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floridadiver81

New AFF students take a look...

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it wasnt the instrucotrs. When i first put the rig on it did feel tight..then after moving around with it i guess the leg strapes moved around and settled...which im assuming caused them to seem looser. I didnt tighten them by much at all...i know this because i didnt unravel the bundle from the first time. it may have been a 1/4 inch or so...but no more than that. I jsut know now to make them super tight...but not to the point of cutting off circulation...lol



Man, I've seen so many AFF students on here recently coming up with solutions to problems or wondering why we haven't "thought of that before."

Your leg straps being loose (which they probably were fine), will not necessarily contribute to those bruises. Your canopy most likely opened hard.

I'll also add, that when you sit down, the harness shifts and it will feel loose and can stay that way when you stand up...THAT DOESN'T MEAN ITS TOO LOOSE. It doesn't mean the webbing slipped through the hardware. Sometimes tightening straps too much can be very painful on opening and can make things more uncomfortable under canopy. Also, over-tightening the chest strap can be detrimental to your body and the harness. If it is too tight, its not only going to dig into your chest, its going to distribute the load to the chest strap rather than directly down the main lift webs as intended...thus risking damage to the harness.

There is also the possibility that you were in a head low position when pulling or turned in either direction. Either of these things, or a combination of both, can increase your speed and thus the opening shock.


Cheers,
Travis

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I clicked on this thread by accident, I was trying to click on Adventurechicks "Bandit Jump" thread. I opened the picture and thought, "Damn...that chick is one Granola-ass grungy non-shaving hippy. And what does this have to do with Bandit Jumps."
"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

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I thought you were taking about my picture for a second. I was ready to get my bitch on and do a virtual ass kickin'.

Now I see that you were talking about floridadiver81 and my blood pressure is proceeding to decline to a normal level.

In with the good, out with the bad...:P

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Unless i missed a post with this suggestion, try a bungee cord in the back of the leg straps. your rigger can help you with this. Many free-flyers have this, since radical changes in body positions, head-down, etc. can move the rig around. It really helps.

Harry
I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

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Some of the rental gear I have used hurt a lot. This was because the rig was fit for someone much smaller than me. I am 72 inches tall and it wasn't meant to hold someone my height. On the good side I purchased some great used gear from a local @ my dz and he is also 72 inches and same weight. My rig feels awesome and I couldn't believe how comfortable a rig could be until I flew it for the first time. It's a totally different experience and the canopy also flew way better, more responsive and more control. I don't know a lot because I am new to sport myself, but your rental rig may not have been the right size for you. Keep in mind this is only speculation and you need to talk to your instructors, they are the ones who REALLY know what the gear is and is not. They also would rather you be happy and comfortable than sore and mad. Keep with it and you'll get your own comfortable gear soon and be as happy as I am.;)
My drinking team has a skydiving problem

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Ha! No, I was talking about the gnarly hairy picture in the first post.



Hairy?

Did not take notice to all that weirdness but the bruise does not seem like it is not really all that bad.

It's just part of jumping student gear, making adjustments to it yourself after your instructor had it set and less than perfect body position that students normally produce at deployment time - all of which has been covered in this thread.

It's no big deal and the bruises will not be an issue once all the issues are addressed.

The OP stated: “When you do your first jump..learn from my mistake. When you think your leg straps are tight enough...go just a little bit more.”

How about – When you do your first jump, learn from my mistake and let your instructors adjust your gear.

-
Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

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Find a new drop zone that has a variety of sizes in student rigs.
The harness is TOO big.
Oven mitts, what the fuck.
“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

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Thanks for all the advice to all who posted in this thread. I know i should have known better than to do anything myself. I will let them know when i do level 2 on saturday.


And for all the people with the hair comments...umm..sorry..but i dont shave ALL my body hair.B|
"Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie
"Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye

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If you folks post one more photo of a bruised thigh, I am going to retaliate by posting pictures of large, hairy, naked white men!

Did I ever tell you about the time my parachute opened so hard that it stretched all the wrinkles out of my scrotum? That thing hanging in my pants is as smooth as a bowling ball!!!!!

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A common problem involves students tightening leg straps around their thighs and inch or three below their crotches. The pain hits when their leg straps slide up into their crotches.
If they were wiser, they would pull those leg straps tight, up in their crotches before leaving the airplane.

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Once around my 6th jump I had my leg straps way to lose ... it feels weird to have the chest strap into the chin, the container right in back of your head, pushing your head forward in such a way that it makes it difficult for you to check the canopy only by rotating the head up. You need to rotate it to the left or right and then up. Obviously, I've tried without any success to rotate the head up 3 or 4 times before looking for an alternative method. ;)

All that freaky stuff because I said to myself: hmm ... the leg straps are to tight, let me cut them lose a bit. How bad can it be?:)

After that I've asked one of my instructors if I can feel the pressure of his leg strap and now I'm reproducing the same pressure whenever I fasten my leg straps. :)
Lock, Dock and Two Smoking Barrelrolls!

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When you do your first jump..learn from my mistake. When you think your leg straps are tight enough...go just a little bit more. This was taken jsut now..2 days after my level 1 AFF.



huh? I learned to keep mine loose or else your hanging under canopy feeling like somone has ahold of your nuts for 4 minutes which isnt fun.

whoever said something about the chest strap coming to their chin. you probably have a strap adjustment on the side of the rig. you will want to tighten that. that is what lengthens the rig for taller people. i jumped once not knowing that was there and the chest strap came up to my chin. i check that strap on the side from now on. i almost shit myself under canopy thinking i might fall out not knowing what had happened. (if this makes no sense im drunk, so undestant i tthe best you can)
Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

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...After that I've asked one of my instructors if I can feel the pressure of his leg strap and now I'm reproducing the same pressure whenever I fasten my leg straps.



I might try that one......nice!!!:D:D:D
"I don't mean to harass you, but I was very impressed with the capable and stylish manner in which you dealt with that situation. And I was thinking to myself, now this girl's special..." M Renton

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i know where it came from though and how it got there. The entire canopy ride my shoulder harness was off my shoulders. i was suspended pretty much by the leg straps only..which was the painfull part. I tried pulling myself further up into the harness....but to no avail. It deffinately has not turned me away from the sport..just made more all the more wiser for next time....tighten them damn legs straps...lol



To me it sounds as if the length of the harness was not set properly. Tightening the leg straps won't do much (unless you had a lot of slack). Adjusting the harness to a smaller setting seems fitting.

What type of rigs do you use there?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

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To me it sounds as if the length of the harness was not set properly. Tightening the leg straps won't do much (unless you had a lot of slack). Adjusting the harness to a smaller setting seems fitting.

What type of rigs do you use there?



The gear was a Maverone 260. Sound familiar?
"Age has absolutely nothing to do with knowledge, learning, respect, attitude, or personality." -yardhippie
"Fight the air, and the air will kick your ass!!! "-Specialkaye

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The entire canopy ride my shoulder harness was off my shoulders. i was suspended pretty much by the leg straps only..

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That's perfectly normal.
If you bother to read Poynter's Manual, it says that a parachute harness is basically a sling that you sit on ... similar to a playground swing. The other straps: back, chest, shoulder, etc. are just to prevent you from falling out of the sling.
Even the best harness puts 70 percent of the load on the leg straps.

When we sized harnesses - at Rigging Innovations - we aimed for a three-finger may be five-finger gap at the shoulder when hanging under canopy. If the gap was much smaller ... you would not be able to stand upright in a harness, much less arch.

In other words, you are shortest (relative to a harness) when sitting (i.e. under canopy) and tallest when arching.
Think about how much closer your buttock crease is - to your shoulder - when you sit down.

The human body is compressible, but harnesses are not.

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I know the feeling..... :S My first solo jump but this was my second reward, I rode the down, I simply couldn't get my fat thigh out of the harness...

I opened hard and it really hit, my fault, straps were a little lose (at the instruction of my coach btw.... ) but was a little to much, my face was in the chest strap and my leg was pinned.... landed no problem but man.... I got me a bruise!

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To me it sounds as if the length of the harness was not set properly. Tightening the leg straps won't do much (unless you had a lot of slack). Adjusting the harness to a smaller setting seems fitting.

What type of rigs do you use there?



The gear was a Maverone 260. Sound familiar?



That would be the main canopy, the harness/container is what is important here.

Another easy thing you can do to is to wear a couple pairs of heavy denim jeans type shorts. You want the right amount of tension on the leg straps, not too much, and you definitely want them all the way into the crotch. I've heard of people that have used pads designed for automotive seat belts (intended to make the cross chest strap more comfortable when driving). I've never seen that done however, your instructor might not approve of it as it might come loose, but I thought I'd mention it, others should be able to comment on the viability of that option.
People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

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