slotperfect

Javelin Odyssey J-4k, C-19.5 PD176R Sabre2 190 CYPRES Arrive Safely John

PM me and tell me exactly what you're looking for . . . I'll keep my eyes open! Arrive Safely John

I never ask for alcohol after someone uses one of my reserve pack jobs. The tradition I was taught long ago was a case of beer for firsts, and a bottle of liquor to your Rigger after a reserve ride. If someone gives me a bottle, I graciously accept it and invite them to share it with me. If they don't give me anything, it's just fine with me. In this particular case, putting myself in the shoes of the supervising Rigger, I would encourage the skydiver in question to buy a case of beer to celebrate the reserve ride (if it was a first) with the rest of the DZ. I would not hold it over his head before providing a signature. But that's just me . . . Arrive Safely John

Some Riggers only need a little bit of thread of a particular color and don't want to foot the bill for an entire roll. I have heard that some manufacturers will sell partial rolls to Riggers for just that reason. Give them a try!?!? Arrive Safely John

1 (morning with a frozen heat pump):3:0 Brrrrr! Arrive Safely John

I admire your dedication and focus on your new passion. Spend your time this Winter cruising the many pages of this site . . . you will benefit greatly from it. Good luck! Arrive Safely John

Welcome. You will be around a long time if you continue to recognize and accept that our sport has inherent dangers. Respect them, train to handle them regularly, and you will be very safe at what you do. It will even rub off on others. Enjoy our forums! Arrive Safely John

Hi! Welcome! Glad your life has come to the point you have the time, money, and space to get back into the sport that you love. It's great when everything falls together like that, especially when you have the support of your family like you do. Enjoy! Arrive Safely John

Welcome to DZ.com! Look around and make yourself at home. We all share your love for skydiving, as you will see. Be safe and have fun!

J-4k/C-19.5 I'm a large lad!

If you have a good teacher, you should have the basics down in a few hours, "dry" packing several times. Just make sure you continue to pack regularly, as it can be a bit of a perishable skill. Refining your technique, adding tips and tricks to add finesse, will make you neater and faster. That will come over time. I took many techniques I learned from other people, and a couple I figured out myself, and made the combination my own. Works for me! Arrive Safely John

The Dolphin is inexpensive because of the way it is made. The flaps are not reinforced, velcro instead of tuck tabs, etc. I would not rate it as scary, just "OK." The newer models are better at bridle and pin protection, but I'm not a free flyer so I won't give you advice there. My recommendation to you if you're on a budget is to find a used Javelin (likely a J-5 to fit your Triathlon 210 comfortably). You're a big guy like me, so you'll carry it well. There are a couple listed right here in the Dropzone classifieds. Buying over the internet, ask the seller to ship it to your Rigger or your Gear Shop as a responsible third party so you can have it inspected before you buy. Arrive Safely John

Using the Used CYPRES Value Estimator Using $975 as cost of a new one, $170 as cost of maintenance & shipping, & $75 as cost of a new battery, assuming 12 months of service, maintenance, and battery life left, the CYPRES of which you speak is worth $140.83. On top of that, rumor from very good sources has it that SSK will announce at PIA this month a rebate through authorized dealers for CYPRES units that have reached the end of their service life, which I have heard to be higher than $50. My advice is to offer him no more than $140 provided it will not need a new battery before it goes out of service, and decline the $50 off discount for the new replacement. You can make a better deal when the time comes. I will pM you with some other suggestions.

CLICKABLE VERSION Also notice the first entry under "Customers who wear clothes also shop for:" -Clean Underwear Go figure . . . Arrive Safely John

1) As your DZO describes it, those are "predeclared" jumps. As earlier described in this thread, those type of jumps are only required for a USPA PRO Rating. 2) There are really a couple of options for an individual logging his/her jumps (under the aforementioned honor system) for this requirement. A) Be casual about the entries and enter 'whatever" distances so the requirement will be met when the time comes, B) Get some specific lessons from an instructor that's good at teaching canopy control to hone your canopy skills so that your logbook entries are accurate and honest. In that case, the day that Murphy shows up to schedule a 1500 foot snivel for your canopy on a long spot, you have the skill to park yourself safely in the neighbors' yard next to the road and the buildings. For the "D" you only have to land within (roughly) 6 feet of your intended target on 25 of 200 jumps. Very doable if the intention is there. If your DZO continues to see it that way, find someone else to adminster the test, or email USPA to get a written clarification. safety@uspa.org Arrive Safely John

I found this through a Google search. I scanned it and it seemed fairly good. Straightforward and helpful for those here who have not yet experienced skydiving. Enjoy! SoYouWannaGoSkydiving Arrive Safely John

Welcome! Explore & soak it all in! You'll love this place, as the rest of us do!

Thanks for the insight Bill. I have only been dotting in and out of recdot for about two years, but do find some references there now and again. I like your input on the positive side of life including skydiving. I am happy to share that sentiment with you. I feel at home here; like a foreigner there. I have only posted there once, to keep folks from buying unairworthy CYPRESs on eBay. I felt I had to do as much as I could to keep unsuspecting buyers from wasting their money. Arrive Safely John

No doubt more would see it in Tak Back, but stuff also gets lost VERY quickly there. Cheers. Arrive Safely John

I agree completely, just wanted everyone here that doesn't frequent recdot to know about that particular post since it was so long and detailed. Arrive Safely John

Because Tandems are such a "different" animal when it comes to training students, I agree that a separate forum would be a great idea. Bill Booth is here among us, and would be a great moderator, but I believe we should have at least two other moderators from the DZ Instructor side of the house, preferably a Rigger who is multi-rated on different tandem systems, one from the US and one from Europe. I think this would cover a wide spectrum of gear and experience. Arrive Safely John

I found this today on rec.skydiving. I am not a regular there, but do read the posts about once a week because I have found some really good information there before. Sorry to hear that Martin is so unhappy with HH's house, but I guess you can please some of the people some of the time . . . etc etc. To Martin: while I don't agree with your assessment of our forums, I do respect your privilege to publish your opinion. I also support your wish to have rec.skydiving more like it was "back in the day." ##################################### So, I spent my day yesterday over at dropzone.com browsing the forums. This is a little of what I learned! I learnt that instant gratification is not only expected but is demanded from the newbies to the sport! That a skydiver is now experienced in 30/40 jumps or less! That electronic warning devices, RSL's and CYPRES's are REQUISITE items to skydive! That wearing head protection even for those not quite experienced (less than 30/40 jumps) is really not necessary (unless you need it to mount your camera's on)! That many skydivers don't think learning to skydive extremely well before donning camera gear has any purpose! That many skydivers think that wearing a camera makes them a cameramen! That there are 130lb recent graduates "swooping" their 260sqft canopy's! That there are skydivers out there that "know" their friend is going to seriously hurt or kill themselves but don't think it's their place to step up and say or do something! That there are people (with an attitude) writing "official" skydiving articles with little experience and without even knowing basic terminology! That many new instructors think they can make a full time living from skydiving without "picking up the pace" a little! That some of the threads over there can get quite exciting...but the minute they do some fucker flicks a switch and stops the entertainment...a virtual DZ bonfire it ain't! However, the thing I found most consistent throughout all the forums is...that many newbie skydivers (and by newbies I mean those that are post CYPRES introduction date) have little idea just how dangerous skydiving is! That those that do have a clue about the danger, are more concerned with more gadgets to make them safer, than they are about training and informing themselves, or learning from others with knowledge to share in order to be safer! That when something happens to 'em because their gadgets don't work as advertised, or they haven't considered or trained for the eventuality they whine about it! AND when someone uses an old style non PC approach towards teaching them the error of their ways...they blubber about it! Of course, I also learnt a lot of what I've mentioned above on this forum too over the years (so yesterdays trip was more a review of what I've learnt in many places in the past, than a completely new learning experience)! Now if we could get this newsgroup to be around halfway what is is now and halfway to how the forums at dropzone.com are we might have something worth visiting again, a place where skydivers can learn from straight talking teachers and mentors, a place where crying and whining won't get you sympathy or the switch on the thread flicked and if you stop blubbering and statr listening you may learn something that may save your life and if not will certainly enrich it! Waddaya say? Oh Yeah! I also learnt that if ya don't post on dropzone.com under some funky pseudonym you ain't shit and that the description besides your cool name doesn't describe your experience and ability but how long you've been posting, sort of like those non air awards people have been dishing out on this group! ;-) On the whole I don't think that dropzone.coms forums are so bad but I do think that the posters are overly restrained in many cases because of the switch flicking threat, which I believes takes something away from a DZ forum (which is why I'd like to see a halfway meeting for this newsgroup). I personally I don't like the posting or display format but as we know from this group, you can't please all of the people...! As an online magazine I think Sangiro does a great job with dropzone.com and if recdot didn't exist the forums would be the place to go. Personally though I'd prefer to have ALL skydivers with something to say, an occasional joke to share and the ability to bust balls in moderation all hanging out in one forum! Yeah, I know...dream on! BO SS Martin Evans #####################################

You probably already know that there's a DZ in Seneca, which you can check out HERE There's another in Chester, a bit farther away, but they have a bigger airplane (Twin Otter), check that one out HERE Call them and discuss the weight limit issues with them. Many DZs are equipped to handle larger students. Arrive Safely John

Welcome to our world. Throw some purple in with your pink for me! Arrive Safely John

When my canopy gets wet )happens occasionally) I just spread it out over my queen sized bed and leave it there for several hours. Of course I close the bedroom door to keep the dogs out. Otherwise, damp or wet from morning dew, etc? I just pack it up and go jump it again and it's good to go! Arrive Safely John