tso-d_chris

Putting a vent (hole) in the slider has been known to speed up snivelly openings. Would a slightly smaller slider work, since increasing slider size has been known to slow openings? For Great Deals on Gear

So he can live with it or he can break himself. I've started to fly my 150 with higher load and I've survived. As a new jumper like yourself, I put about 125 jumps on a Heatwave 135 (~1.3:1) before circumstances combined with the very poor choice of canopies and a very small error close to the ground allowed me nine days in my local hospital. Being able to land a canopy well in optimum conditions is not the same as being ready to jump that canopy. Not all jumps take place in optimum conditions. Canopy choice should be based on landing in less than optimum conditions. For Great Deals on Gear

The container looks identical to one (previously?) owned by an experienced jumper from the instructor's home drop zone. If it is the same container, it was built for a Triathlon 135 main. For Great Deals on Gear

I, too, have seen cases where a student jumper needed an instructor instead of a boyfriend with an instructor rating. For Great Deals on Gear

As I understood it, he was working with IAF simultaneously with, but independently of Roger Nelson. It is actually an effective program. I didn't go through it, but I was around it while I was jumping there. His students tended to do very well with canopy control, compared to other student programs I've been around. For Great Deals on Gear

Tandem to AFF progression, aka IAF (Instructor Assisted Freefall) allows the student to do their first 3 jumps as tandems, with substantially the same learning objectives as the first 3 AFF jumps. The first solo jump is an AFF level 4. IAF tandems receive as much ground school prior to their tandem jumps as AFF students. One of the two drop zones on the Mt. Vernon airport, the airport these two jumpers previously jumped at, has been successfully using the IAF program for years, long before USPA's ISP. For Great Deals on Gear

Was there a second AFF Instructor on her jump? I've never heard of a single jump master AFF level one. For Great Deals on Gear

It was uphill both ways, as well, right? Bite your tongue, Professor! Partial credit is a godsend sometimes. Without it, I would have failed Calc II just from forgetting to add the arbitrary constant to some of my integral solutions. For Great Deals on Gear

Avoid highway traffic and take a plane. You are traveling from one airport to another, after all. For Great Deals on Gear

Another reason why a bigger drop zone does not necessarily equate to a a safer drop zone for students, with superior student training.

I would imagine Nancy is the person to ask. There should be contact info on Ouragan's site. For Great Deals on Gear

Rubbish. To the original poster: what's your * age (old/middle/young), * sex (F/M), * type of employment (blue/white collar, public sector/private sector is detailed enough), * height (short/average/tall), * income class (low, middle, upper is detailed enough, or don't say if you don't want to) * level of education ( bachelor) The reason for these personal questions is that for an average-sized person 150 sqft might be on the risky side, and your answers to these questions help us determine how likely it is you actually mean to be seeking out risk. Nobody is going to tell you to go ahead and make a risky decision because we live in a litigious society and as a community skydivers are terrified of lawsuits. Did you take line length into consideration? Smaller canopies tend to turn faster than larger versions of the same model at similar wing loadings. Faster turns mean higher G forces (in the turn), which in turn increases the wing loading, which speeds up the turn, which increases the G forces . . . There is more to choosing an appropriate canopy than wing loading, although WL is an important consideration. For Great Deals on Gear

Being able to "spot for themselves", sure. Or at least so they SHOULD (be able to). But be able to fully understand exit separation and its implications so as to be "the spotter" on say an entire Otter load of 5-6 sticks of varying disciplines? No. Nor should they, and that is not the requirement for signing off on their A Licenses at all. If my entire (wow, this is old ) post is read, and within context of who/what I was replying to, and not just it's one-line cut-n-paste, I still stand by it, and actually think we are on the same page too. -No? Entire load spotting, and self-spotting a C-182 just for yourself (which is, in reality all that is required for the A-License sign-off) are entirely 2 different things. They are essentially the same thing. There obviously needs to be a larger acceptable area for the larger plane, unless multiple passes are made, but the same principles apply. You still don't want to end up too short or too long.

January? Bah Humbug!!!

Get a camera specific helmet for flying camera. They are better suited from a safety standpoint. The cost is really not that high compared to converting a regular freefly helmet properly. For example, you might pay $185 for a BH Pimp Daddy, $30 for an L bracket, and $65 for a chin cup. Then you need a $20 roll of Gaffers tape to fill in all the canyons that could snag a line. At that point, you could have purchased a BH Optik, which is far better suited for the job, and requires much less work to set up. Besides, you are going to want a helmet to wear when you are not flying camera, and it will be a pain to convert your Guner back to a regular freefly helmet for just one or two jumps.

First, you need an aerial photo of your dropzone, with a known scale (knowing the length of the runway offers a known scale.), and a winds aloft report. Alternately, you can start with a Wind Drift Indicator. If you don't know what this is, ask an old time skydiver. Spotting is about knowing where you want to exit and open. Every jumper should have this information prior to boarding the aircraft. Every jumper should know how to obtain this information prior to receiving their A license. For Great Deals on Gear

Surely you're not suggesting that students would be signed off on spotting without actually being taught how to spot? If an instructor does not trust his/her student's ability to spot, that instructor should not sign off the student for their A license. If spotting is a lost art, it is because too many instructors have failed to teach it properly in recent years.

Didn't that have something to do with being able to make a map of territories with no bordering territories sharing a color, and that only four different colors were required?

There are numerous neutral studies that show that impairment due to THC is minimal, on par with over the counter cold medicine, with recreational dosages. Some of these studies have been done for and/or commissioned by the NHTSA. BTW I'm pretty good about identifying credible studies, as well. I'm not condoning smoking and driving, nor smoking and jumping. I don't care either way. Evidence has been sought unsuccessfully to show the impairment caused by THC is similar to impairment caused by alcohol. The fact is, THC impairment is minimal, by comparison. I'm far more worried about drivers that drive while talking on their cell phones than I am about drivers who might have smoked a joint before or during their drive. For Great Deals on Gear

Anybody who believes that is thinking like an absolute fool. I hope you don't kill anyone. Actually, scientific evidence backs up his claim, at least as long as he smokes less than three joints in fifteen minutes, prior to driving. For Great Deals on Gear

I would think it takes more skill to swoop the Navigator. That's why it's not surprising that the best swoopers spent so many jumps on large canopies. For Great Deals on Gear

Use of front risers can still be learned on a 150 or a 250 for that matter. Not having the strength to pull the risers down is another issue. Sparky Very true.

Put aside some of your jump money and do it now instead of later. It'll be the best money you'll spend in skydiving, guaranteed... and what you learn just may save your life someday. Or better yet, just find a fully qualified competitive canopy pilot to help you out for free. Not everyone out there feels gouging students is a way of life. Chuck I would hardly consider Scott's pricing to be gouging. His is some of the most valuable, least expensive coaching available. And I have tried getting similar information from world class canopy pilots. It doesn't compare. Just having the experience doesn't mean shit as a coach if you can't communicate what has been learned from that experience to a student. Scott has that ability in spades. I don't know about any of the others, such as Brian Germain, but I've never heard anyone say anything other than money well spent for canopy coaches. I know of at least one world class canopy pilot that gets coaching from Scott fairly often. For Great Deals on Gear

Then what feature does and what is the "safest rig on the market"? It depends on what your purposes are. Personally, I can't think of a single feature on any rig that makes it the safest rig on the market. The fact is, we don't know what circumstances we are going to face on our future skydives. A Skyhook may save one persons life after a canopy collision at 200 feet. The superior reserve pin protection of the Racer, Icon, Wings, Odyssey, etc could save someone else's life. The cordura BOC pouch of a Wings or Reflex could prevent a premature main deployment that might have occured with use of a Spandex pouch. There are lots of features that save lives. Most of them do so in such a manner that you never know that it was beneficial, by preventing something. Some features, like the Skyhook, are rarely beneficial, but it is pretty obvious the times they do help, or at least when they are used. In other words, some features are preventative, and some features are cures. Prevention is generally more beneficial, but cures get the accolades. What is the safest rig on the market? I'll soon be in the market to buy a new container. I have it narrowed down to four different models, with a front runner. Safety is the primary factor, followed by comfort. The primary use will be skyflying. However, the safest rig for my purposes may not be the best choice for you. IMO there is not a single safest rig; freflying, skyflying, RW, CRW, etc. place different demands on our equipment. IMO there is no single safest rig. They all have features that make them safe, but none are absolutely bulletproof. For Great Deals on Gear

I really don't know; I'm not a rigger. I just call PD a lot!