Daskal

Click on my nick and you can find out who I am. I have nothing to hide here. However, my friends and I are doing just fine on our DZ, and im glad reasonable people can differ on what is "scary" and what is not. Nobody I jump with seems to be making the paternalistic statements you people are. Like I said before, you have to take the canopy pilot's skill into the equation. Some people naturally progress and improve their skills better than others. I will continue to give advice to my students (within the authority of a USPA Coach) and licensed skydivers who ask me for it, and all I said is that I will SUPPORT my friend in whatever decision he feels comfortable making. I don't encourage people to fly canopies they do not feel that they are ready for. But whenever my friend feels that he wants to take it to the next level, I will be there for him.

Im gonna be really honest with everyone, as far as i'm concerned, once your an adult and have recieved your USPA A license, it is up to you to make the personal decision about what canopy you want to fly. I bought and flew a Jedei 136 at 100 jumps, and am now downsizing to a Nitron 120 (my first new canopy), and i'm still here with no injuries or anything. I am sick and tired of people blaming the canopy selection for causing the injury when more often than not it is the jumper DOING SOMETHING STUPID close to the ground that results in the incident. The bottom line is that some people just naturally fly their canopy better than others. On my AFF level 1 (no prior tandems) jump I stood up my canopy right in the center of the target, and have been just as successful on my later jumps. On the other hand, we have jumpers with 600+ jumps on our dropzone who still slide in their landings under Sabre 2's and Pilots loaded at 1.2 or so. I am a USPA Coach and when I jump with students and the students ask me for advice on canopy selection I refer them to a USPA Instructor. But once they recieve their A license, it is their decision what they want to fly, and I will not hesitate to encourage licensed jumpers to downsize quickly like I did if I feel that they are flying their canopies really well, and seem to be heads-up people. One of my friends, around my age on the dropzone who I jumpmastered on his coached and clear-and-pull jumps is thinking of downsizing quickly to satisfy his need for speed under canopy. With the way he is flying his canopy, I will support him in whatever decision he feels comfortable making. Bottom line, I am SICK AND TIRED of Instructional Rating holders using their ratings as "ranks" to give orders to licensed, adult skydivers who are free to make their own decisions about what they want to fly. As long as a licensed skydiver is not breaking any BSR's, or Federal or State laws, USPA Instructors have ZERO authority to tell them to do anything. I will fly what canopy I want regardless of what anybody tells me, and unless im breaking the BSR's or FAA rules there is nothing USPA or anybody else can do about it.

I am currently jumping a Jedei 136, having just competed my first year of skydiving. It is loaded at 1.18, and I intend to jump it until around 400-500 jumps, where I will probably look at like a Samurai 120. I started jumping the Jedei at around 100 jumps, and some people questioned my choice at first, but I decided that it was an acceptable wing loading and I would be extremely careful, and work my way into the canopy, flying traditional patterns and landings until I had at least 200 jumps on it. I wanted an elliptical canopy because I like the reponsiveness and enjoy flying it agressively on higher opening jumps, plus would like to learn how to swoop over time. I am only 25, a USPA Coach and have a little over a year in the sport, so take this for what it is worth. I would recommend that if a licensed skydiver is really adamant about getting a more aggressive canopy at lower jump numbers, I would try to compromise with him or her and reach an acceptable middle ground. Instead of jumping a VX or crossbraced canopy, I would try and find them a Stiletto, Vengence or Crossfire (still a powerful canopy) at a lower wing loading, say mabye 1.2 or so. I would try relay what I was taught, and encourage them to fly it gently at first, and gradually take small steps toward more high performance landings, while maintaining the same wing loading. I will be the first to admit that one reason I bought the Jedei was that I thought it was "cooler" to tell people I flew that rather than a Sabre or something. So far I have been ok with it, though I know it will take more time before I can even begin to practice higher performance landings with it. Sometimes for a younger skydiver I understand that pride and ego can get in the way of better judgement. I am enjoying my Coach rating and like to teach groundschool and do Coach jumps with younger skydivers because I feel I can relate to them better, and help them work their way into the sport. Usually we conduct our FJC outside, and I will intentionally stop and let the new students watch the jumpers land so I can tie it into the canopy control portion of the course. It comes as no suprise that the younger jumpers are most impressed by the swoopers and the faster canopies. Because I cannot stop them from doing what they want to after they get their A, perhaps it is best to talk to them on their level, and meet them half way. Again, I know i'm Coach nobody, with 150 jumps, so take this with a grain of salt.