Joellercoaster

Craig beat me to it. The one-case-per-jump limit sometimes gets 'conveniently' forgotten by many experienced jumpers when explaining the rules to the less-experienced -- "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?

So get some experience, practise practise practise. Yup. I know this is almost sacrilege to most of us, but skydiving is not the only way to unpack a rig. Get hold of one if you don't have one already, and pack it and repack it until your fingers bleed. You can get quite fast quite quickly if you focus, and getting used to a little pain will definitely help you in your new job! I know a few friends got their start in skydiving as packers before they were jumpers, and always because they asked around and found places willing to let them learn on the job. Be persistent, they are out there. Also be willing to do other things on the side... as a relatively inexperienced packer, you are more valuable if you clean, carry, paint... you get the idea. Good luck! -- "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 freefall stuff, fortunately, came pretty naturally. Landings and exits too. Though I would not have admitted it at the time, packing was the hardest thing. I packed for myself from early on, but it was certainly a struggle! Unfortunately there turned out to be no quick tricks or great secrets (reverse S-fold and psycho pack are both nice, but they still didn't really fix it and nowadays I do neither) - just continuing to struggle until it gradually stopped being so hard. -- "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 didn't come up with this, but several wise people have pointed out: "Gee I wish that was smaller", said nobody looking up at their reserve ever. I continue to periodically experiment with smaller mains, but my reserve size stays (about) the same. Optimum next, to keep that possible in a common container size. Low bulk reserves are IMO the best new thing in years. I think, ignore the two-out scenario as a reserve sizing factor. Most of us end up under a reserve at some point. Very few of us under our main at the same time... and even then, as others have pointed out, they're pretty different nowadays anyway. -- "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'mma steal that -- "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 all full face helmets are the same shape. Head circumference is not the only important thing. I can fit into the biggest G3, but not the biggest Phantom, even though they are nominally about the same size - one is more like my head shape than the other. Others will be the other way. Unless you are absolutely sure you can give it back if it doesn't fit, do not buy a full face helmet you haven't tried on, at least someone else's. -- "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?

You may be able to imagine it, but it's still what happens. I have shown it to a couple of people who don't jump, and the reaction has been entirely positive so far. Personally? I think it's beautiful. -- "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?

Hey... I feel your pain; I'm 6'5" and 200lbs on the button. Gear shopping is a hassle and I have never managed to find a second hand container yet. You are already ahead of the game. Whether or not that's a good price depends entirely on the state of the gear and the number of jumps (as you have found), but it's not a bad price, potentially. You are in a small and competitive market, so you might factor that into your calculation. As for the main size, the 1:1 rule for a first canopy has a bit more wiggle room for larger people, but only a bit. The chart that you've seen is not depressing, but you should absolutely take it seriously! If you do downsize (and it is an "if" - a good friend of mine is still on his first canopy, and we started jumping together), you will find as a large-economy-sized person that you get more performance increase each time you do it. This changes the economy a little bit, as you will generally have longer between canopies. Potentially, maybe? I'd be OK with paying a little over the odds for a rig that I could actually get into without buying new, knowing they were somewhat rare and that I would need a new one less frequently than most. -- "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?

Sure. He just can't get in on any of her awesome big-ways. Who you marry isn't important in this sport; but only good jumpers are allowed on the cool jumps. We have standards I am still amused that I got to do the reverse stereotype... my girlfriend (now wife) had* quite a few more jumps than me, and I got invited early on to do jumps I probably shouldn't have, because of her. Skydiving really is mostly who you know [edit: *still 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?

Yeah, what he said. I don't think you can say you failed unless you actually ended up stuck to the plane! (This happened to me headjamming once, my helmet got hooked on the bar. Hilarity ensued ) -- "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?

Because some places now replace a couple of two-AFFI jumps with working tandems. -- "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 what you want to hear, but the 190 is already probably a little on the small side for someone who weighs 185 with less than a hundred jumps. Your wing loading is probably already over 1.1:1 on that thing. This is not even conservative advice! The fact that you already want a little more under canopy does not change that! You can give yourself more performance, trust me. Hopefully only when you actually want to If you are not sure what the term "wing loading" means, start your search for more information there, it will help you understand what you're looking for. Happy shopping, looking for your first rig is a bit of a trek but the end result is awesome -- "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 certainly true! But it's almost impossible not to dream. When I was a student, all I could think about was having a rig of my own. I think it happens to a lot of people. I don't think there's any harm in the planning and dreaming part, as long as you don't actually buy anything straight off student status

I already ordered Optima II and yes I was eyeballing the Viso, but seems that most people suggest to have an analog And, as a bonus, you seem to have already identified one common source of poor advice on dropzone.com. You're off to a good start. -- "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 can't speak for everyone, but I can read an analog alti out of the corner of my eye while waving my arm around and doing other things. I've misread my digital alti, with which I have about 700 jumps, several times, even while pointing my head straight at it. The digital one is super lightweight and is great under canopy. But the analog one (though I don't generally wear it unless with a student) is definitely better at the simple part, telling me where I am in freefall. I definitely would recommend it over a digital, for a newer jumper. -- "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?

Your problem with this 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 haven't been to Seville in about five years, but: it's a great DZ, very different to Empuria (a differently great DZ)! The first and most important thing is that the dropzone is out in the sticks. The nearest bars and restaurants are in little Seville satellite towns and suburbs. The good news is that the DZ cafe is well stocked with decent food, though the beer is a little pricey. But for skydiver nightlife, you're going to be going further afield. The plane is generally a Dornier 28 with G92 engine upgrades - in my admittedly biased opinion, the most kickass of all jump planes. At other times they have had other fast planes, including a Finist (like a Porter in a wig) and IIRC a second Dornier for events. I've been hearing recently that the landing area has baked harder over the years, so bring good sneakers. Sometimes I've found Skydive Spain can have quiet periods that Empuria doesn't, purely because it's smaller... this is not a problem if you brought your jumping buddies with you. Overall I liked Skydive Spain, the staff are good folks and they have a BPA Advanced Instructor on site if you are after qualifications. Personally I'd tend to go for a boogie or a training camp, rather than just rock up - depends on what you're into and who you're travelling with! -- "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! I joke that doing my tandem years ago ruined my life -- "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?

So the Aussies gave you a hard time but let you go about your business, and you're glad you never go there any more. The US authorities pulled your pins without telling you and cost you a repack - wow man, you sure do live in the lucky country. -- "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?

you don't remember the Thailand World Team incident of this american jumper who arrived there with a cut reserve cable ? -- "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 do... and cable continuity is one of the things I check at the beginning of the day. It's not perfect - I can absolutely see the argument both ways. But random security behaviour seems to happen sufficiently more frequently that this is the way I feel least uncomfortable for the largest number of trips, I guess. Other people feel the other way and they're not wrong either. -- "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?

One year at Seville security were sending everybody (bear in mind this was the Christmas boogie, so this was dozens of people at a time) back to check their rigs in. Since this meant Ryan Air for many, it meant eye-watering excess baggage charges and not a few tears as panicked people had to re-queue while their planes were boarding. Lots of speculation resulted about them being in cahoots. End result of this and other incidents though is that my rig goes in the hold in a hard case. It's out of my sight, but my rigger uses a seal and the rest I can check carefully at the other end. -- "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?

Excuse my naive flat-flyer question here but: what are the tunnel suit options for freeflying? (FS suits have started having zipper covers since tunnels became a thing, but not as an option particularly, they're just there 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?

Lost a shoe on exit on Saturday, and the temperature contrast tracking off with one bootie and one shoeless foot was deeply weird. Best bit was a late diver on the same jump going past my shoe in freefall and momentarily losing her train of thought going, "WTF?" -- "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?

Yes. Still. Given the history of the sport, where a lot of smart, quick people have found themselves not quite smart or quick enough, I think my self-doubt is justified. This doesn't make me (or you) a bad skydiver, but it does make us want to be very well prepared, and never get complacent. I think that is a good result. -- "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?