Joellercoaster

Actually I had forgotten about the Odyssey. I demoed one a while back and really liked it. Very Crossfire-y but with its own character for sure. Definitely add it to the list of things to try. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Did he try a Stiletto 135 as well? I don't have a huge number Crossfire2 jumps but I think they're a lovely, lovely canopy while not being the dive monster that the Katana is. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I actually got to chat with John after he presented this at the BPA Expo this year. It makes a lot of instinctive sense to me. As a total left-branch flyer (progression: Pilot, Pilot, Pilot, Vision, Pilot, Stiletto, found the Sabre2 a bit clunky and hated the Katana) I'm wondering what technological advances are coming for us, though - seems like the right branch is getting all the cool new toys for a while now. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I think you are giving too much credit to the majority of skydivers: I think they don't so much accept the risk of death, as assume it doesn't apply to them -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

"Hugging the beach ball" works a bit, but mostly by accident - it causes you to dearch your torso and flatten your hips, which is what is really helping here. The stuff with your arms and legs is mostly just spilling air and making you less stable. As you have found, there are much better methods that use your avaiable surfaces more efficiently. I think it gets taught to brand-new jumpers because it's easy to describe and simple to perform, and it gives you an idea that your fall rate can be altered - I'm hopeful your instructors don't actually do this themselves, they're just trying to not give you too much to think about. But I think this is a mistake! With the advent of the tunnel, even absolute beginners can be taught some fairly subtle techniques without the pressure of the first couple of dozen jumps frying their brains. Why learn things you'll need to unlearn in short order? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

That sounds pretty good. Especially if you take the same coach jumping and in the tunnel. [edit: It's possible to over-think this stuff though. These early jumps are important, but you're going to make a lot more in your life. Skydive ] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

If you can afford it and have a coach handy, and the coach is good, then sure. You might want to do some solos to just hang out and enjoy this crazy new thing you're doing now, but in terms of progression, then coaching is always better than no coaching. Not all good coaching is expensive, and not all expensive coaching is good. But on balance, it's worthwhile. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Our camera guy pays for tea, very occasionally if none of us can stop him. As people have said, there are camera flyers and camera flyers - ownership of a cutaway chin cup does not automatically mean you get free dinner and tickets to Spain twice a year. It's much harder than you think (and I speak from experience here ). Vidiots worth their salt are not as common as they look - so if you find one, show them the appreciation they deserve (On the very rare occasions I've filmed teams, just my ticket has been enough - I'm learning as much as they are.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Me three. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I am a slightly unusual shape, so all of my containers have been custom made. I've had rigs from Aerodyne, UPT and VSE. All very similar options (in particular, no chest rings). The Infinity (VSE) is for the smallest canopies, and it is excellent - you are right about the back surface area thing, and I took the container option that minimised it (the 'SN' shape). But I have to say the Vector (UPT), which I still own, is slightly more comfortable. [edit: The Icon was for much bigger canopies than the other two, so it's hard to compare. I would say it was a bit less comfy than the other two, but recent Icons have a lot more padding and different yoke shapes than mine did so are probably nicer to wear.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Please don't take this the wrong way - it's possible you are just really enthusiastic about your subject and joined the forum to share the love. But when a person's first post here is talking about how great a commercial service is, eyebrows tend to get raised. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

[edit: I wrote a big reply, then just realised you asked what our favourite exit was, not what the easiest for Rookie teams to launch (that is another thread). In that case... I love 17. The visuals launching head-first from inside the plane and then flying completely over the rest of the formation to the other side straight out the door... Tails never get the glory, except for this one fantastic exit ] [But if I had to take four people I'd never met before and give them an exit I knew for a fact I could have them fly first time, I'd probably pick H or P, depending on what shape they all were.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Most jumpsuits are made to measure, so they're not really suited (no pun) to farming out to sweatshops and mass production facilties. This is also why they cost so damn much. Parasport: made in Italy. Tony, Bev: made in USA. Sonic: Made in Spain. Rainbow: Made in Germany. Symbiosis: Made in the UK. There are made-to-measure outsourcing operations for normal clothes, I realise (you can get measured in London for a suit that gets sewn in Hong Kong) but I don't know of it happening in skydive world. There was a Pakistani company making jumpsuits I think but I think they were up front about where they were, and the results people had with them were variable. [edit: Canopies are a slightly different matter. Some are sewn in countries other than the ones where the companies have their head offices, but not in anything like a sweatshop. The skills required are too high.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I've had one of these as well (a skyhook release and RSL deployment, not a camera entanglement). No big deal - the Skyhook is still a step forward - but it's not magic. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

It has been tried and it works very well. Netheravon in the UK springs immediately to mind - touch screen and everything. Hibaldstow are one of the two busiest DZs in the country and they check people back in. What do you mean by not working? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Just do be clear, this is a design feature! The end result is that not all Skyhook deployments will be main-assisted if the various forces are in the wrong direction and would otherwise risk entanglements and badness. Something to keep in mind when considering changing decision altitudes because one has a MARD... -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Is it necessary? No. Is it a step forward? I'm not sure about that either. Maybe, if it means other jumpers can more easily see what your altimeter says. But that's marginal. Is it cool? Hell yeah. Interested to see if it gets backed, and I hope it does. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I really wish that was true. I'd have a lot less to say about it if it were. (Not belittling, just disagreeing completely.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Neither of my email addresses would work with whatever technology USPA is using to detect it getting opened. This is by default (not something I have set up) - the providers both block images/includes and JavaScript because this kind of tracking is obnoxious. For what it's worth, my work email does the same, come to think of it. It's likely that participation is better than USPA thinks! -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Hannah, thanks so much for this. I have a close friend going through a part of your journey right now... we haven't jumped together for several years now but I hope, with enough support (and stories like yours), she'll be back. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Unless it's a Diablo. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

A friend of mine is still known to us as "nine five"... after the height she pulled on AFF level 1. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This. Changing the wingloading on an already pretty sporty canopy size (a 150 is a 150, even at 0.9) that someone already has very few jumps on is worth being cautious about. They're still figuring out how to land anything, let alone something that changes behaviour. Changing the way someone's body feels in freefall at 25 jumps is worth being cautious about. Lead is weird to start with, and uncomfortable forever. Realistically, a person that size will (almost) certainly end up wearing lead if she wants to do FS regularly, no matter how amazing her back flexibility. But I can understand her reluctance at this point, and it's worth respecting. Patience

I don't have the best answer to your question as I don't do much big-way skydiving (others here will!), but: angle flyers using that body position are actually trying for a shallower direction of flight than you want. They are after lift and drive - you just want to fall out of the sky. This will turn out to be a body position thing - you can maintain the same hard dive with your eyes up. You exit the plane with quite a lot of horizontal separation as well as vertical... if you find yourself steep on it partway through your dive, it's because your initial direction is too shallow - diving *towards* the base instead of to the place you actually want to approach it from. Experiment with aiming at a different place right at the beginning of your dive. You'll get it :) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Not saying this is the reason for you, but: I've noticed some people fly wider in times of uncertainty or tension - it's like some hardwired instinctive reach for stability. Could just be the adrenaline of skydiving vs the security of the tunnel! Skydiving is so very much a mental game. Getting better often means being more aware of the workings of our own minds in different situations and adjusting for it