jgarango

In my opinion, this should only happen when the toggles are not snapped. The snaps set the distance so the toogle cannot travel up far enough to get to the soft area. By keeping the distance fixed, the snaps dont allow the toogle to get choked. Use the snaps and the problem should go away. Also, you can always buy the new risers from UPT that have hinge snaps that release very easy. My new Micro has them and they work geat. Almost no effort to release.

That is one flexible girl... I am always concern about people like her, so I wrap my ankles around theirs after drouge deployment. That way I can reduce the how mauch the legs are swung. But I agree with you, the Y-Mod increases the safety factor. Juan

Like John said, the place is closed but about 2 years ago the University of Florida Skydiving Club the Falling Gators moved to Skydive Palatka. Also most of the instructors now jump at Palatka. Hope we get to see you at Palatka. Juan

Here is one picture from 1935 Juan

You answered your own question. The rotation of the toggles while setting them adds up and when you notice, there are a lot of twists. Juan

I agree with Spizzzarko. Mel at Skyworks rigging did a great job on my FX. He is very fast and I think that the price was very reasonable.

We put radios on the chest strap. Very little chance of snagging.

I graduated from UF a while ago, but there were always classes on that friday. But like you said it is just one day. My advice is to go and do some serious jumping. BTW, did you know that the falling gators have new rigs that as a student you can use for free? You would only be paying for the jump ticket. Palatka is their home dropzone and there are always members of the club jumping there.

Last time I saw him was about a year ago and a half ago at Williston, Florida. He actually posted as "hacker" here on DZ.com. Here is a link to his post: http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Events_&_Places_to_Jump_F19/One_Les_Hatfield_P1641701/ He posted a cel phone number: 352-461-6654 Hope this hepls.

Ok, Now I know who you are. If at any point you have any questions or need any help, please let me know. Juan

Eric, I am one of the instructors at Palatka. I don't know you but I am always willing to help anyone and trained people as needed. Remember that not everyone out there is an instructor and also not qualified to give advise. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always talk to Art (DZO) of Jeff (S&TA). I'm also always willing to help and like you I hate when people exaggerate or talk BS about their "personal skydiving experiences". If at any point you need my help and I am the DZ you are welcome to ask me whatever you want to know. (I do not get annoyed with questions). Like someone already mention it, the SIM is a great source of information. Hopefully this helps and again if you have any concerns about your safety or someone else's you can always come and talk to me. Be safe, Juan

I'm sure he is been sarcastic. Juan

Yes but what you are quoting does not say anything about the student jumping with anyone else than a coach or an instructor. I do remember from my coach course that the course evaluator told us that anyone not licensed yet can only jump with coaches and instructors It does not matter if he/she has been clear to jump solo. Juan

I think that you have to re-check that information. I am almost completly sure that according to USPA a student (no license yet) can only jump with coaches and instructors. Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong. Juan

Contact Mel at SKYWORKS Parachute Service he is the authorized rigger for Icarus. He will give you a quote over the phone. He is in South Carolina. Ph:864-429-8428 I don't remember exactly how much he charged to reline my FX but it was around $200 and he was super fast. Hope this helps. Forgot to add that Icarus does not reline canopies. They have 2 authorized riggers, one on the east coast (Mel), one on the west. Check Icarus website.

If your only reason to change the the speed of your openings is because you may have to chase a student, you should reconsider your role as a coach. As coaches we are not allowed to pulled for students, not even to chase them below their required pull altitude (3500). As an AFFI is your call if you are willing to go bellow your hard deck to try to pull for them. Juan

If you had check his profile you would have notice that he is from "Romania" (they don't speak english there). So it was a perfectly normal question even for someone with more than 200 jumps.

You can check: http://www.skydiveratings.com/rates.html I don't remember the cost but Bram is a very good evaluator and has very good prices. Hope it gives you a good idea. Juan

Agree with feuergnom, Check to see if after the 3 tandems you are still required to go through the full AFF program or if it is just the part with just one instructor doing the harness hold (last 5 levels). If you have to do 3 tandems and the full AFF, you should find another DZ. They're after your money. There is no USPA requirements for tandems before AFF. Good luck, Juan

Agree. I got both my coach and tandem ratings with Bram. He's a great evaluator. www.skydiveratings.com is his website.

I did it a couple of years ago. The gear checks are very important. Be sure that everything is correct and I mean everything (RSL, chest strap, AAD, goggles altimeter, helmet, etc, etc...). My evaluator told us that if we would allow any of our "students" to get on the plane with something wrong with the equipment we would fail the jump. You are allow to repeat at least one jump if I remember correctly. The air evaluations are not too difficult if your flying skills are ok. They will emphasize that if you touch or bump your student on freefall, you fail. Also remember that it is not an AFF course, so it is more about teaching and learning how to brief and debrief your student for and after a jump. I hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy it.

Sorry about that. My bad!!!!

Congratulations!!! I got mine 2 months ago and like what AggieDave said it gets better every time. Even when you find yourself on your back and you're arching as hard as you can

I'm glad you had fun with us at Williston. Great 8-way at the end of the day. And good canopy control on those winds!!!! You are welcome anytime. And the 190 will be there for you.

First of all I'm not a NASCAR fan, but I think that you have to check your facts. The temperature inside a race car can reach a lot more than a 100 degrees and the stress on their bodies is really high. Drivers do sweat a lot more than what we do when skydiving. And I agree with Lindsey, if it is just about drinking beer and eating junk food ours wouldn't be a sport either.