axe96bam

Yeah, Byron is great. I have visited and know a couple of the instructors there. It is a great place and the people are friendly

I have an RSL but it is not hooked up. I rather pull a little a little higher and take my chances pulling both of my handles than let an RSL pull reserve into a malfunctioning main. Alex

You don't need to load a canopy heavily to in order to be able to do harness turns, but as you load it more, the turns become more aggressive. I can easily do a 180 and even a 360 on a 79 (loaded at 2:1) and the effect was pretty similar on an 85, 88 and a 90. Drop one leg and lift the other and your weight shifts in the harness causing that side to dip and you begin turning. The heavier the loading - the higher the effect. Alex

This is my take on the subject. First of all your current container can hold a 150 easily. You will need to shorten your closing loop but that is not a problem. So you could buy a used 150 main and jump it until you learn it well and get really bored with it. Than put another 100 -150 jumps on it and buy a brand new system designed to hold your 135 main (make sure that is the biggest main you can fit) and your desired reserve. Now you will have spend less money in the long run and if at some time in the further future you want to buy a 120 or smaller or X-braced, well all you will need is a new main. I, personally, bought my first 2 rigs all used. I am just now thinking about getting all new stuff. Just my suggestion. Alex

Turn on final, pull both front risers about 2"-4" without letting go of your toggles. Hold the front risers down until you get scared or you are 5 feet off the ground - whichever comes first. You will notice that you will let go of the risers way early at the beginning and than you will keep holding them longer and longer until finally you reach that 5 feet off the ground spot where you need to let them up and get going on your swoop. Just be careful and don't rush it. Slow is fast! Alex

I have flown my Jedei at wing loadings of 1.25 to almost 1.5 (weights) and have noticed that the openings are not hard at all. I just pull the slider out and leave the nose be. I have also packed myself line twists (not on purpose of coarse) and noticed that the canopy never lost heading after opening. I was able to get untwisted and go on. The canopy has a great glide ratio. Landings are very nice because of the airlocks. Now, the front riser pressure is heavier than on a stilletto but you will get used to that very quickly. The canopy has a longer glide and is also very stable on the bottom end. This is always good when the air is not very smooth on landing. You will need to fly the canopy all the way through the landing if you are loading it higher. Also as someone already mentioned you will have to get used to bleeding ALL the speed out of it before shutting it down. I learned the harder way by stabbing the brakes and getting sent 10 feet back up into the air. Just a bruised elbow, so I was thankful. So anyhow, I am not going to yap anymore. Have fun, it is a great canopy and be careful while learning.

I agree that loops on the rear risers can cause you to grab the wrong set at the wrong time and lead to an accident. I usually just soread my rear risers when I am getting back from a long spot.

I consider myself to be a pretty aggressive person when it comes to canopies and wing loadings. I started flying elipticals at 150 jumps loading them at 1.4 and at 350 jumps I had already jumped an FX99 and FX88 a couple of dozen times. Still, I think that it is not very safe to put students on elipticals or even on semi-elipticals for that matter. I have watched enough of my S/L and AFF students land and was sure glad that they had a big old manta over their heads when some of them flare at 30 feet! I can see where SDC's program is helping the learning curve of a skydiver, but I think that is at the expense of a very high entry point in the learning scheme which puts the student in a greater danger at the very beginning. This is just my opinion and that is all it is.

I have a T1 line and it is slow for me as well. Maybe HH can tell us what is going on? Could it be that there are too many of us for the server to handle?

Just go and jump at Hinckley and Morris. They are both good. You will most likely find a different atmosphere at each one of them, but they are great in their own ways. I am sure that they will seem very different from SDC because of the facilities Roger has built.

So how much beer did you owe for this one?

CASAs are a lot of fun to jump out of. We had a CASA 2 weeks ago and we were doing some larger formation. I was exiting last out of the CASA, so I had the long run from the cockpit to the tailgate. It was a blast!

Thanks Chuck. I hope my 88 comes in, otherwise I am going to see how much I can get out of my 120.

I will definitely come check it out. I wonder what classes will they have for the competition? Maybe I will try to get in some of the beginner classes if I get my new canopy by then.

I have seen "LUV2JMP"

that is a nice pace. Currency really helps your performance in the air.

wow, that is amazing!

I know how you feel. I just had my first taste of CReW on Sunday. It was really cool. I did it with a guy who was on the first CReW team ever made, and whose SCR number is #4, so needless to say it was really easy because he is so good. We just did a 2 stack and did some spirals over a public event at the other side of the airport. I heard the crowd scream even though I had a full face and we were above 2,000ft. It was great.

I am going in about 4 hours. Can't wait.

I agree with Spectre230 - some 80 proof might help. Actually that is how they cured everything back in the old days. I know grandma always took something strong (whiskey usually does the trick) and put a little bit in a small cup. Than bring it to boiling temp, add sugar (to sweeten it) and bring back to boiling temp. Than let it cool off to where it is just nice and warm. Drink it and go to sleep. It will most likely help you and you will feel great the next day. It does work, I have first hand experience.

my 15 month old god son goes into a perfect arch every time someone throws him up into the air. He also has no fear at all. His mom puts him on top of their minivan and the kid just jumps off into her arms with a smile and in perfect body position. I personally think she is nuts for letting him do that, but on the other hand I know that he will be a jumper when he grows up.

Lucky you - you got to jump into a pool. I did mine in a lake. It was November, the temp outside was about 40 and the water was not much warmer either. I wanted to go first so I did not have to put the wet and cold gear on after someone else had jumped in already. It was COLD!

when you catch yourself telling the pilot of the commercial plane you are on to flare as the 737 is about to touch the runway for a landing

My folks did not like it much at the beginning either, but now they are kind of proud of me. My dad brags about my jumping everywhere he goes. He even wants to do a tandem. My mother will even consider jumping when I get my tandem rating later on this season. They were both absolutely opposed to my need for jumping out of planes, but their views have changed over time. I always talk about all the safety and have shown them tons of videos of skydiving. They were also impressed with how much I actually needed to learn in order to become a JM. There have been some losses though. I have had 3 cut aways due to non jumping g/fs, but I don't care. I always liked jumping more than I liked them( ha-ha). Just keep jumping and be safe - your folks will learn to live with it and maybe even accept it.

I hope you are right. This might slow him down a bit. I hope he learned his lesson and he will not end up being just a statistic