markn

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Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Skydive Chicago
  • License
    D
  • License Number
    28982
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    2900
  • Tunnel Hours
    100
  • Years in Sport
    19
  • First Choice Discipline
    Freeflying / VFS
  • First Choice Discipline Jump Total
    1900
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Formation Skydiving
  • Second Choice Discipline Jump Total
    1000
  • Freefall Photographer
    No

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    No
  • Pro Rating
    No
  • Wingsuit Instructor
    No

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  1. It really depends on how serious you want to get about a given discipline. If you do want to get serious about a particular discipline then a good quality suit for that discipline that is fitted for you is a good idea. A suit that was made for you, as opposed to one that sort of fits, does make a difference. I have two RW suits, one that was fitted for me and one that was not and I can tell a difference in how they fly. The one that was fitted for me flies better and I feel more comfortable in it. Good suits do cost money but they also last many jumps and let you fly better. So if you want to progress in a given discipline investing in an appropriate suit is a good idea. Pros and cons of particular brands and particular types of suits is a very large can of worms that I will not open here. There are many, many threads on that topic already and a quick search should yield lots of opinions. If you are not looking to get very serious in any particular discipline and are just "having fun" then I would say keep using the suits you are using now. It is cool that your DZ lets you do that after being off of student status... -- Mark N
  2. Regarding being able to hear Neptune's canopy alarms while wearing it on your arm: I have tried the Neptune to see if I can hear its canopy alarms while wearing it on my arm. I wear it on the inside of my forearm, in a "Neptune pocket" in my RW suit, so it is closer to my ear than it would be on a wrist and it is facing towards my ear rather than away from it. I also jump an open face helmet. To reinforce what has been pointed out already you will not be able to hear the swoop alarms very reliably. This will especially be true once you have started your swoop and you are flying at an increased speed. I am usually able to hear it if I do a very low performance approach. If I increase my speed even a bit I will not be able to hear it very well. This is all on a square canopy that is loaded at 1.2:1. Regarding the Wave as an audible-only altimeter: The Neptune Wave is a very nice option for an audible-only altimeter. It has freefall and canopy alarms. It is waterproof. It uses the same battery as a Neptune and runs the same software as well. The menus for it are the same as the ones for a Neptune, except that all the options that are one a Neptune are not on the Wave so some of the menu items are missing; so if you are familiar with the Neptune configuration already it is a snap to use a Wave. If you like the Neptune and are looking for an audible-only altimeter then I highly recommend a Wave. -- Mark N
  3. Where did you have them mounted? The transducers in audable altimiters are pretty sensitive and depending where they are mounted and depending on your body's orientation can produce quite interesting readings. I wear mine on the wrist and have seen pretty normal readings. One time however I had a pretty weird reading when I made a skydive and another person that was jumping with me put her hand over the Neptune in freefall. And yes, as was suggested earlier make sure you have the latest software. Version 2.6.0 is the newest version. -- Mark N
  4. Old block 12 was Zipper / Star. It was a AAA block. It was removed for the 2005 year. The inter was a 360 for one piece and a 540 for the other piece to put it back to a star. I believe the front piece did the 540 and the rear piece did the 360. The block was removed from the pool because a lot of the really good 4-way teams came up with realy quick and innovative ways to go through the inter. The picture shows one of those methods. The judges did not like some of those transitions because of centerpoint violations. Quite often the innovative ways to perform the inter resulted in busts by some of the top teams in the top competitions. The French as well as Majik lost points on that block at the last world meet in Croatia. There was so much debate between what is allowed and what is not and some of the teams flew the inter so close to the edge of what is allowed that in the end the IPC decided to remove the block from the 4-way divepool. -- Mark N
  5. I have a Sabre 170 and a 150 with about 550 jumps on them between the two of them. I highly recommend rolling the nose. That is roll the four cells on one side toward the center cell. Give the four cells three good tight rolls. Then stuff the rolled cells into the center cell. Do the same for the four cells on the other side. I also do not fully quarter the slider. I do initially to make sure it is symetrical but later pull most of it out to the front. I also fold all the stabilizers. At the end I roll the tail pretty tightly. If you are not sure about any of these packing methods make sure to talk to an experienced packer so they can show you what is described here. Some of these methods are better shown rather than just explained. -- Mark N
  6. Yeah that is Sarah. When you meet her make sure you tickle her. She likes that a lot -- Mark N
  7. Ditto. Have it checked by a qualified rigger. I recently purchased a rig that is 10 years old. It is in great shape and looks like it is brand new. One thing to note is that it is very likely that a rig that old will probably need some work done on it to bring it up to current specs. I am not badmouthing Rigging Innovations, the maker of the Talon, just pointing out that all manufacturers have learned a lot in 10 years and it is very likely that you will need some bulletins and other recommended work done on the rig before it is safe to jump it. Of course everyone's definition of "safe" is different... -- Mark N
  8. Yet another thing to consider is to get some tunnel time. Although this will not increase your jump numbers it will increase your skill level dramatically. Consider that 1 hour of tunnel time is like making 60 RW skydives! You can easily do a total of 1 hour of tunnel time spread over two or three days. Increasing your skill level is what you are really after if you want to be on any sucessfull record attempt. I realize that there are jump number requirements to get on the record attempt jump but if all you got is the jump jumbers and no good RW skills then you will still not get into the formation. You need the jump numbers and the skills. As far as getting a 100 jumps in the time frame you specified I am sure you can get it as long as you have the will and the cashola. Lastly remember not to forgo any safety aspects as you are going for you 100 jumps. It is easy to get caught up in trying to reach a goal like this and start skipping on safety aspects of skydiving. -- Mark N
  9. The Search is a yearly event organized by Skydive University. This year it will be The Search 6. Usually it is held at DeLand although it has been held at different dropzones, but still in the general Orlando'ish area. It usually runs for about a week. It is pretty intensive. You start early in the day and end late. You learn a lot. The program is very diverse. It is more that just a seminar for teaching you RW. Each year's program is a little different although the general format stays the same. I went to The Search 4. At that Search we had Scott Miller to teach us some good canopy skills, we had top coaches to jump one-on-one with us to teach us fundamental RW skills. We also did 20 minutes of tunnel time at Skyventure in Orlando, again with top coaching. Later in the Search we did 4 way jumps utilizing our freshly polished RW skills. Throughout the Search there were all kinds of seminars, they covered a wide variety of topics from better packing skills, to what it is like to be on a world level skydiving team. My favorite part was with John DeRosalia (Dr John). He is a sport psychologist and a skydiver. He did several great seminars teaching us about the psychology of skydiving and achieving more that you ever though you could. Last year there were two Searches, The Search 5 which was all RW and for the first time ever (BEEEEER!!!!) a Freefly Search was held. I'm not sure if both of them will be held this year as well. The Search is usually held in late February / early March timeframe. It is usually advertised in Parachutist and Skydiving Magazine. You can also check out www.skydiveu.com, there is no info on the Search right now but I'm sure there will be as the date gets closer. You will be challenged regardless of your skill level. At the Search I went to we had people ranging in jump numbers from just over 20 to over 300. I never saw anyone bored or too stressed out. The coaches are great and do an amazing job customizing each jump for you to make it challenging but not so difficult that you are discouraged about your performance. The Search is a great event. I highly recommend it. I learned so much and met so many people. At the Search I went to we had people from all over the world not just all over the country. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions... -- Mark N
  10. I talked to Pat about the wind tunnel this past weekend and he said that it will not be at Summerfest. He is having some maintenance work done on it. -- Mark N
  11. One thing that I would add it to recommend that you pactice relaxing before the jump. This may sound a bit silly, but think about it. Trying to relax right before the jump without ever practicing it would be like trying to execute emergency procedures without ever having practiced them. To be good at it everything takes practice, even just relaxing. You don't have to wait until you get to the dropzone to practice relaxing. Do it at home when you have some free time, do it in a car while waiting for a traffic light to change. Don't worry if you relax too much and don't notice the light change, someone behind you will remind you to go. It works every time. As you state yourself the key is to not think about relaxing. So close your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine you are doing something you really enjoy, be it riding a horse, riding a bike or just watching a sunset. Imagine as many of the details of the event you are imagining as you can. Remember the feel of the wind or the sun on your face, remember the sounds you hear, etc. Do this for a few minutes and I can guarantee you that you will be relaxed. While in freefall don't think about the jumps as a test or a set of tasks you have to pass to get to the next level. Treat it as a big, fun ride made for enjoyment and you will do fine. -- Mark N
  12. Good portion of Skydive Chicago's staff along with one of the Twin Otters are all in Ixtapa right now. I have no clue how close or far that is from you but may be better than going to AZ. SDC offers AFP back in Chicago and am not sure if they would take on a student in Ixtapa. I'm sure that some tequila will help to convince them :) If you are going to do it then step on it as they will be coming back soon since it is getting warmer here in Chicago everyday. -- markn
  13. For your back problems I'd recommend a book by Robin A. McKenzie. The book title is "7 Steps to a Pain-Free Life". You can get a copy from amazon.com for just over $10. [/url]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0452282772/qid=1078187899/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0165955-9256802?v=glance&s=books It is a really good book. The author is a physical therapist and actually, he goes through explaining where back problems come from and also shows a set of exercises to get rid of the back pain. The stuff in the book simple and work amazingly well. I speak from my own experience. -- markn
  14. I'm not addressing the question about whether BikerBabe should or should not have cut away but rather would like to point out something about her attempts to reach for her cutaway handle while it was behind her. Why try to reach all the way for the handle if you know it is all the way behind you? The handle is still connected to the cutaway cables which are still partially threaded into the cutaway cable housing. If you DO want to cut away in this scenario why not just grab the cutaway cables where the handle would have been and pull the rest of them out? Just a thought in case this happens to someone in the future... I'm glad everything worked out fine for you. You lived to tell about it and that is more important than what you did or didn't do... -- markn
  15. looking at adds and websites i've noticed one and two piece freely suits. what are some of the pros and cons for both. i'm not looking for info on specific brands of suits, but rather more general info on the pros and cons of two vs. one piece suits. thanks. -- markn