NWFlyer

Always nice to have an analog backup, though. My Altitrack is on its way to L&B for service, but fortunately I've got two Galaxy altimeters in my gearbag that I can use till I get it back (both of which I bought used for $100 and $75 respectively). I always have a backup, and I always have a spare to lend out to someone if needed. "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

Sorry newbie but what are the additional features that student gear has that sports gear does not? While it's technically possible to have a sport rig that meets student standards, most don't. 1) In the U.S. (and probably many other countries) AADs are required for students. They're not required for sport jumpers (though some DZs do require them, or require them up to a certain jump number) 1A) Student AADs function differently than sport AADs (one way to have a sport rig function like a student rig would be to buy an AAD - like the Vigil - that has multiple modes). 2) Student rigs tend to have larger canopies of more docile design than sport rigs. Again, it's very possible to have a sport rig that would meet student wingloading, size, and canopy design requirements, but most sport rigs won't match up. 3) For two-instructor AFF jumps, the student rig is modified so that either instructor can pull for the student. Those are the primary differences I'm thinking of right now; there may be others that aren't coming to mind. It's possible, of course, to have a sport rig meet all those standards - I actually started jumping my own gear before I had my A license, but I also had a large docile canopy (Spectre) in the rig, and a Vigil AAD that we could set to student mode till I had my A. "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

FIFY. "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

Florida & Arizona will be on the scorching side that time of year. Northern and Southern California won't be too bad (though SoCal can get pretty hot, too). It'd be a fantastic time of year to go to Skydive Chicago - it's a great setup to park yourself there for a few weeks and live very comfortably on the DZ. You could even aim to be there during the Summerfest boogie. "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

M*A*S*H "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

And always ship it via a service that provides shipment tracking. Then the shipper provides a tracking number to the recipient, and it becomes fairly obvious when something is actually in transit vs. just a vague "yeah I sent it" promise. (Within the U.S., I strongly prefer FedEx, UPS would be a second choice. USPS would be my last choice only because their tracking seems to offer significantly less detail than the other two). "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 still create a paper log, but unless the jump was particularly unusual or memorable, other than the basic jump data, I don't write much more than the number of people on the jump, and maybe the names. I'm on logbook #3 and it's interesting to look at how much less I write now than I used to. But if it's a special jump (like my Blue Hole jump) I'll sure write a lot 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

I've seen the wraparound scar on the upper arm of someone who sliced herself open on a skid. So yeah, proper briefings are key. "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

Some dropzones will put a B license requirement on specialty jumps like helicopter or balloon, though typically I've seen the requirement more for balloon jumps than for helicopter jumps. The primary reason is that a balloon jump carries with it a reasonable probability of an off-field landing, and balloon jump organizers may want to ensure that people are a little more experienced to ensure they'll be comfortable in that situation. (Not that you shouldn't be able to handle an off landing with an A license, but more experience improves that understanding). For any new aircraft, but particularly for a totally new type like a balloon or helicopter, be certain to get a thorough briefing on the aircraft, including loading, safety on board, climb out, exit, etc. And have fun. And bring . "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

Yeah, they nailed me with that. I got the $30 credit as part of their "New every two" deal, but that got eaten up by the $30 upgrade fee. Then there's the other thing that (at least in CA) they have to charge sales tax on the full retail price of the phone, not the price you pay with the contract. So my $199 phone was taxed (at CA rates!) as if it were a $600+ phone. Ah well, they're still the best of the bunch, which ain't saying much! "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

Then you're really going to love her in Season 5. "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

http://www.dropzone.com/safety/articles/airspeed.shtml Some great stuff here. "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

Unfortunately, USPA does allow that now. The 200 jumps for camera is just a recommendation, not a BSR (the request to make it a BSR got no traction at the last board meeting). "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 may be part of the larger "the more you know" phenomenon - the longer you stay in the sport, the more awareness you develop of all the things that increase your risk - and why. But you should also become more aware of ways to mitigate that risk. With gear, of course, there are a lot of things you can do to mitigate the risk - choosing appropriate gear for your experience, selecting your rigger carefully, treating your gear with proper respect, conducting regular maintenance, developing a good gear check routine (and practicing it consistently), asking for a second set of eyes when necessary, and asking for help if you don't understand something. Every so often I'll have a seemingly irrational thought about my gear like "Are my legstraps properly routed?" Since I rarely unthread them, that's a pretty unlikely occurrence, but I'll take a peek anyway to ease my mind. The good news about gear is that there's generally an easy way to check something that you're worried about. Another thing you might think about is working on your rigger rating. The more you know ... "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 can look at it as an advantage if there's not a full moon - if there's a less-than-full (or no) moon, there's less chance of the "moon shadow" effect that creates the "phantom jumper" that's tricked many people into believing there's another jumper near them on landing. "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 say go for it. Try them for the first time on a small jump or in the tunnel; if you don't feel ready for them, you can always tuck them under and try again a few jumps later. "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

And based on the facts that we know, it seems pretty clear that a process was followed. If there hadn't been a process, it's likely the last instructor to jump with him would have said "You're done" the previous time he was at the DZ. Instead, they waited till his next visit, and no fewer than three people talked to him about the decision and gave the same answer. That doesn't sound at all like a rash decision on the part of one frustrated instructor, but instead a decision that the instructional/management staff came to as a group. "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 do I hear the other person's flappy-flappy slider over the sound of MY flappy-flappy slider, which is a mere couple feet or so from my ears? It might make it harder to hear things other than another slider, too - like a yell. I prefer to collapse mine. Good point ... as I said upthread, I've only ever done two (not the biggest fan of night jumps) so I'll certainly defer to others who've done more as to how well that actually works in practice. (That wasn't my idea - others have suggested it to me, so it's out there in night jump briefings). "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 pure old-school retro awesomeness. "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

Love the freefall, landing is okay, hate the canopy ride. I did my second one for my D license, came down and said "Done. Never again. Can I have my fucking D license now?" My night vision is not the greatest, though, and I found it very difficult to see anything at all on the canopy ride. Though everyone on the load had a strobe, it didn't help me at all in finding other canopies. Both night jumps I did had the landing area so well-lit the landing didn't feel all that different to me. You should get a thorough briefing, but here's a few things that may or may not come up. If you're using a glow-face analog altimeter, be sure to "charge" it by leaving it close to a light source for at least 30 minutes. If it's been buried in your gear bag for a while, it won't have quite the brightness you hope for. Don't collapse your slider after you open. That flappy-flappy sound helps those around you know "there's another canopy nearby." "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

Last time I took statistics was when I was in grad school... and that class was 16+ years ago. So I hardly remember anything, but one thing that did help me getting through my graduate statistics class was having the textbook from a stats class I'd taken at the local community college a couple years before I went back to grad school. The text I used for that class and the text I used for grad school were both your basic intro level classes, but the community college textbook was so much better and clearer. My grad school classmates were always bugging me to borrow the community college text because it was so much less obtuse even though it was covering the same stuff. So basically what I'm saying is that you'll have a 56.4% improved chance of getting an A in the class if you can find different books to explain the same concept, because there's a 97.5% chance that reading about something explained in a different way will cause a "light bulb" moment. "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 mean this video? http://youtu.be/9kfPrW9olbM 1997 recent. "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 a good thing you yelled so Billy would hear this thread. "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've found them at REI as well (I imagine similar stores might carry them, 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

What's your primary goal with a breakoff track? It's to gain horizontal separation from the people you're jumping with. Flatter and farther helps you to achieve that goal better, and is a good rule of thumb for small-to-medium sized jumps. In larger jumps, there may be a more specific tracking plan, based on breakoff waves and groups, and tracking as directed with your group is the most important thing to help achieve the best separation across the entire large group. However, those types of plans are typically discussed as part of the pre-jump briefing in a bigger-way jump (which, with 24 jumps under your belt, is likely a ways way). "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