NWFlyer

How long it takes, of course, is a different answer, depending on where you are in the long line of other shit the rigger has on his/her list. "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

Just as Jen (and any other seller) is free to refuse to sell it to anyone she wants for any reason. Personally, I like her reasons and appreciate at least an attempt to keep the rest of us safer in the pattern from people in over their heads on canopies they can't handle (not to mention keeping the noob safe, too). "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

Thoughts: 1) Figure out a way to jump more frequently. Deland's a great DZ, but is there anywhere closer to you that you could visit more frequently? I say this because if you want your skills to progress, jumping more than every couple of months will help. You can certainly fly safely flying infrequently, but having to get recurrent every time will cost you more and your skills won't progress all that quickly. 2) Don't jump alone (much). You'll learn a lot more flying relative to one or two other people than you'll learn flying alone. But keep your jumps small for a while. 3) Take advantage of any skills camps, scrambles, organizing, fun competitions, etc., that you're eligible for. Find out what's going on at all the DZs and join in at different events. Some events may be looking for more experienced jumpers, but a lot of them will welcome everyone with an A license. (I know Skydive City in Zephyrhills regularly hosts 4-way scrambles, which are tons of fun and a great way for newer jumpers to jump with and learn from more experienced folks). 4) Stay on your belly for a while. Partly because of the infrequency of your jumping, but partly because it'll make you a better skydiver overall even if you do eventually decide to focus on freefly. You'll be able to work on key lifesaving skills like diving, docking, tracking, breakoff, general awareness at a slower speed than a freefly jump. Everything you learn on your belly will be usable when you freefly, trust me - none of it will go to waste. "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

So is this the right interpretation of what the guy's trying to say? 1) Don't chase wingsuiters with the plane. If you do and there's a claim because a wingsuiter contacts the plane when engaging in such a formation, the claim will be denied and your coverage will be terminated. 2) Be proactive about stopping wingsuit tail strikes because we've noticed the numbers and they're not good. Don't wait till a wingsuit tail strike brings down a plane to do something about 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

Assuming you also have a car that is insured, I'd start with the same company. Most insurance companies will give a discount for having multiple policies, so you may get the best prices going that way. As with all things insurance-wise, read the fine print and understand what you're buying and to help to prevent you becoming one whose claims don't get paid. One hint: you'll want to look for replacement value coverage, not actual value coverage. "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 bearing does that have? Absolutely none. Apparently nobody involved wants to talk about two potentially deadly events. Oh well, maybe next time. I dunno... it might help if you could at least help to triangulate where the events might have happened, so while I don't really care who told you, it might be nice to know that "misfire 1 was at a Wyoming DZ and misfire 2 was in New Hampshire." (Yes, I've deliberately chosen two states that I'm pretty sure don't have full-time dropzones since I have no idea where the incidents took place and don't want to get any rumors started ). I have Vigils in both my rigs - I have an interest in learning more about whether the fires were within the known parameters of the device or outside those parameters. I just happen to think there's better ways to get to information than "I heard that something happened somewhere." "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

The tunnel can be a valuable training tool. The freefall training time it provides you can be cheaper on a per-minute basis than the freefall training you receive on a skydive. If you're going to go to a tunnel, make sure you have a coach, someone who knows that you're a skydiving student/new skydiver who wants to work on skydiving skills. Otherwise you'll just get a fun ride. All that said, tunnel is absolutely not a necessity, nor is it required to progress in the sport. Even with the proliferation of tunnels today, most skydivers still learn without any tunnel time at all. Many long-time jumpers have never set foot in the tunnel and fly just fine. The tunnel teaches you nothing about aircraft safety, exiting an aircraft, approaching formations safely, breakoff, tracking, deployment, safe canopy flight, pattern setup, or landing. But for focused freefall skill-building and training, it's great. "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 think he means "Horny Gorilla." The video kinda gives a new meaning to "Downplane" Pretty sure he was just talking about a horny dog - e.g., a dog humping another dog, which is pretty much what those planes look like when they're stuck together. (A "safer" search might be an image search for "dogs mating.") "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

So you tracked up jump run. What did you need our help figuring out, again? "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 thought she still had a good leg, too, I think on opposite sides. No Twister games for a while. Glad to hear you're healing well, Jennifer. Looking forward to the cartoon version of this. Hopefully you'll be up and around at least a bit by Chicks Rock so some of your out-of-town fans (like me) can at least say hi (even though we might have to wait a bit to jump with you). "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're already doing the following, disregard. Assuming you're wearing the helmet for takeoff, once you're above 1,000 feet, take the helmet off until you're getting ready to jump. Keep the visor open until the last practical moment before exit. I find doing those two things significantly reduces any fogging I might have with my full-face helmets. It seems like if I do have fogging light and it's at the end of the skydive, and since I open my visor under canopy, it's not a huge deal to me. "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

Learned something new today; I didn't realize the Viso had that capability. (And I was aware of the Flysight, but wasn't really thinking of it in this category of instruments). Still stand by my point about better ways to learn fall rate control, though.

Have you tried working with your instructors before the skydive to plan out your pattern? If you're a visual person (like I am) it can help to actually draw out a picture of the landing area and mark on it where you will be when you're in your holding pattern. Where you will be when you turn onto your downwind leg. Where you'll turn onto base. Where you'll turn onto final. That was something I was required to do for every single student jump, and it helped me quite a bit. Of course, the picture would look different depending on what direction the winds were coming from, and how high they were. At least for me, the actual act of drawing and visualizing it helped quite a bit. You can also get out to the edge of the landing area and watch a bunch of other people land. Watch how they set up their patterns. Figure out how you'll set up your pattern based on what the winds are doing that day. Again, it's all part of visualizing it and seeing it in your head before you do it. Your pattern should involve as much (if not more) "dirt diving" as your actual skydive. "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

Audible & visual are mutually exclusive. Not that you can't get both in the same instrument, it's just that you'll have to choose which way you want to use it on any given jump. To reliably hear audible alarms, the altimeter will need to be mounted in your helmet, up next to your ear, not on your wrist or hand. I may be wrong, but I don't think there's any altimeter out there that will show you this information while in freefall, and I'd argue that even if you could, staring at an altimeter to gauge your fall rate is probably not the most effective way to work on fall rate. Instead, go do two-way jumps with someone and work on flying relative to that person. Ask them to fall at a steady rate, and work on slow/fast techniques to see where you end up relative. Or ask them to fall slower, and work to get up to them (or faster, and work to get down). "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 not that it's a seven cell, btw. There are seven cell canopies (such as the Spectre, Triathlon, or Storm) that could be great choices. You've heard plenty of reasons why this one isn't. "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

2010 called. They want their viral video back. "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

You're like the customer we'd get at least once per shift when I worked at the record store back in high school. "Yeah, I want that song ... by that guy? You know, they play it on the radio all the time?" "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 it had widely killed you would you still be here to tell us the story? "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

Anybody got a spare 25,000 Euros? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/detail_page.cgi?ID=132581;d=1 "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 be that guy who comes back and tries to minimize the importance of re-currency training, no matter how much of a natural you were with your progression. As skybytch said, you'll probably remember everything pretty well, but it won't hurt and it will help quite a bit to go over all the basics with an instructor or coach. "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 (and this is a big if - the headache could be totally unrelated) your headache came from jumping while you had sinus issues, it's unlikely that earplugs would have changed the outcome. You can certainly ask your instructors about wearing them, but I'm going to guess their answer will be "no." Being able to hear instructions clearly in the plane and being able to hear the radio clearly when you're being talked down are pretty important; it's possible that earplugs could interfere with that. "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

Time to share a dropzone.com classic with you. http://crwdog.servebeer.com/CRWdog/HowCRW.html Wendy (faulknerwn on here) is now a highly-experienced (8000+ jumps) badass instructor & world record holder. And it wasn't easy for her, 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

You have 8 skydives. Is there anything else in your life that you got good at in 8 minutes? Generations of skydivers have figured shit out without wind tunnels. I'm willing to bet if you want to, you can, too.

They're all good helmets, but each has a distinct style for the visor opening mechanism. In addition to trying them on for fit, you'll definitely want to try them on to see which style you prefer. Folks who wear glasses tend to really love the Revolve because it provides the most room for glasses (not that you can't wear glasses with other helmets, but the Revolve seems to be great for glasses). I personally can't fit my head in a Z1 (they do tend to run smaller and I have a freakishly large head). I've tried the Mamba and while it's a great helmet, the fit on my face wasn't quite right, and I personally couldn't get used to the locking mechanism (but probably could have if I'd given it more time). I currently own a FreeZR2 and a Cookie G2 (no longer available, but replaced by the very similar G3). I jump the G2 exclusively - I liked the FreeZR2, but the locking mechanism on the G2 is more secure, and I can easily close the visor down with one hand (which is a lot more difficult with the FreeZR2). "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

Of course, at the very same event, there was a very strict interpretation of the rules for the head-down record (thus the 142-way Guinness record and the 138-way US/IL record). So the question becomes; is it the judges? Is it the clarity of the criteria (and potentially related, the training of judges on applying that criteria)? Is it a vast conspiracy on the part of the comp committee? I don't actually know the answer but seeing how strict the head-down judging was shows that judging can and does go both ways; sometimes in favor of the organizers, sometimes against them. "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