aesalon

you're right, i think i'll try a lot of different canopies before i decide. my only concern was the money i'd save by just buying one as soon as possible. i have read that its a fast canopy used by lots of experienced canopy pilots. i also read that its good for learning to swoop with, which i realize i'm not ready for yet. performance designs is somewhat discouraging towards novices using it in their description of the conopy. you're right though. good advice. thanks.

wow, that's a very responsible website. despite the disclaimer, they make no description of the actual procedures involved in swooping. i suppose they really want to paint a wholesome picture of the sport. and they don't want to be to blame for someone getting hurt or killed by going out and trying it based only on things they've read. perfectly understandable. even admirable. wasn't really what i was after though. i suppose it's kind of like being a master illusionist. you don't get to learn the tricks untill you put in some time with the magicians first. more like being a biochemist though really. don't get to play with the deadly germs until you show that you won't knock over the test tube. thank you though, it was helpfull.

i got my license in '04. i didn't skydive again till '06. then i did 12 jumps. half of those were on a pilot 210. i plan to get back into skydiving much more seriously before too long here. i want to start by buying gear. in general, how suited is a sabre2 190 to a person of my experience and weight (180 lbs.). beforehand, i know that the standard answer is, "talk to the instructors at your DZ and have them evaluate your piloting skills." i will definitely do this when the time comes, and will probably rent for my first few jumps when i return to the sport. just wanted to hear some opinions on the sabre2 in general mostly.

can someone please explain to me the bare bones of actually performing a standard swoop. go into as much detail as you want. what you do with what riser or toggle at what point, and so on. also differences in approach or any differences in gear. don't worry, i won't try it based only on advice given here. i'm only an armchair skydiver for the time being unfortunately. also, maybe someone has a good link that will explain it all.

what he was we can never know for sure (it was two thousands years ago). what he is now, above all else but among other things (some of them positive), is a heavily exploited legend. exploited for money and power, with ignorance and violence as a final product. blame it on rome. so-called saul/paul especially.

i'm trying to imagine the barney song sung by a rapper to a heavy beat i shoot you you shoot me...

"C) I'm a little nuts, and really don't fear a thing, so I knew skydiving would be a blast... even if it killed me, so I went AFF." i think its too easy to assume that fear or lack of it has anything to do with a person choosing to learn by AFF or S/L. also some DZ's don't give the option of doing either one without first doing a tandem. and again, there's the money issue. some people just want to get their license as soon as possible, without saving or taking a loan, so they go with S/L. there are people who learned by S/L and also people who did a tandem first and went onto either AFF or S/L, who are in fact much more fearless than those who went straight to AFF. for one thing, the whole culture of "no fear" among frat boys and the like is a strong enough form of peer pressure to make people do things they might not have done if they knew that their buddies or their girlfriend would never find out. keeping up the fearless image looks like a full time job in some cases. i would not say i'm totally without fear, and i definitely wouldn't call myself nuts, but so far, i have only felt peacefull at all times when skydiving, even when making my first off landing due to a bad spot by the pilot in a sturdy high altitude wind. and yet i was required to do a tandem before i got my license at the dz where i learned on S/L. here's the kicker though, the whole thing cost me less than $1400. in my case, none of it has anything to do with fear or a lack thereof.

High Flight Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You havn't dreamed, wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there I've chased the shouting wind along and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace, Where never lark, or even eagle, flew; And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. John Gillespie Magee, Jr. Anyone who's too macho or homophobic to enjoy this, just try to imagine it being recited by a rapper to heavy beat, you'll survive. anyone else know some good ones?

steak and guiness pie.

good points

in your other post on this topic, the AFF description reads, "screw the training wheels i went straight to AFF." in this post it reads, "i always wanted to skydive so i went straight to AFF." it seems like these aren't quite fair. the only reason i went with static was because it was so much cheaper. i was working as a landscaper at the time so i wasn't exactly rich. i've always wanted to be a skydiver but i'm not a trust fund baby so aff wasn't an option for me (i know that's harsh, but you have to admit, some AFF students probably are trust fund babies, and probably almost no static line students are these days). static line really is a kind of training wheels, but that doesn't mean people who choose AFF are necessarily more confident. i imagine more than a few AFF students were a lot more scared on their first jump than a lot of static line students would have been if they could have afforded AFF. static line forces you to focus only on your canopy skills at first, and that can't be bad. also, its old school and old school rocks! all that being said, i always wished that i could have afforded to go straight to AFF and without doing a tanden first.

hey, i'm new to the forum. i learned to skydive in early 2004. but since then i haven't exactly been extremely focused... on anything. never have been come to think of it. i was in the middle of a several years long motorcycle journey at the time. i've lived and worked in many states and i've spent my free time trying lots of different fun stuff. i've pursued countless ambitions and realized a few of them. now i'm finding that i'd like to get back into skydiving. where i live now, the nearest drop zone is on puerto rico. rather that waste money flying there on the weekends i'm just going to save money for a year or two and go back to arizona and go at it full bore: buy gear, set up camp, spend time in the tunnel, do workshops, take courses, whatever i can do to get the most out of it. in the meantime i expect the forums may be a good way to stay current on the theory side of it all. not to mention its something to keep me looking ahead to to all the fun i'll be having once i get back to eloy. one of my favorite things about skydiving is the strong sense of community. few other sports give you the feeling of having a second family. i look forward to learning forward to learning from you all and enjoying stories of your jumps as i temporarily skydive from my armchair here. my name is travis by the way.

muay thai is effective. but it would be more effective in practical situations if supplemented with brazilian jujitsu. thats basically what mma is, a hybridization of those two discplines. but mma lacks effectiveness in real situations because it doesn't teach head butts, small joints locks, eye gouges, pressure points, etc. krav maga does teach these things. ultimately the most effective martial art is the one that comes naturally to a person who is in excellent physical condition, has practiced multiple disciplines, is mean as hell, and has sharp teeth and a high tolerance for pain. krav maga is pretty cool. muay thai is especially great for staying in shape. my favorite is brazilian jujitsu.

i went with static line because it cost almost half of what aff did. i would have preferred to do aff though at the time. in retrospect, i'm glad i went with static line because of the focus on canopy skills. and because its old school and anything old school is neato. this is going to sound stupid but what does wuffo mean?