sammielu

That reminds me of a friend who got a RW suit with wings, swoop chords, all the baggy options. It took less than a season for him to realize it's easier to lose 30 lbs than work that hard during every single skydive.

Plf practice can help determine his level of fitness. Beyond that, if he wants to spend a bunch of $ on equipment (rigs that are TSO'D higher than the 250lb, like converted tandem rigs, for example), and you have instructors and planes that can accommodate him, go for it... if you want the potential headache of this guy latching on to you and your dz if everything doesn't go smoothly. In my experience, going out of your way to accommodate customers doesn't help your bottom line, ever. If you want to go out of your way to help a potential jumper, go for it, but do so as a nice gesture, not a business decision, because it might pay off in :) but most likely not in $. I would advise that jumper to talk to other bigger sized jumpers. It is going to be a challenge to find people to jump with until he has the skill to keep up with slower fall rates. I know one jumper who stopped crossfit/some muscle building thing because he was gaining too much and it hindered his skydiving.

If you have an opportunity to demo jump a reserve, go for it. If you have crw jumpers at your dz, talk to them about getting some 2 way coach jumps in where you can: Fly a PD lightning (very very similar to PD reserves) Fly a biplane and side by side formation (with a coach, with instruction and saftey briefing beforehand).

It's the busy summer jump (nice weather) season. I'd rather jump while there is still the option than analyze data. Wouldn't you? Crap weather is coming... In the meantime, jump a lot, learn your gear and procedures and why each part of a gear check/emergency procedure is important, practice in hanging harnesses at least once a month, and then jump more. There is plenty of data on this site from years past and reports from this year to read through if you'd rather read now and jump later.

^Agreed. Get input from instructors on your fall rate and options that make sense for you. Then order through a dealer who can measure you, answer questions, and the difference and purpose of tight or loose fitting or with wings, gripper placement & size, proper bootie size for you, etc, and show you color examples too.

Avoid: -any gear not approved for your use/body size by a knowledgeable instructor -any gear not inspected by a rigger (have it shipped to them, escrow style, for inspection) -buying components before you have a rig to put them into If you're itching for new shiny stuff, buy: -altimeters (visual and audible) -helmet -jumpsuit that fits you properly Then research, rent, borrow, try things out, try on friends rigs/helmets/suits while you shop. Keep jumping, as much as works for you, to build the skills that will keep you jumping. Even used alti/helmet/jumpsuits adds up to $700 quickly. Add that to a $$$ weekly jump habit and save for a rig while you shop and learn. Watch out though, soon you'll want a different helmet, custom fitted jumpsuit, additional altimeter (audible!), weight belt. You'll start racking up the jumps and add new disciplines and need a crw canopy in addition to the main you finally got, then want to downsize to have a wingloading higher than 1:1, then want to camera fly and need a $400 camera, possibly a new helmet or add a cutaway to an existing one, take a wingsuit first flight course and want one of those too, maybe a second rig with a more docile canopy for wingsuiting, and then you'll want to go to a boogie. You'll to travel, pay boogie fees, have a ton of fun and want to go to more boogies. Eventually you want to compete or instruct or attend skills camps or record camps... don't do it. Quit while you're ahead. ;)

This thread has good AAD discussion: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4699081;page=unread#unread

There is a solid market for a 159 canopy. 160 is a good bridge size for anyone who wants to downsize and not go on a USPA defined high performance canopy; especially small/short/skinny folks. I keep an eye out for them in particular :)

Hi Amyr, I'm a 35yo female waiting to hit the 3 year mark (3 more days) to take my TI course with some of the same fears. One thing I did that has helped a lot was going on a tandem with a trusted instructor who knew I was pursuing my rating and had questions. It was hands-on training from a very experienced TI, without the pressure of a course. I mostly wanted to work on canopy skills and flaring, so we did. I'm still not sure if I want to be a tandem instructor, but I'm not going to let fear stop me from giving it a go and you shouldn't either. If we were closer, I'd say we should go have a beer and chat!!

I buy mine through paraconcepts.

Lots of good stuff here. Ask for video (and then video debrief) of your next landings. There are things you're doing that you're not aware of (applies from jump 1 onwards to forever). Seeing what you're doing can help you focus on and learn what your instructors want you to focus on and learn.

Used container + harness resize is much cheaper and faster than all new. I had my Vector harness resized and new leg straps for $550 including shipping done in 5 weeks, and they could've done it faster (I didn't need it faster; I told them what I needed and got exactly that). Get help from a rigger to measure measure measure you according to the manufacturers directions, and to give an opinion on if the rig will be a good fit afterwards. My understanding is that a harness resize changes length-type fit issues, so you'll want to be sure the yoke (width across shoulders) fits your body well. Also check around for direct experiences with manufacturers, some are great (United Sports Technologies - makes Vector rigs, and Velocity Sports Equipment - make Infinity rigs), some are absolutely not helpful.

Have you asked your rigger about adding extra stitching to the toggle-keeper pockets on your risers? It is logical that your particular risers may fit your toggles just a bit loose. I had one of those pockets start to loosen up (over time and due to my noob incorrect brake stowing methods) and a few stitches on each side tightened it right up. No further toggle fires, no slider contradictions.

There are several common names in RW suits, at my DZ it's primarily Bev suits and a few Tony suits. The most important thing is to get with a local dealer who can measure you properly, explain all the options and help you choose what makes sense for your body. They should also have fabric samples so you can see the colors.

It depends. Most dropzones have days they are closed or slow, where they will have planes going only if there is demand. My dz is closed Mon & Tues. Ask them when they plan to be open and try to work your schedule around that. It took me 6 months to get my work schedule in order to start jumping. In general, it is common to not send airplanes unless they are a minimum level of full, so one student jump may not be enough to staff manifest, pilot, instructor, packer, etc for the whole day!

This is why we pay riggers for Inspection & Repack every 180 days. Love love love your rigger - and feed and beer them.

Every line/regulation/BSR/FAR in the FAA manuals/SIM/IRM/Tandem Instructor course materials is "written in blood". Rules are implemented because someone found out the hard way that the rule was necessary. Work backward from any of those rules and you will find incident/incidents that made them necesarry. I'm being pretty general here, but you can look at any incident, even those that have minimal information on here or in parachutist, and match them up to an existing or new rule or recommendation that addresses the issue.

Staying ahead of hydration makes the biggest difference for me. Making sure I hydrate the day before I work, drink a 20oz bottle before I start my day, and at least another bottle of water every hour or two. If you're not peeing often (and peeing a light, clear color), you're probably not hydrated. I also bring things that are very fast to eat - shove it in your mouth and keep on with what you're doing: banana, fresh fruit or vegetable juices, yogurt, chia pudding. If I don't have to stop and chew it, I'm more likely to eat it. I talk all day in addition to jump/pack, etc, so that may not be a concern for you, though my jump days are 10-14 hours minimum, 5 days a week. Make sure you've got a good amount of sodium in your diet, (especially the days before jump days) to help your body retain that hydration. Drink mixes are good if they help you drink more, those electrolytes are better for you if they come from food. The best drink mix I've found is Vitalite, used to be called Gookinade, available online.

Since YOU are worried, and ultimately it will be up to you to save your life & prevent injury by flying & landing your parachute by yourself and responding to any undesirable or emergency circumstances along the way: yes, you should talk to a doctor. Get yourself some peace of mind! Then remember to breathe and go have some fun.

Jumps count for USPA A licenses if they are conducted under supervision of a USPA instructor and signed off in your logbook by a USPA instructor. Interesting to note that all skydives count for B/C/D licenses, just log them! Another good reason the licenses have requirements in addition to jump #s...

Exactly what I was looking for... when I spent $300+ on my helmet & cutaway and $300+ on my dumb gopro, before the new gopro session released. This helmet is late to the game. Good setup, new versiin of camera makes the new (safe!) setup obsolete... and so it goes.

The lead times for any new container give you plenty of time to find used canopies; a big cost savings. Talk to your rigger and get the word out to your local community - people have stuff in closets that are not posted for sale but will go for $ to a local!

Student gear fits everyone poorly. Once you're licensed and can rent and try out different equipment, you'll figure out what works for you. If the rig has moveable leg pads, put them where you want them. Wearing jeans or other thicker pants under your jumpsuit helps. Once you're und r canopy, try different leg positions and see what is comfortable - legs out in front like you're sitting in a chair is pretty common. Be sure to put your legs under you, in a standing position, when you come in for landing so you are prepared to plf, not land on your butt!

An USPA A licence will let you jump at USPA dropzones. Different countries have their own regulations, some accept USPA licenses. Student programs vary from dz to dz as well, it is up to the individual dropzone whether they accept transfer AFF students or not. There is not an easy answer here. Figure out where you would want to jump and contact them directly with your questions. Best of luck to you, it's cool that you want to make this happen even with the travel involved!

The common student bruises that look like domestic abuse bruises: on the forearm from hanging on the strut, on shoulders or neck "hickeys" from risers on opening from ill fitting student or rental rigs. I had a series of bruises on my biceps that looked like someone grabbed me. I sprained an ankle trying to force my first stand up landing as a student, and have seen similar (and worse) when a PLF could have saved it.