dterrick

...and Those Who Make the Rules would define it otherwise... Yes, I've been low... twice. Once as a student on my first RW training dive when 'low' meant breakoff was to be 4k, JM waved at 3500 and I had a steep track. In the saddle at 2200 (300 ft below license criterion). Got shit and never forgot... ...until this weekend. 2nd skybirthday. Hybrid 2 way with our septegenarian freeflyer in a sit (yes, I can fall that fast on my belly). Been screamed at by other jumpers for breaking off an RW dive 'early' (knowing I couldn't make the point in time) and this time I decided to make the point. Cost, 500 ft. Sitflyer pulled in place so I gave an ' extra full' track then the flare. Cost, another 500 ft. See a 'chain of events' scenario evolving yet? No audible. No AAD (beer rig). Jump #161. I fly a Raven as a main and know pull to control check is reliably 400 ft and on heading. I did my control check and entered the pattern a little early. Nuff said? Shortest canopy ride I've had in my career - but man was that a good spot

Welcome Paul! Ivan has the right ideas but I might add a thought or 2. Re the accessories: Goggles and helmet first. I bought a ANSI rated ski (winter sports ) helmet - cooler looking than the student protec, and able to hold an audible. I raced cars with a full face and rode motorcycle with a fullface - in skydiving I WANT the wind my face. Closed helmets are, in my opinion, most valuable for serious RW people who fear being kicked in the face... .. and may already have been kicked . $50-75 at a good sporting goods store. Check out this thread: http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Gear_and_Rigging_F6/Ski_Helmets_P535379/ Goggles: Same story. If you wear contacts, make sure you get something form fitting with no vents or you risk them drying up / popping out. I've lost three lenses in 162 jumps - don't buy expensive lenses. No glasses? No problem. Get something cool that you like but avoid deep tinted lenses because then your RW partner / JM can't see your eyes. Altimeter: you'll need one eventually and the sooner the better. Any wrist mount style is good butthe Alti-III is the most common and easy to get used. Used Altis may be scratched on the case or the face but a "full rebuild" is only $50 from the manufacturer. Later style Alti-III's have a user-replacable bezel for $10. Aim to get one of these. Jumpsuit: We share a similar build. Used jumpsuits wil be hard to come by. Custom jumpsuits with 'all the toys' are not cheap and you may find you'll be motivated to shed a few pounds as you progress in the sport. WE ARE athletes and you WILL find that your upper body and torso will get a really good workout in skydiving. Get a few dozen jumps in student jumpsuits and have a serious chat with your RW instructor about material types and options. Think about your "custom colour scheme" and how it will look with your rig. The Rig: I bought this right off student status to save rental money. The only thing modern about it is the reserve - the main is old F-111 and the Racer container is 22 years old but still in good shape. This is the "$1,000 gear package" in the USA and it will get you through your first season or more. I'd suggest you look at the rental cost of your first season (plan your season!!) and spend that money on a first rig. A custom fit harness/container is likely the best money spent in the sport. If you buy an old complete rig make sure you get a suitable reserve that you could put into your new container when you buy it. *** Or you could get a loan and do it all at once butthen you have nothing to look forward to. The key, I've found in this last two years, is to map a plan of progression to your B or C license (say, 200 jumps), estimate the costs, and then just do it. when you get to the DZ, it's far more fun if you know you have the dollars in your pocket to deal with the most important part of this whole discussion - THE JUMPS!! -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

"Just Relax" Those who say hop n pops are fun are right. I did all my IAD stuff from 3000 ft - bue I remember when that seemed Sooooo high Dunno what you're jumping as a main but I doubt it will take more than a 5 count to open - get out poised ( or even a hanging exit if you're in a Cessna) release and fly till you;re JUST belly to earth (off the slide) then pitch the pc. You do have a standard '5 count and check' routine you are trained on right? Still applies - NOTHING safety related is different. Everyone's right that you should be in the saddle by about 2500, and this is quite likely near your coutnry's licensed MINIMUM activation altutude. Once you get your ticket and start doing RW, etc. you'll find that being at 3500 and screaming at the earth at 120+ is a LOT different from a hop n pop and the hnp will seem totally stress free. Take a deep breath and just do it. If you like it, do it again. ...and again -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

WELL, so much for the Swiss Army Knife jokes . What a fantastic perspective from the land of the Neutral. Were we all of that same mindset... -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

See attched... I underctand completely

I'm ALL over that baby! I have one, count'em One round ride, on a 24 ' lopo from near terminal. I was a student on jump #20 and the damn Cruiselite actaully snivelled (stuck slider?) afte I took a full five count before clearing the pilot chute in tow . Jumping a round for 'fun' rather than as a life preserver just sounds like too much fun ... of course I'm also a (former) vintage British sportscar racer too, so there must be something about old tech that appeals to me. Must you supply your own rig? Is it legal to jump something older than you? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Heya Tone! My sister lives in Belmont - 10 minutes North of Palo Alto. I live in the Great White North (Canada) and when I visit I trek to Hollister. It's about an hour South of PA. There's also Bay Area Skydiving (Marina, near Pebble Beach) as well as stuff to the North of San Fran. Look for Sebazz1 LizzieB, pop, bat150 and titaniumlegs as the chief instigators at Hollister (celljumper just moved away for school) - it's a GREAT place to visit ... they fly their Kingair to 18k on occasion and 15k otherwise and everybody smiles. The gang gets together in PA on Thursday nights for nig-noggery and it just continues throughout the weekend. Do try and hook up with those folks if you;re around the area. BTW, those who say it's friendly but expensive are right. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

hmmmmm.... sounds suspiciously like the way I felt the first time someone shouted DOOR!!!! and kicked me out of the plane - except the part about Mom being there (she's chickenshit of little planes and not great on big ones either). Congrats on a major achievement! Flying a plane is something I've always wanted to do (did a discovery flight once) but I found skydiving first. Flying is not an if, but rather a when, for me. Then I'm gonna build my own experimental areobatic plane so I can do things in the air I can;t under canopy. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

After I reinstalled XP (another story) and reinstalled Googlt I noticed it said something about having a popup blocker. Now that you mention it, I haven't had to kill a popup window since. Thanks for reminding me it works - and to others, well... it works! -Dave PS: the "Mailwasher" program (another thread) also works. I THINK my spam has declines, but even if not it's kinda fun bouncing it back to the spammers. Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Heya Ivan, I studied Internation Business in the late 80's / early 90's and this was all predicted. No, the industry was not named (who knew), but the concept of the rise and fall of international dominance is old. Examples include, but not limited to: The British Empire (generally). Specifically, the motorcycle industry. The Japs ripped off the ideas and made them 'better' and more affordable and reliable on the basis of sweat and international currency exchange. then came cars. When Japan's manufacturing became too expensive, in came the other 'litle tigers' of Korea et al. Hyundai, Daiwoo, Kia (remember the Ford Festiva... a Kia! the 'new' Escort .. a Mazda 323! ) Look at Nike and shoes, for another example of inexpensive 'equivalent' manufacturing. India was mentioned as a tech foe as long as 15 years ago. And, while I listened to THOSE stats, I also remember an inverse ratio of lawyers/engineers in Asia vs. America. I doubt it's changed. "Engineers create, lawyers re-distribute". Such cases as the McDonalds coffee lawsuit illustrate the point dramatically. ANY country where the standard of living is lower in absolute material terms than the USA is a potential competitor for ANY job that can be outsourced. Do NOT think that the high level Capitalists who run 'our' companies ignore those market opportunities out of patriotism - ... they don't if outcoureing makes financial sense to the shareholder (...them). Companies like Nike have long used offshore labour; the Intellectual Labour Crisis is upon us. Ultimately, those who most shrewdly use their financial capital wil reap the best return on their capital .. and THAT is is the basis of all of our 'stock markets'. Sad, but Adam Smith wrote of these things in 1789 in The Wealth of Nations . Did we listen? ...yes. Did we understand ...no. The very principles of the essay which 'we've' used for the last hundred years are now being more efficiently used by the 'next' generaltion and we're whining ...legitimately - let us do something about it! -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

What kind of plane? In Cessna land you just need to combine a "pelvic thrust" with a belly-flop dive (spread arms and legs in 'X' style) and you're in! You would be doing a hanging or poised exit from that plane already, right? If you're going out of a Kingair or Otter (dive style), pretend you're superman (arms out) and make a CONSCIOUS effort to kick yourself in the ass. This would be the classic 'dive form door exit' and you stabilize into a boxman from there. Dave PS: never done a Tw'Otter but the Kingair is like a backwards Cessna Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

So Seb, Tell me what it will cost me to get my ratings (PM's cool) so I can get a Green card and snivel lodging in the Bay area until I find something to do for 'real work'? Gotta admit, Manitoba winters are draggin' me down.. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Thanks Lisa, you display the wisdom of the Green Genie. Like I said, I hope NOT to quit jumping, though the next level of fun seems a very large $ away... and move as you suggest. I have a (married) sister in the Bay Area and I've had two GREAT visits to Hoillister (all of 7 jumps between them) and maybe it's the 'greener grass' problem rearing its' head. Does greenie status entitle you to grant Green cards? No freefly from 9k ($27.50 per go) to speak of, and certainly not with a 20 year old Racer and a reserve as a main... even if someone would teach me CRW dudes moved away. DZO has the qualifications (5000+ jumps, BASE # under #200, National championships, etc) but can't right now for health reasons. Likely a season away at best. Too much time on these forums have convinced me to be more conserative on canopy selection (a la Billvon) despite the OK to move to an eliptical 170 class by the DZO a long time ago (agressive in my mind but the demos brought back feelings of racing a GT-2 Datsun 240Z at 140 mph

Ugh. On the eve of Labour Day weekend 2001 I was shit scared at how my life would change the next morning. It was September 1, 2001 that I took my first jump course at Winnipeg Skydiving Centre at Gimli Manitoba. Life hasn't been the same since. I feel like a 'terrible two year old' and I'm not sure that's good. Living in a Cessna dropzone open for only six months of the year (if mother nature cooperates), one hundred and sixty jumps seems like a whole lot. My first 'season' lasted all of six weeks before the plane's annual inspection shut us down early despite an unseasonably warm October. I was a permanent fixture on the DZ in 2002. I had it in my mind that I would achieve the FAI 'B' license and a hundred jumps in the season and it took attending every single open weekend for me to achieve that goal. Sadly, no sooner was I group RW endorsed with my B it was time for the DZ to close for the winter. Despite my attempts to organize winter jumps and para-ski, mother nature didn't cooperate with our cantankerous old Cessna or common sense. Among the coldest winters on record, the skies were clear but who wants to hop n pop at minus 20 farenheight and below? I've paid the price this year for neglecting my business, property, and family in 2002. All my surplus funds spent on jump tickets, I had nothing leftover for a replacement to my aging Raven 220 main that delights in thumping me both on opening and landing. RW skills advancement ... one one good weekend a month? Hah! Not going to happen, so I elected to pursue flying the absolute shit out of my Raven in search of the edge. Accuracy was out of the question not because of the anvil-like glide slope at less than full drive but the following crash-landings! Nobody on DZ is in a position to teach CReW (one of my great aspirations) so I've found myself doing a lot of 4k hop n pops with aggressive canopy manouvers until hard-deck followed by what could pass for a hi-performance landing under a 7 cell. Sometimes they've been a bit too aggressive for the equipment. Old Ravens, by the way, stall VERY rapidly on a rear riser flare - maybe that, um, performance is why I've ignored the inflight toggles for most of the season. Of course, demo's down to a Sabre 2 170 have also proven I can abort an aproach and runout a light down/crosswinder when rogue traffic (???) intercedes... The two year old in me is bored. Bored, bored, bored. A new (used)main an a hundred jump tickets will cost me more than a recreational (VFR-day) pilot's license. And, as an over-qualified backyard mechanic with many vintage auto reatorations beind me, I also have a desire to build an experimental aircraft and fly the Fokker (pun intended). Helpppppp! I need some vibes! Maybe it's just my Gemini nature but with the boredom comes apathy. I do NOT want to give up the sport but I can't even 'scare' myself in a full and proper stall (with the pilot chute inflated in front of the nose) anymore. Who's been there? Who knows the Way? -Dave PS: My best thought for the weekend is to arrive at DZ and 'pretend' I am a FJC student again, take the 6 hour class, and fly a Manta 288 to the cookie. Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Now look what you've started... good for you... I'm glad to hear #2 was as exciting as #1. You likely understand 'the feeling' of freedom much more than we do. It is precious and something you will never forget. Keep it up you you...Rebel you and good luck in your quest to jump with the GK's! -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Thanks Andrea... great read, apologise not. For the header I thought it was going to be about the sudden change from +35 C temps to + 15 temps in the prairies. Fall fell with a giant Whoomp, it seems. ALtitude might start to seem 'cold' instread of just 'cool' -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Fournier's baloon envelope tore open on launch last weekend ... indefinite delay as far as I know. Nothing but bad luck it seems http://www.legrandsaut.org/site_en/# His website does not report this as yet, but I received the info via the CSPA chat list from a 'local' Saskatoonian. No word on Cheryl Stearns except I know she won some kind of accuracy meet earlier this summer. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

...agreed. Like him or not, this type of single minded dedication is what has put him over his bro Ralf imho... not that he's any slouch behind the wheel either. That said, he doesn;t have the advantage ofa world beater car/tyre combination this year to help him through those 'off' days. (...lapped???) -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Mike: That's a VERY cool side of MS that I'd never heard of before. Thanks for sharing. I agree about your take on his 'personality'. Yes, he has mellowed, but for years the sheer arrogance of his persona bothered me. Of course, I was also not a Senna fan when he was alive for a similar reason... and then you hear of all his off-track philanthropy and reevaluate. MAybe MS is the same and the hard-boiled shell of a GP driver is just a necessary act. I wonder if he or any of his crew continued to jump? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Green Jello with those little tinned mandarin orange slices floating in it. Now, on a related topic, who slurps their jello through their teeth to make it all liquidy again? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

cUrSe yOU mOBiuS !! [m.Python] All right, Stop this sketch, this is getting far too silly [/m Python] -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Heya Lane! By the look of your username and profile you already own the 'perfect' demo canopy in a Spectre. Without more detail about what you are looking for in terms of performance and wingloading it's going to be really hard for anyone to offer constuctive suggestions. For example, you could take a Jalbert Parafoil accuracy canopy and demo the pitcher's mound on a regular basis (as long as your body would take the landings, that is) - that's F-111 ... or you could take a Spectre at 1:1 or thereabouts and do damn near anything with it except fly it straight down. If it's strictly a demo canopy you;re looking for, I doubt you'll wear out an F-111 main before you exhaust your demo supply. However, there is absolutely no questioning that after a few hundred jumps an F-111 will not be nearly as crisp as it was when new. I fly F-111 at just over 1:1 with many hundreds of jumps and it likes to thump me down at anything less than full drive. If finances are a consideration, a high quality used ZP with new lines is likely to serve you better than new F-111. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Not M.S. Ferrari had an 'uncharacteristicly' slow start this season (read: possible fix to keep things interesting at the end?) and now it seems that there are other equally strong teams. Bridgestone, also, seems to have lost its advantage in the tire wars further eroding he dominance of the Red cars. Nigel Mansell, of his championship winning Williams, said 'an ape could win in this car' - or words to that effect. With no disrespect to MS and his brilliance, he no longer has a sure thing in Ferrari. My meagre wager would be on Montoya - more specifically on the BMW powerplant over the Mercedes. Williams have not had a recent win and the Red cars will be in their best form at Monza. This leaves only the US (well balanced) and Japan (handling) to go to clinch the cup. I say Montoya has the edge at US due to his Indy experience and Japan will come down to a reliability issue. Dare I contempate a "Senna/Prost incident" for the cup?? -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Thanks Squeak - I've done the download and am looking forward to killing a few persistent spammers off my list. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)

Hi Richard! Don't be annoyed, rather consider yourself as 'having gotten away with one' even if it wasn;t so pretty. Indeed I have been there ...once as a student at about jump #15 or so. Similar numbers - a storm front 'just blew in' ... and believe me in the fall at Gimli this can happen. I was still on radio (always, until off student status) and the DZO had the console. He directed me very professionally including a phrase something like 'Dave the wind conditions have changed a LOT and you need to do EXACTLY as I tell you even if it sounds wrong'. "Strange" was essentially holding until about 600 ft then running and into a toggle 180 right over the target, which I hit - my 'Beer' hook turn as it were. The JM agreed with the DZO that 'we all got away with one'. Without radio direction I'd have been in exactly your position. It sounds like you did very well. -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney)