fotta

Remster: Thanks for the thoughts, as a newcomer to the sport I know that I have great gaps in my knowledge - your response and others are exactly the sort of thing I am hoping to get: feedback and other opinions. Yes I know that it *is* of course possible to buy equipment in Canada. As you say, STI sells equipment and they show a photo on their site, but there does not seem to be any firm from which I can purchase say.... an altimeter... online in Canada. Speaking as a lazy customer.... I want to be able to surf to a site, choose a few products, click for more info, click for color choices (fashion is of course crucial), and have them sent to me. I don't want to have to start making phone calls or driving for hours to pick something up. In the case of something like a rig - yes, for that I would spend a great deal of effort to get the right one. But, I am thinking "accessories" not rigs. -> gravity sucks

Yeah, reading my mind (or what is left of it ). Connections already in place, a motivated partner, could definately be a win/win. Certainly worth looking into in depth. -> gravity sucks

My thoughts too. Flying High is in BC whereas I am in Ontario - the other side of the world (well almost). Right on about the size of the market but then the intital investment doesn't need to be huge and if it takes off then it might turn into a very rewarding thing to do. My current marketing job, working for someone else isn't doing it for me... -> gravity sucks

Dealer? What dealer? gravity sucks

There doesn't seem to be anyplace in Canada that one can buy Skydiving gear via the net. Just wondering if you feel that there is a need for that sort of thing....? It's prohibitively (sic?) expensive to buy outside Canada and if a return is necessary then shipping costs start to become pretty significant. -> gravity sucks

Thanks to everyone for the advice. FWIW, I got a reply from Bonehead who suggest the Medium size - swap liners if it doesn't fit. Same day response, BTW. Can't ask for better customer service than that. -> gravity sucks

PhillyKev, hmmmm, not a bad idea. In any case, for anyone interested I called Canada Customs and got the following info: Any sporting goods made in the USA: 0% duty Not made in the USA: 8.5% Duty In all cases GST and PST are applicable. -> gravity sucks

Taxes are unavoidable but I am worried about Duties. -> gravity sucks

Has anyone shipped purchased skydiving gear via Internet in the USA and then had it shipped to Canada? Any idea if there are customs charges involved - or does the NAFTA take care of that? (Specifically I am intersted in a helmet and altimeter). -> gravity sucks

I'm thinking of purchasing a Havok. Hard to do without being able to try it on, considering the amount of cash that they sell for. I remember the agony of deciding on a motorcycle helmet and trying on one after another, ad-nauseum trying to get that "perfect" fit. Anyway, I have done the tape around my head, above my ears 'thing' and come up with between 22 1/2" and 22 5/8". This falls right at the bottom of the Large size (L: 22-3/8'' - 23-1/8''). Would I be better off getting the medium size (M: 21-5/8'' - 22-3/8'' ) expecting the liner to conform to my head or should I go with the large? I'd hate to start playing musical helmets and have to ship an ill-fitting one back to the vendor. Any advice based on past experience? -> gravity sucks

Hi Skypeople, Please forgive this post if it addresses what many already know. When you bake a bonehead, do you remove the lining? I'm thinking of buying a Havok or Boomerang and am curious.... -> gravity sucks

Congratulations! I know the feeling of doing stand-up landings - wonderful. As I'm just returning to the sport it has been a long time since I've experienced that feeling. My last couple of jumps resulted in fairly gentle PLFs but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. First one yesterday flared a bit low, second one flared a bit high. Next one will be in between. -> gravity sucks

Just thought I'd share my own recent experience: I have been away from the sport for about 10 years though I had only had 15 jumps at that time anyway. I decided that the time has come to get into it again and last weekend went to a local DZ and re-did the course. No problem, I thought, it's all coming back to me. After the course, the weather was poor with a low ceiling and a bit of rain. By around 6pm we got a window and I went up with the last load of the day. The winds were about 15 kts judging by the windsock, but steady. Anyway, my exit was fine but my landing was not. I flared wayyyy too late and ended up doing a hard butt plant into the grass. Seems that during my descent under the canopy I got too caught up in wondering if I was going to make the LZ due to the strong headwind that all of my (limited) past experience went out the window. I did a half-assed PLF and landed really hard. I ended up with a painfully bruised coccyx which still hurts 5 days later but other than that no serious damage. In retrospect the instructor who taught the course did not go into how to judge when to flare - and I did not think to ask. I am guessing that this was because all student jumps are made under radio instruction. Is this common practice so that the student does not get distracted and misjudge the flare? Or perhaps the logic is that it is better to depend on the ground-based instructor to judge when to flare the canopy - but then, what if the radio fails? I can't remember what the case was for the first few jumps in my past training but I *do* remember discussing flares with the JM after I had done a few jumps. During my landing approach I gave little thought to flaring (duh!) rather concentrating on landing into the wind and expecting that the radio would give me plenty of warning on when to flare. I'm not sure if the ground-instructor on the radio was distracted during my landing but rather than a moderately-timed 1-2. I got an extremely quick "go to position1 - position2" which I *think* I executed immediately. But, I was so low by then that the parachute had no time to react and thus I piled. The landing seemed as hard as with the round that I did my first jump on. It hurt. Was the radio operator possibly waiting until the last possible moment due to the strong headwind? Should I have used my own judgement and flared when I considered myself to be getting to the right point...? I don't know if this would be the correct thing to do since after so long away from the sport, my ability to time things correctly is obviously not honed, and on top of that my experience level was pretty low in the past anyway. Then again, just like when flying aircraft - the final responsibility always rests with the pilot so perhaps I should not have been depending on the radio as much as I was. Anyway, I have spent a lot of time reading posts on this forum (and others) and have found it to be an excellent source of info. It really helps to hear of others experiences and common mistakes to watch out for. It was kind of disappointing to get injured on my very first jump but I am almost healed and if possible, I plan to go up again this weekend. And, pay much more attention to flaring and PLF'ing. -> gravity sucks