trumpetfish

Not sure about the vertigo problem. I know if I jump a lot in a day I get a weird rocking motion when im on the ground that can make me feel quite ill ? After a long lay off I find the FEAR creeps back in. but you know why your scared. It's freaking dangerous man! I'm sure others have said the same but knowing more about the equipment will go a long way to alleviate the fear, but I don't think it will ever go away completely, and who would want it too anyway ? I'm sure if you can get to the DZ! and express your concerns to an Instructor they can get you back into school and you'll be out the door again in no time and loving it. good luck!

hi casch. sorry to hear you can't be jumping right now my fav this year was from a Pitts Special II, Z-Hills new year party. (see my icon thingy) I was pretty nervous. which just made it better really. jumped a heli for the first time on that trip as well, but the pitts just gets it.

I used a 220 during my aff, then after 25 jumps or so tried a 190, for around 15 jumps. I then bought a 170. loaded 1:1. I bought this from my home dz and was advised (instructor) that it would be fine for my first owned rig. I consider myself a controlled canopy pilot under normal conditions. So far I have only had one hard landing -more of a 'crunch, are my teeth still there!? but that was due to heavy turbulance resulting in partial canopy collapse rather than an initial error on my part. granted if i were more experienced or had a larger canopy then prehaps it wouldn't have been such a wake up call. but then again I don't think it's done me any harm to have a 'reflective experience' like that. It's definately made me more concious of reviewing wind strength and directions before I decide to jump. and in the UK there's often quite a lot of 'reviewing' going on

I agree, gotta love it whatever. but did he have to make yoda look like some sort of frog on speedballs !? Just hope that it's gonna get a lot darker for the next movie. Lucas can't direct for shit (ok, maybe a little strong there), he should let someone else have a go, just like with Empire.

surely if you keep your 3 rings clean then rotating them wont do any harm? personally I clean my rings (ahem) with silicone spray when I service my cutaway cable and riser webbing. just to make em that little bit more slippery for when they need to move in a hurry.

thanks all

Hey, thanks for the info. Is it more dangerous having a top mounted camera ? Strikes me that it should be 'safer' than a side mounted camera, but then prehaps it's more difficult to get the shot you want with a top mount ? If I go for a side mount I will want to be doing it with a helmet with a fully enclosed camera mount for safety's sake. t

ok, looking for some clarity here. Im looking at buying a digital video camera. I'm not about to use it for jumping for at least another 150 jumps, but I want to be able to use it when the time comes. obviously it will be a little outdated by then but that doesn't bother me really. price wise, I dont really want to spend more than £500-£600 so it may be that I have to buy 2nd hand. I've done searches on the forum, but just found a lot of 'pc' and 1-0-this and 1-0 that and it's not very clear to me. Does anyone know of a good site for comparisons, even one slanted to a skydiving point of view ? or prehaps a personal site on videography options? thanks

I'd recommend wearing a helmet - it may save your life.

I have 80 jumps. started at 3,500 from around 40 jumps Then i spoke to a few people about their experiences (some very scary indeed) and pull heights. i decided to raise my pull height to 4,500 or 4,000. decided that until Im more experienced/had malfunctions I want that extra reaction time. plus you get a longer canopy ride, which is always nice

I guess most people have the same trouble at the start, i know I did. I found something that worked. If you bend down into a sit position (legs wide) whilst standing (on the ground), that is the amount of muscle strenth your going to need to use to keep your legs from buckling under when in freefall. Also, think WIDE LEGS when your in a sit. also think 90 degree angles (lower legs to thighs, thighs to back and arms to torso. Hope it helps

Sorry, but IMO if you jump REGULARLY without a helmet you are asking for trouble whether you're jumping with other people or not. I had my canopy collapse on jump no 50ish. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet things would have been so much worse. Why not use all available protection you can get ? cos you want to feel the wind in your hair ? ...please.

Usually, if im not mistaken, you have to go to boogie's in the uk for any kind of speciality jump. I'd recommend going to the states. You could get a balloon jump, heli jump, maybe even a bi-plane jump, ahhh the list goes on. Probably all within a week! With the dollar as weak as it is there's no better time! heli jump in the states around $30. Bi-plane jumps around $70, balloon jump probably around $30-$50 ps. bi-plane jumps rock

big blue vibes from acroos the sea...

skydivers - good down to the last drop.

they have 700k and are looking for the rest now. investments can be made up till mid december now I think. i was thinking of investing but thought better of it. it was more of an 'emotional' investment rather than a sound financial one. I think return would be minimal and very long term. better off putting your money into the FTSE for 3 years, but thats only MO

why? ignorant self-grasping.

Muse rock. and then they rock a bit harder. seen them at a festival here twice. some of those lyrics are seriously twisted. enjoy!!!

ah f•*k it.

things like that should happen more.

The dutchmen will be taught a lesson Im sure. should be a cracking game.

Hi Dagny I can appreciate what your saying here. I found a good way was to have a chat first thing in the morning with an instructor and explain how you'd really like to get such and such signed off today. Then you can approach the same person throughout the day. I think there is a slight element of "we don't want you to progress TOO fast" which must be a good thing really. There's plenty of time. just hang in there and nail those landings!

Supersonictransatlanticblueandgoldenvibesbeinglaid.

so maybe I should have shaved.

DONT DO IT!. in my limited experience, unless you feel 100 don't bother. I tried and was very lucky not to have broken myself a couple weeks ago.