repcool

Thanks to all you folks for some good pointers, a few folks at the drop zone gave some input and I put it to use. On Saturday I was playing around with my field of view, flare start and flare speed. By Sunday I was getting some consistent landings that actually kind of made sense to me. Plenty to work on still. Thanks... Simon

I am curious, is the goal of the hop n pop to exit stable then deploy, or to exit, get stable and deploy? I rarely exit stable on a hop n pop but I always pull stable.

What made a big difference for me was packing at home in front of the TV, or even with a few friends in the same boat. I think the key here is being able to pack in a comfortable environment without the pressures of a load coming up. I am not saying it made me a perfect packer, it just helped me make progress.

I read "C-1" as requiring ONE of those options being required to be met, most people do "C" I think, a medical statement, one of those things signed and never read!

Funny that this thread got to the top again this morning, just last night I was transferring my log book into a spreadsheet and copying all the gruesome details of my AFF jumps. It took me 10 years to finish AFF and Josh is responsible for the greatest progress I made, 4 jumps in 2006 a week before I was cleared. Thanks mate, the big smileys you left in my book with positive comments make me smile.

This Brit is hitting the road the end of June making a B line to Perris for the 4th July boogie. I figured I would go a few days early and get a few days at Elsinore and Skydive San Diego. My theory is that all my landings in Colorado will treat me well when I get to sea level. If I do those 3 drop zones am I going to later learn I missed another "must do" in the area? Any advice and offers of beer venues much appreciated. I am planning on camping. Thanks Simon

You can get a waiver for something like this, it might be why your flight doctor has you going to someone else to get your eyes checked. There is an AOPA article that references the issue in an article and states: I looked into this stuff when I got LASIK. I could get a class 1 with my glasses but only class 3 with my contacts because of an astigmatism. I think in your case I would just get glasses!

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts. I am reading a common theme, "earlier, slower and smoother". It isn't a massive surprise as the whole flare experience is a bit of a black out event that I need to become more conscious of. I have a weekend of practice planned and will report back!

In some ways I hate to open myself up to ridicule here, but I figure the valuable input I will get will outweigh the beatings.... I am still trying to nail down my flare on a Spectre 210. I took a canopy class at the end of last year, I will likely do another one again in the next month or so but I would like to make some progress before I turn up to the guys class AGAIN! I did 5 no wind landings this weekend and 2 of them turned into a PLF of sorts. It "feels" like I am carrying speed which in turn generates lift on the flare which then dumps me straight down. I can't analyze this in my mind to figure out if my flare is too aggressive, or two high, or not finished right, or a panic leg reach for the ground... This video has my landings from last year when filmed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1bFXlwfs9Q The 3rd landing was close to the best from my perspective. Again, I can't tell from watching if the aggressive change of angle on the canopy is too much or even too little. I play with it at altitude to feel the swing with my eyes closed, but once the ground is in the picture something isn't adding up. Thanks for any input. Simon

time for a remake I would say. Kind of Indiana Jones style if I recall.

I get my dog to lie on the cocoon for a while, that gets the air out. It leaves it kind of hairy, but that's the price you pay.

Does that count as a pass??? :-)

6 beers....theres your answer. Now, how to do that after the first load...?

I wonder if one of the reasons you can coach with only 100 jumps is because you are still close enough to the status of the beginner that it acts as an advantage of sorts? I don't even know if I agree with myself but I do dwell on it sometimes. Would I feel guilty being a coach because I am still new myself? Or would I use the coaching as an opportunity to develop. Coaching to me is like any form of education, it benefits both parties. Maybe I would just feel guilty charging....

Know that you are not alone....

I recall my first jump well, a twin otter. There was myself with 2 instructors and 4 other folks. I was just cool as a cucumber, no stress, no nerves, bring it on. Right.....the engines cut back, one of the guys opened this odd sliding door, popped his head out, nodded at the others, then 4 people left the airplane!!!! at point it all dawned on my like a train wreck. I kind of blacked out that exit I think.... I got more and more scared for at least the next 20 jumps. These days it is manageable, thats about all.

I sure do! Haven't had one let me down...yet. I can see we won't actually get to agree about what I am trying to say. Not packing your own rig EVERY time does not mean you don't understand your equipment, which I think is what your original question stated. Aye aye. I first packed in Houston, nice and humid. Now I have my own, new ZP 210 in Denver, nice and DRY! I didn't say I couldn't get it in the bag, I said it takes me some time. Things changes sometimes you know and you have to change your plan of attack, that is part of the "you never stop learning". I do agree that everyone should be able to pack and as you hinted on, jump it with confidence. I wonder if there are other things that would influence someones attitude to this. You do it your way and I will do it mine, no worries.

I have enough room in my basement to lay it out and play with getting it in the bag, which continues to require patience. It is cool, finished and got music, and I am not in a rush to catch a load. It is at home that I actually inspect it because it keeps me close to the sport even when away. I think I know my gear pretty well, more to know for sure but I am interested in it. Not only because my life depends on it but it is full of gadgets and after all, it is gear! Same reason I wax my own skis, I get to drool about skiing. What I am saying is there isn't a direct relationship between not packing and not knowing your gear. Just this week I released the 3 rings to massage them, replaced some rubber bands...which I now think I put on ones too big and plan on switching them out. I inspected the kill chord for shrinkage and the PC pouch for elasticity. Then on my repack I asked my rigger to throw a second set of eyes over it. If you see someone picking up a rig from a packer, don't assume they know nothing about their gear. What about if the time my packer is putting my main back in is spent preparing for a coach exam, or in the EP harness, investing in safety and knowledge? Like I said, not packing is not an indication of being uninterested in understanding. 2 rigs? Ha, I wish. :-) Got a spare to lend? Simon

Understanding how to pack well enough to understand your equipment is really kind of different than packing so you can get a regular inspection of the current state of said equipment. You could actually never jump your own pack job but still be inspecting the main on every jump before you get a packer to do it. Arguably an inspection that is separate from the pack job could be more detailed because it has only a single focus, the inspection. I kind of like the analogy to that of a private pilot. To get your license you must demonstrate that you understand the aircraft systems very well, but you aren't actually allowed to play with them as a pilot. I would be happy to be tested in detail about my equipment, not once but often. I might not always know the answer but that would be the point of a detailed question, to learn. However, I wouldn't be happy to always pack my rig, I do want to jump some! Simon

I live right in Breck dude, sitting here right now trying to get my ass into gear for a bike ride. :-) What do you want to know?

I had a nail put in my femur 6 years ago from a snowboard wreck that shattered it badly. I also lost the nerve right around my knee and that caused drop foot. I did some hardcore PT and got back into half marathon shape. I concluded that it was good enough to keep but honestly I was in pain so much of the time. Last year I finally decided to have it out, maybe I just wanted the sympathy vote for having surgery...:-) Really the operation was a piece of cake. I was walking right away, jumped a few times within 6 weeks and had an awesome ski season. I now kind of regret not getting it out before, but I know for next time. I did take advantage of some decent health insurance, I wouldn't of been prepared to cough up too much cash for it. Hope this helps, no advice to give as such, but this was my experience.

watch out for import taxes mate, I got hosed on those once. To be honest it was still cheaper you just want to watch out for fines.

I went through the same exercise myself recently and I concluded to get HDMI with 1080p quality. I don't think an HDMI always implies that the TV is 1080p. So, that tv looks like it has it and your PS3 would look like a dream on it. I don't know how popular that brand is in Asia but I got what sounded like an odd brand but the truth is they make the parts that the label brands then put a markup on. I am not convinced this helps much, except to say I know the pain of this project!

How do you get your picture? How do you get your cable or do you only want to use it for DVD? These days you can have hardcore gear and if you hook it up right you don't get the best of it! I guess it depends what you mean by good picture and what your expectations are.

Does anyone remember this TV show, I swear it existed but sometimes I think it was a dream.