yoink

Good to see you posting, dude. I hope Joey listens to you. Hope your recovery is going as well as possible.

I have my sights set on swooping. OK. 1) Now. Do as Aggie suggests and go to the swooping forum. 2) Be honest about your experience and goals, and start looking for a coach. Nobody wants you NOT to swoop, people just want you to go about it the right way and the reason for that isn't to limit how fast you progress - it's because swooping is like a pyramid of skills with the bottom layer being a solid foundation in canopy flight, accuracy, all that good stuff. The top layer is that sick 720 rotation with a 700ft surf, but you CAN'T do that without the layers beneath and a good coach will help you through all of those. 3) Most importantly at the moment, you HAVE to understand that you don't need a small canopy to start swoop lessons. Yeah, you'll need a highly loaded crossbrace for a 600' surf eventually, but simply having the gear doesn't mean you'll get the result - you need the skills and experience to make the gear perform, so focus on getting those and the results and canopy progression will come naturally. How fast they come depends on how frequently you jump and your natural talent - some people DO progress faster than others, but it's a case of doing stuff in 800 jumps rather than 1000 for someone else. It's NOT a case of doing something in 100 jumps rather than 1000 - talent doesn't make up for that much difference in experience. Keep that in mind. Your other option is to ignore everything said here because you know better, and the community at large is just trying to hold you back. Buy a Katana 120, find somewhere to jump it and try to work out how to swoop on your own. You may think you're better than most. You may think that you'll be conservative, but you're not, and you won't. You WILL get hurt. Send Sangi a PM - ask him what he thinks about this. I'd be really interested to read his reply.

The point of skydiving isn't to jump as small a canopy as possible. It's not a goal you should even have in your mind. It's not a goal, period. I can't think of a single discipline where the person with the smallest canopy is the winner. Your canopy is a tool that you pick for the job you have in mind. It's not the job itself. Honestly - the only people who might think you're awesome for jumping a small canopy are absolute newbies, or morons you want to stay as far as possible from. Pick a skill-based goal that you're aiming for. It may be you want to do wingsuiting in the future, or you want to get into swooping. Now come up with a progression that lets you get there. Given we know nothing about you, I'm going to assume you're right at the beginning, so for swooping find a mentor and be honest about what you want to do. They'll teach you drills and skills that you can develop as your jump numbers grow that are appropriate for your skill level. When you've mastered (MASTERED, not just 'done a few') those then it's time to drop a canopy size and remaster them, all the while adding more experience. You're asking questions that translate to 'I want to be as dangerous as possible, while administratively getting away with it' and that raises HUGE red flags about your entire atttitude - now that may not be your intent - communicating over a forum can easily give the wrong impression. How about this - what do you want to achieve? Simply answer that, and we'll be able to give good advice. Even if you say 'I want to fly the smallest possible canopy in the shortest possible time', there's an answer. (Find a kickass canopy coach and HAMMER out the jumps, but progress in stages).

PETA are the nutters who campaigned to rename fish to 'Sea-Kittens'. Nothing they do will ever surprise me...

Naysayers be damned. That's fantastic!

Then you've learned nothing whatsoever. Just look at the demographic analysis of the election. That should be your lesson. Thanks for your opinion on what I've learnt or what I should take away. I'll be sure to ask you next time I want to have an opinion of my own... I've rarely seen such an arrogant and pompous statement - and I'm English! Almost none of the TV or radio advertising I've heard over the last several months were detailed unbiased discussions about policies of either party. I'm sure that information was available, but the signal to noise ratio was MASSIVELY outweighed by both parties slagging each other off or talking about why the other guy is wrong - not why theirs is the RIGHT way. That's a juvenile way to win an argument.

This is my first election living in the US and I've learnt one thing, It's not about policies. It's a personality contest that's run via advertising.

As long as you have the House of Representatives and the Senate controlled by separate parties, and the people in those institutions more interested in chest-beating and damning-the-eyes of the opposite party and voting against each other out of spite and bloody-mindedness, then no, nothing substantial will change. If the President and the leader of the House could come to a public agreement to dismiss any of their members who displayed an attitude of 'I'm not supporting x because it's THEIR idea' (regardless of whether it's good for the country or not) then MAYBE something would change... hahahaha. Pigs will fly first. fuck. Now I'm depressed.

What the fuck did I just watch??

MAYBE there are exceptions... there usually are to any situation. The problem is that once you've made one exception, everyone thinks that they're one. That's why posts or even opinions from experienced jumpers like yours are both profoundly unhelpful, and profoundly ignorant of skydiving as a larger community. You set a precedent that you dont' give a shit about defending and maybe several months from now some newbie DGIT will come across your post and use it as justification for doing something they're not ready for, and they'll get in trouble. Rules, or guidelines if you prefer, have to be set for the lowest denominator - the commonly least competent person. Or are you OK with a few people a year killing themselves and others because they were jumping a camera before they were ready? What's the number you're comfortable with? How about this? We try to change it for 2 years - a trial period. Anyone over 50 jumps can wear one, and you can tell me in 2 years time if you think the benefit has been worth the cost... Fortunately, this thread has moved beyond a simple camera issue, and is (in my opinion) far more valuable to a new jumper as a lesson on how NOT to solicit advice.

Agggh!... NO! Why do you seem to have this absolute need to correct everyone, even on subjects you know nothing about? It's irritating as hell. Try to get this into your head, because you're driving people nuts (You've even made BillVon hand out an internet bollocking.. I don't think I've EVER seen that before) - You have ZERO idea of how much attention wearing a camera takes. None. Zilch. Zip. Any judgement you may have on it is simply made up. You're taking advice from people who have decades worth of time in the sport and going 'OK, I see what you're saying but I think..." and it doesn't matter what you think at this point. You have no knowledge that's worth basing a judgement on because you don't have the experience, and the sooner you start to understand that exceptionally simple fact, the safer you'll be. Let me ask you this. If you saw a low-time jumper at your dropzone who was approached by an extremely experienced swooper who said 'Hey dude. Your flying is really sketchy. You're going to kill someone if you don't back off some,' and the newer jumper replied 'Thanks, but I think I'll be fine. I know my limits', would you think that's a good answer? Would you want to be in the air or on the plane with someone who's demonstrating that attitude? After all, it might be you they take out... Asking questions of experienced people to further your knowledge is great! It should help you to have a long and safe skydiving career. Asking questions and then discounting the answers because you don't agree (despite your lack of knowledge on the subject) is displaying stupendous arrogance and is a pointless exercise in self justification. Don't kid yourself - asking questions is only useful if you do something with the answers...

This is a huge factor. When I had about 70 jumps the camera of choice for skydiving was the Sony PC101 - I was a student at the time. They were about £1000 in the shops... not counting the cost of a camera helmet and lens. That's a significant cost and investment, and I always saw it as a grand I could rather spend on jumps. A go pro is about $150... people spend that in a weekend jumping.

Thanks for the info guys. Some fantastic stuff here!

Cheers Squeak. That's my intuition too.

I've heard exactly the same bullshit from Southwest, United and American. If it's 'Weather Related' they don't need to do anything about it - offering hotels overnight etc, and it's up to the person putting the data into the computer what the reason is... surprise surprise - almost everything goes in as 'Weather Related'. It must look better on their record. Last August I landed in San Diego and was held on the runway for over an hour as the pilot was telling us 'there isn't room at the gate for us'. I missed my connection and was told I'd have to get the flight out in the morning and that I could 'sleep in the airport' because the delay was 'Weather Related'... in San Diego. After we'd landed. It was fucking 85 degrees and clear out. I'm still furious. They all pull the same shit.

So I have a quick question I'm hoping someone knows the answer to... In level flight (no control inputs and assuming a symetrically balanced load), is the load EQUALLY distributed between line groups? Ie. If there is 100 pounds distributed between a single A, B, C and D set of lines, do they each assume 25lbs of load or is it unequal, or does it depend on the canopy and trim? Speculation is welcome, but please say if you're making a guess! My gut feeling is that it should be divided into 2 equal sets of loadings dependant upon the lines / canopy... One set of loading per riser group. I'm really hoping I don't need to build some sort of simulation to work out the answer! Anyone?

I'd say it's entirely dependent upon the size and type of canopy, and the familiarity the jumper has with flaring one-handed. If you're not used to it (or don't have altitude or time to practice) it can be easy to accidently induce a turn when flaring with both toggles in one hand - you naturally pull slightly to the side. If you're jumping a large, docile canopy this turning impact may well be worse than just leaving everything stowed and taking a PLF. The twitchier a copy is, the worse this problem will be... On the other hand, if you're under a canopy that comes out of the sky like a rocket with a steep glide, there's a decent chance it'll break you if you don't try and level out some. That's why we recommend canopy experience and drills before people get onto HP canopies - People on them have enough experience to weigh up this entire conversation in a couple of seconds (as everything is going wrong) before rationally deciding on a course of action, and have the ability to carry it through. If you find yourself in this situation when you're on a tiny, highly loaded canopy, and you're injured to the point that you're trying procedures for the first time as you're going along without the experience to guide your judgements, well, you put yourself in that position you dumb bastard! .. my sympathy for that sort has person has gradually eroded over the years!

Chances are that you don't need a tracking suit... just learn to track well. Most people don't, but then throw a hissy fit if you suggest that to them. Get some coaching specifically for that if it's what you're into.

Use full scuba gear to get your wingloading up. May as well get a good swoop on while you're at it!

Does it have nicks like this all over the canopy or something?

I ask because I like to sleep at night. Haven't you heard? Skydiving is a business now, not a family... Screw everyone else - grab whatever you can & so long as you're happy, who cares about anyone else?

It's a single beer penalty, but I can work with it!

some times we tend to over react. i'm lucky in that respect. You're such a fucking cretin on every single count that my brain spasms at the thought that there may be other people like you. You call them morons and stand on your soap box? You're a racist, egotistical, sexist bigot, and you have the effrontery to be indignant about an entire race?! And no - that isn't opinon. You've proven it a dozen times over with your posts on this site. I'd much rather sit down by a bonfire with a 'camel fucking arab' than you. Seriously, if we're ever at the same dz, stay the fuck away from me.

Any time you're exiting out of the usual sequence, in this case AFTER a tandem, you need to keep in mind that it's an unusual skydive and increase your paranoia levels a couple of notches. Start THINKING. Give a good long count, and make sure you're watching the tandem when they go. Try and keep them (or at the very least their general area) in vision during your skydive - if you're doing maneuvers that are likely to have you moving all over the place, or likely to lose orientation, save them to another jump. Tandems have a BIG 'don't fuck around' zone of airspace around them. Get some basic coaching for freefly BEFORE you start trying to figure it out on your own - even just a few jumps. It'll help in the long run as you won't have to unlearn a shitty position. It'll also be the quickest way to get all the sliding under control.

...the rest of the story: If you are landing and you don't know how your canopy is going to flare...all bets are off....except the one that says you put yourself into that position by not testing it before landing. And that has nothing to do with canopy make/model. True to a point, but you have to admit, some canopies are more forgiving than others of less-than-perfect technique. In the same way that we put students and newer jumpers on mains that are forgiving of piloting errors, maybe that's not a bad thing to carry through to reserves...