davelepka

You should be able to find a suitable coach somewhere between your home DZ, Perris and Elsinore. You have an amazing amount of talent within an hour or so, someone out there can help you. Call Perris and Elsinore and tell them you're interested in a canopy control course for a new licensed student, one that will build on the canopy skills you learned when you got your license. See what they have to offer in both group and private courses, and then go from there. You sound like you have a good attitude 'now', don't let that turn into something else 6 months down the road. No matter how many courses you take, or how bad you want it, the simple fact is that you only get one landing per jump, so your jump numbers mean a lot. On top of that, you're going to bo moving through different canopies and sizes, and each time you switch, there's a degree of 'starting over' that occurs. Even if you're sharp as a tack on one canopy, when you downsize or change wings, you go back to being a dull pair of safety scissors. Learn all you can, just don't be stupid or assume that you're anyting but 'average'. If you really are 'great', you find that out way down the road when you start winning competitions. If you assume you're 'great' early on, you might find out the hard way that you're not.

Lesson one in being a licensed jumper, skydiving doesn't give a shit about your whims, what you want, or how you feel. Things work a certain way, and you can either work within those terms, or expose yourself to undue risk. I'm not saying that this is neccesarily one of those situations, but you set a bad precedent for yourself when you give in to your 'whims' at such an early stage. Think about this, picture the hand/arm/head motions for 'something is wrong' and 'I'm having a great time'. They really aren't that different, and could easily be interchanged with each other. Now take those same motions, and add a scared and concerned facial expression and then a happy, laughing-out-loud expression. Suddenly what you're expressing becomes instantly recognizable, and couldn't possible be mistaken for the other. With your face fully concealed, your ability to communicate non-verbally with others in a quick and effective manner is greatly reduced. I'm not sure why you would want that as a facet of your skydiving.

I read it differently. I read the 'last' as meaning it was the last thing on his list of 'wants' in a helmet. The paragraph above states some of the things he wants, and the sentence I quoted is stating the final thing he wants. You read it as a concealing face shield is the 'last' thing he wants, as-in, he would never want that. While I agree that it could be read that way, I chalk it up to poor word choice or sentence structure and that the OP did indeed mean that he does want a concealing face shield, and it was the last item he stated. I base this on the idea that he specifically sates in the thread title that he wants a mirrored shield, and repeats the same in the post. Now a mirrored shield can only be fully concealing, so I'm led to believe that he does want a fully concealing shield. If he was asking only about tinted shileds, and different levels of tint, in that case he might not want a full concealing shield, and might have meant the statement the way you read it, but once you introduce the mirrored shield into the mix, it's clear (no pun intended) that the OP is not opposed to his face being fully concealed.

Good one! Wish I thought of that!

Thanks for reminding everyone how little you know about flying things. Explain to me, then, how I (or any swooper) is able to drag a toe in the water, and then pop up and gain altitude for a distance run? This is done in every swooping competition, always over flat ground with no thermals, waves or ridge lift within 10 miles of the DZ. What about JT? Sure looks like this guy goes up, what's he using, some of those legendary ocean thermals? http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=oQOeWcBABjw&feature=fvwp

Great, I'm sure you know better than me. I only have 5500+ jumps without tinted anything, and humans only existed for 1000's of years before the invention of sungalsses, but I'm sure you have it all figured out.

Stunning? What's stunning is how much wind they're dealing with, but the idea that they are 'flying' is not accurate. Anything will blow away provided the winds are strong enough. There's a hurricane htting the eastern seaboard of the US as we speak. Undoubtedly, there will be TV news weather reporters who will don a poncho and will shoot a segment standing out in the storm. In the past, this has relsuted in these folks being blown sideways by the wind force, so are you suggesting that one day we'll be able to foot launch TV weather reporters? Show me a wingsuit capable of producing enough lift to hoist a human body, and do it at a low enough airpseed to foot launch, and you'll have something. The video shown is not even remotely close to that, or any closer than previously believed. As cool as it is to watch, it's nothing more than bad weather day shennanigans, something any skydiver would know about.

Why? Being able to see each other and make eye contact is a huge part of jumping with others. You put a real limitation on the amount of non-verbal communication you can achieve in freefall if you obscure your face. Also, what happens when the sunset load turns into the 'just after sunset' load?

No pun intended, but Felix has just 'jumped' the shark. BASE jumping, stunts, and the Red Bull thing were cool, and all in his 'wheel house'. Commenting on space exploration, and the related tax expendature, have nothing to do with the above. I give him credit for making the big jump, but truth be told, he's just the guy who 'fits the costume' (Brady Bunch fans will get that one). Was it a technical achievement to send a man up to 120k in a balloon and have him skydive back to earth? Sure as shit was, but Felix didn't have jack shit to do with any of that. He did what he was told, and stuck with the program long enough to see it become a reality. Again, much love for the act itself, but it's not like he designed or built the capsule, the suit, the rig, or really much of anything having to do with the jump. Let's hear what those guys have to say about the Mars exploration program as they certainly have a place from which to speak, and some wothwhile insight to lend on the program.

I'm not sure you got the advice quite right, or your coach isn't doing you any favors. If you are proficient at landing with your rears, and your canopy is otherwise uncomprimised, then cutting away would be a bad idea and an un-neccesary risk. That said, proficiency takes a long time to develop, and should not be intermingled with an emergency situation or a comprimised canopy. I spent a week or two last month landing with only my rears, just for fun. I kept my toggles in my hands, but was able to shut my canopy down enough with the rears that I never needed to transition to the toggles. That said, I have 1000+ jumps on my current canopy and have used my rears on 90% of those. Now about your coach, he was talking to a guy with a shade over 200 jumps, and it might not be in your best interest to land with your rears in an emergency situation. Additionally, if your brakes are comprimised, there's a chance that the canopy isn't going to fly 'as-normal' in full flight, and that would only complicate landing on rears. There are very few 'universal truths in skydiving, but one of them is this - anytime you get advice about anything, do the following - consider the source, consider the intended recipient, and consider the circumstances and then remember that changing any one of three might make the advice null and void.

So how about you come clean and tell us why you have such a hard-on for Jim Slaton? Truth be told, this thread is the most exposure Jim has had around here in the last year or two, so if you really have a problem with the guy, all you've done is bubbled his name right up to the surface. I agree with the sentiment of others on this thread, you're so keen to point fingers at Jim, what the fuck have done in and for the sport? When it comes to swooping, I know Jim was instrumental in bringing swoop comps up to a national level. I also know he was on the fore-front of developing some of the freestyle moves used in competition, and I know he was the first guy I ever saw do a blindman. I guess I could also point out that he was the driving force behind the JVX, which is really just a modded VX, and I can only assume the 'J' stands for 'Jim', so he has an ultra high-performance canopy named after him. Did he save the world, or feed the starving children? No, not even close, but in our little world of skydiving, and the even smaller world of swooping, you can't argue with the fact that the guy has done some good and made a mark.

If you're buying from an 'unknown' private seller, contact Chuting Star gear store about their escrow program. They will accept the gear from the seller, and the money from the buyer, and then they will inspect the gear. If it passes, they will pay the seller and ship the gear to the buyer. The escrow is free of charge, all you pay for is the inspection. Send a PM to 'likestojump' on this site, he sells used gear and is used to handling shipping and payments internationally. He's a reputable guy, and can be trusted with your money and that gear will be 'as described' when it arrives.

If they are unwilling to do this, or allow you a 10 day 'money back guarantee', so you can both try the rig on and have your rigger do an inspection, take a pass no matter what the deal is. Given that a 'cheap' container is going to be under $500, and if it turns out that it needs some work to be airworthy, you could end up spending $200 or $300 on rigging and repairs just to get the rig up to spec. In the end, you could have avoided all the trouble and just bought a better container for all the money you invested. Again, send a PM to likestojump, he's got (or can get) the gear you need. Cheap gear doesn't have to be old and outdated. Ugly colors will really lower the resale value on used gear, and he's dug some ugly stuff in the past.

OK, so if they charge $200/hr, that's $200 per flight hr, not per hour spent with the student. Again, how much flight time can the coach expect to teach in a day? Let's say they can coach an hour a day, so they'll pocket $200/day. Seems like good money, but keep in mind that's pre-tax, with no insurance, no benefits, and no guarantee of work (or the ability) to work everyday. On top of that, they're in a field with a VERY limited number of opportunities. How many tunnels are there in the world? 20? 30? They're spending their time coaching you in the tunnel, and building a resume with a skill that is not very 'marketable'. So if you hire a guy for a 30 min of coaching, an extra $50 isn't a bad tip considering how long they'll be working with you. If you book an hour and it takes two days of work together, $100 isn't as extravagant as it sounds. If they could make $200/hr for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and then get tipped $100/hr for 8 hours per day, 5 days a week, that would be crazy. When you look at the reality of the earning potential, and how much time an 'hour' of coaching really takes, it's not as much as you think. Of course, as others have mentioned, tipping is never mandatory and how much to tip is a personal choice.

It will be much worse than a Navigator. The Nav is a great canopy with lots of flare and good forward speed. The Fury will have less forward speed (despite being 20 sq ft smaller) and don't expect much in the flare department with an exit weight north of 200lbs. Just skip the Fury all together. Where have you been looking for gear? Keep in mind that Chuting Star has a great escrow program where they will inspect used gear and handle payments between private sellers/buyers. You can buy from the US knowing that your money is secure and that your gear will be in the condition that you're expecting. Another option, PM 'likestojump' on this site, and see what he has for sale. He buys and sells used gear all the time, and does quite a bit of business with overseas customers so payments and shipping are no big deal. He has a great reputation, and I think there's even a thread about what a great guy is to work with. Edit to add - http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3426416;search_string=likestojump;#3426416 There were actually two threads - http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3789010;search_string=likestojump;#3789010 I also noticed that he posted right above me, so you don't even have to type in his name to PM him.

With your jump numbers, I would suggest taking your attention away from cameras, microphones and audio recorders and focusing on your jumps, especially when dealing with things like wingsuits and 'skyaks', but I'm sure that's not what you want to hear.

I'm not suggesting that you do 'nothing', but that when it comes to choosing what skill to work on, leave it up to the student. Instead of saying, 'OK, we'll exit like this....', try asking, 'How would you like to exit?', and then train them on the best way to exit how they want. Ditto for the freefall. These jumpers have spent every jump doing what everyone else tells them to in an effort to fill out the A license card, once they have all of the requirements met short of the jump numbers, give them a chance to 'take the wheel' and have some control over their jump. Truthfully, I also support pre-license students doing a couple of solos mixed in with the coach jumps. They're cleared to self-supervise, but the coach program doesn't give them an opportunity to exercise that. When I learned to skydive, I was proud of myself for being able to do something that not many people could do, and that scared the shit out of me in the beginning. While I always remember my first jump, the other jump that stands out from those days was the first time I jumped on my own. I was on a modified static-line/AFF program, so it would have been my 6th or 7th jump and in addition to jumping solo, it was also my first jump from an Otter and my first jump with no radio. While the accomplishment of making my first jump was huge, making my first true 'solo' stands out to me just as much. People seem to react so sharply to the suggestion of new rules or regulation, shouting, 'Nanny state, nanny state, don't tell me how to skydive, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions', but then they'll turn right around literally nanny the students for 25 straight jumps. Jumps 1 through 10, they need it. Jumps 10 through 15, not so much, and really, past jump 15 they should be given some options, and allowed to take some responsibility for planning their own skydives.

How about you ask them what they want to do? Maybe ask what was their favorite part of the progression thus far, and go further with that skill. Conversely, what did they feel was their weakest performance, and then tune that up to a higher standard. In the end, it's their money and their jump. These jumpers have been cleared to self-supervise, and really don't need a coach at all, they could just bang out solos to finish off their A license requirements. Let them decide what they want to do.

If you're thinking that you'll able to freefly with the Bev suit if you don't get the booties, you're wrong. You're just going to need a seperate suit for freefly and one for RW if that's what you want to do. Buy the Bev suit, and get the booties. It's what you want for RW and it will serve you well. When you want to freefly, look for another suit at that time.

In Finland? Can't help you there. In the US, I've seen anywhere from $15 to $25 per strudent to teach the FJC, and between $25 and $35 for the actual jumps.

It sounds high, but consider how long it would take to actually fly for an hour in the tunnel. If you figure on 2 or 3 minutes per session, you're looking at 20 to 30 sessions in the tunnel. Factor in time before and after for training/debriefing, plus all the rest time in between sessions, it adds up. Compare that to a tandem instructor. Figure on 20 min to gear up and train, 20 min in the plane, and 20 min to jump, land, get the student out of the gear and present them with a 'first jump certificate'. So they're in for about an hour, and I think $20 is probably the average tip for those guys. So if you look at the time involved in coaching someone in the tunnel for an hour (of flight time), $100/hr might not be a bad formula.

No, the problem is that you don't know who is an exception, and who is not, until after you have strapped a camera to their head to 'see what happens', and that's the furthest thing from making a prudent and informed decision about who should be allowed to jump a camera. The simple facts are thus - we do know of several ways, proven by real world examples, that a camera can be a distraction to a jumper in the plane, in freefall, under canopy, and can also present a distraction to other jumpers in the air with the camera flyer. We also know that there is no penalty to limiting newer jumpers from jumping a camera until they have built up a body or experience thus that the odds are in their favor that they are able to deal with the known distractions. Given the above, the only prudent, informed decision is to have a limitation in place. The only harm it could do is to the egos of those jumpers who do not yet meet the qualifications, and quite frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. I see it like this, I have 'invested' 17 years, and countless hours, dollars, blood, sweat and tears in skydiving, and as such, my 'share' of the sport is worth more than a kid with 90 jumps who thinks they know their ass from a hole in the ground (they don't). So when issues like this come down to what would make me happy, that being a given number of jumps required before jumping a camera, and what would make the 'new guy' happy, that being just doing whatever they want, my 'vote' holds far more water than the new guy. If someone wants to buy my shares from me for $50k, then we can talk about new guys doing what they think is right. Until such time, I'll stick with my 'shares' giving me the voting power to have the upper hand, and get what makes me happy (which, in the end, is simply that we make safe, prudent and informed decisions about how we 'shape' the sport).

The chance is way lower than 100%. All of the times I've seen someone hang onto a PC were students, and none of them had their container open before they finally released the PC. I think it all comes down to how you pack your PC and bridle. If the bridle is allowed to unfurl the moment the PC is out of the pouch, it probably won't pull your pin when you get your PC to full arms extension. If your bridle is packed in such a way that it does not easily slip out of the PC, then you will probably pull your pin as you bring your arm forward. Which would be a reason not to jump a pull out. Re-engineering the pull out to allow for hanging onto the PC with an open container does not seem like the answer.

Any DZ with a no 'go-around' policy has one of two problems - either their margins are too thin and they can't afford the go-around or the DZO is too greedy to allow them. The solution for both is simple, raise the tandem prices by a buck, and the fun jump prices by .25 or .50. Continue to encourage good spotting and discourage go-arounds, but allow them if needed. I jump a DZ where we can get a go-around (or two) if needed with no questions asked. I would say that in a given month we do about 2 go-arounds due to the spot getting long. Most of the time it's based on light uppers and a string of solos or slow exting students, but whatever the case, it's something like 2 a month. So figure each one takes about 3 to 4 extra minutes of flight time, you're looking at 6 to 8 minutes a month on the plane and 6 to 8 minutes worth of fuel for the plane to fly level (not climbing) with a light load. Now multiply that by the increase in jump prices, and the DZO would probably make money in the end. The tandems won't notice the extra dollar, and even the busiest of fun jumpers are looking at less than $100 more for the whole season.

Is that guy jumping a pull out?