Joellercoaster

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    1,603

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by Joellercoaster

  1. Joellercoaster
    Serious question: Why 100? -- "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?
  2. Joellercoaster
    Same. Bought a Pilot 168, made 300 jumps on it and loved every one. -- "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?
  3. Joellercoaster
    ...and why most don't any more. To the OP: making fun of your shoes aside, the reason that people don't jump tabi is because they're not a good idea for skydiving. They provide little to no sole support, and importantly the separated toe is an invitation to breaking it on landing. Think rock, clump of grass, twig, rabbit hole, small bump. On landing your feet are often travelling across the surface at 20 miles an hour (without even considering swoops), having anything snaggable is dangerous. -- "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?
  4. Joellercoaster
    Or it has seams -- "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?
  5. Joellercoaster
    Pretty much this for me too - I like Sabre2s more the smaller they are, but up to about 1.6 the Pilot definitely had the edge for me. Skybytch is absolutely right though. The distinctions are purely personal and a matter of taste - I *like* the deeper Pilot flare and the quicker roll-in/roll-out of turns, other people hate them for exactly the same reasons. (I do think they open better though, in all sizes.) -- "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?
  6. Joellercoaster
    Instructors here are required to have a Canopy Handling coach rating. -- "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?
  7. Joellercoaster
    There are two consequences I think: 1) Never learning turns about 90 degrees is only bad if they then attempt a bigger turn at some point. 2) If the 90 limit is "causing" people to downsize faster (actually this just sounds to me like new jumpers finding excuses to do what they are desperate to do anyway), and if this is bad, you can either educate your jumpers out their dumbassery, or just rule again to prevent them from downsizing too fast. You are not forced to remove the turn limit. -- "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?
  8. Joellercoaster
    Really? Where? -- "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?
  9. Joellercoaster
    Yeah I kept that one to myself until she asked... about a year after it happened. By that point I'd been jumping 7 years and my Mum was a lot less worried about the whole thing, but her eyes still went a bit wide. -- "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?
  10. Joellercoaster
    The price sounds really good, but: there isn't a Micron that will take a 190. -- "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?
  11. Joellercoaster
    I would second that - PD aren't kidding when they say This is just like, my opinion man. But the things that make it a total swoop beast also make it, in my relatively newbie opinion, a terrible canopy for the rest of us. -- "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?
  12. Joellercoaster
    Does the team still exist? -- "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?
  13. Joellercoaster
    This sounds like a combination of the Dutch canopy-vs-size-and-jumps chart, and the British CP1/CP2 progression system. People very similar to you (maybe even you yourself) have derided both of those in the past as not catering for the advanced, talented student (though they do), but they have the advantage of answering the "but when?" question very precisely and providing a program of study and progress. People hook in a lot less in both of those countries, but that could just be because the weather sucks -- "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?
  14. Joellercoaster
    My reserve is about as small as I ever want it to be (150). Main size still negotiable, though I haven't downsized in years (132 and 129). -- "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?
  15. Joellercoaster
    The problems I have with this as a reply to the question are "weight-lifting" and "feel" -- "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?
  16. Joellercoaster
    Except, possibly, if I upsize some day in the future -- "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?
  17. Joellercoaster
    Maybe 'too old to repair' just means it's too old, and they can't repair it? Refusal to perform miracles is definitely average customer service in my book - send it back again! -- "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?
  18. Joellercoaster
    I have a Pilot 132 that I've owned for 400 jumps or so, but lately I load it about 1.8 so I'm not sure how relevant this is. That said: it's a genuinely great main. I am entirely confident I will never sell it, even when I own other canopies. It's well-behaved (one mal, terrible packing) and agile while staying very predictable. I can't compare it to a similarly-sized Safire2, though I definitely prefer it to a Sabre2 135, although it is a bit more finicky about flare when loaded heavily. -- "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?
  19. Joellercoaster
    I would do the same - just get a slightly smaller Pilot. I've gotten a bit heavier lately and am now loading my Pilot at about 1.8; it's gotten a little bit fussy landing straight-in though it's still good with front riser approaches But, below 1.7, smaller Pilots were great fun each time. I've had my current one for about 400 jumps. I'm experimenting with a borrowed Sabre2 and a Crossfire2, both the same size(ish) as my Pilot, and will see how that goes. I suspect the Crossfire will win out on fun factor though -- "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?
  20. Joellercoaster
    All this talk of not having a cutaway for your GoPro because the mount will probably shear off is nuts. Idle conversation with a friend a couple of weeks ago - turns out he'd just that weekend had a horseshoe with bridle around his head-mounted snag hazard. He eventually cleared it by getting his helmet off, but not before he'd had time to wonder if it was tangled in his opening reserve. Get. A cutaway. -- "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?
  21. Joellercoaster
    Which are actual reasons -- "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?
  22. Joellercoaster
    Right. Size your main for your container, and size your container for your reserve! An I4 would at most put you on a Smart 150 (assuming you are buying a Smart), and that sounds like a less than wonderful idea. Cramming in an oversize reserve is maybe physically possible, but it's right up there on my List Of Stuff I Will Never Do. Bonus: You can fit an ordinary ZP Pilot 168 in an I5 and save the bucks . Anecdotally, some people prefer the ZP Aerodyne canopies to the ZPX versions, though I have only ever owned plain ZP so I don't know about 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?
  23. Joellercoaster
    I know. We all 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?
  24. Joellercoaster
    This is utter crap. Come to think of it, so is the rest of your post. Anecdote, supposition, pointlessly working someone else's fears up. Do you seriously think a person who is nervous about the tunnel and tentative is going to be more dangerous than a person going in gung-ho and plowing into the wall? You have no idea what you are talking about. (What is it you think the guy employed by the tunnel *is* there for, if not to help people?) I can assume you mean well with this post but seriously, this is really unhelpful. Less advice, more... I dunno. Things that aren't giving 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?
  25. Joellercoaster
    Since the original question was about UK schools who do courses in Spain, I can recommend without reservation: - Active Skydiving (also do trips to the US) - Skydive Spain (they are UK owned and share planes/occasionally instructors/etc with Hibaldstow, which is the biggest DZ in the country). Others may be very good too, but those two I have actually seen in action. -- "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?