skypilotA1

It is great that you will be visiting us at West Tennessee Skydiving. You won't have any trouble finding someone to jump with, no matter what your discipline. Just ask the DZO, Mike Mullins, to hook you up with someone. And be sure to get a jump from the inverted Pitts bi-plane, it's a blast. You might want to get a helo jump, too! And check out the new swoop pond! So get ready for some "7 minutes to 14,500" fun! Exit, exit, exit!

I own 2 Pilots and a Stilleto. After demoing a Zulu over the weekend. I compared same sizes. The Zulu just does everything a little better than the Pilot. Very pleased. Great canopy.

Love my Revolve....about 4 of them at my DZ. Cookie is great, but I like the more solid feel. Also, I talk to my students right up to exit, then slam down the visor.

As an AFF I, I jump with several students who average 145.....not that unusual. You are probably correct. Later on you may wish to get a slower/larger jumpsuit so you can stay with "average" jumpers.

Give them a call at West Tennessee Skydiving, near Memphis. I believe they can assist. www.jumpelvis.com

I recently made an AFF jump as outside/reserve side instructor. I had some difficulty getting the shoulder gripper upon exit, and gripped the container at the riser cover point. The jump went well, however afterward it was pointed out to me a safety concern. If during this jump, with this grip, especially during an unstable exit...gripping the container assembly at this point may cause the reserve cable to be pulled and possibly cause a reserve deployment if the reserve cable is a little tight. Unlikely...yes...possible...yes. Just something to think about.

This exactly what I use also, and I agree...works great. And I have tried many combinations to get to this.

Having just finished the course with Bram, I have a couple of comments/opinions. I was initially not prepared for the uncomfortably close precision flying, with the "student" sliding all over the sky. But eveyone's skills sharpened toward the course end. The course work and information overload presented staggered me at first. My brain was mush every night. At mid-point all three of us mentioned we didn't know the day of the week, or how many jumps we had made. It was always, what is the next task. Be prepared, mentally. The course director will push to the limit in every catagory. Easily the most difficult training ever. But well worth it.

I have about 25 intentional cutaways using an additional "D" ring set-up I developed on my sport rig. I could hook up a third main that I chopped after deployment, back into freefall and open my conventional main. Not really a big deal after 5 or 10 jumps, just a hassle chasing the chopped canopy after a high opening.Quote

I am a "D" licensed jumper with 2600 jumps in other disciplines, and have instructor ratings in other disciplines, but very few wingsuit jumps. It would seem if a wingsuit coach jumped with me on a "coach" or instructional jump, that "coach" would be able to count the jump toward renewing their coach rating.

Yes, it may seem strange, but I have been on several (eight) instructional jumps where the student simply froze and refused to pull. I had to pull for them, and twice the student actually fought me, not letting me pull their reserve. Occasionally people do weird things under stress.

Just bought an older Precision Interceptor CRW canopy, a 220. It came without a PC. Anyone have a used, new, or demo retractable PC setup & spider slider I can buy? possibly someone has a source for one? Thanks in advance! Paul G [email protected]

Don't let the "age issue" get you down, Gary. I made a couple of jumps this weekend with two jumpers, one is 62 and the other is 73. Both are still active and current. I am confident you will get plenty of response. Lots of "more mature" jumpers still around! Blue skies!

On the Accuracy jumps, will it be "traditional" accuracy? or Swoop/sport accuracy? Also, who is judging? (I want to get my bribes in early!) Paul G

I had a problem with the SKYRIDE settlement also. So I wrote a Nation Director (Mike Mullins). In Mike's usual "no nonsense" manner, he said he had strong opinions on the subject, but is prohibited from any statement by terms of the lawsuit. I appreciate his directness & forthright answer. I then wrote the new Exec Director, Scott. I got pretty much the same answer, except he added there was a possibility that the lawsuit "could have" go badly against USPA in court, and the safest course of action was to settle. I thank both of them for a quick answer. I agree this does leave a lot of questions open, and I don't think USPA has done a good job of letting the membership know what happened. After all, WE are paying the bill, whether directly or through higher insurance premiums. If we got "beat down" or "out lawyered", then that is what happened. We just want to know.

I probably have more than most. I have (and use) 11, yes eleven jumpsuits. I jump with lots of different size students, from 90 to 250 lbs, with all sorts of fall rates. I have camera suits, freefly and sit suits, I also have a "specialty" suit I use for night demo jumps that lights up. As "sducoach" said. the jumpsuits are just tools, and the right tool always makes the job easier. It won't fix a problem, but it can make the problem easier to solve. Paul from SEMO