UDSkyJunkie

In addition to kkeenan's notes, another quesiton is "current to do what?" Go out and safely do a solo? Do a relaxed 8-way RW dive with friends? Jump on a 65-way head-down record and swoop your 79 velocity over the pond? You can imagine those would be different answers. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Sound like Tony wins... 8400 is amazing! Honorable mention to Rook Nelson who as I recall had 4000+ before he got his first. My father has over 3000 since his last cutaway... not in Tony's territory, but in terms of time he probably has him beat... his last cutaway was in 1985, and he's been an active jumper (100-200+ every year) the whole time. That's 23 years! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Now that I look at it again, I see that I made quite a greivous spelling error. I never charged for much other than reserve repacks and patches and such, because I've never been a full-time rigger and therefore didn't need to to pay the rent. I don't expect everyone to know everything about their gear, but I do get frustrated when somebody with 1000 jumps needs help hooking up a 3-ring. Even if they're paying. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

no, it's all in the name... "Noone would surrender to the Dread Pirate Westley." "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Even better than that is when it happens accidentally... When I was about 10 years old and in boy scouts I had a circular blue canteen. I was bored and put a flashlight in it so it lit up bright blue, and then I walked from the tent to somewhere for who knows what reason. Anyway, I get back to the campfire, and people are freaking out, I'm like "WTF?" Turns out there was a ghost story about the plateau we were camping on, and the ghost or whatever was supposed to maifest itself as a ball of blue light! Everyone had heard this story before except me... I was laughing my ass off! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

It also depends on how you interperet it, since most countries do have their own states, after all... so mine would be 8: Ohio Indiana Colorado New Mexico New Jersey Arizona Wisconsin, and... New South Wales! It's a typical non-american thing to accuse americans of being typical americans. Please realize this is all in good humor... hell, I'm half canadian. And americans, myself included, definately have their stupid moments. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

What mneal said... lots and lots of mental and physical rehearsal until you don't have to think about it. BUT... scale back the rehearsal when you're actually in the plane. I'm not saying don't think about it, just saying don't go through it non-stop for the entire 20 minutes to altitude. Once on takeoff, once at maybe 5500', and maybe one last time around 10,000. Allow yourself the last few minutes before exit to clear your mind. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths just before you're up in the door... you've done the work, you know the material, and nothing can change that! Incidentally, this works in all phases of skydiving, from your Level A AFF jump, to your early RW (or freefly, or whatever) stuff, all the way to the most advanced skydiving in the world. Twice as an experienced skydiver I have been as nervous (actually, more nervous!) as during the student program... first time was at Nationals, and the second time was my eval dives for my AFF instructor rating. The above is what made me succeed; tons of preparation, but a clear mind on exit. Good luck! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Hehe... I'm glad you've had this revelation, a lot of people never do. I'm also happy that you decided to stick with it and figure everything out for yourself... and double/triple/quadruple checked everything until you were satisfied. A lot of people don't have the ambition to do that either, a neverending source of frustration to riggers. Sometime when you're at the DZ and it's raining or something, I suggest you shanghai a rigger into showing you how to connect/disconnect mains and do a continuity check... maybe that way it'll take a bit less time next time! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Vibration and temperature change are the two most common failure modes for almost everything, and electronics are particularly vulnerable to both. You could have a huge argument over how much of either an AAD sees... it shouldn't see much vibe normally, although if you land on your butt a lot it's exposed enough that it might get a few whacks. Temp-wise it probably sees more than we think... not much temperature protection once the main is open and electronics heat up internally just from turning on. Tens of years? no doubt most would last that long. It's all about statistics and confidence... at my old aviation job certain critical parts had to have a failure rate less than 1 failure per billion flight hours or billion events, and were life-limited if after some amount of use we believed we got outside that condition. Assuming AAD mfr's use a similar logic, it's likley that they are 99.99% confident that a unit could last 30, 40, 50 years... but have decided that's not good enough. So, they picked 12 years or 20 years for reasons that they have not disclosed. Some say it's arbitrary, others that it's a money-grab, and others that it's based on specific data. The truth is probably a bit of all three. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I do not forget, I am well aware you can send a vigil for inspection. However, if one chooses to do this, where is the advantage? It will still be inconvienient, and you will still have to pay for it. Furthermore, how many people do you think will actually get them inspected? Very, very few. Therefore, most units will not be inspected, and just as importantly, Vigil will be less likley to find errors and/or manufacturing problems in a timley manner. I am defining "a timley manner" as "before it fails"... Airtec has quietly made many small adjustments to software and hardware due to data from returned units. Vigil will not have this opportunity, and is more likley to find their flaws when somebody's unit fails or breaks. Vigil is also newer, and therefore is more likley to have unknown problems. Some bugs have already been worked out, and the vigil is a better product for it. Airtec went through similar growing pains, but they have had relatively fewer issues in the recent past. The product maturity is a comfort to me. Agreed, the vigil is more robustly constructed... there is no rational argument against that. I would very much like Airtec to take a lesson from that. It should be noted however, that if these wires were truly "easily broken", they would be broken frequently, yes? I'm sure it has happened, but I haven't yet known anyone who has had their cypres wires break... have you? (that is not intended as a snide remark, if you have, I'd like the info). The wires are a cypres flaw... I accept that flaw due to my belief that it is otherwise superior. I think it has been demonstrated through hundreds of saves that the cypress firing speed is sufficient. The design may be easier on energy, however both units require new batteries after 4 years, so the argument is a moot point. Anecdotally, I can tell you that someone I know very well forgot to change the batteries on a cypres I (the old 2-year, 500 jump max batteries). It took 3 1/2 years and approximately 750 jumps before said batteries died... the cypress 2 is even better, so I am not worried about the battery life. The student/tandem/pro mode is a great feature for schools, and prettymuch irrelevant for up-jumpers. Unless you're going to switch your vigil from your personal rig to your personal tandem rig, you'll never use it. Or if you decide to be a student again. What data does the vigil provide (honest question)? I'm guessing nothing you can't get from an audible, assuming you have an interest in such things... personally, I don't. Final note: you might notice that I said BOTH ARE GOOD and that IN MY OPINION the cypress is better. The above details why I think it's better, nothing more. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Now now, stop that... you're clouding the issue with facts. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Cypress and Vigil are both good... IMO Cypres is better; as an engineer I'll never believe you can reliably last 20 years without scheduled maintenance or at least an inspection. The increased cost is worth it to me. If you buy used, make sure you know the age and the status of batteries and the 4/8 year checks on a cypress... batteries are about $80 and checks are $150ish. If it's going to need either in the next year the price should be adjusted accordingly. Reserves your best bet is to get it inspected by a good rigger and/or buy it from somebody you know or through a reliable dealer. The PD reserve has boxes on the warning label that are marked to indicate how many times it has been packed and deployed. No official shelf life, but as said some riggers won't pack past 20 years, and PD requires a porosity test after 40 packjobs or 25 deployments (from what I've heard, most of these tests do not ground the reserve... and 40 packjobs is going to take 13 years if it's packed every 90 days). Documentation beyond what's printed on the canopy (DOM, and packs/deployments if it's PD) is unlikley. AAD's will have the last check and battery change documented on the unit, along with DOM. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I vote it depends... Some DZ's will ground the tandems as soon as the winds hit "X" MPH. In those cases I'd probably go. Other DZ's won't ground anybody until it's way out of hand, in which case I'd probably stay. Depends a bit on the DZ in terms of outs and such too... is it like Parkman, OH where if you miss you're in the forest? or like Eloy where if you miss you've got 1,000 square miles of open desert? (of course, in Eloy they usually ground the up-jumpers before I hit my personal wind saftey red flags, but that's beside the point... and they have good reason to do so). I've taken the plane down before, but only when the weather was truly horrible... more horrible than just high/gusty wind. I think many who voted "no" may be surprised what they decide to do when it actually happens for the first time. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

A valid concern... though many may say what you have described has already occured at many DZ's. However, I side with growing the sport. More people means better everything... more gear, better gear, bigger aircraft, more DZ's, bigger DZ's, more voice in washington, more competition, more knowledge... everything is improved. Granted, if everyone and their brother started jumping, a lot of things would happen that would make it feel less like a small community, but we've got a LONG way to go before that would happen. Consider: 30,000ish USPA members out of 300,000,000 americans = 1 jumper in 10,000 people. A huge number of USPA members are very new, only jump occasionally, or no longer jump, so the truly active, hardcore jumping population is probably more like 10,000, maybe less. You could increase this by an order of magnitude, and it'd still be hardly anybody compared to the general public... but man would it do a lot of good for all the buisinesses built around us. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

ehn... I don't see a reason to give cash. Maybe I'm old-school, but I think we're all supposed to be friends and help each other out. This includes watching for chopped mains and (within reason) looking for/recovering them for fellow jumpers. I will (and have) paid back others for recovering my main by recovering theirs in return. Agreed with Remster, I wouldn't turn down a couple beers! If anyone deserves cash, it's a wuffo/farmer who finds it in their yard and calls the DZ to let them know. Or a DZO who does a low pass over a field or even a dedicated flight to see if you can spot the canopy... I've seen a lot of flights to look for canopies, but the DZO has always just taken the hit (well, maybe they get the price of a jump ticket so the guy can jump out and land by the main). "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Wow, I don't remember that! I know Woody had a riser fail on a brutally hard opening in about that same timeframe, was it the same event? I thought his failed above the RSL though... could be wrong. Regardless, the facts are: - Risers do fail, however rarely - At least one fatality has occured as a result of a failed riser and subsequent main-reserve entaglement - The Collin's Lanyard is simple, cheap, and effective, and can/will prevent future fatalities For something that adds almost no cost to the rig, I say the cost/benefit ratio is acceptable, even if it only saves 1 person per decade. I've got one on mine (came with the skyhook mod). "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

You do NOT have to choose! I am an FS guy. Why? It's just more in line with what I like to do... I'm very competitive and 4-way fits my personality. I love the stuff FF guys are doing (especially VRW!) but I had to have either the resources to be very good at one or good enough in both. I chose to be very good at FS, and some day I hope to become more than proficient in FF as well. If you're more laid back than then me, there's no reason you can't do both, even on a (somewhat) limited budget. Even if you're like me, I suggest trying both and making your decision later. P.S. Even if you lean in the FF direction, I highly recommend that you aquire at least decent FS skills, and keep them current. This will be immensly helpful if you ever want to get a coach and/or AFF rating. It's also more common for memorial/wedding/100 jump/1000 jump type dives to be FS. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Nice catch! That's one I've heard of but not actually seen until now. Stay vigilant, and watch others gear, too... last year I found half a dozen life-threatening errors on other people's gear, including mis-routed RSL's, 3-rings, main bridle and legstraps. If I ever make a simple, dumb mistake like that, (I haven't yet, but of course everyone says that) I hope someone returns the favor and tells me what a dumbass I am. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Good luck... I feel your pain (well, almost) as I just took the NREMT exam, and that was bad enough. I'm a good test-taker, aced the class, and have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, cum laude... didn't matter... the NREMT was the hardest, most confusing exam I've ever taken (I passed, cut off after 70ish questions). If the nursing exam is anything like it, and I'm sure it is, it's not an issue of knowing the material so much as being able to deal with really shitty vauge questions that could have 2 or more right answers or no right answers. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Good call. For the future, when making these decisions remember that most incidents are not the result of a single mistake, but rather a series of events, decisions, or conditions that put someone in a situation that's beyond their ability to handle. You were looking at a new canopy, a smaller canopy, a different DZ, a boogie, low jump numbers, and being somewhat uncurrent. That's a lot of factors that individually are small but add up to a lot of risk. You can't remove all of these, but the decision you've made wipes out the first two. Very cool. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I've tried, but it's just TOO different to imagine. I was raised on dropzones and literally can't imagine it not being a part of my life. But some things I can think of: I wouldn't have moved to AZ. I'd probably have a shit-ton more money. I probably wouldn't have had to confidence to quit a boring-as-hell engineering career and do something worth my time... getting on a team, being an RW organizer, and getting my coach/AFF/rigger ratings have done more than I can ever describe to overcome my natural shyness and social awkwardness. I'd have less motivation to keep in shape. The list is huge. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I am an AFF instructor, albeit not a particularly experienced one. While you certainly will face additional challenges vs. your typical 20-something student, it's hard for me to believe that this direction was given to you after only a single jump... I know a woman who failed her level 5 (first level off tandem jumps) five times in a row before being able to continue. Through sheer stubborness she did make it through the program and became a good, safe jumper. I know another fairly skilled jumper who took more than 100 jumps to get through the static line program. Unless you literally physically cannot arch, you should be able to do this. If you can get to a tunnel, by all means do it, it will help. Stretching/yoga is a good idea also. If you continue to get refused at your DZ, you might consider going to a different one... I mean no disrespect to your DZ or instructors, but some places (particularly larger operations) have highly experienced instructors who can work with more challenging students. I know people who have saved up some cash and taken a week or two to go to a top-notch facility like Perris/Eloy/Deland and complete the program through the "A" license. Obviously this means some advance communication with the DZ. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I bought a leather coat at goodwill for 4 dollars and cut it up "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Depends on what DZ I'm at. back in my old DZ's in Ohio? Above average. Here in AZ... more like average, especially since I'm less current due to financial constraints. Hope to change that in the next couple years, but of course it gets harder and harder to be above average as your experience increases. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Chances are it's not the canopy design that caused the slammer. More likley causes are poor packing, poor body position (dumping in a track or hard arch), mismatched canopy and container size, line dump due to loose stows, oversized pilot chute, plain bad luck, or a combination of several of the above. Very occasionally, and individual canopy of a normally excellent design will also be a repeat slammer for no apparent reason. I have seen nearly every canopy design slam the hell out of somebody. I've seen a jedei open so hard it broke the sight off a camera helmet. I've seen a single Diablo blow up 3 times in 2 years. I've seen a Sabre2 cause whiplash, and another one break a riser. There was an old-school sabre that opened so hard it killed somebody a few years ago. Canopies of every design have left massive inner thigh bruising on people. it happens. I wouldn't hesitate to sell.... on the other hand, I'd not hesitate to continue jumping it either, though I'd ensure the canopy/bag/container are compatable, possibly get a smaller PC, and ensure good, tight linestows. And NEVER dump in a track... my only two insanely brutal openings were a direct result of dumping in a track. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."