Joellercoaster

I can't actually remember who I got this from - someone on this forum, quoting a non-jumper, yes! I was tickled. Coaching on the internet is worth what you paid for it so I won't indulge, here, but: there's a very good reason you are turning when you pull, and your instructors will definitely be able to point it out. It's a simple thing that will go away with practice and awareness - you are really close. (Similarly when you check your alti you turn - body awareness will come.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Awesome! *click*

You'll read more about this kind of thing in the Women Only forum (well worth a look, even for guys), but basically: 1. Skydiving is a sport where progression along the 'cool' axis often corresponds to progression on the 'dangerous' axis. Bigger groups, trickier dive plans, more demanding disciplines. To some extent this is self-limiting - newer jumpers don't get invited on those jumps. Partly because of the safety aspect, but also partly due to not having shown themselves to have the requisite skills to make the jump go well. And partly just because they're new and people don't know them. However, 2. Skydiving is a sport where the majority of the participants are men. Women are not a novelty exactly, but at the charitable end a lot of guys like to tell women how to do things (mansplaining, y'all) - and at the uncharitable end, skydiving women are in short supply and some guys just want women to like them, or want to take advantage of their 'experienced' status to initiate relationships. This leads to rule 1 above, the self-limiting part, getting overridden by guys who should know better bringing girls who are too new to know better on jumps they're maybe not ready to be on. We all want to be cool. It's not just women - as a rookie jumper I got on a few things I probably shouldn't because of my more experienced girlfriend, and sometimes people with a couple hundred jumps bring people with even fewer along and it's the blind leading the blind - but it happens enough to women that people remark on it. There are occasional instances of super-talented women jumping in with both feet and surfing this phenomenon into rapid progression to amazing places, but for the average fun jumping newbie (first few years in the sport/few hundred jumps), it's something to look our for. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

's funny. I want to do AFF as well but my daughter is only 13 months old... it's a big time commitment eh -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This is an interesting thread for me. I'm coming back to the tunnel after a couple of years off, and learning to freefly. I have a bit over a hundred hours on my belly in the tunnel (mostly 4-way) and I'm 42 years old... my wife and I are doing a half hour every couple-few weeks which is not ideal, but not terrible either. My goal is not head down specifically, but it's part of the journey so I feel like I can contribute data. Will keep posted with progress. So far, all I can say is, freeflying is hard and I have some cool bruises Update 1. Time spent: 1.5 hours. Can fly on my back sorta-OK. My wife, who is younger and more talented, is picking it up faster and is starting to learn layouts with a spotter. We're back in on Friday. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I liked Pilots and have owned a few. I have only jumped the ZP and ZPX versions so I can't speak to the other thing but: I'd tend to go for the ZP by default. They seem to perform and wear a little bit better. The pack volume difference is significant, but at a 210-ish size, you can get a downsize or two out of a container that big. Demo would be ideal to see how you feel about the ZPX one for yourself (all this is very subjective), though that's not always possible. [edit to add: more subjectivity here, but I did find the ZPX a little easier to pack.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Wait, what? As far as I can tell, she hasn't done anything wrong. She's wearing a low-cut top, so what? That's her choice, and if she's got a great rack and wants to show it off, what's it to us? It may have the effect of getting her on jumps we aren't on, but again, what is that to us? She's almost certainly not doing it in a calculating way, and even if she is... none of my business mate. Repeat after me: we are not the girl police. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

A couple of times due to not being happy with the weather - once in competition when we didn't think we'd even get judgeable footage A handful more where I got out then and now would not, in the same circumstances. Weather, personnel, gear issues... all worked out OK, but I regret doing it now I've seen a bit more. And one, infamously, where we should have stayed in the plane but the whole team were too hypoxic to realise. I think the latter is partly due to bad experience - knowing what's really not OK, and seeing first hand some things go badly wrong - and partly due to self confidence - knowing you care about doing the right thing more than being second-guessed or maybe yelled at by people who aren't you. Early in your career, nearly everyone cares about that second thing a lot. Now, I do not care about that second thing at all, and it's just a jump ticket. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This. They are slightly different shapes. They are both excellent helmets. (I have one of each. I wear the KISS more, but that just means it fits my weird shaped melon better. Your mileage may and indeed will vary, demo demo demo.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Looking at the web page, I can't immediately see anything about it that would mean you would not be allowed to jump it in the UK. Could be doable. However, a couple of things: 1) depending on how much of it can be removed (that chin protector in particular, but also the goggle/visor setup), it might count as a 'full face' skydiving helmet, which are limited to B license and above right now due to concerns over peripheral and downward visibility. The other thing that isn't clear is snaggability - you want to be super careful of anything that might catch a line, for example (though it looks superficially OK on that front). 2) it looks a lot smaller than most bike helmets I've seen, but still bulkier than modern skydiving gear. In general, you want as much neck mobility as possible to see all around you. Would want to see one in person. TL;DR: You might well be allowed to (depending on the fullface thing and your license), but you might not want to once you did a bit more skydiving? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Many of the gung-ho jumpers I know in their 20s should be more scared than they are. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

As you will gather from the replies in this thread, what you want is very doable. It's going to be hard at first - two total new skydivers, even with the right jumpsuits (which make a huge difference, get expert advice and spend money) and weights, will find this pretty challenging. But, worthwhile. Get in the tunnel, with a strong RW coach, and put in the work individually and then together. Flying with your partner cannot be beaten

Nah, I think you're on the right track. When I started, I was going to go hard into freefly and BASE. Swooping was also going to be a lifestyle. A decade and a thousand jumps later, I've still done none of those things. And swooping and BASE are staying undone for good, I think, for reasons very much like yours. Freefly I'll get to, now that 4way is out of my system though. One thing I would say though is, although it's not really my cup of tea, CRW is way safer than it looks. You have your head screwed on OK, you can and will have a great fun skydiving career. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Yes. I am still a very slow and bad packer... better maybe than when I had 100 jumps, but I still suck. Actually I think I'm getting worse. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This does not really answer your question (the plural of "anecdote" is not "statistics") but: My one Skyhook cutaway did not result in a MARD; it disengaged due to the angle I was at and acted as an ordinary RSL. So sure, this is just a single occurrence, but there is no way you could convince me to cut away lower because I had a Skyhook installed. No way at all. (I would still buy another Skyhook if the container I wanted offered the option - it's a good idea. But it's not magic, and it shouldn't change the decisions you should make when things go pear-shaped.) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Could you maybe be a little more informative? This is not for me - but simply saying "you should get X because it's better" does not actually help someone make a decision, unless that person already knows you and thinks you are a God. Why is it better? -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

I'm not entirely sure I agree with your assessment of who is at fault, here Heal fast, anyway. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

It is a bit (I own a KISS and a G3 and use both regularly, I know of which I speak). But I agree it's not the big deal it has been in the past. The one thing nobody here has mentioned is hearing. Fullfaces and even a lot of skydiving open-faces affect your hearing under canopy and, importantly, in the plane. As a brand-new jumper, a lot of important information comes to you through your ears, on the way to altitude and jump run. Until you are pretty familiar with all the goings-on, then it's worth considering. I'd get the full-height Pro Tec (which gives much better impact protection than any full-face on the market, assuming you care), and optionally put an audible in it. You can hear it fine. Buy 10 or 15 jump tickets with the price difference. Get a full-face later, when catching a knee in the nose on a 4-way block or chunked exit is a big worry. Or when winter jumping is something you really think you want to do a lot of (although there are problems with that too - no matter what the ads say, no full-face helmet on the market today is immune to totally fogging up and then freezing over - I have done it with pretty much all of them. Now I just don't jump when it's that cold ) -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

This is superb advice for anyone, and is not immediately obvious to a lot of people. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

There was a time when even Brian Germain was of the opinion that with 500 jumps you were a grown-ass (wo)man and could make your own canopy decisions. Now that category happens at two thousand jumps under the French association rules, and I am very sure other places will follow suit. Did we get smarter? Maybe. But we sure invented deadlier canopies as well... When the 500 thing was current, the Velocity was the most (deliberately at least) dangerous thing around. Now we have Petra and Valkyrie and Peregrine, oh my. And I'd still look at you funny if you wanted to jump a Velo with 500 jumps. Does this make the Stiletto and the Crossfire and the Katana any safer for newer people? Of course it doesn't. The curve has not moved, it just now has a taller bit on the right hand side. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Is that a) because people suddenly became much more fearful and rules-oriented, or b) we figured out that the things we thought were normal, actually were dangerous, because people got hurt and killed? We also used to ban people from jumping a square until they had 200 jumps. After that, those tiny 170s were going to kill everyone. Is that because we have become less fearful and rules-oriented, or because the things that we thought were super dangerous, actually turned out to be normal, because people didn't get hurt and killed? I am so confused. Please tell me how to think about modern skydiving. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Between my wife and I, we have 2500 jumps with one cutaway (me) and one broken bone (me - I tripped over and fractured my wrist, about 300 jumps after the cutaway). We've both witnessed our share of skydiving accidents though, and I can concur with other posters on this thread: your mom is worrying about the wrong thing. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

If anyone is in touch with the people who own that site, could they pass on the potentially useful message that Flash-only websites went out about a decade ago, and mean that nobody can look at their stuff at all with a smartphone? I'd love to know what their gear looks like, but the security preferences on my laptop won't allow Flash (with good reason) either. Even just some photos would be cool, for the rest of us. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Without any further information, the only answer is "slowly" :) [edit: in general smooth inputs are good. If you are finding things are jerking you around or wobbling you, consciously try and slow down and move smoothly.] -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?

Absolutely possible, and indeed routine. Most (maybe even all the ones I can think of) have a container size that will do this just fine. -- "I'll tell you how all skydivers are judged, . They are judged by the laws of physics." - kkeenan "You jump out, pull the string and either live or die. What's there to be good at?