Kalrigan

My advice could be completely useless considering I'm only a few jumps ahead of you and not anywhere near experienced as some of these fine folks around here but figured I would share my experience, as one student to another. My first 2 jumps were tense as hell. Thankfully my instructors were holding on to me otherwise I would have been all over the place. On my 3rd jump I happened to switch instructors and during the jump when they tried letting me go they noticed how crazy tense I was. I was wobbling like a damn potato. I remember people telling me to relax, but how the fuck do you do that as someone who just started jumping out of planes? For me I thought it was easier said than done. I mean I understood the concept, but how can I make my body relax when I just jumped out of a plane and all my mind is telling me is to go into a fetal position and scream? I spoke to my instructor when he told me I need to relax. I told him how does a new jumper do that? Our minds are fucked, overwhelmed, tense, and to be honest scared. He looks at me and goes: Smile. If you are jumping out of a plane without a smile then you're doing it wrong. Smile your whole way up, smile as you're about to exit, pick a heading and smile like you've never smiled before. It got so much better after I did that. I still had to go trough some legs adjustments but I was already way ahead. I couldn't believe how something as simple as smiling could help you so much. Keep that in mind, it helped me, it might help you as well. Don't give up man, keep at it. Who cares if you failed a few jumps? You know, I had that fear of failing when I was working on my Solo and I realized it only made things a lot more stressful, fearful, and tense than it already is. I told myself I don't care it I fail, I'm still having fun jumping out of a plane and that's all that matters. I failed my C1 jump the other day with back loops because they were not good enough, I was either goin off heading after I do a full loop, or I just can't complete one and end up all over the place. I landed and my coach looks at me and goes: So how do you think it went? I told her it was sloppy and messy as hell, but I had the biggest smile on my face because at the end of the day I'm doing what I fell in love with, jumping and flying. Keep at it brother, progress at your own speed, at your own comfort. Don't worry about others, it doesn't matter where on the scale they stand on. Worry about yourself, your life, your love for this sport. Don't forget to smile, did I mention that already?:) This is the first time I actually got to read your logbook, so funny. Wendy I loved how you were pokin fun at your own self. I don't think I've seen anyone more dedicated than you to pass something. If that doesn't encourage people I truly don't know what else would. Thanks for being awesome and sharing it with everyone.

I did the same thing. Been using mine since I got off AFF and love it! So comfy and can see anything around you with no obstruction. The lifting of the visor under canopy is no big deal and takes half a second to do. I do it with toggles in hand after i do a canopy control check and look for traffic. I say get one you won't regret it (unless you want to do video work later on maybe) ;) Can't do camera work with a G3? I ... I didn't know that. It doesn't matter right now, I'm so far from that point that it doesn't affect me. I'll wait for the Air C6 to come out (apparently some time next week or so) and then make a decision between the two. And of course the biggest dilemma when it comes to buying new gear, making the decision of what color to get seems to always be the hardest haha. Can't pick between black, red, and maybe white. Thanks for your input considering we're pretty much on the same level. :) Unfortunately it was not designed for (serious) camera work, but people do use go pros on it. I have a few coaches/instructors at my DZ that use their GoPro on their g3. That's all the advice I can give to you because frankly I don't have an advice based on experience with camera and skydiving; only what I've researched. See this post. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4469710 Yeah not too worried about having a cam on my G3. By the time I even get to 200 jumps, I'll probably end up getting some open face helm that's suitable for camera work. Until then, G3 it is. Thank you. :)

I did the same thing. Been using mine since I got off AFF and love it! So comfy and can see anything around you with no obstruction. The lifting of the visor under canopy is no big deal and takes half a second to do. I do it with toggles in hand after i do a canopy control check and look for traffic. I say get one you won't regret it (unless you want to do video work later on maybe) ;) Can't do camera work with a G3? I ... I didn't know that. It doesn't matter right now, I'm so far from that point that it doesn't affect me. I'll wait for the Air C6 to come out (apparently some time next week or so) and then make a decision between the two. And of course the biggest dilemma when it comes to buying new gear, making the decision of what color to get seems to always be the hardest haha. Can't pick between black, red, and maybe white. Thanks for your input considering we're pretty much on the same level. :)

As a Canadian, and I'm pretty sure I speak for the whole country, please keep him. Or send him somewhere else but not here.

Another great review for G3. I seriously can't wait to get one, I tried my insteuctor's G3 because, well I was really curious about the way it fits and flies and what not, it feels fantastic.

That is a subject that will be covered in great detail during your ground course. Cool! Skydiving seems like a good thrill for me. I am pretty sure the only part that will scare me is the jumping out of the plane part. Once in freefall I will probably enjoy it like all the other fears I have beat thus far. I figure we all have to die someday and what is the point of life if you didn't live it! Almost got killed yesterday on the highway on my bike after a truck encroached into my lane. Would have been a more painful death than skydiving lol Heh jumping out of the plane never scared me, I always found it exciting and extremely fun. Final approach right before landing though is a whole different ball game for me. Fucking terrifying.

Yeah I know Benny isn't that great, even though I did tunnel with it I simply had no choice at that point, and my heart is still set on a G3 in due time. I definitely understand how changing anything in my equipment can cause some sort of a distraction and to be on safe side it's why I decided to hold off on the G3 for now. I want to get my final approach as great as possible. To be honest with you my first jump of this season (it's my first off season) I was scared shitless. I was not scared about jumping out of the plane, I was not scared of freelfall, I was simply scared about the final approach due to having around 18-19 other people jumping with me out of that Skyvan. I've never had this many people jump with me at the same time and having so many canopies approaching to land at the same time, it was terrifying. Which is why at this point I would rather not mess with anything that distract me when landing right now. Once I get a few more of those jumps out of the way, and get used to the final approach more AND the number of jumpers with me, then I'll grab a G3 for sure. I mean if things happen in mid air like you said, and I end up on my back it's no big deal. I'm not exactly scared of that, I know how to recover and I had an incident like that in one of my earlier jumps, didn't even panic and just did what I was trained to do and it worked perfectly. I'll wait on the jumpsuit, no point in rushing. I'll see what exactly need from a jumpsuit first and take it from there.

That is great advice, can't believe I didn't think of that. Thank you, I'll stick to what I got for now. :)

Ah I see, haha ok. Well by harm I meant will it affect me negatively while I'm still learning at my level. Distraction, or vision, or whatever. That's what I meant. I guess I shouldn't have used the word harm, now that I think about it it sounds too extreme for what I meant.

Not familiar with Nike G, nor Mike G for that matter. >_<

That does look like a great helm for my situation, I just looked into it. Will definitely take it into consideration. Always learning in this sport, always. :) That makes sense, I can definitely agree with that. I'm gonna stick to my benny for now, just ordered some goggles and alti from chutingstar. I'll leave the helm decision, and maybe a jumpsuit decision by then, for when I grab my A. Hopefully. Thank you guys, you've been great help. As always.

Good stuff. Did he say why? He mentioned a few things: After opening, opening the visor could complicate my flight. Instead of worrying about getting my visor opened up, I should be paying more attention to canopy checks and looking around for other canopies when heading towards my final approach. At this point, I'm better off not complicating things more than I have to right now. I should just get used to the things I'm supposed to do right now, do them properly and once I'm past that point I could start thinking about switching things around.

Hah Storm Trooper. I decided to contact one my instructors and good thing he was around, he told me to stick to the open face one that I currently own and wait it out for some more jumps before switching. He said I should just get to like 25 jumps first, then grab a full face one if I still want it. So I'm going with that. Thank you gentlemen.

So I'm looking into buying a few things, grabbing an Altimaster Galaxy for an alti, and considering grabbing a Cookie G3. I have my solo and working my way towards an A. I was wondering if there is any harm in getting a full face helmet at my level or if I should stick to open face. Any adivce?

Yeah it makes sense I know, but they look so nice. :( You're right I know, black does go with anything. It's why I'm leaning towards the gloss black G3. I love it when you "old farts" go after each other. OP. Think about this.... Unless you're buying all new gear, color is of little concern. I'd recommend you finda good used rig (regardless of color) that fits you and will suit your needs for the next 500 or so jumps. Then, You can order a jumpsuit, helmet, gloves, canopies, etc to match. Just remember, do not start out with Pink like the posters above... Well I am buying pretty much everything except a rig. I just got my Solo, and I was advised to wait it out until I have around 70-80 jumps before getting a rig since at that point I will know what I actually need and I'll have better understanding of things. Hence why I decided to buy the other stuff right now and get a rig later. Or is that not a good idea?

Hey guys, So I've been looking into buying a few pieces of gear throughout this horrible winter, that way they will be here and read when next season starts. I'm grabbing a Cookie G3 for a full face helm, and having a hard time deciding on the color. How do you guys decide the color of your gear? Stuff matching? Like jumpsuit and helm matching or do you just pick colors based on what you like on that specific piece? Just having a hard time deciding on a color for my G3 hah. Also, is it hard to find a white jumpsuit? Based on the answer to this, it can help me a lot with deciding on the color of the helm.

I think I had 2 line twists on the way to get my Solo. Nothing serious, just kick yourself out of them.

Can't wait to get my A and go jump in Dubai.

We stop using the DZ jumpsuits once we get our Solo, but you do make a good point. I'll make sure with the DZ next time I go up, or call them. I'll keep the RW suit in mind. Thank you sir.

Thank you gentlemen for the replies. I'll write down Galaxy on the shopping list then. The reason I want a full face helm is because I don't wanna wear goggles, for the most part. Also helps when it gets chillier here in Toronto. I do have a Benny already, but was thinking about upgrading. As for jumpsuits, what style should a beginner like me go for? I understand there are some for freeflying, some for other stuff, but for someone who'll be working towards his A what kind do I really need?

So I just got my Solo yesterday and I'm about to start buying gear slowly. Not going for a rig yet obviously, I'm gonna for a lot more jumps before considering one. What I'm mainly looking into getting at this moment are things like: alti, full face helm, gloves for those chilly jumps with some grip preferably, jumpsuit maybe. Any recommendations on those pieces? Do I NEED a jumpsuit? I assume the Galaxy altis are good ones to start with?

Thank you. Minus the crazy hangover I have right now, it feels absolutely amazing. I think my next challenge is packing, I want to start working on that.

Some of you may remember me coming here asking for advice a couple of months ago about how I can get into this sport. After dealing with so much crap: bills, awful weather in Canada, work schedule, a car accident on the way to the dropzone, etc... even though it is later than I would have hoped, I want to say I got my SOLO. Was stuck on the last jump (jump #10 here in Canada is a Hop+Pop) for like a month, had zero luck, but here I am got it done and feels sooooooooooooooooo good. Would like to thank every person who answered my questions in my first intro post and gave me the direction I needed to become a part of this beautiful thing. You helped me get into something that changed my life, I sleep, breathe, and live skydiving now. That's all I think about, that's all I talk about, that's all I want to do. One of whom was my instructor for the first 2 jumps, pchapman is the man. Here I am today on a beautiful day, feels like a summer day here in Toronto, not skydiving because I celebrated a bit too much last night and I'm hungover as **** haha. Now that I got the PFF out the way, where do I go from here?

Once due to weather problems. There was a 90% chance we wouldn't make that jump but we still tried. At 2800-3000 feet we realized it's even worse than we thought, we literally couldn't see ANYTHING, so we rode the plane back down. A plane of disappointed jumpers that's for sure, but safety first.

Yeah I want to do windtunnel as well this winter, that's pretty much the only thing I can do here in winter. Oh well it is what it is I guess. Can't wait for Spring to get here.