davelepka

That's what parroting is. You've taken advice that you were given for your situation, and passed it on to another jumper, for whom it may or may not apply. Your level of experince had nothing to do with my undermining you. If you had twice as many jumps as me, and gave the same advice, I still would have undermined you. It's not personal, just business.

First off, you replied to my post, and I am not one with the Pilot problem. Second, if you read the original post, you'd clearly see that this was the first 90 he had done, and was intentionally high and going to double fronts. While this is not the ideal method, it is a conservative way to get into making turns onto final. Your suggestion that he should 'recover naturally' and that he's 'losing speed' is short sighted and way off base. Please avoid giving advice about high performance canopy flight until you yourself have established a level of proficiency. Parroting things you heard on the DZ, been told on the DZ, or read about on the internet is a sure fire way to end up giving bad advice. Each situation is unique, and requires a complete understanding in order to give the correct guidance.

First off, I agree with the other Dave, you need a little more steering line. Just beacuse you can use double fronts without a problem, the higher speeds you can reach by doing turns may be revealing a problem. Second, and more importantly (I think) if you're trying to learn to swoop, switching between two different model and size canopies is a big mistake. The lack of consistancy from one canopy to the other will present an obstacle to your learning, and possibly put you at risk. A manuver that might be safe on your Sabre could put you in a dangerous position if you tried it with your Pilot. I would suggest that you jump one canopy as your primary, and use the other as a back up and avoid swooping the back up canopy.

You are correct on all points. The solution to this is simple. Unless you have recieved a complete briefing from a DZ employee on the procudres for opening and closing the door and the policies for when and how far to open the door, simply decline to accept the responsibility of operating the door. There are no aircraft I am aware of where only one person had access to the door, Some are tighter than others, and in these cases, you may need to alter the climbout for your jump, or the exit order to move yourself out of the 'hot seat', but it is the correct course of action. Another thing to keep in mind is that the person nearest the door is also the person who will be checking the spot, and scanning for traffic. Additionally, in the case of an emergency, the person nearest the door is responsible for operating the door in accordance with the commands of the pilot. These responsibilities should not be put on low time or visiting jumpers.

Let me get this straight, you bought a complete rig, but it was shipped minius the main, risers, and d-bag? It almost sounds like a cutaway and the guy lost the main. Either way, that's bullshit, and regardless of the e-mails you have or whatever, $3500 is in the price range for a complete used rig, not for a used container and reserve. You could spend $3500 on a new container and reserve, but you'd be getting custom sizes/colors, and just about every option available. To suggest that any used container and reserve would go for that money is just plain wrong. If the jackass is trying to tell you the main wasn't part of the deal, than ask him where YOUR risers, d-bag and pilot chute are. Those items come with the container, not the main. If he is legitimately trying to suggest that your $3500 did not include the main, he should have no problem sending you those items which go with the container. At this point, I would contact the DZ where the rig was assembled, and see if they still know the guy. Also, I know the mods removed the complete address for the guy, but remind us all of the city and state he used for his contact info, and let's see if we can find a jumper or two who knows this guy, or where he currently jumps. If you can find a home DZ for the guy, get in touch with them as well. Either way, this fucknut owes you a canopy or at least $1000. Anyone out there know this guy?

Leave your RSL connected, disconnect the Stiletto until you have a couple hundred more jumps. "Flying an opening" is something you learn to do over the course of (here it comes) a couple hundred jumps. That's why in the begining you jump canopies that would open straight with a sack of potatos in the harness. Once you become less of a potato, you can jump a less stable canopy, because that's what the Stiletto is, a canopy with very little stability on the roll axis. Good if you know what to do with it, a real handfull if you don't.

With regular skydiving gear, 1500ft. With a Fox 205 (BASE canopy) free packed into an old student rig, 500ft.

I hate to derail this thread from talking about everyone's 'tip' but.... If she has a daughter of high shcool age, then the woman has got to be in her 30's, so she lived for 30-some years in one culture, and is a dating a man from the same culture, and you're surprised that she's adhering to the norms of that culture? If she's only been in this counrty a short time, you have to wonder, how many men has she dated, and how might she have been exposed to the idea that sometimes it's a two-way street? Additionally, is the man paying a point of pride or manliness in her home country? If it is, than she might have been respecting you by letting you pick up the tab. With this in mind, I'd look at the kind of money you laid out, and how she approached it. If she never suggested any high-priced activities, and ordered modestly priced items from the menu, she might have just been doing what she was riased to do. If she always got the lobster, and expected you to lay out some big green every time you went out, and was after expensive gifts, then she might be a gold digging whore.

No, he shouldn't. If you look at his profile you'll see that he has 7 jumps. Being a bigger fella, that would put him at a 1 to 1 WL, and with 7 jumps, that is far too low. He should be jumping something closer to a 280. Back in the 80's those canopies were new, and when they were new it wasn't hard to land them softly. F-11 student canopies are anything but new. For starters, I don't think anyone is making all F-111 student canopies these days, or for the last 5 years or so. The end result is that even the newest F-111 student canopy has a few hard years on it already. The other problem with F-111 student canopies is that there is nobody keeping track of their performance. If you jump a Cruise Lite as your personal canopy, you see the performance from day to day, and when it starts to fall off, you know it because you're the same guy flying the canopy the same way, but the end result is different. Student canopies are jumped by different students every day. Each jumper will get a different result from the canopy, so watching them land doesn't really reveal the condition of the canopy. Addtionally, the students have no frame of refernce to make that type of judgement nor is their performance going to be consistant enough even if they do end up making 2 or 3 jumps on the same canopy. The end result is some really beat student canopies still in use. With a 170 lb guy, and 8 to 10 mph wind, a good PLF makes it seem like everything is OK. Switch that to a 200 or 210 lb guy, and take the wind away, suddenly the margin for error has become razor thin, and when students are involved, that type of margin is never good.

I have had toggles out in freefall many times, but they were all 12 or 14 years ago when the term 'freefly friendly' didn't exist, and almost everything was held together by velcro. The obvious solution is not to ignore gear problems. If something happens once, that's fine. If it happens twice, you should look into it. Three times is a serious problem that needs to be resolved before you jump the rig again. Knowingly going in to freefall, especially the higher speeds of freeflying, with a rig that has a track record of not performing properly is retarded. Mnay people don't like to think about this aspect, but freefly speeds are often in excess of the placarded deployment speeds on many canopies. An accidental deployment could really ruin your day. That said, if you do have a toggle out in freefall, there are ways to mitigate the damage. For a left toggle, grab the thing before you dump. Hold it out to the side as the canopy sits you up, and try to hold it about shoulder level after that to simulate the brake setting for a clean deployment. The right toggle is the real bitch. All you can do is be sure you are falling straight down, with no forward movement at all, and pitch the PC rearward as hard as you can. As for the deployment, just hope for the best. These techniques are only to be used well above your hard deck. If you have a toggle out, deal with the problem immediately, as every foot of altitude is your friend. Of course this information is in no way a replacent for using the proper gear, maintaining is well, and not ingnoring anything odd that happens more than once.

Have you been cleared to self jumpmaster? If not, then you should be fine. The instructional staff will be there to take care of the logistics, and I would be surprised if they did not take care to time your jumps when there is only one load in the air, and have you land in a specific area, most likely at the far end of the field. If you really think about it, without the guidance and oversight of your instructors, no student jumps would safe. Just like you count on them to watch out for you on a regualr weekend, you should be able to do likewise at a boogie. If you have any concerns about the situation in general, do what you would normally do and speak up, and if your instructors cannot explain things to your satisfaction, simply decline to jump at that time.

Well, the fact remains that he does indeed have 30% more jumps than you, and four times the number of years in the sport. It is a mathmatical fact that he has more time and experince in the sport than you do. In terms of canopy control, those factors outweigh you higher number of jumps per year in recent years. More jumps per year indicates a greater number of jumps per jumping day. All this does is point to you making many jumps in one day, at the same DZ, with the same weather and landing pattern for the whole day. Your skills would be better honed with more time in the sport, exposing you to a greater number of days (and conditions) as you progress. On this point, it's only a good deal if the canopy is a good fit for you. I know where there's a 79 Velo that hasn't been jumped in over a year, and I'm sure I could get it for a good price, however, that would put me at a WL of 2.6 which is too high for what I'm doing, therefore it is not a good deal. Additionally, having the smaller, overloaded canopy in the rig that you will jump less is a big mistake. Backup rigs should have either the exact same canopies, or larger. Having the same canopies is really the best way. This way both rigs are equal, and you truely have a backup rig. If they are different, you will pick a favorite and and up finding ways to jump that one instead of the backup, making the backup useless. If you cannot match the canopies, opt for a larger canopy in your backup rig. It's the one you will jump less, and the extra square feet will make up for your lack of time under that canopy. Not to mention that backup rigs only come out when you're really jumping hard, and when you're pushing yourself to make every load, the last thing you need is an extra challenge from a smaller, overloaded canopy. I'll make one last point - Stefan1983, I'm guessing your name is Stefan, easy enough. If 1983 happens to be your date of birth, you're the poster child for going in under a good canopy. You're right in the age range that qualifies as young, dumb, and full of cum, and that's not a good thing. You have a very short time in the sport, and seem to be on a tear to have and do everything right now, no waiting. This is a mistake. The one guy who posted had 40-some years in the sport. He started jumping before your parents where out of high school. Take that into account when you pass on the 'great deal' and get something that fits your needs a little better.

That's ture, if the follwing is true - You know the stall point of your canopy, and you are careful not to get to that point at anytime near the ground. On student canopies, you may not be able to stall the canopy at all if the steering lines are set long, or your arms were made short. Either way, keep the canopy flying at all times at any altitude lower than you would want to cutaway. Also, if you flare high, never put your hands back up. Ever. You can always stop your flare the moment you notice you are too high, holding your hands where they are at that time, and complete it when you get to a more appropriate altitude. Trying to put your hands back up and start over is a huge mistake that can end badly. Lastly, whatever altitude you flare at, be sure to finish the flare before you make contact with the ground, and be ready to perform a PLF.

Really? With the expection of a 7 year old review by Hook, you're the only one who appears to have a problem with the place, so who you are (and what connection you have with the place) is very relevant. As far as the sticker goes, who gives a shit? The USPA is a private organization, with it's fair share of supporters and detractors. Are you also outraged when you see the same format of sticker with the pee directed at a Ford or Chevy logo? It's not like the depiction is of peeing on an American flag, or a dis-abled veteran, but even then, this is a free county, and the owner of the aircraft is free to adorn it as he sees fit. Your position makes little sense. Anyone with any time in skydiving would surely be well past being offended by a sticker. Something has your panties in a bunch, and the fact that you're never registered or posted until now, and you refuse to reveal yourself really points to you as a shit stirrer. Stir it up pal, and then jam a big spoonfull of it right down your throat, because that's the only place it's going to be welcome.

That's a huge part of the problem. If you're looking up, chances are you'll never get there. You give up too much in the way of body position when you look up to ever recover. Rolling your shoulders, and pushing your legs down is all in an effort to make a big curve out of your body, so you cup air, and shoot it down your legs (for the most part). If you're looking up, you blow the whole effect. Here's a good approach - leave the plane 2 seconds after the base. Regardless of the group size, make sure you exit at that time. You'll get out and be high on the base, and you want to stay there. Keeping that height, track out 10 feet ahead of the base, and only then slowly lower yourself down toward the group, but try to stay 5 ft up from the base. By doing this, you force yourself to look down and slightly back to see the base, which allows you to use your head and shoulders to full effect when cupping air. It takes practice, and once you have the hang of it, you can get on level with the base, but until then plan to stay just above and keep your advantage. Another good point is to ask what type of tracking dive it's going to be. If it is a super flat, super high speed jump, maybe take a pass. If it's a more moderate speed and angle, then that's the one you'll be able to stay with and learn something. Be sure to try different suits as well. Different things work better for different people. Bigger guys usually benefit from some extra material, or booties if you have an RW suit.

Let's do a review of who you are. You just signed up to DZ.com, and it looks like this is your first post, but you left out your name, jump experience, and home DZ. Why don't you fill out your profile, and let us see who you are? You seem to have an axe to grind with this place. Any of the recent reviews of that DZ indicate that many first time jumpers had a great experince, and some even got licensed. Hook did not like the place, but that was back in '02. Maybe things are different now. Even if the reviews are bogus, written by the DZ staff as some have suggested, the fact remains that I've never heard about a rash of fatalities or injuries from the DZ, nor have I ever heard a jumper of any experience post that they had any problems with the place. Excpet for you, the brand new mystery man. As far as the sticker goes? Good for them. Last time I checked, this is America, and the guy who owns the plane gets to paint it any way he wants. I'm sure a Steelers fan wouldn't be happy to see a Cleveland Browns sticker anywhere on anything, but it's still just a sticker. Alright Husker, man up. Who are you, and what's your beef?

I'm all for waiting for the report from the czech authorities, but if you look at many of the points in the SE report, they are factual and could easily be proven flase if they indeed were false. SE would know for sure if the TM was certified to jump a DHT. That's a significant point, and one that SE would know for sure. Along those same lines, SE is the also the final authority on the 8 year inspections. They would know for sure if they had seen these rigs 8 years after production, and they had not. If the rigs had reserve repack cards, or there was any proof that the reserves has been repacked on any sort of regular basis (riggers log, etc), I'm sure they would have provided that to Ted during his visit. As it was, Ted saw no proof, and reported as such. If the rigs been inspected on a 25 jump interval, again, paperwork would have been presented to Ted. Again, no paperwork = no inspections. The only possibility is that the reserve repacks and 25 jump inspections were performed, but not at the specified interval, so the paperwork was withheld at the time of Ted's visit. Ted's only conclusion was that this work was never performed, when in reality it may have been done at some point at some other interval. Either way, the reports of an un-certified TM, rigs without an 8 year, and no proof of reserve repacks or 25 jump inspections remain factual. Regardless of what the czech authorities reveal, Ted's report is certainly an eye-opener.

After reading a few of the later posts, I'm seeing a great example of what I was talking about. There is a chance you may have been jumping gutter gear. Not that it is 'unsafe' but if you were jumping F-111 canopies, and they had been in service for awhile, then you would see reduced performance in the flare department. You may recall seeing a post or two endorsing a technique called the two-stage flare. What this entails is flaring to about half brakes (chest level) allowing the canopy to fly level for a second, and then completing the flare. Some feel this is easier to manage, as you have two oppertunities to get the timing right, and in some cases they may be right. If you are indeed jumping old F-111 student chutes, then they are sadly mistaken. The two stage flare does not apply to F-111, and all it would do is pile you into the ground even harder then a poorly timed one-stage flare. F-111 requires a well timed and forceful flare in order to be most effective. This is why I suggested getting your training on the day of your next jump, when the exact canopy you will be jumping and the conditions you will be jumping it in are known. I seem to recall you posting about much better landing performance out of a slightly different canopy on one of your jumps. If the DZ you are at has a mix of F-111 and Z-po canopies, then you will see vast differences between the two. I also seem to recall you mentioning that you fall like an anvil, meaning you're on the heavier side. This being the case, I would investigate the type of gear being offered at your DZ. What you are looking for is a 'zero porosity' canopy, or a 'hybrid' canopy (which has a zero porosity top skin, and F-111 bottom skin for easy packing). If the DZ you have been at does not offer these types of canopies, jump elsewhere for the remainder of your student jumps. Worn out F-111 student canopies may work OK for lighter students, but they are not a friends to the bigger boys. Try not to rely on just calling the DZ and asking. Any DZ is likely to tell you that their stuff will work just fine. Use your down time and DZ.com to network with some students and jumpers from surrounding DZs to find you what sort of gear they use for students. Some might feel this is a drastic step, however, consider that you have already had a few hard landings, and now that you have had a tib/fib break, you're more likely to have another. If old gear turns out to be the problem, you'll literlly be amazed at how easy it is to have a soft landing.

Some helpful tips, for sure, but what you really need is ask your instructor. With 8 jumps, you'll still be jumping with an instructor when you return. Be sure to mention to them that you had several hard langings, and ultimately hurt yourself on a hard landing. Let them know that you'd like to spend extra time talking about canopy control. Without a good knowledge base to work from (you only have 7 successful landings), your best training will take place on the day of your next jump. The exact canopy you will be flying and the weather for the day of your jump will factor into the training, and what you need to plan for. In the meantime, since you'll have some extra time on your hands, get Brian Germains book. It's really the best book out there, and well worth the price.

Here's your first lesson - never follow anyone, there's a fair chance they have no idea what they're doing. Granted, in the pattern, you will be following people in the sense that you're all going the same place, but don't follow them in the sense that you only turn when they turn. Back to your story, you need to seperate some of your pilot knowledge from your jumping. In a plane, in the same situation, the lead pilot would have added power on the long final, and made the runway, and you would have done the same. It's true, in that case, that if you turned a closer base, you would have cut off the other plane, but these are parachutes, and they work differently. Under canopy, if a guys flies out too far, he lands out there. There is no way to extend the glide. Let's say he was 200 ft ahead of you, and at the same altitude. If you felt like he was too far out, and you wanted to turn base ASAP, you could have. Let's say he turned base at the exact same time. Just for fun, let's say you both turned final at the excact same time. Picture the scene, you're both on final, facing the same way, at the same height, landing along the same line, but he's 200 ft behind you. Where's he going to go? He's going to a spot 200 ft behind your touchdown point. No harm, no foul. In your case, you followed him, and could have created harm to yourself with a low turn, and an off-field landing. It is an adjustment to make, but like others have said, there are no go-arounds, no way to add power, and there are several canopies all landing at once - all differences from airplanes. Another difference is that you have many runways to choose from. On an airport, there's generally one strip of runway that every pilot is using. On the DZ, you can always move laterally to create seperation. You can also land long or short to create seperation. If you really have to, you can even land cross-wind (but that creates some other traffic problems). Airplane piloting skills will help you flying canopies, but not all rules transfer. Without prior thought, you were correct to err on the side of safety, but spend a little time, and think about the dymanics, and you'll see how the differences apply.

Look pal, I don't know what you're driving at here, but by the way you have a response to every answer presented, you're obviously driving at something. For starters, any argument you have about 'harness turns' from simply having one leg or another forward is bullshit. Unless you have a WL up over 3.0 to 1, then moving your legs back and forth will not harness turn your canopy. Ever. Harness turns are accomplished by shifting your entire body weight from side to side, with the effects becoming more and more pronounced at higher WLs. If are experiencing directional problems on final, either you or your canopy are defective. Here's the way it works - sit square in your harness, with your hips facing the direction of travel. Keep your knees slightly bent, and your feet shoulder width apart. When contact with the ground is imminent, make the call to either bring your feet together and perform a PLF as per the instruction in the first jump course, or place one foot out in front of you and begin to walk or run based on your forward speed. If you are not sure which foot to lead with, do this - stand with your feet next to each other, and have a friend stand behind you and push you forward enough that you need to step forward to prevent yourself from falling. The foot that you extend forward is the foot you should lead with when landing. It varies from person to person, but the one you use to catch yourself during the test is the correct foot. If you want to do it differently, have at it. Just don't go trying to convince others to adopt your flawed methods, as they may end up injured (like you).

Your welcome. Really though, that advice applies to any sort of 'toy' in freefall. There's nothing specific about cameras that makes them more distracting in freefall that other items, it's just that cameras are the thing most people want to take into freefall. If you had asked about, let's say, a chest mounted GPS unit, the answer would have been largely the same, and for the same reasons.

Leave your iPhone on the ground. Focus your attention on all of things going on around you both in the plane, and of course, during the jump itself. Make another 50 jumps, and then if you want to lose your iPhone trying to shoot some shitty 'chest-eye' view video, then go for it.

Look man, I know that Lee was poking fun at your situation, but he's got a good point down at the core of what he's saying. I'm not sure whay anyone would be doing jumping at 2.1 if they're not a swooper, and they're not jumping a swooping canopy. I'm willing to admit that I make some trade-offs in my skydiving because I jump a canopy at that loading. In reality, if I wasn't swooping, I would notch the WL back a few points for sure. For a non-swooper, I can't see why anyone would want a WL much past 1.5 or 1.6. I know that on a few occasions where I had to land off, I would have really liked a few extra sqaure feet up there. Things did turn out fine, but I have 5000 jumps, and am very current and have been jumping 100 sq ft canopies for over ten years. But even with that experience, I clearly saw the use for more canopy. I think a 190 size canopy would be a better choice for you to shoot for. I also think that 10 or 15 jumps on a 280 student canopy, followed by a few on a 240, and then a 190 would be a smart approach. I am 100% sure that your skills from two years ago are a far cry from what they were. I see the difference in my skills after four months off for the winter, and then I see how much sharper I am at the end of the season. Currency is everything. Keep this n mind, if you took time off to have a baby, you're returning to skydiving with a different life circumstance. At 2.1, it only takes a slight mistake to generate an impact sufficient to snap a femur. Consider the time off of work, the medical bills, and the strain on your wife taking care of you and a baby. As much as I've skirted the issue, you are a big boy. Flying straight-in on a no wind day at 2.1 will produce a gorund speed much higher than you can run. Your chances for injury are much higher because fo this. Even at 1.5 you may be flying faster than you can run, but the margin will be less, and if you take spill, it will be that much easier to take. I'm not sure what else to say. You certainly have some time and jumps at the same WL you're talking about, but keep in mind that just becasue you got away with it then, doesn't mean it was the right choice or a good idea. Factor in the new addition to your family, and maybe you can see that this is a new chapter in your skydiving career, and you need to take a fresh approach to things.

Just some food for thought - have you been jumping for the last two years, or have been out of the sport (just a guess, but you sold your canopy). To that end, a WL of 2.1 is extremely high for an uncurrent jumper, and pretty high for just a weekend warrior. Being current and sharp is a huge part of being safe at higher WL. Moving on, if you're not intending to swoop, why are you aiming at such a high WL? Surely a more moderate loading would serve you better when you're trying to just 'put it down', and of course would give you added range (which leads to added options) if you should find yourself a little far out, or you just dump low. I'll just mention the fact that people do jump with no winds. You can figure out the downside to that one. Let's also talk about the Heatwave. Not one of the greatest canopies made, but a quick turning eliptical for sure. Eliptical canopies generally produce more lift than a square of the same size, so you may not get the same level of performance from the Z-po you got the from the Heatwave. Of course, your performance may have been better two years ago as well, so there's always that to think about. I'll just wrap up by saying that if you're 310 lbs, maybe overloading some gutter gear isn't the best plan. Ok, I'll add this too - I put about 500 jumps on a Sabre (similar to the Z-po) 107 a while back, At the time the WL would have been 1.8, and it flew like a barn door falling out of the sky. I then moved to a Stiletto 107 (same size but eliptical) and liked it so much I went through three of them over 3500 jumps, with my WL steadily increasing to 2.1, and even at that loading it was better than the Sabre at 1.8. By the way, if this canopy choice has anything to do with what fits in your old rig, you're criteria for canopy selection is way off base. Good luck out there.