Orange1

bit far for you but, heh, seems a lot cheaper than most of the above! Equipment Rental Club Student Rig Hire (while under training) R30.00 Hand deploy rig hire-2*conversion jumps only R50.00 Club hand deploy Rig Hire-limited availability R100.00 packing is R20 or R30 i think $1 = R6.7 Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

As a newbie myself, I just want to emphasise the points made above about giving yourself enough space either side of your target. Early on I had the experience of the wind suddenly dropping and a consequent overshoot into a (luckily forgiving) tree. The instructor was firm about not letting me use the wind as an excuse, saying I needed to ensure I always have as many options as possible. It was also my personal turning point in flying the canopy, rather than letting the canopy fly me where it wanted to go. (That was also the jump that made me learn about gentle S's as an alternative to come down earlier. On the plus side, I remembered exactly what to do for a tree landing ) I'm happy to say that since then most of my landings have been where I wanted them. btw there are some other good links below that new article - personally I like the Bryan Burke one. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Jig I battled at first with my exits on SL (freaking 207 sitting-in-the-door stuff!!) I went through phases where I felt just like you described - stupid, wasting money, frustrated, love-this-so-much-why-can't-I-just-DO-it - etc After a number of jumps I was chatting to some of the more experienced folks at that DZ. What was interesting was I discovered many, many of these guys had been through something similar at some stage. The guy who briefed me for my first freefall, for example (and a really good instructor and jumper) had botched up his first f/f enough to be put back on dummy pulls. Just remember what's been said a number of times on these forums - every jump is a learning experience. You didn't "fail" level 2 - you just had to repeat it. (We don't get 'fail' written anywhere in our books - just 'do another'...) And - you obviously learnt on the first one cos you passed the second. There may be some people who sail through all the courses and get every single thing right on every single jump, but I rather suspect they're in the minority. Keep going and have fun!!!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Someone more experienced may want to correct/add, but you're being slowed down to canopy speed from a slower f/f speed, so the deceleration isn't as abrupt, and (I think... please someone correct if wrong, or explain it better, i'm just a newbie) because you're at sub-terminal the PC takes longer to pull the chute out. I did SL till first freefall then moved to AFF, and every AFF opening felt like a hard one after my SL jumps!! Then, when I had to do a h&p again at the end of AFF, it was this amazing slow gentle opening again! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Lisa - 1000s of static line babies have had their very first freefall at that altitude! Like so much else in this sport, it's all in the mind. You'll be just fine! (And you'll probably love the soft sub-terminal opening!) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

You should ask them that! I thought most DZs had non-student gear for rental. On ours we move onto sport gear as soon as we're off progression (but the rental is a lot more than the student rigs ) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I learned: Pull Pull at the right altiude Pull stable Stability is the lesser priority than getting something out with enough altitude to matter, right? We're taught: Pull Pull at the correct altitude Pull preferably stable Overriding issue is: don't sacrifice altitude for anything. You have time to deal with laundry over your head at 3000'. You don't have time for anything if you only get stable at 500'. And it's not only students who lose altitude awareness when hellbent on trying to sort something out. This was my first thought on reading the first few responses to the original post. It's been interesting to see what some of the other responses have been. By the way, the more experienced responses (about waiting a bit longer to get stable, etc) might remember that as students we are taught specific ways to deal with things which are not necessarily the same way that more experienced jumpers will. Students often just don't know all the variables involved to actually think through all the possible outcomes/alternatives up there. All that said, well done JayCam, and use those extra dummies to work on that arch. In a thousand jumps' time a couple extra DRCPs won't make much difference! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Yeah. Just go to incidents and look how many fatalities are landing incidents, especially due to low turns I only discovered dz.com after my first few jumps and suddenly understood exactly why our instructor had hammered "no low turns" into us. Jig, it seems to me that at least 4 and 5 should have been covered in your FJC. Do think you need to chat to your instructors again. You can also ask them about the spot and techniques to get back from a long spot (as well as the importance of rather safely landing out than succumbing to get-home-itis). Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

With less jumps than you, just to say this: 1. I've been put in weights from my 1st ISP jump (i weigh about 120lb) - apart from the pure weight issue, with the weights being around your hips it actually makes it a bit easier to arch (i wear a vest though and the weights may not reach as far down as the hips on a taller person) 2. My ISP jumps have been watched till deployment so I've received critiques on the tracking too - as you mention this as an issue, is it not worth paying an instructor's slot for a jump or two to get them to watch and critique you? Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

amen. what they said. oh, and try packing one to see how much more they want to take air in than for you to get the air out of them Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Yeah I learnt a lesson on alti awareness this past weekend too... was doing an ISP jump with break-off at 4500'. I looked at my alti, saw it go to 4500' and... it didn't trigger a damn thing in my brain. First time that's happened to me, next thing I see my instructor signalling me to move away and suddenly the alti, now reading closer to 4000' makes sense... I turned intending to track shorter than normal to pull at the correct alti but I was flustered and ending up pulling about 400' below where I should have. It really threw me, especially as my alti awareness has been great till now, and I thought had hardwired my brain to the "don't sacrifice anything for altitude" maxim. I will NEVER do that again!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Saw 4 or 5 guys do a demo jump in lunch break at an England vs SA cricket match earlier this year. No-one noticed them till the canopies were over the stadium, and the crowd seemed impressed enough with the simple fact that they all landed on their feet in the same area. (As was I, having about 3 jumps under my belt at the time!) Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

SCT does require one SL jump before AFF, as do most but not all (I think) DZs in SA. A tandem does not count as a first jump for this purpose - a guy who did AFF with me had done a tandem but still had to do an SL jump first. I think this is a bit of a misunderstanding, on the normal SL progression you have to do minimum 8 (3 no task and 5 DRPs) before your first freefall, but not to do AFF Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Yeah you too - I didn't say hexadecimal had to police him, expressing his concerns to the JM was exactly what I meant by "saying something"... Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[replyAt 1000ft we're removing our seat belts and helmets for the rest of the ride up. Most, but unfortunately not all, are ready to jump (minus goggles, maybe helmet) when they board the plane. As I said, it is all done before you board too. Helmets get removed after the 1000' check. Never been in a jump plane with seatbelts Someone told me skydivers are classified as cargo not passengers here, but I dunno if that's true!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Hmmm.. I wonder how many of these "i only do it because it gets policed" responses are the same people who complain about all the rules and regulations in the sport... Makes it a bit easier for me to see why these things do get policed Here we have 6-month repacks Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Then you're ignoring 1/2 of skydiving. One of the things I love about skydiving is the fact that there are two very different aspects to it - the only thing in common really is that you're in the air. And while I'm only just beginning to learn what fun it is to fly a canopy, I must say I just love that awesome stillness and peace you get up high under canopy. Did you ever notice the air smells different up there? Re the downsizing, I had a long chat to my instructor the other day, who (after earlier questions prompted by this forum on how different size canopies fly differently at the same wingloading) urged me not to be "too conservative" and would like to see me at 1:1 (for me that's a 150, even then I'd be slightly under) within 30 jumps or so. We do jump a DZ where it can be quite windy and where the wind can come up unexpectedly sometimes, though - last weekend there was almost no wind, and then on one jump at around 1200' I suddenly hit some turbulence, but it definitely wasn't a turbulent day! This being why most people recommend buying 2nd hand gear to start off with? Bottom line, again, get opinions here, but the final say should be informed by the instructors who know you and how you jump. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Maybe. Then again, this isn't a sport where you should be dismissing things out of hand. I sure as heck wouldn't like to watch someone go in and think "if only I had said something..." Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Never heard of that one before. What does it entail? Both my local DZs do it. Checking your goggles, helmet, 3-rings, chest strap, handles, leg straps and ripcord/BoC are all as they should be (& SL students get hooked up at 1000' and check that the SL is securely attached to the strongpoint)...and yes, this is after you check your rig before putting it on, after a gear check before boarding, and you still do a pin check before exit. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

This really is the best way to get students to do it. I've noticed a lot of experienced jumpers don't do the 1000' check that students are taught to; but the guy with (I think) the most jumps on one of my DZs always does, and thoroughly. I watched him do it, and promised myself that I would always, too. We were also taught to check the rigs fully every time before we put them on, no matter if we or a packer has packed... beginning with making sure the rings are properly hooked up and the cables are where they should be... it's already a habit, and a habit I plan to keep. This thread helps remind me why. Complacency and skydiving do not go well together. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Seems to be instructor-dependent? I asked my instructors about this recently and they said to go for it - "any aid that may help save your life!"- but also with the caveat you and others have expressed re setting it for a couple seconds after breakoff, etc so that you don't become dependent on 'waiting for the beep'. My main motivation is reading one too many incident reports where experienced jumpers have lost altitude awareness trying to fix mals. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Static line. The parachute doesn't open "by itself", it's deployed by a line running from your rig & hooked in the aircraft. Or IAD, where an instructor basically does the same thing. How much it costs depends where you are. It's generally cheaper than AFF but will take you longer to get off progreesion so final cost may not be much different. Watch this turn into an SL vs AFF thread Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

Ouch. At this point I'm not even sure I'd be able to land on rears 'normally' as I don't know that I could get an even flare - I find a left rear riser turn much harder than a right one and there's a good chance I'd end up doing a right turn into the ground Definitely for newbie me, I'd chop. Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

LOL!!! Gives a whole new meaning to the term "legless"!! More to the point - how do you land with one leg and a tandem passenger? Can you do a dual PLF??!! Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

I love skydiving Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.