Kalrigan

I refuse to go bigger than standard fit, I really don't like stuffing the rigs to the tits. So go with whatever biggest canopy that will fit as Standard fit IMO. Also what Sandy said.

21 minutes. Yes I timed it.

First things first. Stop saying "fail/failed/failing". You're not failing, you're practicing. Failing is if you simply walked away accepting defeat of some sort, but you're not doing that. You're just practicing. Just like basketball players practice shooting, just like soccer players practice free kicks or corner or whatever, just like olympians practice their routines/tricks etc... Realistically think about it, you have about 6 minutes of practice. What have you gotten really good at after 6 minutes of practice? Nothing. You need to think of it like that, you need to relax, and remember that you're doing this for fun. FUN, that's the most important part. Does it matter if you have to repeat a jump to practice it more? No absolutely not, as long as you're having fun and learning from every jump, pulling on time, and landing safely that's what your concern should be. The more stress you put on yourself the worst you will perform. Remember that repeating some jumps doesn't represent the type of skydiver you will become in the future. Many sky ninjas and rockstars repeated jumps as well, and if you were to see them now you would think they were born to fly. One of the best belly flyers I know had to repeat a bunch, hell one jump about 8 times yet here we are years later and it's a completely different image. Skydiving isn't easy, not only do you have new skills to learn like in every other sport/activity but also you have to do them while you're fighting your basic human instinct by jumping out of a plane, a place where we biologically don't belong. It "clicks" when you remember fun, when you remember that you're practicing, and when you land safely and enjoy the skydive for what it was no matter the "result". Don't walk away if you actually enjoy jumping, that would be considered failure. Everything else is just fun. Enjoy it. PS: Best relaxing tip I can give you is to smile. That did wonders to me when I started. It helps your body relax.

Rig 100%.

Fair enough, and it makes sense. I guess yeah. So let's say $2000 Canadian, would that be a great price?

So I have a Pilot 150 that was manufactured in 2014 or 2015, 300 jumps on it. Canopy is still clean and no patches anywhere nor are they needed, only packed indoors, only jumped in clean grassy areas, lines are clean as hell and all of that. I ordered it custom, and I'm the only owner of the canopy. I took really good care of it. Been thinking about selling it but having a hard time putting a price on it. Brand new they're like 2285, so if we follow the general rule of $1 per jump, would that be a reasonable price to sell?

Wow, that's a lot of competitive jumps. What made you lose the desire to compete? Was it boredom or the insane amount of work you need to put into it and the sacrifices etc...? I agree though about the tricky jumps and communication. I love having those difficult jumps with 2-3 other friends and we nail them in a very reasonable and solid way. It feels extremely rewarding and satisfying.

Haha, fair enough. Hey man, who cares about numbers. Jump when you feel like jumping and enjoy it. Doesn't matter if you won't ever reach 5000, that's not the important part of skydiving. You and I feel the same way about sitting by the door, I absolutely love it, a bit uncomfortable because funny enough you're scared to fall out but yeah. I loved that when I was on belly still, always by the door, chill, relax, enjoy the wind if the door is open. Then when I started freeflying I ended up getting stuck in the middle of the plane or sometimes at the end, hated it so much haha. Now that I'm doing pretty much mostly angle flying, I tend to leave the plane first so I'm happily back at the door. I literally had the same though at Summerfest last year when I was sitting by the door and it was open, thought to myself: Oh man, not many people in the world get to do this, just sit on the edge of the airplane with the door open.

That's fair, you knew exactly what you wanted. I got into the sport not really knowing where I'll end up. That's so awesome, good luck man. Right? I had that feeling too. Every time I've tried something new, it's like learning how to fly all over again and it's new and exciting like all the way at the beginning.

Better catch up, there are a bunch of new disciplines you're right. :P

So do you jump with the same 3 other people all the time? Like a legit team kinda thing or were you speaking in general? Do you guys compete or do it for your own personal satisfaction?

I've seen some crew dogs around, I have a couple of friends who do crew and you are right, they are very welcoming. Crew scares the hell out of me though, I think that and swooping are the 2 things I will never really be able to get into in skydiving. It is incredibly beautiful to watch though from the ground. Any scary or thrilling experiences you could share? Time for dollar though, didn't think of that haha. Nice.

Which disciplines have you tried and which one(s) did you stick to and why exactly? I'm hoping to hear more than just "I enjoy it the most", thanks captain obvious but wanna hear more, why that one more than others.

BH gotta have the ugliest fucking helmets I've seen.

Don't.