skybytch

That was what happened when I tried to turn. I told you not to laugh at me. Asshole.

It scares me that you know that, Remi.

I learned how to do something new in Photoshop today, but I don't what it's called. I pulled still pics off of video. So are these frame grabs or is there another name for them? Don't laugh too hard, I know I suck at back tracking.

I'm sure those who've died after unintentional water landings thought the same thing...

In the middle of the pea gravel pit.

You didn't know he's a drug dealer? Oh, crap, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone that. Sorry, cocheese.

I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying it's better to sling burgers and be unhappy than to pack parachutes and be happy? imho it's far better to be happy in what you are doing and how you are living your life, even if you aren't making a whole lot of money, than to be stuck doing something you hate. Are you saying that those who choose to live their dream of making a living in the sport are somehow not as good as you are because they've chosen a "risky" way of supporting themselves? Or that they are not due respect because they don't feel they need to make a lot of money to be happy?

Maybe they like having a roof over their heads...

The Stiletto will be tight in an OJ as well. IIRC the OJ is sized for a 135 zp main (OJK to 139 per the current Sunpath sizing chart).

Oh please. Can't you guys take the "you said, I said" to PM's? This was a useful thread...

Okay. But I don't think body builders are all that hot, so I'm gonna stand by my numbers. I don't need 2.0 cuz I can play with 1.0 anytime I want. Watch this - I just played with the left one. Now I'm going to rub the right one. Wait - the left one again. It's okay, you can admit you're sportin' wood now.

10/none/none

And you think any of us do like waiting? While it isn't always fun to wait, instant gratification isn't always the best choice... You haven't hit 30 yet, have you? FYI, you don't have to do any skydives to start BASE jumping. Not going to comment on whether that's smart or not. Most experienced BASE jumpers recommend that you have at least some skydives under your belt before hucking yourself off an object, and for good reason. BASE jumping carries significantly more risk than does skydiving. Skydiving will teach you things that can save your life in the BASE environment. The more experience you have jumping from airplanes, the more likely you are to be safe jumping from objects. But I'm just a skydiver. Hopefully a few BASE jumpers will chime in on this thread and give you a reality check from real world experience...

That depends on the skydiver - how much money they can throw at jump tickets, how often they can be at the dropzone, how good of physical condition they are in, etc, etc. Again, depends on the skydiver. Those who have/make lots of money can afford to spend more than can those who don't. An old saying - skydiving costs $199 for your first jump then 1/2 your income for the rest of your life. They have good paying jobs, trust funds, lottery winnings, investments that have paid off, sell drugs, rob banks... Probably not. What's the rush? I've been jumping for over 15 years now and there's always something new to learn. That's part of what keeps me jumping. Any place there's an airplane with a door that opens in flight, an aricraft owner who will let me jump out of it, a pilot to fly it and a nice open area to land in. Cheapest is not always best. If you really have to worry about how much it costs, better to wait until you can afford it.

I've never jumped the one at Taft so I don't know what they are doing. At Davis it's never more than 15 jumpers and the pilot, and when there are 15 there is one jumper sitting in the copilot seat. According to the manufacturer's specs, you "can" put 17 jumpers and the pilot in one. I jumped Davis' PAC at Rantoul in '04 with 17 and thought it was very uncomfortable. Given the choice I'll take the PAC with 15 or less over any other plane out there (yes, even Mullin's KA - I much prefer the PAC's door to a King Air door). And since the one at Davis often flies with 10 or less...

Yup. During the day most of those with the knowledge are busy jumping, which is why informal coaching is spotty at best at most dz's. It's also why I'd encourage anyone with a camera (or even with access to a camera they can borrow) to get out in the landing area and film when they aren't jumping/packing - with a little practice anyone can get decent landing video (even whuffo family and friends). Where I jump putting the video you took during the day up on the screen at the end of the day is encouraged, and some of those jumpers showing their footage do have the knowledge. I'm hoping that including landing footage in that mix will encourage them to step in and share what they know with all of us at a time when they aren't busy doing other things.

USPA's BSR's state - All student jumps, including tandems, must be completed between official sunrise and sunset (Section 2-1.E.9). Subtract the time needed to climb to altitude and the time between exit and landing from the time of official sunset and you'll know by what time the plane has to take off for a student jump to be "legal" per the BSR's.

Mirage Systems (a manufacturer of containers) offers a payment plan. Square One's retail stores offer a demo program which could be used like a payment plan, you just don't get your own rig until you've paid enough. MasterCard, Visa and Discover also offer payment plans.

This topic has been beat to death in this forum. At the risk of being labeled a search nazi... you'll find the answers to your question by doing a search. Short answer - the skydiving market isn't large enough - ie there is not enough potential profit out there - for any manufacturer to put the time, effort and money into obtaining any sort of "rating", assuming that any such standard existed for skydiving helmets. There is also the issue of liability to consider. If you think that skydiving helmets are too expensive or inferior you have a few options. You can buy a Protec (good protection at minimum cost), use your ski helmet for jumping, or better yet, design, test and market a better skydiving helmet yourself.

There is currently 1 PAC flying at Davis. Since the US importers of the plane (Utility Aircraft) are based there, occasionally more than one is on the airport. I've been jumping the one at Davis for the past year. It never flies with more than 15 jumpers and usually flies with less (only takes 5 to start it). With 15 it's no more cramped than a full Otter load, and it climbs faster so you're out the door much sooner. I knew I was officially spoiled when I was on a full Otter load at Perris last month and spent most of the climb looking at my Neptune saying "we aren't there yet?"

With all the talk about canopy control coaching in the forums this week, I'd like to share what happened at my home dz yesterday in the hopes that others will consider doing the same thing. Since I can't afford to jump hard but I enjoy being at the dropzone, I've been making a point of being in the landing area and videoing the swoopers. Yesterday I expanded the videoing to include the landings of all but the tandems. At the end of the day I plugged the camera into the TV in the hangar and tried to get as many people in to watch it as possible. There were about 10 of us, ranging in experience from fresh A license holders up to a few guys with 4000-ish jumps and a rating or two. One of the more experienced guys had the remote and proceeded to use the footage to critique landings and offer up suggestions on how to improve them. In the time it took to drink a beer, several jumpers had learned some new stuff that just might keep them from injury later on, and certainly will help keep their gear cleaner longer. You may think that because you don't know much about flying a parachute, there's nothing you can contribute when it comes to teaching others how to be safe in the pattern and when landing. You're wrong. If you have a camera and some time on your hands, head out to the landing area and get some video, then ask one of the people on the dz who do know canopy control and are able to teach to debrief the day's landings for anyone who is willing to sit, watch and listen. Everybody, regardless of experience, can learn from it.

Did you try on Vector 3's with and without it before you ordered? If you couldn't try them on, did you talk to people who own Vector 3's with and without it before you ordered?

You aren't paying for just the piece of foam. You're also paying for the labor involved in cutting the foam and sewing it in/on, the equipment needed to cut and sew it, perhaps the R&D involved in figuring out how to pad a backpad in a way that doesn't interfere with the function of the rig and - such a dirty word this is - maybe even a buck or two in profit for the company. Because not everybody wants it? Because if it were included "standard" then the base price would have to go up and the manufacturer doesn't want to raise the base price? Because it may be a pain in the butt to cut/sew and the manufacturer doesn't want to have to do it on every rig?

No clue. Ask your doctor.

Good. That means you are beginning to understand that skydiving is dangerous and that it's up to you to make you jumping as safe as you possibly can. Jump. Then after you jump, jump again. Repeat until you run out of money. Parachuting, The Skydivers Handbook (Poynter/Turoff; ParaPublishing) and/or Jump! Skydiving made fun and easy (Buchanan; I forget the publisher). Both contain information that can help you force those butterflies in your stomach to fly in formation.