mnskydiver688

oh come on that makes it interesting. Plus I would always deploy so it would then turn me into the wind. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I went from student gear (260 sq ft) after getting licensed to a PD210 for roughly 15 jumps then bought my own gear with a sabre1 170. I have been very happy with my choice. Get advice from instructors at your DZ who have seen your landings. Demo different canopies also. See what you like and get a feel for how the flare is much different on a 190 zp / 170zp than say student gear. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Physically I would laying stomach down on a water bed. As far as thoughts go during freefall it varies quite a bit. During my hundredth jump I looked at the funnelled formation and everybody spread out and thought "this isn't quite how I saw my 100th in my head but this is fun anyway", and a big grin formed on my face. When you are making formations you are thinking about what your next move is going to be and what needs to be done to get there. During one solo I looked off into the horizon and took in the sunset and cloud formations in the distance and just soaked it all up. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Yes I did and yeah you were on that jump. Zoo wasn't it? Haha it was fun anyway. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Tandem - 19 years old A License - 21 years old Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I jumped a 9-cell PD 210 for a while and it had a tendency to have hard openings. The flare was fine but don't expect to do a progressive flare with it. The nice thing was it practically put itself in the bag when packing. Like others have said wait until you get licensed and then look at canopies. Borrow rigs, rent rigs, whatever you have to do till then. Good luck. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Don't worry about it too much. Learn how to fly your body and things will work better. I have had to learn a lot about adjusting fall rate. Going from jumping with a very petite woman to jumping with a guy when on our jump we were tapping 150 mph at times during the dive, bellyflying. You will get better at adjusting your fall rate to fit the requirements of the jump. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I guess I am confused by your logic. Are you saying that with 3 repacks a year there is more preventative maintenance? The total cost of repairs would remain the same throughout the year. What this does do is put more pressure on individual jumpers to keep an eye on there gear which I think is good. I might still be suffering from newbie aww of our equipment, but I always nit pick at my equipment and if something looks fishy I ask about it. One way I am looking at this is lets say there is a piece of equipment that is starting to show signs of wear and could be replaced, but it is ok to use until the next repack. Now it will go through 4 months of use and possibly fail because of the wear that was originally thought of as ok. When you go to 6 months between repacks if something is questionable someone would be more inclined to replace it because of the extended time until the next inspection. Just my funky logic. Also for those of us who jump in the north we would only have to get one repack per year instead of two. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I agree with what is stated in the article. I like to use the example of downhill skiing. As someone gets better and better at skiing they are going to try new and more dangerous terrain. The bunny hill no longer holds the same thrill. So while a skier is more aware of the dangers and possible outcomes, skiing on more difficult terrain is more exciting and appealing. Some personalities are fine with just staying on the groomers, but some venture further and search for more exciting and ultimately more dangerous terrain. I know I do it. Cars are safer and more capable than in the past, but then we all drive faster. Anywho enough with my rambling. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I told myself that I was going to get good on my belly before moving on. A part of that was the gear that I got isn't freefly friendly and I just saw RW as a more rewarding first discipline because you have a head start when you are done with training. I have really learned about how to make RW fun and exciting, (different exits, turning pieces, jumping with a big guy and hitting 150 mph at times (according to protrack)). Also tracking dives are fun and hybrids are interesting. I have decided that when I get enough jumps I am going to transition to wingsuiting as a second discipline. What I am trying to get at is don't rule out something because it might seem boring at times. And another way to look at it is your getting more for your money considering your in the air longer on a belly jump. Haha. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

As I am not a rigger or instructor take my point of view with a grain of salt. The problem comes when someone is back flying and the rig is not flat on the bottom. Let's say the person's body has a angle to it. This would cause the wind to hit the container at an angle and still cause problems. Also if your container isn't freefly friendly what would happen if you had a premature deployment? Your body is now in the way of the deployment. If you are in a sit and you had a premature deployment your canopy has clear airspace. However the opening would be very hard and the rig might not handle that deployment speed. So in the end keep your non-freefly friendly rig sunny side up or you might end up over easy. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

People get into skydiving for different reasons. Also because skydiving will attract many different types of people those people will approach the sport differently. It is funny to me how it seems that those who get into skydiving are nonconformists, but once in the sport we strive to conform. Latest trends, newest gear, and such. The adrenaline rush is not what kept me jumping. It was most likely what got me to the DZ the first time but that was quickly replaced by the sheer awe of what we are able to do in the sky. I think having the passion to learn is what really separates people within the sport. Some feel that because they have been able to jump out of a plane and land safely on the ground what they know right now is enough. Now apply that thought process to a sport like downhill skiing. Well I can get from the top of the mountain to the bottom safely so what else do I need to know? Picture the guy bombing straight down the hill arms flailing. In the end it is the amount of respect for the sport, what the sport gives to you, what it can take away, and your own passion to learn. Training programs and classes can try to do this, but ultimately it is up to the person to make that decision. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Gotta love those upper midwest dz's. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Maybe it is because I am at a small Cessna dz, but I have never stopped trying to work on the entire dive. When I do have to do solos I work on things that don't necessarily need a frame of reference such as tracking. You can feel how your body is flying and make adjustments. I recently went on a jump that tested my ability to hike up my fall rate. I mean I was punching it out. It made me learn how to arch like crazy but still be able to fly. I have learned so much from doing 2, 3, 4 ways. I had a backsliding problem that became very clear after doing some of those group dives. I always get feedback from my jumps because I jump with instructors and high jump number people. I always putz with my canopy and try different things. My point about all this is I think the reason why recently licensed jumpers might not keep learning is because they might feel out of the loop. Trying to get people to jump with them might be hard and paying for coaching is expensive. I think if high jump number people would let in those low number jumpers more readily I think it would help. Give them a reason to learn. Give them something to strive for. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

How much does it cost to rent gear per jump? That money could be put towards an AAD. Also look at a used AAD and that would help knock the total cost down a bit too. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Yeah don't get down on yourself. I had a nasty flat spin problem around jump 15-16, (after a year layoff). The way I worked with it is punch out my arch and then go limp throughout my entire body. This stopped my muscles from fighting. Also a tip I got from my instructors was to click your heels. Anyway don't feel too bad about the problems in the air, but above all work on your altitude awareness. I had a jump where I tried doing turns and I started flipping like crazy. All throughout this I looked at my altimeter as I was trying to fix the issue and told myself no matter what body position I was in I was going to pull at the right altitude. The "relax" comes with just doing more jumps. Good Luck and talk with your instructors about it and try to still have fun. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Also, as a side note if you plan on doing RW it is going to be hard for people to stay with you and in turn it might be harder to find people to jump with. Just a thought Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

It has a 218 Raven reserve and a 170 Sabre1. Normally the top is pretty flat. I have had to shorten the closing loop to the point on being almost equal to the thickness of the stacked grommets. The tabs do have a bit of a compound curve to them. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

The ones on mine just slip out to the sides and come undone. So I will look into that. I am glad to hear those tabs are supposed to be straight and not bent in a weird curve. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I bought a Flexon from a guy at the DZ and so far I have been happy with it. I checked another thread regarding Flexon's and didn't quite get the answer I was looking for. What I am wondering is on the main pin flap is there a way to stow the tuck tabs better? I have tried pushing the two tabs together when I tuck them underneath but sure enough move around in the plane a bit and the flap comes undone. Is there a way to make that more secure or just go with it. I am only doing RW so FF is not an issue, but being me I hate to have something happening like that in the plane before I even get out. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I hope to get pictures soon. The camera guy had to head out so hopefully by tomorrow. Almost lost a contact at breakoff. To top is all off had a kicker opening. Good 'ol Sabre1 170. The funny thing is we had a smaller person doing the hanging and I am scared to upsize on the next one. Haha Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I already know the DZ has a case of beer coming so... I didn't realize how fast you get going on one of those. It was one hanger and a two-way. My goggles where going nuts and my back was hurting like hell. Later I looked at pictures taken of the momentous occasion and holy shit I was bent in half at the waist. Has anybody else had a sore back afterwards? I think I need to re-assess this whole "arch" thing. Haha Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I ended up taking 36 jumps to get licensed due to the fact that I took a year off and I needed to do some jumps over because I didn't quite get the skills required of that jump. I got to full altitude ~12k on my 14th jump. That was where the break started. When I came back I did a DRP, H&P, and then back to full altitude. The thing that I liked about S/L is that if I didn't quite get it right on a jump it only cost me $40 to try it again instead of redoing an AFF level. Also I was able to get instructor input throughout the whole licensing process because I always jumped with one. We would go over canopy skills to try on each jump and also spotting procedures during later jumps. Mine being a C182 DZ I spotted for many of my jumps right before getting licensed. Like people have been saying it is vague because the program is so flexible. Mine ended up being $1720. This includes all jumps and a refresher course. If I would've stuck with it and got it in 25 jumps it would have cost $1140 total. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

I ran into this problem with gear that I recently got. It is a Flexon and because the loop is attached to the top flap making it shorter is tough. I now have it where the length of the loop is almost even with the thickness of the stacked grommets. The container is more secure than it was, but I am still more mindful of redundant pin checks than most. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

Yeah that should not be in your mind at all when it comes to mal's. Your life is worth more than any canopy. Sky Canyon Wingsuiters