Airviking

HA! I laugh! I believe you have my stapler.

Not sure what speed stars were like back in the old days but we do them all the time at our dz. Everyone exits separately, we never launch a base. We often have 10+ people in our speed stars... they're a shit load of fun! Sounds awesome. As far as pure crazy fun goes, speed stars are great. You can throw together a group of all skill levels and (provided the attitude is right) everyone has a blast. Great for boogies. It's like, First you have to minimize the chaos out the door, and then create order from whatever chaos you get. Where I started jumping, the standard exit altitude was 7,200ft. For a beginner, a 4-way was like speed star. Just a friggin drag race! I believe you have my stapler.

[replyNot what you remember as "speed star". This is about a close as you will see. Yeah, back in the old days, we wren't allowed any grips on exit. I can't understand why the rule changed. I believe you have my stapler.

At the risk of dating myself...Does anyone do 10-way speed star nowadays? I mean just for fun? (and it is a helluva lot of fun!!!) I believe you have my stapler.

Thank God, nobody has yet figured out how to stuff a 30-way into a friggin wind tunnel... I believe you have my stapler.

No, no, they are PERFECTLY safe. No, seriously, they are a lot of fun, and the visuals of a big dive is pretty amazing. You don't really get the real picture of what they look like if you've only see them on video, they are way cooler in 3D. And they aren't that scary really: There is a plan, and if everyone follows it and keep heads up and attentive, it is pretty safe. Good bigway breakoffs and canopy traffic is as beautiful as the completion, IMHO. But Perris is a great place to do RW. Both in big and small groups. There's organizing, and both local and visiting jumpers to jump with. I go there and don't even take out my freefly suit.

Ha, silly me... I opened this topic thinking that everyone's coolest skydiving experiences were actually in the air. I believe you have my stapler.

Otters are way too "perfect" for my taste. DC3s and Twin Beaches have a lot more character, so in my book they are favorites. Even Cessnas are more "fun" than Otters, and that's what it's about. I associate DC3s with boogies, i.e. "good times", awesome vibes on climb. Ditto with Beaches. I believe you have my stapler.

Awesome! Bet on it. BTW, I've been trying to get on The Ranch bulletin board. I've been bugging the admin for a month for posting rights, but to no avail. I believe you have my stapler.

I just caught myself spinning out of control: "Is anyone gonna want to jump with me? Are the people who I jump with gonna be good enough? Will I be good enough? Maybe I need to buy some tunnel time? Yadda yadda..." This is how my mind is going. I'm breaking my #1 skydiving rule: HAVE FUN! Because that's what it's all about. Cheers! I believe you have my stapler.

Well, it's official then: I'm a slut! (It's a little disturbing how naturally those words roll off my tongue...) I believe you have my stapler.

Thanks! That's encouraging.

Getting back in the scene after 22 years (2 jumps last month) is like taking a ride in a time machine. I'm trying to get my head around where skydiving is nowadays. The local airport has a "drop zone". I use quotes because I never considered it to be anything but a tandem ride factory. But they advertized a boogy this past Saturday, so I figured what better time to see what they are about. There was pretty good activity there. I asked the manifest girl if there was a regular group of belly fliers at the DZ. She said something like,"Well you can always go out with some green A-license folks. Belly flying is all they do, because it's all they know." She really gave me the impression that belly flying is just a stepping stone on the way to free flying, which is where everybody ultimately wants to be. So, what I got from the exchange is: a) There are no, or very few experienced "fun jumpers" who engage primarily in belly flying nowadays. -or- b) The chick is talking out of her *ss. -or- c) She is speaking specifically about the culture at that particular DZ. What's the deal here? Belly flying is what I know and love, and I haven't yet gotten my head around the free flying thing. I want to know what kind of difficulties I'm going to have come spring when I get active. Any thoughts? I believe you have my stapler.

Thanks! I believe you have my stapler.

What does it mean? I believe you have my stapler.

The dropzone where I trained in 1980, South Florida Parachute, used KAP-3s instead of static line. (They also used PCs when everyone else were using T10s) The first jump was a 5-second delay, and the jumpmaster had us believe that we pull, or we die. He didn't mention that the KAP-3 was set to pull at 7 seconds. Nothing like a little pressure to get the newbie to perform. I believe you have my stapler.

Question for all you folks with long layoffs: How long after your last jump did you have skydiving dreams? For me it was about 15 years. Mainly the dropzone scene, aircraft rides, occasionally some freefall and canopy rides. I think I rode a streamer in for a standup landing once. I believe you have my stapler.

Thanks Rob, I clearly have a lot to learn about modern canopy piloting. But at the rate I'm picking up new info, I'll be an armchair skygod well before my debute in the spring! I believe you have my stapler.

Yep, that would be me... Currently researching gear and chatting on the "Gear and Rigging" forum. Cheers! I believe you have my stapler.

Yeah, I'm looking for someone to lend me a rig... I'm not too concerned about style or state of the art, but back in the day, if you wanted to get picked up on a hot RW dive and you weren't known, it sure helped if you at least looked like an experienced skydiver. I believe you have my stapler.

Thanks Dave, Regarding under-canopy incidents: Yeah, I could see that coming even back in the '80s, and so could the USPA. Canopies were evolving from practical life-saving devices to performance vehicles even back then. Every month, there were new incident reports involving hook turns at low altitudes, and USPA kept repeating the mantra "NO LOW HOOK TURNS!" Now that swooping (which includes low turns) is a discipline, I suspect that USPA has been forced to adopt it and try to make it as safe as possible in order to not disconnect from the community. Very good point about wing loading: perhaps the advances in canopy design are enough to make the canopy ride fun, even at wing loads I am used to. I believe you have my stapler.

LOL. I do have that effect on people...spend a bunch of time with them, and they can't ever remember meeting me. This was three or four weeks back, I was that tall back-sliding 51 year young with the beard. Linda gave me the classroom- and and hanging-in-the-harness training that Saturday, but the winds were too high to jump. Came back the following day (Sunday), and the winds were still kinda high, but we made the sign-off dive in the afternoon. You had the nerve to say that my flying style was kinda "old school". If you still don't remember me, surely you remember my Flight Suit (brought it for laughs) with the wings and swoop cords. I believe you have my stapler.

Thanks for taking the time to compose helpful replies. This is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for!

I was at the RW world championship in Z-Hills in 1980! I had 60 jumps, was jumping a PC with a chest-mount reserve. Guess what...I wasn't competing! I believe you have my stapler.

Started jumping 1980. Quit in '88 with 283 jumps, all belly flying RW. Was jumping a 210sqft Pegasus, in a Mirage, with a small round reserve. Suits were ig, but getting smaller. Came back and got current a couple of weeks ago, on student gear. I want to get back to conventional belly flying, but freestyle looks like something everyone should at least try. So, I'm in the market for a used rig, suit, helmet. My budget is $3,000. I am the kind of guy who always looks for value. I buy stuff that is good value for my dollar, and then take very good care of it. My body weight is 195lbs. So, the breakdown: Main: I was a very conservative pilot back then, wasn't into hotdogging of any kind. But it meant that the fun was basically over once under canopy. That said, I wouldn't mind starting with higher loading from the start. (My pegasus carried only 0.9lbs/ft2.) What would be a good canopy to look for? Reserve: What are the selection criteria? Container: Again, what to look for. I am 6'2" which probably limits the amount on used options significantly. Jump suit: This is tricky: Looking for a standard RW suit, but would also like to do some freestyle. Is this realistic? Altimeter: ??? Helmet: At some point, my daughter is going to ask for her skateboard helmet back. The carbon helmets are cool, but I'd settle for the old Protec to start. But I'm betting that Protec is a problem in head-down flying. I know that this is a lot for one subject, but any help, advice and comments are greatly appreciated! I believe you have my stapler.