OccupytheSky

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Gear

  • AAD
    Vigil

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Emerald Coast
  • License
    B
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    475
  • Tunnel Hours
    5
  • Years in Sport
    4

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    Yes
  1. Your student progression, if you decide to do AFF in the US, will more or less be the same no matter where you go. Talking big picture here, you will do approximately 7 jumps with an instructor where you will learn and practice basic freefall survival skills. After that you will spend 3-10 jumps with a lower level instructor where you will practice skills that you need in order to be safe jumping in groups. Also, you will make two jumps at low altitude in order to get comfortable getting out of an airplane lower and opening your parachute right away (simulating an emergency with the airplane). After you have completed all of those syllabus jumps; and accumulated 25 jumps total; and learned how to pack a parachute; and made at least one jump with a parachute that you have packed yourself, you will be eligible for your A-license and from there you can do whatever you want The administrative side of it (which card you will use, categories, etc.) doesn't matter too much, varies slightly from dropzone to dropzone, will get you to the same place in the end, and should be pretty transparent to you as a student. Just make sure you are actually getting things signed off after every jump and every jump you make as a student is written down in your log book by your instructor. SCR 15081, SCS 8334, TDS 893
  2. Conventional wisdom would caution you against downsizing that fast, but conventional wisdom needs to account for everyone, to include the pilots with aptitude and skills to the left of bell curve center. You should be asking people at your DZ who can evaluate your landings and ultimately asking yourself how much risk you would like to assume. If you wanna fly a smaller canopy it's on you. If you can land the smaller canopy well, fly it well, build/maintain a good situational awareness in the shorter/faster canopy ride, do all of the same on a smaller reserve, and are comfortable with the fact that any trees, fences, or people you hit will be at a much higher speed then you should be fine. Ask yourself honest questions. SCR 15081, SCS 8334, TDS 893
  3. I've have two friends who have both had a terminal velocity reserve ride due to not being able to get the freefly PUD out of its little pouch. One friend, it was on her first jump with the gear and she hadn't pre-flighted the handles on the ground at all. The second friend had jumped it the first weekend without gloves on and had no issues, but on the second weekend she was using gloves for the first time with that gear and couldn't get the grip she needed to pull out the PUD with gloves on. Obviously the takeaway is practice with your gear on the ground before you jump but, as was the case with my second friend, you might need to be extra cautious the first few times you jump as you introduce different gear configurations. SCR 15081, SCS 8334, TDS 893
  4. Originally when I got a second rig I thought it was going to be for turning loads faster. Now I would say that 60% of the reason i own two rigs is to be able to do multiple disciplines, 40% is so I can turn loads faster (or do a coach jump without messing up our groups' cycle) I have two rigs. A '97 Javelin with a Sabre2 135 in it, and an '11 Wings with a spectre 150. Javelin's got a hackey and a D-ring, Wings's got a PUD and two pillows. Speaking to "dissimilar gear." I personally don't have any sort of issues with that, and if you have a disciplined mind you might not either. Only on occasion do I pay a packer and jump every load. Those days I'm usually rolling up without my normal jump buddies and just trying to feel as much air as possible. On those days I usually only make 40-60% of my skydives with other people. A lot of those are hop and pops. Honestly, most of the days I set out to "jump my ass off" I usually meet some people I want to jump with and end up slowing down anyways. Some things to expect: Your freefall jumps will suffer in quality if you're outpacing everyone else at the drop zone and are not allowing yourself enough time to meet people and or dirt dive with them. You just can't expect to get serious training value if you are landing, putting on a new rig and getting back onto a plane. If you can maximize your canopy piloting training and that appeals to you, then "crappy freefall" may not be an issue for you. You will be absolutely exhausted at the end of every day. You will not be able to enjoy a lot of the social aspects of hanging out at a DZ Have you thought about instead spending your money on the tunnel? Go for a couple of days, every couple of months. You will make phenomenal progress in your skills and be able to productively use that at the dropzone. You will make similar, if not better, progress than if you get a turn rig but won't need to be in a mad rush every time you go to the DZ. Just make sure you get coaching SCR 15081, SCS 8334, TDS 893
  5. I'm currently on a P3. I got unstable for the first time this past weekend while trying some backfly (around jump 30). I went into a dive and started spinning on my back. After practicing barrel rolls, loops, swooping down, lotta brakes, arched deployments, etc it was pretty intuitive to get out of it. So, in my limited experience, I would have to agree with what everyone is saying about just focusing on learning to fly well in the more dynamic orientations/maneuvers to give your self the tools you need should the situation arise SCR 15081, SCS 8334, TDS 893