nigel99

I'm certainly not trying to undermine old guys. It does seem that with age a new/different set of problems arise and most people aren't aware of their new limits. My grandfather stopped driving at 70 as he did not want the indignity of someone having to take his car keys away (something he had been forced to do on a few occasions). I am guessing the same principle applies. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

A couple of years ago I broke the fatalaties down by age and was surprised that the over 50s contibuted about 30%. As health problems, sucu as heart disease affect older people more, at what age should jumpers consider regular checkups? I suspect the recent Oz fatality was health related, based on the news reports. There was also the South African one in the last couple of months. I am approaching 40 and decided that I would have a heart stress test every 2 years after the South Afrcan death. I've often been asked why I am out of breath after a jump and the incident prompted me to get a checkup. Fortunately in my case I discovered that I have excersize induced asthma and a $5 puffer has literally changed my life. Really wish I had known 20 years ago... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Can you share these better ways with us? Sparky It is very simple - A predictable pattern determined before anyone gets on the airplane. Everyone lands in the same direction or you don't skydive. It is very simple and many dzs already do it. You have a landing T or arrow that sets the landing direction. Expecting an otter load of jumpers to follow a first man down would only be safe IF the fmd was designated prior to boarding and had the apropriate deployment altitude, canopy type and wingloading to ensure he set the pattern early enough. Honestly the whole fmd issue is a copout for laziness. What if the winds have shifted 180* in the 20 mins you were in the air, now you have an entire load taking it downwind... sure, we SHOULD be able to all land downwind, but be realistic... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Don't blow your savings on training to become a pro skydiver! My suggestion would be to set yourself a progression target of 4 years similar to an apprenticeship. Go to the local DZ every weekend and get yourself into the system. Jump as much as you can, pack and learn everything you can about dz operations. Go to 2 or 3 boogies a year and expose yourself to how other dz's work. After 4 years of doing that you will have a good feel for dz culture and if you really want to live this as a full time lifestyle. You will also have accumulated enough jumps to be able to easily meet the requirements for AFF or Tandem instruction. You may even be doing it part time on the weekends by the end of 4 years. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sparky Sparky, while I agree with the sentiment in practice this doesn't work in a typical busy dz for your typical rental gear. In my experience everything from a 190 upwards is shared with students and they take priority. So you could have just repacked a main and have the rig pulled from your for a student. In a club environment I firmly believe in the 'old' approach. In a more commercial environment the dz is supplying you equipment and as such it should be fit for purpose and ready to go. Honestly the US packing regulations need to be revisited to catch up with the times. I really like the Australian regulations, now that I have had the chance to get into them. We have a 'packer B' rating and student/rental gear and tandems can only be packed by a packer B or higher. I've only just opened discussions with the Chief Instructor on getting my packer B rating so I'm still learning. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

You know I don't think google is very good at keeping the wind out your face. Try goggles they tend to work better Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

No real damage done to the sport. I've seen a number of posts saying this has motivated them to book their tandem. People are funny and will figure that falling out of their harness is less of a risk. I mean an old lady managed to hang on so how hard can it be? (I'm giving a whuffo viewpoint, not mine) Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Care to post a screenshot of that? Perchance is it displaying feet and you're reading meters? Otherwise, could be a defective unit. L&B will replace it at any authorized gear store. My Viso 2 records weird max speeds that I don't really believe - 180Mph on a normal belly jump and 80Mph max canopy speed on a Sabre 170. I don't think I would recommend a Viso for a sub A license jumper though. I like mine under canopy, but I find the Galaxy a whole bunch easier to glance at in freefall. I honestly think that as the OP lists 10 jumps this is something that should be fully discussed with his instructor prior to jumping with a different alti than the original training. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I know of a dz in Kentucky that isn't flat. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

What would have been funny is the ti exiting and the woman 'falling' out in the plane. It would have been a real wtf moment for the ti. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Shit, seeing pic 1 It ias a miracle that she stayed in. Think she has joined Bill Cole and Travis as a chuteless jumper! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

One of the wildest rides I've had was on a rental 170. I don't know who packed it but they weren't very good. It is the first and only time I've been exposed to diving line twists. A rental gear packed with unstowed brakes is inexcusable. One thing people need to remember is that on rental gear if you lose/damage the main you are picking up the tab for it. The flip side is the DZ needs to ensure rental gear is fit for purpose and suitably packed. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I've not jumped a 150 but I can say that going from a 190 where I was comfortable to a 170 was a big step. I am just about used to the170 now for basic landings - including my first downwind landing on a 170 last weekend (light winds and pattern was agreed before take off). In all honesty looking at things I would have been better off getting 200 or 300 jumps on the 190 first. I plan on mastering the 170 and can see that just doing a new manouver 10 times before moving on, is going to take about 150 jumps to accumulate a few more basic skills. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I've got a normal slider on my Sabre1. I read somewhere that the problem openings are actually on the larger Sabres and also before a specific date (related to the brake attachment style/position). I roll the nose/pack as described in the Sabre 1 owners manual. It works well enough that sometimes it snivels for ages. I was getting off heading openings but I think that was down to packing practise as they appear to have stopped. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Agh, this thread screwed up my jump yesterday! I did a hop'n'pop from a 182. I can't remember the last time I went unstable on exit but yesterday I was 100% focussed on the droppy feeling (which I didn't feel) on a dive exit b - I just remember seeing the plane under my left arm and thinking "oops thats not a good exit" :) Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Ask manifest to callout for you. This is something STF does actively and it really helps. One benefit of the USPA system is that 2 A license jumpers can get out and have fun together. The problem is that too many don't plan according to their skill level. At 36 jumps with another A jumper just matching fall rate and being able to dock do a simple manouver and redock is learning. Ideally any formation work should be under the guidence of an experienced jumper (this doesn't mean they jump with you, simply debrief the plan before and performance after) If you can't get someone to jump with you hop and pops are cheap and allow you to focus on canopy flight. Don't forget that the new B requirements have alot more emphasis on safe canopy flight... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Stopped running my own business, left the Uk and got a 'real' job in Perth,Australia. About 2 years ago I woke up to the fact I didn't know my kids, and I didn't have a life.outside of work. I got my priorities straight, just working through the damage done to the kids from me never being at home. It's slowly comming together, my daughter is the hardest to build bridges with, but shes now keen to do a tandem for her 16th birthday. I don't really care about her jumping, but am happy to have found common ground (and she shares my twisted humour) Honestly moving has been the right choice for the family, although I miss the UK/USA business scene at times. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Natives do sheep. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Come to York, less women but more skill and no Robin bastards Wife used to complain that the dz's were far and that the fuel should come out of my allowance (despite the fact that I normally catch a ride) Anyway she saw pics of a 20 something girl doing her 100th jump in time honoured fashion posted on FB Suddenly York was a compulsory dz for me Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Jeez, removing stress from my life has had a side effect I could not have predicted. I am so freaking horny all the time. Of course being constantly around good looking women doesnt help. Got banned from the one dz for jumping with too many women (by the wife) ... Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Those were so freaking funny! Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I like my smartphone, but bloody hell I am sick of it replacing my words with what it THINKS I should have said! As I type I check that I haven't missed a key and I've typed the word correctly but then you press send/post whatever and then you see that it has replaced a word with something completely random... Going to have to find out how to turn that shit off. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Famous I've got skymama Infamous I've got popsjumper Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Ok that is one of the most common frequencies in the EU. Strictly speaking a tracking device shouldn't be on 433 as there frequencies dedicated to that function. The US equivalent is the 902-928MHz band, but they have different restrictions and it is not simply a matter of migrating frequency. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Thank you for the education and history lesson. To the people who are thinking about making one of these gizmos: How much weight are we talking about here? More than what a hackey weighs? You could make it lighter, but the tradeoffs probably go against you. Lighter implies small battery, which means lower transmit power and therefore less ability to locate. When using radios the antenna is what governs the overall efficiency. Antennas need to be large relative to the wavelength to be most efficient. The point being for unaided gps you'd want a 25mm square antenna for fastest acquisition. This also plays into the battery and weight calculations. Of course you can go the direction finder route, as per Susanne, which puts some of the engineering tradeoffs in you favour. I prefer gps though and it can he made small with long battery life (I've designed gps based emergency locating beacons for military aircrew and they were small and long life - but your main is cheaper than the widget Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.