skybytch

Hugs grasshopper! You said it better than I could have. pull and flare, lisa

Ouch! I feel that you are telling me that I shouldn't be a skydiver because I was dumb enough to get pregnant at 18 and was not able to fit college, work and raising a child into the 24 hours per day we are all alloted. I like to think I'm at least semi-responsible; I've managed to raise a pretty good kid by myself, which should say something about the quality of my character. Having worked full time (plus) at $6 and $7 an hour just to pay the rent and utilities, buy some food and maybe get one or two jumps in on the weekend, I have had to make the choice - do I jump again and put off the phone bill til next week? Or do I put my (crappy old used) gear away and pay the phone bill this week? Maybe this makes me irresponsible in your eyes but usually I chose to make the skydive. pull and flare, lisa

Being a skydiver with ADD I can tell you that skydiving DOES focus the mind. High stimulation activities like jumping, driving fast, etc., are all mentioned as ways of "self medicating" in several books I've read on ADD. pull and flare, lisa

This morning at Perris a jumper with 40 jumps flying a Spectre 150 was coming in on a straight in approach when he inexplicably performed a hard toggle turn way too low. He hit the ground at the same time as his canopy. Both legs were broken and his face and head were badly injured. He was helicoptered out. Last I heard he was still alive but they weren't sure he'd make it. Please... be careful this weekend! pull and flare, lisa

You're very smart dove!! Keep that attitude throughout your skydiving career and you're gonna be a great skydiver. It's the people who are always looking to learn something and aren't afraid to ask that get the most out of this sport and usually keep themselves reasonably safe in the process! pull and flare, lisa

ROL = don't freefly with this rig, like grasshopper said. Bridle routing is vital if you do decide to go with ROL; it's actually pretty easy to wrap the bridle around the leg strap and create a p/c in tow. Plus the throw from a BOC is a lot cleaner than from an ROL - with a BOC you pull straight out then let it go into the airstream, with ROL you pull it up and out then throw into the airstream. pull and flare, lisa

Great idea Billy! I've forwarded that on to my sweetie who maintains a CHP helicopter and knows quite a few people in the medevac industry in Northern California. :-) pull and flare, lisa

Heh heh heh... imho if you haven't blown off a utility bill to go make a skydive you aren't really a skydiver. I thought those envelopes they keep sending were just to keep my mail man busy... pull and flare, lisa

Carrie, that's great! I don't want any kid to have to deal with what I did. And you oughta be proud of yourself for what you're doing... I happen to know that ADD girls can be quite a handful!!! :-) pull and flare, lisa

If it's shown arriving in Israel with an exception, the package is likely to be in customs. If it's shown in your town with an exception then they may have tried to deliver but no one was there. pull and flare, lisa

Pull out requires a more "positive" pull and toss than a throw out. Throw it too easy and you may find yourself with a floating pud; sometimes grabbing and throwing bridle will clear this, other times it's a reserve ride. More care must be taken when packing; a slight misrouting of the bridle could create an impossible pull. Can you get ahold of a rig with a pullout and go jump it before you buy anything? I think one jump on one will tell you if you like it or not. Have you already transitioned from ripcord to throw out? If you are already on a throw out I'd recommend staying with it. Changing deployment methods often when you are still new to skydiving is not a good idea. pull and flare, lisa

I highly recommend getting the packing video from AR. A friend of mine was getting consistently whacked by her brand new 160; she watched the video and starting packing it the way they show and has had soft openings since. pull and flare, lisa

Been hearing that rumor for at least 5 years. Don't hold your breath! pull and flare, lisa

"Down in it" by Nine Inch Nails "High Speed Dirt" by Megadeth "Jump" by Van Halen The Top Gun theme ...and even though it's not DIRECTLY skydiving related - "Blue Skies" by Willie Nelson. pull and flare, lisa Edited by skybytch on 2/28/01 10:38 PM.

Pay some bills, new 'puter, a new RW suit and if there's enough left I may sneak in a trip to Vegas. Should that turn out correctly I will then buy two complete rigs.... pull and flare, lisa

The Washington Post's Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners: Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late. Hipatitis: Terminal coolness. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease (this one got extra credit). Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer. Glibido: All talk and no action. Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly. And, the pick of the literature: Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole. pull and flare, lisa

"specially if u wanna downsize in the future, it'll be a shame that u'll have to sell it cuz it's to big for smaller canopy..." This is a common misconception. If you buy a container that is sized for the canopy you want to jump now there is NO problem should you decide to downsize your main one or two sizes later on. Since most jumpers only go down one or two sizes at a time you should be able to buy a brand new rig sized for the canopy that will keep you safe now and continue using that same container with whatever you decide to downsize to. Only adjustment needed is to shorten the closing loop. I know of several people who have purposely ordered their gear sized for a main one size bigger than they will be putting in it so they will have an easy, soft main pack job. I put several jumps on my b/f's Javelin J2 (sized for 150zp main) with a Sabre 135 in it; it was comfortable to wear and a snap to pack. pull and flare, lisa

They aren't manufactured or sold new anymore... [sad] The Dytter was the audible of choice back in the 80's and early 90's. One beep was all ya got, setting it was sometimes a guessing game and it was a bit thicker than the audibles available today. It was also more expensive than a ProDytter is now. You can still find used "old style" Dytters. Worth around US$50 and batteries are still available from most major gear dealers. Not a bad choice for a second audible if you ain't got the big bucks but personally I'd rather have a ProDytter or ProTrack as my primary audible. One nice thing about the old style Dytter, especially for camera fliers - if you get one that was manufactured in the late '90's you can add an LED and have a visual alert also. pull and flare, lisa

Something I find interesting that may relate here... I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder about 6 years ago. When I was growing up it was thought that girls didn't have ADD and it was something that a child usually grew out of; my teachers and parents were convinced that my problems were caused by a character flaw - if I would just "apply myself" everything would be fine. Current thinking in the medical community is that both sexes can have it, it's rare to out grow it and people with undiagnosed ADD are often unknowingly trying to "self-medicate" with many legal and illegal substances. Many who have been diagnosed and put on medication (usually a stimulant such as Ritalin or Dexedrine) to control the symptoms find that they no longer need/want the thc, caffeine, alcohol or whatever other substance they've been using. Since being diagnosed I've met a LOT of other jumpers who either were diagnosed with it as a child or were never diagnosed but show all the classic symptoms. IMHO this may be a partial explanation for why many jumpers smoke, drink and do drugs - heck it may even explain why some of us are jumping at all! This subject is a bit too deep for such a short post... if anyone is interested in more info please let me know! pull and flare, lisa

Spotting??? Wha's that?? Even with GPS basic spotting skills can still be considered survival skills imho. I haven't actually "spotted" an aircraft since I moved to Perris but I do look down prior to exit to be sure that I'm not going to have to pull at 5000 just to make it back. Lots of small dz's have aircraft without GPS; at these places knowing how to spot can be important. It's also important if you have a round reserve. pull and flare, lisa

Container - Javelin, Vector 3 or Infinity The Javelin is the most popular rig in the world, the Vector 3 is built by the same company that invented the 3 ring release so you know they've been around a while, the Infinity is a very clean, tight rig much like a Vector 3 but not as expensive. All three are very comfortable (get the harness rings) and safe. Any new container will be easy to pack the main in and all are available with collapsible main p/c's (not sure what else you mean by canopy performance upgrades...). A container sized for the main that is perfect for you now will accept the one or two size smaller main that you'll likely want to get later. Reserve - PD or Raven Dash M. I haven't flown a reserve yet so I have no real input on which is better... IMHO either one will work just fine. Depending on the size container you need for your main you may decide that the Raven will work better for you because they pack a bit smaller than the PD's. Example - a Javelin J4 will hold a 190 zp main and a PD176R or Raven 218-M reserve; if you want a 190 main and the PD193R reserve you'd have to go up to a J5. Keep the square footage on your reserve close to your body weight; this will make landing it much easier should you need to use it anytime soon. Main - Spectre. Soft,on heading openings, fun to fly, easy to land even in a tight landing area. It can be swooped if you are a good enough canopy pilot but does not have to be landed that way. I've jumped the Safire also; slow openings, really fun to fly but the landing is a bit trickier than the Spectre. One thing about canopies - don't make this decision based solely on what ANYBODY recommends, even me . Get demos from the manufacturers and jump them. This is the only way to determine what canopy is really the best one for you. pull and flare, lisa

Thanks so much all!! Being stuck on the ground is a lot easier to deal with knowing I have you guys around to keep me smiling. pull and flare, lisa

Yeah, what grasshopper said... that's the MOST important thing to remember! Well, that and running to a computer immediatedly after you jump to post all about it for us .... pull and flare, lisa

I have almost 800 jumps and I consider "in the saddle" under two grand to be low; depending on the canopy opening actual pull time could be anywhere from 2200-3000 to achieve that. For me anything over 3500 would be high. pull and flare, lisa

I've landed in several different aircraft - Cessna 150s, 152s, 182s, 206s, 411s, Otters, L1011's and a 747. Various reasons - my honey is a private pilot (there's the 150's/152's). I used to do s/l jumpmastering and often there was no time to jump - I'd throw three out of the 182, land with the plane, pick up three more and go right back up. Some days I'd get three or four plane rides and only one jump. 206, 411 and Otter were due to weather and the big stuff was cuz it's faster than a car. Of course I prefer NOT to land with the plane..... but sometimes it's the smarter choice. pull and flare, lisa