MarkM

Ahh k, got it. Probably will be more of an issue when freeflying with others, goofing off and tossing each other around. I'll keep it in mind when I get to that level.

Hmm, actually I've never heard this debate before. Is the issue that the RSL tag might catch air and cause a premature reserve deployment? Could definately see how that would be a Bad Thing.

Hell, if I had two world wars already in my front yard I'd be nervous about starting a third too.

Yeah, Clewiston is up near Lake Okeechobee I think, southern tip. Skydive American PB is on the SE end of the same lake. Closest to Myers would be skydive Naples then I think. How long you staying down for?

At least have the balls to actually write out the word "ass".

There used to be a Skydive America near Naples, think they called it "The origional Skydive America" or something so as not to confuse it with Skydive America Palm Beach, which was really the origional one(I think). Ah screw it dude, can't you just hit the east coast of Florida instead? There's about 100 DZs on this side.

I think this is dead on. America can be as friendly as it wants, but it'll be a target no matter what. Were the Jews in Germany really to blame for all the problems there prior to WW2? Nope, but hate is an emotion that has enormous political use, so long as you can find a target for it. Sometimes America screws up when it gets involved, but most of the time we're trying to do the right thing. We think freedom is the best thing since sliced cheese and have this stupid desire to spread it around.

Sounds like you have the wrong version of Flash or something. I had that problem with Netscape, but it worked for me under IE.

The problem with asking chicks if they want to do something kinky is that every now and then they say yes.

Yeah, it was keeping me from getting bored at work. Maybe someone can distract skybytch long enough for us to get it rolling again?

"ooooo.... another person who is just sooo scary and soooo intimidating....." No, just a guy stating the obvious. You're reading malice into these posts when there isn't any.

Hahaha, my thoughts exactly.

If you don't want people making fun of you being a bitch, don't act that way in a public setting.

Meow! Pffft pfft! Chicks fight over the stupidest shit.

Hmm, cat fight?

LOL, haven't got laid in years and here's what I got: You are a Tiger! Grrrr!!! You sexy beast! You're a party-goer, the life and soul! Anything goes, and its usually instigated by you. Role play, bondage, it's time to get kinky. You're passionate, energetic, raunchy and sometimes noisy! Anyone caught in your claws is gonna be walking funny for the next few days. Easy tiger!.

I don't disagree with this at all, but the training should probably change based on the planform. Figure the sport is starting to teach semi-ellipticals and low loaded ellipticals to recent grads. In a few years students may be using semi-ellipticals on their first jumps. But is putting a new student on a Crossfire really in line with today's teaching practices? The issue I have though is why did you need to handle it in the first place? I totally see the value in training students on gear that's similar to what they'll use when they graduate, but is a Crossfire on jump 11 really safe? It's not about whether or not you'll make a mistake, it's a matter of when you're going to make your mistake and how big that mistake will be. At jump 10 or 11 you're very prone to make a mistake and when you make one it's liable to be a bigger one than if you had 50 jumps. Will that mistake cost you more on a Crossfire than it would on a semi-elliptical or even a square ZP? If the answer is yes, then are there benefits on using the Crossfire that outweigh those added risks? When recent grads come here and ask for canopy suggestions I see hornets, sabres, triathalons, and lot's of other good quality high performance forgiving canopies brought up but I don't ever recall seeing Crossfires mentioned. If a Crossfire isn't a good choice for a grad's first canopy, why on earth would you put a student under one?

Also, some skydiving helmets are designed so they won't restrict being able to look fully upwards. A motorcycle helmet isn't made with this in mind, you simply need peripheal vision on a bike.

Why go elliptical? Are you really going to benefit from it's higher performance? You don't need to buy a pig for your first canopy, but you should probably buy something that won't kill you when you make those big mistakes you'll be making on a few of your upcoming jumps. I've also heard a lot of rave reviews about Hornets, but I'll be biased here and say to pick up a Triathalon. You can probably buy a used one pretty cheap these days, then after a few hundred jumps you'll know more about your skills and where you want to go with your next canopy.

Hmm, I paid 20 bucks over online prices for a Z1 at Sebastian's Drop Shop. Do I get a cookie?

Are DZs pretty adamant about using open face helmets on students? What's the reasoning behind open face helmets for students, so they can hear better or are there other risks with a full face?

Sebastian in FL has canopy control courses every now and again. Check their calendar for dates: http://www.skydiveseb.com/cgi-local/calendar1/calendar.pl?dept=sse Think they just had a standard canopy camp in Jan, Crew camp is up next. Might need to email them for when their next future canopy camp is as I don't see it on the calender.

What? You mean all burnt out DZ owners don't do this? My favorite line out of that movie, "he was too slow, so we killed him".

No one's saying to not use modern canopies, but you still need to keep it docile enough so unpredictable behavior is less likely to maim and kill. This thread had nothing to do with outdated tech and everything to do with a crossfire not being docile enough for a 10 jump wonder. Are you saying Crossfires are a good canopy for students with only 10 jumps? But don't think technology in this sport can't or won't progress past what new students can handle. The sportbike world in the US has this very problem today, you're hard pressed to find anything but a 600cc sportsbike at a dealership and those things can easily dump a new rider. And I've seen plenty of new riders buy R1's, although they usually don't last too long.

Canopy nazi posts like yours are why I was asking yesterday if loading a Triathalon at 1.1 was to agressive for someone who'll be recently off student or why another person here asked if Hornets were appropriate for new jumpers. We read, we listen, we think about our decisions and we ask questions. I'd hardly call that a failure.