UDSkyJunkie

That's why god made "outs". If you can't make it back, land somewhere else. A LARGE number of low turns, power line collisions and general bad shit has been the result of desperately trying to get back to the landing area. It's not worth it. But even if you can front riser and get back (which is probably fine) you can still go to normal flight at like 100 feet instead of 25. You want to be in full flight until landing in higher wind anyway, since higher wind usually means more turbulence, and deformations such as double-fronts are frequent contributors to canopy collapses in high turbulence (having caught a rotor off a hanger at 30 feet right after coming off double fronts in high winds, and watching the right half of my canopy fold under, I would know). "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Ya know, I've been in some pretty damn high winds, at a WL of 1.1:1 on a Sabre1, and I still have never "had" to front-riser to land. Maybe to hold up high, never to land. What's better in a situation like that is to not jump. If you've already made the mistake, just PLF... you can PLF backwards just as well as forwards or sideways, just ask anyone who's been jumping 20 or 30 years. You NEED to flare. No matter what. Full flight would hurt, and staying in fronts would likley send you to the hospital. 5 to 20 mph seems unlikley in 20 minutes, unless it was being crazy and fluctuating back and forth all day. Especially if it's 70 mph up high... "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

It sounds to me like you have a well thought-out, practical approach. very cool! If you do all the things you are describing, you will certainly be doing the right things to keep as safe as possible. Keep it up! For the record, I have observed most newer jumpers to be fairly conservative, even more so in the last few years since people are constantly bombarding them with advice not to downsize, ect. The 100-jump-wonder "skygods" I think are the exception, but it doesn't seem like it because they are so loud, so stupid, and break themselves so much more frequently! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

That may be, but the fact that it's "the jumper's fault" isn't going to be much help when YOU are the one flying and YOU accepted the risk that some jackass jumper might not check his gear correctly, and YOU have to save your own life and those of everyone else on board. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

First, Sabre2 is a great first canopy at a moderate W/L. Lots of lift, soft (though a bit wild sometimes) openings, very predictable. I think you will find that the Sabre2 has flight characteristics in the ballpark of the Nav, but more "tuned" (more lift, faster, sharper turns, bigger dive... just higher performance in general). In my opinion, your WL is a bit high, but not necessarily scary-high. However, since you are going from a 240 to a 190 (even though the W/L change is fairly small), there will be a definate, noticeable difference in performance. It would be a very good idea to put several jumps at least one intermediate sized canopy... maybe a Nav 220, Nav 200, Sabre2 230, and/or Sabre2 210. Wether you step down gradually or not, definately take a few jumps to open high and learn as much as you can about the flight envelope of the new canopy... how does it flare, how much altitude does it lose in turns, how does it respond to rear risers, where does it stall, ect. Good luck and be safe

skydiving has enough bad press that we don't deserve, we hardly need help getting more. Please leave. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

For turns, I'd say yes, and I think Billvon describes exactly why. (for the record, that part about the Nitron is cool as hell! I've never heard anyone say that about a parachute before). For landings, I think it's truly a lift-enhancing device, as the deflection of the tail changes the the AOA of the camber line, increasing lift (if this wasn't true, canopies wouldn't plane out!) In very deep brakes, it's more like drag-enhancing... I've seen photos of myself landing where the tail is deflected past 90 degrees and the D-lines are slack! Critical AOA is probably higher than 18 deg since it's a very high-lift airfoil at low speed, but at 45+ degrees it's obviously way into stall territory. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

You're scaring me, dude. Eyes ALWAYS trump the alti... analog, digital, or nuclear, I don't care. In all seriousness, it wasn't the alti being inaccurate that caused to to almost slam in, it was that you made a bad call. (please realize I'm not attacking you, I've made a couple bad call low turns myself... every swooper has). That said, digitals are definately more consistant. Analogs lag and get stuck, I'd say they're only good for measuring within +/- 100-200 feet. I've found my Optima to be very accurate and consistant. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

There is certainly value in discussing accuracy with an experienced classic accuracy guy, however... The performance envelope of the "goodyear" parachute is probably as different from say, a 210 Sabre1, as the Sabre1 is from a Velo 84. Many techniques used by classic accuracy pilots simply cannot be performed using most other types of canopies. Again, by all means talk to him, I'm sure he has valuble information to share... just realize that you will have to filter out what is helpful to you and what isn't. Just like you would have to do the same with information from someone who hasn't jumped anything larger than a 107 for 10 years and has forgotten what it's like to be under a WL of less than 1.8:1. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Like I said, it's individual to the specific dolphin. Stratostar's bridle pic where he's got 3cm of exposed bridle (about 1 1/4 inch) is an example of a dolphin that I personally would have no concerns about in a sit... when it gets longer I start to be concerned. Again, in my experience it's been the larger dolphins (D-3 and above) where I've typically seen a long exposed bridle region. Velcro riser covers are less a saftey concern and more an asthetics/maintenance concern. An open riser cover is not going to cause a premature deployment, it just looks messy. If the canopies are sized well for the container, velcro will do a decent job for a few hundred jumps, and then will need to be replaced... snaps are the same, but may be easier to replace. I do think it's a good container, just that there are a couple of things to look for. I've been keeping an eye out for a good, cheap, 2nd container, and dolphin is on the list because I think they are often undervalued and available for bargain prices. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Dolphins are good first containers, since they are generally available at great prices. Altico went through a number of riser flap designs, and some are better than others. I've seen velcro covers (which kind of suck), snap covers (good, but expect to replace some snaps), triangular-shaped tuck-tabs (some worked, some didn't), and full over-the shoulder tuck-tabs (definately the best of the bunch). I'd check which version a rig has before buying it. If you're planning on doing a lot of freeflying, be especially careful. I'm not one of those who will say that a quarter inch of exposed bridle is going to kill you, but I've seen some larger dolphins that physically cannot have less than 3-4 inches of exposed bridle, and that's a too much in a sit. Some later dolphins had a "bridle protection flap" that was really just an afterthought and IMO, a joke... the ones I saw were loose and would not have helped. If, on the other hand, you're mainly looking at RW, there are no real concerns with a dolphin... a snap can be added to velcro covers, and either tuck-tab will be sufficient. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

True, but again it's ambiguous and open to interperetation. Just because you don't NEED a rigger doesn't necessarily mean a task isn't overed as a "duty under his certificate". Packing your own main... no, doesn't require a rigger ticket, but since packing another's main does and the skills are equal, it could be argued to be "duties under his certificate". Same thoughts for gear checks... anyone can do a "gear check", but a rigger could perform the same task and call it an "inspection", putting it under the umbrella of his duties. Rubber bands, loops... well, that's stretching. But then again, since non-riggers aren't allows to pack another's main, it would seem that non-riggers wouldn't be allowed to replace another's closing loop, so maybe that counts too. Helping/teaching... again, if a non-rigger can't pack another's main, why would they be allowed to help/supervise/teach? How about being on the dropzone in the presence of a non-rigger packer. You're "supervising" (doesn't have to be direct supervision, you just have to be readily available after all). Is it rationalizing? To a point I agree it is, although I'd rather call it "applying a liberal interperetation of the regulations" as a CYA statement. But if we were to accept the very conservative intereperetation that you are implying, then VERY few riggers would meet that. It'd prettymuch be loft/manufacturer employees and full-time packers. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

That's what Florida/Perris/Eloy/Texas is for! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Yep, that's prettymuch true. with the performance of ZP canopies today, most people would want to downsize at least to the 1.0 - 1.2 W/L range, just to get a little more penetration on windier days but beyond that there's no reason unless you want to swoop... and even then you don't HAVE to downsize... I used to get 100+ feet out of my Sabre1 135 @ 1.2 regularly. Wouldn't win any competitions, but it was still a lot of fun. And it's true about the very experienced jumpers too... look around, and you'll find a lot of people with many thousands of jumps jumping 150 stiletto's or similar, and most of them are perfectly happy with it. My dad has been jumping one for like 12 years, has over 2000 jumps on it, and figures he'll keep jumping it until it disintegrates and then buy another Stiletto 150. some people think it's silly, but then again the last time he didn't stand up a landing was about 5 years ago and the entire next plane load turned around and took off their gear... they figured if it was too windy and turbulent for him, they didn't want to be up there. I think the "pressure" to downsize is like the "pressure" to start smoking in high school. I never felt pressured to smoke, and I never felt pressured to downsize. Others had a different experience, but I kind of think it's all dependant on who they hang out with and how they interperet and react to others. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

No, because "demonstrated to the administrator..." means taking the practical with a DPRE. What saves us is that 1) since documentation isn't required, it would be virtually impossible to prove a lack of currency. and 2) the FAA has never (to my knowledge) issued clairifcation of what the hell that part of the FARs means. When I was working on my rating, I asked every rigger I knew, including the DPRE, what the requirement meant, and every one of them said they didn't know and didn't know anyone who knew. Ambiguous wording leaves itself open to interperetation... rigger "duties" could be packing a main, doing a gear check, any kind of inspection, any kind of minor repair, helping or teaching another person to pack... just about anything. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

agreed that the flare issues aren't likley related to the cheststrap. probably just caught some "rarified air". Do you pull your slider past the toggles? If not, the cheststrap will have little or no effect anyway, as the slider will prevent the lines from widening. If anything, the loose cheststrap should provide more flare, not less... but not really much difference on moderate WL/larger canopy anyway. I only noticed a difference when swooping; without that extra speed it was prettymuch the same. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I would argue it has some basis in reality but is exaggeraged by some who have a million and a half jumps. I've seen a couple people post claims like "the minimum currency requirement for safe freeflying is 300 jumps a year" (real post!) which is obviously a crock of shit. On the other hand, the guy with 500 jumps who's been jumping for 20 years (and has done 50 jumps in the last 10 years and none in the last 6 months) has no buisiness going to Rantoul and getting on a 12-way hybrid. and we've all seen people do stuff like that. I wish more people thought along those lines... I remember getting on a 60ish way at the eloy christmas boogie and seeing (literally) about 20 people go low. An individual whose skill aren't up to a 100-way isn't going to create an unsafe situation, but 30-40 individuals whose skills weren't up to a 60 way sure as hell did! I was glad to be in the outer ring so I could bail at 6000' and GET THE HELL OUT! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

A better idea would be for you to watch the rigger who does your gear inspection, and ask him what he's looking for, and what you should be checking for periodically, as well as what you should be double-checking whenever you have maintenance done that requires disassembly. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Me too... helps, doesn't it? That should help a little with the knowledge base, and probably having seen a few people make big mistakes. Just remember that even with all the knowledge in the world, the experience part takes awhile... I've been guilty of thinking I'm pretty hot shit now and then, and it always ends in getting my ego knocked down. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I have an answer for this, and it's nothing to do with the possibility of damaging the canopy. After several "interesting" openings and more than one malfunction, a couple of jumpers I know decided that they shouldn't use tiny, elliptical canopies for Mr Bill dives. I think they were using a 119 crossfire 2. It's not that the canopy is likley to blow up due to the increased force (the hanger won't stand a chance of holding on if the opening is that hard anyway), it's that the 3:1+ loading will exaggerate any ansymmetrical aspect of the opening, greatly increasing the likleyhood of violent spins, ect. The 2nd person not being hooked up in the harness directly, and the fact that the deployment was probably from a less than stable position further exaserbates the problem. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Yeah, I think some people are a little OCD about their lines... or they think the fast/slow/off-heading/weird/diving/twisted openings are the result of the canopy being 1/2 inch out of trim instead of poor packing, poor body position, dumping in a track, or just the fact that most canopies don't open perfect every time. I bought a Sabre1 135 from someone who re-lined it 4 or 5 times in (tops) 500 jumps... if he had a slammer he'd send it back to PD. I put another 500 jumps on it, and it flies just fine thank you very much, although it is about 3-4 inches out of trim. Opening and flight charachteristics did not change all that much. (although I did replace the lower brake lines due to wear). Obviously if you're jumping a Widowmaker 37 with ultra-tiny carbon-nanotube lines you probably need to replace them a lot more. I think for most of us though every 500-1000 jumps is plenty. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I haven't read the skydiver's handbook, but the SIM has lots of good info... probably as said a bit more than is really necessary. Teaching an AFF course to someone who has memorized the SIM would probably be frustrating since training methods do differ from DZ to DZ. Have you taken a first jump course? If not, I would encourage you to talk to the instructors at the DZ you intend to do your training at and ask to sit in on a course. At the end, ask them which parts of the SIM you should be familiar with (probably the Basic Saftey Recommendations and the Category A material of the Integrated Student Program). Having taken the course, this material would have a lot more meaning. Prior to your jump in the spring I'm sure they'd have you take the ground school again, but you'd be pretty prepared and it would go more quickly, and you could ask more informed questions. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Neither time nor currency makes you a better skydiver, however both are required in order to become a better skydiver. Example: I know several people who all have been jumping for 20+ years, all have 1000+ jumps, and all jump almost every week. Amazingly, those same people are lucky if they can get past the 2nd point of a 4-way. (I'm not kidding). I know others in their 1st year, with less than 100 jumps, who are better fliers. What makes you a better skydiver is always working on being a better skydiver... ask questions, listen to experienced jumpers, observe those around you, watch a lot of video, listen to all sides of arguments. Plan your dives, try to challenge yourself on every skydive, fly aggressively (not to be confused with stupidly), get out of your comfort zone (again, with saftey in mind), get in different slots, learn new exits... the list goes on. If you do all that stuff, you'll become a better skydiver. The faster you rack up dives, the faster it will happen, and the longer you keep at it, the better you'll get. P.S. If you truly want to get good, find like-minded people and form/join a team. For good RW skills, there is simply NO substitute for 4-way... same goes for VRW/3-way for freeflying, ect. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Couldn't agree more. I don't have any training and therefore do NOT run out there... the only help I can personally provide is to call 911. I know everyone wants to help, but I don't understand why 50 people feel the need to run out when there's nothing they can do. The most knowledgable 1 or 2 people on the airport (and maybe a couple more to run for supplies or whatever) is plenty. Once the ambulence is there, you need 1 knowlegable person (if available) to quickly brief them, and everyone else needs to LEAVE. That said, I'll be taking a CPR course very soon, and begin EMT training in January, so in the future I may be able to provide some basic help. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Crap, I'd better take that tube of Moly Disulfide out of my rigging kit. No wonder all my customers have had their links rip apart! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."