skybytch

Canopies should ALWAYS come with links. Even if they need replacement (btw, since when do links come with a "use by date"?). Besides the fact that links come with a new canopy, there's also the courtesy to the next person hooking it up factor. There isn't much that will make a rigger happier than handing them a canopy that isn't on links and asking them to hook it up for you... oh and they better not charge more than $10 to do it either!

So three or four months after getting their brand new $5000+ rig, they'd get to spend another $100 to get what they wanted in the first place? I can see that going over real well with those who haven't yet seen the value of having a spare reserve ripcord on hand. The only real issue I see is one of changing emergency procedures at a low number of jumps. That said, new jumpers have been doing that for years and only a few of them haven't survived. It used to be common to do a "gear transition" jump back when students all used mains with springloaded pilot chutes and many used SOS (single handle) systems instead of the two handle system used on most sport rigs. That was two new procedures in one skydive! Personally, I use a metal D handle and I always will. I've practiced hooking with my thumb so many times over the years that I'd really have to think about peeling and pulling a soft handle. But if I had 20 jumps and was buying a brand new rig right now, I'd probably go for the soft one if the only argument people could give me against it was that having it would change my emergency procedures.

Is it? In 8 years of selling gear, I can't tell you how many times I had to ask sellers to send/bring risers, toggles (main and reserve), RSL's, pilot chutes, handles, etc. when I was checking in a consignment container. Or how many mains came with d-bags and risers, or without links. Before working in the gear industry, I really thought the knowledge I had was common. But over and over again, people proved me wrong...

Sweet!!! Congrats, Amber.

If any women are interested in earning their WSCR (Womens Star Crest Recipient - being a part of an all female 8 way formation) or WSCS (Womens Star Crest Soloist - docking 8th or later on an all female 8 way formation) awards during the boogie, let me know. Thinking about either Friday or Saturday, 3 or 4 jumps depending on how many women want to play. If any men are interested in earning their WSCS awards during the boogie, bring cash. If there is enough response from women, there may be a raffle or two for 9th and 10th slots with the proceeds going to local female jumpers that are raising money for JFTC.

If?

Amazing, ain't it? Thanks for the b-day love, mis amigas y amigos. Margaritas all around!

I feel much the same. I have no tats, yet. I'll finally be getting one done in February. It'll be skydiving related, as it will be done in celebration of the 20th anniversary of my first jump. For me, twenty years is nearly half my life. I think that's enough time for jumping to have become an integral and meaningful part of my life, even if I never make another jump. Thus it's the right time for me to have something skydiving related permanently placed on my body. I was going to get it at about 10 years in sport though, so I don't think you have to be an old fart like me to get one. But my personal opinion is it's silly to get one until you've been in the sport for at least a few years.

Container is worth about $100-200. Reserve is worth maybe $400. Nimbus is worth maybe $100. I'd say $1100 is just a bit overpriced...

8:0:0 At least 8 hours spent playing silly games on the Wii. Hitting scarecrows while racing cows is good stuff. Rain = no skydiving. To be expected, it always seems to rain on the weekends closest to my birthday. That's okay though, there will be plenty of sun to play in over the next few months.

Buy a helmet now for the kind of skydiving you do now. When it's time to put a camera on your head, buy a helmet for that. There will be times you'll want to jump without the camera; having a helmet without camera mounts on it will be a good thing. And by the time you're ready to put a camera on your head, there will be at least 2 new camera helmet options on the market. You'll want to have the newest and neatest, right?

Too funny. Thanks for pointing it out!

Can't root for a SoCal team. And I've got a lot of Detroit fans that I call friends so...

You may be right. When he's on, he's awesome, but he's just not been on often enough. But it's not all Joe's fault; I think Nabby should have been pulled after the second game. The Sharks really stopped playing after the All Star break. That Presidents Trophy came from having a superb first half of the season - they coasted through the rest. If they put out the same effort during the playoffs that they did during their first 40 games they'd have been unstoppable. Sigh. There's always next year. Go Redwings!

I dunno... they may have a hard time finding a golf course locally where they won't get attacked by rabid fans. Stupid Sharks. Oh well. At least they have a trophy to drink something out of.

Three things to buy now - 1. A pair of clear goggles. 2. A logbook. 3. (if you're in the US) A copy of the USPA Skydivers Information Manual. You can download it free from the USPA website too, but it's handy to have a hard copy. Pretty much everything else can wait until you have a few more jumps in.

Dunno what I'm doing Saturday... probably homework. Sunday will be spent in the landing area, videoing landings for a canopy course.

How common are back injuries from skydiving? They happen, both lower back and neck. Happened to me; fused L4/L5/S1 in '01 and at least one disc in the neck is going out now. If it will happen to you depends on how long you stay in the sport, how soft your openings and landings are, how old you are, how well you've taken care of yourself, and I'm sure genetics plays a role in disc related issues as well. Are they preventable? Sure. Don't jump. How common are hard openings? Depends on the canopy you jump. On the Spectre I jump, they are fairly rare - still could happen though. What causes a hard opening? Packing errors, poor body position on deployment, bad luck. Will staying big and not downsizing help? That'll reduce the risk of landing related injuries, as long as you ground yourself in higher wind conditions.

Thanks, man. We needed it. Once again speaking as a complete hockey whuffo (ie feel free to ignore the following as the likelihood of me knowing what I'm talking about is extremely slim)... I think Nabby needs to be taking a night off real soon.

Rhino is still alive and kicking. I heard from him recently; he just became a daddy for the third time.

There's a thread about it in General Skydiving.

18:3:0 Hit 18 hours of freefall. 3 AFF jumps on Saturday. A Cat A with the worst body position I've seen so far (I shouldn't have to work that hard on a Cat A! ); a Cat C that was right on the edge of stability; and a higher level student that deployed the reserve after trying twice to find the main handle.

I'll be sure to remind you of this statement. Nightly.

You're way off. The 12 years starts from the date of manufacture.

Today a man did a tandem for his 70th birthday at Skydance Skydiving in Davis, CA. Not a big deal to most of us, right? Well, in this case, it is a big deal. This man's life was saved by a heart transplant he received back in 1996. The donor of the heart that is still beating in his chest was a skydiver. Today he made a jump in her honor. Check out some of the news coverage - Local CBS affiliate Local ABC affiliate Local newspaper A big "Good on ya" to all involved for making skydiving look good to the general public and for further spreading the word about the importance of organ donation.