MarkM

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Everything posted by MarkM

  1. MarkM
    The sport isn't supposed to be about cash. It takes money to keep the planes running and the instructors, etc all have bills to pay... but the sport is supposed to be about going out, hanging out and having a good time with cool people. Free beer helps with that and a nice frosty is just a great way to end the day when you're sore, tired and hot.
  2. MarkM
    When your done with AFF just pay your beer dues.
  3. MarkM
    If you're pretty safe and don't do a lot of the more dangerous stuff(swooping) and are in the sport for awhile... The odds of dying are pretty small. But stay around long enough and you'll have friends or people you know that go in. The odds of a multiple day hospital injury are low, but you need to plan your life around it possibly happening. The odds of an injury requiring a hospital visit are sort of high. Have insurance. You will definitely get minor annoyance injuries here and there. All of the above IMO, naturally.
  4. MarkM
    Post your location and see if anyone online here is local and willing to show you how to pack.
  5. MarkM
    Unlike your home DZ, people at boogies generally won't be looking out after you. So be prepared to handle your own safety needs, ask the right questions when you're unsure about things, know your limits, etc etc. Expect a lot more traffic in the air. Expect lots of booze, vendors, partying, new sights, interesting people and good times.
  6. MarkM
    Because you probably haven't been in a situation that really pushes your ability to pilot it.
  7. MarkM
    I've had a pilot start a steep decent right when I was getting ready to exit because he didn't realize I was on the flight. Basically he saw/felt the last tandem leave and thought that was the end of his run, since tandems are normally last out. It was a wild ride until he realized I was there
  8. MarkM
    Used GTI's used to be a dime a dozen, so you might look around for one of those in your size and upgrade later. But I've known people to be very happy with Phantoms. There are so many choices out there now and every model seems to fly different for different people. If you could beg/borrow/steal a few suits to try different ones out, that's the best way to start.
  9. MarkM
    Good luck with that.
  10. MarkM
    Maybe take a packing class? It might give you some time hanging out at a DZ which could make you more comfortable in the environment and could help you with gear fear. If you understand how the gear works, you'll be a lot more confident in it and have 1 less thing to worry about during the jump.
  11. MarkM
    If you're at level with someone else and they have the higher WL, don't spiral under them. Let them sink down while you float. And like everyone says, don't do S turns on final. I can land next to the peas all the time too, but most of the time I'm a good distance from them because I land at the same time the tandems land and my pattern is about giving them space, not dragging my foot through the peas.
  12. MarkM
    Then the tandems will be landing the nearest to manifest / packing / hanger.
  13. MarkM
    You shouldn't need a license, you need a USPA membership to jump at a USPA dropzone, and you can get a temp one of those.
  14. MarkM
    9. MarkM Looking forward to it.
  15. MarkM
    Hard to second guess the situation when you're not there yourself looking up at that tension knot, but landing on rear risers shouldn't be a big deal. Bottom line is your life, your call, you get to live with the results. Think over their arguements against you landing that way and make up your own mind how you'll do it again in the future.
  16. MarkM
    Pretty cool. How's the visibility with it?
  17. MarkM
    Close to Orlando: Deland ZHills Sebastian Lake Wales Titusville Give each a call and see about their weekdays. Deland or ZHills would probably be the busiest during the week. Sebastian though is just a few miles from some beaches, so your family could probably hang out on the beach while your jumped. Deland may be your best bet if the family wants to hang in Orlando while you jumped though.
  18. MarkM
    Assuming you're jumping at Homestead, I really doubt Fred will let you jump a wingsuit before 200 jumps. When I had 80 jumps I was tracking my ass off at Homestead doing perp runs from the flight line too. Just hang in and put your jumps in... 200 isn't a long ways off. When you get bored, mix it up with a little FF or visit some of the other DZs in the area and track there. You can also buy a tracking suit and play with that. The flight test is an instruction session to go over how to fly and save your butt in a wingsuit. When you're ready to fly a wingsuit I'd really recommend the trip to ZHills. I moved from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando because of ZHills. You don't need to buy a wingsuit before going there either, they have about 20-30 demo suits and will have 2-4 models that should fit you. By the end of your first day of training you'll likely be doing 8 way flocks with the locals.
  19. MarkM
    A lot of the possible complications go away if you're jumping a docile canopy or if you're doing it full time enough that things like grabbing wing instead of your hackey aren't that big of a deal. But most of the people I know that are jumping wingsuits full time are probably pulling at normal a altitude for their experience levels.
  20. MarkM
    It'd be really easy to drift into other people's airspace on the track back. Scott's 45 degree track I think would be ideal, but as a lowbie you may be pretty much stuck doing what others at your DZ tell you to do. You can't exactly go "Yeah, but this guy on the internet said I should do it this one way..." When I was doing perpendicular and 180's back when I had 80 jumps I tried to make it a point to not come past half way back. That way I was at least still off the flight line. And since I was opening higher than most people and had a big canopy, I could make it back pretty easily. Just be really aware of other people tracking on the plane.
  21. MarkM
    Wasn't me, but no, wasn't intentional. Think the guy hit something or was bumped on exit.
  22. MarkM
    This is my favorite S3S vid. http://www.tarsis.org/s3s-spin.mpg Vrroooom.
  23. MarkM
    I love it when the videos have some of those calm, riding in the plane, chilling with your friends moments.
  24. MarkM
    ZHills, Sebastian, Homestead all do low passes at lower than normal jump prices from the same plane as the full altitude jumpers. No min number of people getting out low requirement. And at Seb and ZHills it's very common to have low passes. Heck, at ZHills there are sometimes wing suit passes.
  25. MarkM

    Sneak preview

    MarkM replied to The111's topic in Wing Suit Flying

    Sweet. Looking forward to the full release.