squarecanopy

Why the heck would you need to be a master rigger to change a MAIN closing pin? From what I was told because of the sexing. If that is an untruth I think I should be finding a new rigger And SEXING has what to do with skydiving?!?!?! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Hey thanks for letting us all know. The Dambusters were a brave bunch and a group I admire greatly. I encouraged my youngest son to do a school report on them about 6 or 7 years ago and he got an "A" on it in part because it was such a unique and interesting story. I was pleased because he learned something of significance about an important time in world history. Thanks again! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I thought you were kidding until I read your whole post. You are shorting yourself. Packing for yourself, thus learning your equipment sooner will help you move from "casual visitor to this sport" to "skydiver" much quicker. Learning your equipment will likely be a necessary component of your knowledge to save yourself some day when your much anticipated cutaway happens and things don't go well. When that goes down you need to know more than the average lazy let somebody else do it all for me newbie to keep from going SPLAT against Mother Earth. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Do some CRW. It will get you back to "scared shitless" in a hurry. Kevin K. You CReW dogs are braver than I am that's for sure. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

The other replies here have already said it all so well. I will add that as you already know from your scuba training, there are things you must LEARN in order to properly handle the risks. Instinct and common sense are not the only things you need to scuba or sky dive well. Like learning to not hold your breath during an emergency scuba ascent, you will learn the particulars of skydiving that will allow you to jump well and manage the risks. Welcome to the sky! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Hey Crash, I hear your frustration but don't blame it on luck. I have had similar problems as you ( bad landings, broken leg). Here are the differences in our experiences: I took 15 months off for my leg to heal although I could have come back as early as 4 months. I UPsized my canopy to get back to a more forgiving wing loading. I took a canopy course and learned a bunch. My wife films some of my landings from time to time. It really helps to see what it looks like from the ground. I am not bragging. I am saying try to slow down a bit and learn to land well. It makes it a whole lot more fun to get out of the plane if you know the last 5 seconds of the dive aren't going to hurt. These people that have responded to you are sincerely trying to help and by being (bluntly) honest with you they are showing that they care enough to tell you the truth even if it is hard to hear. GET SOME TRAINING. Progress at a comfortable pace. Don't try to race ahead of your knowledge. "GOOD LUCK" is something that you make for yourself by being PREPARED. Stick with it!! Blue Skies, Bill Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Ditto all the things already said here about Dan. What a cool guy. He was the first "staffer", other than Miami, that I met when I started jumping at Mile High and he took the time to introduce himself, welcome me and ask if there was anything he could do for me. He made me feel at ease and at home right away. Whenever I would see him, he always had a smile and a minute to ask what I was up to and how my sons were doing. I will miss his energy and passion for skydiving, and his willingness to include newbies like me into the sport. Fly Free, Dan-o... I will see you again someday... My condolences and prayers to the Braafhart family and Dan-o's skydiving family. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I went through AFF at 2 different DZ's due to the first one closing, jumping 288 Mantas, 290,280,260, and 230 Navigators during AFF and afterwards until I bought my own rig and started jumping a Sabre2 190 at jump number 24. I jumped the 190 for 27 jumps and finally realized my wing loading was too high, UPsized to a Sabre 2 210 and have jumped it now for 47 jumps. It is a fun ride! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

The (normal) high jump run speed that is required on a King Air and it's big brother , the Beech 99, is something that anyone jumping out of them should take into consideration. The relatively high performance, higher loaded wing requires higher speeds to maintain control during jumper exits. The airplane being in a climb would make it even more critical to avoid the tail as you leave the plane. I exited a King Air one day on a normal, level jump run at 13,500. I was in the door facing the tail, and I swung out of the plane hanging on to the overhead door bar with my left hand, presented my back to the wind and arched hard to start a layout gainer ( back flip). I did not consciously jump up on exit but the lift I got from the relative wind on my back caused me to pass under the tail about 2 feet below the underside of it. Scared the ever loving crap out of me as the tail whizzed by so close to my face I could have reached out and touched it. I was lucky, very lucky and now I am more careful about exits from that plane, because I feel that my safety is my responsibility and I must adapt to different airplanes and exit situations. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I saw several flips but no loop. A loop would be flying the circumference of, for example, a 500 ft. diameter circle in the vertical plane, which would require inverted flight ( not something a collapsible wing is capable of) and pitch control surfaces at some horizontal distance behind the wing, in other words, a tail with movable elevators (which canopies do not have). That being said, that is one cool video. Gets my heart racing and makes me want to head for the DZ right NOW!!! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

What is shown in those vids is not a loop. What I saw is a rotation around the centerline of the wing, i.e. a "flip". A loop would be flying the circumference of a circle, an equal distance or radius from a center point, for a full 360 degrees in the vertical plane. I would bet a loop is not possible with a ram air canopy, regardless of whether it is a skydiving canopy or a paragliding canopy. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I agree. But I think Sky diving and Scuba diving should at least get a chance as exibition Olympic events... Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Thanks Billy! Keep it up. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I jumped 290, 280, 260, 230 canopies during my AFFs. I jumped a rented 220 Navigator for the next 10 jumps (until jump 25) and got my A license. I then bought a rig with a Sabre 2 190 and jumped it for 25 jumps, pounded in damn near every landing, finally UPSIZING to a Sabre 2 210 to avoid getting seriously hurt. DONT DOWNSIZE if you are not comfortable with doing so. No offense intended at all, but you don't even know enough at this point to be accurate in assessing whether or not you could safely downsize. Go back to your original instructors and get their take on why this new AFFI is talking such a drastic move downward in canopy size. Blue Skies, Safe Landings! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I bought a cheap frefly suit (Kurupee) when I got off student status because I did not know what I wanted and it did not cost alot. It has been a good suit for the money and worked ok even doing multiway RW. Now I am ready to spend some $ on a good RW suit with grips 'cuz I now know that what I want is to do more RW with friends, in between (solo)sitflys! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Talk to instructors or people that saw the landing. Take a beginner canopy course. Listen to DocFriar. This is good advice. I broke my leg on jump 10, was off for 15 months. My bones were good and healed and I could run, jump, play ball,etc. I went back and finished my AFF with the same instructors, and then took a good canopy course. Whatever you do don't stop if you really want to jump. I just came off of a 9 month layoff after shoulder surgery, same thing, let it really heal well and then got back in the air. It is so good to be jumping again! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

denete makes an excellent point. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

What Sky Mama said! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

My first jump was an AFF from a T206 Cessna. It was great and I have been addicted ever since. Tandem has it's merits but my personal experience is only solo. Blue Skies! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Well that about wraps up this thread. You have already gotten the best advice and logic in the previous posts. Blue Skies, Safe Landings! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

I second the second! Now, to get back to the original question, you can't go wrong with a Mamba. They are very light weight for their size and strength and I really like the positive lock visor. As PilotDave says, you will get the visor scratched up unless you are super careful. I have worn motorcycle helmets for 30 years, and if I could find one (although scooter helmets to skydiving helmets is kind of apples and oranges) as comfortable and quiet as my Mamba I would buy it. They are well worth the money. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Funny Stuff Mr. Vance!! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

We are not all tree hugging, dope smoking, US-hating, go-hug-a-gay-baby-whale socialist cry babies. I for one appreciate that!!! Just burning a hole in the sky.....

In your rush to point out that we are a violent society you MISSED THE POINT of the thread. Your violent DISARMED society( which should have NO GUN CRIME NOW SINCE THE HONEST POPULACE HAS NO GUNS) has gun crime statistics that are going rapidly in the wrong direction as your ARMED criminals are preying in ever increasing numbers on your UNARMED citizens. Logical conclusion: Gun bans in your country are a failure just like in every other country in the world. Just burning a hole in the sky.....

Skyrad you really ought to get a life instead of sitting around dreaming up silly horseshit like this. Sounds to me like what you are really pissed off about is that you bozos are sitting around in your crime ridden country, jealous of the fact that you can't even defend yourselves from the armed criminals in your midst, while your snooty damn culture is collapsing under the burden of socialized government and the eminent takeover of your country by the european muslim community. As far as your supposed economic might, remember that the whole of the British Isle would not make up a corner of Texas, with a similarly small population, so beat your puny impotent chest all you want. There is your opinion and then there is REALITY... Just burning a hole in the sky.....