Skydivesg

I wear weights with my 4 way team and most of the time, when I'm in the first 12 to 16 on bigger things. I usually wear about 8-10 lbs and I would concur with the last post as far as a formula. I know you didn't want to discuss body position so this is not directed at you but for those who may find value in this information. Sometimes I find that the weight is not enough (usually right in the middle of a jump) which is when the advice I received from a physical therapist really comes in to play. When you look at video or stills you will find that most men fly with their knees much farther apart than they think. The exception is usually those who have several hours of coached tunnel. The more spread apart your knees the harder it is to arch because our hip flexors actually cause us pain and we very quickly relax, going back to a more neutral body position. The pain is felt down the inside front of our thigh. The less flexible one is the more the problem is perpetuated. Since our best fall rate comes from our hips this presents a problem. Try it! Stand up and put your knees shoulder width apart and then push forward with your hips as far as is comfortable. At this point most guys say "I don't fly with my knees that far apart" but the video and pics don't lie. Now bring your knees together with about a 7-8 inch spread and try it again. You can push your pelvis down twice as far with much less effort and easily hold it for 60 seconds. You can also straighten out your lower legs more easily or more importantly, bring the lower legs up out of the relative wind thus helping the fall rate. As an aside, this also give a better starting point for leg turns for those who want to improve their center point turns. I have been teaching this technique for a long time and everyone who tries it says it makes a huge difference. I often coach myself during a skydive using "self speak". When I need more fall rate I don't say "arch more" I say "bring your knees together" this reminds me and I am then able to push down more with my pelvis. There is also a floor stretch which will help reinforce this position. If anyone wants more info let me know. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I found that being one of the late slots on the 100 way base for the Arizona 300 way was a refreshing challenge. Not only were you going out of the 2nd left trail Otter with a blind turn to the formation but every time we got on the ground our sector captain said "nice job but we have to go faster". We were pushed to go faster and faster on every jump knowing that the other 200 people could not begin to dock until we were docked. We also had to dampen any waves that inevitably come through that size formation. I really enjoyed pushing the speed approaches on those jumps. I think it was much more challenging than being on the outer row of the Chicago record attempts. Just my opinion though. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I wouldn't let that punk call you old, Karl. You don't have to put up with that crap. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Someone say hello to the PD guy for me. His name is Nick. Call him "Punk" and say "Sandy from Iowa says Hi! Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Donate subscriptions of "Skydiving" which has better content and no incident or death reports save the occasional one which is newsworthy. Make sure you talk to someone in management to make sure they don't just get thrown out. The cost is much less as well. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

To what people have said here I would add the following: I've taken a 2 hour tour (queue the "GI" music) of the factory and I could not believe all the testing that is done on every bolt of fabric that is delivered to the company before it's allowed to go into inventory. I was also surprised by how much of it was rejected. I like the idea that every piece of material has it's own serial number and can be traced back to which bolt of material it was cut from and when. (yes, if you know what you're looking for you can find the serial number on every panel of a PD canopy) I like the idea that John LeBlanc, head designer, has a Aeronautical Engineering degree from Embry Riddle. I like the fact that PD canopies have a better resale value than any others(IMO). This is probably because so many people trust and want to jump a PD. These are just few more to add to the already impressive list. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I've put a number of jumps on the PD146 Optimum using it as a main. It is not your normal reserve. Every jump I put on it was doing 12-14 way RW at terminal. The openings were unbelievable and not hard at all. The landings were even better. It has a really powerful flare and I had no problem shutting it down in no wind. I even did a couple of 90 degree front riser approaches. I was out the door at about 195 lbs. This is an awsome canopy. The low bulk allows for a larger canopy than what is currently in your container. Talk to Nick at Performance Designs about it and see about getting one sent to you to demo. Here is his info: NickG@performancedesigns .com Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I'm glad Karl came on to give you some advice. I do however think that you should take a stab at it yourself just so you get familiar with how everything works. Then have your rigger check it. Not everything has to be done by a rigger but it is very good advice for anything that's new to you to be checked by a rigger. Karl, have you seen my kid lately. Hope to see you this summer. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Jee, do you jump a Sabre? I'm just trying to share how I've managed to put 2000 jumps on a Sabre and get nice straight on heading openings. You're just assuming I "mess it all up". The lines are still straight. It can be done. I've been packing like this for the past 15 years with no canopy damage and no cutaways. I've only had 3 malfuntions and none in the last 4500 jumps. Two of those were in the 70's, one in the 80's and none on a Sabre. A guy asked for help....... I threw it out there. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I put a couple thousand jumps on that very canopy and my son put about 500 on one. I only got slammed (not bone crushing) a couple of times and my son never. And mine was definitley due to packing when I was in a hurry. The key is packing. After doing all your normal pro packing stuff just take the nose and push it straight into the middle of your pack (no rolling). the farther you push it in the slower it opens. I usually stuffed it in to about half way to my elbow. Then make certain the slider is all the way to the stops. (This part is very important) With your slight weight you shouldn't have any problem even with the original size slider which is what I had. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Once you get to the dz and spend some time you'll figure out that some people will try to get you to buy beer for everything. Many of these people will just be kidding you (sort of a right of passage to kid the new guy all the time). Others are just looking to get free beer to drink. Usually you buy a case of beer for your first major accomplishments i.e. first jump, first malfunction, first 4 way etc. Your instructors will help guide you so your not being taken advantage of. My son made so many firsts in such a short time he just bought a keg. It ended up being cheaper and no one could accuse him of not ponying up for the beer. BTW I do intentional downwind landings quite often. Those who do them by accident are the ones to watch out for. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Two suggestions. First: Don't tell anyone at the drop zone that you're a pilot. You could end up with your hands on the throttles instead of the toggles. lol Second: If possible find a drop zone that will allow you (even encourage you) to get your first 25 jumps in one week. This will accelerate your training. Also get trained as early in the year as possible and then make as many jumps as you can possibly afford in your first year. There is no training like experience. If I were going to study anything, it would be the dive flows for the first 7 AFF jumps. Become very familiar with them so you know what will be expected on each jump. Even if your instructors vary the dive flow you will still have a baseline knowledge of them which will ease your stress level. This is what my son did. He made 2 jumps the first day and 4 on the second and graduated in 6 jumps. We also gave him 15 minutes of tunnel the night before his training. Again the best way to learn is to make a lot of jumps very close together. And bring lots of beer. Good luck. Sandy Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I ran a night club in Sioux City for my folks. We catered the grand opening of a Mack Truck dealership in the early 70s. This was in the fall of the year prior to his canyon jump. Evel was there for most of the week and we got to know him quite well. My brother and I took him pheasant hunting. (he was an amazing shot) He even preferred that we call him Bob. The dealership brought him back several times after that and he came to our club almost every night he was in town. We got to know him quite well and I've got some great stories about him including pics. He told me that his rocket bike had a start/stop kill switch on it. It was basically a clutch handle that when pulled in would engage the rocket and when let go would deploy the chute. (I guess that's the dead man switch referred to earlier) He said that there were more G forces than he could handle and it simply pulled him backwards and pulled his hand off the handle resulting in a premature opening. After talking with him many times over a few years I simply do not believe he would have intentionally ditched out early. This man was all about PR and he would have preferred to die than to have people think he chickened out. He was crazy and radical but very likeable and man could he drink. He would have fit into skydiving quite well (though I'm not sure he would have lasted long) Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

If the DZ is full time (open 6 or 7 days a week) going through the training in a week is a piece of cake. My son did his training in 2 days. Class room and 2 jumps the first day then 4 jumps and graduate the next day. He and I then went up and did 2 more jumps after he graduated. We had two days of bad weather and he still did 27 jumps and got his A license by the end of the week. He did have the advantage of growing up around the sport and had been a packer (roughly 3000 pack jobs) for 7 years. But even without that experience, if you have decent weather you can do the same thing. Go for it!!! Based on how you describe your feelings, you'll never again be satisfied without skydiving. Good luck. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I've only done a couple hundred tandem videos and so I'm not as experienced as many of you. I've filmed maybe 20 (or so) different tandem instructors at various DZs and events and the vast majority of them are not in tune about whether or not the goggles fit the student. I would say 15 - 20% of the videos I've shot have problems with the goggles staying on. The student is so pre-occupied with holding the goggles on that they don't enjoy their skydive and of course it also ruins the video for them. Anyone else have this problem? Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

In my experience fear is what causes most people not to jump or to quit once they started. Fear, in large part, is what helps generate all the adrenlin, which is what those of us who stay in the sport crave. Fear cannot be overcome by everyone but those who do over come it are changed forever and they become a different person. Courage is not the absence of fear but rather moving forward in spite of the fear. I hope you find a way to manage your fear and become a part a very small segment of the world's population. And remember what DaVinci said. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

No one can tell you that you were wrong in your decision. Your comfort level is not the same as some one else. It's your jump, your bones and your life. The worst thing is to let someone else gode you into jumping. Make your own decision and muster up the moxie to stick by it. It's my experience that if someone is concerned about their landing due to winds or something else, they seldom are able to focus on the jump and the skydive doesn't go well anyway. I've ridden the plane down more times than I can remember. People give me crap about it but it doesn't bother me. I'm still jumping after many of them have quit due to injuries. Be careful............. you keep making decisions like this and you may end up still active in this sport 30 years from now. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Slot Perfect and Rok both give good advice. Get to a course on canopy piloting if you can, and at the very least get your landings on video for review. On final, set up so you can let your canopy fly at full flight (toggles all the way up) for at least ten seconds before you start your flare. (no half brake approaches) This allows you to build up air speed. Air speed is your friend. It converts to lift during the flaring process. Lift is what slows your forward speed and decent. Be sure to finish your flare just prior to touching down. Many young jumpers don't finish their landing flare. Finishing means to bring your hands and toggles all the way down past your waist. (preferably in front of you) All this should be performed while looking at a point about half way between you and the horizon. Don't look straight down. Also call USPA and order the video "Fly to Survive". (it's cheap) It came out a couple of years ago for Safety Day. Your DZ's S&TA may have a copy of it. It has some excellent footage of landings with voice over explaining everything. I use it in the canopy course I teach. This DVD can make a huge difference. Also, know this. When you go back to your DZ and tell your instructors that you got all this "great advice" on the internet, they will likely be very skeptical. This is a good thing. Not everything you read is good advice. I suggest you print this thread and show it to your mentors. Let them help you discern the good from the not so good. And get into a course. Happy Landings Be Safe Sandy BTW: Cory Taylor lives next door. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Try Skydive Iowa. Free camping and showers (or private sleeping rooms to rent nightly). This DZ is a private airport owned by the DZO. Skydivers and skydiver freindlies only. Bon fires, great "Flight Deck" with a huge community grill for after the prop stops. Everyone who has been there raves about the place. Less than three hours west of Skydive Chicago and three hours from Fort Doge (Couch Freaks). IM me if you want to stop by and I'll give you more info. Sandy www.skydiveia.com Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

It's very difficult if not impossible for someone to give you decent advise without watching you (or a video of you) flying your canopy. The best advise is the one who said to go to Scott Miller's Essential Skills Canopy Course. You commit to making five hop & pops from 5000 feet in one day. He films every landing and coaches you for about an hour during the debrief after every jump. You will have more knowledge about canopy flight than you can ever imagine. And you will know exactly what it takes to get a good landing under your canopy and pretty much any canopy you ever jump. If you ask "what is the course like?" it would be like some who has never jumped asking you what it's like to jump. You have to experience it. If I were you I would do whatever it takes to get to his course. Even if you had to not jump for a short time to afford the course which is very reasonable. He is in Deland. His number is (386) 837-9647. Good luck and Safe Landings Sandy

Has anyone looked at the lenses for sale on ebay? I'm talking about the ones you find when you do a Sony PC9 search. There is always a pair of lenses listed with a picture. One is a .5 (actually .45) and the other is a zoom 2X. They are clearly not from an individual selling their personal equipment. I'm not sure there is a name. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of buying a lense like this versus buying a Way Cool lense or some other brand lense? I would like any suggestions you have. Be gentle on me ....... this is my first time. Thanks Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

John, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble for you. I was just trying to figure out if the POPS thing was on the same weekend as the SDC 4th Boogie. Next time I'll just PM you. I'm sure you'll have more than enough people to do your 64 way. SDC always puts on 1st Class events, which draws 1st Class talent. I'm sure I'll see you before then. Be Safe Professor. Sandy Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

Are you sure about those dates? 'O7 calendar or '06? Usually the only big ways I'm on are the ones I organize. My jump budget goes to 4-way training and meets. Besides I probably wouldn't measure up. Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

John when is the SDC July 4th Boogie? June 30/ July 1 or July 7/8? Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

I get pumped just thinking about jumping. I think the fire remains for those who approach the sport the right way. Always be a student........... I've got butterflies just typing this..... Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.