Clownburner

How'd you get a simultaneous deployment? Cypres fire on you, or what? 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

Depends on the job. Duct tape is better for repairs that need to be air/water-resistent or semi-permanent. Gaffers for everything else, because as others have said before, it's clean. That's the whole point of it. Gaffers is better for anything that's going to get hot though, because the duct tape adhesive gets gooey and starts slipping around 130 degrees. Gaffers can get heated much hotter than that, and it gets brittle but doesn't 'melt' and leave gooey slime that won't come off. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

OK, I see what you're saying. But I don't think it will have that effect. I could be wrong; but AAD's don't have that effect, do they? Do you not worry about losing altitude awareness, because you 'know' your CYPRES will kick in to save your butt at 1200 feet? Or do you try your hardest to acquire, use, and keep altitude aware? I don't like to rely on my JM for this either, I need to do it myself, and they'd be telling me to pull long before the audible went off, if they could. If your JM hasn't noticed you lost altitude awareness by the time you hit the hard deck, either s/he's 1) too far away to help, because you've thrown them, or 2) They ought to have their instructor credential pulled because they're not doing the job they're paid for. I'd be appalled at the second case, but the first is concievable. Either way, if you hit 2500ft and you're not under a canopy as an AFF student, you've 1) failed the level and 2) Your life is in imminent danger. Absolutely. I'm not here to impress anyone, or my instructors; my goal in AFF is to learn the skills that will enable me to partake in this sport without maiming or killing myself. If I hit 3500 without pulling and I was supposed to pull at 5k, I've completely screwed the pooch somehow, and it's no longer about passing the level - it's about saving my own life. I'd even happily retake a level the JM says I've passed, if I'm not comfortable with it - ultimately, I have to be comfortable with my skills and performance, not them. It's my life I'm responsible for. Actually, there are both opinions expressed here, although the majority seem to oppose the idea. But how am I being hardheaded? Did I say that I was going to use one, no matter what my instructors said? No, I was (and am) soliciting opinions here, that's all. I don't know what's best, and that's why I'm asking. I just want an explanation I can understand. ..And thank you for sharing it. That is of course, your choice. When it comes to dangerous sports, I like to control my risk, that's all. I wear a harness and helmet when I race my car, and I would do it even if the reg's didn't say I had to. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

I fully intend to spend as much effort and concentration as I have on learning altitude awareness and pulling on my own, with the goal of being able to judge altitude without even using a standard altimeter. I understand that an audible is _another_ distracting gadget, and I don't want to become dependant on it. I guess I'm just not understanding what the harm would be of having one extra backup system, set so low it should never go off - say 1500 feet below (intended) deployment, or at the student hard deck of 2500 feet even. I'm a big fan of redundancy, and I just don't see how an audible set that low is any different than an AAD, really - it's just a last-minute reminder to insure a little bit extra against total brain fade. I know the AFF/I is there to be my Audible and AAD; and the instructors at my drop zone have been very good about training me what to do, and how to stay aware. But s*** happens, and especially around AFF9, when they're not there with me, it just seems prudent to take all the precautions possible. I defer to the superior experience and knowledge of the good divers here and my instructors, but I would like some help understanding what the harm is, so I can further my knowledge. I'm not trying to be hard headed, I just want to understand. Thanks for all your opinions. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

Reminds me of the old story about the kid in airborne ranger training... (probably apocryphal, but funny, none the less) Trainee: "Airborne Sergeant, I have a question." Airborne Sergeant: "Yes, Airborne?" T: "If our main doesn't open, how long do we have to pull our reserve handle?" AS: "Airborne, you've got the rest of your life to pull the reserve handle." Funny; but a true answer. My AFF1 instructor reminded me: "You can hang on to the pilot chute the rest of your life, it won't do you any good." 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

I did AFF1 a few weeks ago. I too was petrified at first, but by the time I was done with ground school, I had a very good idea of exactly what to do should something go wrong. I practiced emergency procedures until I was comfortable with them, then I went and jumped. Personally, I found my first AFF jump to be 10 times as great as the two tandems I did previously. Even though there are two instructors there with you during FF, there's something about jumping with your own parachute and landing on your own that can't be beat. I also got to do my first PLF on that landing (lucky for me it was only from about two feet - I flared too high, but juuuust barely). Now I have a hard time getting any work done because all I can think of is going out to dive again, and every time the wind kicks up my heart beats faster, as if I was in freefall again. Ok, I'm a junkie, no doubt about it. If you need to stay productive at work, and don't want to spend the rest of your life obsessed, you're better off not learning to skydive. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

Ok, I'm an AFF student. I'm thinking of getting an audiable altimeter, and here's my reasoning. Ultimately, I'm responsible for my own safety. There are situations where the JM(s) aren't going to be able to save my dumb butt, so I'd like to insure my survival, in as much as that's possible to do. In order to avoid becoming 'dependant' on an audiable while I try to further develop my altitude awareness, I was thinking the best thing to do is to use it as strictly a 'backup' system, setting the alarm altitude to a few hundred feet below the point I'm supposed to be deploying. That way, I can still do the work 'manually' (well, with the help of a visible altimeter) but there's an additional backup system in case I totally brain-lock or something and just blow my deployment altitude while the JM is unable to assist. Good idea? Bad idea? What do you folks think? --- NOTE: It seems like some people aren't reading the whole post here. The audible would be set to only go off BELOW my intended deployment altitude, as a last-resort reminder, say at 4000, as insurance against total brain-fade, not at 6000 as a replacement for altitude awareness. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

Well, I'm just a lowly student, but if someone below me was landing out, I'm probably not going to make it back so I'm landing out too. If they land hard, I'd certainly do what I could to help them - I'm an EMT, so I might be of some assistance until help arrives. This question does make me wonder if it's worth figuring out a way to get a small 'emergency' trauma kit attached to the rig somehow once I'm off student status (and can reliably land the canopy. ) And I like the idea of bringing a cell phone, even if it's just to call the DZ and say "We're OK, can you _please_ send a truck for us?" 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

All good advice here. Don't leave your inhaler behind, and don't skip your medication on a day you're going to jump. With a little caution, you should be able to enjoy skydiving like anyone else. Cheers! 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

If the rig doesn't fit, you must aquit! 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth

Well, I'm a total newbie at this and just starting working towards my A rating. I'm excited! Given that I'll be jumping under student canopy and harness for a while, I'm not planning on even speculating as to what to buy until that's all done. However, I think I would probably benefit from my own helmet, as then I could be ensured of a good fit and not have to worry about skanky rental gear. Is it a good idea? What kind of helmet (open face, full face, etc) would you recommend for someone new to the sport? I'd like to get one I could use for a while, so it'd be neat if I could eventually mount an audible once I've got some experience under my belt. Or should I just blow it off entirely until much later? Opinions, please. TIA. 7CP#1 | BTR#2 | Payaso en fuego Rodriguez "I want hot chicks in my boobies!"- McBeth