Snowcrash

Here's hoping! Norway would at least be close enough to travel, especially if I could get a first trip to Kjerag in while I'm that side of the border.

Heh, I borrowed a F111 Raider 2 made in 1990 for a dozen or so jumps. The improvements made since then might not be major ones, but they are definitely noticeable improvements! Didn't have much of a flair I'm guessing? On the other hand I just got my hands on Stiletto 135 Serial no. 020, that came out of DeLand, FL in 1993. Granted, this particular one hasn't seen many jumps, but I'm willing to bet it would outglide most everything made today.

Would really love to see it on our side of the Atlantic as well. Any chances of that happening?

I have got to say that it's really nice to see that the knowledge gained from paragliding and the new generation of skydiving wings is starting to make its way towards more main stream canopies. Some would probably disagree, but isn't it amazing that so little has happened over the last two decades that a parachute designed in the early nineties is still one of the most efficient flying machines we jump?

I jump mine all the time in Sweden. We had at least -20°C up top at the start of the season and I haven't had any problems so far.

Closest one would as far as I know be Umeå (http://www.skydiveumea.se/). It's about 3 hours drive from Luleå, which would be considered just around the corner in that neck of the woods. The price (for a slightly modded and extended version of the AFF) seems to be lower than average, but still quite a bit more expensive than conventional (static line type) or AFF.

When I had 100 jumps I thought for sure that I was going to get a GoPro as soon as I passed 200 jumps. I even bought a nice Tonfly Speed and everything. Passing 200 though, I've realized that shit can be dangerous. The rule is there for a reason. We are all different, some are better than other, the rest should maybe wait even longer or never get a camera for that matter.

What??? Don't people tend to end up naked sooner or later at every dropzone? You should come to Sweden mate, that's all I'm saying. Anyway, to the OP; just to add on to all the great advice in the thread I would just say give it some time. Some of the nicest people at my DZ jokingly ask about the new guys that have just got their A license if they've bought their own gear yet? "They haven't? Then I probably don't know 'em". From my brief experience it already seems that so many come to the DZ, make a few jumps or even manage to make it to an A license, never to come back for a second season. I guess it's just frustrating in the end to make new friends every year, only to see them fade out a few months later.

No doubt, it's better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than being in the air wishing you were on the ground... Tough decision to make when you are on a 10 minute call though.

On this side of the border we are thought to go directly to our reserves if we have to exit below 700 m (~2300 ft). My understanding is that that is based on the lowest opening altitude required by our regulations (being 700 m, defined as pin out). I jump a Sabre2 150 that has done 500-600 jumps, that takes about the same amount of altitude to open and though giving a blanket "700 m" answer may be leaving out quite a few considerations, I'll stick with it for now, rather staying a bit conservative, at least until I'm more experienced.

Great thread, thanks for bumping it! Well, with only 90 odd jumps I guess just the fact that I'm skydiving is probably stupid, but anyway... Late this summer me and another sub-100 jumps friend decided to try a nice and easy track jump together. The plan was simple; we go about 10 good seconds off line of flight, the turn either up or down line of flight depending on where we end up in the load order. We break early (something like 6000) and then I go another few seconds off line of flight and he slightly back towards it (in and of itself probably a stupid idea, but fortunately none that he had to pay for...). Anyway, the load turned in to one of those confused ones, which I guess everyone has been on from time to time. After a lot of back and forth, we get a second pass, a few demos having gotten off on the first one. We go last on the second pass and execute the jump, perfectly according to plan. The only problem is that despite having all the time in the world we were way too exited to get out, don’t check the spot and then just go. We are last out, so: off line of flight, back down wind, break at 6000 and I continue further off line of flight. Come opening time I look down and realize "hey, this patch of wood looks different, I've never been here before". Turns out we got the green light way, way too early on the second pass. Luckily I had a straight run of open, nicely plowed fields all the way from where I was hanging and back to the dropzone. More or less headwind all the way so I just rode it down, ended up landing 50 meters shy of the grass. So, lesson learned; always check the spot! A quick look won’t take more than a second and I'm sure we spent that time high-fiving each other before we went anyway.

Scary stuff! I used to fly gliders before I started skydiving and most of them are so easy to get out of a spin that all students get to practice provoking a spin, go round a couple of turns and then get out of the spin, as part of their training. Takes 5-10 seconds max to get out of, even if you allow it to develop fully (on modern, easy to fly planes that it is). I assumed that the planes we jump from were almost as forgiving, but I was apparently very wrong on that. Be safe, do what the pilot tells you to, don't all run towards the door at once. Remember to tell the pilot in advance if you are one very big group exiting together.