milehigheric

I have only been jumping for a year and a half but i have never been able to justify a planned opening at 2,000ft. Call me a pussy if you like but pitching at that height would see me under my hard deck without a functional canopy. I would much rather trade a few seconds of meaningless solo free fall for a bigger buffer between me and the ground (plus AAD firing height for that matter) should shit hit the fan. If I wanted the thrill of 'if this doesn't work in dead' I'd be BASE jumping

That is how I did it actually... Just seemed to take long enough that I thought there must have been an easier way haha

So i was hooking my main back up over the weekend (still on risers) and it took me quite sometime to get the canopy 'right' before connecting 3 rings. I'm familiar with the three ring connection but I have never needed to actually reconnect a twisted pile of crap before. I eventually got a good line check, but whats the simplest method everyone uses to reconect a main after a cutaway for example.

You guys have got to be pushing drugs haha. I got my PPL(a) when I was 18 with the intentions of CPL/MEICR and employment. Money was a huge issue tho and I stopped flying at about 60 hours. 5 years later I'm in a position where I could continue training but with a young family I can't justify taking a 'pay cut' to be a pilot as much as I would love to. Skydiving a a happy and afordable median for me

Go Jump Greg! Get off the fucking internet

Since when has line twists been called 'balls of crap'? Looks like good execution of EP's to me!

Ill answer your question with another question - What's the best car on the market? Simply put, its impossible to outline the 'best' isn't it? One may be weak in one area but stronger in another and people will form their own opinions. Canopies are no different, and just like cars the only way to know what compares to what is to test them. Figure out who the main players in the game are (PD, aerodyne, Icarus etc...) then figure out what canopies in their range is suitable for you. After your options are on the table use whatever means you can to figure what you think is the best. If you can't demo canopies you may not pick the 'best' straight up but reviews can help this decision somewhat (check out the 'gear' section). At the end of the day all modern ZP canopies have had a ton of R&D poured into them so you can't really go wrong with any aimed at your skill level. Good luck dude

I should clarify... I didn't say yes to the gas canister question, I replied with "no but it has a cypress AAD". It opened up questioning which lead to me (the bad lier aim) mentioning 'charge'. I should have just stuck with no :) . That NZ CAA letter should pull some weight if I have dramas again tho cheers! Airline was air New Zealand strife

I'll hold my words on the way back through for sure! Could someone link the documents they carry with them for cypress for reference tho. I found the TSA letters and the X-ray card is this all cypress has? Would be awesome if airtec could write a letter that clearly states it is safe for carry on with a bunch of cypress logos and the company's name on it. Seems like that is all the airline was after.

I thought I read up on this subject and had my basses covered - apparently not. I just got through check in on a flight from brisbane AUS to christchurch NZ after 1.5 hours of talking. The first issue was my rig was overweight for carry on. Fair enough, I fixed this by cutting away my main and stashing it in my suitcase. Then i was asked if it contained a 'gas canister'. Being honest I said yes it has a small enclosed charge known as an automatic activation device - a backup device. I showed them the TSA documents approving them for flight but they would not be accepted because they weren't from the manufacturer. Over the next hour i explained to them what the system is, how it works, when it works and why it works. All they cared about was the charge and wanted to know what substance it contained and how much of it was present. I explained to them that these details are not documented to the end user. The check in staff were friendly and seemed to believe what I was saying but without a document from the manufacturer they would not let the rig fly - even in the hold. Eventually after several calls, one manager in NZ was familiar with the device and gave the ok initially for checked luggage. I argued the point that I did not want my life saving device thrown around and would prefer to Cary it on. Eventually we agreed that the airline would allow me but it is at security's discretion. Security said nothing and here I am... But wtf?

Take the money out of the equation for a second and consider this. If you offered everyone in your extended friends and family a free tandem or a free solo jump (iad, SL, AFF) what sort of split would you get? In my circle i figure about 80% would consider tandem, 19% would say your crazy get away from me and 1% would consider solo. I may not have the whole market in my circle but from what I see people want carnival rides... The bucket listers, the bucks partiers, the birthdayers etc. It would take a lot to convince anyone I know to make a solo jump even if it was on the house. A tandem where they don't have to do anything on the other hand... Sure lets go.

Feel sorry for the guys that have to clean you up and the jumpers and whuffos that see you plow the DZ. EVERYONE knows low hook turns kill, EVERYONE 'knows' to avoid them... So why do they keep happening? Are you really that egotistical to think your just smarter then the rest? You can flick through any incident report and say that's dumb I would never do that from your armchair - but in reality it's the aragont 'that will never happen to me' folk that find them selfs in these positions. Honestly I don't care what you do...If your risk vs reward assesment says go for it then go for it - But before you do just think about the people around you for a second. Put your own ego aside and think about all the other people that would be effected by your poor judgment. I remember a few years ago I was a true believer that I would never be involved in a car accident. Every accident you hear about you just think how can people manage to do that - its so avoidable. Accidents don't give a fuck what you believe in tho, and I got a quick lesson in an 80km/h crash.

As said, you don't need anything for AFF. Wait until you get in the game (post AFF) before you buy anything. It's not a bad idea to have a think about upcoming costs however, especially if you need to save/budget for them now. When i started I done a bit of research and came up with a figure of 10k. This included AFF, gear, coaching and tickets to get to a point where I'm not a complete rookie at the basics. In hindsight that number could be higher haha.

The certificate B training table (or B-RELS as it commonly known by) consists of a series of 10 stages. It is a very similar layout to AFF in that each stage outlines certain skills that need to be demonstrated before moving to the next. It is a key requirement in order to be eligible for a certificate B. In short, our operational regulations state that Certificate A holders (deemed novices) who have not started the BREL table are only able to jump solo or with an instructor. Novices that have completed stages 1-6 can jump with one other person provided they hold a Star Crest and the jump is approved by the Chief Instructor. Novices that have completed stages 1-9 may jump with up to 3 other certificate A holders (that have passed 1-9) provided the chief instructor has approved all participants for the jump. Just to expand on 'instructor' as mentioned above - Our system consists of only instructors (of varying level) and tutors. To reach instructor D (the minimum instructor rating) that person would have either a tandem endorsement, AFF endorsement or a static line endorsement along with meeting other criteria. I didn't mean to turn this into an APF op regs thread, but that is essentially the crux of novice transition here. Back on topic you make some good points. Cost is always a big problem and probably not one that any regulatory body can help solve.

This post comes off the back of our regulatory body, the APF, who is currently brainstorming ideas to help improve student retention after obtaining A license. I understand our training and licensing systems vary in some aspects but if nothing else some outside perspective would be helpful. I guess my main questions are - -How big is this problem, are post A license students giving up often at your home DZ? -What is the cause behind their decision? Time, money, licensing regulations and restrictions, people, instructors ..the factors could be endless. -What are dropzones you jump at doing to help the problem (if there is one locally) -Should we bother? Skydiving isn't for everyone, maybe we shouldn't try and keep people in the sport? One suggestion so far has been to lower the threshold for novices to jump with others. Currently in the Australian system novices are not allowed to jump with other unqualified persons until completing the majority of their 'BRELS' (a training table which requires demonstration of certain relative free fall and canopy skills). As I understand it USPA does not have an equivalent restriction and A licensed jumpers can jump with others after being signed off. If a similar system was imposed in the US how would it be taken? If you couldn't jump with others before completing another training table would you see this as discouragement to continue jumping? Anyway if you have an opinion on the matter I would love to hear it!

Cutting away first does not prevent an out of sequence deployment. Who's to say your cutaway main is not going to leave as your reserve snivels and become entangled? Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I see cutting away first as taking away an option you may have wanted later. edit - fixed formatting

I will stop jumping before I allow my money to be wasted like this. I have had nothing but respect for the APF until now. Their incident investigations, event funding etc is vital to the sport in Aus. As a weekend warrior I have had no issues paying $2 something a jump for these services (average around 70 jumps a year, $170 per year fee) but demerits...no way.

Is it common practice to ride with the door open with 'loose' tandems in the US? The video seems to imply this?

Yeah Im headed to Methven too - after some chilly jumps last weekend in Aus im starting to get a bit nervous haha. Did you, or do people wear liners under these are do they have enough insulation as is?

Hey guys, I'm travelling to NZ in July for a snowboard/skydiving trip and I was after some recommendations for some good winter gloves. From what I have heard temps can reach -20 to -30C (-4 to -20F) at altitude during this time of the year so I wan't to be prepared. I had a search but most threads I found seem to be outdated with advice not reflecting the current market. I have had a look at a few brands but as a non glove wearer its a bit like a whuffo buying a rig. Square 1, akando, deepseed? Any help would be appreciated

Is that AUD, USD, or NZD?

To my knowledge they have never had issues with them. I used them during my AFF in 2011 and had no complaints. I believe they are designed for water environments (wake boarding etc) so you would expect them to be built tough.

My local uses these (link below) for AFF. Perhaps not the cheapest option but I much prefer the idea of an integrated radio over external. http://www.headzone.com/helmets/mach1-helmet

Just like flying aircraft, a lot of your depth perception on landing comes from peripheral vision. Most pilots stare down at the end of the runway when you cross the piano keys. This moves their focus forward and let's their peripheral vision 'feel' the ground - it also helps to maintain heading which is equally important skydiving. Focusing on the ground (looking down)tends to speed things up, and causes instincts or survival reactions to take over which are not always in your best interests! Have you ever been on the freeway and compared looking out the front windscreen to looking out the side. Your still doing the same speed but we percieve speed a lot faster with a different angle. Talk to your instructors of course, but looking ahead and performing a nice 2 stage flare are the keys to a good landing IMO.

Our GPS (which displays ground speed) was doing what technology does best and not working on one jump last weekend. I asked what separation had been like on the past loads and got a quick crash course on the 45 degree rule from a very experienced jumper. I was surprised, I genuinely thought this concept was dead!