DrewEckhardt

You're referring to Jarno's words. It was pretty clear he meant "do 200 jumps first." So that's it, 200 jumps (doesn't matter what type of jumps), that's "the work" that if someone does they'll be ready to wingsuit. Sure. Any one who can track and be relaxed can fly a wingsuit. 200 jumps is a good approximation of where most skydivers will be relaxed with "just" skydiving and not overwhelmed if they have to relax to fly straight, pull an extra set of handles if things aren't going well in freefall, or pull the handles to reach their reserve toggles. 200 jumps is usually enough to be aware of what's going on at opening time and being able to do something about it instead of believing that openings "just happen." 200 jumps is enough that you should have reasonable situational awareness because skydiving isn't a new and scary thing. 200 jumps is enough that you should instinctively know what @$^& low looks like. Some won't be OK (I know one with thousands of skydives who couldn't stop spinning, dumped his main into a spinning malfunction, and opened his reserve with line twists and broken glasses) but skydiving isn't a safe sport. People have died with 100ish jumps doing stupid things (like being so over amped they don't bother to look at their altimeter and ignorant enough they didn't realize they were low based on where the horizon wasn't) wearing wingsuits as in the Moab boogie fatality. 200 jumps is probabably a reasonable safety margin beyond that. 200 jumps is the most of what made people "Master Skydivers" in the Ram Air (or post Para-Commander) era which seems a reasonable pre-requisite for anything really different.

When skydiving is usually better than sex either you're doing things you shouldn't skydiving or not doing things you should when having sex. In the "skydiving is better than sex" category, I made my first sky surf following instructions from "Black Death Billy" before he reformed with our DZO flying before he died. "Black Death Billy" used to be like a California surfer Dude where every tenth word out of his mouth was "Dude." Lots of us figured that we'd enjoy his company while we still could. Among other things after he grew up a bit and reformed he quit drinking, started running daily, got a rigging ticket, became a Realtor(TM), and got a respectable haircut. Truly shocking. His sky surfing instruction program was like "Dude you gotta practice getting into the board like ten times so you don't hold people up. Dude, you gotta be aggressive and get on top not like [ video of out of control spinning follows ]." It was cursory, but provided for an exciting first sky surfing experience. Like many of us the DZO suffered from a high level of testosterone poisoning, liked to fly aggressively, and lots of us hoped that he wouldn't take many people with him (he didn't) when he died flying (he did). So on my first sky surf I got extra altitude, probably had some hypoxia (hopping around with a board around 18000 feet MSL should do that), surfed out the door as instructed, flew in formation with the King Air until he passed beneath me, and didn't bother with any sort of practice touches until maybe 6000 feet. That was awesome, better than most sex. I made my first night jump during the lunar eclipse while we still had the Hale-Bopp comet. I'd have to look through my log books but was probably jumping my 135 at the time. That was awesome, better than most sex. Doing those sorts of things on an ongoing basis is not conducive to a long injury free stint in the sport.

Screw dozers. I want reasonable laws on Suburban Assault Vehicles which claim 40,000 lives each year. A ban on high-capacity models (few people NEED a high capacity SAV. A four door compact wagon is enough for the average family with 2.1 children and those with 4-6 children would do fine with a 3-row model) would be a start. We shouldn't sell vehicles with more than six seats or a 4000 pound curb weight to anyone without the appropriate government license granted based on demonstrated need (for example, family size of at least seven). A ban on high-speed models could follow. With speed limits not exceeding 75 MPH we don't need vehicles which can go 130 or 150 MPH. Obviously, lobbyists working for powerful corporations like Chrysler, Ford, and GM are opposed to reasonable regulations on cars and trucks but with their weakened state now is the time to strike.

The $25 on shipping you spend to get your second smaller parachute in 50-100 jumps (you have the same $1/jump depreciation no matter how many canopies you go through) is a lot better than finding out the hard way that you weren't ready for a smaller parachute now. Learning about mistakes the hard-way can mean a year of not skydiving while holes close up in your shattered leg bones, a little nerve damage that's still not gone after a year, and the thousands of dollars you loose while you wait for disability insurance to kick in, the thousands that cover the gap between that and your regular wages, and the thousands which are your share of $30-40,000 in medical bills (with insurance). Really. Even at a pound per square foot or less. A 210 would be a fine size. Sell it and get a 190 in 75 jumps. Sell that and get a 170 150 jumps later. In another 200 jups sell the whole mess and get your second rig.

Provided that the original poster both suffers from an average level of testosterone poisoning and downsizes no faster than Brian Germain's Wingloading never exceed formula he's going to keep the canopy for 75 jumps. If he starts with a popular used canopy without a lot of jumps on the lineset and does a reasonable job shpping he's going to sell it for $1 a jump less than he paid. With a good job shopping he'll turn a profit. If he starts with a new canopy, he's going to have to discount it more heavily to sell soon because at the bottom he has price pressure from all the $600-$800 Spectres and $1000-$1200 Sabre 2s+Pilots (they're newer) that fly as well as a new canopy of the same model and at the top people can get a brand new canopy in their colors for about the same money ($100 is barely 5% of a new canopy's price). I've known people who got new canopies and lost $500 selling them within a year because they wanted to take advantage of a good deal on a new-to-them used parachute. Jumping a tapered 9 cell (Sabre 2, Pilot, Safire, Lotus) and 7 cell (Spectre, Omega) wouldn't be a bad idea.

Everyone is different. Until you deal successfully with a number of problems (you have to make a 90 degree turn at 50' because in the low light of the sunset load you didn't notice power lines until too late; or the winds changed a little and you're no longer going to land short of a barbed wire fence) you don't know how well you'll deal with those situations with a canopy having a given speed and responsiveness. With low jump numbers at a canopy size, either you haven't gotten into enough of those situations and therefore should assume that you won't deal with them well under a smaller canopy that's more likely to put a stop or pause to your jumping or you have which means you have bad judgement and shouldn't be jumping a smaller canopy where that's more likely to get you in trouble. It's not about preferences. When everything is going well lots of jumpers prefer smaller parachutes because they're more fun to fly and it doesn't take much to land straight into the wind in a large field without any extra speed. It's about how things go wrong and having a statiically better chance of dealing with them without injury when that happens. A guy suffering from average testoserone poisoning levels and following Brian Germain's Wingloading Never Exceed chart may put 75 jumps on his first canopy. Getting off rental gear with a safe wingloading may be a lot more important than jumping the "perfect" canopy for the next six months.

Brian Germain only has 13,000 jumps, but he designs parachutes, writes books on flying parachutes and sports psychology, and travels around the world teaching canopy flight. He recommends a pound per square foot (less for small canopies, more aggressive planforms, and higher density altitudes). While you'll probably be fine landing an even smaller canopy straight into the wind in a nice grassy landing area, when things start going wrong (landing out due to a long spot, on an uneven surface because your choice are landing on a road with cars or in a farmer's plowed field, with a low turn because you didn't see barbed wire or power lines at altitude because it was on the sunset load and the sun is already behind the hills) it'll be more likely to be too much. Things get more significant as you go to smaller canopies. You might not notice much difference between a 190 and 170; but by the time you're jumping 135s you may have problems keeping a 120 headed in a straight line (I did). Delaying when that happens by putting another 100-200 jumps on a larger size will give you more chances to learn enough to limit the damage once things get ugly. If you suffer from at least average levels of testosterone poisoning you'll soon want something smaller than a 170. That's fine. Lots of people use that as an excuse to buy a smaller canopy than they're ready for now. Most do OK but a number find out the hard way that they can't handle the added speed and sensitivity when they find themselves in a bad situation. If you do a reasonable job learning to fly parachutes in 50-75 jumps you'll be ready for a 150. If you buy used you'll spend $75 on depreciation and it won't be a big deal like skipping a size might be. Opinions vary, but I can count the people I know who broke themselves staying within Brian's Wingloading Never Exceed chart on one hand. I've lost track of how many broken bones I've seen outside the chart and wing loading was always a contributing factor. One was a small girl who was technically within the limits of the chart but hadn't learned how to land parachutes well before downsizing anyways because people told her it was easier to get good landings under smaller parachutes. She broke a wrist or two learning that it was a good idea to have a handle on one size of parachute before trying the next one. I think that happened with a 170, but that was years ago. That brings up the other side of this - you want to be able to do everything on Bill's checklist flying a larger parachute (at a pound per square foot, a modern 170 will fly like the smaller parachutes favored by experienced jumpers just slower). That'll take a bunch of jumps . 1:1 includes both your weight (150 pounds) and the gear (my smallest rig with a 105 and 143 weighs 19 pounds; the accuracy rig with a 245 and 253 is 29 pounds) which are going to be more than 170 pounds.

The two are interconnected because the health and life insurance companies all subscribe to the MIB database and have laundry lists of conditions which will keep them from issuing a policy to you. If you stop working for companies which offer group plans (as you might when you retire), telling the truth may mean not having health insurance because you can't get a private plan and not all states have high-risk pools. That's not going to be good for your health.

A Spectre or Sabre2 170 would be more appropriate. Save the 150 for your second canopy after you've learned how to safely make low turns and may have gotten into a situation (landing out after a bad spot on the sunset load) where you need the extra square footage. http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf

Not only possible. It's probable both would make it to the ground, each as one piece. Not only that, the average G force would be the same for both. Even if they didn't arrive at the same time. Mark Unless they're a bit excited and don't stay level until after the parachute opens, have a 180, fly back into the building, and the other guy falls off after the first object strike. Or they have the object strike and instead of stalling and flying backwards they slide down it until they both die. Haveing experienced bad openings as Sluggo on Mr. Bill jumps and watched friends have 180 openings on BASE jumps after getting too excited and having a shoulder low on deployment I wouldn't give people a 1in 2 chance of survival on a Mr. Bill building jump without practice. It might work though. People sometimes pull off slider down Mr. Bill jumps. For untrained individuals, a static line deployed round parachute for each person would be the tool of choice. It'll be more likely to bounce off the building if you screw up. For people with experience BASE jumping and subterminal tracking (for using a slider), a large vented square parachute with no slider or mesh slider (maybe 1000' so you can get some separation) would be the right choice since it'll be more likely to land you without injury. Heading control is more iffy on short delays with a slider - with an object behind you there's a wonky area in there where you want either a longer delay with the slider or shorter delay without.

A freefly suit makes a nice clown suit. You just need a goofy hat and juggling balls to complete the outfit.

Which model do you use? I looked at some online and to be honest, I don't know if I could fit my rig in one of those! :-) Thanks The 22" Trek Pack Plus. 22 x 14 x 9" (the size of the airline carry-on box). Came with a docking day-pack too. I don't know if the internal configuration has changed (they're now on version 4.0) any since I got mine (notably the big rig sized compartment next to your back). It takes a really big rig not to fit an airline sized container. There are even 300 sized rigs with the right dimensions (some older rigs are long and wide instead of thicker - my Javelin J7 accuracy rig is somewhat wide and long)

libertarian, with concessions to left libertarianism because although I believe in the conversion of resources to private property with the first application of labor where resources are limited that gives an unfair advantage to whoever got born first.

If the bridle is bunched up when cocked, the kill line is too short and needs replacement. Your rig (Vector 2) should be old enough to have originally come with a legstrap mounted pilot chute pouch. Riggers vary in their mechanical aptitude.The rigger one who did your conversion may have only made it big enough for the specific pilot chute and canopy it was being jumped with at the time. Or he may hae made it too small period. You need to get the pouch replaced and/or pilot chute replaced/repaired before the next jump.

Being married doesn't mean you have to do everything together. You're different people (it would be pretty boring being married to yourself) and are therefore bound to have separate activities. When I was unbroken and skydiving my wife was spending about as much time each week running (10K a day) and dancing. That can extend to trips - I've been on 10 day BASE expeditions without her and she's spent a couple weeks visiting family out of state without me. You get a lot of common ground in things that people often don't consider hobbies - talking to each other about whatever, sharing meals, walking in increasingly large concentric circles while on vacation, listening to music, watching DVDs, laughing at the same jokes.

Me. Probably work 9:15am (stared processing E-mail) - 3:30am with breaks to shower, bicycle to and from the office, and watch an hour of DVD. Early I get to deal with co-workers issues UTC-8, late I get to have technical IM conversations with co-workers at UTC+8, and in hte middle I might get real work done.

Normal. My Stiletto 120 (short lines) lost about 6" on the outer lines at 600 jumps and opened wonkier before then.

Victorinox backpack rollaboard. The reserve handle can't get pulled, nothing can get spilled on it, the harness can't get caught on anything if they have to gate check it, paranoid crew members won't refuse to let it be on board, it's easier to drag around the airport, etc.

Density. A small to medium sized rig (if it's stolen enroute to the wrong boogie, you won't be jumping) and jumpsuit (not much use jumping if you can't match everyone else's fall rate) fit in a carry-on sized to the domestic airline sized limit but there isn't much left over room.

Yep. The funds are placed on hold until either you cash the check or the check is returned. The bank is required to wait a while (about 90 days IIRC) before paying on a "lost" check. RIght

You can receive thousands of dollars through paypal, although doing so requires you to upgrade from the "personal" account to one where paypal gets about 3% of the total transfered plus cross-border fees. Within the US I'd prefer to get a bank check which I can validate as real before I ship the goods. That only costs the sender ~$25 regardless of how much you're selling the rig for.

Yes.

Except on the steering lines, with spectra lined canopies like the Sabre you get enough differential line shrinkage to produce undesirable landing (less flare) and opening (harder or stalling, less stable, more likely to spin up) characteristics before they show much in the way of visible wear. Apart from being somewhat grey after 600 jumps the lines on my Stiletto 120 look fine, although the outside lines shrank 6" and inside lines 1.5". You need to check the trim and see where it's at. The steering lines can be replaced separately, with 200-300 jumps being a normal life time (this means that with Velcro risers you need to put the toggles on top of the hook material immediately after landing). If you want decent openings and landings you need to replace spectra lines long before they're "worn out". Have your rigger check the trim and see. You may just need new brake lines (maybe $30) or may want a new line set.

For all practical purposes, USPA membership is rquired if you want to skydive on a regular basis in this country. 30,000 members, 30 annual fatalities, 1 in 1000 fatality rate. The actual number is higher if you include fatalities from the plane rides that are required for skydiving.

5 years ago we'd yet to discover that it took average gas prices reaching $3.20 a gallon ($4.50 in some parts of California) to cause a modest 3% drop in gasoline consumption. Prior to that consumption was always increasing. Smart companies price goods where the product of profit per unit and units sold is maximized. Doubling the price while only reducing sales 3% was great for business.