MagicGuy

Yes I'm being emotional. No I didn't drop her off. I don't mean to jump down my vets throat but I can't help but think they gave her too much anesthesia. She was a tiny dog in good health. In my eyes, they fucked up. I'm sorry for being pissed off but what can I do. I just can't believe she's gone. I didn't even get to see her this morning before she left..

What can I think.. she was a healthy dog going in for a routine surgery that dogs have every day. They actually said she would be healthier in the long run for having the surgery. What the fuck. Thanks for the kind words, Joe.

My 6 month old female Pug went in this morning to get spayed. She was a perfectly healthy Pug and loved by everyone in our family, including our two other dogs - a Pug named Spike, and a German Shepard named Guiness. I get home from work today and for some reason I knew something was wrong. I walk in my house and I look at my Mom and I can tell she'd been crying. I asked her what's wrong and she said "Cindy Lou is gone". Fucking bullshit. There was nothing wrong with her. Those vets killed her. "She went into cardiac arrest on the table" they say. Bullshit. She went for tests to make sure everything was going to be OK. Now my dog is gone. She was only 6 months old, she didn't deserve to die. I've been trying to find out if we can sue the vet for wrongful death. Anyone know if this is possible? This sucks so bad.. I always say I'm not going to get upset when my pets die, but this one really hits me hard.

You aren't the only one, brotha! It's only been two weeks for me but I'm jonesin' bad. Hopefully this coming weekend has some good weather.

Yup, I used to do a lot of similar things when I was a kid. Jumping off of decks and trees, running and doing flips over things. Then I saw skydiving on TV...

As someone pointed out, it's the depth perception that will mess you up. And if the snow is icey, landing is interesting. But it's fun! Check out PilotDave's pictures. There is a sweet pic of me landing in snow with a blue and white Sabre2.

Not many people have brand new rigs for their first gear. Going on that same theory, some people wait so long just to buy a new eig when they could've just bought a cheaper rig and been paying less for their jumps, learning how to pack on THEIR canopy.. etc. Looks good, man. I'm sure you will have a great time with it!

Drugs are everywhere. The problem is when it gets in the way of safety. If people aren't doing drugs during the day, than whatever. It's when they get high before boarding that plane when it becomes an issue.

$1000 seems reasonable. Condition can change that price, though. Keep in mind, while old gear can be perfectly useable, gear from '92 is 15 year old technology. Just something to keep in mind. Sabre's are unpredictable. Some people say there are good ones and bad ones. Some people have hard openings occasionally, some have them all the time, some never have them. If this is something you're OK with, than make the choice. A Vector 2 is not freefly safe. I haven't heard of riser tabs.. maybe you meant changing the riser covers from velcro to tuck tabs. That won't do anything for the freefly aspect. If you are planning on freeflying, don't buy a Vector 2. Keep in mind that you don't have to buy a complete rig. You can get better deals by piecing gear together. Biggest thing is finding a container that fits you and that will fit appropriate sized canopies. After that, the canopes are usually fairly easy to come across. I put together a basically brand new Wings rig minus Cypres for roughly $1600.

I've only been to two boogies and neither of them had any companies demoing gear. I have been at the DZ where Sunpath (the company that makes Javelin rigs) and PD were both there. The Javelins were complete rigs, main, reserve and Cypres. The only thing is that they didn't have many rigs. And the size of the harness may not have the appropriate sized canopies for every person. PD had only canopies to demo. The canopies were connected to the bag and had a pilot chute. A simple connection of the risers to one's current rig and you were good to go. Demos by both PD and Sunpath were absolutely free. I demoed a Spectre 170 and used it for the whole weekend. Overnight the PD guy just held onto my rig, just in case. When demoing canopies I'd say you have to have your own harness and container system. When demoing containers, at least in my only case, it was a complete rig, and I believe it was a one time demo.

I reach for the ground with my right leg on just about every landing. I've always had stand up landings but I have definitely tweaked my ankle a couple times because I had an uneven flare. Never thought it could be because I was reaching. Thanks for that! Ya learn something every day..

See about working half of the day. I have a friend that's going to be doing that this season. Work 8-1, than you will have time for jumping in the afternoon. Of course, they may want someone who can devote a full time position. In that case, I would opt for just jumping, dude. You can learn things by being on the ground be the real knowledge comes by being in the air.

Is there something ironic about a jumper with only 33 jumps questioning whether some one is skilled enough to be a coach at 100 jumps? Glad you said it before I could, Doug. I've said it before and I'll say it again. 100 jumps is not someone with a ton of experience. But someone that has 100 jumps over the course of years is much different than someone who has 100 jumps in a short time span. Currency means a lot.

What don't you like about the external PC on the Wings? It's not completely external.. there are two small flaps covering it, while the sides are exposed. I love my Wings. It's reasonably priced, you can get all the options of the more expensive rigs, and it's super comfortable. Buying brand new a Wings will be the most cost effective out of the bunch.

I have about 35 jumps on a Sabre 2 150, loaded at just about 1:1 exactly. I definitely had a lot of 90s on opening, and closed end cells like you said. 1.1:1 is going to seem a little bit zippy to you. I just started jumping a 135 which puts me at 1.1:1. Toggle turns are significantly faster and coming in for landing is pretty fast. Just be aware of these things before you start jumping the canopy. Pull nice and high and do a bunch of practice flares and controlability stuff. Work on flat turns, too. It might be worth it to try a 190 before you start jumping the 170. If anything, it won't hurt. Be safe and good luck.

If you're worried about jumping your packjob, have a packer or rigger watch you pack it. If they give you the OK, it should be fine. I agree about the canopy. If it's your first jump on the 190, you may want to jump a canopy one size bigger first. Good Luck!

I can easily stall the 135 on toggles alone, as well. Not even in full flare, but very close to it.

It sure was! Pocketed slider, and damn does it look ghetto as hell. But it works. I should also say that the lower control lines have been shortened, in what looks to be like an attempt at delaying an inevitable replacement of said lines. There's not much left to stow once the toggles are set.

I just started jumping a Hornet 135 loaded at 1.1, previously jumped a Sabre 2 150. I haven't noticed all that many similarities between them, although I've only made 4 jumps on the Hornet. Hornet's openings have been on heading every time and seem slightly more brisk, but still not slammers. Front riser dives were smoother on the Sabre 2. I, too, noticed some bucking when I did diving 360s on my Hornet. The Sabre 2 seems to have a better glide ratio, as well. Finally, the Sabre 2 had a more forgiving flare. That is, you could flare late and still have a stand up landing. I flared a little late on my first jump, no wind day, and had to run it out a few steps. Same situation with the Sabre and it would've been a pretty soft landing. But the Hornet is a hell of a lot easier to pack!!

MLW is the main lift web. It's the webbing material that creates the harness, and connects to the hip rings. The laterals are the two straps of webbing attched to the bottom of the container, on the sides, which then connect to the MLW. IMO, tight on the shoulders would be nicer than loose. When you are under canopy it should feel looser as the shoulder straps will be suspended above your shoulders a bit. But then again, I guess I should've used the word snug - I can imagine too tight would be rather uncomfortable. Any way to take a picture of yourself wearing the rig and post it?

I've found some amazing deals right in the classifieds section. I put together a basically brand new Wings rig minus Cypres for about $1500. That's including a PD reserve, main and the container. The good deals seem to go really quick so you have to keep an eye out. Know what you are looking for and stay on top of the classifieds and you might just find a great deal.

Wow, talk about a nice guy! Geez..

A lot of skydivers have very short attention spans. I just had this talk with a friend a few weekends back. We're all afflicted with ADD. I skydive because I have wanted to fly all my life. Not in a plane or in a balloon, but real, Superman-like flying. Skydiving, at this point in history, is the closest I will ever get to that dream. And it's pretty damn close! As skydivers, the sky is our playground. We see things and experience feelings that noone else in the world can even relate to. And if it ever gets boring (which I doubt) there are so many different disciplines to work on. It is, by far, the most amazing thing that a person can do. To answer your A License question, I believe as long as the DZ that you will be jumping at over there is a member of the USPA, they should honor the A License that you will receive in the US. Also, 2 weeks for an A License is do-able, but keep in mind that skydiving is highly dependant on the weather. And as a student, even more dependant. Wind can be your worst enemy. But, it is possible. You'll be jumping a lot, you will be tired, but it can be done. Good luck man. Keep us updated on your progress.

It wasn't 'terrible', but I jumped a Dolphin a few times that I just didn't feel comfortable with. So much velcro - I hated how the closing flap tucked underneath with velcro. And it just wasn't comfortable. The Vector 2s as a student rank at the bottom for comfort, though. Felt like a piece of plywood strapped to your back.

Probably, Fish! It's gotta go into the shop for a tune-up this weekend, but it should be good to go next weekend. And it's gonna drive so amazingly in the snow Having a second Mercedes key would be great, but at $125 a pop it's not exactly easy on the pockets. I do not, however, have an excuse for not having a back up for the Taurus. But I'll be ordering a couple extras when I can get the car to the dealership. The only reason I'm concerned about the Taurus is because it treats me well in the Winter. The Mercedes is rear wheel drive and doesn't have winter tires on it, so in any kind of winter weather, the car is basically useless. But it's a hell of a lot of fun in the Spring, Summer and Fall!