tigra

I have a PD143 and a sabre 150 in my J1. The sabre is a tight fit, but it works. Ask your rigger about the reserve. My rigger swears the Tempo is a great reserve with a smaller pack volume than the PD reserves.

Congrats! Now, go buy beer with that fake ID!

Zute Sute makes a nice weight vest for ladies. You can have it made custom, with or without some lead built in.

Lyle Presse used to sell skydiving santa ornaments. I bought a few from him at nationals 2 years ago.

I have a friend who had his Jedi returned after a year. He had a baglock and lost it in the corn. Apparently Farmer McNasty found it right away, but decided to keep it in his barn for a year before returning it. Never the less, its in fine shape and he was happy to be reunited with it. Bottom line, if its been checked out and seems OK, go with it!

I was afraid to ask.......

One nice thing about renting gear at sdc- you'll have a chance to try out the Sabre 2. Everyone I know who has jumped one really likes them. I'm hoping for sunny blue skies, temps over 50 and light to moderate winds! Am I asking for too much??

I should be at SDC this weekend. (weather and work schedule permitting!) I mostly do RW, although sometimes I dabble in sitflying. My big accomplishment this summer was figuring out how to hold a stand. And my new sitflying challenge is to relearn how to do it WITHOUT a sit suit! I've grown a little too dependent on those wings! Anyway, if you want to flail around in the sky, (or do some basic, hopefully non-flailing rw) I'll be the one with the styling red black and white wings container! Hope to see you! maura

I'll second that. I have 2 RW suits by Tony, and have had to send both in for minor repairs. Patty was great! The work was done quickly, professionally, and inexpensively.

Happy Birthday!!

Rigger Rob, In my opinion, the "fuss" has very little to do with rigging or "slinks", and more to do with dz politics....

The accident had NOTHING to do with reserve Slinks. It was a spinning mal and a low (extremely low) cutaway. It was very sad and unfortunate, but there was no reserve malfunction. The bulletin refers to an error which an SDC rigger allegedly found during a routine repack. (The reserve had been previously packed by a local rigger who services many SDC jumpers. ) If you are concerned, by all means, have it checked out.

Hi Kelly, Sorry to hear you are hurt. I missed what happened, but I'm glad it wasn't anything worse. Hope everything heals up OK. Make your own decision (with good medical advice) to back it up as far as when you will be ready to jump again. You're still sort of new, and new gear, new dz and 1st jump back from an injury is a lot for anyone to combine into one jump. Hang in there! The skies will be waiting for you whatever you decide about this winter! maura

I think it is safe to say that the helicopter is gone for the season, but will return next year. 2 super otters are still flying on the weekends, large hangar with padded indoor packing and dirt diving, 3 big screen tvs for video debriefs. Friendly people, lots of freeflyers and belly flyers at all levels, so you should find someone to jump with. Also, full service gear store with on site rigging, bunkhouse(s), heated shower house, laundry facilities, deli, bar and auditorium, and lots of space to camp, but it is getting chilly! (which also makes the pond somewhat less attractive for swimming and/or swooping.) Of course there is also Chicagoland Skydiving in Hinkley, or Skydive Illinois in Morris, both within about a 30 mile radius of Skydive Chicago, and both a little bit closer TO Chicago. Smaller, not quite the same facilities, but with friendly people as well, and turbine aircraft.

Sounds like too many irresponsible pet owners have ruined it for you. At Skydive Chicago we have lots of dogs in the campground, (some would say too many) but they are supposed to stay clear of the hangar, aircraft and landing area for all of the reasons you stated above. Are you really going to jump with your dog? I'm guessing you never made a jump with your Great Dane.

Chris, If you show up at the dz and lay it all out in the packing area, and look confused or ask for help, someone WILL help you, and show you what you need to do. Trust me on this. If it's already on risers, it really isn't that hard, but the first few times you do it, having someone more experienced looking over your shoulder to make sure you are doing it right can't hurt. (and like Phree Zone said, most demos come with risers attached) And of course, if you just don't want to be bothered, you can pay someone to do it for you. My advice: Buy the reserve for now, and look for a deal on a used main canopy sized for you and your new container. (ask around the dz, look for notices on bulletin boards, and jump it a few times before you buy it) Then you can save up and buy the main you want later. maura

"I'd much rather spend the $50 on a non-bias magazine, like Skydiving." Since when is Skydiving a "non-biased" magazine? They just have their own "bias", which is expressed even in the "news" articles that are published. Don't get me wrong, I've been a subscriber for a few years now. I read it every month, cover to cover, but the articles are never impartial. The opinions of the writers are always made clear, whether it is a recap of Nationals or reporting on a base jumping case in the courts. (and isn't it less than $20.00 a year?)

Lots of male skydivers are "hos", not just the jumpmasters. And they just love the new girls! Sorry guys, but am I wrong???

SDC has a pond, so when they do the water training, that's where they do it. Glenn is the S&TA and he usually runs it. If I'm not mistaken, he just did water training last month. But if there is enough interest, I'm sure he would do it again before the summer is over. At least he doesn't need to rent out a pool, but he still needs to coordinate staff and such, and he charges a small fee for that. Call him or email him- I'm sure he'll give you all the details and let you know when he is planning the next training. After a short briefing, what they usually do is have you put on an old harness, jump off the deck into the pond, and throw a large canopy over you. The object is to get out from under the canopy and out of the harness before you drown. At least they don't make you do it in your own gear! For the beach jumps, also work on your accuracy, and you will probably need a flotation device for your rig.

>>This is completely off topic but I really need your thoughts. I had a 50% off a brand new Wings Container offered for $300. What would you do if you really need gear? I think its one of the best deals I was able to find.

Skydive Chicago has a huge camping area. What started as a handful of tents and trailers known as "bagland" has expanded into a small village, complete with a "mayor" and "aldermen", "neighborhoods" and occasional "town meetings" where we talk about anything from loud music to dog poop. I'd have to say that most of the regular weekend jumpers have trailers and stay the whole weekend, myself included. Its very convenient. We bring our pets- dogs, cats, birds, whatever, and our families. And the type of trailers varies from huge deluxe motor homes to buses and pop ups, and anything in between. We do pay rent for our slots to cover the costs. We have a limited number of "full" hookups, which include water, but most slots are electric only. Also, of course bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities, and a bunkhouse. We also have plenty of people who just come and camp for the weekend, and there is lots of space for it, either close to the action (and the bathrooms) or scenic and secluded, but if you want an electric slot for your RV, call ahead because they fill up fast.

"Can anybody think of a situation where pulling the cutaway handle in a total mal/pc-in-tow would be bad (other than the time factor)? Quite frankly I'm inclined to pull the cutaway handle cuz I've heard too many horror stories of mains deploying right as the reserve deploys. It you have it pre-cutaway, I'd think the chances of a main/reserve entaglement (shiver) would be reduced. That's what scares me, not failing to get the reserve out in time." Zennie, The chances of a main reserve entanglement could be GREATER if you pull the cutaway handle in the case of a total or PC in tow. The lines and risers of the jettisoned main could become entangled and choke off the reserve as it is deploying. Very nasty, and usually impossible to clear. My recommendation, based on personal experience, and the experience of a friend who did the opposite, and the information and instruction of several jumpmasters I trust and respect, is pull the silver handle first. If you have a hard pull or misplaced hackey, you haven't dislodged the pin enough to cause the main to deploy. A pc in tow is a little different, because you might have a misrouted bridle, and again in that case you probably have not dislodged the pin, or an uncocked p/c in which case the opening of the reserve could be enough to deploy the main. IF your main deploys as you reserve deploys, you'll have 2 canopies out, but odds are (based on the dual deployment study PD did) both canopies will deploy cleanly. Then you evaluate the position of the canopies and whether a cutaway is necessary (a side by side or a down plane) and in those configurations, the main SHOULD cut away cleanly. I guess this is a subject of much debate, and everyone has their own opinion, but why not go with the odds, and learn from the people who have broken bones (or worse) before us? maura

I had my rigger do mine for me when I had it in for a repack. He used the bath tub method. I can't remember exactly what he charged me, but it wasn't very much and worth every cent. I was amazed; he made it look brand new. And I have had more than my share of "interesting landings", so it was pretty grungy!

Legally, I don't see how she could refuse to hire you on that basis alone. This topic did come up on an earlier thread. There are ways to talk about how skydiving has benefitted you, how it has improved your overall confidence, decision making skills, leadership abilities, all of that. You can work with it, and sell it. But there is that prejudice out there, and that can be hard to get past. I guess you need to try and read the person who is conducting the interview and see how they will handle it. What you do in your free time really isn't any of their business and you don't need to disclose it. Personally, I stay low key about it if I am being interviewed, because I have had bosses give me a little grief about it, and I don't want to get into that whole "death wish" discussion with a prospective future employer. I'd rather save that debate for later! If you are hiring, there are things you can legally take into consideration, and things you can't. But it would be really tough to prove that you were passed over for a job just because you are a skydiver.