bqmassey

I disagree with this entirely. I don't even have an A license yet, but I know that a manufacturer is likely a more reliable source of information than some random person on DZ.com. I have the mental capacity to apply logic to things I read here to determine if they make sense. I have the maturity to take those questions to my instructor or experienced people that I trust if I need further clarification. I'm sure y'all have seen your fair share of idiot student skydivers. In case you haven't noticed though, there are also idiot experienced skydivers, instructors, pilots, packers, etc. Just because someone's new at something doesn't mean they're gullible and will believe anything they're told. In fact, that's quite an insult to assume that someone that hasn't been skydiving as long as you have lacks "mental framework". Skill is one thing. Common sense is another. EDIT: I'm not trying to say that ALL new skydivers have the capacity to make good decisions about the information they get. I'm just saying, don't lump us all into one group.

You joke, but I've been on more jumps with someone who had a pistol in their jump suit pocket, then you could probably guess. Not all the jumps were with the same person. There was an extracurricular jump I was on last year where a group of us were doing a hop-n-pop for a thing for some kids. We were flying over some really bad neighborhoods and doing an open field landing in a really bad part of that town. Everyone on the load had a pocket pistol. The favorite was a Kel-Tec P3AT. A lot of jump pilots I know have a pistol on their person in the plane... How'd they carry? All of them in a pocket?

I have no problem with a DZ that wants to add to the USPA requirements; that's entirely their decision. That's the free market and they have the right to do so. Students that don't like their way of doing things don't have to jump there, and I wouldn't. I like that I, as a post-AFF, pre-A-License jumper, have a little bit of control over my experience. It did help me to have a few jumps completely solo where I had nobody to impress. It gave me confidence in the basic skydiving skills, and it was the first time I could completely relax and enjoy the jump. I think that solo jumps during this phase of training are pretty valuable. I've done seven of these solo jumps now, and have gotten to a point where they're not helping me and I do need to jump with a coach. I appreciate that my DZs give you the flexibility to say "no, I want to jump alone" or "yes, I'd like to work with a coach this jump". So, like popsjumper said, vote with your feet (and $$$).

Thanks for all of the replies! I enjoy reading through. I'm taking notes. :) It sounds like getting this all down relies a lot on past experiences and observations (watching others, being familiar with your canopy, adjusting after an off-target landing). Are there any visual/logic tricks to aid in making these decisions? (Things like the "accuracy trick"). Again, thanks for the replies. Canopy flight is a very interesting topic to me. I hope to be a very skilled canopy pilot someday.

Yep, "The Jumping Place" in St. Mary's, GA. Currently flying a modified C182 with (I believe) another one on the way. Fun little drop zone! Packin' Cathy is awesome. DZO/Rigger/Instructor/Pilot/Camera... she does it all! http://thejumpingplace.com/

Try to be good at it! I had a real slammer of an opening once. That was in 2009. I'm still seeing a chiropractor for it.

We did some drills in training harnesses (not a hanging one, but one's you put on). They put on a video that popped up mal's on the screen, and you had to demonstrate what you'd do in that situation.

Yea, I jumped last weekend at a different DZ. Did a brief run-through of the AFF course and discussed some malfunctions and emergency procedures. Did a recurrency jump and four solo jumps. I have a signature from the instructor for last weekend's recurrency jump. Will that be honored at a different DZ, or will they want another one done?

Awesome, Andy. Thanks! I'll be in touch. It's a long drive, so I'll have to plan ahead a little bit. Not a troll. Joined in 2006. Did my first two tandems in 2008. Completed AFF in 2009. Couldn't jump in 2010 (due to work), and am picking it back up now in 2011. Awesome. Thanks. :) I'm signed off of AFF and have seven post-AFF solo jumps under my belt. I graduated AFF with the skills I need to be safe once I leave the plane (the stuff that's expected of an AFF student) but not some of things that are required to submit the A License application. I haven't done any coached jumps.

I have 16 jumps (including two tandems) and I'm trying to get my A License. I'm safe and confident in freefall. I have no problem getting into a stable position and always pull on time, but my loops and tracking could use some work. There are a lot of things I haven't been taught yet that I need to know for my A License. I need to learn: o How to pack o How to change/adjust main closing loop o How to determine exit and opening points using winds aloft forecast o The cloud clearance and vis requirements o About the effect of a jumper on aircraft control surfaces o Radio and onboard communication procedures o How to plan a jump o How to spot I know that I could probably get signed off at some DZs without all of these skills, but I'd rather not. When I go to some other drop zone and I get put by the door, I don't want to look like an idiot when they tell me to spot. If I'm going to hold an A License, and exercise the privileges of it, I want to have the skills that are expected for someone with my level of experience. I really enjoy this sport, and want to be good at it. Anyways, I'm thinking about going up to Skydive The Farm. I've never jumped there, but I've heard great things. I'm wondering if there are any USPA Coaches out there that would like to teach me some stuff and do some jumps with me. My last five jumps have been completely solo. They've been fun, but I'm starting to get lonely up there! (and haven't been learning much or improving). I feel like I have the potential to be good at skydiving, I just need to get the fundamentals down solid. I love the DZs that I've already jumped at, but I've found it difficult to find a Coach that has time for me. Most of the coaches are also camera flyers or instructors and are too busy. So, do any of you STF regulars happen to be coaches? I'll cover the lift tickets and beer. Let me know what I'll owe you above that, so I can plan accordingly (I may have to wait a couple of weekends). Blue skies!

I'm having trouble when it comes to flying the pattern. I can't land ANYWHERE near where I intend to without someone far more experienced telling me where to make my turns in the pattern. I'm trying to become self-sufficient, and really need to improve my ability to land near a target without assistance. It was pretty windy last weekend when I was jumping. I rode the wind way too far on the downwind leg. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to get back to the landing target. The next day the winds were very light, which threw off all of the turning points I had from the day prior. My first landing that day was 800 ft from my target. I've read the article about the "D" turning point. Maybe I'm not fully understanding the article, but it doesn't seem to help chose how far upwind from the target the crosswind leg should be, or how far downwind the base leg should be. I know I could go ask an instructor to look at the winds aloft and tell me where the points should be, but I'm trying to learn to do this stuff on my own. Are there any methods of determining this stuff on-the-fly without looking at the winds aloft data and without just saying "that looks right"? Winds change all the time, and I want to be able to go out and adapt to the situation in real-time. I'd really like to master canopy flight. Being under canopy is my favorite part of skydiving. I don't have a strong urge to get into swooping. I'd just really like to be have enough control to be able to have a graceful stand-up landing exactly where I plan to land. My landings are fine (usually stand-up landings), I'm just having trouble landing where I want to. I'm 200lbs. I've been jumping a 210 (zero-p) a 210 (F111) and a 235 (zero-p). The effective glide angle changes dramatically with changes in wind. What methods are there to figuring out when to turn when you're coming in? At some point, I'd like to start landing in the same state as my dropzone.

Just keep at it. There are a few things you can try, but for me I just got really tired of fighting it. I quit worrying about the dive flow and trying to fit everything in before pull time. I quit worrying about my instructor watching and trying to do everything right. I got tired of potato chipping and trying to force myself stable. I just quit worrying about ALL of it. In a way, I kind of just gave up on the jump. I decided I just wanted to fall. Instead of telling myself to relax, I told my arms and legs to relax. I pushed my shoulders back and just made my extremities go limp. I dedicated my focus to it. INSTANTLY I was stable. It was incredible. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced yet. I was able to finish the diveflow of that jump with plenty of time, and went through the rest of the levels with no problem at all. It's not like swimming in a pool, where you move by pushing against the water... you just ... fall. It's like when you're driving down the highway and you put your hand out the window and make it go up and down just by angling it different ways. You're not using muscles to move your arm up and down, you're just positioning your hand and the wind is doing all the work. Skydiving is the same way. Let the air do the work. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3731256

Thanks for the informative replies! I think it'd be a lot of fun, especially if you were dropped off quite a ways upwind and could fly back cross-country. It's something I hope to do some day. I'd probably try to talk an experienced jumper into doing it with me so I could just follow him and not have to worry so much about screwing up the rest. The view up there is great, but in freefall you don't get as much of an opportunity to take it in. I haven't been up there in a while (2009). I moved to Savannah now, and will be finding a new DZ soon. I miss jumping a lot. It's a shame though, I really like the folks out at SD Monroe. I started and completed AFF there, so it will always be a special place to me. I was out at STF recently with a big group of guys/girls on an organized skydiving trip. They split the group between ASC and STF. I got a chance to hang out at both. STF seemed like a great place. ASC.... eh. It only takes one or two people to ruin the vibe at a place. I just went along for the ride since I talked a friend into doing a tandem. I didn't jump because I didn't want to waste money on a tandem when I've already gotten through AFF. It killed me to be at a DZ and not be jumping.

Just playin y'all. ;) I didn't expect to be doing this anytime soon. I have more important things to worry about,.. like learning how to avoid potato chipping. I was just curious if there are rules that prohibit it, or any safety-related reasons not to. If there are no rules about it, is pulling high only limited then to hypoxia concerns?

Thanks for the reply, but what you fail to realize is that I'm really good at skydiving. It's not like I won't have the camera put away when I start my hookturn. Glad I'm entertaining. Pay attention, I might be able to teach you something.

Ha! Due to your response, I'm guessing that you consider taking a second to pull out a camera and snap a picture to be inadvisable.

I'm an inexperienced jumper. (2 tandems, 7 AFF, 2 solos, but haven't jumped since 2009.) There's always discussion about pulling high. I'm curious, is there any limit to how high you can deploy your canopy? My jumps were typically from 14.5. Is there any reason I couldn't pull as soon as I stabilize? Freefall is a blast, but I think it'd be cool to pull high and just enjoy the scenic route every once in a while, maybe take some pictures.

Yea, we noticed the loose RSL. The shoulder strap came untucked. I'll make it a point to double check that strap next time I jump the rig. Thanks :) Thank ya!

The weather was great on Saturday, so I made my first and second solo jumps! It was a great feeling to jump by myself! I felt like I had all kind of time, since there was no diveflow to stick to. I was really relaxed and had a great skydive on my first solo. I had a coach jump with me on my second solo and he filmed it. Knowing the camera was on made it hard to relax, so I potato chipped a lot and didn't have as much stability and control as I did on my last few jumps. I'm disappointed to have such a clumsy jump on tape, but it was fun anyways. video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fgas8Bckko pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/bqmassey/SecondSoloSkydive# Be gentle ;) I know it's not great. I promise I'm better than the video shows. Awesome! I hope I can make it. Thanks. Yea, I really like it out there. Bill's a great DZO. Yep. I'm getting there slowly. Thanks. I'll give that a shot my next jump. I think I'll let it be a surprise though.

This last Sunday, I completed the AFF program! What a thrill! I had trouble staying stable on levels three and four. I was arching and I THOUGHT I was relaxed, but I just couldn't get myself to be really stable. This made the maneuvers more difficult. Level five started the same way, but then something clicked. I still don't know why, but in the middle of that jump I just quit fighting it. At that moment, I felt my body really relax and I was immediately as stable as could be. It was an amazing feeling. I finally became comfortable up there. All of the maneuvers were easy and, once that light bulb went off, the next two jumps went really great. I can't say enough about my dropzone--Skydive Monroe--and my instructors. Not only are they great skydivers, but great teachers as well. If the weather cooperates this weekend, I'll have my first solo jump! Now I can really start learning! Sooo... how do I go about doing a low-level hook turn ;)

I had the same problem on my first three jumps. I did two tandems a year ago. On the first one (my first jump ever), I couldn't breate at ALL. Once we got on the ground, I casually mentioned to my instructor that I didn't know that a person can't breathe at terminal velocity. He laughed, and told me a human CAN breathe just fine falling that fast, I just wasn't doing it. On my second tandem (same day), I forced myself to breathe. It was still very difficult, but I was able to. Last weekend I did my first two AFF jumps. On the first jump I had the same problem, I couldn't breathe. I remembered what my tandem instructor had told me, and was able to force myself to breathe again. The second jump I was able to breathe completely naturally, without even thinking about it. For the jumps that I DID have trouble, I found that breathing in wasn't the problem. I just wasn't breathing OUT. It's hard to bring in more air if you don't get rid of what's in your lungs. Once I started forcefully exhaling (in a way similar to blowing out candles) untill ALL of the air was out of my lungs and I couldn't blow out anymore, I was able to catch my breath. Good luck! Let us know how your next jump goes.

One more vote for Skydive Spaceland. I only got to go out there once before I moved out of Texas, but I really really liked it out there. They're a top-notch operation. Very professional, but still a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

Tomorrow is my first AFF jump. I don't expect to be perfect, but I'd like to know what some of the mistakes are that first time solo jumpers make and how to avoid them, and any other advice you may have for a first-timer. Thanks!

I need to reintroduce myself. My first introduction was over a year ago before I made my first jump at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, TX. It was a tandem jump, and I was hooked immediately. So much so that I did a second tandem the next load. (I only planned on one.) Well, after a year of saving up money, I can FINALLY take the AFF course! I'm so excited! I'm in Georgia now, and I'll be jumping at Skydive Monroe in Monroe, GA. I've saved up enough to pay for 25 jumps, so I'll be up there every weekend I can until I'm licensed. Too excited! Can't sleeeeeeppp!

What an experience!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PGxGf4XjQg It was a blast. Brian (bclark) ended up being my instructor. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher! The camera flyer, Brit, was awesome as well! It was such a great time I went up again! Great... another addiction.