tigra

Started when I was 34, I'm 39 now. Age is just a number.....

Jimmy, BREATHE! slow down! Start small, buy yourself a pair of goggles, maybe some gloves. That should be all you need to get through AFF. Then work on an altimeter, helmet, and maybe a jumpsuit, depending on the type of skydiving you want to focus on. You should still be able to borrow or rent these items for a while after you graduate from AFF. Finally, look into buying a rig. AFTER you have some jumps under your belt and a better idea what you want or need. There are so many options out there, from top of the line brank spanking new custom ordered to a nice inexpensive used rig that will fit the bill for now without breaking the bank. But for starters, just get through AFF. Focus on that, don't stress over the gear or the money just yet. One thing at a time.......

amen, brother!

Lisa, Just to clarify, Roger Nelson is high profile and does take a lot of criticism for things he actually does, right or wrong, good or bad. I just don't see the point in fueling that with a statement that is untrue. Andy implied that Roger "experimented" with using the Stiletto as a student canopy, and later replaced the Stilettos with Safires. That simply is not true, and that was all I was trying to clarify. Just trying to play fair here......

To clarify, Skydive Chicago did not use the Stiletto as a student canopy, but would occasionally put an ADVANCED student who showed good canopy skills under a lightly loaded Stiletto. (still on radio, of course) At no time were student canopies replaced with Stilettos, however, there are some available as rentals. In 1996, when I started, the student canopies were Sabres (which was unheard of at the time). In 98, I think it was, they switched to the Safire, and now they are using Sabre 2s. Sorry, Andy, but doesn't Roger get enough flaming?

Hooked, You are not too old! Go for it if it is something you really want to do! Follow your heart and live. Skydiving keeps you young! maura

Depends on how cheap is cheap. You can get a new one for $850.00- $900.00 if you shop around or wait for a special. The factory check, new batteries plus reserve repack will run around $250.00. And if the life of a cypres is only 12 years, then you have 4 and 1/2 years to go. If the person is asking $600.00 and you will need to spend another $250.00 in just a few months, then you might as well buy new. Personally, I don't think I'd pay more than $300.00 for a 7.5 year old cypres due for its check in. Just my .02

I used to wear sunglasses all the time. I jumped a factory diver without the visor. With the right pair of shades, I could take the helmet off or put it on while wearing them. I didn't use a strap or anything, just a snug fitting pair of sunglasses. But they'll get loose if you are in a steep dive, and don't take too well to sitflying either. I think over maybe 200 jumps, I lost one contact lens and one pair of sunglasses while I was jumping. Not bad. For now, I have the visor back in my helmet. The glare really doesn't bother me in freefall, and I keep my sunglasses in my jumpsuit so I can put them on when I land. Fogging hasn't been an issue as long as I wait til jump run to put my helmet on. By the way, I think the very first piece of skydiving equipment I bought was goggles! Used student goggles are icky! For $15.00 you can put that whole pink eye issue to rest!

My condolences, Viking. But how lucky you were to have known him! Peace

How about talking "Uncle Roger" into a slumber party in the lounge?

I've read my cypres manual. Was the jumper renting gear, or was this his own? Where I jump, all of our student and rental gear is equipped with the expert cypres. But I have gone through static line jumpmaster training and know the limitations of the student cypres and FXC. Any jumpmaster would know to turn the unit off, and the jumper should have been briefed as well, especially if he was renting unfamiliar gear. If that was his own gear, shame on him! Same with the elevation differences. Am I wrong in assuming that a jump pilot should be aware of this as well? If I was a jump pilot, I'd want to know what type of aads the student rigs are equipped with at the dz I was flying for. That's just too scary........

Chris, Remember, I'm a big wimp when it comes to jumping in the cold! I'll be back at SDC when its 50 and sunny! Maybe sooner, just to check the trailer and take care of some business, but probably not this weekend. Too much to do..... The new grad safety seminar plus party sounds like a good time. I'll definately be there for winter expo, and safety weekend, if not sooner. See ya! maura

Have fun Chris! Do you have your rig all put together??? maura

Those are great. Thanks for sharing. I never really knew my grandparents. You are lucky to have them in your life. maura

or when someone flies under the formation and steals the air. There's lots of ways to funnel formations.

How many jumps do you have and are you a USPA member? Skydive Chicago *MIGHT* let you jump depending on the answers, but would probably make you take (pass) a written test first, talk with you, and check your log book. Also, Skydive Chicago's student canopies are Sabre 2s with maybe a few Safires available for rental gear, and all their student systems are boc throwouts. If you have no experience with the higher performance canopies, its probably not smart to start at a new dz. Other dzs may want you to do at least one "level 8" type coach dive. (Do they still call them that?) A few years ago, I was expected to do this at Skydive Dallas. At the time, I had about 65 jumps and an A license, with a B on the way and my own gear waiting for me in Chicago. I didn't mind because I really didn't want to jump alone. They were concerned about my safety. Its really not about "skygods", its about safety. Please don't take this personally, because I don't know you or how many jumps you have or how often you jump. But low time jumpers who don't stay current can be a danger to themselves and others. A responsible DZ knows this, and has to balance those risks against the individual's desire to jump. Good luck, and I hope you do get to make some jumps while you are traveling.

find a new rigger

Keep in mind that whoever wants to sell it to you probably got it for free somehow. Wings containers are very reasonable to begin with, and if you shop around, you can usually find them discounted for around 25% off list price.

Could it be that you are just trying too hard? Spending too much of the skydive focusing on fall rate instead of relaxing and enjoying the skydive? I've jumped with a lot of bigger guys who had it so drilled into their heads NOT to go low that they end up floaty instead. Just a thought.....

Try citynet or citynettravel.com. They will search for the cheapest available flight options for the dates you want to travel and book the flights for a small service fee. Orbitz will do the same thing.

Hey Clay, Did you read the whole report??? That was one of the more comprehensive reports that I have ever seen in Parachutist. That very unfortunate fatality was caused by a SERIES of mistakes and errors in judgements, but at the top of the list was a loss of altitude awareness. A very low deployment left too little time to deal with the malfunction, and the cutaway and reserve deployment were also too low for the reserve to inflate. Perhaps the outcome may have been different with a larger more docile canopy, but we will never know. Any canopy would have opened in a twist or spin (less violent, to be sure) if one toggle had come loose, and with so little time to deal with the malfunction, its impossible to say what might have happened. I don't disagree with the conclusions from the incident report, just your interpretation of them. An elliptycal canopy at that wing loading made the malfunction worse, but the canopy didn't kill him, and the malfunction didn't kill him. Losing altitude awareness did. I thought Lisa's letter was great and made lots of sense, but even Lisa (the canopy nazi) acknowledges that some dzs are training students on high performance canopies, and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Just my .02 maura

Chris, I have to agree that the guy was being a dick. Sure, maybe we all "should" know how to hook up a main to our container, but how many of us do? (or did when we were fresh off student status and getting our first set of gear?) Who knows? Maybe that dz makes a point of teaching their students more about packing and assembling their gear, which is not a bad idea. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I couldn't even pack when I got off student status, and did not really learn til quite a while after I had my own rig. (Yes, I spent a day packing and jumped my own pack job in order to get signed off, but that really isn't the same, and I didn't pack again til after I was jumping my own gear.) Needless to say, if my first rig came to me completely unassembled, I would have been clueless, and I know I am not alone. Attaching the main to the risers is a little bit trickier than than hooking up a main that is already on risers. You have to deal with the lines and brake length, among other things. Personally, I'd have a rigger do it. If he's nice and not too busy, he'll do it WITH you or let you watch while he shows you, and I doubt he'd charge more than $10.00 for the service. I know mine wouldn't. Plus, this time of year, you might have a hard time just showing up at the hangar and finding new "friends" to help you out. We're talking winter in Chicago- burrrrrr! If you do end up doing this yourself, please find a rigger to check your work before you jump it! Is your reserve already packed? If not, bring everything to the rigger and have him set it all up at the same time. It shouldn't take that long. Good luck! I know you want to jump your new system as soon as the skies are blue enough to get a load up, but I think you would be better off having a rigger take care of it for you this time. maura

Congratulations and good luck! Just think, you can use all the money you used to spend on cigarettes on jumps instead! I'm proud of you. And I'm with Skymama. Guys who smoke are NOT sexy! Maura

Love my Wings! Very comfy, and sweet looking too. Sorry, don't have a digital camera or the capability to email pics. And my rigger has nothing bad to say about it either.

I had to choose between the dz Christmas party and the office party. Guess which one I chose!!!