Avion

Dude! D 373? Is that right? You must have been around a while I glad to report, that on one of my recent jumps I finally got back loops down

I got two small ones and two Jack the Rippers. I'm only using one small one at the moment on the chest strap. I'm thinking of having the big ones sewn on to my jumpsuit, front thigh, and the little ones sewn on my V3 leg strap pads. Cheers.

Clicky

I want to go to this packing class

This is an interesting topic for me, because I am planning on obtaining a coach rating. By the time I'll have 100 jumps, I'll also have about 7 hours of air time considering the 5.5 hours in the tunnel that I'll have by that time too. Additionally, I am well versed with briefing and video debriefing from my tunnel work. When I begin, I expect I'd be happy to just get my slot paid. But, I'm looking forward to getting slot+20 someday

This is how I was taught. But... I have alway had trouble with the back loops. For some reason I usually end up rolling out to one side and going unstable. I also have some trouble pulling my knees in to get it started. Somebody mentioned that grabbing your knees would help. Additionally, make sure to arch your head back, it seems like that's important. It's ironic that I have so much trouble with back loops, because with the five hours I have in the tunnel, I can do half flips backwards from belly to back and forwards from back to belly, really well pivoting right at my hips. Front loops on the other hand, I can do well. Its awesome when I stop right on mark, level and quick. Cheers

I meant hold the toggles down as far as possible without stalling the canopy. On larger canopies, you can pull the toggles all the way down without stalling the canopy. On smaller ones, the stall point is above the point of full extention of your arms. So, if you hold the toggles down far enough on a smaller canopy, the canopy will stall, you will lose all lift, and the canopy will fold in half. It's quite dramitic. I just got my canopy to do that on purpose in order to learn just where the stall point is on it. I had to wrap the brake lines twice around each hand to make it happen. I have a relatively large caonopy, a 210 Spectre.

I agree that the excersizes are more accruately described as 'turning in brakes.' What you describe is simular to the describion of a carving turn, that is, a turn that maintains a level altitude through the turn, although in common use speed, in addition to normal full flight, is first acquired before the turn is made. So, what your saying is that a 'flat turn' is like a low speed application of the carving turn techinque. On the other hand, I suppose that a carving turn could be called a high speed appication of the flat turn techinque Thanks for helping me realize that these two turns are related. Cheers

How to practice flat turns: 1) Bring both toggles down to half brakes, let the canopy stablize, then a) let one toggle up slightly until you start turning, stop the turn by bring that toggle back to half brakes. b) pull one toggle down slightly until you start to turn, stop the turn by raising that toggle back to half brakes. 2) Repeat these excersizes at 3/4 bakes. 3) At full flare, less than a stall, let one toggle up slightly until you start to turn, stop the turn by returning that toggle to full flare. The goals of these excersizes are to: 1) Learn which method, letting up or pulling down, results in the flatest turn on the canopy you are flying, results will vary with the canopy. 2) Learn which method results in a faster but more banked turn on the canopy you are flying. Finally, you can combine the two methods, pulling one toggle down and letting one toggle up, at either 1/2 or 3/4 brakes, for a turn that is inbetween flatest and faster. As always, check with your instructors before attempting theses excersizes, and only pratice them above your harddeck. Cheers

Well, I'll tell you about that... I've always been a good way into the adventurous and wild side of life. Although, less than extrememly so, I still have had my moments. I got interested in skydiving at forty, after my health had begun sliding and I had to stop my more unhealthy activities, by watching 'Cutaway' for the first time. Previous to this, I had always thought that people, who jumped out of perfectly good airplanes for fun, were crazy In particular, the part that really got to me was the free flying at the end during the credits. In retrospect, that was probably filmed on an outdoor wind tunnel rather than durning a skydive. Anyway, I decided to try the tunnel first. I took to it quickly, then spent a year and $4,000 'learning to fly' before I ever jumped. I also bought a used rig of an appropriate size for a good price before I had jumped. I figured, if I wanted to get out, I could always get my money, or at least most of it, back out of the rig. Then, I jumped

LOL "Why am I doing this?" Along with, "I must be insane!" Lasted for about 10 jumps for me When I got back to the ground, I knew why, and stopped doubting my sanity

It was right after opening at ~4500' I still pull around 5.5K and 5K just to have time just to play with the canopy

It was freaking awesome. After failing to do so in Scott Miller's canopy course. I set about stalling my canopy, a 210 Spectre, on a resent jump. Well, let me tell you, it was intense. In Scott's course, he has a little video of stalling a canopy where the center cells stay inflated and the outer cells depresurize and fold back. When I stalled my canopy, the whole thing depressurized and folded in half into one thin log of wrinkled material. I said to myself, "That doesn't look right!" and immeadiately started to let up slowly on the toggles, and it reinflated abruptly. All I can say is, Wow! I think, I wait till I'm flying a 9 cell canopy before I try that again Cheers

That's just what I want to avoid. To Everybody: I get it! 1st Breakoff 5000 2nd Pull 3500 3rd Hard Deck 2500 My plan is only to hear the 1st alarm as I'm turning and starting to track. Thank you.

Hmm, good point. The tunnel instructors made me get the basics of back flying down before I started sitflying. And, they wanted me to get the basics of sitflying down before starting headdown. I think it's a wise progession. By the way, on my last jump, I managed to hold a stable sit from exit to just before pull time when I lost it and rolled on to my back. It was freaking awesome decending through a hole in the clouds late in the afternoon in a sit

Hmm, you always have to keep on your toes. Thanks for the reminder

It gets better, once your done with AFF, and have acquired some basic FF skills. Then you can start enjoying the beauty of it all. Cheers PS Get some tunnel time if you can, 10-20 minutes should be plenty.

1) Get sitflying in the sky down (I can do a little in the tunnel). 2) Start headdown in the sky. Cheers

You guys must have missed the guy that jumped 1000' down to a big air matress without a rig. Just have you DZ put one of those out on the landing area

Yes, of course they covered that. I meant, the particular situation of getting distracted somehow, then realizing your way below where you should have pulled. The emphasis durning AFF was to pull the main. You know: Pull at altitude, pull stable, just pull. I lack a clear recollection of being instructed to straight away pull the reserve if I got below any certain altitude without an open container. Although, I may have just missed that. During AFF, the instructors are right there. So, if the student fails to pull at 5.5, they're gonna pull for them. So, the possibility of me, or any student, of actually getting below 2500 without pulling was given little concern. Prehaps , they wanted to avoid confusing new students as to which handle to pull when. They did tell me though, if I managed to get seperated from them, to just pull the main. I'm glad I asked this question. Cheers

Call Tony Suits. They have a rack full of new suits, but returned for one reason or another, for about half price. Cheers

About $2,500

Actually, I lack a recollection of this particular situation being specifically addressed in my FJC. The only time I recall being told to pull the reserve is if we had a plane emergency and had to bail out between 1000' and 2500'. I suppose that answers the question in a round about way Being conservative, I consider my harddeck to be 2500' at the moment. I now feel comfortable setting the 3rd alarm to that altitude, and pulling the reserve there or lower if need be. That will leave me 3500, 2nd alarm, for my main pull reminder, and the 1st alarm for break off, say 5000, when I need it. Thanks for making these issues clear

People seem amazing unaware of incidents. Do they actually have to see one personally in order to learn from them. This one is why I had a skyhook installed on the used Vector 3 I bought:

Now that I know how and have the time, I prefer to pack myself. I only used packers when I was in AFF and durning my canopy class.