Joellercoaster

Andy, your Pilot will calm down after a while... I watched a friend pack his literally-never-jumped Crossfire2 a couple of weeks ago and it was comedy, but I was laughing because I used to look the same (and worse) when my Pilot was new. I won't claim it's a dream yet (packed my mate's Sabre1 for him and was shocked at how easy packing can be), but 80-odd jumps later I don't fear it as much as I used to. Back on-topic: I have Aerodyne canopies and really love my Pilot, but Icarus are strongly tempting me for my next one. We shall 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?

"Uncomfortable" was a reference to wishing it went a bit quicker, not a bit slower. I only mentioned the conservativity thing to illustrate that I knew what I was getting into in advance - I should have said "not that unhappy with it". Plenty of time to go quicker later. -- "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 get me wrong - I'm not that bored (It's certainly a very nice canopy. And that profile WL is a bit high, 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?

That "you'll get bored" thing does indeed happen all the time. Sometimes they even have a point. Truth be told, I do find myself wishing for something a little quicker most days... I bought conservative and knew it at the time, so I'm not that uncomfortable with it. And in skydiving, boredom is an entirely relative thing -- "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?

Plenty of good advice in this thread, but failing all that you can just do what I did: forget you packed the rig, then realise after it's opened -- "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 also possible he thought you were jumping the gun, and didn't want you to exit prematurely... it's also possible he was being a git, but you won't know if you don't ask. Us newbies do a lot of silly things early on, and a lot of senior jumpers' immediate response when they see us do something unexpected is "uh-oh, prevent!" before even thinking about what we might be trying to do. Which, having seen some stuff already, isn't entirely unreasonable -- "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've said it before many times: the DZ is a fashion amnesty. In fact, the only place I can think of where people feel more free to express their inner tasteless fool is a weekend dance music festival. Colourblind skydivers of the world, unite! Revel in your gopping awfulness! You have nothing to lose but your shame -- "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 first met the FFA crew when they were working for someone else at another DZ, and I was doing AFF. Since then they have branched out on their own and moved to Seville, and the next time I wanted skydiving instruction I remembered how well they treated me and how much fun I had with them, and I looked them up. Since then I've done a canopy course with them and my FS1, and bought a rig as well (love my Pilot, BTW). Each time I've come away very happy, and a much better skydiver than when I started. Nowdays I get out to Seville and jump every now and again because it's just somewhere I love to go. Certainly beats London. Skydive Spain has wicked planes, a lot of cool locals and a very relaxo selection of places to go unwind afterwards. Empuriabrava the party town it ain't, but Empuria doesn't have Giant Haystacks either. Even on fun jumping trips I try and make it out to see Freefall Addicts - they are genuinely some of the nicest people you could hope to meet, and the enthusiasm they pass onto their students seems to be infectious when you're all out for a beer. Go FFA :)

Biggest a 143 is disappointing. I'm surprised that PD would be marketing them at the Small Rig People - can anyone confirm that it's actually their usual need to test things more before releasing them in larger sizes, due to unforeseen issues? -- "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 my grey/black Icon with yellow trimtape. Looks pretty different, without resorting to the Migraine Effect. Will post a pic whan I get home tonight and can upload. -- "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?

There has been a lot of focus on what the motivations are for the winners to want to be presented with their medals when everyone is around. You can impugn their motives all you like, but what about all the other competitors - who aren't on the dais - who still want to be part of the crowd cheering to see someone reap the reward for all the hard work they all put in? No glory hounds there. The community spirit between competitors is real, and it sounds like someone missed a trick 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?

Up the pace a bit - 200 jumps for the year. Compete in 4-way at the UK Nationals. The other two done, try and acquire an FS coach rating to start paying it all forward Oh, and jump in at least two countries I haven't jumped yet. -- "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 indeed lovely

Hey, consider getting a helmet that doesn't take a camera mount for a while... I know you're in the US, but the British Parachute Association here won't let you jump camera with less than two hundred jumps, and they have reasons. It would really suck to buy a camera helmet for big bucks, only to discover you can't use it for a year or two. Find out first! -- "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 entirely possible that your torso measurement was too short. If it looks like that standing up, what's it like when you lie on the floor and arch? -- "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?

VLC worked like magic. [ditches assorted other movie players immediately] Even better with sound -- "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 probably somewhere around my sternum -- "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 it does. I have seen girls suddenly get miraculous levels of assistance with packjobs just by looking like they might cry. They might not be packing it themselves, but they're still "packing" it. For some reason this doesn't work for me -- "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?

Optima. Not just for experienced jumpers either - I find even at a lowly 100 jumps that all the features (except maybe setting different landing altitudes) have been useful at various times. Multiple banks of alarms are great, if you have a few different kinds of jump that you alternate between. Some novices report finding the canopy alarms a useful aid to locating their setup heights while they're trying to navigate around the PLA - I was definitely one of them for a while. -- "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 glad I get on your exception list, I feel much better. I was wearing skate shoes to dance in for years before I skydived. Now I'm wearing through the soles much less quickly because my weekends are taken up by jumping - I'm saving so much money! You're all just wannabe ravers. -- "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 very pretty, but I can't play the sound on my Mac (pearsontowers large version). This is the only video I can remember this happening for... Are you using some fancy audio codec I don't have, or is QuickTime Player just being generally crap? BTW, the competition routine is lovely :) -- "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 agree - other students will like them, so post them! And sometimes they're cool and well-written, and I like them 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?

As long as the non-local DZ was obvious on its own website about where it really was, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I suspect it'd be pretty hard to buy ad space with (for example) Google that was specific enough that you wouldn't show up in competition with a DZ on the other side of your state. People aren't total sheep - there's a difference between lying to them and assuming they can read. -- "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'm in. Out of training in the extreme, but as long as I just have to jump and not fight any of you, I'll be fine. I think we also have a new student on our DZ who might be a TKD black belt, but I haven't asked her about 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?

I can't believe nobody's mentioned the Let in this thread. They're just my favourite thing to jump out of so... I love the Cyrillic warning labels, the draughty cabin, the funny internal hatch thing - oh and having to hang on with all appendages plus your teeth if you're floating in the door, while the prop blast smashes you and the roaring noises assault your brain. Despite all that, they're surprisingly comfortable too. Go figure. -- "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?