Joellercoaster

Don't worry, it's also entirely unmoderated. Knock yourself out

This should be printed on the A license card. -- "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 know of at least one professional jumper who turned his PhD grant into a tandem rating never looked back There have to be a few of those... -- "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?

Nah, more information is always better! It was good to hear and think about your experience too. -- "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 the part I disagree with. There is no link in my mind, and I think about this stuff as much as the next guy - no need to disparage my education level just because I ask you to explain why you think something I disagree with. So basically, according to you, there isn't any evidence for it, it hasn't been implicated in any of the real, horrible accidents under canopy recently. It just sounds likely to someone you were talking to. It's just "obvious." Thanks for clearing that up. -- "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?

Wait, there's another kind? -- "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?

Really? I think you just made that up. But if you have anything else to go on other than "well it sounds plausible", by all means fill us in. -- "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?

Yoink. -- "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?

...and if you mess up the spot as badly as our group did last weekend, you can land on a proper hill The field I picked looked flat from directly overhead... it was only on final that I realised I was landing down a decent slope, and could potentially have run out of field! -- "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 curious as to why you think this would remain a US problem? Insurance is a very global business, and it follows the numbers. -- "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 excuse my cherry-picking bits of your post, but as someone who doesn't know you other than here, these are the facts that jump out at me. The combination of those three numbers is a worry. 190, especially something like the Pilot you have been on, is plenty small for now. There is no rush, and smaller will not make anything easier. -- "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 part, I can agree with. Quoteopens better, flares better than a pilot This part, not so much. You may find you agree with it after you demo, but I had the opposite experience. The difference is that I realise it's a matter of taste rather than "better" just because I happen to like Pilots more. So, demo stuff for sure! PD and Aerodyne are both popular with good reason. -- "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?

As for the brands, probably. Models within a brand? Absolutely. They are all aimed at different niches so it's worth exploring how you want to fly, but there is a strong safety aspect as well. As irishrigger points out, some models are not appropriate for beginners or even intermediate jumpers, and others are designed for very particular flying styles or needs - they make compromises on other features. For example just within PD, there's a reason Spectres are still so popular with camera flyers, a reason the Sabre2 sells like hot cakes and a reason why I have no business on a Velocity. It's definitely a lot to take in, but there are people like your instructors and riggers who can help you figure it out. Happy shopping! -- "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, on both counts

What you try and cram into your main pack tray is up to you. You could possibly get that range of canopies in there if you are really keen and a strong packer, though it might not be recommended. I have a V347, and I've had things between 129 and 170 in there. The 170 was frankly a bitch to pack. But the most important consideration is what goes in the reserve container. If you are jumping a 190 main, then a smaller reserve (and that's likely, if you want that big a range of main sizes) is not a brilliant plan. As the saying goes, do you really want your first jump on the smallest canopy you've ever flown, to be when you're high on adrenaline from a chop and probably lower than you've ever opened before? Me 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?

DocPop posts in a thread about some other topic and mentions he flies a Katana. Film at 11. (Man, I wish I flew a Katana. That would be 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?

Has anybody else noticed the Practice of internet Kooks where as they get Kooky, their Capitalization Ratio increases and their Sentences Get Really Long, with Run-On Clauses and Weird Polite Threats to Involve the Authorities? (This is great, keep it up.) -- "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?

We're getting off topic, but you are talking utter crap here even by your standards. Actually, this whole thread is a bit of a shambles. Have you ever, ever seen an instructor knee fly during an AFF jump? Really? Sharksblood, ignore pretty much anything said by someone without an AFF rating about your jump and what you might do. This includes me. As you will find in skydiving, the sport is full of people who want to give you advice as a way of showing how much they know. The problem being that a lot of the time they 'know' a bunch of nothing, and at the start it can be hard to recognise who to listen to (500 jumps sounds like a hell of a lot but isn't). This goes double for the Internet. -- "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?

Don't worry, super-skilled female skydivers have that effect on me too But, consider this: like the girl behind the bar, your instructor is put into personal contact with a lot of men as part of her job, and has to be (somewhat) nice to them. Who she interacts with is not her choice, so it's not strictly a social situation. Whether or not it's a good idea to have that vibe between a student and a teacher, there's also the consideration of, is this good manners? I've always considered bar staff to be off-limits while on duty for the same kind of reason. Definitely wait 'til after your training is over

Yup. Other people have already pointed out that it's all possible, it's just going to take some work and it might not go as fast as you'd like (good arch makes lots of things easier). But stick with it. There's some good advice from some pretty dinged-up folks I jumped with a guy a couple of months ago who could barely bend his lower back at all. His body position was nothing like the 'classic' deep arch, he didn't have a massive fall rate range and he wasn't going to be cranking out 20 points of 4-way any time soon, but he was making it work. It's all doable! -- "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 it does. Just helps if it's someone who has a Thing that consumes their time and energy as much as skydiving does ours. The stereotype in my mind is horsey girl, skydiver guy, but I've also seen skydiver girl, motorcycle guy... and a few spouses who just quite like having their weekends to themselves [edit: My partner is a skydiver though, so my insight into that whole thing is very much second-hand.] -- "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?

To be clear - and I think you are working this out - there is more to elliptical canopies than just better this and that. There is also worse. And the downsides, while they are exacerbated by higher loads, by no means eliminated by loading them less. It's possible to get into trouble quicker, and further. The preceding hundreds of jumps are hopefully there so you see, feel the problem before it happens and reflexively do the things that will get you out again. Nobody is born with quite those instincts, you develop them over time. For what it's worth, I had a fully elliptical canopy for a hundred or more jumps, but while I loved flying it, the openings became too much of an issue. I may go back in future, but the intervening couple of years have been back on a Pilot and it's still teaching me things. Good luck with your search for the right canopy, there are loads of good choices out there! -- "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?

Maybe for some... but I've met a few people now who've tried it, quite liked it, but gone 'yeah that was pretty good' and moved on with their lives. Not discounting fear as a reason for a lot of people (to skydive AND to not skydive), but there are others for whom our sport just isn't as amazing as it is for 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?

I had a Pilot 188 for a couple of years and psycho packed it about half that time. Didn't have any problems. -- "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?

Seventy-two teams Friends and fierce rivals contend UK Nationals -- "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?