Welp, I'm in upstate NY and the 2015 season for my dropzone ends today...and it's raining cats and dogs. Swell.
Had a helluva year, I went for a training tandem on a whim in June and decided that it was pretty fun and went for my A.
Now the season is over, it's time to stop giving away money for rentals and to start socking away cash for my own gear for use next year.
I'm a not a tiny person, 5'11" and 220lbs. I did my AFF and student status on a Navigator 240, but their selection of rentals for heavier people was really limited. As soon as I got my A, I moved up (down?) to a Navigator 200. I figured I'd either break my legs or learn really quickly. The latter occurred thankfully. When I get older, I'm probably going to shake my head at some of the less bright decisions I made now...especially considering my health insurance is provided by the less than stellar VA.
But I'm not here for that. I'm here to see if anyone's got the in on big boy gear. I can buy new, but that's on the very end of my budget and I'd rather have some money left over for food. So I'm looking at lightly used.
I'm figuring out that this is not a fat guy sport. Sure, there are rigs out there, but the majority of them at under 150sq ft.
Do y'all recommend going to any of these retail sites and buying a 'complete rig,' or purchasing the components separately and putting it together myself? (with help...)
The Sabre2 190 seems to be a popular item I see a lot of...I would probably have to lose some weight this winter before I go even smaller...I don't do too bad with the 200. I can usually land standing up 85%-90% of the time, even better when the winds are favorable. So the 190 isn't too far fetched if I can get my fat ass on the treadmill.
Ideally, I'd like something with options. The rental rigs are far from desirable, and I've hardly had any openings where I didn't feel like my lower body was being thrown into a trash compactor. Not to mention they are as far from free flight friendly as they come.
(I got busted once back flying by an instructor...this was before I really knew what freeflight was and how I wasn't supposed to be doing it with student rigs...I'm glad nothing bad came from it...I really wish they covered that subject more when I was student...)
That's all I got...I guess I just wanted to throw my thoughts down on paper, here seemed like a good place to do so. I've got some time, our season is May-September.... I shoulda moved out to where my Grandparents are at...I hear nice things about Perris, CA. Once I graduate, fo sho.
Aight guys..I'm out. Talk to you later!
