Kris

Richard, Richard, Richard... You're putting words into my mouth. My definition of "plenty of daylight" is getting out with time to spare on a sunset load. Not everyone jumps at a turbine DZ. We jump Cessna DZ's here in OK. We could have a longer than normal climb time, traffic hold, ATC hold, etc... Point is, shit happens. As for not jumping, that's certainly a decision that could be made but a low-time jumper may either not fully appreciate the new set of hazards now present or may not want to be seen as less of a person / skydiver for not going. Nobody is bashing you because you choose not to do a night jump, I merely don't agree with your argument to abolish them. Again, a D license is a choice... It is not bestowed, it is earned. One of the requirements just happens to be one that you are not comfortable with. That's understandable, but don't bash it. If you're really that displeased with it, contact USPA, do something about it. But, until the requirements change or someone does something about it, that is what you will have to do to get yours. Kris D-26033 Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

He may have been stating the obvious but you can't fault him for posting the truth, Richard. Believe it or not, there are some up-jumpers who may read that thread and think skydiving is perfectly safe. I think it was a worthy post, in my opinion. Kris D-26033 Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Richard, you're right...skydiving isn't safe. But I can definitely see the need for the requirement. I have been on loads that have gone up with plenty of daylight left but we haven't been able to get out of the plane until almost dark because of traffic or other issues. In those cases, having the information I recieved from a night jump brief and the experience from a pre-planned night jump would have been a godsend. Instead, it lead to some sore muscles and a torn jumpsuit. You don't have to get a night jump. There's nothing stopping you from keeping your C-license for as long as you want, provided that you don't aspire for a rating higher than Coach. I am the recently converted on this issue. I too never wanted to do one but needed to get my D to keep my rating. I received a brief from a great S&TA, we had everything planned out, and we (the jumpers) were constantly communicating and watching out for each other. Truthfully, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. To call it a beautiful experience would do it an injustice. If you have the canopy skills to qualify for a D, there is no reason why a well-planned jump should be a problem. If nothing else, you can always petition the USPA for a restricted D. Kris D-26033 Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

You want the IA32 drivers. The IA64 & AMD64 are for Intel Itanium & AMD Hammer 64-bit CPU based systems. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Don't forget my weather report, Val! 900:2:1 900 miles driven to Skydive San Marcos to hang with Phreezone & Jess 2 awesome jumps 1 case for a new DZ (but they already had beer) I met up with Jess & Phree at SSM on Saturday morning and yes, I was wearing shorts under my jumpsuit for the first dive. The runway was wet so we had to shuttle in trucks to an airport 20 mins away to load up. To say that two truckloads of skydivers get odd looks while barrelling down back TX roads is an understatement. SSM is a great DZ with nice facilities and even nicer people. They really made me feel at home just a few minutes after showing up. First dive was a launched HD that broke to sits with Phree. Got a nice dock on his foot. The King Air bit me on exit & took a chunk out of my palm. What impressed me though, was the fact that when SSM staff heard about it they immediately asked for details so they could make sure it didn't happen again. Second dive was to be a 5-way hybrid with me & Phree as hangers. I would have been there, really, if it wasn't for the fact that I got my rig stuck in the door of the plane. There I was, hands out ready for a Superman-class swoop and I'm stuck in the plane. I finally get out and there's no way I'm getting there in time so I hang off to the side & watch. Phree decides to go ahead and hang on an un-even formation for the hell of it. and the results are, ahem, spectacular. I've never seen bodies flung like that before. I must get a copy of that video! Sunday was a little too windy for me and I felt a bit odd. Found out after I was almost all the way home what that was after I became completely congested instead of partially so at least I got to keep my eardrums. If you're ever in the area, check out SSM! Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

You live in Yukon, does that make you the Garth Brooks fan club President? Ass. And I would offer you a free jump but there's a catch, you have to talk the wife into letting you jump more than once every three months. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Theoretically this is true but it doesn't hold up in the real world. See this post: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=355701;search_string=search_string;guest=615094#355701 BTW, FireWire2 is now starting to hit the market and is already available on new Macs. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Highly doubtful. Even if it were available, your laptop more than likely won't support ATA-5. You can make up a bit for the lack of low HDD latency with a faster laptop but it all comes down to CPU utilization and buffering. A prime example would be newer Apple Powerbooks. I have seen one chop up pure DV feed like it was a Cuisinart and throw it back to a camera with no dropped frames. I've also seen the same done on a Pentium-4 Sony VAIO. Here, your best bet would be to buy an external FireWire box ($65 at CompUSA) and throw a standard 3.5" 7200, 8MB cache HDD into it. The big advantage with this solution is that you can now easily transport the data to another PC with an IEEE-1394 interface. You also keep the speed advantage because you aren't limited by your on-board IDE controller, you are now running at full FireWire speed. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

The Velcro only has to support the drag of the canopy, not the weight of the jumper. Wierder things have happened. Also remember that nothing is impossible, just improbable. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

I can't believe I missed this thread... Anyway...here's the scoop: I live in south OKC (actually Moore) and I primarily go to two DZ's. Skydive Hinton and Skydive Dallas. Skydive Hinton is just under an hour away from OKC and runs a fast Cessna 205 & a 172. The vibe is excellent, the facilities are great (can you say indoor climate-controlled packing? I thought you could) and the people are wonderful. There's a good mix of both FF and RW and there are a couple of aspiring CRW dogs (when the weather isn't freezing). Skydive Dallas is the closest turbine DZ, located in Whitewright, TX. From my place it's a 2 1/2 hour drive, exactly. But I drive really fast. SDD has an Otter and a Caravan, huge packing areas, a great little cafe, gear store, and full-service rigging loft. There's always something going on at SDD with a good amount of organizing as well. I can't tell you much about the Tulsa DZ's as I haven't made it there yet but I trust Don's (Skydiver51) review. If Don says the vibe is there then it's there. The DZ in Cushing is a student-oriented DZ and the DZO has stated previously that he really doesn't want experienced skydivers. Couple that with the fact that they run a lot of students and one 182 (with another on-call if there are enough students) and you can bank on making maybe 1 or 2 jumps a day if you are really lucky. The student program at Cushing is simply top-notch with great instructors, excellent gear, and a focus on safety. But it's not your place if you're an experienced jumper. Now...here's the other hidden benefit of living in OK, when the weather is bad during the winter, warm air is only a few hours away in south TX. Cost of living is incredibly cheap, there is plenty of things to do no matter your age bracket, and the tornado's arent' *that* bad. If you have any other questions, drop me a PM and I'll be happy to help. Also, come see us at Hinton and the first jump is on me! Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Exactly. I jump my Stiletto 190 at 1.35:1 but I really wouldn't want to jump a Stiletto 120 at that same wing-loading with my current experience level. Big speed & performance difference... Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Also keep in mind that the colors you get still may not match the color on the fabric samples. The colors can change a bit from one bolt of fabric to the next. This is also why it is important to send your rig / canopy back immediately if it wasn't created properly. If they have to replace a section there's a higher chance they'll have an exact color match still in stock. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Yeah, that was my take too. It should have a pure HTML version for those on dial-up or limited bandwidth. Also for those who just don't like Flash/Shockwave. There are some websites that I won't visit that are pure flash just because of the way I navigate, even with a broadband connection. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

The Honda Del Sol is one of the heaviest Hondas that were made. The things are tanks with all of the re-inforcement added due to the targa top. Glad to hear you came out of it okay. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Get the serial number of the rig from the seller and contact Infinity. They should be able to pull up the build record for the rig and tell you the harness sizing. If it's too far off to fit you, the manufacturer can rebuild the harness. Keep in mind, a harness rebuild can run from $200 USD to $500 USD depending on the options & manufacturer. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Sounds like it's possibly an Infinity. That size would refer to the size of canopies that it will take for the main & reserve. You can contact the manufacturer at http://www.velocityrigs.com/ You might also send a private message to "KellyF" which is Kelly Farrington, the designer and producer of the Infinity. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

That's normal. The crossports are cut out with a hot-knife and, since they don't see much stress, do not require reinforcement. However, you and/or your rigger should be inspecting your main canopy every repack and you should check the stitching, the top & bottom skin, attachment points, lines, internal ribs and the crossports. On the crossports you're checking to make sure there are no rips or tears. If there is a small rip or tear it can be patched in seconds by having your rigger trim it with a hot-knife. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Since I've gotten more into freeflying I've changed over to a soft handle. Mine is a Mirage and it has the tube inside for an easier grasp. This fits within my comfot level since I've already had a cutaway (okay, two) before getting the handle, and as an Instructor I have hundreds of practice pulls from teaching students. Ultimately, the choice is yours. Check out a soft handle on your DZ if you get a chance. I like mine and wouldn't change it for anything. The positives outweigh the possible negatives for me. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

That's what I heard when I called them trying to order one last week. I really want one of those. The geek gadget freak in me demands it. It's gonna be a long 8 weeks... Kris Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Kreg, You're gonna need to stock up on two things before she arrives... Twirly cookies and Tropicana Pure Premium orange juice with no pulp and double vitamin C. Those should keep her at bay for at least long enough to get from the airport to a safe place. Kris "Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball" Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

You mean 131221? Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[replyDamn, you don't look a day over 29 1/2. Thanks!

Yup. But then again, I'm 30. And I work for the Hertz Corporation Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

An AAD is a completely different mindset where you are taught to set it and forget it, except in how it changes your emergency procedures. Most people are only reminded that they have an AAD when two things happen: When they turn it on and when it fires. You are reminded that you have an audible on almost every jump. The key word there is almost. I myself use a ProTrack and it's the greatest device on the planet. But it has failed to do its job three times with no warning. Shit happens. When did I realize that fact? After I landed and I realized I hadn't heard it and that it didn't record my dive after looking at it. Why did it take me so long to realize it? Because I'm not used to hearing anything other than the breakoff tone while I'm already tracking away. Some students are really great at looking at a wrist mount alti in freefall but, you know what? The numbers on the face just aren't registering with them. Your JM will let you know he has noticed your lack of cognizance by trying to move your hand to your deployment, failing that he'll dump you out himself. As for the JM not being there, again, shit happens. Students do weird things, even ones that did perfect the day before. You need to understand that your JM is a backup. You are solely responsible for your skydive, not your JM. My ProTrack is set 600 feet below my normal break-off and deployment altitudes. A few weeks ago I was so busy concentrating on getting the next freefly dock that I completely missed that we had just hit breakoff until I heard the tone. It's one of the very few times I have lost awareness and it makes me uneasy every time. My check, in order, is to use my eyes, then my wrist-mount. I failed to use either. So, what did I do? I called it a day, right then & there at 11am and got real introspective with myself. In that case, my ProTrack did it's job. However, my ProTrack's only job is to tell me when I have severely screwed up. Anyone can lose alti-awareness, but it's an easier trap when you add more devices that can build dependance. Skydiving is all about risk management. Like Lisa said, you can do everything right and still die, but it is up to you to make you as safe as possible. You're asking some great questions and getting some good responses. Never stop learning or questioning. It's one of the things that will keep you safely active in this sport for a long while. Best of luck on the rest of your AFF and welcome to the sky. Kris USPA IAD-Instructor '03 Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

I've got to agree with Eric & Jess on this one. Consider yourself lucky if you get a t-shirt. Mistakes do happen, and it happened to me, but as long as they're willing to make it right in a short amount of time, there is absolutely zero room for complaint or pushing for additional merchandise on their dime. Kris Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™