tdog

I now have seen it all on DZ.com.... What worries me... Everyone that has replied thus far is telling you how to take them off... No one has given you advice on how to put them on... Why is this community so uncreative...

Umm... What can I say... I went to the camp last spring... I had the time of my life and learned a lot... Pat, one of the coaches, is my favorite coach of all time... Granted, a lot of what makes a coach good is if they "click" with you personally, and I think I could call Pat a friend... I highly recommend the camp... Highly... Highly... Tell Pat I said hi. I have also done the Airspeed camp, and hired coaches for team training - and after 10+ hours of coached time in the tunnel, I still go back to what I learned from the Perris camp as the building blocks for everything else I have done since... Travis

I like my mega booties...

I jumped the RTS when I was a student... In fact, once I got my A and could choose any rental rig on the shelf (while waiting for mine to come) - I picked the RTS over the "others" which are the typical sport rigs, whenever I could, because I found them the most comfortable... I now jump a Vector with Skyhook, and I love it - however, I am impressed with the RTS. They get a lot of use and abuse at the DZ and they still look (and operate) brand new. As "untrendy" as it may be to have a window to see the reserve pin on a sport rig, I actually kind of wish that was normal on sport rigs, as when I have given gear checks to students who asked for checks, it is so easy with the reserve pin window...

Because it is nice to praise people who do good work in public places, especially when the company is new, and a lot of experienced people don't go to the reviews and look up brands they have no experience with. I would not have purchased a LS suit if I was not made aware of them by someone who said they did good work. I am in the process of getting a Liquid Sky suit right now too... They have been so helpful and so responsive... They will respond to e-mails at 10PM on a Sunday, where other well known companies never returned my e-mails at all... For some reason one measurement on my suit was not "perfect" once I tried it on... I was going to have it fixed locally, but they insisted they wanted to make it perfect at their expense and begged I send it back... That is customer service... So I agree, Liquid Sky rocks...

I kind of am a tunnel addict now... My first tunnel experience was in Perris. I purchased 30 minutes of coached time. Since no one else was flying mid-day, I was in for 2.5 minutes, then I would jump out and in 20 seconds get my debrief and jump back in. I played the VHS back... 36 minutes - 31 minutes of me flying, 5 minutes the rat... That means an average of 25 seconds resting between each 2.5 minute session... This is not normal for a tunnel - however my arms lost strength by about 25 minutes. I have done two tunnel-4way camps where I have flown in the tunnel for 3 hours and skydived 24 times in 5 days... One Airspeed and one Perris. I recommend both. And over the x-mas boogie this year, I spent 3.5 hours flying blocks with friends and Airspeed coaching in 3 days... 1 hour of actual flying time each day. I am not that athletic when it comes to running down the road... I am not even that athletic when it comes to stretching... But I survived with pleanty of hydration and good spirit. The only muscles that I have ever really, really, worn out, are the weird ones in my arms/chest that hold my arms down and head up when I fly... I think they are unique to skydivers, because they were muscles I did not know I had. So, anything that strengthens those muscles is good... All that being said, I actually have hired a personal trainer and am going to be working out a few times a week with the trainer for the next few months in prep for my 4way team this year - to increase reaction time, to slim down a bit, and to work on underutilized muscles to basicily increase overall core strength... If you really, really, really want to get your money's worth, I would show up a day early and do two things... 1) Maybe buy a few minutes of time before the camp and just get confident in the airflow... 2) Go in and just watch (free, which makes it priceless) people fly and learn what is expected of you. You will learn so much by watching different coaches show body position and drills to their students, so you are ready for your own session... You will have fun, and I admire the fact you are working on getting ready now.

This thread has been interesting... About once a week someone posts a recommendation for their favorite... Well, I am not one to follow the "trend", because if I was, I would have for sure gone with Ouragon because I know a lot of people with their suits... I have seen their suits first hand, and they are great. I opted to go with Liquid Sky. (http://www.liquidskysports.com) The suit came and it is awesome. Great workmanship. Great price. I am going to be proud to wear it. Julio worked his butt off to get it done by Christmas and gave me a special deal on the order... There was one measurement that just did not come out the way I wanted... I contacted Julio and offered to have it altered locally if he would just send a chunk of fabric. He begged for me to ship it back so he could make it perfect for me... He asked for detailed photos and for me to double check my measurements so he could tweak it just right... I am impressed... My first skydiving gear purchase where truly the customer was put first... And the quality is top notch... I would highly recommend... Travis

EDITED... DZ Ownership changed due to contract dispute - My friends, loyal to the old DZO, left very upset refusing to go back, because they disagree with the new DZO... I have updated my review because what I previously wrote is no longer valid.

I now have the divepool memorized so you say a number I can tell you my slot and the name of the move... On randoms I actually now say the points in my mind as letters as I build them... I never thought I would do it, but I now do... But the blocks were very overwhelming for someone like me who sucks at memorization... So I came up with very complex Mnemonic or memory aids, that some might find more difficult than just memorizing the numbers, but for people like me, here is the list... I am past the point of needing them, but a few days ago in the tunnel I saw a dive on the dry erase board and brainlocked and I am sure glad I had the tools to fall back on. 1 - Snowflake because a snow flake is a straight long line like a 1. 2 - because there are two ways to dock on a donut. 3 - tertiary = 3rd in rank and turf without the "f" is very similar sounding... 4 - monopod because mono = 1 and pod = 3, so mono+pod = 4 5 - opal because it rhymes with oval, and a circle is round in 4 directions (north, south, east, west) unless you push on one of the directions to make an oval... 4+1 = 5. 6 - Stardian because Jewish religious stars have 6 points 7 - Sidebuddys because you are lucky to have buddies, (see 13 for the opposite) 8 - Canadian Tee - because Canadians say "Ahe" and "Eight" can be "Aheght" 9 - Cat + accord because cats have 9 lives 10 - The 1 = a finger and the 0 then = the diamond ring to put on the finger. 11 - Photon because photons are rays of light, and just like ghostbusters, you keep your rays of light parrallel and don't cross the beams, and thus they look like 11 when shot. 13 - Hammer, because it is your unlucky day when a hammer hits you over the head. 14 - Bipole because my brain someway links the "4" into the picture of 4 people making the mirror image 15 - Caterpillar because Caterpillar Tractors have 1500 horse power (or so I convinced myself) 16 - compressed accordion box because I see a compressed and box both having 4 lines and 4 * 4 = 16 17 - because at 7 o'clock in the morning you have tea with your danish. 18 - Zircon because the things you use to grease fittings on machines are zerks and I envision two of those on each wheel of a car, which makes 1 car with 8 zerks = 18 19 - Ritz, Icepick because the 1 is a icepick about ready to stab the 9. 20 - Viper because you take 20 steps back from a snake when you are scared. 21 - Zig Zag Marquee, because the "2" and "Z" look nearly the same, and the "Marquee" is 1 big sign in front of a theatre... 22 - Tee, because it would be proper for 2 people to have tea at 2 o'clock on a hot summer day.

Well... I just got back from a trip to a tunnel... Spent a few hours flying 4way this trip, but have many more hours in the tunnel than I do in the actual air now. I have thought, "wouldn't it be cool if a tunnel had..." Here is my "wouldn't it be cool list...." 1) Plenty of room in the tunnel waiting area (the area inside the tunnel airlock) to dirt dive a four way while you are out for your 2 minutes between sessions... Practicing blocks was entertaining with one person standing on the bench. Perhaps a shorter bench so there is an area to stand without blocking the door??? We stood by the door, but even there it was tight and we were in the way of anyone trying to get out... 2) Consistent airspeed for each group... Perhaps a meter you can see so so you know what to ask for, especially when you find a speed that is optimal for the group. 3) A stable video system (DVD recorders) and team rooms to view them. Eloy upgraded their recorders from Sony to I think Pioneer, and guess what, the DVDs actually play in my computer now too! (The Sony DVDs were glitchy at best on a PC, some players would not work with the menus, and others would not allow fast forward or rewind...) Whatever model they now use are super cool for interface. 4) More than one angle of cameras on the video system. Sometimes a straight on is better than from above to see things like arch and body position. With DVD technology, you can have more than one angle, so if any recorder would allow that, that would be even more cool. With cameras so small (not to disturb airflow), why not string one below the net center looking up??? Not that the looking up angle is needed, but it could be a fun perspective... 5) A mirror in the tunnel, so you can look at yourself and see what your body position looks like real time. 6) A water cooler for hydration. 7) A good collection of dry erase boards and markers so you can write down your dives/drills. With permanent marker, put a date and time box on the top so other people know not to take your board and use it. "Team X, 8:30 AM, 12/29" 8) Plenty of shelving to put down your gear. 9) Good collection of creepers and a painted circle on the floor the size of the tunnel. A "X" griding the circle into 4 quadrants would help lining up 4 way formations so those learning the basics can see where the center of the formation should be and know if their turns are on center and 90 degrees. Also paint in the doors so when you are doing 4way you can dirt dive where to go when you enter the tunnel so you don't spend 5 seconds getting everyone to their slot. (not that you need to paint the doors to do it, but why not) 10) A count down clock till the next session. When the tunnel is running a few minutes behind or early, you don't know when to gear up... Wouldn't be that hard to have a clock that counts down from 60 minutes or whatever the planned session is. Start it at the beginning of the purchased block of time, and the people in the tunnel would also know what they have left. 11 - Paint the I-beams between the glass different colors... Coaches will often try to line up their students for the best camera shot and/or the safest place away from doors... It would be so cool to say, "face the yellow beam" instead of "face that way" which yields less than accurate results. Or maybe painted numbers? "Face the 1", "slide slide between 1 and 4" Anyway, just my ideas...

She is not kidding!!! Considering Dan and I will be flying in another tunnel for a couple hours together for the next few days, I think he already knows what it is like to be hooked. We couldn't even wait until Colorado opened for a "hit" of air... To late for him. And I.

I think I might pick up your crappy Murphy flake... But I like my visualization for the donut... Take 4 Js on a piece of paper, all turned 90 degrees... I makes a donut with everyone got one grip... So, I am spending 3 hours in the tunnel with GQ_Jumper, SkyKittyCat, TDog (me) and Airspeed working on some blocks... Starting tomorrow... Hour a day, probably 5-8 blocks a day... I am switching slots to IC from OC and some tailage experience... Last time I flew IC was about a year ago... Nervous as hell, as I am not good at memorization, and I have to start from scratch in a new slot... Anyone got good mnemonics for the blocks... I know for sure I am taking my divepool cheat-sheets with me... I am the type of person that learns by doing, so that is what we are doing, but still, we are going to have some fun I guess... T.

EDIT - Sorry Quade to reply to a few year old post you put up. I just realized how old this thread was, or else I would have replied to one of the newer posts... I am going to post mine WITHOUT reading all the posts... Then I am going to see how many of mine match. Then I am going to see if any of you have good ones... A = Unipod (A = 1, Uni = 1) B = Bear Step Diamond C = D = Do-on You-on E = MEEEEker F = Fallopian Accordion G = Gattacord (or GGGot-a-cord) = Cattacord H = Ho-Bow J = Donut because one hand looks like a J K = hooKKKK L = Adder Because it sounds like AddLLLer M = Moon Star N = CraNNNk O = Satellite because OOOO rings took down the shuttle with a satellite in it P = Peabody Q = Queer Phalanx (Phalanx = queer to me, and I have no clue why, so don't ask...)

Great job... Did that TV commercial air in your neck of the woods, the one where santa reads the note from timmy that says: "Dear Santa, If you give me all the toys I want, I will give you the antidote to the poison I put in your milk and cookies." I think I like what Santa did in your house better...

I am honestly surprised as the results show that a lot of planes have them.... But the DZs I have been to (larger multi-turbine DZs) did not seem to have them... Those voting yes, please describe your plane and use... Static line students? Cessna DZ?

Is that seriously your car - or a photo you found... If it is your car... 1) Please don't be my rigger. 2) Does the electric generator have a feed off the gas tank of the car, because if not, you are not done yet...

The show, "Secrets To Survival: Skydiver", which my TiVo just recorded due to the keyword Skydiver, was recently discussed in the General forum... (Troy Hartman host - reenacting a real life situation where a skydiver's bootie gets caught on the step of the plane, and the plane ends up landing with the skydiver hanging upside down... The content of the incident is old news to many.) There is a lesson... The plane (in addition to the skydivers) should have a hook knife... Every load I have been on, I have seen other jumpers with knives... But, I never have seen one strapped to the plane someplace where anyone (pilot, non-jumping rider, fellow skydiver) could find it and use it... And I have been to 7 DZs in the last year... Not to say there wasn't one hidden away someplace, but, I never have seen them. The pilot says clearly that he was able to reach the skydiver's foot while flying, and was using a pen to try to cut the suit, but couldn't because the pen was not sharp enough. Word for word from the show: TROY: "Now, if you had a knife, what do you think your chances would have been to cut Andy's jump suit and release him?" PILOT: "... I would not be here talking to you today if I had a knife." (meaning a knife would have made this a non-issue) Ok, I know I have jumped from a lot of Otters, and the likelihood of a pilot being able to trim it out and walk all the way to the door to cut away someone is low, but also the odds that there is still a skydiver inside the plane able to help also go up exponentially when the plane carries 5X more people, and not every skydiver has a knife (or they might need more than one if they drop/damage the first) Why don't jump planes have knives in pockets near the door???? It doesn't take a mechanic to gaff tape one up??? I have visited 8 DZs in the last year, this is not just one DZ... So answer away... Is this one-in-a-million thing just not worthy of spending $20 per plane for a knife? T.

Well, my company keeps in it's safe all sorts of fun things to give employees when they do wonderful things... I opened up the safe, looked under "S" and found these! I wonder how much tunnel time this much starbucks could get me. (see attached) (Just Kidding - I don't do business this way)

I have some bad news guys... I just ran by the tunnel today on the way back from a doctor's appointment... Did you guys know that there is a Starbucks in the same parking lot??? I watched the construction guys work from the drive thru... This is a real bad thing... I have no will power when it comes to their frozen blended coffee OR flying in the tunnel... Now I am going to be even more broke as the caffeine and sugar will get me jumping off the walls and swiping my credit card... DAMN, DAMN, DAMN... (Anyone got a good Coffee Anonymous group, I need to give up one habit).

only if it broke at the three rings, with the RSL shackle (connected) leaving with the the broken portion of the riser. If the riser broke above the three rings (the RSL shackle would still be connected to the the three rings at the harness) and this would require the cutaway handle being pulled. Not that I'm certain. I do require that if I am wrong, I'm corrected. There are many ways the three rings/riser could come lose on one side, ranging from things breaking to things being used improperly... So, if the loop the RSL is connected to leaves with the main - the RSL will be activated. If the loop stays, the RSL will stay... You appear to be correct.

I am not going to pop my reserve to find out... But I looked at my assembled collins lanyard-skyhook... If I just pulled my RSL like you did yours... There is very little slack between the reserve pin and the RSL, so it would pull first. At the same time the non-rsl side riser would start to have it's cable pulled by the collins lanyard, but that system has more "slack". The reserve pin needs about an inch of RSL travel to pull the pin. It appears the collins lanyard needs about 4 or 5 inches of RSL travel to complete the pull of the cutaway line. So, I am no Bill Booth, but I think your collins lanyard worked as planned. Note - your example simulates a broken riser on the RSL side, not an actual cutaway, as if you cutaway with your cutaway handle, the canopy would have been disconnected from both risers before the RSL would have started it's job... Right??? In that case, my non-rsl side cable is about an inch shorter so the non-rsl side would leave first before the collins lanyard is needed. (Yes, I did pull that too look)

Riddler, The nice thing about living in a loft building in downtown denver... Everything is concrete... My bill was $45 total for heat and electricity, simply because I never use my heat because it is not needed. Now, my mortgage makes up for it.

he he he, I am glad that is not me in the picture.

I have let a lot of milestones in skydiving go by without paying attention. My 100th jump was a team training jump. At the end of the day I just thanked the team. I made my 200th a tracking dive with some people I normally don't jump with. My first coach jump (first time my slot paid for by someone else) was at 279. That one came and went without any notice... But last night, a friend pointed out I have 1099 posts on DZ.com... This is the 1100 post - wow, this post officially makes me a post whore in many people's eyes.... I promise not to talk about my posting numbers again until I have 2200 posts or hopefully 1000 jumps.