skybytch

Better not be PBR.

Well done!!!

I believe it was the Fabulous Freak Brothers who once told us something along the lines of "Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope."

If you don't and you get hurt, hurt someone else or damage something that doesn't belong to you, no doubt it will be reported on the news. Which will make you look stupid, and by extension also make other participants in the sport look stupid. Your jump could also cause the pilot to lose any FAA ratings they might have. No big deal though. Rules are meant to be broken, and shit never happens when you don't want it to.

Without going into the reasons why, we know that a canopy flies with both forward speed and downward speed (descent rate). The ultimate goal of a flare is ideally to eliminate both downward speed and forward speed prior to putting the feet on the ground. What I'm calling a "two stage" flare is a good way to teach someone how to do the above if they didn't just "get it" from the start. The first stage is from full flight to the "sweet spot" or plane out point - this point is different for everyone but it's usually somewhere around the waist. This part of the flare should arrest the jumper's downward speed. The second part of the flare is what most people who have issues with landings are lacking - the finish. I teach people that they don't want to stop at the plane out point, but instead use that as the point when they slow down the flaring action - thinking of holding the feet off the ground by slowly depressing the toggles seems to work for most people. What I'm teaching isn't really "two stage" since there ideally is no pause between the two stages, but calling it that seems to help get the idea across that there are two distinct parts to an effective flare, and that both parts are important no matter what type or size canopy you are flying.

Aww c'mon, Andrea. It's not like I'm planning to just waste the proceeds of this endeavor, I'm gonna use to go to college! Help a girl out here!

lol! I can't imagine using a touch pad instead of a mouse; what a pain in the ass!

Winner!

Nice try, but what you think you know doesn't even come close to what I do know.

Not everyone "gets it" right off the bat. Those that don't would be much happier and better off if they didn't have to see/hear/deal with the type of attitude that is often displayed by those who do "get it" right off the bat. I've been working with my swooper/CRW dog/AFFI/Coach IE/master rigger s/o in a few basic canopy courses this year. With all that experience and knowledge and all those ratings, he makes me - conservative, 1.1 loaded, not gonna swoop ever ME - teach the effective flaring portion of the course. Why? Because he got it right off the bat and I didn't. I had to be taught how to do a two stage flare, which with practice has turned into me being able to fly the landing. He has no clue how to teach someone to do that, because no one ever had to teach him. The difference between him and you? He realizes that the fact that he "got it" and I didn't doesn't make him a better skydiver/instructor/coach/person than I am.

Well, yeah, you may have to move into a tent on a dz somewhere for a few years and it'll probably be sometime in the 20-teens before you get your first free piece of gear, but hey! How bad do you want that free shit?

Solved, ignored, whatever. The point is to be able to point and click, right? Does it really matter if the touch pad doesn't click if you can do it another way?

Sure. Call Square One. They have four retail shops and a phone/internet sales center/warehouse. They like to promote from within. Show them that you want it (ie be willing to work for less than you might be able to make in the "real world"), be a good employee who is willing to do whatever is needed, and I can guarantee that they will take very good care of you.

Wireless USB mouse. Problem solved.

I dunno. I kinda enjoy the look of complete amazement I get from them after a good face slap. Gotta pick the target well though. Some guys can't handle it.

Yes. Yes, I am.

Whore myself and my myriad skills out to a skydiving dealer for a few years. Oh wait. Been there, done that. Nice rig, too.

Not me. I'm a slapper, not a kicker.

It can be. Not that I've ever done it.

Negative. Certified cheque or Western Union only.

Hmmm... that gives me an idea. I need to come up with enough money to pay for two more years of college - college ain't cheap, y'know, and I don't want to earn the wrath of those extra-moral folks who did it all on their own without grants or loans or money from mom and dad. I don't have the looks to pimp myself out on the internet, but did I spend more than five years as a moderator on dropzone.com. Consequently, I know things. Things that you want to know. So send me a bunch of money and I'll tell you the things that the green ones don't want you to ever find out about. For the right amount of money, I might even be able to find pictures!

BM Pantz.

There is a knot you can tie. Have your rigger show you how. Not that I've ever heard of.

Are not.

Heh... same here, but hey, I'd take advantage of it if I did.