NWFlyer

There's been (I think) three fatalities in the last few years where the person wasn't missed and the body wasn't found for a few days. The one in Houston, the one at Bay Area Skydiving, and this one. This one and the one at BAS were both no-pull fatalities; a check-in system wouldn't have changed the outcome; there was some debate as to whether the guy in Houston could have been helped. I'm with others who say that it really needs to be incumbent on us to look out for each other. Jumping in a group? Make sure your group is all accounted for post-jump. Jumping solo? Let someone on the load know, and ask 'em to check in with you after the jump. New to the dropzone and jumping solo? Same thing, but you'll have to introduce yourself to someone on the plane first. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

As Bill said, Casa Grande is the closest with any concentration of restaurants/shops. The grocery stores there are pretty standard chain stores (Safeway, Wal Mart, Fry's - which is a Kroger grocery store, not the large electronics store!). They'll all have some tiny selection of organic produce and maybe a few vegan options, but not great. Closest Whole Foods is in the Phoenix area. We're planning to hit Trader Joe's (and maybe Whole Foods) in Phoenix on our way down to the dropzone and stock up, and will be staying in our RV and doing most of our own cooking. I'm not vegan (far from it -unabashed carnivore!) but I try to be pretty careful about the quality of my food, and know that I'll have the best luck staying reasonably healthy if I prepare most of my own meals. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Welcome to skydiving. You will now look at the weather in a completely different way. Standard weather forecasts will no longer do. Cloudy? Well, what do you mean by cloudy? How high is the ceiling? Breezy? Windy? So what's the dividing line there? And WTF does "Partly cloudy" really mean, anyway? Soon enough you'll need the AWOS phone number (if there is an AWOS at your airport, that is) so you can call in and hear the magical words "Clear below one two thousand feet." Of course, once you hear that you've gotta listen for Mr. Automated Voice to tell you the winds as well, because those numbers might be nice ... and they might be naughty (high, gusty, or both). And even armed with all that info, a lot of skydiving weather "management" involves going to the DZ and waiting. Waiting for that morning fog to burn off. Waiting for the winds to die down. Waiting for that hole in the clouds to appear right over the DZ. And yeah, some of the limitations are tighter when you're a student, but to be honest, this never really goes away. We're at the mercy of the weather, and every season has its weather challenges to be aware of. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Tammy also does pick ups from the airport too. And Tammy is...? I'm only aware of the shuttle service listed on the SDAZ site (Avatar Shuttle), but I'd rather use the $65 they charge for three jump tickets instead. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

This is still what a newly licensed person should be working on. You know, if you're going to quote someone you should probably quote the right person, since that's something that I posted, not Shredex. Recall that Shredex was the one advising someone just off AFF to do a bunch of tracking jumps. I was making an attempt to give more reasoned advise. And yes, I'd agree with you as well that it's still a priority for a newly-licensed person. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

What do your instructors recommend? That would be the first place I would start. Some dropzones have formalized dive flows and suggested progressions for post-AFF jumps. others are more informal and let the students figure it out as they go. Have you had a look at the USPA SIM and the descriptions of Category F, G, and H skydives? Have you looked at your A-license progression card to see what skills you still need to demonstrate to earn your A license? Some of them are freefall skills, some are canopy skills, still others are ground-based learning. You can plan your post-AFF jumps to make sure to get all of those skills in, either on solos or coach jumps. As you're ticking off each of the skills, make sure you work with an instructor to sign off the progression card after you complete them (some will require direct observation by an instructor or coach on the jump with you, others will be things that you'll plan and do on your own and discuss with an instructor when you get down to sign off the card. It's important to know which is which as you plan the skydive). I would argue that thinking about where you might want to go in the sport isn't really critical at this point. In the time between now and working towards your A license, it matters little if you eventually want to be a 4-way belly competitor, a bigway jumper, a freeflyer or CRW dawg or wingsuiter down the road - your key developmental priority right now is working on and refining all of the basics of flying on your belly, building awareness and comfort in the sky, and demonstrating all of the skills required to earn your A license. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I can also recommend not landing on the grass at the edge of the high speed driving training course at the police academy since the po-po will have to be contacted to come and retrieve you. Not that I'd know anything about that from personal experience or anything. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If anyone's coming from Phoenix down to the DZ in the afternoon/evening of 12/22 or the morning of 12/23, I'm looking for a ride back from PHX airport. It'll just be one person with no gear. Happy to chip in a few bucks for gas money or buy you a round or two at the Prop. I'm pretty flexible on time (will just be returning a car to PHX that we're using to get ourselves set up at the DZ). Please send me a PM if you can help out. Thanks! "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Ask at manifest if there are any belly organizers that work with lower-experience jumpers to put together small groups, or ask to be introduced to some folks that might be able to bring you up on a small group jump. Note that the operative word above is small - if you show up and are immediately invited on a 10-way, think again. It's nice that people are welcoming to the FNG, but be sure to stay within your experience level and comfort zone and a 10-way (especially with complete strangers) should probably be out of that zone for a while. If you've never jumped the aircraft type before, ask for a briefing on the door and exits in addition to what's been noted by others (exit order, seating, seat belts). Above all, have fun! The opportunity to visit different DZs is (IMHO) one of the most fun parts of this sport. I'm at around 30 DZs in my 8+ years in the sport, and it's always fun to hit up a new one. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Since no one directly answered your question, 2-3 weeks is no big deal at all. Mine regularly stay packed for that length of time between visits to the dropzone, especially in the slower months of the year. It's a lot easier for me to store my gear in a cat-proof location in my apartment when it's packed up, so I tend to go home with my rig packed even if I'm not coming back for a while. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

It's really not. I mean, of course when things like this happen, we all go through a brief period of "what if?" but then realize that, statistically speaking, it's still really really unlikely that any of us will be directly in the line of that kind of violence. But it's a natural reaction to have a more visceral, emotional reaction that doesn't match the statistical likelihood. It's just like we have a more visceral reaction to a commercial airline crash even though our likelihood of dying in an automobile accident is much, much higher. For me, though, the remote threat of being a victim of random violence isn't enough to change a damn thing about the way I live my life. I'm not going to live in fear. I'm not going to be paranoid. I'm not going to start carrying. Because I know that, day to day, the best thing I can do is to keep living my life. To stay abreast of issues in my own neighborhood, in my own city. To know my neighbors, to talk to them, to interact with them, to know that we're keeping an eye on each other and are all taking reasonable precautions to keep the building safe for everyone (making sure exterior doors close/lock behind us, not letting people we don't know into the building, etc.). Life is inherently not safe. You can't make it perfectly safe, for anyone, anywhere, and in my opinion, what you lose by trying to bubble wrap life and take the risk out of it is significantly worse than accepting that sometimes, bad things happen to you or the people that you love because of that inherent risk in life. [All this is not to say that I don't think we've got serious problems to solve in this country, but that I'm not going to cower at home while we figure it all out, either.] "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Bump... on this cloudy day, with two recently-relined mains unpacked at home, I took photos of my main canopies, my main data labels, my container data labels, and the packing data cards for both rigs (which gives me the serial numbers for reserves & AADs). Also helmet, altimeter, audibles, and jumpsuit. Of all the gear I photographed today, I realized that the only thing I owned the last time I took photos was what is now my backup container. All the other components in that rig have been replaced since then, and I have a second complete rig, and hadn't taken down the info for any of that stuff. This is good stuff to have - hopefully you'll never have to use it, but it's worth the investment of a few minutes to have all the information documented. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

How about now? Are we there yet now? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Your web site only includes tandem pricing. Are licensed jumpers welcome? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Actually, it packs about ONE size smaller than a 9-cell of the same square footage/similar design. I own two Pulses, and switched from a Pilot to a Pulse of the same size and my Pulse definitely does NOT pack two sizes smaller than the Pilot did. But as several others have pointed out, a 176 reserve is the higher-risk concern with this configuration. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Jerome the Motor Home. We bought him last year (a 1985 Fleetwood Southwind). Most of the time he stays at our local home DZ, but he's made a few road trips to Lost Prairie, and currently he's hanging out in Eloy (we just left him there since we were going to both Nationals and the Holiday Boogie and it was hardly worth the fuel and time to drive him back home again). It's made such a huge difference in DZ comfort to have a nice, warm bed for cold nights, to be able to hop inside and crank the A/C on a hot day, to be able to easily store & prepare our own food, and to be able to use the bathroom in the middle of the night without going outside. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

If you'd listened to the most recent SDR you might be pleasantly surprised at the current discount. But clearly you haven't listened to it. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

I'm with you on 9, though I'd probably just wait till the flight attendant was coming by to mention it. I try really hard not to use the call button unless it's something pretty urgent while the seat belt light is on (otherwise, I'll just get up and find someone to ask rather than expecting them to come to me), and temperature adjustments usually don't fall into the urgent category. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

2. Not sitting upright/pushed back enough on a full load so that the people getting on after you end up more crunched than they need to be. 3. Boarding out of order so that everyone has to rearrange themselves to let you get to the proper seat for exit order. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Great album. Hard to believe it is over 20 years old. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Don't new mains come with links? A used canopy should include everything that a new one does. Not including the links is just rude. Yes, Lisa, I've already been schooled on that one upthread. And I agree with you, but I've had sellers not send me the canopy on links (or with any line group organization). In the most recent case I'll chalk it up to noobiness, but yeah, still rude to make me dig up a set of slinks and detangle a mess of lines. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

May I disagree ? Lines on links. Linegroups daisy chained. Cards just add an extra step (I will go as far as say they are a pain in the ass), as any self respecting rigger will still do a full continuity check before assembly. My friendly neighborhood veteran Master Rigger seems to be of the same opinion. I agree with you on the links, but I also think it's one of those things that (as a buyer) you should clarify with the seller. The last main that I purchased used the seller didn't have links to send with it for whatever reason. I just needed to know that so I could make sure to have a set of slinks on hand. As for your technique, sounds like a good one, too. I think it accomplishes the same thing as using a card, which is that you don't get the canopy as a nasty mess of lines. I typically do my own assembly on mains and of course do a full continuity check in the process, and having the lines organized (by whatever technique) makes starting that process a lot easier. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Yes, separate all of the above from the main. They stay with the container. As for the slinks - depends on what you agreed to with the buyer. They're very straightforward to take off. No matter what, it's an extremely cool thing to do to send the canopy on a card with the line groups labeled. The manufacturers make them, but it's easy enough to do yourself; just get a good stiff piece of cardboard and label it front left/front right, rear left/rear right and poke/punch a hole through the cardboard and feed the line group through the appropriate hole. You can tie a rubber band around the bottom of the line group to keep it all tidy. Your buyer will REALLY appreciate not having to untangle a mess of loose lines. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

That is an awesome number of GoPros on a single jump. I'm surprised the footage wasn't edited to include everyone's POV. That's why you had that many, right? "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

Google "rim to rim in winter" and some trip reports and even one trip organizer appear. So it's possible, but sounds like it can be more technical than in the summer, which makes sense. North Rim park/services are completely closed throughout the winter because of the higher elevation/snow levels, so it'd definitely take a lot more planning. "There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke