davelepka

Like the TI snugging up his legtraps right before climibing in the plane with the free ends hanging loose? Or the student not being hooked up or with a snug harness while the door is open for the 4-way jumprun at 10,500? Or the hunk of drouge hanging out of the pouch when the TI knew full well he was going head down with the student? Or the unsecured straps beating the shit out of the student while freeflying? Bad example? Nah, it's Europe! Stupid Americans could never understand their level of refinement and culture.

Just to add to that, in tight situations like a Cessna, physically checking the other jumpers gear isn't always neccesarry. If you ask them if their legstraps are on and tightened, they can easily check it themselves, and the end result is the same, you didn't let your buddy jump without a gear check. Sometimes you can do the check, and sometimes you just have to ensure that somebody checks, be it another jumper, or the jumper in question. The end result is that it gets done.

Based on what? Your experience training and jumping with him? Last time I checked, that's the only way to safely determine what canopy to reccomend to a new jumper. Beyond that, a newer jumper shouldn't be jumping in the type of winds that would back a jumper up at a .97 WL. If you think it's also advisable to jump in winds where the only thing stopping you from backing up is being one size smaller canopy, then you're cutting it way too close. You should have a much bigger margin for error then that, because if one size bigger will have going backwards, then you're going striaght down on what you are jumping, and that's a sure sign you're jumping in winds that are too high for your equipment.

Same thing as the lodging, call the DZ. Most of them have a jumper who will provide rides to and from major airports for a reasonable fee. Keep in mind that the reasonable fee has to cover gas at $4/gal and the time it takes to drive round trip. Even if it costs you $40 each way, the $80 you'll spend would rent you a car for 2 days including paying for gas, so if you're staying for more than 2 days, it's cheaper than renting a car. Also, if you rent a room from a jumper, there are ususally other jumpers there, and you can bum a ride to the DZ in the morning. Even if there are not, sometimes the host will drop you off, or at least get you close. I've even stayed in a house where the owner had a spare bike that we could use to ride to the DZ if we wanted (it was about a mile at best). Another trick you can use, if you plan to dump the trip on a credit card, is to trade jumps for services. Instead of $40 to pcik you up from the airport, see if the guy will take two jumps. Maybe a room somewhere can be had for 1 jump per night. This way you can just charge all the jumps to your card, and keep any cash you have in your pocket.

There's a scale in front of manifest, and a dozen rigs you can use to weigh yourself at the DZ. Beyond that, what happened to waiting and seeing how things go? Let's get some jumps under your belt and see how you do. If you 'get it' and seem to do well under canopy, maybe you go with the 170. If not, maybe you go with the 190. Also, there is a 190 student rig at the DZ, and there's no reason you can't jump it provided you prove that you are ready for it (in 15 to 20 jumps). After that, there are plenty of rigs with 170s you can try, again, if you prove you are ready. The rule of thumb with skydiving gear is to only buy what you are ready to jump on the day of purchase. Never buy anything thinking that you'll be 'ready' for it on a certain date, or that you'll lose weight by a certain date (not that you need to, just an example), because if you don't reach your goal, now you have gear that isn't right for you. This weekend, mainly Sat, does look good. Make sure you call Garf and let her know you want to jump so she can put you in the schedule. Try to get an early slot (like load #1) so you can make a couple jumps if you want. Sunday looks like shit, so make the most out of Sat.

Tape a piece of foam over the mic grill itself. Keep the tape off to the sides of the grill, but have the foam cover the grill completely. It's just like those covers they use on portable mics when the news guy is reporting from outside, it prevents the wind from hitting the case of the mic itself, letting it only hit the soft foam.

Yeah they should. It sounds like your closing loop wasn't built properly. The inner cord, that makes up the loop itself needs to be fingertrapped all the way down the lenght of the outer cord so it becomes trapped inside the knot at the bottom. If it is, the knot is what secures it from slipping out. If it isn't, the fingertrap itself will hold it in place when there's tension on the loop, but everytime you grab the loop to open it up and stick a pull-up cord though it, you can pull out another fraction of an inch of the inner cord. You were on your way to a failure of your closing loop, and if you were lucky it would have happened during packing. You need to ensure that your closing loop is both built properly, and in good condition before every jump, and this includes more than just looking for wear or fraying. Any change in length of the overall loop, or the loop itself should be investigated before the next jump.

All numbers approximate, and this isn't counting demos or borrowed canopies that I might have 10 jumps or so on apiece. Various student/rental canopies, F-111 200+ sq ft - 50 jumps PD-190 (owned), Tri 160 (borrowed) - 100 jumps Sabre 135 - 350 jumps Sabre 107 - 500 jumps Stiletto 107 (3 of them) - 3000 jumps Velocity 90 - 300 jumps Velocity 103 - 800 jumps

Just gotta say, in this day and age of canopy collisions, can that giant blind spot be a good idea with 400 other canopies in the sky? I know that it worked out fine on the 400-ways, but that was one event with a dozen or so jumps made. The LZ at Perris was safe for awhile too, and we know that's been going, so it's only a matter of time before this type of thing would lead to a collision. Cool idea, yes. Cooler idea, pay attention to the skydive while skydiving, and keep data gathering instruments in a pocket, or pouch, or mounted on your wrist.

Getting the most out of your canopy - this takes jumps, plain and simple. The more you change canopies or WL, the less you will 'know' about your canopy. Stop paying attention to what other people are jumping, or what WL, and just pick a canopy and stick with it for 1000 jumps. You'll be a pro by the time you're done. Competition - the only way to be competitive is to actually compete. Plan on losing in the beginning. You'll be dead last a bunch of times before you learn the in's and out's of competition, but that's how you learn. Again, don't be worried about what other people are doing, try competing against yourself at first. Track you results from one comp or training session to the next, and if you see improvement, then you're winning. You're on a good wing at a good WL. It's high enough that you can get some good swoops out of it, and low enough that you can easily jump that same canopy on every jump without worries about long spots or landing off. Don't get caught up in the idea that you HAVE to jump this canopy at that WL because this guy or that guy is doing it, just jump your own jump and fly your own canopy for your own purposes.

This is going to be your biggest factor. You've been packing during the cold, dry winter months, and the fabric gets very dry and 'fluffy' in that weather. Once the humidity kicks up, the fabric takes on some moisture, and tends to lay down and pack up tighter. Think about folding a towel. Take one right out of the dryer, and then one you just used to towel off after a shower. The two folded towels will look quite different. As an aside, some riggers will use a spray bottle to moisten reserves when packing during the winter months. You have to be careful not to use too much water as it could lead to mold after you pack the rig, but it's a trick they use. Technique is another factor. When you size the 'bundle' that you're going to roll up, try to aim for a bundle that's a touch wider than the bag. if you have to compress it (horizontally) to fit in the bag, you know you're filling the corners and keeping the bundle as 'short' (height-wise) as possible. This way the pack job will fit the container. It's a rectangular shaped space you're trying to fit the canopy into, so try to make a rectangular shaped bundle, and your rig will close up easier and cleaner. This is another reason to learn to S-fold the canopy. With S-folds you can make a rectangular stack of fabric, when you roll the canopy, it always comes out as a cylindrical shape, which matches neither the bag nor the container.

Prices vary greatly, but figure at least $2000 without an AAD. Yes, there are complete rigs available for less then that, but you get into older components that don't have the benefit of newer generation technology. If you budget between $2000 and $2500, and are patient while shopping around, you can find something that will serve you well. If you can round that up to $3000, you'll have an easier time shopping and a better selection. Used rig prices can get up as high as $5000/$6000 for very new, barely used, top of the line gear (which you don't need). An AAD will add $1200-$1400 to the cost of any rig. Beyond all that, just get jumping and worry about this stuff later. You'll need to see how you do before chosing what size canopies would be good for your first rig, so knock out your first dozen jumps, then mention to your instructors that you want to start shopping for a rig and see what they say.

Ever thought about sleeping? When are you going to do that? Seriously, keep in mind the physical toll of jumping all day, or putting in some serious tunnel time. You'll need some sort of recovery time somewhere in there. The good news for you is that the two biggest DZs in the US both have onsite tunnels, and are on (or very close) to the west coast, so you only have to cross an ocean, not an ocean and the US to get where you're going. Perris or Eloy, take your pic. Perris has Elsinore, LA and San Diego near by, and Eloy has..............Eloy.

Forget about the idea of meeting new people as a way to make you happy. It's not the solution, and if you drop the idea that it is, suddenly all of your 'problems' are reduced down to not having money to jump. Living in a retirement community, doing yoga with old ladies, and working 11 horus a day are not a problem if you're not preoccupied with the idea of meeting someone. As far lacking the cash to jump, join the club, and as for $100 a day, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Once you drop several thousand bucks on used gear, $100 a day gets you 4 jumps without a packer. Last time I checked, 4 jumps was a 'slow' day at the DZ. Once you have your gear and learn how to pack in a reasonable amount of time, plan on more like 6 jumps a day, maybe more if you really go nuts. The bright side is that you have a job that keeps you busy, and are furthering your education which should lead to more money in the future. Look into some weed. Someone at the DZ has a line on some high grade stuff, get yourself a bag of it, and take a couple hits an hour before bed each night. Just relax and chill out, and stop worrying about everything. In the words of my mother, 'There are starving children in Africa, and you're not one of them. Cheer up'.

The seems like an odd question. The bottom line is that you have to put the rig on and jump it, so perform a gear check and make up your mind on a case by case basis. Another thing to keep in mind, a DZ that doesn't maintain their rental or student rigs probably doesn't maintain other things, like their airplanes. No rig is going to help you if the plane loses an engine at 1000ft, so evaluate each DZ on a case by case basis, and see if it looks like an organized, well run operation, or one where corners are cut and things are in disrepair.

I added the bold to highlight the problem. As previously stated, this was not the only incident with an Argus not fully cutting the loop, and when you have repeat incidents, 'if' and 'could' cannot be part of an acceptable investigation and solution.

Call any major DZ you're considering visiting and ask. Most have camping or bunkhouses for free or almost free. They'll also know if any local jumpers are renting rooms (or beds) to visiting jumpers. You can get a room (or bed) with access to the bathrrom and kitchen for $15/$20 night. I even stayed at one house where the owner made breakfast every morning as part of the deal.

More jumps would be a better thing. 99% of all jumpers (maybe more) learned to jump with no tunnel time at all, so just go do the level 3, lesten to your instructors, and you'll be fine. If you fail it a half-dozen times, then you can start to worry about tunnel time, and other ideas, but for now just go make the jump like most other people and you'll find out it's no big deal. In truth, the sky offers you a LOT of room to move around, so where you were bouncing off the wall in the tunnel, you'll just be flying flat and stable in the sky, albeit with a slight drift in one direction. Don't over-think this stuff. Go to the DZ, go along with what they tell you, and leave it at that. You can work yourself into all sorts of 'situations' and 'what ifs' if you think too much about it on your own. If you have a concern, by all means mention it to your instructor before your next jump. When they tell you not to worry about it, just forget about it and move on. This is one of those things that seems like a mountatin to you now, but in three more jumps you'll look back and see a molehill and wonder what you were worried about.

I don't know the guy, or one thing about him factually, so I took his name out of the above quote. However, have a look at this document, which is in reference the appointing of a DPE (Designated Pilot Examiner), which is GAs version of an I/E, being that the DPE is the one who hands out ratings. Take note of items #2, 3, and 4 under 'General Characteristics', and see if skydiving should expect the same. http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgOrders.nsf/0/7f85cd99697aa59d86256f700076ed32/$FILE/87103D-C02.pdf Let's face it, we made it for years with a very small number of I/Es without a problem. The more I/Es you have, the more chances you have for standards to be 'altered', and for ratings to be granted to people who maybe shouldn't have them. We all know how tough it is to get the USPA to pull a rating, so maybe we should make it tougher to get a rating. You can't just hand out something you can't easily get back, which is where we're headed. It used to be the opposite, where it was more work to get the rating, but you knew you wouldn't lose it unless you blew it big time.

If you are current, having jumped in the last 30 days, you should have little problem moving between DZ in close proximity to each other. They'll be familiar with each others programs, and can just call over and ask questions if need be. Do call ahead and explain what you want to do, and see what they say but chances are it won't be a big deal. You will have extra work to do, so make sure you're 'confident' with your skills at your home DZs first. If you struggle to make a safe jump at home, you don't need to go to another DZ. You'll be adding a different aircraft, student rig, and landing area to the list of stuff you already have to worry about, so make sure you have 'the basics' covered. Another thing you can do, and as a 'student' post-AFF, you are allowed to do, is a solo on your first jump at the new DZ. No pressure to perform, or follow a dive flow full of manuvers, just hop out, have a look around (remain altitude aware) and pull. Ask for a DZ briefing before hand, learn the landing areas, obstacles, wind and pattern direction for the day, and also see if there's an instructor or other experienced jumper on your load who can point out the DZ from the plane during the ride to altitude.

First off, stop considering the price. The cost of the program if you have no repeat jumps is the 'best case scenario' for the 'best student in the world'. The real cost of completing the program is different for each person, and the cost of making you a safe skydiver is whatever it costs. There's no way to save money, make it cheaper, or for it to cost too much. It is what it is. Besides, the cost of student jumps pales in comparison to buying gear and paying for fun jumps every weekend. About the 'failure', some instructors don't use a pass/fail criteria because they don't like the word fail, so they use an advance/repeat criteria jsut to be nice. In the end, you didn't do what the instructor wanted you to do, and their judgement was that you were not ready to move on to the next level. Do you feel like you achieved everything you should have on the jump? Honestly? A big part of these manuvers is demonstrating the departure from stable freefall into a manuver, and the controlled return to stabel freefall. If you ended up spinning on your head, you may have not met that criteria. Sure you didn't do the back loop, but the real problem might have been inability to make a controlled return to stable freefall. Overall, you need to be able to get over this, and move forward. Skydiving in general is a world of very high hopes in the plane, and a somewhat lower level of actual performance after exit. If you cannot roll with those punches, you're going to have a very frustrating time to learn the finer points of jumping after you're licensed, and when you start to jump with others. (Remember that jumping with instructors doesn't qualify as jumping with 'others'. They are highly trained and skilled, and most jumpers don't perform at that level). In terms of back loops, try looking where you want to go. Tuck your knees toward your chest, and look straight up and back as far as you can. Thanks to your neck, your body will follow your head where ever it goes. Throw your head back, the body will follow. More importantly, whatever happens, return to a solid arch as you complete the manuver, and make a quick and controlled return to stable freefall.

So if some PIA members have a vested interest in other AADs, how do you explain the other members of PIA who stand to gain nothing from banning the Argus? What about rig manufacturers with nothing to gain from banning the Argus? The ban surely creates a hardhsip for any of their customers who have an Argus in their rig, so what's their reason for the ban? In order for this to indeed be a conspiracy against Argus, or underhanded in any way, it would have to involve every member of PIA, with each of them willing to risk the integrity of the organization by being complicit in the conspiracy, even though some of them have nothing to gain. Ditto for the rig manufacturers, they risk the ingetrity and reputation of their businesses by being complicit in the conspiracy, when they have nothing to gain in the venture. I know that if I found out that say, Sunpath, banned the Argus, inconviencing all of their Argus jumping customers, for no other reason than to 'play nice' with a PIA conspiracy against Argus, I would never consider buying a Javelin again. Part of it is the principal, and part of it is fear of what else they might do to effect the future use of a rig I might buy from them. None of the conspiracy theories add up. There have been some 'unexplained' problems with the Argus, and with some of them causing a container lock, the prudent thing to do is to stop jumping them until the problems are explained to everyone's satisfaction. I don't know why that's so hard to accept. Along those lines, if Argus would simply produce evidence, investigations and reports that would satisfy the masses that the Argus is safe to jump, then the ban would be lifted. In this day and age of information technology, e-mails to every rigger and national parachute association, and posting on DZ.com would go along way toward putting the word out that the Argus is safe and the ban should be lifted. I have yet to see any such evidence circulated. They have circulated paranoid sounding letters, and a poorly produced report from a quesitonable source, but none of that is satisfactory to anyone, but it proves they can get information around. If they would improve the quality of the info, problem solved.

I was thinking that as I wrote the post, I'm not sure how I left that part out. Yes, experienced and respected, not your 205 jump buddy who thinks they know it all.

Right there you know that the people making the comments don't know squat. Bram and Elly are both world class (literally) instructors. I have worked with both of them, and never saw either make a mistake, to include their attitudes and the way they interacted with the other instructors. Very professional, above board, and extremely reliable. Like all things in life, consider the source. What kind of instructor would ridicule a newly minted instructor, let alone one they will be working with in the future. It's just dumb, and at least now you know the caliber of person you're dealing with.

That is very fair. I don't think there's any way to make it more fair. What about the difference between full time and part time employees? With only full time employees at your high volume location, there is enough work to go around and make everyone a living. What about a lower volume location, where they might do 100 or 150 tandems over the weekeend, and then only 10 or 20 during the week? The DZ needs people everyday of the week, so there has to be a couple of full-time employees to cover the weekday work, and then a group of part time employees to handle the weekend volume. The part timers have all week to make a living elsewhere, while the full timers are looking to the DZ to provide their entire living. So when the weekend work is slow, or a part timer has a day off and shows up on a Wed, should that part timer get an equal share of the work? It's not unheard of to treat part timers and full timers differently in the business world. Most jobs in the US limit things like health insurance, vacation days and sick days to full time employees only. If you want to work one or two days per week, you don't get the benefits of commiting to the company as a full time employee.