sammielu

Get to know your pilot. Have a beer or a meal with them, ask questions (where are they going to land in the event of an engine out on takeoff is a good one, but maybe start with how's your day, how'd you get into flying here, etc), get your own read of their personality and personal preparedness. I'm pretty sure bringing any pilot a cold drink on a hot day when they're stuck in the plane makes fast friends (pass it up to them when you board, never approach the pilot door without permission, reclosable containers only).

Nice! There are plenty of canopy skills to work on with your extra airtime and you can also practice landing pattern/skills and look at surrounding fields/outs in detail (find all the fences, power lines, obstacles, etc before you meet them up close!).

Sounds normal for dz student gear. Ask your instructors for specific feedback, if there are other options (maybe a 200 or 190) that will fit your body, skydive-parachute skill, and are avaluable at the right times, maybe that's an option for you. In my experience, it makes more sense for dz's to invest in bigger student gear than smaller, as "staying up" and landing slow is generally safer for beginners (so a handful of medium sized gear and a couple for bigger folks and a couple for smaller folks will cover it).

Correction: small jumper not being taught how to correctly flare The solution to landing problems is always coaching and sometimes up-sizing (slow it all down), not speed it up by downsizing. I don't know this person, her personality, experience, or coaching history, however there is sometimes a phenomenon with some females who play the "I can't" card, in life and sometimes in skydiving. I can't flare, I can't pack, I can't arch, I can't practice, I can't yell my count... so help me, show me, do it for me, or pass me on my jumps. I will admit I'm totally biased against this behavior and believe that when people really want something they will work and fight for it. The solution may be to get her a different instructor/coach who can work with her in a different way and push her to toughen up. If she wants it, she'll work on it. If not, she'll quit or continue to land on her face.

Yes.

Currency and jump numbers combined are important for safe downsizing. Someone who has 2000 jumps in the last 5 years is very different than someone who has jumped 100 times/year for the last 20 years... 100 jumps/year is just enough to maintain (remember!) skills but not enough to build new skills. Search for downsizing checklists on here, you'll find some nice long lists of skills to master before thinking about adding speed (via downsize). "Canopy Coaching" means canopy only dedicated jumps with specific skills you're working on. If you want to downsize fast, focus all of your skydive energy on canopy skills alone and leave that freefall mumbo jumbo for the future. At an A licence, you're next order of business should be to take a canopy course - those types of jumps are what is referred to here (exit around 5k, deploy canopy immediately, practice skills up high, land, get video and debrief about what you did). The document you link is not in English, but the recommendation for 600 jumps with 200/year minimum for wL of 1.5 sounds good to me, as a minimum, with slow downsizing and coaching along the way. For your weight 240lbs, that is a 160sf canopy 500+ jumps from now .0minimum. A 120sf canopy puts you at a 2.0 wingloading, probably in the 1500-2000 jumps range with 200 jumps per year on that 120 at an absolute minimum to stay current. Wow is that a lot of jumps and a lot of canopy purchases from now. What's the hurry? Skydivers who stick in the sport and downsize usually buy used for their first couple rigs, then decide what size container is the best fit for them and order new later on. Plenty of skydivers quit or slow down jumping (which cancels that need to downsize) before downsizing out of a rig and never need to buy a smaller container. Buy what you need now for now and leave yourself room for 1 downsize. Also consider reserve size. You want a nice big reserve now in the 240sf range to keep you safe if your very next jump is on that reserve, right? There is not a container that fits a 240 reserve and a 120 main, that's a really big size difference. Ask around and hold up a couple containers side by side - a big wide reserve tray on top and then a skinny little 120 main tray on bottom and the whole rig is hourglass shaped... not really a thing. Big boy rigs are hard to come by. Keep in mind that harness resizes are an option for some manufacturers (I know from experience Velocity, UPT, and Javelin are great to work with) and cost $500-$600. Get with a local rigger who can measure you properly, ask which manufacturers they do/don't like to work with, and look for a used container that fits your yoke measurement and canopy sizes, then have the rest of the harness resized to fit you. $600 on top of a used container is still less than the price of a new container, and modifications take less time than building rigs from scratch.

I read your other post. It's normal to be calm before a first skydive, everyone is different. You are doing the right thing by trying to make an informed decision and giving your instructor the opportunity to do the same. I can't say why the instructor declined to take you on that skydive, maybe the wind or weather didn't look good, maybe they were new, tired, nursing a shoulder injury, having trouble with landings, maybe you made a funny face when you told them about your back and it made them worry, maybe they are concerned about your level of fitness, maybe they really wanted any excuse to take a break and you offered them one (your back), maybe there was something else going on behind the scenes... could be you or could be anything. RE: Leg assist device - some dz's have them, ultimately what matters for you is if the instructor taking you uses one. From what you're saying in your posts, you think you are in good physical condition (and so does your doctor) aside from your back. If you can't get your own legs up for landing without assistance, that's not a back issue, it's a physical fitness/flexibility issue and the result is: don't skydive. Based on your posts, you are unsure about this decision and seem to be looking for someone to tell you to go ahead and skydive and that you'll be fine... and you've gotten a couple of those responses... But you're still doubting and still asking questions. I personally go by the rule that if have to ask if you should be doing something, you probably shouldn't do it. If you're not sure you should skydive using your injured back and your body, you probably shouldn't.

Thorough equipment list, however new vs old isn't safer, airworthy vs not is the only comparis on there. You'll probably discover new things to add going forward, an audible or 2, additional altimeters (digital for canopy is great, chest mount or mudflap mount puts that altimeter in your field of vision while under canopy, cutaway sistem for your helmet, maybe a chroma visual indicator. Training will keep you safe over all of the above. Specifically: Proper gear maintenance and gear checks according to your manufacturer recommendations, packing according to your manufacturer recommendations (vs the shortcuts, "alternate/easier methods" or "I learned this trick from so and do over there" that I see all over packing mats everywhere). Emergency Procedures training, in hanging harnesses, multiple times a session, with a buddy or instructor who can catch your bad habits and ask you what if questions to get you thinking through your procedures as they apply to your EP methods on your individual gear, the more often the better (I'd say once a month is ideal). Use the PD malfunction picturesand go through all of them showing your physical response (and response time) to each of them. Training with your other tools: if you plan to rely on a hook knife, practice accessing it and using it and make sure it's a good one that will actually cut a line, bridle, or riser if needed (plastic ones = absolute crap). Since you have an AAD, what altitude will it fire? How high do you need to pull to give yourself time to sort out a malfunction before your AAD fires and all of your options to survive are deployed? How high do you need to break off to be sure you pull by that altitude? By what altirude do you commit to stopping monkeying around with a malfunction and instead cut away, deploy reserve, give that reserve time to inflate and you time to land safely? ...that kind of stuff. That saves your quality of life, not just your life. Also: reserve size (worst case scenario: landing no-input because you're unconscious, how much damage to your body is ok with you?) and choosing when to not jump due to winds, weather, pressure to exit/deploy low, or when there are people you don't trust not to kill you on your jump or in your plane.

USPA issues the following licenses: A B C D Each one comes with an individual number. My D license number starts with 3 and has 4 more digits. Some where out there someone has D 33333 from a few years ago. USPA isn't the license name, D 33333 is. Does that help?

What license do you hold?

Every rig fits different. Practice handle touches on the ground and if you're not sure a particular rig is right for you, ask an instructor. Student rigs generally fit no one perfectly, and a rig that is much bigger than your body is going to feel and fly much different to a student or new jumper. A rig that is too big isn't dangerous, just different. If there is video to see what you did, slow it down with an instructor and watch what you are doing with your body that started the spinning and how you tried to correct it. At your level, its really common to not be aware of what yoyr body is doing. Maybe the rig was shifting, maybe you had a leg sticking out sideways, slomo video will help solve the mystery of what happened, if you care too. Ultimately it doesent matter what happened, every student has crappy jumps sometimes. Sounds to me like you handled it, got your msin out, and want yo improve for your next jump. Awesome. Ask your instructors what you should practice for next time, and practice it a ton. You could have practiced your entire dive flow 5 times in how long it took to read through this thread, practice helps, Internet not so much. Also: fly more. You have a total of how many minutes in the sky? Probably not very many if you're still a student. Learning to skydiving takes repetition, go jump.

I haven't used it on an actual cutaway, but we did several fun test jumps dropping just pilot chutes and retrieving them (the part that takes the longest is walking from the road into the middle of a farm field or patch of trees), and taking the tracker on long walks and errand runs and seeing if someone could show you on Google maps where you went (they can!).

I think you need to talk to your instructors on this one as I'm not quite understanding what you are saying. Here's a few points for you anyway: -Without wind to slow you down on final, yes you will be going faster. -If you are landing in no wind, downwind, or crosswind, the steps to flare and land are the same, (this is the land everything the same part) however: it will look different because you're moving faster over the ground, and if there is crosswind you will need to flare more on one side than the other to keep that wing level over your head. -I don't know what you mean by a "lighter" flare, speed can vary and how far you flare can vary (how far down you move your toggles) - and you should pull them all the way down every time. -Ask your instructors if a 2 stage flare is appropriate for you and your equipment. Not all (student) canopies respond to that. -If a full flare swings you forward and you start to swing back before you touch the ground, you flared to high or too fast or both. A perfect flare swings you in front of your canopy putting your feet on the ground with zero forward momentum left. If a flare pops you up, it was too fast. If you flare too early, you plop to the ground or even start to go backwards before you touch down. If you flare too late, you run out of altitude before your hands are all the way down. Ask an instructor to debrief you on your landings, ideally with video. -The rushing ground is something you have to get used to. -Don't look at the rushing ground when landing, look out in front of you at the horizon. Use your peripheral vision to identify when it is time to flare. -Too little momentum to land your student canopy on no wind days??? Thus one is backwards. Landing into the wind slows you down. If there is no wind to slow you down, you will go faster and have more momentum, not less. -Yes it is harder to learn to flare just right when you're going faster (ie. No wind to slow you down). -Yes, the last 50m inputs absolutely use up your flare power. A consistent landing pattern, starting in the same place in relation to your target each time, allows you to adjust during your landing pattern, mostly in the base leg. When you turn to final, it's no more adjustment time, rather it's get ready for a safe landing time. That means unless you are steering to avoid an obstacle (which should only need to be a slight turn to land next to the object instead of on top of it), your hands are all the way up until you start your flare. -Get video of your landings as often as you can and debrief with your instructors. Watch other people's landing debriefs too, you can learn a ton by watching a good flare, one done too fast or slow, or one done too low or high. Maybe video a friends landing as a trade for them videoing yours, buy a 6 pack, and snag an instructor or 2 at the end of the day for a 5 minute lsnding debrief (everyone wins in that equation).

I've enjoyed everything I've tried,and there is so much more to learn - this winter I'm going to learn FF. I have the most experience working with SL students (500+jumps) and tandem students (100 jumps now). I love watching someone push through a difficult skill/situation and succeed, all while sharing the sky that I love so much. FS is the next most experience. 400 jumps and 4 hours tunnel. I love the camaraderie, especially when jumping with the same group, setting a goal, and achieving it. That group synergy when you fly together and communicate without needing to talk, look, gesture, or anything outwards is amazing. CRW dogs are the best of all. 50 jumps jumps & one amazing boogie. Tons tons tons to learn, safety is constantly and actively brought up and enforced, as is gear knowledge - a huge plus for me for all of skydiving. If I understand how things work and why they work, and what the rules are, I'll totally go play within those rules. Something about CRW jumpers over all other disciplines: they support and seek out new CRW jumpers. Loads of coaching and loaning equipment are common. For anyone who doesent want to do creward I say: ok. You don't have too touch other canopies to learn a lot. A crw coach with an in-helmet radio (they have them all over the place) can help you learn about inputs on your regular canopy. On crw canopies you can simulate a side by side, biplane, and downplane malfunction so you get an idea how canopies fly together before you're in an emergency. Lightnings are also really similar to PD reserves so you get to experience fliight and landing characteristics of a reserve-type parachute.

I used to wear insoles just because I'm always on my feet (tandems, organizing, or running around on a concrete floor working in a busy bar, I clock more that 10 miles in a normal day) and I wear cheap/thin soled shoes. Continuous proper hydration makes a bigger difference than even the $400 custom insoles.

What youre leaving out is: students land poorly. They mis-time flares, don't flare at all, don't complete the flare, make a bunch of turns on final so there's no power in their flare, and come up with plenty of other ways to scare their instructors that they're going to hurt themselves. Land poorly feet first and you can PLF out the speed using your legs as a spring and rolling. Land poorly on your butt (i.e. legs out to slide in) leaves your spine as the only thing to compress to absorb that pressure. The 3 broken backs I know from skydivers (4 if you count my Dr's only square canopy jump in 1983) were compression fractures from hard landings on their butts - all were new or students who chose to try and slide instead on PLF. The one I saw was 10 feet high, super fast deep flare (common mistake) and the student dropped straight down onto their butt, fracturing some vertebrae in their lumbar spine. I'e seen people plant their feet trying to force a stand up landing who sprain/tweak stuff in their legs, and one broken ankle, but planting your feet is not a PLF. If you're light on your feet to start that roll (which only comes from practice), the momentum carries through your body. It's a personal choice in the moment to PLF or not, but I dont know of anyone getting more than bruises or muddy clothes from a plf, even a sideways ugly one. Regarding tandems: there's a minimum of 500 jumps, 3 years, 4 licenses and a coach rating to start tandem training. Landings have to be signed off by the examiner before you get your rating and then continually ok'd by your dz to be employed as a TI, quite the difference from a student landing a canopy for the first time.

Exactly. A mis-timed flare (like when you're learning) with your feet up ready to slide means all the pressure is on your tailbone and spine. I personally know 3 jumpers who have broken their backs this way. Please don't do it. PLF position puts you ready to PLF and roll out that landing (there's a reason they did PLFs when jumping rounds), and when you get flare timing right, a "ready to PLF" position has you ready to stand, run, or walk out the horizontal movement. OP: Please, please talk to your instructors before taking Internet advice. While most posters here are trying to be helpful, not everyone understands what advice is appropriate for students.

I went G3 because there were enough sizes among other jumpers at my DZ that I could try them on and figure out what would work before I spent $400 for an online purchase. It was the only helmet I found that my head (especially my mouth after I got braces) and has an (aftermarket) cutaway available. I got a full face (very used and cheap Mamba) when I started tunnel flying and spit on my own face. I had to replace the Mamba when I got braces.

I agree that the ideal packing class has the goal of learning to pack and being ready to pack 100% on their own afterwards. 10-20 pack jobs completed using several rigs for repetition sounds great. Does such a class exist? How much would you riggers charge? My point is: cheapskate skydivers are unlikely to pay to properly compensate riggers for 8ish hours of a packing class. It's gross how little you already get paid to inspect/maintain/repair my life-saving devices.

Instructors do our best to land everyone softly and ensure nothing is uncomfortable for our passengers. Some do a better job than others due to experience, specific landing conditions for that jump, and personality/attitude (there are assholes everywhere and all humans make mistakes). Remember: we're there too and we want to have a good time and stay uninjured as much as you do! If you told me you had a bad back before I took you on a tandem, I'd tell you 2 things: 1. You signed a (very loooong) waiver for a reason, I can't guarantee anything. 2. Skydiving is my very favorite thing. I've been doing it for (however long and however many jumps is accurate at that time), I haven't been hurt, I don't plan to get hurt, and I'll do my best to keep it that way while we're strapped together. Then I would double check that you can get your legs up for landing so we can slide in on our butts. Legs up is the most important thing a passenger can do to help us land safely. If you can't get your legs up you are at a real risk for injury.

Yep, loose harness/rig too big for your body. The instructor who jumped with you will have the best feeback on how you can improve. We all have to learn to fly our bodies including the rig, and a bigger rig or one that can move around on you is going to be more difficult. Talk to your instructors, see what other rigs you can jump next time, get help adjusting if the harness is adjustable.

I don't think many of us stopped "learning to pack" after that first packing class, there's just too much information for a new jumper to really get proficient at in a few hours. Licensed skydivers are responsible for their own learning in all aspects. So... Be careful who you listen too. I know someone who prefers to teach packing to new jumpers on a 99 triathalon. Great way to show all aspects of packing and get that A license sign off on one pack job, but doesn't prepare a newbie to pack the 190sf 9 cell they will likely be renting and jumping at first!

All the above stuff is good. Also: you have to conside what a hard opening or hard landing would do to your body, as they are reasonably common and may happen. If you get hurt, do you have health insurance to fix you? What happens if you miss work to heal? Those type questions. Quality of life is important at both ends; do things you want and accept that some things are too much risk... the scale is different for everyone.

Wait, doesn't this all go back to RTFM for proper packing procedures for your equipment? Throw out, pull out, spring-loaded pc (on some mains or on every modern reserve), riser cover and riser routing, proper brake stowing, and closing flap order/methods vary between manufacturers and option on each rig. This is why it's important to learn how to pack your equipment from someone who knows your equipment. FWIW, some jumpers choose to jump SOS for good reasons - I know one who does and two more who should. In an injured arm scenario, if you can't use either hand to pull both handles, SOS might be right for you. (Ex: if you can't use your left hand (only) to pull both the cutaway and reserve handles and your right hand is hurt and can't help, being able to reach all of your emergency handles with that left hand becomes really imprtant). Edited for clarification and to fix fat finger typing.

What kind of skydiving job do you want? You can get a job as a packer or manifest starting where you are now. Get to know the full timers around you. Do they live in the parking lot? Do they have second jobs? Do they get to fun jump more than you do now? I'm a full time TI and was a full time SLI last year. My expenses are low and I have another job in the winter. Static lines barely pay the bills and I burned myself out last year not having enough time or cash to fun jump. Tandems pay much better so I only work 3ish days a week. But, I have a second job 9 months of the year, no debt, and minimal expenses. While I'd love to train and compete, I don't have the right time/money combination. My advice: keep jumping and feel it out at your dz. Do the numbers. How much money do you need to make toto be comfortable - including a fun jump and vacation budget. Can you make that at your dz? Plan aead and it can work; getting my TI was over $1200, and that's after all the prerequisites were met.