mdrejhon

I didn't get mine till jump #60. (Test jumped it on #59). I do agree that it will allow me to keep the rig longer, since I felt ready to try test jumping the 170 size (WL 1.1), and everybody at the dropzone thought it was OK for me. Buying a rig too early, I would be better off with a 210 or 190 and I would have been flying backwards in strong wind days, being grounded more often. So I am sorta glad I waited. The rig is relatively light (compared to student rigs) and not noticeably bigger than the other rigs of regulars. Now it's the size I am going to stick with to learn everything I can on it over the next few hundred jumps, up to at least straight-in double front riser landings (possibly 90's too) without needing to downsize first. (Since I am interested in swooping eventually.) I'll take canopy coaching for that.

Go to Japan. Normal experienced skydiver jumps $85 each. In fact, you can get top not coached jumps in North America for much cheaper! Normal 11,000 feet Cessna jumps in Canada often cost $30 CDN each (about $24 USD). Bigger planes such as Twin Otter or King Air is often $35 CDN to 13,500 feet. (about $28 USD). So some of you americans are getting a real bargain Sub-$20 USD Otter jumps at some places. I'd pay a $5 premium per jump for scenary, and MOAB sounds like it has some amazing scenery.

Yes, although my preference is to jump with one. However, an AAD away for a 4-year check is not going to stop me from jumping, but I may avoid those 2200 (CSPA minimum) feet hop-and-pop forced by low cloud cielings, or doing RW with somebody I don't know... Actually, scratch that. right now, my lowest hop-n-pop altitude would be 2500 if the pilot said clouds were too low and said we had to choose between jump or ride down. Although I definitely prefer 3500. Then again, there's the danger of 2-out situations, versus the chance of banging your head on the Cessna as you exit...

That's the most shocking wingsuit flying I've ever seen. Flying the cliff wall like flying a fighter jet through a canyon! (At 2:40 into the video) Amazing. I'll have to point this to my wingsuit buddies at the dropzone. (I don't fly wingsuit myself, but my carpool buddy flies wingsuit.)

I personally was prepared to test-jump my first rig without an AAD (in order to avoid waiting till a subsequent weekend), but they offered to install a nearly-new Cypres2 AAD into it, so I went for that. Downside, I had to pay $1000 CDN more ($800 USD) when I bought the rig. Still not a bad price for a 2 year old Cypres2 with 10 years left! I have never jumped without an AAD, but I'm not afraid to jump standard solo if the AAD was away for servicing. I would be more likely to avoid H+P's and RW's with guys I'ver never jumped with before, though...

Was it an intentional landing? Or just a plain offzone landing into the field in the middle of a racetrack adjacent to the dropzone? Many people have done a few "farmer's demo jumps" into farmland adjacent to the dropzone when they couldn't make it back to the dropzone. I thought people couldn't do demos till a D rating and exhibition rating, so there must be more to this story...

Lessee.. I'm still a newbie, and newbies make mistakes. Spinning linetwists, my fault. I think the scariest mistake I've made was the unstable pull at 4K (canopy open ~3K) that I recovered by 2500 feet (this I definitely remember - I was watching altimeter as I kicked out in two scissorkick tries, but actually considered the red handle "BE READY FOR EP!" I thought to myself.). My mistake: A breakoff and pull altitudes only 1000 feet different, resulting in a rushed unstable pull. This was around jump 60 or so. And on my new rig even, which I had only jumped once earlier. Lesson: Linetwists get worse and go faster and faster if it's in a spin. During the same weekend, an instructor had to do a cutaway because of spinning linetwists - he was under a HP canopy that's much more difficult to escape spinning linetwists from. Running under the wing of the Twin Otter airplane while the propellers was spinning (I was aware of them though and avoided them approx 10 feet). I certainly got scolded for that, but on the next boogie, I snickered as someone else did the same mistake. (We were conscious of the propellers and stayed more than 10 feet away from the propellers and was staring at them as we ran past, BUT we're NEVER supposed to walk under the wings with running propellers, not even near the tip). Improperly stowing my toggles while packing. It all opened fine, but I had to be corrected on technique twice. And of course, that slow 180 degree turn initiated starting at about 200 feet under the Manta 288. (I stood that one up just fine, but that deserved a big scolding! Stupid of me. Although I did the turn relatively slowly, it was still below shoulder level. I intentionally stopped the turn about 40 feet above the ground, but it was still a big fat no-no at my level. Never did that again.) Landing downwind. (Did not get hurt, but that was sketchy). I came back from a far spot and was too low to turn - at least I rightfully avoided doing the low 180, but I should have landed in the farmfield instead. Although I like to think of this as my "downwind landing checkout jump", as a lesson to the relative risk of a downwind landing (safer than 180ing but not as safe as landing upwind in a clearing off-dropzone) Flared a little too low onto hard dried dirt from a long spot (ouch. Nothng got broken, and I continued jumping, but I did limp back to the packing area for a bit after that landing). Landing only 20 feet away from the trees (two times) much earlier in my student progression, once because of wind and once because of avoiding traffic). Including once downwind of the trees (turbulence danger). Forgetting to check the windsock before going up. (At least two times) We have three wind direction indicators, and I found the direction immediately after open, but still... Asymmetric flares (three or four times). All stood up, all soft landings. The last two times, I recognized it and automatically flattened them out by immediately pulling the other toggle. At least now I know what flare turns feel like! (Although they were slight, just 10 degrees) Letting up toggles slightly when flaring too early and pausing it. Canopy surged forward slightly, and I tried to run it out, but I tripped over. Didn't hurt, but it taught me a new thing (or two!). Since then, my dynamic flaring is much better. (ala two stage flare, one to plane out and one to maintain the turf surf, although I prefer to call it variable-speed flare. Similiar to what Scott Miller teaches - I sat in his class last weekend) Going too far downwind of my landing pattern on the downwind leg, and having to land in the farmfield as a result, because I was elevatoring straight down or slightly backwards (windy). Not relaxing enough in front of instructors during freefall exercises, and becoming a bellyflopper of a bellyflyer. (A few times) During the Otter boogie, opening too close (Maybe 50-100 feet) to someone under canopy. I don't know how far, but the instructor commented on it being too close. I watch my jumprun tracking direction much more closely now. Not tucking my shirt in before a jumpsuitless jump. It didn't block any of my handles or face, just made my belly feel very cold. Solo jump. Tried to tuck it in during freefall, but I gave up at 9000 feet after I noticed it compromised my arch. Just breezed it through with a flapping shirt. There's more numerous little grey areas, like sashaying a little during final (Although I don't get comlaints about that, and I'm usually the only one left in the air because I like to pull high!).

Good one. "Jump! Skydiving made Fun and Easy" Get this if you haven't done a tandem yet "Parachuting: The Skydiving Handbook" Get this if you're considering a skydiving program "Parachute and its Pilot" by Brian Germain Get this when you graduate from your AFF Does this make sense?

I need to evaluate my insurance policies. Although I'm in Canada where a lot of things are covered, I want supplemental insurance that guarantees that I'm covered for skydiving injuries. I hope I never get injured, but I keep hearing statistics, so I should be prepared.

I'd love some status updates because I am planning on a Florida trip that combines windtunnel (15-30 mins for myself), Scott Miller, and hopefully DWR too. I need to think of arranging dates and bunking arrangements. (A free place to pitch a tent? Bunk at somebody's? Etc.) I want to concentrate funds on the FUN and avoid renting a car/hotel if possible.

Some people buy the memory modules separately and install it themselves, to save money, often a couple hundred dollars savings.

Many forum members generally recommend: "Parachuting: The Skydiving Handbook" by Dan Poynter and Mike Turoff "Parachute and its Pilot" by Brian Germain "Jump! Skydiving made Fun and Easy" by Tom Buchanan These are generally high-rated books, but my instructor says their word comes first as a student. Be careful with these books though till your jump numbers are high enough, but they do whet the appetite to purchase an AFF type program.

Billy, thanks for the offer but too late! I ordered a a full pound of them already, and I heard that the bands become somewhat weak after a few years anyway! However, I could certainly use a new lineset, a helmet (medium size), and my own jumpsuit (5'9", average build). Just kidding! I'm scrambling to finish paying off my rig debt (70% paid off, probably by the end of the month) before I buy those. Have my own rig, altimeter, goggles, hook knife, rigger tool, bands, gloves, gear bag now. Then I have to get a helmet and a jumpsuit. My dropzone's been graciously letting me use the dropzone helmet/jumpsuits for free until then. Oh boy, how am I ever going to pay for an October Florida trip... (windtunnel, Scott Miller, and DWR all rolled into one vacation!)

My dropzone is making sure I am a GOOD enough bellyflyer before I go into bigger ways. They know I want to visit other dropzones and want to keep a good reptutation for their training. I improved my arch/fallrate problems and I finally did 3-ways and some good sideslides lately, and soon I'll finally be able to comfortably fly around a formation to my own slot. Still a little floppy but better. I'm impatient, I want to fly bigger ways, but I understand I have to be patient and wait until I'm competent enough to fly my slot. Personally if I found myself an anvil (NOT!) far enough to be unable to easily see waveoffs, I'll track like mad (to the best of my current tracking abilities anyway), to save my life perpendicular to the jumprun away from the formation, well above breakoff. I now know enough to know that the people above could drift over me, or someone could unwittingly track over me. The blood and pulp thought of a high-speed collision between a canopy and freefaller, makes me wince, so I'm not going to stay around if I can't get closer. If you're too far away, you've already broken the rule "stay with the formation". Scary thought! Again, don't listen to me at your jump numbers....but talk to your instructors and make the argument that if you're too far away (beyond your control), you're already "not with the formation" and you may as well track away for safety reasons. (And I mean a longer track, not just 5 seconds, if you're still high)

That's some scary stuff! I want to go to a convention someday in a few years... With the omfp about WFFC being dissappointing this year, I guess another place would be much better, such as Dublin! I had lower accuracy this weekend (But all my landings were all in the normal area, just not in the peas as often as I would like), mainly because I have been mindful of the changing wind conditions and at another time, a student in the air (you know how unpredictable they can be), so I landed pretty far away. Ruined some time for a few spirals I was hoping to do at 2500 feet, but I had other jumps where I was the only one still in the air after a 5K pull and went "YAAAHHHOOO"

The tandem rubber bands they use are about the same width as the small rubber bands, and double-stow had approximately the same tightness as single stow of small bands (approximately...not exactly) -- it's merely stretching it to doublestow that was the pesky challenge, I really hate doing that. However, I will be heeding warnings and going to the small bands when I receive them. I don't doublestow the locking stows or the first two stows though (where the steering line branches out to multiple lines), because I'm using the slightly thicker older lines - Vector 2 had only 175 jumps and probably using original lines. Canopy is almost mint condition. Openings of my Sabre 1 have been predictably brisk, not painful, just plain "brisk", over my last several packings - it's simply the heading of the opening that's unpredictable (this still appears to happen no matter whether I pack or someone else does). My opening speed appeared to remain unaffected (approximately 700-800 feet from actual throw to open canopy, or about 1000 feet from the waveoff before the actual throw), but I will definitely be monitoring this more accurately by glancing my altimeter during the waveoff before and after I replace all the bands at once (out of sheer curiousity). During a hop-n-pop, I open within 500 feet. Out at 3500, under canopy at 3000. So I seem to snivel for a much shorter period during a hop and pop. (I still usually use the standard stable relative wind exit for hop-n-pop, and pull immediately as soon as I am square to Earth) I have been hearing 700-800 feet is quite normal for a non-hard Sabre 1 opening. Is this correct?

Many tandems fall slightly slower than a normal freefaller. Occasionally below 100mph, even. But yes, it's a stretch...

It is hard to completely eliminate mistakes but aim to avoid them, so you have fewer mistakes, and fewer mistakes are easier to learn from since you have more time to study and remember each mistake! Even the thousand-jumpers make mistakes, learn from them... I'm sure most jumpers have made at least one of each sometime in their lifetime, if they jump enough. You've also listed several of my mistakes too.

I had one downwind landing sometime just off student status. That was pretty fast and I slid it in then flipped over to my belly -- grass was tall and gave me a lot of friction. Did not get hurt, but added a grass stain or two to the jumpsuit. I was flying from a long spot and was too low to turn into base/final legs. The instructor pulled me over and gave me a very serious debrief about it. Needless to say, I never did that again (so far) and I fly the pattern so much better now, or favour the cornfield adjacent to the dropzone. (At least until the stalks are too tall, then it's the lettuce field behind the dropzone trailer park. Or whatever short plant that farm is growing ) I also check the spot before jumping out a lot more now. I haven't landed in those lately, but I will definitely aim for those if I have to. "The unexpected downwind landing checkout jump", it was. At least, I at least a better expect what happens in a downwind landing if I'm forced to for good reasons (Like avoiding a swooper coming dangerously into my airspace and I had enough altitude to flat-turn.) Anyway, listen to your instructor, don't listen to me...

This may be simplistic, but a metaphor... Many of the meds are just band aids. The wound is still there "underneath" the band aid. Just like that, whatever is causing your original cough and sinus blocking is still there and still aggravatable (like a wound can still become infected underneath that bandaid).

Yeah, there's a poster of a scared-looking Wil E. Coyote jumping an ACME-brand parachute with a rather severe mal

Too late -- I heard he is moving to Arizona.

SAM! That was you???? It was nice meeting you at Skydive Gananoque last weekend. Congrats, man. You've got balls. (I'm now tempted to visit Bridge Day after my 500th jump and a BASE FJC. ... Okay maybe someday. We'll see.)

I almost got blisters trying to close my container and double-stowing tandem rubber bands. (It's a lot easier to single stow with the smaller bands) So anything that avoids wear and tear on my hands would be nice (which is why I am not too keen on the friction method) I suspect that I'm squeezing a 170 into a container designed for a 150, or that it may be the canopy is very new-looking and loves to fluff up, even while it's already inside the bag. I balance all my weight on my knees on the bag, yet I still have to pull with considerable force to close the container. I'm happy to experiment with tools. I actually ordered two different brands of cheap goggles before I decided I preferred SORZ. I'll try the rigger power tool and see if I like it. If not, it'll collect dust, wear it, keep it as a spare, or I'll give it as a gift

Stay on the ground! Symptoms such as painful ears and nosebleeds can occur (or worse) if jumping with blocked sinuses. Even if some of your sinuses are clear. Jumping with blocked sinuses is not worth it. I've learned my lesson with painful ear ache.