KolinskyDC

I spread out my canopy after jumping this weekend because it was a little damp after a few landings in the snow and noticed that there are two 2 inch tears next to each other about and inch apart. Is this something I can put a patch on or sew? Should I wait until I go back up to my DZ next Sunday and have them do it? If I wait til then, by the time I can get up there I won't be able to jump on Sunday. But of course if it is something that needs to be done by a rigger I will wait, but if it is something I can do, I would appreciate someone letting me know what is the best way to repair it myself? Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Seems that way to me, kind of makes me wonder why anyone does it? Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Thanks for correcting me, it just seemed unlikely to lose altitude awareness when you really don't have much altitude to begin with. For those people doing BASE jumps from over 1000 feet, couldn't they use a Cypress? Just wondering. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

What does TARD stand for?? Ok, then my point still applies, because I can't imagine a BASE jumper losing altitude awareness Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Since I am new and was jumping when it was 15 degrees on the ground of course I was jumping this weekend. I went up to Orange today and made a few, was absolutely gorgeous out, hoping next weekend is the same if not better, maybe I will see you up at Jumptown one of these weekends. Melissa P.S. The only complaint I have is that because it was 50 degrees, there was some thawing, so your choices for landing were either mud, slippery wet ice/snow or of course cement but small price to pay for such nice weather in February. "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I agree but it is also the right of the DZ (personally owned business) to not accept that added liablility. ***According to your philosophy, BASE jumping would be outlawed, since it is done from altitudes too low for a Cypress to help. Do you want to ban BASE jumping because it is "too dangerous"? *** I think the biggest reason to use a Cypress is in the event a jumper becomes unconscious and cannot pull, and correct me if I am wrong, this really would not apply to BASE jumping. Don't most (if not all) BASE jumpers either do a static line or have their PC in their hand as they jump. In the event they might become unconscious, they would still end up under a canopy, so an AAD is not necessary, but again someone correct me if I am wrong as I am not a BASE jumper and only know what limited things I have seen with that sport. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I personally do not remember doing an intentional unstable exit while going through AFF, maybe because most of my exits were already unintentionally unstable, but fun as hell A really cool exit I tried this weekend was to step out, presenting my back to the propeller and sort of lying back, really cool to see the plane above your head while lying on your back. For your unstable exit you could try something like that but a second or two after you exit tuck your knees up and throw your head back and just start doing backflips. Have a blast! It was awesome to finally realize that it doesn't matter how you exit or what you exit from, cuz you have plenty of time to get stable, so I find the more unstable the exit, the more fun it is.

I was looking at Boeris for an open faced helmet, which model did you get? I think i tried on the myto switch but it felt like it sat a little high on my head. Just curious which one you had. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I finally broke down and spent the $ for a full faced, got the Z1 and I absolutely love it. I tried on the oxygen, but I did not like how hard it was to get it closed. The Z1 is easy to open and close (once I got rid of the long fingernails), has good field of vision, very comfortable and I love the fact that I can take out the liner and wash it, hate when you try someones helmet on and the inside smells!! I do want to get and open faced for the summer especially when I do some freefly training, not sure which one I will get, still debating on that one. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

If you look through the SIM, there are different recommended pull altitudes for different AFF levels. When I started AFF, I pulled at 5,500, and now at 51 jumps, I pull at 3,500 and do not see myself ever pulling any lower than that (at least not intentionally). I do not know if there is a defined minimum pull altitude stated anywhere, but most people I talk to that have many more jumps than me, pull around 2,500. That seems (to me anyway) to be the lowest to pull and still have enough time to cut away if needed with a safe amount of altitude to have your reserve open. I personally would not feel comfortable pulling that low, but that is just me. One time I lost awareness and was sitting in at 2,000 and was very uncomfortable with that. If I remember correctly (someone correct me if I am wrong), as far as AFF goes, I think the lowest recommended pull altitude was 2,500 ft. Hope that somewhat answers your question. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I disagree, and with this line of reasoning then if you would not have sex with someone who is HIV+, then you should not have sex with anyone. Each scenario must be examined in it's own light. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

That would depend on the individual practitioner. I personally would and have treated both and know many chiropractors that have as well, but that was my decision to make. I also stated earlier in the original thread posted by deadboy2004 that I would have no problem doing a tandem with him, but would expect to be told about the possible risk of exposure prior to making that decision? I am not sure if I am allowed by law to refuse chiropractic care to a patient because they are HIV+, only because it never crossed my mind to not care for them. Actually I wish I had more HIV+ patients. Chiropractic is proven to have positive effects on the immune system, in turn improving the overall health of the patient. I am not sure where you were going with that question. With giving an adjustment, there is virtually no risk of exchanging bodily fluids (at least those fluids that can transmit HIV) but when you are such a close proximity to another human (as with a tandem) and if there is an accident, there is a very real risk of exchanging blood, regardless of how small that risk is, it is still present and I feel that a person (whether it be the student or the instructor) has the right to know of this risk. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

And what about the "right" of the student to know that if there is an accident, he or she may be exposed to contracting HIV. I honestly can't understand people actually thinking that it is right to withhold this information in this scenario. This is not a discussion about ignorance or social stigma as many have stated, but informing someone of a very real risk that they are taking, regardless of how small the chance of it happening. That is their right to make that decision for themselves and no-one has a right to take that away from them. And this attitude of well if there is an instance where there is an accident and bodily fluids are exchanged, then tell them you have HIV, so they can go get anti-virals. That is the most ridiculous, selfish thing I have ever heard. I for one would find it very hard to live with myself if I knowingly withheld this kind of information from someone and then passed this disease on to them. That is immoral, there may not be a law regarding it, but in my opinion there should be. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Not to be harsh, but if your friends at the DZ or anywhere else are not supportive of you then they really aren't friends to begin with. Even though we do not live where you do, we are still here to support you, and I am sure I speak for many here, anytime you want come on out for a visit, would be happy to jump with you. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Where do I get them and what is the best size to use? I have a Sabre 210, don't know if that makes a difference. Is this something I can go buy at Staples or Home Depot or do I have to order them? Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

My thoughts exactly. If by some small chance you do end up bleeding into your student's open wound - and I havn't seen that in 19 years of skydiving - then tell them so they can choose to get antiretrovirals. Otherwise - mum's the word. I admire your courage and honesty. t I completely 100% disagree with this line of thinking on this issue. I personally would have no problem doing a tandem with you, but that is my decision to make, not yours to make for me. It is not your right to make this choice for your tandem student, the risk, however small, is there, and they have every right in the world to know about it. That is my opinion and with that being said {{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}} Many hugs and positive vibes being sent to you by myself and many others here. There are many people that live full lives with this disease, just take good care of yourself and try to remain positive and keep it in your head that you will be fine. I truly believe that a positive mental state has a huge effect on your physical well being. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. Blue Skies! Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

No, but knowing some of the information in it may help to save your life someday. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

1. Not all DZ's do that. That is really unfortunate and one of the reasons why I love my DZ, I always know someone is watching and waiting to tell my all the things I did right as well as wrong, and how to do it better. Yes, I am a female and understand that may be some of the reason I get more attention than some of my male counterparts, that is a reality I have been aware of all my life. But I do see many male students getting extra advice on canopy skills and other aspects of their jumps after they have been cleared for solo. Grasp and understanding yes...But how much understanding and how much of a grasp? People with 1,000's of jumps still get coaching. I have a good "grasp and understanding" of freefall, but I still go to the wind tunnel. I do not disagree that even people with thousands of jumps still have things to learn, but the original subject was regarding students, not skydivers with thousands of jumps. I agree, but most coaching dives focus mainly on freefall skills, at least the ones I have done, which focused mainly on freefall skills. Its called pencil whipping....It happens. I can name four people right now (all with around 600 jumps) that can't pack for themselves, just at Zhills. That is sad. I would think that those people would want to know how to pack and would have sought out someone to teach them by now. 600 jumps x $5 a pack job, $3000, I personally would think of that as more money I could have put towards more jumps. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Simple... Static line you are under supervision longer than AFF. AFF you do it right you are done in 7-8 jumps. S/L it takes 15 or so to be done...On all of those an Instructor is watching you land. So what would make you better? 7 coach jumps under canopy? Or 15? I know this is my own personal experience but I must say, I now have 51 jumps and I still have instructors watching my landings. Maybe that is the way it is at my DZ. But regardless of wether a person goes through AFF, SL or tandem progression, just because you are cleared for solo and instructors do not "have to" watch your canopy skills, at my DZ they still do, which some may not appreciate but I do, and welcome any advice on how to make myself a better canopy pilot. I may be naive but I have to believe that no instructor would clear a student for solo, unless they felt that student has a good grasp and understanding of all aspects of the skydive. And with regards to the SL students being better at packing, the method of training you use should have no bearing on your ability to pack. Again, may sound naive, but how does someone with 600 jumps not know how to pack, unless they have still not obtained their A license, isn't that one of the requirements, must have completely packed a rig with no assistance? Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Sex......what's that?? Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Well that explains a lot! Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

My youngest sister and I went through AFF together last summer and plan on doing a lot more jumping in the years to come. It was really nice to experience that with her and 2 of my friends as well. My middle sister showed some interest so I got her a tandem for Christmas, once she does it in the Spring I have a feeling she will be hooked just like I am. I am gonna start working on my Dad in the Spring also, he says it looks awesome but is a little nervous with his bad back. My mom will never ever do it, I know this for sure, she won't even come up to see me or my sister jump, she just says to call her when we are done so she knows we are ok. She is really against the whole thing. Lastly, and most importantly my four year old son will be doing his first jump in 13 years, 9 months and 24 days, but who is counting? He already runs around the DZ saying "Mommy I want to jump out of the plane" A skydiver in the making! Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

Definitely get yourself under chiropractic care, and as with any profession, there are good ones and not so good ones, if someone has had a bad experience with chiropractic it does not mean that they will not be able to receive good results from chiropractic, maybe they just need a different chiropractor. Also, as a chiropractor, I can testify to the fact that sometimes people get a little worse before they start feeling better, the reason for this is that when you start moving things around, sometimes you irritate muscles and other soft tissues that have adapted to things being in the wrong place. Someone also mentioned traction, this might help as well, it takes some of the pressure off of the discs, and helps stretch out the muscles in the neck. Work on strengthening the muscles in the back of the neck. If you can train yourself to sleep on your back with a good supportive pillow, this will also help. Make sure this is good support for the curve in your neck, it helps take pressure off of the front of the discs, which is usually the reason that discs will degenerate and star bulging towards the back of the disc. Hope it helps Melissa PM me if you would like me to find some names of chiropractors in your area, my school has a directory of chiropractors in all areas. "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I would definitely grab that one while you can. As someone mentioned earlier, you can always rent a 260 or a 230 few a while before trying out your new 210, but I have a feeling you won't need to. I went from a 260 (student canopy) to a 210 (Sabre) and I can land much better with the 210 then I ever did with my huge student canopy, go figure, thought it was going to be the other way around. They start us all on the huge beasts of canopies because we are just getting started and they are very forgiving. You could also get your rig, then have PD send you a demo in a larger size and try it out for a few jumps, so you feel more comfortable before jumping the 210. You should definitely run this by your instructors first regardless, they know how well you fly, but it sounds like a pretty good deal, I would jump on it if I were you...pun intended. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"

I just got back from Lake Whales myself, put my rig in a carry-on bag (fit perfectly) had no problem bringing it on with me. I feel that if there is gonna be a problem, you might as well be right there to deal with it yourself, plus I really wanted it with me to make sure nothing happened to it, or have it end up God knows where. They did not even ask what it was when I put it through the x-ray machine, but of course they made me take my shoes off. You should be fine, make sure you have your license, cypress card and that letter from the TSA regarding traveling with a parachute. Have a blast in Lake Whales, awesome place with really nice people, was sad to leave and return to this bitter New England weather. Melissa "May the best of your past be the worst of your future"