ahead, grip the cross pieces on the harness. Always release in the same way - you can help or hinder the person ahead of you by how you release. * Remember your steps. * Choose something to look at (part of door frame, floor, whatever) and always look at it - it will help make your exit consistent. * Turn to exit square to the door, especially if you an early diver. Cutting the angle too fine will tend to throw the #10 person into the rear of the door frame (ouch). Engineering * Assign slots according to the strengths of the individuals – arrival order may not necessarily match exit order. * Don’t engineer in a delay caused by someone waiting for their slot to develop. This usually means don’t have adjacent jumpers in the exit order docked together (e.g. don’t have #8 docking on #7). * It takes time to get the line moving – the early floaters will be separated more than the late divers. Building the formation * Know where the base will be, and go there. * Never back away. * If you arrive before the person you dock on, take their slot or take a temporary grip. * Once in, if you have a legal grip don't let go. * Once in, stop the formation from turning. * Once in, keep the fall rate up or the floaters and late divers will be hosed (many of the formations are floaty). * The last floater and diver in can dock hard. Be prepared to absorb the shock. Flying the formation * Don't switch grips during the 5 second hold. * Some of the formations are fragile (e.g. the Dragon). Pay attention to levelidity. Formation quirks * Boatman’s Star. Does not absorb a hard hit well. Subject to level problems. * Lil’s Nova, Perris Pinwheel, Deland Dingo. Straightforward. * Triple Diamond. Front three need to take care that their arms don’t overlap, which looks like illegal grips to the judges. * Wright Flyer. Builds quickly. Take care the “wings” don’t flap forward which will block the "stabilizers". * Tim’s Zircon. Floaty. * Handprop. Very floaty once the size reaches 6 or 7. * Thacker’s Beartrap. Also very floaty in the compressed center. The center must keep the fall rate going or the cats have a hard time. * Norman’s Cross. Turns very easily, everyone has to work to prevent this. Take care with the grips, it's easy to take a wrong grip. * Xenia. Straightforward. Other tips from John Kallend via dropzone.com forum... * No grips will add about 5 seconds to your completion times. * Here's Kallend's 10-way page We put out 3 floaters, unlinked. The kneeling guy, #1, gives the count. #5 crouches over the kneeling guy. #2 (me) is squeezed into the back corner behind the line; there's not much room back there. I leave with (and sometimes ahead of, since I go on the "t" or "set") #1. #3 follows me out at the same time as #5 goes over the top of #1. #4, #6 and #7 hold #5's leg straps and try to fly out a kind-of diamond base (that is, they take it out flat and out from the plane rather than just dropping away). 8, 9, and 10 hold on to the laterals of the rig of the person ahead until out the door, then they release. Each 1/10 second of exit separation adds about 1 second to the completion time, all else being equal. 4, 5, 6, and 7 break grips and form the base of the required formation, set heading and fall rate. How you build from here is very dependent on where the divers and floaters are. You need to practice so that everyone is in a consistent position and can fly straight to their slot. On our team, #1 does not get much push out the door because he's in an awkward kneeling position, so he tends to drop straight down. I (#2) go a long way out to the left of the line of flight because I get a good push off into a track through an unobstructed door, while #3 has me in the way, so ends up closer in, this means the three floaters each come to the base from a different direction and don't get in each other's way (which is good). The divers alternate left and right, and #10 pretty much gets flung over the top and comes in close to me on several of the formations (Star, Wright Flyer, Pinwheel, Nova). -- Jeff My Skydiving History

It is vital you do it the way the container manufacturer recommends. contact the mfr. Ignore anyone else (except me) -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Congrats. I have often noted your masterly comentary on these forums. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Generally end cell closures themselves are not causes of spins. There is something else going on here. This is a fairly mellow canopy, and you are not loading it aggressively, so it is not very sensitive to assymetries in harness position during opening. If you were at my DZ I'd want to look the canopy over, check the line trim, etc., and watch you pack. I don't know what ECC means, but then everyone who knows me knows I dumb. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

The competition manual, and other useful pubs are available from uspa here. The nice thing about the Comp. Manual is that it has formations for other disciplines as well as what you are looking for right now. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

You want a lot for your gear, and a potential buyer wants it for a little. You are two sides of the same coin. Why does the fact that this exists bother, or even surprise you? I can't count the number of times I've offered people ridiculously low amounts for something (car, rig, house...) It is an "everything to gain and nothing to lose" proposition. As said above, something is "worth" only what people will pay for it. I have seen MANY case where the owner far overvalued his possessions. I haven't looked at any of your sales, but maybe I should. Do you indicated prices on them? -- Jeff My Skydiving History

How many jumps on the canopy/lineset? How do you pack... Does your slider come all the way down at the end of the opening sequence? When do the end cells open? After you release the brakes? After some pumping...? There are two 168's on my DZ and this has not been an issue for either of them. One is loaded about the same as yours and one a bit higher. My general approach to end cell closures over the years has been to ignore them, except as they might be an indication of a bigger problem (trim, slider friction...) -- Jeff My Skydiving History

you did fine. I have had one for 4+ years, that I bought almost new for $100 and I have been happy with it. Warning --> small sample size for my statistical analysis. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

In my world fxc's are unwelcome. I don't trust them, and wouldn't recommend one to anyone. If you want an AAD get a real one... cypres or vigil. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Modify to say "hang in fresh air, not in sunlight..." -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I put "other" since I really don't get into the canopy flying part of jumping, a H&P is not worth doing. Heck, if the weather socks in and we have to descend in the airplane, I will usually (but not always) ride down rather than make a low one. My hate of packing is greater than the minor pleasure I'd get from a low jump. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Generally I consider it to be in the same category as religion, sexual orientation, marital status, etc.--none of their business. I have my students make resumes and we always leave that stuff off. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

BigM Mouth SkinnyShrek Philly51 Darkwing -- Jeff My Skydiving History

At my DZ, for those who have tried both the G3 and the G4, the preference is for the G3. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

NOt reliable info --> I believe that Larry, the owner of the DZ at Star, is gone, but that Brian (?) who has been operating at Caldwell is going to move into Star. You might email Brian at: info@skydive-idaho.com I note that the DZ listing for Star here at DZ.com has not been updated. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I could probably be persuaded to be in it. A 30-way sounds about right. Just make sure I get to hold on to someone all the time. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

At my DZ we have been pretty faithful to the recommendations on Kallend's Excel spreadsheet. It is based on sound principles, is workable, easy to underrstand and teach, and it works. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

For what it's worth, there is probably not a dropzone out there that has not dealt with this. You have joined a big club. Don't feel alone. -- Jeff My Skydiving History