Fast

As far as I am concerned, pulling toggles during line twists is a no go. I don't think you can accurately determine which toggle will fix the problem. If you pick wrong and make the spin worse, it may become an unresolvable situation. Consider for a moment what would happen if your 3-ring cutaway system wasn't maintained well and was not operating at maximum efficiency. Maybe your cutaway cable is dirty or maybe kinked at the grommet or your hard housing (you have hard housings in your risers right??) has shifted and isn't protecting you. Now the force on the cutaway cable is too great. What if your wrong toggle pull makes the line twists travel all the way down into the risers? Now you can't cutaway. Having been in a few situation with nasty spinning mains I know how fast things happen and how hard it is to determine what exactly is happening, let alone pick the right riser. Might have worked for you this one time but that does not make it a good idea or something that people should try to use on a regular basis. It's akin to saying that just because I looked both ways before I ran a red stoplight if I just do that all the time it's ok to run red lights all the time. Might work but the results if it doesn't are catastrophic! What level of risk you are willing to assume is up to you. Based on your choice of wing loading (jumping at 1.6 with less than 200 jumps has proven time and time again in history to be a fatal mistake) I would hazard a guess that you don't really value your life or health. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I have a friend that made a couple hundred FF jumps on a Vector 2. She had 2 premature openings sit flying. Both of them did some good damage to her neck! She had a few mods done by a master rigger that mostly solved the problem, but it was still kinda sketchy. She bought a new rig! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Cool, anyways was gonna say that the TG1 and TG3 are the same camera with different numbers. They always do that with the European versions for some reason. Its like the Canon Cameras, 400D in Europe is the XTi in the US. Same exact camera though. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

You also need an airplane that is certified for flight w/o the door on or with the door open in flight. That might be a little harder to come by. If you don't have the appropriate airplane then you are not operating within the FARs. As for jumping into "non-dropzones" with the proper plane, it's done all the time. As long as it isn't for the benefit of spectators and over a highly populated area it won't count as a demo and you can avoid all the rules regarding demos. (or really, if there are spectators there at all, they could claim it was a demo!) ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

AFF students at my dropzone are taught that if a steering line breaks they can use the rear risers to steer and flare. The fact of the matter is, if that's the only problem with the canopy its a lot better than maybe having the reserve not work. The canopies are so big that even w/o any flare at all it's way more survivable than going to the reserve and having it malfunction, the student screwing up the emergency procedures or the RSL/AAD failing. At least that is my understanding of why we teach it that way. FWIW, if it happened to me personally, I would land it. I have a lot of landings on just rears. I'm a swooper though so, that answer won't work for everyone! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

At our DZ we still offer static line, kinda. We don't let anyone get to delays. You can do static line up till the point where you actually have to pull for yourself. We don't want to take the risk of sending someone out there who hasn't for sure proven they are capable of pulling. At least with AFF its a reasonable assumption (based on not using shitty instructors) that someone is gonna give there best shot of being there to pull for the person if they screw up. Can't really do that with some of the short delay static lines. We offer Tandem, Direct AFF and SL progressions. All of them end up in the "AFF" line eventually and in the end, direct AFF is cheaper. Just how it works out for us. We do a more AFP style program though. It's basically a necessity given our proximity to other dropzones that do AFP. I just got my static line rating and to be perfectly honest, I'm much more confident that an AFF jump is going to go well than the static line jumps. I have way more control over what an AFF student is doing. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

FYI: The TG1 / TG3 don't use optical stabilization, they use electronic. I think you were confused on that part. To the poster hinting that a camera might come out with a lens screw that is like the TG1/3... Hah... man, if that happens everyone would want it! Hope that is true. I know I would buy one immediately. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Are the magnets what move it around in there? Would it be possible to just snap another magnet in there to hold it all in place w/o involving glue? Are the magnets maybe what lock it in place if it's disabled? Maybe stronger magnets would hold it better? I wish sony would just make it so that a physical system locks the lens in place when stabilization is off. Best of both worlds!! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Glad you learned the "Don't try to beat storms lesson" safely. Not to say I haven't been there a few times myself. I have made the right decision a few times as well though. One load went up (I didn't) only 1 person landed on the DZ. Another guy lost his cutaway handle when he chopped after landing to prevent being dragged. All kinds of havoc can be met trying to beat storms! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

You are jumping off the plane, not flying. You are in the mindset of stepping off something (you have stepped off of MANY things in your life on the ground) which leads to using flailing arms to try and regain balance. You just need to practice it more so you can learn to step off and then fly rather than step off and try to regain balance using techniques ingrained in your head from being on the ground. The hanging exits came much easier because you most likely haven't hung off a lot of things and dropped down on the ground and the times that you were doing that you most likely didn't have to regain balance till you were back on the ground or interacting with the ground (cause most falls are not that far or you would get hurt) So, it's just practiced muscle memory that is causing you to do that. Go up there and exchange that ground knowledge with air knowledge. You will relax a whole lot more by doing it a bunch more and it will just work out. Kind of a just go do it mentality. You said you are able to get stable right away too after a few seconds, so that's one less thing to fear! Have fun! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

If you're hell bent on rushing through things and being "that guy" who is the asshole. Don't come to my DZ. Also, don't take anyone with you, I value the lives of my friends. GL with that attitude. FWIW, if you came on here posting this shit and were a jumper at MY dropzone, you would be looking for a new one or at the very least getting a swift kick in the ass and some education. Part of my bet is that you're just trolling. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Yeah - sometimes it gets worse too. I think about jumping and/or skydiving in general every day. I skim dz.com daily at work and I am on our DZ board. (1/5th DZO) If it's not the cost of jet fuel or how many tandems we are doing, its thinking about head down or that next badass freefly jump I want to do. Or swooping,... or.. or... It goes on and on, gets even worse when you get hurt (just had a vertebrae in my neck broken on a FF jump a couple weekends ago ) and can't jump when you really want to. Now I have 6 months sitting down, least I still managed to do almost 300 jumps this year. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I have a picture of my GF up on the wall at work (i took it of her when we were at the tunnel), she is a skydiver and the picture is amongst some 15 other pictures of skydiving stuff. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I wish that people in law enforcement would just stop being so damn bitter about what they do. You don't have to be a cop. There are lots of other jobs out there. I am not saying this about you Dave, just most of the people I have come across that are cops. So many just get so jaded and bitter its stupid. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I just want to echo what some others have said. It's primarily about flying technique the jumpsuit just helps things. Over the summer this year I have been up quite a bit in weight (i blame a really long winter) and I haven't had to change suits. Just have to "fly" a little slower sometimes. No doubt having the right gear for the situation makes a difference, but flying your body is much more important. The beachball thing doesn't work, I wish people would stop teaching that. If you want to go up you need to spread out your surface area, legs and arms out (supermanish) works much better! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

No kidding. I think I have like, 20 jumps in the last week? Last time I took an "entire" weekend off was winter. Over the 4th I only jumped one day, does that count? Even if it's shitty, I'm still at the dz. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Part of me wishes that people would stop bringing up Lodi. Everyone knows its stupid cheap there and every time it shows up, it makes people feel even shittier about the prices they have to pay at home. Like the people at Lodi want to stick it to everyone else and show how much "better" they are. Just frustrating. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

You and half the skydiving community I'm sure! We really need a good HD quality camera that doesn't shake when freeflying and also uses flash media. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyDvUwRalXY Really?? ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

FWIW, that looks like a less optimal way to stow a chest strap. Just the way that it appears to help lift up the friction adapter which would make it less effective seems like a bad idea. No doubt it's never been a problem for anyone before.. just saying. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Comparing yourself to others is a dangerous game. I mean, that's what competitions are, but they are also supposed to be fun. I guess the point I am trying to make is that while sometimes you want to see how you stack up against someone else, don't worry too much about it. People learn at different speeds and some people have different advantages that let them learn faster. In our student program at my DZ we have had people who could fly mantis before they got their A license and we have had people who could barely dock on a 4-way. In the end, all of them were capable of jumping out of a plane and saving their own life. As long as you can do that you are able to learn and move on! Cessna DZ vs. Turbine DZ can matter sometimes and in other circumstances it doesn't. A lot of it depends on how many jumps you can make in a day and how much exposure you can get. If you are trying to consider how fast you can learn something, repetition (perfect practice makes perfect) lets you learn. If all you can do is 1-2 jumps a weekend, it's going to take you longer to catch on, not a bad thing, just how it is. Just keep jumping and have fun, don't rush through the sport, you're only going to burn out if you try and do that. ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

I HIGHLY recommend phpbb for free forum software. You won't find a free forum that is better. I have used it on so many projects/sites and it has worked flawlessly for me! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Cool thanks! Looks good, this is going to make some of my tandem instructors happy! ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Hasn't shown up on the FAA site yet. Where did this come from? ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

Will it help if I jump on and agree too? Using a toggle to induce speed for landing is MUCH more dangerous than using double fronts or single fronts to turn. Part of me thinks that you are trying to avoid using the front risers because you are afraid to do that dangerous thing that swoopers do and end up getting hurt. In trying to avoid that you have jumped right into doing something that is much more likely to get you injured. Just my $.02 ~D Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me. Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka