MWGemini

The remains of Ivan came sweeping through my neck of the woods yesterday and today, and for once, I was glad to see bad weather. I spent the better part of the afternoon at my DZ practicing packing (which up til now had slightly confused me, particularly the flaking part) and talking to the senior rigger and instructor there. Was able to learn a lot of new things and get answers to a lot of questions, since there was literally only about 5 people at the DZ whereas on a normal day, there are over a hundred and the instructors are doing tandems all day and never have the time to sit down and talk. Not really sure why I'm posting this- except to say that bad weather is not always a bad thing, I guess. Mike

I'm a student still, 17 jumps and counting now, and I'm always nervous in the plane for situations just like the one you described. While everyone else takes off their helmets and relaxes on the ride to altitude, I always keep mine on (in part because it's a full face factory diver a size too small and is hard to get on/off quickly) and I'm generally a little tense on the ride to altitude, despite countless times where I've hung my feet out the door of a blackhawk while it is in aggressive flight. I'm not sure if this anxiety is something I'll ever get over, but it's because of situations like these that I hope I never do. Mike

I like www.weather.com, www.skydivingweather.com, and www.weathertap.com. I have not used AccuWeather, never even heard of it, actually, but the above three do very well. WeatherTap charges a small monthly fee, however. Mike

The out of country vacation is not something we could do, our jobs are pretty demanding of both of us. However, a weekend getaway somewhere is certainly within reason. I'll check around and see if I can find a day spa as mentioned above, and probably get her something for her bike or kayak as well (which will probably end up being a gift certificate since I don't know what parts she needs :/) To the person who suggested taking her to Vegas and marrying her- we've already discussed that. Do the Flying Elvi do weddings? Thanks, Mike P.S. Any other ideas anyone has, send them my way.

What you described with the rented hotel, I did that last year, we spent a weekend at a nice resort during a hurricane, with nothing to do but stay inside. Pampered her all weekend, even paid a friend to detail her car while we were away (and took that Friday off and cleaned the house that she didn't get to see until Sunday). Part of the problem is that I tend to go a little over the top on things, and then I have to do even better the next year, and I'm out of good ideas that I haven't already done at least once. Mike

She already has a 9mm and shoots better than I ever have (and I was trained by the military). As for the dildo- that could put me out of a job, and I don't want that ;P Maybe I should be a bit more specifc. Would a gift certificate be really thoughtless and tacky, even though she would get the most use out of that? This would probably be in addition to something more frilly and useless, but nice to do (like the spa idea). I've got just over a week, gotta make up my mind soon. Thanks, Mike

Hence the "no offense" part

No offense, but is a gift like this suited more the the 'prissy' girls than the tom-boys? My fiancee is very much a tom-boy, never wears make-up, etc, but I'm thinking the massage and spa bit would be nice for her. Certainly better than the massages I give. Good ideas so far, what else do ya have? Thanks, Mike

Ok, that has the cute and cuddly thing going for it, another possible contender. Any other ideas? Keep 'em coming! Thanks, Mike

LOL, nice. While the sweater and dildo idea isn't TERRIBLY bad, I think the comment associated with it would ensure I sleep on the couch for a while. Seriously though, 2 year anniversary of engagement, she's tough as hell to shop for, but I want to do something special besides the usual dinner, roses, movie, bubble bath, etc. I can probably spend a few hundred on it, but the less I spend, the more I jump, so.......

Hrm- ok, thats a possibility, what else can we come up with? Mike

I use a program called Crazy Browser, which basically is IE on steroids. Has tabbed browsing and several other cool features, with the same look and UI as IE. Even shares the same settings, so you can use IE and CB at the same time with teh same bookmarks, change one, it affects the other. Pretty handy, IMO. Mike

The topic pretty much says it. I'm 23, she will be turning 23. We have been engaged for two years (proposed on her b-day as a matter of fact) and living together for just shy of two years. She has jumped twice, both tandems, but doesn't really want to go again. She enjoys kayaking and mountain biking, doesn't wear jewelry except on rare occasions (including the $3k diamond ring and the $800 matching earrings I gave her two years ago ) I am pretty much out of 'good' ideas, don't have any new gag ideas, and gift certificates to a bike store or kayak store just seem really thoughtless. Guys, gals, please help this hapless shopper out

No such user. :/ Mike

I am considering purchasing a Mirage G3 system that was advertised in the classifieds on this site. The owner has told me the following: According to his ad, it currently has a Stiletto 150 main and a PD170 reserve (guessing its a 176). According to the Mirage site, http://www.miragesys.com/order/sizing/size-m3.html, the 150 is a tight fit, and a main such as a Sabre 170 isn't even listed, but looks to be a tight fit, if it's even possible. The part that gets me, however, is that the PD176R is not even listed, which to me implies that either it won't fit, or is a very tight fit. My main question is: can the M3 actually hold a PD176R and a Sabre170 main? Is it possible the tag is wrong and it's actually an M4 or M5? ( http://www.miragesys.com/order/sizing/size-m4.html & http://www.miragesys.com/order/sizing/size-m5.html ) Or is it more likely the owner is mistaken in saying its a PD170 reserve? I am still on student status, but I only weigh 135lbs, so I am hoping to be able to jump a 170 a few months after I get my A. However, I want to be sure that his rig can actually FIT a 170 before I make any plans to purchase it. Another thing- assuming that is is possible, but very tight, is that going to make it a safety issue? Besides the obvious added packing difficulty, and maybe having to extend the closing loop, would stretching the container cause a safety issue of any sort? I know a lot of these questions may seem stupid or common sense, but I am so new to the sport, and it seems like there is a lot of contrasting information from the research I've done. Thanks, Mike

Thanks to all who have responded here. I am making concrete plans to attend at least one canopy course by the end of the year, hopefully two, in addition to books and videos that I have already ordered and weekly talks with instructors, I am hoping to learn a lot about canopy control before I make a final decision on purchasing a rig. Thanks again, Mike

When I was 17 years old, I enlisted in the Marines, as I was partially raised by my uncle, a Marine infantryman in vietnam, served 3 tours. He was my idol. Then thirteen days before I was schedule to ship out, I broke my arm (bad) and while I was sitting in the hospital, my recruiter walked in, dropped my discharge papers in my lap, turned around and walked away without ever saying a word. Once I healed up, I enlisted in the Army, got moved to the far side of the continent from where I spent most of my life up to that point, and never looked back. I volunteered for ever shit job and detail that came up, tried to get in to the hardest schools possible, and in general, had the time of my life, despite incredibly long hours, miserable living and working conditions, and the constant threat of pain, injury, death, etc. I learned that it's not about the environment or the task, its about the people next to you that trust you with their life, as you trust them. I loved every miserable second of my time in the Army, and I miss it every single day. I often wonder what things would have been like had I not broken my arm and gone into the corps instead. So why did I leave if I loved it so much, and still love it? Simple. I had recently gotten engaged, and the military (especially the combat arms units, and even more so the special "high speed" units like mine) is a very difficult place to start or raise a family. Also, I did not have complete trust in my leadership to get me and my buddies home alive. One unfortunate thing about the military is that promotions are based mostly on TIME, and not skill or potential, so some of the upper echelon are just guys who couldn't hack it in the 'real world' and so stayed in and made it a career. That is luckily relatively rare, however. I left for my fiancee's sake, despite the fact that she supported me staying in 100%. I miss it, I miss my friends, I miss the comradery, I miss waking up in the morning and looking forward to doing something new and exciting. I miss saving lives. But she is/was more important to me. I don't regret my decision to leave, but more importantly, I don't regret being there in the first place. I highly recommend the military to everyone who is interested in it. You will learn a lot about yourself and become a much more mature person. You will also see some friends die. Military funerals may seem cool on tv. They suck when it's your best friend in the casket. I don't envy your decision right now, cvfd1399. On the one hand, I would say if it is your dream, do it. Live your life so that you have no regrets. However, this is absolutely something your wife needs to be with you on. Don't push her to support you, and don't enlist if she doesn't. Is living a dream (that will have you absolutely hating life at times, believe me) worth losing her or alienating her? What if you get activated and deployed for a year? Do you want to leave her alone for a year, or more? Do you trust her enough to be there when you get back? What if you don't come back alive? These are questions you need to ask yourself before you sign on the dotted line. That being said, reservists and national guardsmen have nothing on the active duty boys ;P And a tip if you DO enlist for the reserves or guard, make SURE that you plan ahead in the event you get activated and lose your civilian job. I met a lot of NG/reservists who encountered serious financial problems because they took massive pay cuts after being activated. Don't let that happen to you. I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have about the military, just PM me. Good luck with your decision. Mike

I am a student with 16 jumps, and I have been jumping at Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg, NC since the start. Everyone there is very friendly and helpful, and the instructors know what they are doing and are great teachers. I can't say enough good things about that DZ. Mike

Yeah, I saw that as well, but figured that the one day course might be something I could do either before the December course or afterwards, depending on time, weather, etc. Ideally what I'd like to do is take the essentials course sometime after I get my A but before the 3 day camp in late December, then take the advanced sometime in January, with a focus on accuracy (no need for high performance landings for a long time to come). I'm also looking at the two day camp scheduled in November in South Carolina, but I won't have my A by that time. Thanks Scott, Mike Edit: What are the class sizes usually limited to, and how fast do they fill up (i.e. how far in advance should I register to guarantee a slot)?

That's what I meant, a new container with used everything else. I'm heavily leaning toward a Mirage system because it is more freefly friendly than Javelins, although all the student rigs I have jumped are Javelins and I am happy with them, if/when I get into freeflying, I want to do it safely. Also, at some point I would like to try wingsuit flight, and I have read the Mirages are good rigs for that as well. I really don't know anything at all about Wings or Icon, and have not researched them, but for something that my safety and life depend on, I am perfectly happy waiting until I can afford the best equipment (not saying brand new, just a better rig, manufacturer, reputation, etc). Thanks, Mike

I've finally been able to find out about the Scott Miller canopy control course, and one is being held in Florida in late December that I am going to make every effort to attend. I've decided to hold off on purchasing a rig until after I complete that course for the reason you just said- buy what you intend to fly. I think part of my concern stems from the fact that I've seen very few containers that will fit me (I am 5'10", 135lbs) well. Even the student Javelins I have been jumping are on the verge of being too big for me at their smallest setting. And then when I see a container that DOES fit me, the canopies in it are outrageously small for me (like 120ish mains). I'm considering ordering a custom fit container, but I really don't want to spend the extra money for that, especially if I just end up selling it a few years down the road. At any rate, I am jumping Hornet 230s now, and will continue to do so at least until I get my A. After that, if my instructors and I both feel it's safe to do so, I'll drop to a 210 and work on that. Judging from all the responses that I've gotten here, it is not advisable to jump anything smaller than a 190 for MY first main, and that is what I WANT to be jumping, ideally. I think seeing that rig for sale that fits me and has all the things I want/need on it made me want to buy it before anyone else did. I'm not going to rush into a decision, whether it be purchasing a rig, or jumping one that may be too small for me. Thanks again to all the replies. If anyone has any other canopy control advice, or what I can do/read/watch to improve my canopy control, please let me know. Thanks, Mike

Ok, so the student Javelins (and the majority of the rigs I have seen) would be throwout systems then, since the handle is directly attached to the pilot chute. From your description, sounds like pull out systems are somewhat similar to tandem rigs with the drogue release system. I'll ask around next time I am at the DZ and see if anyone has one. Thanks, Mike

I'm currently looking at a Mirage G3 with a BOC deployment system that is pretty much identical to the student Javelins that I have been jumping. Is this what you would refer to as a throwout system? I guess I would need to see pictures of it to really understand what the difference is. Thanks, Mike

Thanks for those last two replies. I spoke with my instructor again today, and he feels that I could probably handle a 210 right now, but due to DZ policy, I have to stick to DZ rental gear until I get my A, which means I can't go any smaller than a 230 (smallest student rig the DZ has). No problems there, the 230 is still new to me and I've got a lot to learn with it. I was also able to discuss with him a lot of techniques and skills that I need to learn and get good at before I can downsize. That's exactly what I was looking for, along with the list you just linked me to, Bill. I think maybe I'm being a little overzealous and wanting to jump at the rig I'm eyeing right now since it is seemingly very hard to find rigs for my height and weight with 'conservative' canopies in them. Ideally, I would rather jump a 190 as MY first canopy, but if it comes down to it, and I am unable to find a more suitable rig, I'll probably get the one I am looking at now, but just continue jumping rental gear until I am sure I can safely fly a 170 main. I still have not been able to find any information about Steve Miller's canopy course, but from everything I have heard about it, it's something I really want/need to check out, so if anyone can give me more info on it (where, when, price, etc), I would greatly appreciate it. Also, any good books or videos anyone can recommend will also help. Thanks, Mike P.S. My home DZ is Carolina Sky Sports in Louisburg, NC for those who are interested.

That's why I made this post, to get help learning to BE a better canopy pilot. Nobody has yet answered that question. As a reminder, jumping a 170, my wing loading will be about .91. And again, I WILL NOT DOWNSIZE until my instructors and I feel that it is safe to do so. I am simply trying to hone my skills as quickly as possible in the hopes that I can SAFELY downsize sooner. Thanks, Mike