freakydiver

Man - start out slow, get fifty or so just both front riser approaches and progress from there, keep current, i.e. not fifty in a year. IMHO, you shouldn't be doing anything more unless you are regularly jumping your parachute. I know it looks cool when someone busts off a 540 swoop landing between a couple of trees - but that takes massive time and patience (not to mention tons of jump experience). Take your time. Good luck. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I gotta go with these guys, even though I'm a die hard gamer and programmer by day as well (i.e. I get my share of the PC world), macs are by far the best solution for video - wishing I had a brand new 17inch G4 laptop... mmmmmmmm.... good luck -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I bought JVC, no aftermarket sheit for it out there, got my Sony PC9, couldn't be happier. The skydiving industry is generally all about supporting Sony - and for good reason. The camera is friggin bomb proof and the images are very very good. Good luck... -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Dumb question - but since I've never personally had it happen to me, nor have I witnessed anyone else with the problem - how does a PC get packed in such a fashion that it cannot be extracted from the BOC. Hell - now that I think about it, maybe my ten year old VectorII is just in such sheit shape that the BOC isn't as tight as someone's newer BOC... Just looking for ideas (and things to avoid). Thanks! -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I had a good experience purchasing my PC-9. Just make sure to check the seller's history for some content. I'd personally be pretty hesitant to purchase something from a User with no rating/history. I had a superb experience with my purchase - arrived when it should have, great shape. Oh yeah - pay with an insured credit card just in case... Good luck. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Hmmm - I wonder what the smallest actual formation size would need to be (i.e. with gaps) for a smooth landing w/o canopies, 2000? 10000?? -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

Have you had any surgeries? No pun inteneded, but are you out of whack? I know for a fact that my right arm is a good inch to an inch and a quarter longer than my left because of shoulder repair - just a thought...

Thank you. Amen to that. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

An informed opinion is more important than an uninformed one. AGAIN - THE POINT OF A DISCUSSION FORUM is to share different vantage points. Where in hell do you get off saying that my opinion of what I SEE AND NOTICE at more than just ONE dropzone is uninformed? You don't even know me do you?? I visit perhaps 20 dropzones in a given year including yours. Again, I'm just trying to help ONE FRIGGGIN person out by getting them to do a pin check one EXTRA time or SWIVEL THEIR HEADS around while under canopy. What is the harm in that? What is the harm in saying "hey, i just happen to notice that there are more and more canopy pilots out there that don't seem to be doing that". You have no tact my friend: "An informed opinion is more important than an uninformed one." Yah man, I'm the uninformed one. I hate to get angry, but I am just trying to add to the benefit of this dicussion forum - you just waste peoples time by breaking the discussion down into micro-manageable pieces that no one could care about. I have NO beef with you other than the fact that you are beating on an issue that is simply brought up in order to help people out. "Your observations may well be valid where you jump. However, no matter how you slice it, the fatal accident rate now is lower than it was when you started to jump." NO DOUBT! I DO NOT DISAGREE!! BUT - ALL I AM TRYING TO GET ACROSS TO YOU is that I just happened to make the observation - at many a boogie and many a dropzone, that there SEEMS to be more and more people flying around with blinders on. I am not the end all say all of skydivers, I am no god, I don't have a crapload of jumps, I am not a master at any discipline. I just think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, I can help someone out that is willing to listen and that person will pass that knowledge along to another. I remember my first few years in the sport - if I picked apart every damn suggestion an elder skydiver made to me to look for the holes, I would never have progressed as safely as I did. Those people care about safety and passing that information on. "The total number of skydivers killed from 1963 through 1997 is 1226!!!! That's a lot of our friends who aren't out there any more. There seems to be a new trend in increased fatalities in recent years. What can we attribute this to? Think about what you can do to help keep the numbers down. And hey, let's be careful out there!!!!! Jack Gregory" If my comment gets one damn canopy pilot to turn his head more than the number of times he is doing it now - then amen, maybe he'll see you out of the corner of his eye before he jacks down his toggle and rams into you killing you both. Just a thought to ponder. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

The point is that for all the wailing and gnashing of some old time skydiver's teeth about how the sport is going to the dogs, the hard data show that current skydivers are killing themselves at about half the rate they did 20 years ago. I am not trying to wail and "gnash". I simply made an observation with the intent of keeping my fellow mates as safe as possible. The point of a discussion forum is to get different viewpoints. Mine is no more or less important than the next. Just take away the important points from my post - look around under canopy and make too many gear checks. Of course the numbers are decreasing - take a statistics course. As the data set increases and add to this the advancements in safety training and equipment, of course there are going to be a smaller rate of safety incidents. The point is simply this, lets reduce that rate even more if at all possible. I'd like to jump with as many interesting people as I can - that is one of my favorite aspects of the sport - the myriad of different types/ages/backgrounds of its participants. I am not ranting and raving - I just would like to see one person read my post and say hey, he's right, I am pretty bad when it comes to looking around and being aware under canopy OR hey, maybe he's right, I could overdo it and do like six gear checks per jump. All I meant in my original post was that I noticed, and by no means am I any sort of authority on the subject, more and more unware canopy pilots and I thought that my observation might help an individual out. I would never have gotten as far as I have in the sport as safely as I have without people making observations of my own skill set. It is simply an attempt at a constructive observation. Also - I do not pretend to be an "old time skydiver" - I am still and will always be learning in the sport. I will never be nearly as good as I wish I could be. I can admit that. Peece and Altitude BTW - Rules and Etiquette 1) No personal attacks. None. -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --

I don't post very often, but as I have progressed in my skydiving carrer, I am truthfully fearful more and more every year. Ten years ago when I began the sport obviously there were quite a few less people participating in the sport. Nowadays, I'll bet the numbers have doubled. Along with that, there are more and more people that make it through their AFF and get less attention. I see it every single weekend at the dz - people just do not pay respect to a sport that can and will eat you up alive if you dont pay attention. People are in a big hurry to make one more jump or they do not understand that sometimes there are 20 other people under canopy at the same time. The parachute opens and the blinders go on, the pack job gets done and the blinders go on. I personally have the same routine for every single jump and that includes a full pin check on the ground as well as prior to exiting. I may not look cool and complacent, but my nervousness keeps me safe. Complacency will eventually bite you in the rear. Like the other guy said, whats 10 extra seconds to do a gear check? Blue Skies -- (N.DG) "If all else fails – at least try and look under control." --