skydave238

Yip. Im the CI at Ground Rush. We most certainly do love having fun jumpers around. As a primary tourist destination we have quite a few foreign jumpers passing through our dropzone. Namibia is also a beautiful country to visit. There is plenty to do and see here. Pop me a private message if you guys are keen and I can send you some info. Blue skies, Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

You should come to Namibia. or sorry Nambia as its now known.. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Hi guys, Looking at getting a new audible and curious what others are using. Im currently using an old neptune 2. Works just fine but the screen is damaged so i can't change any of the altitudes anymore. Which kinda sucks. A quick look on paragear and there are so many different audibles out there. Which ones are geared towards swooping. Thanx all, Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

And dont forget you can travel up north to Namibia. Ground Rush Adventures are running an xmas boogie in Swakopmund.

Are the linesets the same? Probably not if there is a difference in riser pressure. I had 2 84's a few years ago. Both were made around the same time and both had roughly the same jumps. When I initially got them they flew completely different. Once i relined them both they flew the same. D Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

I did about 4000+ jumps on a katana120. Yes the openings can be interesting. Yes there are nicer opening canopies. But if you learn to fly your openings then you'll get used to the way it opens and it wont bother you so much. Plus its great practice if you ever jump a velocity one day (great canopy, worst openings ever). Great canopy for someone with your jumps and coming off a stiletto. I did the same many years ago. What a great canopy it was to learn how to swoop properly before going on to a velo and now a valkyrie. I still take it for a jump every now and then and swoop the sh1t out of it! Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Hi guys, Im trying to get a feel from others about the lifespan of the lineset on the new valkyrie/leia/helix type of canopies. This is specifically aimed at guys using their canopies as "work" canopies. (Camera guys!) What lines do the different manufacturers offer and how many jumps do you typically get out of a lineset before you need to replace the lines? I jump a valkyrie67 loaded just over 2.2. Ive had both the original orange vectran and the new hma lines on my canopy. I would say the most i could have got out the OV500 is 450 jumps. I had two line sets of OV500 and did about 950 jumps between them. Im about 300 jumps in on the HMA500 and im probably gonna change the lines out in the next 100 jumps. Its so difficult to tell how worn HMA is that I would rather change them out earlier. I jump in the Namib desert right next to the ocean. So my lines probably wear out slightly faster than someone landing on grass. Im mainly asking because im looking to get another s-type canopy to replace my old velo. As much as I love my valkyrie, i might also like to jump something different, as long as im getting similar life out of the linesets. Any info you are willing to share is greatly appreciated! Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Ive had 3 tension knots on my valkyries original lineset. 1st one was at 355 jumps. At that time there was significantly more wear to the outside A lines compared to the others. Obviously at this time there were not any other reported cases so we put the tension knots down to packing error. 2nd tension knot happened at 385 jumps. At this point we realised something was not right. We decided to change the outside A lines. My rigger didnt have any OV so we put on some 500lb hma. We also rubed candle wax along the other lines to help with the fuzziness. This seemed to solve the issue for awhile. Now while the lines did look slightly fuzzy, they did not look terrible. 3rd pressure knot was at 520 jumps. The outside hma line we put on was fine but the ov lines were now significantly more fuzzy. But comparing to my velociry at 500 jumps the line wear was the same. If these lines were on my velocity i would definitely have carried on jumping them without a second thought. Knowing what i do now i would have probably only done 350 jumps on my valkyrie before relining. While the candle wax helped for a 100 jumps it did not solve the problem and was a pain in the ass rubbing it in every 10 jumps or so. Im now on my second lineset. I ordered a spare pair of outer AB lines when i ordered my lineset. Those went on after 200 jumps. Im at 280 jumps on my current lineset and am watching the opening very closely for the signs of a tension knot. But i must say again that the lines themselves do not look like they need replacing yet. So i would suggest that if u are looking at the wear on your valkyrie lines that u dont compare them to those of your velocity. I must take my hat off to PD for listening to their customers and making a valient effort to keep them happy and safe. I have chosen the hma lineset as a replacement and will happily follow up if there are significant changes as the lines wear. I will say that im not to concerned if i still only get 500 jumps out the hma lineset as long as i dont have to deal with tension knots again. I can tell u that they were 3 incredibly scary situations that i would never like to repeat. Blue skies, Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

This is exactly what PASA does. (South Africa) There is no jump number requirement. Depending on what type of camera you are doing (outside/3rd eye/ tandem aff) you must have met certain skill requirements in a discipline (FS,FF etc) and preferably have at least a B licence. See attached. Blue skies, Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

I have been blind since birth like you. The best advice i can give you is, dont make an issue out of it. Focus on the important part, the training. Even students who can see with both eyes struggle with depth perception in the beginning. Student canopies are big and forgiving. You will just have to "learn" your height for landing. Goodluck! Dave AFFI Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

1) Practice 2) Practice 3) Practice 4) Practice!! The better you know what you have to do, the better you will perform. 5) Always have FUN. Even when things dont seem to go as planned. Good luck! David ps. Practice!! It costs you absolutly nothing to practice on the ground!! Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

I clip my wings just above the leg strap buckle. Basically I've put an old rsl ring through a piece of old line and tied it to the rig. My wings also have rsl links. No I didnt realise I was on my back during the mal. I guess I was too preoccupied with trying to get my hands under the wings. I could/should have maby been a bit more aware of what was going on?! Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Had an interesting cutaway today. I was doing camera work for a tandem. Freefall was normal. On opening the main (Katana 120) opened hard to one side, goes into line twists and starts spiraling. Tried kicking out to no avail. I was thinking simple, reserve drill. Glanced down to locate the handles and couldn't see them properly. The wings from my camera jacket had folded over them. After looking at the video I found that the line twists had me flying "backwards" under the canopy. This seems to have caused the wings to be pushed forward over the handles instead of backwards behing the rig. I did get my hands under the wings to my handles and from there onward had no further problems. I just thought I'd post this so other jumpers know that this can happen and/or maby to find out if I did something wrong and there's something you can do to prevent this from happening. I jump a custom made Tonysuit Camera Jacket and a Talon FS container. Any thoughts?? Blue skies, Dave Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

I agree. If you're not in the formation at break altitude, then get ur ass outa there. Were you watchin your altitude chris? Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Well done again!

Not fair! [cry] I wanna work in the parachute business too! I dont realy go out my way talking about skydiving at work, but when asked I feel proud to say I do! I guess I was just pissd that my boss called skydiving uncredible and unprofessional! Maby its a sign! Quit my job, close out my 401k, buy an RV and move out to the dz! edit for spelling Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

"You are the dumbest smart person I know" Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

WTF Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

So, yesterday afternoon I had a business lunch with my boss and a new potential client. It was one of those high profile kinda clients, so you knew you had to dress very formal, that the client was probably some stuck-up high powered person right on top of the corporate ladder and this was the first time that I've had such a formal business lunch. My usual clients are normaly your everyday person where you dont need your tie or blazer to have lunch with. So generaly on a business lunch the convesation usualy drifts towards your personal life, like what you do on the weekends, or do you play golf or something like that. And generaly I'll say that I skydive on weekends. So far most of my clients have always thought this was interesting and wanted to know more about it. In fact I've even coaxed some of them to come do a tandem or FJC. But going back to yesterday. Before we leave to go for the lunch, my boss tells me that he doesnt think it a good idea to be telling this client what I realy do on the weekends. Something about not being credible and professional were also thrown in. So we get to the lunch, and just as I thought, these were the some of the most stuck up beople I've ever met. All of the conversation focused on work. I thought thats fine, then I wont have to lie about not skydiving on weekends. Eventualy my boss and the managing director of this client start talking about golf etc (Im keeping my mouth shut pretending to be interested) Then the conversation turns to what they did before work. This MD starts talking about the army and how he was a paratrooper for the SA army. So I casualy chip in that I skydive on the weekends. If looks could kill, id be dead from the look my boss gave me. But it turned out that me and this MD had a great half hour conversation about skydiving and how he missed it etc. So I casualy use the oppertunity to invite him to our DZ over the weekend Turned out to be a great business lunch and looks like we've secured the client.

Well done

You are absolutly right about that. Im just curious. If you are a first jump student, with no ground instructor helping you, and your altimeter stops working, then how would you except the student to land safely??? I cant argue with you or anyone there. But IMO, being totaly reliable on your alti to safely fly your canopy is silly. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Try taking a sock to keep your niblits insulated. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Likewise, i wasnt attacking you or anyone. Sorry if thats how it came off. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

I never said they dont learn to fly a consevative landing pattern. I should have said, we dont focus on strict landing patterns for the first part of their progression, but we DO expect them to learn that towards the end. We have the ability to do that at our dz. You might not want to or cant do that at a bigger dz. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop

Wow, hold on there. No one is saying we dont teach S/L students altitude awareness. Just because they dont jump with an alti, doesnt mean we dont teach them altitude awareness. Brief eg. They shout/count "arch thousand two thousand....five thousand check". By "five-thousand check" they should have something above their heads. From there normal canopy checks, canopy control and Ep's if necessary. Malfunctions that can be rectified like: closed end cells; slider stuck; line twists, the student has a time span to rectify. Normaly 5 seconds. Are you saying that AFF students land on their own on their first jump? No. They are brought in by a JM or Inst on the ground. You might argue that if you have an alti, you can correspond where your Inst is flying you with your alti (downwind leg, baseleg etc), but then IMO you are becoming totaly reliable on your alti to judge how high you are. Without an alti you learn to judge height by visualy looking. (Am i making sense?) Here you do 3 ground assisted landings, and 5 (or more depending on the student) unassisted landings under supervision from a JM or Inst on the ground, who will bring the student in at any point he feels the student needs help. So you learn to form your own altitude awareness. Also, this is a small dz, so there is little to no air traffic. Students have first priority to the airspace, so there is no need to fly a strict landing pattern. S/L students do jump with an alti (as i have now found out). It just seems that at some dz's they only start jumping with an alti during the freefall part of their progression. As a whole, I dont disagree with S/L students jumping with alti's. In fact, I like the idea. But i also trust and respect the Instructors that i work under. They have been training S/L students for over 20 years, and there have never been any serious student incidents. Dave edit to add: I'll discuss this with our CI this weekend and see what he thinks. Ready...Set...Go..! SkydiveSwakop