shibu

lmfao

Great idea to see an aviation physician. Different doctors tend to look for different things. Always best to go to someone who is familiar with the demands of your work. Every 3 years? What happened to at least annual check ups? Everyone should do that as a minimum... regardless of being in the sport. Nothing wrong with going more frequently than that.

I know this is an old post (& hopefully an issue that you solved in may or june), but I am posting this in case anyone else with the same problem reads this. I had the exact same problem. My instructor finally figured out it was my legs when she had me do a mock dive on the ground & examined my body position. Turns out my legs are usually uneven. I think it is likely due to a torn hamstring from a waterskiing accident years earlier. First thing to do is talk to your instructor & ask them to examine your position on the ground. Next, if you are unsure of what it is, you can usually still correct a spin by adjusting your leg position. i.e, a small adjustment of your legs can make up for a misplaced palm or arm IMHO.

That site is great... never knew it existed.

I was reading about the pulse on PDs website & they call it a mildly eliptical canopy. What does that mean? I know the cells must not be the same length if they are calling it mildly eliptical, but performace wise are the malfunctions any worse than on a standard square canopy?

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.

500... nice... that answers that.

I have been using rented gear untill yesterday. I demod a Vector rig with a Pulse210 canopy. I usually fly a Rented Navigator 220. I loved the canopy & the rig. The Pulse is a 9cel Hybrid canopy (ZeroP on top with the more porous material underneath). In the past I have heard that hybrids wear out faster than canopies made from 100% zeroP. The rep said that simply is untrue. Is there any thruth to this?

Thanks for that great timeline. I get the picture. All of the details are interesting. I had no idea how much innovation occured so recently.

The first two questions are irrevelant. The rest of the questions can be accurately answered by a rigger after an inpsection, which is a must before buying any used piece of equipment. Between harness size, main canopy size, reserve canopy size, and various equipment updates and recalls, the chances of your friend just happening to have a used rig that will work for you is slim. Certainly hand it off to your rigger for an inspection, but don't expect much. When you say you finished your AFF classes, do you mean the ground school, and you only have 2 jumps? Or do you mean you finished all the jumps and just haven't updated your profile since you had 2 jumps? I ask because any jumps made as a student with an instructor will most likely have to made on the DZ student rigs. Even if you are done with your AFF jumps, the DZ may require you use their rigs until you have an A license, so check into that as well. At a minnimum, you will need an AAD in any rig you jump until you have a licesne, so be sure the rigger knows that you need a rig that will take an AAD. Some rigs are AAD ready, and others need to be modified to take an AAD, so if that's the case, be sure to get a quote on how much that will run. Actually, be sure to get a quote for any repair or updating work needed to get any used gear airworhty, and factor that cost into your budgeting. That said, skydiving is a terrible place to look for bargains on gear. You can pruchase a solid, modern rig that will offer you all the performance you need for about $3000 without an AAD, closer to $4000 with an AAD. If you buy at the right price, you can generally get 90% of your money back after a year and 100 jumps. Buying poplur modern components means that when you want to sell, you'll be able to move the stuff in short order. You can look at a used beginner rig as more of an investment than a purchase. It's an investment you're going to loose a couple hundred bucks on, but the fact remains that you can cash out and sell the gear at anytime. Even if you can find an older rig for half of that, you may have trouble selling it all by the time you're ready. So instead of jumping newer gear for $200/$300, you're jumping older stuff and it costs you $1000 by the time you find a buyer (if at all). Great answer. I am also looking for my first rig. Your answer was very clear except what do you mean by a "modern rig"? One that is less than 10 years old? Less than 5?

You don't need to buy everything new... and I would suggest against it... as you're probably going to want to downsize in a couple hundred jumps, and that new smaller canopy may not fit properly into the container you have. My entire rig (minus AAD) is new, but it's also my second rig, and one that I plan on sticking with for a while, it cost a pretty penny, but by the time I bought it, I knew what I wanted. The malfunctions caused by bad maintenance is pretty avoidable, have your rigger give it a good looking at, identify what the high wear points will potentially be, and keep an eye on it. It's very rare that a rig gets to the point of being dangerous if you keep an eye on it, and have a rigger worth something. I've got a 1981 Wonderhog sitting in my rigging room, it has a 24' round reserve in it... I wouldn't have a doubt about jumping it, as it's in good condition (probably will end up jumping it just for shits and giggles). It's all about how it was taken care of. How much do you want for the '81 Wonderhog? jk, but I do feel much better about getting a used rig now. So how old is usually too old? 15yrs? 20yrs? If I purchased a rig with only 10 jumps on it I would consider it new.

It depends. If you're a real outlier size-wise, this may be excellent advice. If you're in the average height/weight/build range, it may be overkill since most people who are within the average ranges can find a used container that fits well enough to be both safe and comfortable. Of course, you'll have to be patient to find something, but it's probably out there. I've done 800+ jumps in almost 7 years on a used container. It was very gently used (10 jumps) when I bought it, and I made one modification to make it fit me better - I had a longer chest strap put on as it was built for a guy who was about my height/weight, but since he lacked boobs, the chest strap was a bit too short for me. Thanks to everyone for all the speedy replies. I feel better about getting a used rig now. I am 5'11" & 190lbs now... hopefully going down to my normal 180lbs by the time I get a rig. I don't think that makes me an outlier.

I was planning on getting a used rig & then I read about some malfunctions that were at least partially caused by improperly matched gear (canopy too big for container). Sombody responded that they were going to get all new gear because their life is worth more than $5 grand. That sounded like it made alot of sense. Then I started adding up components & a container, main & reserve already had me at $6k without any options! I am sure I can get a better price but a rigger strongly suggested that I at least get a new container so that it would fit me well & make me a better skydiver. He said we can find a used main canopy & reserve that wound work for me. Is this salient advice? New container with all the options & everything else used? Should I invest in a new AAD as well?

QuoteJust the kind of "nice" videos to watch before an AFF course....Quote lol. Actually I think it is ggod to watch. I wish I had all of these videos available back when I took my IAF courses. Every malfunction video has something to teach.

QuoteER Doctor: "Why would you skydive with an obvious and significant ear injury?" You: "What?" ....reply] lmao

I just found my mantra.

lmao. anyone who has had an iphone at least with AT&T understands.

I noticed a camera man at my DZ wears a shirt with wings... sort of like half a wingsuit but with a smaller wing. What are these called & are they for sale or was this a custom thing? I know I will ask him next time I see him but thought I'd throw it out there so I don't feel like such a newbie when I'm talking to him.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like the UV lenses are the only way to go for skydiving.

+1 My Neptune2 & 3 are impossible to read at certian angles, but you CAN rotate your hand just a little, and you can see it just fine. I do jump Liquids' Players with polarized lenses, and generally have no issues reading my altimeter, but under canopy, I generally have to rotate it a little to see the numbers. Also, I doubt that it would be any issues with the reflection. Thanks for the info. I like the look of the polarized but I think I'll go with UV lenses... at least for my first pair. I'm excited about the polished aluminum.

Thanks. I never even thought of that.

I wear Rx glasses & am getting tired of the over-goggles. I am thinking about ordering the liquid Player sunglasses. I really like the look of the polished Aluminum. I was just wondering if anyone has had any problems with the sun reflecting off of the frame or off of mirrored lenses & irritating others in your formation. Also is polarized or UV protection more important? http://www.liquidpolarized.com/product.html?style=1

How does a pilot chute become entangled with the bridle.. I would like to know so I can prevent it from happening to me when I pack.. http://www.iloveskydiving.org/view/videos/friday-freakout-shit-meet-fan/

I read the sticky.. The incident reports were enough to dissuade me from considering using a camera for now... I'm still researching them but I won't wear it on a dive until I have at least 200 jumps. Good looking out.

Ok. I am a newbie. Never wore a helmet cam. Has anyone ever seen a skydiver use something like this: http://www.liquidimageco.com/products/ I get how the peripheral vision would be shot with this particular pair but what about something similar. Is there anything like this for skydiving. Seems like it would be safer to haver smaller cameras that could be mounted inside of goggles or a helmet instead of having them stick out.