Jeth

0 : 6 : too much Gorgeous weekend at SDC for the New Wave Boogie! Unfortunately, my weekend started out with a nasty mal/cutaway on jump #2 (my first). (See thread in safety & training, if interested.) But it ended on a high note with me doing my 1st safe 6-way attempt and some nice canopy flying on rental gear. Glad no one was hurt with my mal, and glad I got back in the air. (Thanks again, Sunny!

There may be lots of people who check their own, I am just speaking from what I have seen. I have watched people many times before exit and I don't see them feelng their own pin, or asking someone to check. But I think the bigger point is those people who directly tell me to get one and then don't do it themselves. But its a similar situation with other stuff newbies are trying to learn. Like with exit separation. Many people told me I can ask the pilot what the wind speed and ground speed are and then determine how much time to give. I have never seen anyone ask the pilot what the ground speed is. Oh well. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Ya, it is definitely not very re-affirming to hear from instructors and experienced jumpers on the ground "always get a pin check", but then when we're all in the plane none of them do. I would think they should set a good example by doing it themselves. But I will always have mine checked now. And if I am jumping with a new person, I will make sure they know how to close it right on the ground. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

What's weird about a Dolphin? And it's one flap to check the main pin -- what's there to screw up? Well my flap tucks under and then velcro's (The velcro is under the lip of the top flap). The bridle is under the velcroed part. I had a guy one time who was opening it and caught the bridle and almost pulled it out. The other scenario is if U just tuck the flap under without knowing where the bridle is, you won't make contact with the velcro so then it won't be closed very well. Every person who does my pin check is a little confused with my flap the first time they see it. So what I should do is show them on the ground and then there will be no confusion in the plane.

I bought my complete rig on Ebay and it was a great rig at a great price (never used). The guy was really nice and let me have a full inspection with no strings attached. He even threw in his jumpsuit, altimeter and helmet for only $50 bucks. You can usually sense if something fishy is going on. As long as he lets you get it inspected, then you should be okay. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

My reserve is a brand new Tempo 170. It definitely didn't handle very well -- I got no penetration and I had to bury the toggle just to get turned around. I think it probably would've worked better if it was loaded higher (as someone suggested). But it got me down, and thats what its supposed to do.

Thanks, Sunny! You rock!! I really, really appreciated you offering your rig to help me get back up there.

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Thanks. Ya, I have it. I gotta capture it from VHS and then I'll upload it. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Yep, I had my first cutaway on jump #57. And it was quite an experience. The good news is, I'm here to write this. The bad news is, it could've all been prevented with a pin check. So its my 2nd jump of the day, my 1st 6-way. I checked my rig before I put in on and it was fine. In the plane, we did have to do some jostling around to make room for a couple people. Before the door opens I get on my knees to do my usual gear check - buckles, rings, handles, hackey. Sometimes I get my pin checked. In this case, I didn't because I didn't know the guy behind me and I knew he was another rookie and I didn't want him messing up my flaps. (I have an uncommon container at my dz so nobody is used to my flaps and I get worried that someone won't close them right.) So I just reached back and felt that my flap was closed (it is velcroed). So then its time to exit. There are 3 + camera outside, and 3 inside. I am in the front (don't know the name of that slot). The 3rd inside guy is supposed to dive out after us. He is directly behind me. There is a 2-way RW behind him. So we exit. While we're still on the slide, people start to break apart. The guy who's wrists I am holding all of a sudden reaches over towards me. The next thing I know I feel like I am deploying. What actually happened is my container was open in the door. There were several people in the back of the plane yelling and screaming to pull me back in -- but no one did. Apparently the guy in my group right behind me saw it when we were at count 2, and yelled at me, but I didn't hear anything cuz my head was already out. The people in the back say that they saw it before we were even done climbing out. They said that the flaps were completely open and as I was exiting my bag was falling out of the tray. Anyway, you can clearly see the horseshoe on the video. Right after exit my bag is bouncing around over me while my p/c is still in the pouch. So what happened was that guy who I was docked with grabbed my hackey and threw it out. (Thanks, Al! You are the man!!) So this is the point I figure out what is wrong. I get pulled upright, and I am looking up at a very twisted baglock. I start to pull down on the risers, and try to pull them apart. Its not working. Then I get thrown on my back -- thats when I was the most freaked. At that moment I decided I'd had enough of that shit so I looked down, put 2 hands on my handle and yanked. Before I could even pull silver, my RSL had deployed my reserve. Even tho I was on my back, it was a clean deployment. Something did smack me in the face, I had a small cut and a fat lip. I'm not sure what that was, maybe the riser? Anyway, so there I am at 11 grand under my beautiful white reserve. At that moment I am totally pumped with adreneline. I take a couple seconds to gather myself and then I look around. I don't see my bag falling anywhere around me. I also realize I am pretty far west. I guess the uppers were hauling cuz we had exited in a pretty good spot. But I figured since I was at 11k I could get back. Well, just my luck, I couldn't. I was pretty shaken up and just wanted to get down, but I didn't want to burn any altitude till I was safely across the river. Well, I never got there. I was heading into the wind, and I was barely moving. So when, at 4 grand, I was still not close to the river, I decided I wasn't going to try to cross it. I looked around for the best spot. I picked a corn field inbetween 2 roads. To get there I just had to get over the interstate. By now I'm at 3 grand. I am just going "please, please get me across the damn freeway!" Finally I get over it and I am feeling better. I pick my target right in the center of the corn so I'm not too close to the other road if I overshoot. I did a few s-turns and then landed hard in the corn. I was somewhat cross-wind and got dragged on my back for a bit. But I landed. And I wasn't hurt. Geezus. The wonderful pilot of the next load was already circling over me when I got up. I waved at the plane and it kept circling till I started walking out. By the time I got out of the corn there was already a couple guys from the dz there waiting for me. (BTW, I never caught your names but thank you so much guys!!) So there it is. My first cutaway. I think it was a doozy for the first one. I think the worst part was with the premature opening, I was caught totally off-guard. I always expected a mal to happen when I am deploying, not right after exit. And then having to land off made it worse. And the icing on the cake is I lost all my shit. Not a good day. But the goods news is I was offered a rig by a wonderful person named Sunshine, so I got back on the horse the next day. I had 4 great jumps after my chop, and it was great to be back in the sky.

Great! Where should I send them? "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Ok, Dave's version is not new enough. Anyone got Illustrator above version 10? (The newest one would probably be the best bet.) Thanks! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I have a couple eps files which I need saved under Illustrator version 10 or lower. I'm assuming if you have Illustrator you can save under different versions. Can someone do this for me? I don't have any program that will open these files. Thanks a million!

There are several people who I watched graduate AFP last fall who I have never seen back at the dz. I even called a few of them to encourage them to come back and jump. It just amazes me that these people take the time and BIG MONEY to get their license, but then they just give it up!! I don't get that!! Theres no way I would've gone thru AFP if I didn't think I'd make jumping a part of my life afterwards. Its sad to me. Such a waste of time and money. This is not the same as a licensed jumper taking a break for a few years or even quitting after a few hundred jumps. Its really a shame when a newly graduated person doesn't take the next step to become a "real" skydiver. But I think this may happen a lot of times to new graduates. It is definitely overwhelming when you are all of a sudden on your own. From my personal experience -- there was only 1 other person in my FJC -- soarfree. And she's definitely still jumping, and kicking ass at it, too! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I don't normally drive, but I heard on the radio this morning that Chicago is one of the highest at over $3.50. Unfortunately I am renting a car to get to the dz this weekend. I picked a bad time to start driving. I just hope I don't end up with a gas guzzler! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

It was a joke! Lighten up!! "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I came across this article from a reporter in Hawaii who did a jump. Well written and funny. Clicky "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Ditto here. Just one of those things I wanted to do in my life... as a one-time thing. Oh well. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Yep, Tish was our teacher. But she didn't mention anything about PLF's. Finally at the end of class I said "hey can U show us the PLF?" She just told us to tuck and roll. That was it. No demo, no practice. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Bought my complete rig off Ebay. I used my home equity line of credit. It woulda been nice if I had the cash, but at least it is pretty cheap debt compared to credit cards. All my cash was going for AFP at the time. A few months later I bought my Cypres used and I paid cash for that. Had a nearly-new rig, ready to jump, when I graduated AFP. That was awesome.

Before jump 7, it was just a non-specific (but very strong) fear of intentionally hurtling towards earth with just a piece of nylon to stop me. After jump 7's bad landing, I was terrified of having another bad landing. Almost didn't get back in the air. But now I'm sure glad I did.

Not that odd -- sounds just like mine! Every class has to directly apply to my current job, must be pre-approved by prez of company, can't interfere with work, must get A in course, all books belong to company... and gotta stay 3 yrs afterwards or pay it back. It sucks!! So I'm funding my $40k+ master's degree with loans. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Man, that rocks! I gotta come work there!

I am just curious about other companies tuition reimbursement policies. My shitty company requires you to stay 3 years after they pay for a course. At my husband's company its only 6 months. What's your company's policy? How much do they pay? Do they require an A in the course? Just curious. Thanks.

Doug, glad you avoided injury. I did the same thing on my off landing. But I'm curious about what you said cuz I can't thank my instructors for teaching me the PLF. (I have to thank other jumpers and dz.com for that.) Did we have the same instructors?? I think I should've been taught and practiced the PLF, but we never did. I never even heard the words "put your feet and knees together". So was my experience not the norm there? "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site