milehigheric

Who the hell is packing that student gear? I guess shit happens but 2 cutaways before even getting licensed seems crazy to me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRe30sH6-2o&feature=related Nothing wrong with a low pull

The APF system always seemed logical to me...I would have thought USA would be similar,

Ditto.... Learning to pack can be a bitch, don't make it harder on yourself. I have a 'loose' fitting canopy in my rig and it was still a bitch to get the hang of packing newish zp.

Yep...same here, nearly every jump. Saber 2 210 at 1.1 pro packing

I learnt that lesson early too! I had two weeks off work so I could do my AFF. In that two weeks I made one jump. Nothing is worse then seeing others jumping whilst your grounded due to wind (over student limits). After that two weeks I was back at work and could only jump sundays. It took me 6 months to get my A license

Ill throw up what I paid a week ago, hope it helps Customs charged me.... -Customs Entry fee of $55.20 -GST of $268.45 ($2,499 declared value) -Security fee of $9.95 In regards to shipping, I used UPS Worldwide Saver ( http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/shipping/time/service/worldwide_saver.html with a package weight of 27 lbs. Shipping cost me $249 AUD but there are certainly cheaper options....I think the cheapest quote I had was around 180. For the 5 day delivery I paid the extra however. Total cost of import = $582.60 AUD I found even with the associated fees on importing, it still brought the total to something around what you would expect to pay down here for the same gear. Nothing beats buying local, but sometimes it is not possible...I would buy overseas again if I needed to.

If you can prove you have owned the item for over 12 months you are exempt from GST. Otherwise the fat man wants his money on anything imported over $1,000.

I just bought a rig from DZ as I couldn't find anything to suit my fat gut down here. I used UPS with no dramas, think it was around $230 AUD for shipping (received in 5 days, I wanted it quick). I would suggest to use a rigger or reputable shop to inspect the gear and organise shipping. I used chuting star as the middleman and have no complaints! Even if the deal is awesome, if they are not willing to use some form of escrow I would back away. Also, be sure to factor in import tax into your budget. You will pay 10% GST plus an import fee once it arrives in Australia so it depends on how much you declare....You are only insured for what you declare however, so you are taking a risk undervaluing your items. I declared my rig (cost 4K) as 2k and it slid through no dramas, import tax came to around $340.

Its not over, as if you would stop jumping over a little fallout. As I said, time will fix things Im sure...maybe approach them in 6 months or something with a carton, beer always seems to help. Just keep it out of the public domain is all im saying, it's a private issue just sort it out.

Whoa...Pilots still use compasses?

Im not having trying to have a go mate I didn't mean it to come out that way. From a pure social standpoint I just think your going about mending the problem the wrong way. Just like high school, time will fix most things if you don't keep making a big deal of it.

The helmets I had doing my AFF were great. Radio was fully integrated inside the helmet and when you were done you would just chuck it on the rack and plug in the AC into the back so it was ready for the next sucker. I would nearly walk away if I rocked up to my AFF and they showed me that.

Greg...stop attempting to apologise (between sky surfer and here we would be up to 10 threads now right?) and move on. Respect takes a long time to build back, continually apologising doesn't help anything. It doesn't really seem as if this is an apology anyway - more like a, someone is on my side screw you guys. Winning the sympathy of Bill Booth and others who only know half the story (no doubt your side) is pointless. For the record I only know half the story, but frankly I couldn't care what happened at naggs. My comments are made purely on what I see on-line and the way you conduct yourself. Stop the games and move on mate

Guess I asked for that haha.

This sounds like a bad ass plan - I was unaware people even considered flying lawn chairs under helium balloons. If there was a way to ensure no legal repercussions I would have a crack for sure...Maybe not landing them tho, hop and pop would be the go.

How do you guys deal with the cold? I struggle on early morning loads in the winter here in Australia. Winter for us is still at least 15 degrees + (60ish F) in the mornings.

Under clothing I can't see anything that would hurt them. I made a jump recently with a very fresh half sleeve tattoo. It was still bleeding, but the weather was to good to miss. Im sure you would be right with a couple of non fresh peircings... If you are female we would require pictures just to be sure tho

Jump with someone else...thats what skydiving is all about

So the alternate to not having licensing in place would involve what exactly? I can't quite picture a 'real world scenario' that would work... enlighten me. What would stop a fresh A license jumper (or the equivilant because you despise licenses) bullshiting their way on big way loads by saying they have been jumping for 5 years. I dig licensing...No one likes fees but it is what it is, I wouldn't jump without a licensing system in place.

From my first jump I realised pretty quickly that the commands I was being given by radio from the ground did not match my alti (in reference to checkpoints). It turned out the student analogs were far from accurate and if I used that as my only reference I would be in the trees every jump. I learnt to trust my eyes over my alti, even after I got a digital that 'should' be accurate. As said, you shouldn't be on final if your too high, this starts back at base and even your where you start your downwind. Remember you can adjust your square pattern to give you more or less decent before you turn final, it doesn't have to be 'square'. If you start downwind and think damn im high, turn slightly away from your target to move your approach legs out abit, if your too low tighten them all up. Obviously nailing your start of downwind height will help alot, but that will come with time. You should be flying straight however...people flying straight are much easier to avoid then those S turning all over the place. Learning a real life skill over the internet is impossible however. There is a ton of variables that go into approach and your instructor is best suited to give you the advice you need. Radio assist can help alot to get the visual cues in your head, or if your dropzone doesn't have radio in student helmets the same thing can be done with the arrow. Talk to your instructors im sure they will get you on the right track. Just so you know, I came from an aviation background and Ive done more square approach patterns in a fixed wing then I can remember....with that said my first few approaches under canopy were still a huge learning curve. It is a unique skill, and it will all come together soon enough for you.

This is true, but for some people packing may not be relevant for 50 jumps after getting an A...It would be nice if you had the option to put it off until you actually needed it. " Im still jumping student gear (which I can't pack anyway) let me keep progressing (in which I need an A) and when I get my own gear I can learn and be signed off competent" This is just an opinion, take what you will.

Its slightly off topic, and my views are probably different to most but I disagree with the learning to pack requirement for your A license. Don't get me wrong, I understand the logic that we want an A license to represent that an individual is competent with the basics - I just think it is irrelevant in most cases. Here in Australia anyway, students are not permitted to pack student/rental gear even with supervision. I feel that learning to pack a main is irrelevant as a student because of that fact. How I learnt (and how im assuming most did) is by packing an out of service rig over and over again until I shown my competency. Sure, the basic methods for packing a main doesn't change alot between rigs but if you cannot legally pack an in service rig (while still using rent/student gear that is) then what is the point with the requirement? I would like to see packing become a separate endorsement so that students don't have to worry perfecting a skill until they actually need it. In alot of cases, one may not actually need to know how to pack for another 50 jumps after getting an A...is the training you received (and competency demonstrated) when you did your A still current or are you going to get your own rig and pack a step through by mistake? The OP is a good example..would it not have been better for him to show competency (and be endorsed) now when he needs it rather then 12 months ago which he has now forgotten. Common sense does obviously dictates here (if you don't know something ask someone) but history has shown that assuming common sense is present can be fatal. Anyway, sorry for the tangent...I think the OP has his answer already

Im travelling to Singapore in a couple of months and I thought I may as well visit iFly while im there to see what all the fuss is about. Im an A licensed skydiver and without blowing my own horn I feel capable with basic belly down body flight. Im working through B-rels now (Australia) and although im not having any dramas up there I was hoping the tunnel could help improve my skydiving in some form . My question is how do people with skydive experience start off in the tunnel? Do we start from 'page one' or will the instructor be able see what we know and start from page 4 if you know what I mean. It seems (from their website) as if all first timers have to go through the first timers package and Im just wondering if this is set curriculum or what?

I still get an irrational fear of my leg straps from time to time. I know 100% there is nothing wrong with them but that 'what if' idea still keeps coming back to annoy me...