demoknite

My first answer was "well the camera man hasnt" lol. Hard to tell just by casually watching as sometimes the best person gets relegated to the lowest skill level on the jump. I wouldnt say it's uber obvious who hasnt been in the tunnel unless you really start breaking down each jump and each point. However after watching you can perhaps tell but they arent detrimentally behind the power curve of those that have been to the tunnel. Plus they have more canopy and tracking time than the two lower timers with the tunnel time.

THIS. I used to get "door anxiety". Its weird that I miss it now. I probably really only lost it in the last 4 or 5 jumps. It is great that I am not so nervous and can focus on my jumps more, but part of the "fun" of skydiving was the nerves (still is, just not as much). I miss it too. Sort of like chasing the dragon. Now I live vicariously through the tandems and AFF1s on the loads. I love seeing the nervousness on their face and then the delight when they are on the ground.

Some people dont want to pull off the Usain Bolt sprint to run off the momentum of their canopy. If you time it right a butt slide is safe or even safer than trying to run it out.

Id throw Chicago and Spaceland in there just to make the central part of the country. But otherwise, thread closed.

I would love to see a modern documentary done on skydiving in the same flavor as that interview. Anything you see on tv lately are stunts or people dying. And the most in depth look (that I know of) are the movies from the 90s. Perhaps that Freefall warriors doc from Nat Geo several years back but thats military freefall and even that segment has come a long way since that was made.

Is this for fun jumpers or for the military free fall school?

All of those sources are great but really until you are right there there is no telling. Most good DZs have a face book page that says come out or stay home.

I usually send a few emails and chat with the person. Ask some skydiving questions and see if the lingo is there. You can tell most of the time. Jump locations...do you know so an so? Did you see that one video? Where did you buy this gear from originally. Even if that all pans out there is no gaurantee that it will work out. However, I have had no problems whatsoever with the gear I have bought and sold on the classifieds. All with no 3rd party.

What anecdotal evidence do we have with RSL-deployed reserves under a highly loaded, high performance canopy? Im assuming you find yourself back under conservative planform reserve that is probably spinning as well? I always jump an RSL.

Havent had one as serious as others have mentioned but had a cutaway at 89. Was back the next week after a repack with only minimal anxiety at pull time. Had a canopy collision at about 1500ft where a guy basically skipped over the top of my canopy partially collapsing it but it reinflated. After that it took me about two weeks to get over it. The most nervous I get is jumping in the desert during the summer with a lot of dust devils, thermals, and otherwise turbulent air. I get scared every time but always come back because Im an addict.

Yeh normal time is about two weeks plus or minus depending one what part of the country you live in. I remember back in the day when it was around a week though.

Do what you can to get your A before you move. Mesquite is fun jumper friendly, but the landing area is super tight. Vegas Extreme is somewhat jumper friendly, but you need to have your own gear and your own coach to progress you. Eloy and Perris are the go to's. Also, the summer is the down time for jumping since it's so hot. PM me for more details.

Ive been to Chicago, Dallas, Perris, Elsinore, Eloy, etc. And somehow this is the best DZ Ive been to. Upon arrival I was treated as if I was one of the regulars. They made sure I had someone to jump with, and brought me into the conversations while waiting. This is a tandem focused place, but you can tell a lot from how a DZ treats it's tandems. All of the tandems are treated with respect and with a focus to have them as students and not on a roller coaster ride. While there are not many people to jump with (while I was there), I still managed to not do a single solo while I was there and I actually ended up doing a little bit of coaching and organizing while I was there even though I was just a visitor. They take the King Air to 17.5K every other load or so for an extra couple of bucks and it gets there super fast. Landing area is massive but the X is right in fron the the packing area so no walking or catching a ride back to manifest. If you are in the DFW area or Central Texas, give this place a shot!

Just go to youtube and you can find exactly what you want. Then ask the poster if you can use, though I think it becomes free to use once posted per the youtube EULA.

Same. Bought a Pilot 168, made 300 jumps on it and loved every one. What a coincidence. I was on a 188 and moved to a 168. Im a fatty though.

If you would have proposed this question first you might have gotten more productive answers. Many times attorneys come to this board posing as newbies trying to glean information so frequenters of this board are very defensive. You have gotten really what you need from all the answers, but now be even more specific. Are you afraid the plane is going to crash? Are you afraid your instructor is going to kill you? Are you afraid you parachute wont work? Do you think any of those fears would be quelled by a safety report? Have you read the reviews for you desired DZ on the drop zone review section of this website?

...aaaaand we're done here!

Just got the same canopy one size down.

Whenever you fly commercially do you ask Delta for the inspection records of the tail number you are about to embark on? Probably not. There are FAA records and the Freedom of Information act gives you the right to them. However, in our society, we have an element of trust. When Im going on a road trip I dont ask to see engineering reports for every bridge that I cross and accident rates for specific intersections. I assume that everyone is doing their jobs. Look up drop zone reviews on this website and observe operations on a good weather Saturday.

In my travels recently it seems like fewer and fewer DZs are offering the AFF1 with two instructors straight off the bat. Most do the tandem progression thing. I think weve all been on the x or in manifest with tandems that have just jumped and want to go again and "are signing up to do AFF". I rarely see those faces again or perhaps they did research and found a place actually closer to them. I have also seen a decline in tandems that are treated like students and moreso them just going for a joy ride. Perhaps that what the customer wants anyway. It's more of a cattle drive to sign 'em up, line 'em up, and jump with very little engagement.

It's cooler at altitude and nice if you can get a hop 'n pop at the top in. Id say thats damn near about it. Youll probably be packing in the heat, riding thermals and catching turbulence under canopy. And even dodging dust devils which can potentially kill or maim. Aircraft performance is degraded. Eloy manages to crank out 18-20 loads before noon on a lot of days during the summer which is almost as many as my home DZ during perfect weather on a weekend day.

Ive got a W14 with a Smart 175 in it and it fits perfect. Not too tight, not too loose. Unfortunately, I am not able to upload any photos. In my senior rigger opinion you should be just fine with the 176.

If the OP is still hanging around I would be curious to know his case for not having fun jumpers and what was the motivation for asking the question...

On any given weekend it's a recreational activity. If you compete at your local scrambles or nationals then it's a sport. It can be both. Doing some strokes in your backyard pool is not a sport, doing the 500m is.

As far as we've come in this country it's still sad to see people defending this behavior and using the "but black people say it too" defense. Contrary to popular belief an popular culture most black people dont use the word and deplore it's use in hip hop culture too. At least the black people I work with do. And to be fair I dont think everyone has given her the right to free speech, but her sponsors are also free to let her go if they dont agree with it. Money is more powerful than the "n" word.