gale

I have few jumps, so take this for what it's worth... I've been working on tracking so I'm going to share some of the things that have helped me. 1. Try laying face down on the floor, and then getting into the tracking position with your shoulders hunched as much as you can (your chest should be off the floor) and your butt stuck up in the air with your arms at your sides, legs straight, toes pointed. Ask someone to look at your position and critiuqe it, they will be able to help you more after seeing it then we can online. 2. In my humble view, if you're delta-ing it's because your shoulders aren't hunched. You get the sensation of cupping air with the upper part of your body, and you can feel the slow down in vertical speed in freefall. In other words it feels different if you're doing it right. 3. I read in another thread that someone visualized themsleves becoming the shape of a wing, and that helped them. You could also, very nicely, ask a good RW person (someone who can track) to show you the propper position on the ground and the visualization of this can help you in the air. As always, talk to your instructors - they can help you the most! Good luck!

"so would you trade it for wind tunnel ? unless you like canopy flying .. " Well, I don't know. I've ever been to one and I'm not likely to anytime soon as I'm in Western Canada. I suspect however, that I would miss the exits (I really love them) and the space, and the view, and yes, even the canopy ride. (Even though landing scares me) So I don't think I could trade it. It would be interesting to try the tunnel though just to see what I'd really think. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Personally, I would love it if skydiving were safe. I'm in it for what I get to do, not the danger I wish to mitigate. If the sport lost some of that "I'm cooler then you" vibe it would be fine with me. I don't need the possibility of femuring in to be cool - but that's just me. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Yes, that's VERY impressive indeed. Beats my personal record of 6 minutes - but that was with my clothes off! Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Do you know if these systems can be changed over to a regular system where the reserve handle just pulls the reserve? I don't like the idea of not being able to even have the option of a canopy transfer if it is required at a low altitude. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Inexperienced me sayas: Tell the people you love the truth. Ignorance may be bliss but if might also be fear. You can tell them all sides of any story better then a news report and you can reassure them that you work hard to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to you. Yes, you can do everything right and still die, but most accidents are just that, accidental, and you can tell people that you know how to break that chain for you personally. My $0.02 (Canadian, so that's nothing!) Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Weather here was unjumpable. Fog all weekend. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Credit card...it's being sent TODAY!

Ooooooooooooooo, I don't think I've ever won anything before! Cool!

Well, I can't speak to this person specifically but in my situation you have to downsize like that - there are no steps in between available. (In fact, lots of people go from the Manta to a hornet 190 in like, 3 jumps, the 220 we have is old and doesn't flare well at all.) Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Um yeah, they want to keep their kids from getting hurt...maybe have them make the decision with more wisdom....maybe have their kids understand the risks....weird... Understand that this sport is dangerous. I don't want young people hurting themselves because they didn't have the forthought to see what might happen. When you turn 18, well, then it's your decision to take the risk. Hopefully you have enough wisdom at that point to make the right choice for you. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

As a newbie, I'd have to say that this peice of advice has helped me all the way from sitting on the plane on the ride up, during my exits, my maneuvers, and even under canopy and landings. It's one of the things that I feel truely improves my performance. Oh, and I would suggest making sure to breathe slowly and calmly during mental rehersal to help making it more second nature in the air. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

One thing I recently descovered are winter cycling gloves. They are great becauase all the padding is on the back of your hand, and not the palm. Plus mine have leather on the palm adding good grip. These are warmer then my Neumans by far. (The Neumans are thinner though and for cool (not cold) weather I prefer the added feeling) I think not being able to feel my hands under canopy is a definate hazard so I consider the small loss in feeling a good trade. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

OK, so I'm going to reply to my own post. I just happen to be really well aquainted with a former jump pilot and he answered a few questions. For those of you who might be wondering, our system is this: Each business has a Check pilot certified by NavCanada (I think that's what it's called, there's a few aviation certification bodies in Canada, I get confused) The CSPA has input as to what a jump pilot has to be able to do to get checked out. Then that Check pilot is certified to certify other pilots. (Each business also has a Cheif Pilot and a Safety Officer) So for example, a dzo who is a pilot is certified by NavCanada and then he checks out all the pilots who fly jumpers for him. (Oh, and by the way, the dzo I'm thinking of also makes every jumper pilot take the first jump course and do at least one jump. It gives them a sense of respect for the sport I think) The impression my pilot friend gave me is that there seem to be a lot of easily preventable jump plane incidents in the US that don't happen in Canada. Maybe ours is a system worth considering? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Interesting topic. I must say that where I jump I feel the aircrafts and jump pilots are safe. The dzo who handles these areas seems to do a really good job. But I was wondering if you (or anyone) knew what the statistics are like in Canada for jump plane operations. I know we don't have the numbers you do, obviously, but I was just wondering what our statistics and regulations are like compared to our southern neighbours. Anyone? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

When was your Dolphin made? Did you have any modifications done to it to improve its freefly safety? Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

That makes me very sad and angry. I'm sorry that not only do you not get to do what you want, but you also have had what you have done written off. Yes it's a load of crap. I hope you find more acceptance in the rest of what you choose to do. Good luck.

3:4:2 I have a boyfriend and that was a slow (ready, too much time at the dz) weekend for us. We had beautiful sunny weather all (long) weekend, perfect for jumping even if the days are short and you have to wear long underware. Finished the qualifications for my A license, did my fist two-way. Life is good! In fact, I can't think of too many ways to make it better. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

As promised I will reply how this weekend went, in a word: well. I think the advice that many people gave me about confidence is accurate. I haven't actually been able to "stand" on landing but it's not because of my technique it's just because of fear. All the good technical advice can help you flare but only your mind can make you stand once you get down. Video tape and people watching helped. It confirms that I'm doing things right, it's just my fear stopping me. I'm thinking any jump now I will fight that last moment fear and just stand. I can say with everyones help on here, I managed four good, on target, landings in a row. It's gone a long way to boosting my confidence. I'm happy with the progress even if the landings aren't perfect yet. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Hi, I'm thinking of buying a rig with a student cypress in it. It's got a tri220 main and the winloading will be about .9 under it. What are the chances I could set it off accidentally and cause a two out? I'm not planning on front risering it in or anything but could spirals do it? Should I get it swapped out just to be safe? Thanks for your help. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Canopy skills? OK. I would say five out of six good, and then the sixth is well, not. Either over shoot in no wind, undershoot in high winds. It happens. I can do flat turns, and other canopy stuff (up high, as is mandated by the solo-lisence in Canada) After talking to some local skydivers they seem to think it would be OK to try a tri 220 even though I can't stand the Mantas. One girl said she thought there was maybe 1000 jumps on them. Tough to dial in a good flair under those conditions? I have a while before it gets here and hopefully things will omprove before then. I'll post what happens this weekend. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Ah, yes. She does a lot of semi-nude stuff - she must be an exebitionist! Oh, and I really don't find her slutty or skanky, but that's just me. I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Hi, I only have 29 jumps but having done loops not too long ago, here's what I might recommend: The pool suggestions are good but you might not get a chance to do that before your next jump so try doing forward and backward rolls on the floor. The senior jumper I asked for help had me doing rolls all over the packing mat. You can then pay attention to what your body is doing and think about doing that in the air. As far as the hop-n-pop goes, be glad you're getting one out of the way now before you need to do one for another reason (like a bail out) and are really scared when you need it. These are easy. I know it looks low and scary, but really it's not. Present yourslef to the relactive wind, follow the count you instructor gives you (when I did them it was arch-thousand, reach-thousand, pull-thousand) and relax. I might like it - the opening is nice and soft! Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

Ok, I'm not sure what "hacked out" means but I assume you're saying I'm whiney. Sorry, didn't mean to be. I know we all have platueas, but when you can't stand landings everyone knows about it. I'm enbarassed and thus I find it hard to be really agressive in getting help. They're calling for sun this weekend (and they better be right, damn it) so I've got three days before then to think positively, and try to get less embarassed. Tuesday I will post what happened, and hopefully it will be all good! Thanks to everyone who gave me advice (and those who PMed me too). Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind

OK, this is to settle a debate between me and my co-worker. I think Angelina is far sexier (maybe the sexiest woman alive) and my coworker feels that Jennifer is much better. He seems to think that he has rights to make this decision over me because he's a man. How little he knows about me So help us, please. Gale I'm drowning...so come inside Welcome to my...dirty mind