DSE

You could: ~demonstrate the transition from horizontal to vertical at exit. ~Demonstrate how a parachute's deployment stages function. ~Teach the difference between a wingsuit jump (converting downward speed into forward speed) ~Teach emergency Procedures (you could easily have them looking/pulling/looking...) ~Talk about exit orders and why they occur the way they do ~Talk about the various disciplines of skydiving, and how/why you got into the sport/your favorite discipline ~Simply show the gear (alti, gloves,goggles, helmet, jumpsuit, rig) Put it on someone and do a gear check and talk about your experiences as an instructor.

in the Windows search field, type "*.ssa" and it'll get you to the directory.

And...that's a great plan. Keep focusing on the fundamentals, but you'll also find a tremendous value in being there when jumping isn't happening. Folks are usually very happy to share info and answer questions.

Even aside from health insurance, un-helmeted riders (in states that permit it) make everyone's auto liability insurance premiums higher. In most US states, liability insurance is mandatory for anyone who owns a motor vehicle. If you own a car or truck in a state that does not have mandatory motorcycle helmet laws, your liability insurance premium will be higher, to offset the risk that the motorcyclist you might be involved in an accident with might be more seriously injured or killed because he wasn't wearing a helmet (and that therefore your insurance carrier will have to pay-out a larger amount on the resulting injury or wrongful death claim). Ridiculously fat-ass people are responsible for my health insurance climbing too. They're allowed the choice to be ridiculously fat-ass/obese, but I'm not allowed the choice to ride my bike without a helmet? Kinda messed up. I wear a helmet in SoCal because the law requires me to. I wear one in Nevada even when it's 120 in the shade because the law requires me to, but found myself nearly passing out and having to spend the day in a hotel so I could ride at night. I rarely wear one in my homestate, because we're allowed to choose. Motorcycle riding, like skydiving, is inherently dangerous. No one wants laws regulating swooping, freeflying, wingsuiting... but those same that would protest laws in skydiving endorse helmet laws for motorcycles?

oh, so it actually fits inside the helmet? you didn't need an external mount on your helmet then? It's helmet model-dependent. Most current helmets have an audible pocket molded into the side so the Altitrack, Optima, NeoXs or other audible goes inside. Some helmets require an external clip (available from L&B) to mount the ProTrack. Surely someone on your DZ has an audible/ProTrack in their helmet they can show you? They're very common.

have a look at the Sticky, it lists em' all. Any PC-compatible software will chop/edit GoPro mp4 content without conversion. I think the latest version of Movie Maker Live works. VideoPad is cheap too.

you ought to ask an instructor to demonstrate relative wind, the hill, and how your body translates from horizontal to vertical motion. They might even have an artists model or something to help demonstrate this on the ground. To specifically answer your question, you were probably taught to look at the prop on exit? This is *generally* the most stable way to exit, facing the prop and continuing to look at the prop/door. We even have a contest for the military groups we train here; they face the door/prop of the aircraft as they go, salute the door/prop, and see who can hold the salute the longest as they ride the hill. The altitude from which you exit doesn't really play much of a role in the conversation. Grab an instructor next time you're at the DZ. [edit] notice that in this image that the people leaving the aircraft are facing the prop/door/relative wind. Other exit techniques will make themselves known to you as you become more experienced.

Congrats! Didja wear it to work yet?

here ya go Krip; My Skydiving Blog the Facebook vid should be accessible to anyone, even without registering.

The post-operative experience

Watch from 1:50 You can see the exit. Skydiver holds the yoke of the wingsuiter. A gainer exit is also excellent for wingsuit rodeos (providing the aircraft allows for it).

This is all true, but to throw another viewpoint into the mix; If you're an Instructor, have major separation from your student (which seems to be the case in both situtions being discussed in this thread) and both instructor and student are burning through 2500' and the Instructor is still tossing signals. You're not going to catch the student and deploy for them by 2K. Therefore, the best course of action (IMO) is still to turn and burn, look over your shoulder to be sure the student isn't tracking with you, and deploy to notify the student they should be deployed.

maybe not, but ya got to hang with Rooftop, and he's a helluva skydiver.

Dilaudid is also known as hydromorphone. T'is what I'm using for pain management immediately following the procedure. Even this doesn't affect me (remember my pain tolerance when you helped move me in rehab?) Whether I *think* I'm affected or not...no way will I skydive, drive, nor make business decisions while even just 2mg of this stuff is in my system.

I guess I don't consider Advil a pain med. Vicodin was specifically mentioned; that's a pain med. Dilaudid, etc. Bottom line is this: If you are a student and have physical pain/issues and hide it, mask it, deny it and then go on a jump with an instructor, you've asked the instructor to make decisions based on false/missing information. That is despicable, because if something goes wrong, the instructor is the one that carries that burden, even tho it was the student who was deceptive.

You'd best not be jumping under the influence of prescription painkillers. It's no different than jumping under the influence of alcohol or illegal substances. Should something happen, the pilot gets hung out to try, particularly in light of your thread here. Get in to see a doctor. It may be nothing, it may be something. Either way, you owe it to your fellow skydivers, instructors, and the pilot to be in good health and sound mind. Doing anything else is irresponsible and if you're hiding painmeds from your instructors, it's despicable, IMO. You and I both know that you know better than doing something like jumping under the influence of pain meds (doubled up or not).

More incredible inspiration from Robi and PF No wonder everyone wants a Vampire.

Others have given you great responses, but also consider spending time at the DZ to "absorb" and learn via osmosis. Unknown opportunities may present themselves as well. And...if folks see you're trying even though budget is a restriction, I suspect you'll find folks very willing to provide you with useful information for the airtime you *do* get.

Another opinion is that if the student sees you beat feet and deploy, it'll trigger them to do the same. Every student knows (should know) a track signifies the end of the skydive. If they see you backsliding, they may think the skydive is still in progress, and not recognize the urgency to deploy.

A combination of old injury and a new one that exacerbated the old. Shortest explanation... My spinal column was damaged pretty badly in my accident two years ago, preventing allowing me to not feel pain in my left knee. The MCL and cartilage were damaged at that time. At a recent skydiving event, I stepped on my tail and fell into the door frame of a PAC 750, causing a meniscal tear. MCL and meniscus were dealt with this morning. We'll know in a week how well it's all coming along, and I have full expectations of being back in the air soon. With two knee braces, you can just call me "RoboSpot." thanks for the wishes. Lisa....no good deed goes unpunished.

Add my voice to the "cheer." Imagine a CRW guy showing up with a 240 Navigator wanting to fly with a group of Lightning 126's? They might even suggest he put on 30lbs of lead in order to compensate.

they've been discussed here several times. The compression and lens quality make them useless. for most everything but simple If your jump numbers are accurate, you might want to read the sticky...

you don't even need a zipper. Just a slit, hemmed to prevent rip, and a set of stiff elastic behind the slit that will "surround" the post of the bel-vue. They are definitely fun for a lot of shots. Look at Robi's vids, you can see a LOT of Bel-vue footage.

I have one. I have never used it for WS, as it requires cutting holes in my suit. Jarno uses one a lot, so does Robi.

For AFF, I don't think so. I do use air to air communications for wingsuit instruction. It's a listen-only system, and only one word (preferably one syllable coupled with hand signals) are effective. It might work well for AFF, never have tried it. However, with around 100 jumps with in-air, I'll submit that the reaction time for students to process audible vs hand signals is slower. It might also create a dependency and the latent response could create other problems. There are some very cost-effective ways to do this; but systems designed for tunnel use are the best, IMO.