Merrick

Ahhhh... Excellent, My baby's been busy! :) Chuck, & everyone else, a huge thanks. We thought we had an agency all set up, but then they were simply going to charge us for a listing we could get online (mostly). Anyway, my biggest concern has been what area we should live in, and we've already got a lot of good info on that.... seriously, thanks guys! Blues & we'll see ya soon! :o) "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

As for a jumpsuit, if you're looking to save some serious money, you might try Tad's Sportswear in Australia. Pam & I both have custom made freefly suits from them and both were less than $160 (which included shipping). They're very solid suits that hold up very well, and they look excellent. I believe Brandon & Laura ordered some RW suits as well & were equally happy with them. I'm not sure what they would cost you now, I haven't checked the exchange rate in a while, but you wouldn't be disappointed. Altimeter: Regardless of what anyone says, ANY altimeter will do. However, I got my Alti III brand new for $100 (from Gravity Gear), and Pam bought a used FT-50 for $95 (I think), so the deals are out there, you just have to be patient until you find one. Helmets: You should be able to find just about anything you want used. Pam & I both bought our Z1's used and absolutely love them. They fit great, and work great. The only problem I've had with mine is the neck liner pulling off, a little contact cement fixed that wonderfully. :o) Anyway, just some ideas if you're looking to save some cash. Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Really Clay?? When I was out there I actually loved the traffic, and it seemed fairly easy to get where you wanted to go. Granted, I was only there for a few days. Only thing I didn't like about the traffic was that everyone drove to damn slow! lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

What's the saying??? If there isn't any pictures it didn't happen! ;o) "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

All hail "Muay Thai Master D." Damn Kris, kinda wish I could have stuck around to watch you crawl back into the hanger after all that. lol Seriously tho, glad it all turned out OK. Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Well put Zennie! I, like many others, had no intention of taking this thread in this direction.... What got me was the response to a few OBVIOUS jokes. I think that a self-proclaimed Canopy Natzi, ANTI-CN, or even pimp should, at the least, be able to take a joke every now & then about their proclamation. I don't know if it's because of the heightened # of users on the forum, or if it's something else.... but everyone seems to be a LOT more easily agitated these days, quick to become defensive, and sometimes downright mean! Don't believe me, just search this forum for all the threads with the word *LOCKED* in them. As for the whole downsizing too fast debacle, I think Zennie's right, not only Lisa, but a lot of others on this site & at the dropzone have been around the sport WAAY longer than most others... and seen a lot of things that many of us have only had nightmares about. But, I think that we all should take any advice about how to correct problems, freefall skills, CANOPY SKILLS, or anything else on here with a grain of salt….. that is until we’re able to talk to those who really know how we fly, & what we’re all about. There is a TON of great advice on this site, and almost all of that advice that’s worth anything does come from those who are seasoned in the sport (like Lisa for instance). However, some of the advice given at times feels more abusive and is projected with an “all knowing” attitude, rather than maybe a little constructive criticism. Here’s what it boils down to, a life lesson if you will (not just a skydiving one)… You can give someone your opinion, and regardless of how educated & experienced it may be, they have the God-given right to ignore that and make their own decision, it’s called free-will. It’s when you start forcing your opinions on them & trying to make them feel stupid for their decisions that your ‘advice’ may be dismissed, and can cause you to be the butt of a joke at times. Ultimately they’re going to take the opinions & advice of those that they see at the DZ every weekend & form their decisions accordingly. That’s what I did, and what everyone I know has done. There’s no need for anyone to get upset if their advice is ignored or if someone makes a joke of it…. How many people do you know, people that actually care about you, that have said you shouldn’t be skydiving at all? Did you listen to them? Pam has been told (by more than one person) that she’s irresponsible for skydiving! Whatever, opinions are like ass-holes…. WHUFFOS! Another thing to remember is that just because someone is downsizing doesn’t mean that they’re planning to join the Para-Performance Tour. Now if they fly a VX…FX….XXX something, OK maybe I’ll give you that one. I have NEVER hooked a landing (intentional or not), and I don’t plan to either. It’s all about risk, having a wife & two wonderful step-kids, that’s just one added risk that I’m going to stay away from. However, a Sabre 190 can make you just as dead as a VX76 (or some other handkerchief canopy) Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Y'know, this defensive "I'm a martyr" attitude is exactly why I've quit watching this forum as much. It seems that everyone wears their heart on their sleeve now-days, and the slightest joke sets them off. So for all you newbies out there, tread lightly, strongly evaluate every thing you say (before you say it), so as not to upset anyone. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

*Let's see, now mine* durring student jumps & the few jumps after just graduating: Manta 288 - 6 jumps Falcon 300 - 5 jumps Skymaster (230 or 260, not sure) - 5 jumps then I got my own gear: sabre 190 - 63 jumps sabre 170 - 2 jumps (borrowed) And I'll soon be jumping that brand-new Hornet 170 (1.37:1) sitting in my bedroom without a home (i.e. container)! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Ummm... that was 2 jumps on that canopy... and it was a Heatwave not a Hornet! Don't try to sugar-coat it hun! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Ahhhh.... it all makes sense now. LOL Thanks Phree. I do have some cheesy movie editor software that installed when I installed WinME, but I'm not sure if I have a DV card already or not, I've had to reformat the harddrive like three times on this damn thing, so if I do the drivers for it never got re-installed. Oh well, I'll figure something out. Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

This has got to be my only complaint about the Z1... other than that, I love mine... I obviously had this same problem, and finally ended up using contact cement... worked like a charm, the liner hasn't budged since! :o) "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Just a quick question guys. I bought a PC9 last fall, and I've just now found the time to get more acquainted with it. I'm wanting to upload some video clips, but with the 4mb memory stick that came with the camera, I'm only able to capture about 53 secs of video (as an mpeg) on the 160X112 Image size setting. So, I got a 32mb stick the other day, figuring that should be more than enough space for the three minutes or so of video I wanted to upload (being as it's 8X larger than the original stick). Well, I was wrong, I can still only get 60 secs captured on the stick, and only 15 secs in the 320X240 (which is what I'd rather be using). What is it gonna take? I don't have any fancy editing equipment or software, I've simply been using my vcr & stereo to edit what I want to the DV tape, then trying to record it onto the memory stick from the tape. Is there another way that I'm not aware of? I’ve looked at several mpegs on pilotdave’s site that have comparable run times as what I want to record, and they seem to range anywhere from 8 – 45mb. What accounts for the difference in size when there is only a few seconds of difference…. Help! lol Thanks for any info. Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Don't worry numb-nuts, I'm sure with his track record 3fLiEr will do something to top this. He has 8 months after all.... more than enough time! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFL - and is that Zennie in the door up behind them? Looks like his JumpBubble! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Oh absolutely, I've jumped with people with 400 jumps or better that fly like I do LOL... this could turn in to one of those cypress/rsl things, but I won't let that happen. lol The group of people I was thinking of are those who as soon as they touch the ground for 50th, 100th, or 200th they drop their application for their B, C, or D license in the mail on their way back to the hanger. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Yeah, that's funny! Guess that's why the thread ended. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

EXACTLY! An even better way to think of it.... by the USPA standards, SKREAMER is about 10 jumps away from being considered an expert skydiver! See... How scary is that?! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

My very opinionated answer to that question would definitely be Yes! Seems like a hard question to answer, but think of it this way, how many people do you know with only 200 jumps that are better than say your S&TA, or Joe-Blow-Shmoe, who has 1000 jumps? "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Well actually.... this was discribed to me as 'cheating,' and I gotta say I agree. Picking a spot at 1000ft when you're getting ready to start your landing pattern seems more like you're determining where you're GOING to land, not where you WANT to land. For good accuracy jumps, pick a spot on the ground before you get in the plane, then try to hit it. Now, I'm not saying I haven't fudged a bit here & there, or that I won't in the future.... I'm just sayin! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFL - Why not, it works for everything else! That's odd actually, I love my Z1 as well... and have never had it come off. I actually have some serious scars on it from an evil evil opening a few months ago, but it never even hinted to being twisted off. As in every other aspect of this sport, a person needs to find what works best for them, this is obviously just another one of those things... maybe it is a time for a change.

Surprisingly (or not so much), skydivers all over do this ALOT! It's not really because they forget, but as many of us know, the kill-line on the collapsable PC can shrink up to two inches or so... so, that nice green window is rarely ever there even if the PC is cocked (I know that it wasn't on my old rig, until I colored it back in that is). Simply checking the window may not be enough, especially on borrowed gear... pull that sucker out & inflate it a few times, make sure that it's going to catch air & float nicely back to the ground. Re-packing a Pilot Chute is a lot cheaper than repacking a reserve, a little less stressful too. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFLMAO - One hard opening, and about my first 10 pack jobs the endearment was "You bitch!" Every other time I saw it was "Hey gorgeous!" lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

ROFL - not necessarily, that's pretty much exactly what I thought when I saw this thread.... "Uhhh... bye!" lol "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

What kind of helmet do you have... the liners in the Z1 are changable. I bought an extra large Z1 for Pam, and she bought a large one for me, her's was a little big, mine was a little tight, so we swapped the liners (put the XL in the L helmet & the L in the XL helmet). They fit perfectly now. "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"

Uhhh... about 20sqft! lol Not going to get into the whole pd190 damned if ya do, damned if ya don't debacle, but as for the original post. Not saying you're full of shit Dave.... but you're full of shit! lol I've picked up little super-swooper rigs that weigh more than 10lbs. I jumped a J4, Sabre190, pd176, w/cypress and it weighed about 15 lbs itself, and I believe you were jumping a similar set-up. Anyway, one thing I think people tend to overlook is MAX exit weight.... which means, all those extra layers you pile on under your jumpsuit for cold-weather jumping, plus your jumpsuit, altimeter, helmet, shoes, etc... absolutely everything! I weigh 200 lbs nekkid, & had been calculating my wing loading based on an educated guess of 220 exit weight. One day out of pure curiosity I geared up with EVERYTHING I would be wearing on my coldest day of jumping.... my exit weight was just over 230 ... surprised the hell out of me. I also weighed with normal gear, shorts & t-shir under my jumpsuit, and still weighed just under 225.... was a bit of an eye opener! As for viking, as long as you're a competent pilot relative to the number of jumps you have (heads-up, standing up your landings - EVERYWHERE you land), there's no doubt in my mind you could handle a 190. My first rig had a Sabre190 and I started jumping it on jump #16, I weighed 190 at the time... it provided plenty of performance AND was very forgivable. Anyway, just go with you gut, and listen to your instructors tell you, whatever you get will be a blast! Blues! "Pammi's Hemp/Skydiving Jewelry"