Chris-Ottawa

You know Jewels, I can see that you're hooked already, even though youhave 0 jumps. You seem very excited for this and that's good. I've never been in a wind tunnel, but I know skydiving is almost uncomprehendable (is that really a word). I just love it and cannot see myself spending this much money on anything else. It's not really even the jumping that keeps me coming back, alot of it has to do with seeing the faces on first time tandem jumpers, or just talking to other people at the DZ. It's a whole "community". It's expensive at first but the costs go down per jump, but then consider travel, boogies, special jumps, etc. Have fun! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Welcome! I hope you end up going for a jump and progress, it's a blast. Yeah, I tried once to flap my arms to get back in the plane, but damn that's tough. Just kidding, it is true though, the financial committment is crappy, but it's all worth it in the end. I did a tandem last October and was hooked, came back this summer, and now, 30 jumps later, here I am with all my own gear, I can jump when I want, and I only owe the bank $4 grand (CDN). My theory, you'l never have fun if you don't spend your money! See you in the blue! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Let me guess, you're a TI, right? Wait, maybe an AFFI? Couldn't possibly be a rigger..... hehe "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Guys, I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, or maybe it has and I missed it, but here goes. I don't think tipping is necessary, it shouldn't be. A few people said it best when they said, It shouldn't be expected, but when given, it should be appreciated. Basically the problem is for people who only take and never contribute back to anyone. That's when there's a problem. If you show people that help you that you appreciate what they're doing for you, that's all. I don't think you have to bring beer every trip to the DZ, but maybe out of random bring a case for no good reason just to show you appreciate all the help from everyone. It's a give/take relationship, you can take and take and take, then one day, you try taking some more and realize everyone is ignoring you because you don't give back. How's that 2 way coach jump gonna go now? What I normally do: I occassionally bring beer when necessary. Also, when i'm out there and someone needs a hand, whether it be a student, or a tandem person in need of a catcher, I'm more than willing to help. I'm new myself, but I try to contribute. Even if it's as small as talking to some new students to get them comfortable, or showing them around, that is appreciated by the DZ. Everyone is busy, so any little help is always appreciated. I guess it all comes down to how you wer raised and what you feel is "necessary", what is "expected" and what is "appreciated". There's my rant! EDIT: Be sure to tip your rigger well... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Quick easy answer: There are none, I wish! They're supposed to be building one in BC this or next year I heard. Good luck with finding the closest one, You may be making a trip to Florida or something. EDITED TO ADD: http://www.skydiveorange.com/tunnels.htm WICKED!!! Just found this: Aerodium Canada Inc. 1451 St. Georges St. Simon PQ J0H 1Y0 Canada I'm gonna investigate that..... Here's another good link [/url]http://www.skydivingmagazine.com/windtunl.htm[url] "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Mark, As far as if you're ready to jump at a new DZ or not, I'll leave that to you and your instructors. If you're in Ottawa, that's my Home DZ and I love it. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. They jump a Cessna 182 and a 205, so the plane won't be much different. The DZ is easy to find even if you're new, it's a giiant triangle (3 connecting runways). I'm sure you'll be fine. There are also DZ's in Gananoque and Alexandria. I haven't been to either, but it's a small community and I know lots of people that jump at the other DZ's. If you want to carpool or anything, shoot me a PM. I typically go most weekends. Alright, EVERY weekend! There's a bunch of us from Ottawa and the surrounding area. I'm pretty new too, and there's a few students as well, plus lots of good staff. Edit: You will definately need your solo before visiting another DZ. Later Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Dusty, Grats on joining the sport. I had alot of questions, especially about gear when I first started. I'd talk to your instructors first and present it to them. I bought things like my altimeter and jumpsuit during/after AFF, but nothing else. I recently bought gear at jump 20. You'll find out that everything you need to know will be taught to you, and all the gear is available for use. Plus, you're paying for it anyways, might as well use it. Chris EDIT to clarify: "I recently bought gear at jump 20." By this I mean a parachute and container, AAD etc. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks, That's what I needed to know. I was just curious because I already own Mapsource and it works amazing with my GPS. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hello Everyone, I am hoping someone can help me here. I am looking to buy a Neptune but was curious about one aspect of it - The downloadable info/vertical profile. I have a GPS and a $200 application that gives me all kinds of detail. I noticed paralog also works with GPS's so i wonder if my Garmin Mapsource application will read neptune logs. Can anyone confirm if this is possible, or even better, if someone can "lend" me their tracks or file downloaded from the Neptune. I would really appreciate this because this software has all kinds of detail. I can plot the track on an accurate map, soo the speed at different altitudes/locations, see the vertical profile etc. Thanks so much PM me for my email if you have a log for me! Thanks a bunch! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

It's a main, first post updated to reflect that. Blew up on opening. Ah that makes much more sense. Am I crazy but did it not say reserve previously? I could have sworn it said reserve. That's why I was so shocked you were Ok. Sorry for being retarded! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I'm not sure what I'm going to do without being able to skydive for 5 months. Maybe I can jump from the plane, with my snowboard on, hopefully not kill myself, then parasail/snowboard down the hill. Haha. I'll just have to go boarding often to keep my mind off skydiving. I also find it funny that someone mentioned rock climbing. I also got into that last winter and I've seen a few posts about turning a silo into a climbing gym. I guess skydivers share the same interests in general. I just think that's pretty cool. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Question: What happened? Terminal deployment gone bad? That's kinda scary, hopefully you landed OK if it happened on a jump. Is it an older reserve? Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Chris, My first jump was a tandem and I really wasn't scared at all. I've been around planes alot and have had alot of oppurtunity to try "stunts" inside small planes. The only point where I did actually gets scared was when some one spoke in the plane, actually it was the pilot and he was yelling rather than speaking. He yelled "DOOR", I thought I may fill my pants at that split second. It still makes me nervous when they yell DOOR, but as soon as it's open, it's all good, I climb out and smile all the way down! Enjoy your jump next saturday! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

See above notes, haha It gets a bit chilly when it's -40 celsius, then ya throw a 120MPH windchill into that. I'm pretty good at math, and well, you'd freeze your nuts off. Plain and simple. We do ocassionally do jump in the winter up here, but very randomly and only on days where it warms up closer to 0 (+/- 10 degrees Celsius) "When once you have tasted flight..."

N/A

Hey Everyone, I just got to thinking and reading a few profiles from one of my other posts and I noticed alot of people SKi/Snowboard. I was curious how many people ski/snowboard in the off season. Now this may be a stupid question as I'm in Canada and we DEFINATELY have an off season where someone in Deland might not have such an oppurtunity. I actually started snowboarding 2 winters ago, first day out I snapped my wrist. 5 weeks later I was ready to go. That was on rental gear. This past winter I bought all my gear and absolutely love it. SO I wonder how many people use the off season for winter activities, and if you do something other than ski/snowboard, please indulge. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I'm working on that. Just wasn't sure what I wanted or the size or anything. But I think I will, Factory Diver, size medium should do. Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks Diablo, That's part of the problem. They are available in the classifieds, but not any size that would fit. I may just splurge and buy a new Oxygn or a factory diver and remove the visor? We'll see, if anyone else has a helmetin need of a new home, give me a heads up. Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Bonnie, Tooka quick look in the used gear and helmets section, didn't see anything used as far as helmets go, can you PM me the details? Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I'm looking probably for a medium, I'd have to confirm the measurement but most likely medium. Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Those are pretty cool. Definately checking them out, but still a bit pricey. As for the other posts, I have been lokoing for a used helmet but it seems to be something that doesn't come up alot. I've looked at snowboard/ski helmets but it's hard to find them out of season. I just find it really hard to pay $3-500 for a helmet for "skydiving" that isn't even rated for safety. If it was DOT approved or something, I'd be more inclined to get one. I'm gonna keep looking, guess i'll just have to wait until I see one on ebay or something. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I'm trying to find the last piece of gear that I need. A helmet. I would like a full face helmet, either with or without a visor. I'm trying to avoid paying $4-$500 (CDN) for a "skydiving" helmet. I'm wondering is anyone has found any good alternatives. I was looking at some, mountain biking hemlets that seem to work well, but they are too bulky and will grab tonnes of air. I saw a few kayaking helmets, but none of them seem to be quite sufficient. So, I'm hoping someone who has some experience with different variations of effective helmets can share their findings. I've checked all the sports stores in the area. Thanks for all the help! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I got to jump this canopy in my progression. I don't have alot of experience in noticing minor changes in a canopy's performance but I noticed alot with this one. I'm 140 out the door, and I was jumping a Pilot 170 with 10 jumps on it. Opening: Pulled the pilot chute, then there was a canopy sniveling above my head. Didn't feel anything open, snivel lasted a long time and it was the smoothest opening I've had yet. It sat me up in the harness like I was in a La-Z-Boy, just smooth and slow. I was watching the canopy snivel for what seemed like eternity. My first jump I thought I was going to have to chop, I thought I had a slider hangup. Canopy stayed on heading the whole time. It was all good. Flight: Canopy is very responsive. I felt very stable and safe under the canopy. Does some nice snappy turns and level flight is great. Landing: Flare was great, didn't even have to finish the flare to achieve a stand up landing. Didn't have to run it out or anything. This canopy is really what it says it is. A canopy for the true pilots out there. This would be a great intermediate canopy and can probably be pushed to be fairly swoopy if wanted. I would love to try one with abit higher wing loading to see how it flies when loaded.

I had a chance to jump the Sabre2 150 for 5 jumps over the last 2 weekends. First of all, I'd like to give PD credit for a wicked canopy. This thing does everything almost perfect. The only thing I could comment on was the openings. The openings happened not too fast, not too slow, but the canopy seems to jump around a bit. Could be my body position or packing but it seemed fairly consistent. Still, I'm not concerned about it at all. On jump 3 I had an end cell closure, very minor problem. Jump 5 was somewhat interesting. The canopy opened and started to snivel, it seemed to start turning to the right and invoking a line twist so I grabbed the risers and separated them. The canopy sniveled a bit more the suddenly spun up. I had 4 or 5 twists in it. Again, wasn't worried at this point as I knew It was fine. The canopy was opened square, both brakes were stowed but it was still spinning up. I started kicking out and the canopy was fighting me for a bit, but eventually I got them all undone and all was well. I would still definately buy a Sabre2. It's a blast to fly whether you want to take it easy, or spiral out of the sky. I was loading it at about .93 and felt very comfortable under it. Flare was incredible as well. Highly recommend.