Newbie

I knew there had to be a valid reason, thanks mate "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

If you don't live near the coast? Thoughts? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

It makes packing a doddle. Just wondering why more canopies don't seem to have colour coded lines? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Where did you start AFF? How far into it are you? How have you found it so far? Why are you now going to go to Spain? Just for the weather? Do you have video and log book briefs of all current jumps to take out there with you? I did all my AFF in Spain, plus another 20 jumps, then about another 10 when i got back at my old dz before winter came in. I went back there 4-5 months later and it was fine, they said just get up and jump which i did. It is dependent on many things. My advice is put it off until the spring, unless you are confident you have the time, ability and finances to do more than just your AFF and a few consols. Coming back to the UK with AFF and a few consols completed at a variety of different places could cause you a few issues. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

What she said. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Thanks for the advice (genuinely). I doubt i will ever see myself as a skydive "god". I don't want to get complacent in this sport, as i know what lies ahead for me if i do so. WHat i do want to know is how i can progress cautiously and safely. I'm getting very much a case of "carry on flying your current canopy longer" so that's exactly what i'm going to do. I'm certainly not arrogant to the point of ignoring the advice of those with 1000's of jumps more than i have

oh man, this has got me in stiches. It's hilarious! Goats rock! http://www.ebaumsworld.com/faintinggoats.html "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

We pay £20 or £19 if bought on a block of 10, which is about $35 but i'm in the UK so i don't think you can compare like for like. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

That's strange, we have Americans jumping here permanently and coming through all the time "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Mate, people just don't want you to hurt a) yourself b) yourself and/or your mate who you are flying with c) anyone else on the load. I'm not trying to say you don't know what you are doing, people are naturally just concerned for you, your friend and others who will be in the air. If you are going to give it a try, listen above all to what the CCI and instructors there might tell you, specifically those who are experience ff coach level instructors. If there are none, think about trying this somewhere else, where you can get advice from people who understand free flying. If you are near Sibson, i will gratefully spend time introducing you to the CCI, his brother and other experienced ff'ers with many thousands of jumps more than myself who know the dangers and can offer good guidance. Reading posts here and/or watching instructional videos is not enough - you need a full and proper briefing on what you are going to be doing, and from people that understand what can happen. If you are ok at the dz, and get a good brief, what i did at first was to have a friend act as a reference point while i tried hd. This way you can a) stay on heading and b) ascertain if you are front/back sliding. They should just fall down the tube and not move. It is not advisable for them to be too close to you, neither is it a good idea for them to be directly opposite to you - if you go hd and face them, tilt onto your back and keep them directly in your line of view/flight, you could end up tracking into them. Keep them at a slight offset angle, so they can act as a reference point, but you won't endanger them by potentially sliding straight into them. I'm still just learning HD, but i made sure i was FF1 and could be decent head up and comfortable in not corking before i even began to get into hd and that was after i had 200 jumps. Make sure you rig is super tight too, have someone look at it before hand. My post above is just my thoughts on this situation, doesn't mean i think it's a good idea. Again, i would agree with what has been said and speak to a coach at this dz who will take you up and show you how to do this properly - it will be a much more effective learning tool, and above all, be safer. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

I like all those suggestions, but how could you leave out Stripes! D'OH! /slaps wrists Also add Ghostbusters to that list while we are talking about Ramis and Murray colab's. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

facking hell. Ok so i guess my cam will no doubt end up going the way of yours. Anyway if you could let me know what they do to the cam, i'd really appreciate it, thanks mate "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Was this definitely a C33:23 error - mine was giving C31:23 for a while - see this thread for more info and help: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1726587;search_string=c31%3A;#1726587 It does it totally at random moments. It's a problem with the heads i'm sure - they might need servicing, but i don't want to spend the best part of $300 to get this done, so i just change tapes/remove the battery if they don't eject, then pop in a new tape and normally i'm good to go. Please let me know what the results of the repair were, and what work exactly was done when you get yours back. Many thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Hi, top of my list would be to land consistently and safely i know that much LOL! Seriously, aside from a little increased penetration from having a higher wing loading, i would like mainly just to have a canopy thats responsive and fun to fly, like my current one, and that isn't going to kill or injure me. Eventually i would like to progress into swooping but i'm in no hurry for that, the main thing is i want to make sure my downsizing is slow and cautious (in lieu of the fact i don't have many jumps and i also have the winter lay off period etc). I'm thinking this could be something to look into maybe next year, after i have 300 jumps with it? What do you guys think? I think this season i'll carry on enjoying it and think about it when i have the weather on my side next year "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Is it only you and your mate on the load then? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

you want to jump with someone who is trying HD, so why does it matter if you are in an uncongested area of air space? If you are doing a 2 way, are you not now automatically in a congested area? Closing speeds - as everyone keeps saying - are much faster than flat flying. You also have another 2 axis to think about. Even if you are solo'ing and thinking you are perfectly HD but actually sliding up the line of flight at 40 or 50 mph, you must understand how that can be bad right? And i'm not just talking about how it's bad for you, i'm talking about your responsibility to do your bit to make sure you are not endangering anyone else on your load. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Why have you described how to let this guy experiment with trying his headdown while he is now perfectly lined up for potentially front and back sliding right up the line of flight? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Fast Times was on tv last night, coincedentally! It seems like you are referring to "cult 80's style classics" right? What about: Raiders of the Lost Ark Back to the Future Lost Boys Weird Science The Goonies Risky Business Caddyshack The Blues Brothers Trading Places Big Heathers Pump Up the Volume God, there really is not much i miss about the 80's but growing up as a teenager during them and watching some of these movies late at night, growing up (especially the likes of the Breakfast Club and Ferris Buellers Day Off) makes me reminisce about how much i miss those times! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

200 jumps is not a lot of jumps to put on a canopy. What's the rush with swapping? Chuck I wasn't sure if 200 jumps was a small amount or an alright amount of jumps to think about downsizing. I'm not really in a rush, i just want to make sure my downsize progression is slow and methodical. Of course, if people think it's not enough jumps to think about it yet, i want to hear that and get an idea of when i should think about it etc

Thanks bill and hookitt. I perform at least one thing (minimum) off of your checklist bill on every descent, especially flat turns to try and keep the muscle memory there if i ever need them. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Congrats!

Good points, thanks for the advice. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Congrats! Looking forward to seeing the first pics of the lucky so-and-so's who get to test fly the sucker! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

A tracking jump the other weekend had a slight intentional turn that put us downwind of the dz too far (it was quite fast). 4 of us landed off, and i only made it back as far as i did (which was just over the road from the dz) because i pulled higher than the others. It's times like that i could have done with the increased penetration. I don't want to drastically downsize, just something to give me a little more forward drive is all. Ideally i would like the same characteristics as my current canopy but it's been discontinued. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

A little over 200 jumps on my Hornet 190 (loaded at 1:1), which is a semi eliptical canopy that i love and thoroughly enjoy. What would a safe and sound next canopy choice be for me? Any S & TA's or equivalent give me an idea of choices/guidance? I want something a little faster so i can get better penetration, but am not looking to get into swooping anytime soon. Many thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts