Gato

I'll tell you what my DZO told me with regard to OPINION: "NO - you are not allowed to just have an opinion. You are allowed to have an INFORMED and EXPERIENCED opinion. That's all." What should we, as new skydivers, do after we are licensed? Are you afraid that you're just going to be left to your own devices once you've got your license in your hand? That's going to happen. About 4 weeks ago, 3 of my friends and I went to a small college DZ to get our first jumps in 2009. One guy is an instructor, one is a photographer, and two of us noobs - I had 46 jumps, and he had 36. No one told me I had to make a 5 second delay from 5k, but I know USPA's currency policy for A license-holders, and since I hadn't jumped since November 11, I wanted a stress-free skydive for my first jump of the year. It was a great jump. My personal choice. There was also no one to tell my friend with 36 jumps that he shouldn't attempt a 4-way launch out of a Cessna when he hasn't jumped since November, AND he has a few problems launching a linked 2-way, AND it's a new LZ he's never seen before - near a river. He survived without incident. Should someone have tried to stop him? Maybe so. It's ALL up to you. Period. No one is under any obligation to tell you shit once that license is in your hands. If you're not prepared to not have someone there to stop you killing yourself, then perhaps you shouldn't try to get off student status. (As stated, I am a noob, and I don't know shit.) T.I.N.S.

My understanding is that Freefall Express has been shut down for a little while now, over issues with the city and recent incidents. Don't take my word for this, though - give them a call and see if they're flying this weekend. You might try Feisty at Skydive Missouri, in the same area. They were on the same airport. DISCLAIMER: I don't have any affiliation with either DZ, but I do know that our CRW team trained down at SD MO last summer, and Feisty runs a good operation. T.I.N.S.

Where are you in Missouri? T.I.N.S.

I've had a couple of "friends" that did that shit to me when I was younger. Fifteen years later, one of them is still single, and the other one fucks around on his wife whenever he gets the chance. What I cannot stand about a lot of guys who do that is that they consistently misrepresent their intentions to the girl - meaning most of them won't tell the girl outright that they are there for something physical, and not much else. Then the girl (who you didn't think was damaged goods before then) is broken hearted when her perfect "hot guy" dumps her because he's bored. A lot of the time, the "bad boy" syndrome plays a part in this. If you are the nice guy and she chooses to be with him, you may never have had a chance with her in the first place. If you're too nice (like I was) some women will be more afraid of that than they are of getting screwed-over by the bad boy. Maybe they think there's no way a man could be nice without hiding some VERY dark secret, I don't know. Unfortunately, he may have already fucked up your chances. If so, fuck him - 7th grade is over. On a more positive note, I ended up with a great woman, so nice guys DO end up winning sometimes. T.I.N.S.

That's not what I said - and no, I wouldn't be fine with repeating all of my student jumps, and neither should you. I don't know of any DZ in this country that would make you start over from square one - that's why we have the ISP. I wasn't trying to give you shit, and if you recall, I did not flame on you. I'm sorry if you took it that way.(You did, however, sound a bit defeated in your original post.) At least I didn't say, "Suck it up, cupcake." - which is the standard response from some folks around here. I KNOW YOUR FRUSTRATION!!! It took almost 3 years for me to get my license because of weather, finances, an injury, and fear. Glad to hear you found your instructor. Good luck with the rest of your training. T.I.N.S.

I don't have that much more experience than you, but because I'm in the midwest, it took a long damn time to earn my license, much longer than the one year you've been at it. What you can do is relax, for God's sake. The sky is always going to be there. Looking at what you've accomplished so far as you being fucked out of money (You did get to jump, didn't you??) is kind of pessimistic - there are plenty of us who weren't necessarily told that we are responsible for getting our A cards and logbooks filled-out. Now you know. And you have plenty of time to get your card and logbook in order. I know how frustrated you feel right now, believe me - I had 2 1/2 summers of that. You WILL get there - like others have said, track down your instructors and get them to fill out what they should. Please know that I'm not trying to be harsh with you - your situation kind-of metaphors the real idea behind skydiving: It's up to you. Keep after it, and don't give up!! T.I.N.S.

Let's see, I just packed one about 3 weeks ago, I think with the 2-stow death diaper. I think all you'll need is a 40-foot long smooth table with attachment and tension points at each end, and a light source on one long side. But now that I've seen Airtwardo's post, I like his method much, much better. I think it would be best, however, to have (strong) 2 women - one holding tension at each end. Tom Dolphin teaches us to always use the right tool(s) for the job! T.I.N.S.

If that's happening pretty often, could that be a packing issue? I learned via static line, and the only time I had a PC issue was on one of my last 30-second delays, where it flopped down below the tail and wrapped the bridle around the #5 D line. Scared me a little, but after a control check, I realized the main was ok. I remember packing a static line rig, and the nose gets a completely different treatment (Folded over once) from a freefall rig, where you might leave it hanging or roll both sides inward with the center cell stuffed between them. Just curious. T.I.N.S.

Even if he cut a hole in it, you should still be able to measure the outer edge/seam. Just don't include the hole. There is also a formula for checking to see if your slider is the right size - I think you measure the width of the center cell, and the distance between the A & B line attachments, and that should give you a ball park figure about how big the slider should be. But don't quote me on that. T.I.N.S.

You don't want your first flight (under duress!) under the smallest 7-cell non-ZP parachute you've never flown. Bad recipe. I'd keep looking - for that price, in my opinion, it should have an AAD included. T.I.N.S.

The prices you're seeing are retail prices - go through a local dealer if you can, and you'll find the prices referred-to. Most dealers (as I understand it) can get you somewhere between 20%-30% off the retail price, plus a local can make sure you get measured correctly. You absolutely do not have to spend 4 grand to get a great rig. A friend of mind found a used Javelin with everything (Hip & Chest rings, full stainless, main, reserve, and AAD) for about $3000. Deals are out there to be had, but you have to be vigilant and keep your eyes open. Hope you find a great deal! (Or a series of great deals!) T.I.N.S.

Ok. I get it. This is what happens when a newb (me!) is about to get their rigger's ticket. I'll do my best to stop trying to be knowledge-impressive. So don't you make fun of my F1-11 canopy. I'm going to go have a coke. In the generic sense. T.I.N.S.

T.I.N.S.

I don't blame you. I wouldn't buy any of those damn things, either. But I'll bet that those canonipes are made of 0-3 cfm, anyway. T.I.N.S.

Yeah, I have no intention of putting 300 jumps on this canopy - I got it from my DZO (Master Rigger & DPRE) for a really good price, and I know the jump numbers are correct. Oh, and to go along with what you said, he and a lot of the jumpers I know buy used canopies only from northern states and Canada for just the reasons you stated - no sandy environments, and short jumping seasons. Kind of like buying a car from a state that doesn't use salt on their roads, you know? To be clear, I'm not advocating the use of low-porosity mains - it's what I jump, and it's worked out very well so far. What I think is funny is that everyone keeps saying, "F-111", which isn't accurate. It's just more fun to say than "0-3 cfm Ripstop nylon." T.I.N.S.

I currently fly a PD230 from 1996, but it only had about 30 jumps on it when I got it. I love it - I load mine at about 1.04:1, so I do get some decent forward speed out of it, and it's fun to fly and land. I'm going to put a hundred or so jumps on it, then try a Sabre or some other ZP main with a similar WL and planform. Having said that, a lot of folks don't like the idea of flying an old-school 9-cell canopy like the 230. There was a time, however, when the PD 9-cell was the trick shit. (Or so I've been told.) I have to agree, though, that you should stay away from any low-porosity main with that many jumps on it. If you know you want a PD230, I think my DZO got a few of them recently, and you could probably get good deal on a good one. Send me a PM if you're interested. (On the other hand, you and I could both just say, "Fuck it," and buy Cobalt 105's - whaddaya say??? ) T.I.N.S.

Nah, I would never say that - it was "Fuck off." I'll hopefully be posting similar numbers in another week or two, so feel free to let me have it then. T.I.N.S.

Congratulations! Now, for 15 jumps in 9 days, I'm trying to fight the urge to say, "FUCK OFF!" (Weather sucks in the midwest - the last jump at my DZ was around Nov. 18th.) Seriously, congrats!!! T.I.N.S.

Around 40. I didn't get going until May, and a lot of time was spent waiting to get student jumps in; weather didn't help. T.I.N.S.

I love 'em! The ONLY thing missing is freefall - I'd say it's got the same adrenaline effects, and you get plenty of excitement from seeing the ground so clearly. Also difficult do argue with buttery-soft openings while watching the plane fly away - and you can actually hear your slider come down. T.I.N.S.

Anybody got a towel? T.I.N.S.

You do know this thread has been going strong for 2 hours, don't you? Wait a minute.... T.I.N.S.

It's ok - I just asked her earlier if we could involve the DZ.com community in our foreplay. How could I have known it'd go this far? And yes, I will get off the damn computer! T.I.N.S.

Yeah. That's what it is. T.I.N.S.

T.I.N.S.