Joellercoaster

How come not just a bungee? The hole happens because your leg straps can travel. The bungee stops them from doing that. No travel, no hole, no falling out. Similar idea: your chest strap doesn't physically support your weight on opening - it holds your main lift web (the hint is in the name) in place. Your weight is held by the leg straps, and supported by the MLW, risers, lines, up to the canopy. @skydiverek, I think he is worrying about "things that actually happen". There has been at least one sport fatality that I know of, and one dz.commer has found herself hanging from her knees after opening, if I remember correctly. It's rare, but it's certainly happened. -- "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 people have said, the weather is not awesome (although 100 jumps a year without going overseas is not unusual). However, there is a lot else that goes into skydiving than just weather... I could live in Australia, but I choose to live in the UK. The skydiving I can do here has a lot to do with it. (Also, three wind tunnels with a couple more on the way helps, as does having Spain a short plane ride away.) -- "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 bears repeating, so I will

By "more forgiving" I guess I could have been more useful, sure :P (I've jumped both canopies in a range of similar sizes, but will admit I have far fewer S2 jumps, so take this for what it's worth.) The Pilot rolls into turns faster - it feels more responsive on toggles around the roll axis - but it also rolls out of them faster. If you stop pulling down on a toggle (or, as I have had to do occasionally, counter with opposite toggle in a hurry ) it returns to straight flight (you underneath the canopy) quicker as well. The same is also true of straight front riser dives. So I guess by "more forgiving" I mean "quicker to come out of situations where you might find yourself heading at the ground, both when you're applying input and when you're not". It's also a bit harder to get into those configurations in the first place (witness people like me, whining they find their Pilots hard to swoop), but obviously you still can, and people have crashed Pilots plenty hard too. One other thing I'd say, and maybe this is just me, but I've found Pilots to be much more predictable on opening. This doesn't really address my "forgiving" thing though, it's just an observation. -- "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?

IMO, Pilots are a great canopy for a beginner - certainly more forgiving than a Sabre2, which are also popular first canopies. Try both Pilot and Pulse (and the Silhouette for that matter), they definitely have differences that will come down to personal taste.You can't really go wrong with any of them - whichever one you like the most will serve you well. -- "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 reckon you can say that about any canopy model, though I was interested in Dan BC's assertion that his (Dacron-lined?) Katana had/would never open hard. I guess careful packing plays a part too. I've been thumped properly by one Pilot (168), and am certainly due a reline on my 132. I'd agree with all the points people have made above, pro and con - although the assertion that you can't learn to swoop on them is provably false, I'd say I struggle to swoop mine well with my extremely limited swooping ability! Plenty I can learn in the process of that struggle, though. Utterly brilliant canopy, I am never selling this one: It'll get a Crossfire2 129 as a kid brother this year, but it's definitely staying. (I saw my original 188 a little while ago, and had a wave of nostalgia for it. Good times.) -- "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?

They had me at "Bootie Chaps". -- "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?

Right on. -- "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 is probably the opposite of helpful, though. BASE canopies are kind of like anti-Stilettos, deliberately so - and will teach your muscles very different things about what you should do in different situations. Be careful, think 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?

Excellent suggestion. Do you also have a suggestion for how he might do that, without having an altimeter in the first place? -- "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 love the way everybody from here is resisting the impulse to comment on the UFO sighting videos, letting them in on what the real story 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?

Yup. I used to worry about the thumb thing, but there are two reasons I stopped worrying. 1) I reach so my palm is the first thing to hit the handle, and 2) it's like a float exit where the bar is inside the plane. If you don't wrap your thumb, but rather use it parallel to your fingers, then you aren't going to get it in trouble. Leaned that one the hard way getting out of a Caravan I feel like it's much more secure; sewn with tape (UPT style) it's always in exactly the same place. A hacky wobbles around a bit, even a freefly pad doesn't feel as positive in my hand. Admittedly, it doesn't look as cool. -- "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?

Snap. Apparently I have a drogue I never knew about! -- "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?

Red Bull (the drinks company) own the naming rights to those two F1 teams. They don't provide all the money. Those hundreds of millions of dollars (like for other F1 teams) come from more than one place! -- "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 may not be anxiety, but it's not something physical! Well, maybe not in the way you're thinking. What you are feeling is actually pretty common. Some combination of pressure on your face, noise, vibration... is tricking your nervous system, and you are reflexively holding your breath. Like a lot of reflexes though, it can be overcome. If it happens in front of a fan, then that's actually good news - you can sit in front of a fan and teach yourself to breathe there, without having to shell out for a wind tunnel like someone else I know did

Just out of interest, how much do you weigh? A 310 has a pretty small reserve tray for anyone at a hundred jumps... hopefully you are tiny and have an Optimum -- "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 even a little bit worth it. A tracking suit is a fairly specialised bit of kit - I reckon I've seen maybe three or four in my whole skydiving career, and they were mostly experienced jumpers trying them out for BASE. You might want one one day, but don't bet on it - and in the meantime, you definitely don't want 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?

Listen to dragon2. She has summed it up. Joel 195cm, 88kg, different set of 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?

+1 to this. A former teammate of mine got hurt a couple of years ago and stopped jumping, but she trained as an FS judge to keep her hand in, and is definitely not lost to us. Did a few hours of 4-way in the tunnel with her earlier this year too, and she's still pretty badass -- "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's great that you have a Skyhook. But don't get too excited about what it will do, to the point you rely on it. I can also tell you about my Skyhook disengaging due to the angle my malfunctioning main was pulling on it (as it is supposed to), and not opening my reserve in 100'. Just be aware that the Skyhook is just a well marketed tool, it's not a guarantee of anything. Do not change the way you skydive because you have a cool bit of gear. -- "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 thread will make you feel better. Actually I think it's still the second-best thread on the whole site, after the Scary Stories From The Old Days 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?

This. Back on-topic: Nope. How can you hide something so huge? Especially at the beginning, when it's all you can think about or talk about. Skydiving did kinda break one of my relationships though (it wasn't a matter of choosing jumping over her, but it was a significant stress factor). Now my partner skydives, the only bad thing about it is when she goes on training camps without me and I know she's jumping her arse off while I'm in the office -- "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 would also notice from his profile that he owns two Sigma tandem rigs (and indeed, his usual main is a 360). That would tend to point one in the right direction when pondering your question -- "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 nil from one :( It was a low-speed mal (canopy mostly open) at a normal opening height and it certainly had to go, but I have since started looking at my alti during my visualisation and drills for the next time that happens. -- "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?

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. By miles. Starting out over the snowy mountains, then seeing the valley walls rise up on either side as you descend into shadow... I can remember the feeling of space in the valley like it was today. I love skydiving wherever I am, but that one was unbelievably 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?