HeadFirstDave

Not sure what branch or MOS/AFSC you're in, but the Air Force will give you days off (permissive TDY) to get education/ratings that can complement your job. If you have a commander that is a little more open minded you'd probably be able to at least get the time off for a course since some of those skills could apply to almost any job.

That's about as Texas as it gets, haha. Thanks for the lead, I'll give him a call for sure.

Hey guys, Sorry to post something like this, I'm sure its here all the time. I have started working on getting my rigger's ticket. Most of this has been on my own, self-study of the book material. I also have been doing some real minor mentorship stuff back at my old dropzone in Co. I've been taking it slow trying to do it right. I'm trying to start some of the hands on stuff, but you can't learn that from a .pdf. Problem is I'm brand new to Texas, kind of far from a dropzone. Anyone in the Wichita Falls area who wouldn't mind answering some dumb questions? A lot of dumb questions? A whole metric f*ck-ton of dumb questions? I know the Air Force has a whole rigging school here, so I was hoping to get connected with some local gurus. If not, I'll probably be at skydive Dallas on weekends trying to meet some peeps. Thanks a bunch. -Dave

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Shameless, shameless, desperate bump. Thanks guys.

Hey guys, Thanks for reading this. Mine and a buddy's gear were stolen out of my car this weekend, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. We were both lucky that our sky rigs were at the DZ for a repack, but we'd still love your help in tracking down about $15,000 worth of gear that was stolen. We lost 2 Ghost wingsuits One red and black, sized for about 6' One black, red and dark blue, sized for about 5'10" 2 Bad Seed BASE rigs. One red and black, red and black canopy One white and black, black and white canopy Black Bonehead Mamba, N2, Solo II, laser range finders, Phantom X lenses. I know not all of this is identifiable, but we're trying to cast a wide net to catch these guys if they try to make money on it. Thank you very much! Blue Skies! -Dave

Whoa enj, I don't know who you are, but I'm just new to this sport and trying to learn as much as I can. Thanks to everyone else offering help/advice!

As I flake the lines I pinch the nose between my legs. As I wrap the tail I don't touch the nose from there on out. I do not punch it into the rest of the fabric, or roll the nose closed. I pretty much just wrap the tail around it, and am careful not to roll the nose up when I roll the tail closed. Hope that makes sense as a description.

Hey guys, So I jump a Pilot 188, at just about 1:1 wing loading. Still new to the sport, but as I'm getting more situational awareness I've noticed a few trends with my canopy I'm not super comfy with: First off, it takes about 1300-1500 feet for my canopy to open. This is from pitching to fully inflated, in the saddle. It will snivel with only the center cells open for a long time. Secondly, as it takes so long to open, often one side's cells will open up just before the other, causing the opening to be on heading for the longest time, and then whip around 90 degrees or so right at the very end. Don't get me wrong, I love the super soft openings. However, if I break and pull at the same altitude of the rest of the guys on my jump, I'm not under canopy until 1800-2000 feet. I'm fine with such a short canopy ride, but the difference between a normal canopy opening and having to cut away is just a matter of seconds without much altitude as a buffer. Also, it increases my risk of landing out. When I pack I don't do anything to prolong the opening. I don't roll or punch the nose, I don't invert the slider, nothing. What can I do to speed up the opening sequence? I haven't sat down with some of the more experienced guys at my drop zone, but I figured I'd get some tips here too. Thanks for reading the long post! -Dave

Next summer I will have the opportunity for some international travel, and wanted to spend a few weeks at a/multiple dropzone(s) overseas. I will be in a group of 4, and we will all be relatively inexperienced, (150-200 jumps.) Anyway, I wanted to pose the question to the experts: where are some great drop zones to visit? Looking for a good atmosphere, nice region, photogenic, place with lots of experience, etc, (constrained by realism of course). Thanks for any help!