gus

On the recommendation of my mentor I've started to write down my first BASE jumps. It's a good idea, it lets me relive them again in my head and it'll give me something to look back on in years to come and laugh at how scared I was . So I thought I'd put them online. I know there are alot of interested skydivers who read this forum and maybe it can give people a little insight in to what it's actually like. I'm not a great writer so forgive me if it comes across as a bit hokey or melodramatic, I don't mean it like that. As a wise man once said to me, "It's not the same without the fast edits and banging soundtrack". You can read what I've written here. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I think the Classic II has 2 zips up the front rather than 1 but I don't think there are any major differences. Buy that suit! Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Didn't we all have to re-register some time in late Feb 2001? I don't think you'll find any reg dates before then. Mine says Feb 27, 2001, 11:30 AM. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Too true. In my (limited) experience PD seem normally to be pretty astute. They could have called the Sabre2 anything they liked but they kept the Sabre name and the instant recognition that comes with it. I wonder whether they were planning on releasing the Katana earlier but have hit a delay for some reason? Anyone remember how long they teased us with the Sabre2 before it was actually available? Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

There may have been one person with more than 30 jumps but he's the dangerous type that encourages you to huck yourself off fixed objects and buy small skydiving canopies. Strangely enough that's why I like him now! So 'fess up Mr P, I don't know the story of your introduction to the nylon crack. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I know this is true of many things in life but it struck me the other day how my skydiving 'career' has been shaped by a few small events and decisions. I'd wanted to do a tandem for years but the friend of mine who always said he'd come with me always bottled it. Then one day, a couple of days before I was due to go back up to uni, I thought "fuck it, I'm doing it on my own" I phoned my local dz and - as luck would have it - got a cancellation on the day before I had to go back to uni. If that person hadn't cancelled I wouldn't have jumped. I wouldn't have spent 9 months saving for AFF and maybe I wouldn't be a skydiver today. I'm not a particularly chatty or forward person but I was sat in the dz bar one night and some guy was putting on some video of his recent wingsuit jumps. So I went up to him, started chatting about it and next morning I made my first wingsuit jump. Had I sat there and just thought how awesome that looked I might not be hooked on the nylon crack today. And I might not be able to count that guy as one of my friends. From day 1 of AFF I always wanted to BASE jump. I'd talked with a BASE jumping friend of mine about starting and finding a mentor. I missunderstood something he said about him mentoring me and I resigned myself to having to wait. Then a chance comment I made a few weeks later sorted out the missunderstanding, I went on a fjc and made my first jump with him a few weeks ago. Had I not made that single comment imagine how different my life would be! 3 big things in my life that have all hinged on small decisions and comments. Amazing, eh? I'm sure everyone has similar stories so why not share them! Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

He had someone else's spare suit who was, luckily for me, happy to let me jump it

A little under 400 jumps and probably less than 200 in the previous 12 months but it was at the end of the summer so I was nice and current. I was briefed up by a guy that I'd met in the bar the previous evening! He had about 30 wingsuit jumps but at the time that was about as experienced as it got at my home dz. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

The reviews seem a bit mixed. From what I've heard Parasport Italia doesn't have a great reputation for customer service. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I'm really lazy about filling in my logbook and I'd be lost without the logging that the ProTrack does. It's worth it just for that. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I think PD have made a bit of a marketing error by teasing us too early with the Katana. I'm bored of waiting! Before the prevalance of the Internet (and sites like this) maybe you could get away with putting ads in magazines for a couple of months but dz.com lets us talk the bloody thing to death and still we don't know much about it. Just thinking out loud really. I ordered a Crossfire2 last week. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Yes it happened. I know Gary (who started this thread) and the guy who was given the wrong canopy. It's no 'story' but I think the 'agressive selling policy' comment was meant more tongue in cheek than it's been taken. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I've developed the bad habit of sit flying with my arms too far back. I subconciously compensate by having my knees slightly too bent - so I'm falling down the tube because the forward drive created by my arms is cancelled out by the backwards drive created by my shins - but it annoys me! I see alot of people sit flying hunched over, like the seat has just fallen out of their chair. Both of these are, IMHO, bad habits because it means your natural position isn't as neutral as it might be. Here's a good example of my dodgy sit position. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I think they must be. If you stab the toggles/rear risers to pull out of a dive the weight that your canopy is supporting increases (as the g forces increase) and that alone will change the point at which the canopy stalls. Just my £0.02. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I think he means twisting it up so fast that your canopy looks like the blades of a helicopter rotating above you. Yes you can do it on purpose but I doubt it would be much fun unless you're up way high with an intentional cutaway rig on

About me: 700 jumps in 3.5 years. 200 on my Sabre2 120 @ 1.5. Spectre 135 and 150 before that. Openings: This is my only real quibble. The openings on my Sabre2 have ranged from absolutely text book, soft, on heading to the occasional one which dives and turns hard enough to put a twist in. Having said that I've never chopped it and I've been happy enough to jump it with my wingsuit. Flight: Toggle turns are quick with little oversteer. Hanging on the rear risers flattens the glide noticeable. Flying around in deep brakes, bumping end cells with friends is easy and the canopy feels very solid. Front riser pressure is the lowest of any canopy I've jumped. Low speed stalls are gentle and predictable but the recovery can be quite violent. Landings: Compared to my Spectres this canopy is an absolute dream to land! It has so much flare that even after a nice front riser approach and a little swoop it puts you down gently. It's rare that I have to run out a landing. Front riser input will dive the canopy more than I expected and you can generate quite a lot of speed, even with just a nice 90 degree turn. Pull off a well timed 180 and you'll go as far as many people on their Stilettos. Gentle carves during landing are quite possible, through leaning in the harness or steering with the toggles. Conclusion: I've just ordered a Crossfire2 to quench my need for speed but my Sabre2 has been great. It was a definate step up in performance from my Spectre 135 but it was tens times more fun! Gus

Nice job dude! No excuses for not turning out some good stuff when you get a camera. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Thanks for your input Elvis . Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

That sounds great, thanks Spike. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Ok, I tried that but didn't find anything. Were you thinking of something in particular or just eBay in general? Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

I've never been to the nationals before so forgive the stupid questions but how does it work? Does each team go with a pre-coreographed routine or are they given one there and then? How are the teams judged? I looked on the BPA website but couldn't find anything useful. Thanks, Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

Does anyone know where you can get custom pull up cords printed? Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

The guy in the red is my best mate Ric Kent. I've probably done more jumps with him than without him - so he ends up all over my footage. Which he loves!

Interesting. It almost looks like he's attaching the brake lines to each other, something like a BASE tailgate. I've heard of people doing it in skydiving but I've never actually seen it and I wouldn't try it without talking to Icarus first. Gus OutpatientsOnline.com

You're very welcome! If you're interested then I finished Outpatients 3 recently. All between 12 and 14k I think, nothing unusual. I'm with Ori by the way, I absolutely love tracking. There's a little clip towards the end of OP3 where I track off from a flat dive and you can really see the horizontal speed - awesome. And if you like tracking you'll love Birdman