Joellercoaster

I agree that some things are just a beer fine, no matter who you are. And most of the others still apply if you want them to. I know I do... in fact I owe beer right 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 if all you want is penetration into strong-but-reasonable winds, there is probably no reason to go above 1.3 for your whole jumping career. As a person with a much higher WL than that, I still sit down in high winds. If I wouldn't jump a 170 on a given day, then a 120 won't really make it safer. (NOTE that this is not a recommendation that you go out and get a canopy loaded at 1.3, just a statement that I can't imagine higher loading than that being justified by wind penetration.) -- "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?

Sparky sums it up. But the picture is not quite as black and white. First, buying all the gear up front is not a good idea for a bunch of reasons. So put that aside for a moment and think about the training... go back and rejoin the student program. See how much you enjoy that (and it's a lot cheaper than a rig). Then there is the tunnel. I know people, especially kids but not just them, who don't skydive, but they fly a lot anyway. So there is that. It's not an all or nothing decision right now. Dip your toes back in

He still sells them, does he not? He must not dislike them that much. -- "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?

Once you've unstowed the brakes, it's hard to get the slider down and back behind your head. Personally I've stopped doing it lately, it's extra fiddling for only a small benefit (after you've collapsed the slider anyway). I did have a chiropractic opening a few weeks ago that rammed the slider down past the stops, but that was the exception -- "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?

The numbers are the same, but the reasoning is totally different. You could regard it as a coincidence. -- "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?

The reason for the skydiving rule is that this has repeatedly been shown not to be true. Enough people have said "I'll just turn it on and forget it" and then flown into a fence or whatever that we know there is some effect on attention. And since things can happen very quickly, it's considered a bad idea for newer skydivers to have something that impairs their focus and levels of attention to the job. I know it seems like a lot at this point in time, but 200 is not very many skydives (as someone pointed out upthread, that's maybe 3 hours of freefall total). It's a good rule. -- "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 is not actually the best place to ask. The British Parachute Association, though, would be a very good place. You don't have to be a BPA DZ in the UK but in practice all of them are, and their operating rules are available on their website - they have also been known to answer email. Let us know what you find out? -- "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?

Ballpark, maybe 200 or so. [edit: this is totally a finger in the air, which is all you asked for - seek professional advice in person ;)] -- "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 that one might be local to you... this hasn't been the case anywhere else I know of (admittedly I have only flown in European tunnels and Dubai, the States is a dark continent to me). Where do you normally fly? -- "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 is frankly terrible advice. -- "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?

OK, so ya got me on the Splatwing But I just disagree about the rest of it. You can inspect a canopy, or have someone else do it if you don't feel and you're not rolling the dice any more than you are when you buy a more expensive one. Forget the Stiletto, substitute a more beginner friendly main like a Sabre or a Triathlon (I have seen both of these going for cheap in the last month in big sizes) and it's still not a terrible idea. Would they like a Pilot or a Safire2 more? Very likely. But spending that money on jump tickets is a valid choice too

Other people have answered this pretty well, but I'll chime in. "Possibly" out of trim? It's either out of trim or it's not, and finding out is not a mystery you have to solve after you buy it. I bought a Stiletto the other day for 300 clams - and it had just been relined. To, you know, go in my $3000 container. There was no practical difference, flight wise, between that and one I'd spend a couple of grand on to buy new. Except it was somewhat ugly, and very easy to pack. Why would I do that? An easy 70 jump tickets, that's why. -- "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?

While I agree with your idea (don't go around shortening lines willy nilly), I have to take issue with your reasoning (because someone else might then stall the canopy on landing). Main canopies exhibit a *wide* variety of flare behaviours. If someone is jumping a new-to-them canopy and hasn't tried some practice flares high up to see what the story is, then they are at risk of a bad outcome at landing time regardless. Someone being surprised by the toggle stroke isn't a very good reason. The lines might genuinely be too long for this person. Examining some of her landings in detail is the only way to really know, though. [edit to add: Worse in what way?! ] -- "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?

Definitely get the knees. -- "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?

Reckon it would be pretty easy to open one of those in freefall, and once it's open, it's really open. The existing design has a big advantage in that when it's closed, opening it again takes a bit of fiddling. You can maybe loosen it, but it's still basically closed. On the upside, it would look hilarious, which is worth something. -- "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 is in line with my experience... I effectively ended up doing AFF twice, when I had to stop for a while. I also agree that it's no bad thing! I got really, really good at PLFs. -- "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?

Lots of good places to go. I have the most experience with Target Skysports (Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire, where the BPA nationals are every year) and can recommend them wholeheartedly. Great facilities, hands down the best fleet of planes, top notch instructors and open all week. But there are plenty of other places in the Northern half with excellent courses as well, and I'm sure their locals will chime in. AFF is a once in a lifetime thing, you are going to love 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?

^ This. It's a little tricky, you need a good feel for your own body position and for the air flow around you. But dropping a single knee works very well (also good for flying at high tunnel speeds when your back is tired). Thinking about your knee like the keel of a boat can help. You can also get your other leg above it, so they become a single control surface for keeping your heading. The both-knees-down position is even faster, but harder. If you think about it, as you rear up to the point where your (joined) knees are your lowest point, you are 1) exposing less of your torso to the airflow and 2) leading with a sharper point than your pelvis. You need to be careful of asymmetry as it's easy to just hurtle backwards into the wall (the position is quite close to one you use for going backwards in a hurry)... experiment gradually and get a coach to show you. -- "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?

The "beautiful" Dubai DZ won't be available to the OP for a little while, unless they really smash out the jumps That said, the desert DZ is awesome in its own right. We just spent the last week training there and it's a brilliant place (also blessed with what appears to be quite a nice gear shop, for when you decide what you want). -- "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'm a little older than that but have always had digital watches. And I think the analogy is not helpful. Looking at your watch on the ground is a totally different beast to gauging your altitude on a skydive with all the other stuff going on in freefall. Especially for a new jumper. I use a digital alti for most jumps (sewn into the arm of my FS suit). I have misread it several times in freefall - with generally no harm done, I have quite a few jumps and an audible as well, plus teammates who are all similarly equipped and reliably on their game. But I have misread it nonetheless. This has never happened to me with an analog alti (I always wear one on coach jumps or when I am freeflying or doing camera). I do not think this is a coincidence. Digital altimeters are great, but anyone who claims they are as readable as an analog is selling something, even if just to themselves. -- "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?

Sometimes I think the dropzone population at large are unclear on the distinction between "trolling" and "FAQ". This would appear to be the latter. Give the new people a break, maybe? To the original poster: This is a question that comes up very frequently, and there are some good threads and articles on dropzone.com about it. The search engine (top right hand corner) will turn them up and provide you with more information than you could possibly want... have a look, then come back with the more specific questions that all that information overload will no doubt generate -- "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?

Also, try the Skysurfer.com.au forums once you know where you'll be staying, you might be able to pre-organise lifts to DZs, people to jump with, etc. They'll also have a better finger on the pulse of where is good to jump at any given time

I see. -- "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's a pretty fucking stupid statement. It's OK, you're American, the subtleties of British humour go past you sometimes. I get it. But when it happens, maybe abuse shouldn't be your first resort? Sarcasm. It's a thing on the Internet nowadays. -- "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?