nigel99

But the 170 was loaded at 1:1 back then I am fighting the downsizing bug but finding it hard.

I thought of this thread when I watched a video of a S&TA do a jump through a solid cloud layer. There was no magic appearance of cloud between exit and freefall. It was clearly cloudy at boarding (in the video) and the plane certainly climbed through cloud. The hypocrisy gets me, people in a position to set an example should adhere to the rules and if they think they are stupid, should support getting them changed. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Quite a few folks have landed their canopies at that speed. Most of them are dead or seriously broken, but they landed by god. Any landing you can walk away from... If you can't walk away from it under your own power, repack and hop on a plane to at least theoretically do it again, that ain't no landing. At best it's a crater that didn't quite stick. Why would you need to repack a wingsuit for the landing to count???

If I understand the point being made here (ie the US is 'without a doubt' the cheapest place to learn) then I absolutely doubt this. (There is a world outside the US for skydiving, suprising as it may appear) Unless the poster I am quoting meant that the cheapest place to learn in accordance with USPA requirements is the US, in which case I don't have a view. Yeah sorry it shouldn't have been a categorical statement. The USA is most likely the cheapest place in the western world and is backed up with a massive infrastructure in skydiving. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

You want to look for dropzones that have a similar set of rules to your country. There is no point going somewhere only to find that your 'home' dz doesn't recognise the training. Without doubt the US is the cheapest place to learn and due to USPA rules you will get sometimes as many as 4 jumps in for the cost of a single jump elsewhere. You absolutely must plan on jumping through to your A license if doing it in another country (normally 25 to 30 jumps). So a dz that jumps everyday is best. Also think about language, it is really important that you can communicate easily. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Bear is fishy. I saw a readers digest article saying he broke his back jumping in Zimbabwe in the 90's. Well considering there were about 100 jumpers in the country (I was one of them) I had never heard of him or the accident. I've also checked with a friend who was chairman of the zpa at the time and he has no recollection. Of course the article could be wrong. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Some countries have a life limit on reserves, but the USA doesn't. That said if a rigged is unhappy with gear, there is no way I'm jumping it. With the container I guess it could always be sent to the factory for an overhaul. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Not all dz's are friendly and some take time to break into the cliques. If the problem follows you from one dz to another you need to do some self evaluation. If you are a regular, look for other people fresh off of their A and ask them to jump. Go out for a meal with the group after jumping that can really help. I got cold shouldered at a dz recently - went up and said hi to a few jumpers (my first day there) and was pretty much immediately shut out. No real sweat maybe it was a bad day (although I was warned in advance it was 'cliquey'). I've settled into a new dz and am making friends. At the end of the day though many larger dz's are business oriented and make it much harder to pick up friends (especially if you're quiet). Sometimes a small dz is a good option.

Well unless I missed a post nobody has mentioned spotting. The very first thing that I noticed was the complete and utter lack of spotting. As far as I could tell not 1 person bothered to check out the door for traffic and the spot

Amazing that the freebag was so close. Don't know if it was good or bad luck that it landed next to bimbo journalists though. The really stupid bit was the comment below that skydiving is an extremely safe sport. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

In your case, I would say stick with what you have. You've mentioned previously how money for jumping is tight. Currency will do more you than a fancy new jumpsuit.

But it will be very hard to find your own gear with a ripcord. I also feel that the transition needs to be properly managed. I fear a licensed jumper may simply try and change to a boc without adequate training.

for a cash-strapped person, tandem is the last thing he should do. Might as well get 10 mins of Wind-tunnels where he'l definitely learn something instead of 1 skydive jump where he is just a "tourist". just imo. Hugs & Cheers! Shc Sorry maybe it wasn't clear. It comes across that he has paid the money to the dz, but is not even certain that he want's to continue. To quote "I have paid the money I may as well spend it". If someone is not enjoying the jumps as they are simply too stressful and they are only doing it because they would rather not throw the money away, then perhaps spending that money on tandems is an option.

Well I admire your tenacity. Regardless of how well the jumps are going, are you enjoying them? If you are finding it much too stressful maybe the dz would let you do tandems for the balance? Otherwise as pops says maybe some no pressure jumps. Good luck whatever you do.

Thanks Andy, I also worried about the mal side from what he had said. As someone who really needs to get my head around things for jumping (you know me), I personally feel that a week spent on a DZ like the Farm would be ideal IF the OP really wants to conquer skydiving. The quieter time during the week with lots of time with an instructor could provide a huge boost. I also feel that too little use is made of 'free' on the ground dirt diving. I realise during the weekend it is impractical or difficult for an AFFI to spend a couple of hours doing drills with one person. Other observations - you get AFFI's who are good skydivers but not necessarily good teachers. On top of that, my personal experience is that there are 2 main types of skydiving instructor, the gentle teacher and the drill sergeant. If I am nervous about something, I actually find the kick your butt drill sergeant more comforting. So even with a good teacher, it is good if the instructors approach suits your needs.

Totally agree. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I strongly disagree with you. I am terrible at physical sports, but I really enjoy skydiving and am reasonably good at it. Skydiving is a mental rather than physical sport. In fact back in the static line days we loved the mucho rugby players coming to do a jump - very few of them stuck around and some even refused to jump.

Bingo. And you only have to DO those things once. There's no check other than the integrity of the instructors (and we know how varied that is) to see if you actually learned anything from having done it once. Guess how few jumps it actually takes to get ALL the canopy work signed off on the 2-page card? I am pretty sure the minimum for all the requirements is 5 jumps provided you do it right. The elephant in the room is that as you say signoff ethics are dubious. I wonder if anyone posting in this thread has ever "failed" an A accuracy jump and had to redo? If people would properly adhere to the current requirements it would be a big step forwards. It irritates me that people pay lipservice to the problem, but ignore the guidelines we already have. I've previously mentioned the sim wingloading guidelines, not only is that ignored, but it appears that some AFF instructors don't even know they exist. People are happy to quote the recommendation on cameras, and then ignore recommendations that don't fit their personal agendas. I must admit I like Robin's approach on more theory and slowing things down. Dave hit the nail on the head, saying people wanted instant gratification, and maybe that is a clue. Don't pandering to the instant gratification crowd (leave them to doing tandems). The sport could do with more discipline.

Hi Ron I disagree that there was nothing else to learn or that it was not skydiving related. For a start the whole concept of emergency procedures from a balloon is something I could do with knowing. I would never have guessed that in an emergency a balloon would have to be made jump ready so as not to endanger the pilot. The same weather that unfortunately took the.pilots life, could just as easily screw up a crosscountry jump, so the weather learning was also relevant. I don't know if the software allows it, but it wouldn't hurt for the incidents posts to need approval by a mod prior to being published. It would reduce the noise level considerably. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I'm surprised Andy wasn't trying to hit on you, he must be getting trained. Glad you'll had fun last year was a blast. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

The incidents forum is a mixed blessing. I've learnt a bunch from the dreaded speculation that upsets so many people. The problem is that so many people just spout the same crap. Posts like "nothing new to learn move on" and please don't speculate and why is nobody posting details. I'm disappointed that the recent thread was locked as an excellent discussion on weather was evolving with huge relevance to skydivers. There were also details about the jumpship that are useful knowledge for a skydiver planning specialist jumps. But people can be very callous in incidents and that can sour things. I wish more people would respect the fact, someone died and friends and relatives maybe looking at the thread. So calling people idiots for jumping certain canopies should be done more considerately after they have pounded in(as an example) Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Sorry but that doesn't really work effectively. Look at Microsoft as the best example. They have the developer network, which is probably the biggest and best in knowledge base in the world. Yet when you really need an answer you normally find it off in the web. I'll give you an example of the problem. A few years ago Dave told me that in twenty odd years of manufacturing electronics (he works at a contract manufacturer) it typically takes 1 year to 18 months after manufacturing starts, before a product is really stable and mature. That tallies with my experience. How do I effectively transfer that knowledge to my new employer? Even if I took the time to put a note into a kb, who's going to search for a random tidbit that helps with project costing and planning? But regardless they do have a place. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

I like that approach, and it can definitely build corporate knowledge but it is slow in my field. They're generally called post mortems and are carried out at the end of a project. The problem is that a typical project takes between 1 and 3 years. Even then it is normally about a year in production before you really have a solid and proven product. But yes that process is invaluable. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Thanks Wendy. Both your and Jons answers capture a huge part of the problem - finding it when you need it. I tend to work in smaller companies and as a consultant. I'm even finding as I get older that I have forgotten some of my own lessons :( It seems that tacit knowledge is best captured by giving people time to simply share their experiences.(I've been reading up) so perhaps it is simply down to encouraging a "social" culture of the right type. Maybe its better to invest in good coffee and comfy chairs rather than fancy software? Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

Has anyone come across a good method of capturing knowledge in a business envirnment? Specifically in engineering but I am sure other professions have the same problem. I've had clients beg me to document "everything" I know which is stupid because I have close to 20 years experience. To be honest the whole logbook aproach is a waste of time, because no one can find the key detail when needed. I have written detailed documents for clients in the past. The more detailed it is the more likely they are to not find what they are looking for (past experience proves this). The company I am working for has developed an "expert system" in house to try and capture knowledge, after past bad experiences. While it is cumbersome and tends to get in the way, it is the best appoach I have come across. It is sort of a wiki and database all rolled into one. I am really interested to know what has worked for people or ideas that might. Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.