GLIDEANGLE

Chew on this... What do various kinds of jumpers consider excessively dangerous? For example, I love canopy relative work (CReW, CRW, CF). On the other hand, I consider swooping excessively dangerous. I know swoopers who consider CReW excessively dangerous. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Here is a way to get away from this war of words and make a sane decision. Use this skill checklist to help determine if your skills are ready for a smaller canopy; [url]http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47[/URL] Highly suggest that you read all 22 pages of the following before you decide. Many of these drills can be helpful to you. [url]http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf[/URL] The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

You might find Section 4 of the USPA Skydiver Information Manual (SIM) to be a helpful thing to read this winter. http://www.uspa.org/SIM.aspx The SIM is available four ways: on-line reading web page, as a pdf, as a smart phone app, and on paper too! You might find this online First Jump Course useful too! http://skydiveschool.org/ If you have time and money... coached time in a vertical wind tunnel is both very fun and very helpful! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

In the USA that would be considered an alteration and most rigger's wouldn't pack the reserve. Besides, sun fade implies some degree of UV damage. Even if you hide the APPEARANCE of damage, the damage will still be there. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

One way to think about this is to pick the reserve that you want to land you without any input from you. Which canopy will take best care of you if left completely unattended? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Age 54 Grew up w/ analog clocks I have myopia, presbyopia, & astigmatism. In the discussion above there seems to be confusion caused by blending the questions of SEEING the altimeter & INTERPRETING the altimeter. I found that I had great difficulty SEEING the analog, which made Interpreting it very difficult. Now that I use an Alti-2 N3 altimeter... I can see the altimeter well enough to interpret it efficiently. The studies which conclude that analog is preferable to digital probably had analog meters which were sufficiently visible. Once both kinds are equally visible, I can understand that analog might be better for our analog brains. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

In USA, the only jumps which require an AAD by LAW are tandems. The USPA basic requirements specify that all students must use an AAD. That is not a legal requirement. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Excluding legal issues: There is risk that doing what you suggest will damage the closing loop.... The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Pack fast, pull high. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Hmmmmm..... I would live to see that analysis! A few thoughts cross my mind: 1. Not all injuries are the same.... Does a 56 year old with a fractured wrist count the same as a 26 year old with a fractured femur and pelvis? 2. My informal observation is that the older jumpers are LESS likely to be injured. This may be due to more conservative canopy choices and flight. 3. I would love to know when their data was collected... It is entirely possible that older jumpers of a different era might have been more fragile than the current crop of 50-60 year-olds who may have had better health and more active lives. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I suggest That some tunnel time might help you master some of the necessary skills in a less threatening environment. Tunnel time is typically less costly than jumps on a per minute basis. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Smile, breathe, relax, arch. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

What kind of insurance? Medical expense? Third party liability? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Anxiety is VERY common among jumpers. New jumpers have the most trouble with it... but I know of experienced jumpers who have had a serious dose of pre-jump jitters. 1. Relax. Do progressive relaxation with your eyes closed. Be a limp rag. 2. Visualize the jump (and your reaction to it) exactly the way you want it to go. 3. Identify any SPECIFIC concerns you have... and discuss them with your instructor. Often some focused training on that matter can help you manage your anxiety better. 4. Smile, Breathe, Relax.

1. A more important question is how to get the most out of your canopy flight. Death in freefall (above pull altitude) is uncommon, death under a good canopy is all too common. 2. Re freefall: Advice above is good. Don't jump solo. It is like masturbation, it feels good but doesn't accomplish much. Always have a plan for the jump, jump the plan, and debrief the jump. Get video as much as you can. Jump with skilled folks, rather than other newbies. Tunnel is a great tool for getting more than one minute at a time of training. (usually cheaper than freefall too!) At ~ 100 jumps I was fortunate to get on a novice 4-way FS (RW) team with a very experienced player-coach. Every jump was briefed, practiced on the ground (usually on those evil creepers), videoed, and debriefed. I learned more that season than I can describe. I think that season of training moved me from novice to competent skydiver. It was a HARD season... But I learned SO much! Good luck! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

That used to happen to me a lot. I realized it was due to me crossing my arms during deployment out of fear of falling out of the harness. Once I stopped that and kept my arms out & up during deployment.... No more bruises. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Some people with the scariest stories will NOT post in this thread... Cuz they are DEAD! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Those photos suggest that there might have been tension knots in the lines. More important than "WHY?", is what to do about it! You need a canopy decision altitude at which you decide if the canopy can land you safely in it's current condition. If it can... cool, land it! If not...GET RID OF IT. At most schools the student canopy decision altitude is 2500 feet. If at 2500 feet it isn't ready to land you safely....Adios! The situation that you describe is more than enough reason for a student to cutaway! You are lucky to walk away from that situation! You could have very easily been badly hurt. Next time be much more demanding of your canopy... if it isn't ready to land you safely at your decision altitude.... get rid of it! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

And let us not forget the truthful little gem I was taught as a new AFF instructor: Most of the time you will land and think "I can't believe that people pay me to do this!". After the rare difficult or terifying jump you will land and think "They don't pay me enough for this shit!" So far, I have to say that this has been accurate for me! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

According to the FAA search engine here: http://av-info.faa.gov/designeeSearch.asp?SrchBy=LOC There are only 25 states with Designated Parachute Rigger Examiners! There is a large contiguous band of states without DPREs from North Dakota south to Texas and then east to Alabama & Tennessee. Also surprising is that New York has no DPRE. Which state has the most? ...... Montana with SIX. (My guess is that this is related to the smoke jumper activity there.) It seems really odd that New York with 13 USPA Group member DZs and Texas with 9 USPA Group member DZs both lack any DPREs. Living in Texas, it looks like the three closest DPREs are two in Missouri and one in New Mexico. The driving distances range from 460-625 miles for me. I think that the FAA could do a better job of recruiting DPREs to provide coverage in areas with significant jumping activity. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

For some of us "boring to fly" is a desirable characteristic! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Smile, Breathe, Relax... Chin Up! Smile, Breathe, Relax... The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Spectre 210, Psycho packing. ~10 min, depending on how fatigued I am from all the fun I am having. Pack Fast, pull high. (My Spectre is VERY tolerant of lousy packing.... YMMV) The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

+1 The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

In addition to the above: How to go to OTHER dropzones safely. (I know several of us who had unsatisfactory adventures to other DZs early in our careers.) Canopy landing accuracy... You are going to need it for the B & C licenses. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!