NWFlyer

You're almost a day late, Squeak. Check Post #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

Having put about 200-300 jumps each on a Spectre, Pilot, and Pulse, here's my experience. My Spectre spanked me once. That was when I was a brand newbie and I deployed quite head-low. That was body position, NOT the canopy. My Pilot smacked me three times. None of them had any unusual body positions going on. They were all bone-shakers, one involved broken lines. My Pulse has yet to smack me. YMMV, but just goes to show that any canopy can smack you, even those with good reps. The Spectre and Pilot were more snivelly, the Pulse is a bit more positive, but still quite soft. It's been pretty reliable with on-heading, too. Sometimes I'll look up and see it wanting to hunt while it opens, but it will settle in exactly on heading. I have not jumped a Safire 2 so can't comment. The handful of jumps I did on a Fusion were all soft, but ALL 90 degrees off heading. As for flight/landing characteristics - your best bet would be to demo as many as you can to find out what works best for 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

Sure. I won a certificate for a free Cypres 4-year or 8-year check at Chicks Rock last year. I laughed as I went up to get it because neither I nor my SO own a Cypres in any of our three AAD-equipped rigs. So I sold it to a friend for half the cost of a Cypres check. Win-win for both of us - I got rid of something that was worthless to me, he saved money on his inspection. "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

Reminds me of a long conversation I had with JohnMitchell and vskydiver's youngest daughter when she was 13 or 14. She was pleading her case with me because Mom and Dad didn't want to hear it anymore. She was heartbroken because she wasn't allowed to have a texting plan on her cell phone, and was quite convinced that the inability to communicate in that way would make her a total social pariah (in that dramatic way that only teenage girls can muster up). I offered to call child protective services on her behalf and shared with her how much I had to suffer at her age. At her age, I had to save up my babysitting money to pay to have an extra extension for the family's land line (land line!) installed in my bedroom because our house was old enough that there were only extensions in the kitchen and master bedroom. "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

Seconds (or thirds) on Murderball, Inside Job, No Direction Home, When We Were Kings. Also... Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Inside Deep Throat The Aristocrats (okay, it's only very loosely a documentary) Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 - I watched this one earlier in the day on Super Bowl Sunday and it was such a refreshing contrast to the SB. Plus, it's also an interesting look at the social and political climate of the time. The Heart of the Game "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

8-way training we'd do 8/day on 20 minute calls. Start at 7ish, done by 2ish. I was pretty worn out by the end of those days and usually had to dig deep for jumps 6 and 7 (then jump 8 would be easier b/c the end was near), but a lot of that was that those were focused training jumps. Most in one day is 9/day for 8-way at Nationals last year. I really wish we'd been able to do all 10 (got dark before we could get through 'em) because I was sick by the middle of the day and predicted (as it turned out, correctly) that my sinuses were going to get worse overnight. So, yeah, I was worn out that day, but being sick didn't help. Typically, I'm a 3-5 jump/day person. I do this for fun, half the fun I have is hanging out on the ground during the day and chilling out. "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

Especially if it was a can of New Coke. "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

Pull tabs on cans. "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

Oooh, oooh, pick me, I know, I 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

The only jump in recent memory where I didn't wear gloves was my hop & pop into the Blue Hole in Belize. Then again, that was a bare bones jump - just a swimsuit, flotation gear, and a rig. No AAD, no helmet, no alti, no shoes. For all other jumps, I like to protect my brain, my feet, and my hands. So, yes to gloves, no matter how hot it is. "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

Only the best PIA swag for you, my friend. "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

Huh? Can't seem to find that in the SIM. Here's what I did find. Both proficiency cards mention "25 skydives." No specificity about the type. http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Form_ALicenseProgandApp.pdf http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Form_ALicenseProfandApp.pdf "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. Plus, giving up on one component (say, a container) does not mean giving up on the other components. You may choose to order a new custom built container but find canopies and an AAD used. To the OP - where have you been looking? If it's only in the "Complete Systems" section of the classifieds here, you're missing out on the possibility of pulling together individual components. If you haven't contacted all the large gear dealers to see what they have in stock, you may be missing out on available used components. What you're looking for in terms of canopy sizes is definitely not "out there" in terms of what's on the market, so make sure you're looking under all the right rocks. Oh, and can I ask why you're looking at getting a reserve that's smaller than your main? "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 saw Sentimental Journey at an airshow here in CA yesterday. Beautiful birds. Shame to see one go in, but so thankful there was no loss of life/serious injury. "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 he said; this thread has made me feel very fortunate in just how nice the vast majority of my family is. I not only still talk to them, I like them. We get together -- and I'm including my in-laws and cousins in there, too, not just the siblings. Ditto. My mom drives me nutty sometimes, but I still very much enjoy (and value) the time I get to spend with her and my dad. My bro and I are very different people (and instead of squabbling constantly like we did as kids, we've accepted that as adults and - mostly - appreciate our differences). I didn't grow up near most of my cousins, but I have several of them as Facebook friends and got together with a bunch last time I was in the area where a lot of them live. Despite the fact that we differ on a number of key things (not least of which is religion), we keep the topics of conversation away from the stuff we disagree on and catch up on the stuff we do have in common and enjoy the family ties for what they are - a shared history. Come to think I've never really "cut anyone out of my life." I've taken a break from friendships that were approaching a level of toxicity that was uncomfortable (but that's only been a couple of them). Either the break has been a positive thing and I've been able to reenter the friendship and renew it (sometimes on different terms) or the break has made me (or them) realize that our lives are better lived apart from each other, and that's okay, too. I really can't think of anyone for whom I feel hatred, and I think to a large degree that's a personal decision to let the person and the ill will go away rather than keeping the anger inside so that it damages me more than it does 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

It's true, I saw it all with my own two eyes. The old man is wily. He and his teammate did pack their own flag, at least (see attached). "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, really! I haven't seen a $2 bill since the last time I toured Monticello (I'm willing to bet the majority of $2s in circulation came out of there ... it's kind of their thing) "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

Sometimes I do and they often make me giggle. For example, here's the copy for two of them today. Seems they like to slip in the random phrase or two to see if you're paying attention. "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 Man Buried in a Pringles Can "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

Nice. That's actually not at all uncommon for Groupon - clearly they've got a group of imaginative, smart-ass writers doing their copy. "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

Always. My tip is generally about $1/pack job, though I'll often just round up to the nearest round amount so it might end up being just under or just over $1/pack job depending. "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

Well, then if it was issued under the current requirements, they probably made a mistake. First item in the B-license requirements is "obtained a USPA A license". (Whereas, for C-license, it's "met all current requirements for *OR* hold a USPA B license".) But I won't tell on you. i sent in my stuff in feburary so i would be good for the fitz boogie. i emailed them a copy of my A card, and that was sufficient. That's because a completed, signed, stamped A card IS an A-license. Most people do apply for the A license anyway because if nothing else, getting it filed with USPA means that if you lose the yellow card, there's still a verifiable record of you having achieved the A license. If you lose the card, you'd have to redocument everything, which could be a pain. But by having the card, you did have 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 didn't see any value in it. Part of it was that the timing worked out that I didn't complete water training till I had about 130 jumps. At that point I figured I was close enough to a C that I'd just wait and apply for the C instead of bothering with the B. I couldn't see anything that I wanted to do at the time that a B license would have allowed me to do. "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

Screw Thailand. Come to Nicaragua because we'll be there! "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 have an enduring girl crush on her. That voice... sigh. "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