GLIDEANGLE

1. Tunnel time has value. Be sure that your tunnel coach knows that you are prepping for AFF. 2. I am not fond of the Pass/Fail language... It only increases the stress in an already stressful situation. I prefer "repeat a level". 3. While tunnel has value... Don't let it distract you from the more important skills of staying alive. Death or serious injury in freefall above deployment altitiude is rather uncommon. Death or serious injury down low is far too common. The skills of timely deployment and safe canopy flight are far more important... But often less appreciated by students. 4. HAVE FUN in both the tunnel and the sky!!! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

20 miles to dialysis is a long ways? Heck, we drive that far to get beer at my DZ! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

True, but largely irrelevant here. It is very uncommon for helicopters to be launched based on a citizen's phone report. Due to the unreliability of citzen reports, and the cost of helicopter service, the general rule is that ground first responders are sent to evaluate the situation and decided if a helicopter is warranted. Yes, the DZ might have pre-negotiated authority to request helicopter service, but a random citizen's call is unlikely to launch a helicopter. Thus, being able to direct ground responders to the scene is important. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Cell phone with GPS MIGHT be helpful.... To point. My iPhone can show me where I am on the map, and my coordinates.... But doesn't really help me tell emergency services or manifest how to find me if I am unfamiliar with the area. If I tell manifest that I am 200m northwest of the intersection of Farm to Market road 1234 and county road 5678... They won't find that as helpful as you might think. To the best of my knowledge, if I call emergency services (911), and give my latitude and longitude.... I expect a reply from them of "Huh? Where are you?". Knowing the landmarks IS important! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This link is to the student logbook of a jumper who shares multiple world records for skydiving. If she can get beyond her student struggles...so can you. http://crwdog.servebeer.com/CRWdog/HowCRW.html Your description sounds like you are over-thinking skydiving. Use progressive relaxation and visualization to see the jump happen exactly as you wish. Include visualizing that you feel happy and that your body is flying well without you thinking about it. Skydiving is sort of like riding a bike... If you try to think about the process too much... It doesn't work well. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Please cite the specific regulation. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Lesson for all jumpers using packers. Stow your brakes! Not only will it result in a faster pack job - you make sure they are set correctly. *** Agreed. I would take this a bit further. There are FOUR key things for the jumper to do before leaving a rig with a paid packer. Each of the first three tasks REALLY need to be done right, each is easy, and if all of them are done, the opportunity for the packer to make a serious screw up is diminished substantially. Plus, as you said, it speeds up the packer. The first three tasks are: 1. Set the brakes. 2. UNcollapse the slider. 3. Cock the pilot chute. There is a fourth task which isn't about the mechanics of the pack job, but which can make everyone's life SO much easier: 4. Tell the packer WHEN you need the rig. If we all do this, it makes it much easier for the packers to sequence the rigs such that each rig is ready when needed. Of course, there will be rigs for which some of these steps may not be relevant... such as a student rig with a NON-collapsible pilot chute. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Priority is based on both commitment and tenure at my home DZ. Full-time staff at top, regular (every weekend) part-time next, "as needed" part-time last. Within those groups, seniority (tenure) sequences folks. Our chief instructor schedules staff each week based on the number of student slots we have reserved. Walk-in customers go to the bottom of the queue. Thus, the chief instructor is able to book only as many staff as he needs, which keeps those booked busy. It also means that if not booked... We can fun jump without guilt! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I have hundreds of jumps on a psycho packed Spectre 210 without a bridle extention. No problems for me. Pack fast, pull high!. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I would add "Local Rules". By that I mean rules like: == "First jumper down sets the pattern", or == "Pattern is right hand or left hand depending on wind direction." == "There are both Right hand and Left hand patterns separated by an imaginary line down the center of the LZ." The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I think what you are implying is the very real issue of the interplay of the wind direction and a long skinny LZ. If the long axis of the LZ is roughly parallel to the wind line... easy stuff for students and low timers. However, if the long axis of the LZ is across the wind line (roughly perpendicular), the students and low timers are far more likely to land someplace other than the LZ... that may be no problem, or may be a serious problem. Of course, all jumpers are affected by this, but the students and low timers tend to have the most trouble. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

High/gusty wind has great potential to kill you. Last year high/gusty winds killed nearly 1/3 of the jumpers in the USA who died in canopy related incidents. Far more common is wind related injury.... A "minor" injury can still cost a lot and keep you grounded for a LONG TIME. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

The OP is looking for WINDS ALOFT. Where does Weather Underground have that? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I wish that were true. I have seen videos of two scary incidents involving friends of mine. In the first video a belly flyer gets speared by another jumper swooping down to the formation... the first jumper had no clue what was coming. The swooping jumper approached in the first jumper's blind spot. It was only luck that neither jumper was seriously hurt... the speed of the impact was very scary. In the second, a raft dive exit went bad and the jumper was slammed by the raft into the aircraft doorframe on exit. She had no warning, and had no way to avoid the blow if she did see it coming. Thankfully her companions were very perceptive and figured out that she was unconscious. One of them deployed for her (she has an AAD). Yes, avoiding zoo dives is important... but don't fool yourself into thinking that you will see the threat in time. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Hmmmm..... I hope that none of my (very capable) friends get hurt trying to help me. Quite a few of them probably would try. Note that the above applies regardless of my AAD situation. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Let's be honest... Far too many jumpers are astonishingly ignorant of their gear. My concern about adjustable parameters would be that jumpers who are clueless could set parameters that make no sense to any of us (including DIVALENT). Given that premature opening of the reserve container can place other people (and aircraft) at great risk, there is a community reason to not allow folks to set their own parameters on their AAD. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I LOVE high pulls, especially at sunset or dawn. All of the above advice is good. I would add: High pulls are great fun to do with another jumper. If you do it with an appropriately experienced jumper, you can mitigate some of the risks mentioned above. They can help you with the spot and you can follow them back to the DZ. My favorite bit of odd advice to folks about these is: If doing a high pull at sunset on a really hot day... put on a dry shirt first. If it has been hot, you shirt is likely damp. A damp shirt at 10K gets a bit chilly. A cell phone in a pocket is a good idea. If you land out, you can call manifest and tell them that you are OK, and where you are. Be sure to take the phone number of manifest with you! This is more than just convenient for you... it is polite. If this is a sunset jump, knowing that you are OK will allow folks to send someone to get you and then crack open a cold one. If however, you are "missing"... some folks will not be able to begin to play until you are accounted for. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Volumes 1&2 of Poynter's Parachute Manual should keep you busy for a while. http://www.parapublishing.com/sites/parachute/information/parachutes.cfm The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This document will answer your question: http://www.uspa.org/Portals/0/Downloads/Form_ALicenseProfandApp.pdf The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Hardly! If you die and the AFFI survives ... the AFFI has to "live" with the consequenses. Those consequences can be emotional or legal/economic. You may think that you should be free to make this decision... but your surviving relatives may disagree. The AFF instructor is in the air with you to make it more likely that you will survive the jump. If your injury is going to make that significantly more difficult... your instructor certainly can choose to not jump with you! If your injury will make it significantly less likely that you can take care of yourself after main deployment, the instructor is absolutely right to not jump with you. You can assert your right to jump all you want... you have NO right to force your instructor to jump with you! Of course, if you are still in AFF... no instructor... no jump. Go to the DZ and watch landings, learn to pack, sit in on the AFF briefings, ask questions about the stuff in the SIM which isn't clear to you. If the rigger is packing a reserve... see if you can watch. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Try searching the forums for "bandit" The FAA rules you seek are in 14 CFR 105 (FAR 105). You will find that in the SIM. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

The role of the coach in canopy instruction / evaluation is an area where the USPA policy needs to come into alignment with the practice. I suspect that many/most coaches find themselves briefing and debiefing the canopy portion of their students' jumps. When I was a coach, I know that I briefed and debriefed the canopy flight as much as the freefall. USPA may not endorse that behavior... but it is how life works at my DZ. It is not very practical for the coach to brief and debrief one phase of a jump, but have someone else brief and debrief another phase. Preparing the coaches better will absolutely better prepare them for the reality of the coaching task. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Is is possible? ... You bet. Last weekend, a new jumper at my DZ stumbled upon a complete rig (lacking AAD) for ~$1300. It needed about $200 work to make the harness fit. Otherwise, it checked out to be a great deal. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

The stuff in the Cypres Packers Kit: http://www.paragear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=19#I1524N The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Will there be a Skyfest 2011? If so, when & where? The skyfest web site shows only info for the 2010 event. http://www.skyfestboogie.com/ I got no reply when using the web site's "contact us". The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!