skygirl1

CONGRADULATIONS!!!!!

" Mean people SUCK!"

you are completely correct........and even with thousands of jumps I would not consider myself an expert...........all i know is my friend whom is the tandem master has thousands of jumps in and uses this tiny camera that fits by his alti.......and he can film students under canopy............. no offense taken but you should see how small this camera is..........you do not even know he has it on his wrist unless he shows it to you.......... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I jumped a manta which if i remember right was a little bigger than yours..........I am 5'5" and 120 pounds.................my landing approaches were iffy depending on winds........and flaring was harder under such a big canopy........I never got hurt but I was always on radio.........and my dzo would be screaming in that radio if the winds got iffy......I also found that turns under canopy were a little harder and not such a quick response.............i have had jumps where i flared too soon and just kept the toggles down and landed safely........I have had elevator rides under the manta...........ohhhhhhh...what a rush........ now i jump a vector 3 220..................and I love it. If you jump with student wind rules you should be fine...........mantas are old canopies, but you need to feel safe...........so sit down with JM and go through your concerns..........and remember to fly your canopy.....do not let it fly you......... good luck and safe landings skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I lived at my home dropzone in a camper for 4 months...........at first it was cool and fun......then money started running out and I had to go get a job waiting tables between packing and learning to jump....I guess I should add my bf was working as a coach and ground trainer, and airplane mechanic..............but it got old...........hot days.....some cold nights.......plus dropzone politics and so forth........... We kept the camper for boogies and camping, but do not forsee doing that again for more than 1 month or less at a time.......but it was cool waking up to the first load in the morning and jumping out of bed and grabbing your gear to make the load.....skydiving is one of the most important part of our lives..........but you need money to get the money to attain your ratings and classes and gear and all that..........so now we are moving as close to a dropzone as we possibly can get and getting the best of both worlds skygirl1 skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

One of my good friends is a tandem master.....he wears a small camera on his hand..........so the tandem passenger still gets video from a video man....but the master can get up close and personal shots under canopy of his student..........it is really cool...............the small camera on his wrist would not prevent him from cutting away............... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

still a student.........when I first learned in another state they trained to try to clear it by pulling your toggles down 2x......if you cannot clear it cut-away.. It happend to me on my 4th jump.....I tried to clear it but my canopy was spinning faster and faster....i could barely pull the toggles down.....it was a fight under a spinning canopy............I went for my cutaway as soon as the dzo screamed into the radio to cutaway.............the reserve ride was the best canopy ride to date......... once I moved to florida........all my instructers train me to cut it away right away...............if you do happen to clear it.........depending on what line it is and such.........there is a good chance of burning a hole in your canopy...........then you have another problem and still losing altitiude.............from now I am cutting away right away.............they say line overs are slow speed malfunctions.........but they can turn terminal real fast............ one of my good friends is a big guy.........had a line over but began spinning so violently he could not clear it.............cut-away...............said he willl cut away the next one right away if it happens..........I know it is hard getting advice from differant instructors.................find the one your most comfortable with and work with him or her....you will find the answer within yourslef........... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

wow...........i am really getting alot of info here...i guess it is ultimately up to the dropzone and then your personal choice to jump or not........I just know exiting first as a freeflier before students really rubbed him wrong......and I was wondering why.....a lot of good info to take in......... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

In static line the students bail out.........and the plane goes up to altitude for experienced jumpers...but after 4 jumps the student is on free fall...and the students still get out first....yes, the plane might do a second pass for experienced jumpers.......I am sorry for the confusion.......florida is a whole new world of jumping for me....... thanx for all the great info so far skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

GOOD OLD WISCONSIN!!! The cheese head state... seriously.....that is how it is.....everytime I jumped I was out first.........now this is a smaller dropzone where the main progression is static line......and we jump out of a c-182..........but students got out first... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I came from another state........and students always exited first.......i am new to this sport so I have no idea really about this.......that is why I came to this board....all the info is awsome and i take it all in....I am just trying to learn......every dropzone is differant and all have thier own rules.....thanx for all the awsome feedback so far..... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

no....not Z-hills......he is questioning exiting before students..............is it a safety issue??? skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I am a packer and the people i pack for that are jumping bigger or older canopies usually ask me to roll the nose.......it gives them a little bit of a snivler, but a soft opening......i noticed that jumpers who have gotten hurt and suffered broken backs and such usually request athe nose to be rolled at least 1x.......... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

Question......my bf is a freeflier and has always been required to exit last......until we came to florida.........I am still a student and he got on the load to jump and watch my exit......he was told while boarding freefliers go out first.......he just shook his head and followed orders.....he was really pissed off about it and won't jump there anymore......any feedback???? would be appreciated.... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

speaking of misrouted chest straps.....maybe someone can end this debate...........on my 8th jump I was geared up......I checked my gear and it seemed okay to me............after opening I noticed my chest strap was just there and was undone except for the buckle...........i had a chest altimeter on also which was just flying in the wind...........i also had a wrist altimeter on.............that was the most terrifying canopy ride i ever had........... when I landed I was screaming at myslef for not checking my gear good enough.......the person that strapped me in said it was because of the opening and not the way he routed my chest strap........i learned a big lesson..........and now am a freak about gear checks...............to this day we still agrue about it.......................I know in the end it was my fault and my responsibility for my own life...lesson learned...... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I am still a student.......and I got them every jump. Sometimes they were so bad I could barely walk after a day of jumping........ When I moved to florida and continued they put me on a vector 220...........and have never had a bruise since................thank god!!!!

Flip ups are needed.........I don't know this by experience cosidering I am still a student.....almost done though.............but my bf jumped out one day during winter with his rw........it froze up considering it was -20 at altitude........he did try to flip it up but was unable to due to the cold and elements.........he finally pulled when his audible went off and never saw the ground coming.....broke his back....................i know that little story did not have to do much with much.........just a thought for jumpers bailing out on cold winter days...but like has been said........you never know what is gonna happen up there....bloody noses etc........ skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I learned static line and totally agree...70% of openings are line twists..........I guess I never thought much of it due to the fact in training they told us to expect it on the S/L course.........of course if you cannot clear it do something.......and always check your alti. Since I moved to florida and switched to aff I have not had one.........which is really wierd for me.... blue skies and safe landings skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

hey there.....I learned S/L..............my first freefall which was my 4th jump was a lineover......I did what I was taught and tried to clear it.......I bailed out of the plane at 3500 feet.........due to the fact my canopy was spinning I had a hard time snapping the toggles down.............I tried a second time and managed to get them down..........still could not clear it..............cut away...... everyone in the plane said they could see the line moving a little......... I then moved to florida and went to AFF where they teach to cut away right away..........one because I was a student..........and my JM told me he would cut away any lineover due to the fact if he does clear it there is a good chance his canopy will be burned or have a hole in it....... I can tell you that during mine by the second try I was spinning very fast and started frieking out......my muscle memory from training is what saved my butt..........I would say cut away right away..... blue skies and safe landings skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I learned static line and failed my first practice rip-cord pull.....................failed one 15 second delay....and failed Level 5 aff..........and i have 17 jumps in........so 3 fails.............but I just laugh it off and try again............. skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

thank you for all the info...and WOW........I don't understand all the threads about diapers and so forth.........but I am a rookie so what do I expect....very intersting though...........I gave all the info I could to Bf.......I respect the rigger and his judgement.....and if it was me? I would take it in and get a second opinion or a new reserve.........but people do as they do........his choice....but I love learning and reading all of this..... thank you so much..... blue skies and safe landings skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

I am still a student..........so all I can say on this is that I want to know my gear is safe before I put it on......then in the plane I keep doing my checks......and If my instuctor fails to do a last minute gear check on me I ask him too........... I have been at a DZ where I saw jumpers getting on the plane with rigs in hand or just on and no straps hooked up.............I don't get that......... I learned to pack before I jumped.......and I was told as a packer how important checks are......and I was told if I ever became a skydiver to always look at other peoples gear.........I hope that if forget someday someone will tap me on the shoulder to save my life or save me a pack job on my reserve..... skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

....well, I am still a student with 17 jumps in....and i can tell ya that I have stood up only 5 of my landings..............when they say flare....FLARE!...and never forget your practice landing fall training.......as a student you will need it....but it comes.....just practice and learning to judge distance to the ground........in my progression now they don't talk to me on the radio unless need be...and I have been standing them up....trust yourself......but no matter how many jumps you have in.......you are still gonns slide in on your butt...or PLF.... blue skies and safe landings skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

okay folks...............got all the info....... MAKE---GQ MODEL--X-210 rigger said reserve chute is fine...BUT....the pilot chute is weak and the main risers are not airworthy. I guess bf needs to think about safety and quite being stubborn skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"

long day..........I am talking about the same 20 year old reserve of his...........his is the microraven with 2 jumps on it.......we have to pick it up from the dropzone that refuses to do the repack........once we get it I can give you more info........ sorry for the confusion........ skygirl1 " Mean people SUCK!"