Newbie

ah ok, thanks for clearing it up "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

________________ thanks for the help. Regarding what you said above though, that article you just posted up said not to do this in case the bridle is/gets misrouted around the harness and then you cant cutaway into clean air, deploying into a mess behind you. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

is there one article online that details what steps are necessary to avoid them, both short and long? Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

good point hadnt thought of it like that. Sort of like a masonic handshake type deal eh "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

is there some significance? I mean it basically tells a skydiver you are a skydiver (which they will know anyway as you're at a dz, jumping) or it tells a non skydiver you are a skydiver (thats if they ask what the thing is around your neck) - is this the main reason, to show people you jump out of planes? Seems a bit pointless really. Anyone care to enlighten me? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

ok so when we (non birdmen) exit, we fall for 10 secs or so before terminal. Once terminal is hit, you dont really feel like you fall anymore because the wind is pushing so hard from below. However, when thinking about it, now that you lot (birdpeople) have such slow vertical speed, does it feel like you are in a constant downward fall? Do you have a prolonged effect of "stomach flip" on exit? I figured there would be a different feel because of the less vertical speed, which would equate to less air resistance on the body and therefore a prolonged feeling of falling. ANyway am i way off on this? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

is this something that is normally done and if so at what stage should you grab and pull them, and in what direction should they be pulled? The reason i ask is because some jumps back, my canopy opened only on the left hand side, and the right remained uninflated and somewhat collapsed. I was put into a fairly hard right turn and began pumping the toggles pretty furiously thinking i was going to give it a few tries before going to Plan B. Anyhoo, this seemed to sort it out - the right side just sort of popped open almost all at once and it was fine, but i was a little shaken up. Back on the ground one of the gear hire guys said if this happened again to grab the rear risers and pump them to help inflate the cells.....i instinctively reach up for the risers but usually i dont pull down/apart on them i just watch the canopy while i finish my count, then grab the toggles and give the old 1-2 pump action. Do you guys pump rear risers to help inflate cells? Is this pretty standard? What is it actually doing? At what point should i reach up and pump them and do you pull them down (as in toward your shoulders) or laterally apart, or a combo of both? i know it sounds stupid, but if you pump the risers at too early a stage of canopy inflation, can you induce malfunctions of any kind? Thanks for the advice all "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

so far i've burnt through about $4000 in 2 months. Yes, that has bought me my AFF course, another 20 jumps and a brand new rig from South Africa, but i still have to buy a CYPRES (well not have to, but i want to), my alti, suit, helmet my WARP/FS coaching jump tickets, my regular jump tickets etc. So like, when does this thing start paying for itself? As far as i can tell, being a video guy is about as close as i can get to getting this thing to pay its way for some part (other than a packer, but then i want to get paid to jump, not paid to kneel down packing chutes for 12 hours a day). Other than that its finding a different job that pays more (which is sort of the opposite of what i want to do i.e. quit the office and get out the city), or splitting from the girl and going back onto my low cost ramen diet again (neither an option i want to consider right now) Anyone got any ideas? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

as in what type of flying? Im fairly new to the sport (so someone please correct me if im wrong) but im going on the basis that free flying only properly emerged as a style in its own right circa 1995? Cheers! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

i go flat at 270+ mph doing speed dives and pull around 2G at that time. not really a big deal. stan. yeah but im talking about the actual exit part - how do you exit a door at 200+ mph (or even 170 for that matter?) What does that feel like too - to go from zero relative wind, to wind in excess of 200mph? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

man thats got to be something else. How do you even do that? Even at 178mph, thats got to be pretty goddamned hard. Anyone done it before care to enlighten me? Anyone going to do it on friday? How much are jump tickets for that anyway. 14k in 4.5 mins is something else too! "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

is the site down due to high volumes of traffic from people like me who are sat at work, wanting to check the webcams? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

what the HECK are you selling? "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

Thanks Jan! http://www.makeithappen.com/spsj/index.html "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

yup its one of those open ended ones, but advice would be appreciated. Im saving up some money so i can quit my current life and just jump alot, either end of this year or start of next. I reckon i will have enough to make about 200 (non coached) jumps before i start to starve and then will have to work again. If someone handed you a couple hundred jump tickets for any dz in the world, where would you go? Stuff thats important (in no particular order, other than probably safety awareness/attitude and cost of jumps being first) includes air for buck (max alti), great facilities, views, safety awareness, training ,weather, surroundings, people etc etc - all the usual stuff that comes to mind when being able to pick the ideal DZ. I only have 30ish jumps and want to just spend as long a time jumping without working as i can, having fun and learning some RW and free fly skills. Thanks all "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

besides the obvious of course. Is that a glider? Damn that looks like fun. "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

ALthough this is a camera qeusrtion, its a freefly camera question, so thought i would post here too - i am looking at getting a second hand PC5. I cant jump with a camera yet, but i want a good camcorder anyway for general on the ground use, and i know the PC5 is pretty widely used amongst the free fly community. Can someone let me know the pros/cons with this model - will it become obsolete amongst the camera flying/FF community anytime soon? Thanks all "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

hello - i am looking at getting a second hand PC5 for filming some free fly. I cant jump with a camera yet, but i want a good camcorder anyway for general on the ground use, and i know the PC5 is pretty widely used amongst the free fly community. Can someone let me know the pros/cons with this model - will it become obsolete amongst the camera flying/FF community anytime soon? Thanks all "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

ok - wasn't sure which forum should go, so im trying a few.... I want to buy an RW suit so i asked on the local uk.rec site, and mentioned i didn't want anything too fancy because i wanted to learn some basic RW skills to prep me for freefly. I want to get my FS1 basically, before i even think about trying to sit. Now someone replied and said "why waste time learning RW if you want to get into freefly - you will have to unlearn everything that RW/flat flying teaches you" Is this a valid point - obviously it seems like it, but i have done a fair bit of research and most top free flyers seem to agree its good to have RW skills, at least to FS1 level before you learn ff, just so you have an idea of how you movement affects your relationship with others in the air, which seems like another valid point. What do you guys suggest - RW or not RW? Really, i have no interest in RW at all - i mean, i think doing 10 or 20 jumps of it would be fun, espeically if i had a few mates up there with me, but i have no interest in turning points at all, so im approaching it as "something fun to, but with the emphasis being on acquiring skills that will be useful for what i really want to get into". ANy advice from people who flat AND ff (or did flat and NOW FF) out there will be really appreciated. Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

ok - wasn't sure which forum should go, so im trying a few.... I want to buy an RW suit so i asked on the local uk.rec site, and mentioned i didn't want anything too fancy because i wanted to learn some basic RW skills to prep me for freefly. I want to get my FS1 basically, before i even think about trying to sit. Now someone replied and said "why waste time learning RW if you want to get into freefly - you will have to unlearn everything that RW/flat flying teaches you" Is this a valid point - obviously it seems like it, but i have done a fair bit of research and most top free flyers seem to agree its good to have RW skills, at least to FS1 level before you learn ff, just so you have an idea of how you movement affects your relationship with others in the air, which seems like another valid point. What do you guys suggest - RW or not RW? Really, i have no interest in RW at all - i mean, i think doing 10 or 20 jumps of it would be fun, espeically if i had a few mates up there with me, but i have no interest in turning points at all, so im approaching it as "something fun to, but with the emphasis being on acquiring skills that will be useful for what i really want to get into". ANy advice from people who flat AND ff (or did flat and NOW FF) out there will be really appreciated. Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

while i won't be attending the WFFC, this was good advice none the less. Could you please explain flat turns for me though, as i have no idea what they are or how to do them and i want to get an idea asap. Thanks "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

from altitude i mean. I have only seen Lodi, Empuriabrava and the UK (Hinton). Having done all but 2 of my freefalls from Empuria, i think i have been thoroughly spoilt for views before i have even started in this thing......... "Skydiving is a door" Happythoughts

oops - should have clarified - i know how yto get into messages that get sent - what i couldnt work out was how to get into OLD PM's that i had been sent. I got it now though (control panel etc)

get into my private messages that people have sent me?? This is driving me nuts!

hi all - just was wondering if i could get your guys opinions on some gear im going to check out tomorrow. Im not sure if this should have gone into the gear section, but seeing as most of you guys check both, i thought i would post this here. I have 30 jumps, and did my AFF on a 240 sized canopy, subsequently downsizing to a PD (not sure which) 200, and alternating between that and a an Icarus Saffire 209. Anyhoo, im about 5ft 10, 165-170lbs unclothed (not sure what that is out the door) but i saw an add today for a Javelin J4(few years old) with a Spectre 190 (50 jumps) and a PD reserve 170 (no jumps). Complete with CYPRES (5 years old, needs new bats) a Z1 and a Protrack for about $3000 (£2200). Anyway i think this seems like a good deal and i would certainly take it to a rigger if it looks like its in good condition, but based on my dimensions and my desire to do my FS1 and some formation jumps then move into freefly, could you guys let me know what you think of this rig?Does it seem like a good price (im assured it is in excellent condition), and more importantly, when i have done some FS and want to get into FF, will the Javelin be ok? I was told today by 2 different CCI's that i should and shouldnt get this - based on the canopy size. One said i would under load it and i should be looking at a 150 or 170 MAX (which i thought was downsizing me and my ability too quickly) andf the other CCI said although i might get bored of it (i prefer very mellow canopy rides, no spirals - i like the view too much and something that will just perform well and get me to where i need to be), that it would be perfect for what i need - obviously im somewhat confused. If anyone has any good advice, as ever, i wouldgreatly appreciate it. Also, what should i look for/check when i do the initial pre-rigger inspection tomorrow? Thanks to all who can help me out!