DcloudZ

Well, then they should have sponsored him responsibly (on the sapphire) or not at all, maybe? You don't have to fly a toys-r-us sized canopy to be a cool sponsored athlete......... or do you now? Maybe that is something wrong with the culture in that respect! My personal opinion is that you do, not sure whether it's a cultural issue or purely business (value of sponsorship)... "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I'm not saying they forced him to fly the Neos. I'm saying why would they want to sponsor some guy who can fly a XF2 at a relatively low wingloading - too many people can do that for it to be prestigious.. No value to sponsoring him if that was the case. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I don't agree. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I had the opportunity to visit Skydive Midwest last summer and was very impressed

Probably the 2100 jump pilot. They've been under a wing longer. They understand things better and have a more well rounded view on flight characteristics, approaches, watching for traffic, etc, etc. Just because a jumper has been spending every single jump of their first 500 jumps working on a maneuver, doesn't mean they'll have the experience and skills to fly perfectly. Oh please, you have got to be kidding me This is where I draw the line; enough of this non-sense. I will quote what was said earlier, "Some people have 1000 jumps, other people have the same jump 1000 times." Stop being ridiculous; generally, if you invest more time into a specific skill you're going to be better at it than someone who has spent less time practicing that specific skill (excluding natural talent). Give those people the credit they deserve. I'm not surprised at this reply, coming from a guy who is a 100 jump wonder loaded 1.2 on a stiletto. And let me guess.... you've probably got the next elliptical canopy size down in hand and ready to rig up soon? So, I beg your pardon, but YOU'VE got to me kidding ME, right? As for giving the people who dedicated all of their 500 jumps to HP canopy stuff the credit they deserve-- no where in my post did I poo poo on them and take away credit. I'm sure there is something to be said for somebody (especially somebody who has worked closely with a mentor and a coach and has gone through a proper progression as best they can) who takes the time and dedicates their practice to one certain area. Doesn't mean they are overall more experienced, better skilled, or more ready than somebody who has thousands of jumps and a lot of time under a wing, even if it's only semi elliptical. When it comes down to it, I guess it differs on a case by case basis and not something we can throw a blanket yes or no over with regards to the who is more ready question. Yup. Clearly you have no interest in canopy piloting; why do you insist on putting down others who do? I have no interest in freeflying or freestyle but I don't go telling you how to participate (or to not participate at all) in those disciplines. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

While technically accurate, if the person with 2100 jumps has just raced to the ground (as most people do) then you could argue they haven't really learned anything more about flying their parachute correctly than the person who's done it 500 times but really been focusing on learning. edit: That said, the person with 2100 jumps has a much higher likelihood of having been exposed to more situations that can develop than the 500 jump person. Ian Ian -- in the contrived example, what types of questions can you ask to each of those fictional jumpers that would produce answers to demonstrate that one person knows more than the other wrt canopy control. Let me interject with this: What canopy response would you expect if you pulled an equal distance on one front riser and the opposite rear riser at the same time? A "helicopter" effect. The canopy would semi-collapse losing air tension in most of it's cells and then start turning on the yaw axis in the direction of the rear riser input. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

In retrospect it was a silly question; I should have been able to figure it out by myself! Thanks though

Would landing downwind as opposed to into the wind affect the length of a canopy's recovery arc? "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Probably the 2100 jump pilot. They've been under a wing longer. They understand things better and have a more well rounded view on flight characteristics, approaches, watching for traffic, etc, etc. Just because a jumper has been spending every single jump of their first 500 jumps working on a maneuver, doesn't mean they'll have the experience and skills to fly perfectly. Oh please, you have got to be kidding me This is where I draw the line; enough of this non-sense. I will quote what was said earlier, "Some people have 1000 jumps, other people have the same jump 1000 times." Stop being ridiculous; generally, if you invest more time into a specific skill you're going to be better at it than someone who has spent less time practicing that specific skill (excluding natural talent). Give those people the credit they deserve. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Because so many people equate chest strap undone with falling out of the harness. Opening with a chest strap undone is not a death sentence. That's what I'm trying to say. How can we change this? Seems like there was a lack of training in this specific circumstance. Perhaps it's more widespread. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I wonder what caused this jumper to think that he had absolutely no other choice but to re-route the chest strap before opening? Perhaps there is a lack of training for this type of situation. What can we do to educate jumpers about smaller emergencies such as these so that people react the right way when faced with these types of situations? "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Not too long ago after flying base on a 3-way hybrid my cheststrap had become pretty loose. I figured it would have been a good time to test the "reach over and grab the right side MLW with the left hand theory." Worked well, was a bit head low on opening but it definitely would be a decent plan of action in the case of an undone chest strap. (Didn't reach over with the right hand after; wouldn't have changed much considering I didn't have an off-heading opening or line twists anyways). "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I started at the exact same time as you did. I just want to let you know that I've been in a one-way competition with you jump number-wise for the last 6 months... Making sure I keep up with you and such You had a 32 jump lead on me this winter but I caught up so I feel pretty good about that Hi I'm Andrew by the way; I'm not a stalker "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

I've got around 40 jumps on a Sabre 1 (Yes, I understand that this is REALLY not a lot) But I have not had a single hard opening. Perhaps it's the canopy, but it can also be the packing method. When I pack my sabre I make sure I keep everything controlled and flat. After counting my cells I take the first 3 cells from one side, roll them up and put them in the 4th cell and do the same from the opposite side. Haven't had any problems with this method... Try it out? "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

The new GoPro Hero 3 has 3 different models. The silver model of the Hero 3 is the equivalent of the Hero 2. The white version is the equivalent of the Hero 1. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Went really well, this surgeon actually doesn't put any packing besides a couple of cotton balls so it's not a pain to take out. Didn't need to do a hop and pop because by the time the weather was nice to jump I could breathe easily from my nose as if I had not had the surgery done in the first pleace. Everything is back to normal and I banged out 5 jumps yesterday afternoon after work.

For the purpose of advising anyone who may ask this question further down the road, the answer to the original question is: Approximately 1 week after the procedure depending on inflammation in the inside of the nostrils. Should be fine after the first Post-Op visit to remove the bandage. "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Could be harness input. Does your canopy tend to turn a bit on it's own when flying in full flight? Could mean the harness is uneven. Otherwise possible body position on opening? Just throwing out ideas "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Most of the users on this forums are definitely not GURUs of skydiving. Don't make that mistake. Listen to your instructors over almost anything you see on here. I say almost because there are people on here that give great advice and who really deserve attention to what they say but they are few and far between. Starting out, it will be hard to differentiate. Any questions? Ask your instructors. Not sure about something? Ask your instructors? Trying something new? Talk to your instructors.

Most of the users on this forums are definitely not GURUs of skydiving. Don't make that mistake. Listen to your instructors over almost anything you see on here. I say almost because there are people on here that give great advice and who really deserve attention to what they say but they are few and far between. Starting out, it will be hard to differentiate. Any questions? Ask your instructors. Not sure about something? Ask your instructors? Trying something new? Talk to your instructors.

I'm curious... The expiration date on my USPA License card says 07/31/2013. Does this mean I still must renew it now? "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

As davelepka clearly demonstrates, that's not as easy as it sounds. I would say that the mentality that "oh you shouldn't be swooping so I won't teach you" leads to more bad than good. If someone wants to learn to swoop bad enough they're going to do it regardless. Withholding from properly instructing these types people isn't the way to go about it... I await your rebuttle davelepka... "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

Keep in mind that pulling the slider behind your head creates a possible entanglement with your helmet/top or side-mount camera in the case of having to chop your main once you've pulled the slider down!

I don't think that was the case. The theme of his story was that "you don't know what you don't know". He had just recently replaced his chest strap with one that opens wider and he had not taken into account that the location of his reserve handle would have changed because of this! Andrew "Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts

"Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way." -Alan Watts