Newbie

man i know i have only been jumping my own pack jobs for the last 60 jumps or so, but i'm getting approximately 0% consistency on my openings. When i toss the PC i have no idea if i will get a slammer opening, a 600ft sniveller, closed end cells/open end cells, on/off heading openings etc. In fact one thing i noticed about packing, is the more i do it, the worse it seems to be getting! I'm mainly talking about when i throw the thing in the bag - at first i was packing it out nicely into the corners and what not, getting it all even - now, it seems to be looser on the left side, more to stuff in at the end etc - i guess this is whats giving me the lack of consistency, but then you would think if im doing the same sort of pack job all the time now, i would know what to expect, but not the case! Is it normal to not have this consistency when jumping your first 100 or so packjobs? Maybe i haven't ironed out my technique properly yet or something? Thanks for any comments. Edited to add - PS it's a Hornet 190, loaded at 1:1 "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

about 72 hours or so. AFF levels over 24 hours, then 10 consols and a hop n pop over the next 2 days. Good old sunny Spain!

i just got back from Empuria in Spain - there was a German skysurfer there (relatively inexperienced) an Australian girl (pretty experienced) and Babylon skysurf coaching a LOT. It may have lost momentum, but i wouldn't say it's dead by any stretch. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

it's pretty white in the UK, as in like 99%. Still at my dz, i see the odd Far East/South East Asian, Indian Asian, black, South American etc jumper and it's nice. I for one like diversity in what i do, and like to meet a diverse a range of people as i can in all of lifes activities, not just jumping - it's just more interesting like that. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

he gave it to me but i was drunk and lost it. Thanks all "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

I have been here twice - just got back from the 2nd trip yesterday - i don't know whats happened to Christophe and the Base bar, but its now under different management and most people seem to just have a beer at the little Skybar cafe at the end of the day - lost a bit of its character as a result! Anyway its still a great place to jump, the earlier the better - winds and cloud generally will pick up around 1 or 2ish, and can stay up for the rest of the day, although that's not to say you won't get a string of perfect days, just as you can get a string of not so good days - the most important thing is to know your limitations - if they put up a 100 jumps limit, think of it as atleast twice that - that's what the locals and some dz packers/staff have told me. If you don't see coaches/Babylon going up, there is a reason for that! Be aware of turbulence from trees when in a north holding area landing approach. It can make the last 20ft quite choppy. Make sure people are aware of how long to leave for adequate separation - it's amazing as well how many of the instructors there just say to watch for a 45 degree separation angle between the previous group and your exit. Anyway - watch people and make sure you have good horizontal separation - be careful in the Porter not to get handles yanked - it's a bit of a squeeze in there, but generally fine. Make sure you keep 90 degrees to the beach for 5-8 seconds, after opening before turning back to the dz (as the guy before me forgot to do - tracking to separate and then seeing a canopy open below you and turn right straight towards you is never a good sight) - if you feel worried, make sure you tell people in a nice way, so that they know the deal - i think too many people get on the plane without knowing what other groups are doing, not bothering themselves with the right exit order, and not leaving enough separation between groups and after opening. Also, don't forget to check that you aren't out over the sea or "a burning field" as Ippo told me - i thought he was joking, but as he rightly pointed out the pilots can make mistakes as the spot is done with GPS, so just have a quick check down to make sure you are in the right place - check before run in especially if there are clouds high up - you WILL be getting out without being able to see through the bottom if cloud is thick so it helps to know you are in roughly the right place for peace of mind when getting out in thick cloud. Keep your head on a swivel after opening especially if going out the Otter - there will be up to about 22 other people up there with you all working their way back to what is not the biggest landing area. Work out where you want to land out before you are at 500 ft looking for somewhere - there are quite a few hazards about (powerlines, canals etc) so know where they are and have a plan b before you get too low. What else? Um, yeah the nightlife in Empuria is decent - most head to the Surf Inn which normally gets going from like 12 or 1am. Passa Rella the bike club on the beach is crazy - i went there on my last night which was pretty quiet, but have heard there is some craziness that goes on there, especially on the weekends in the summer, so that would be worth checking out. The Orange Kiwi is a good place to go to grab some food, and Bruno Brokken's restaurant the Oasis, on the beach front is good too. Anyway yeah, in summing up, its a great dz - cranking out 10-12 jumps a day is doable, and the view is amazing - sunset loads can leave you lost for words to describe the scene to someone who hasn't experienced them. Just remember to stay heads up, know your limitations, and be safe and you'll have a great time!

did you get any protrack data out of this flight? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=190156;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25; http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=281369;search_string=student;#281369 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=257564;search_string=student;#257564 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=248652;search_string=student;#248652 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=292945;search_string=student;#292945 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=231644;search_string=student;#231644 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=607042;search_string=student;#607042 "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

yeah thats what i normally do when im moving the rig in my wheelie suitcase thing to and fro the dz, but when i go away i will have to wear it like a backpack due to luggage considerations and lack of rig bag. I will just have to play around and see if i can use the chest strap to tie it off and still sling it over my shoulders, but yeah, at least it will save me £15 and the unbelievable-but-still-potentially-possible issue of jumping with my handle tied off "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

besides the obvious i mean. I wonder how he trains the bird to follow him down. Is this the guy from Willing to Fly? Whatever the deal is, it's pretty cool. Guy and bird BASE pic "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

its just a velcro cover (almost like a beer holder, but not quite as fun) that goes around the reserve handle to prevent it being pulled. I saw a Javelin one recently, but want one to prevent issues while the rig is in transit, particularly when im walking around with it on my back as i don't have a rig bag. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

cheers "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

some form of back tracking i take it? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Cheers "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

thanks gus, i think my firewall stops flash heavy sites. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

how much are the basic suits, and whats the turnaround time? Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

gus that link takes me to a blank screen with some words floating about ("welcome..........human flight website") and that's it. It just hangs there. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

do they do 1 pieces? Whats the cost/design like? What's their email addy too? [url "http://www.matter-airwear.com/"] This one[url] doesn't work "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

http://www.eyes-in-the-sky.com It just says contact your dealer! Any info on availability/price would be cool, thanks. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

hi yeah i figured it was something to do with infringing on another group/jumper etc - thanks. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

i agree with this, but would also add that JM's are not the be all and end all - i STILL hear JM's saying to jumpers at my dz on my load to wait "until the previous group is at a 45 degree angle" when asked how long to leave for separation. Bottom line, it's all about distance, horizontal that is. Aks billvon about this if you like, or kallend, they can get pretty indepth about how it works, but they have simple little formulas that can be used to estimate 1000ft of separation. And don't let people shouting "GO!" behind you put you off - as long as you aren't leaving excessive time between groups, you need to make sure you leave a proper amount of separation. People shouting "GO!" are most likely to be the people streaking past like in the original post IMO. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

i've just started jumping my own packjobs on a canopy thats brand new (well got like 40 jumps on it now or something) and always seems to spill out the bag quite a lot even after bungees have been stowed. I thought it might be a problem, but i dont think it really matters if there is excess canopy coming out the bag (someone please correct me if im wrong here), more important i think as Aggiedave said, to minimise hard openings/mals is how it has been packed, lines layed out, folds, slider position etc all of which im very wary of. Does anyone else, once the slider has been quartered, grab the edge of the tail and literally fold it over and then under the C and D line groups? My packer told me this will reduce the likelihood of a lineover. I trust him so i do it, after all, he would know better than i would, and it seems to make sense when i think about it. Also when squeezing the air out, imagine the lines in the canopy, even feel them a little when folding the canopy in at the sides, and make sure you are not messing them about too much in there, and just try to pull the top skin of the canopy and tuck that in, rather than grabbing a great big chunk of anything and tucking that under. Anyway i don't know much, i just started myself, but hey - as everyone at the dz says, at least they seem to be working right! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

hi - whats that mean? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

how many jumps does she have? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

LOL! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts