Joellercoaster

They could simply be on a much faster canopy. Or close beside you. I would echo the advice to avoid getting into the S-turn habit. At small dropzones with big landing areas you tend to get away with it; a places with higher traffic all landing in the same general bit of grass, you have an additional duty: fly as predictable a pattern as possible. This is where people getting shouted at for S turning comes in. Most canopy fundamentals courses will start off by teaching accuracy via having a good setup and putting your turns in the right place. When you overshoot you overshoot, but you now know where to move your pattern start point on your next jump. (Of course, try not to land in the ditch too ) Once you have acquired in your bones the right pattern to fly in different conditions, you will always have it. Mostly, don't beat yourself up too much. Landing in the right place takes practice and sometimes instruction! You'll get it. (Great advice from others about PLFing too.) -- "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 love my pilot! Opens so much better and thats what sold me on it. I love my Pilot as well, but (openings aside) it doesn't sound quite like what the OP is after, especially since he says he wasn't impressed with the Pulse (which is, IMO, fairly Pilot-y). That said, a Pilot 150 at 1.35 is a very different beast to a 190 at 1.05... Probably worth giving a Safire2 a go too? -- "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? -- "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?

Not on my planet. FS1 is a multi-jump program of instruction, and you need an instructor (coach) to do it. But if your dropzone has a shortage of people willing and capable of joining in on the graduation jump, then that's a bit lame. Other dropzones are plentiful. (Also, the response to something costing a lot of money to do is to fly to America? Don't get me wrong I think going on a trip to Perris or Elsinore with UK instructors is a fine idea and you'll learn a lot, but you sure don't do it because of cost.) -- "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 suspect that was not what the OP meant by "elliptical" though. At a couple of hundred jumps and starting to learn to swoop, I think chuckakers said everything that needed to be said, and more gently than some might. -- "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 is a cliche in canopy flight about buying the canopy you need to fly now, rather than the one you think you'll want in the future. What if you don't get many jumps in between now and December? What if you twist an ankle and get laid up for a few months, you hit a run of bad weather on the weekends you can make it to the DZ, work/life gets in the way, etc etc. I don't know you and you don't know me, so my advice is worth what you paid for it. But a 150 is quite a lot of canopy for anyone at 40 or even 100 jumps, even loaded at 1.1:1. I would, in your shoes, absolutely buy the 170. (Full disclosure: I downsized too aggressively fairly early in my career - in particular around the 200-500 jump mark. I look back and think two things: firstly I was lucky not to get hurt, and secondly, I hurt my development as a canopy pilot in ways I am only beginning to understand now. Your mileage may, of course, vary!) -- "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 think it's about 20 dropzones, in 6 countries over 9 years. Need to jump in more countries. -- "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 saw a national 4-way team member do exactly this once - although it wasn't falling off, it was an exit My wife fell down the stairs from the DZ cafe. Didn't spill her coffee, did sprain her ankle. Oh, and a friend got his hand caught in the bar inside the plane and failed to exit... was left dangling on the outside until someone noticed and freed him. His fingers looked pretty sore afterwards. -- "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?

You're saying it used to take time and money, now it just takes money? I think that's not true. With all due respect to the people who put time and money into it in the Good Old Days, the standard they achieved that made them special is just not very special any more. Now anybody can get that "good" in a short period of time. The real impact of the tunnel is that the definition of "really good" is now massively higher. If this makes you sad, the response is still what it was before tunnel: spend money, work hard. -- "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?

^ That pace (effectively, every second lift - for us at Hibaldstow it comes out as 1-3-5 of a 6-lift cycle, with a break for refuel and start again) is a lot less stressful too. Quads are great but knackering if you don't do them regularly - all that running! Back to backs can still feel rushed and you still need two rigs; neither are ideal for (relatively) new competitors. An every-other cycle is a great introduction to efficient training jumps. You'd be surprised at how many you can get through in a day and still feel all right at the end. Also, PB&J is awesome -- "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?

That's more like it! Now we're getting into the silly ones -- "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 think nowadays it really comes down to how you feel about the security of 4-year servicing vs the inconvenience of 4-year servicing. I have one of each, so clearly it was decisive for me -- "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?

Right on Learning to skydive is one of the greatest experiences a person can have, I think. Keep us posted! -- "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? That was unexpected. -- "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?

What Squeak said - if you're going all-new then some of the package deals are extremely good value. Second-hand you might also see people pricing their old rig for a quick sale and unwilling to separate. But if you're patient, you can do really well putting it together over weeks or months. There is also a middle road: Buy a new container, knowing it will fit you perfectly and look how you want (trust me, everyone's rig design taste sucks except yours), and put second-hand canopies in it for cheap. This is what my last couple of rigs have been

I watched a much more recent, multiple world champion freeflyer with thousands of hours in the tunnel fully dislocate his elbow 'brushing' the wall last year. Tunnel at freefly speeds is no joke. The instructors' caution seems entirely justified to me! -- "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?

Importantly (and this is a common misconception), you are not licensed in any way - you are still a student. Showing up at dropzone Y having completed AFF at dropzone X but without an A license is likely to lead to either disappointment, or an invitation to join dropzone X's student program (after some more evaluation, depending on what they know about you). This can be time consuming and expensive! If you're going to learn to skydive, if you can manage it, try and plan all the way to your A. Not necessarily in one go, but in one plan at least. -- "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?

So what he's saying is (I have no idea if he's right BTW) then: you will be travelling 1.11 times as fast as you would on the same canopy design loaded at 1.0. Loaded at 2.0, you'd be travelling 1.41 times as fast. Of course, "travelling" is not the only thing canopies do - in particular, they turn and they dive and otherwise accelerate, which is where high loadings really kick in I guess. -- "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's a saying somewhere about a small window of opportunity in your jumping career, between when you have enough experience to try a Mr Bill, and when you have enough experience to not want to any more -- "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?

Some background: I have owned Pilots since I started jumping, and indeed I still have one (a 132). Maybe 800 of my jumps have been on them. Last year I needed a new canopy in a hurry and someone sold me a Stiletto (135). I jump them back to back when training, and what stands out to me is less the differences, but rather the similarities. In particular, the things I have always liked about the Pilot (snappy roll into and out of turns, flat glide) are also things the Stiletto does - but better. In addition it lands a lot better... this is probably not the case at bigger sizes, but I find the Pilot at my loading can be a wee bit mushy to flare without a bit of extra speed. The Stiletto opens a little quicker, which I like and wish the Pilot would too. The only area where the Pilot shades it is heading control during the opening. I realise that it's possible to fly a Stiletto in such a way that it will bite you where a Pilot will maybe let you get away with stuff. But I don't do those things. To my way of flying, all I feel is the advantages. It's interesting, for sure. -- "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?

That might not be a terrible idea for 4-way and (particularly) 8-way. I've been kicked in the goolies pretty hard a couple of times in the tunnel, and it's not awesome. It hasn't happened yet, but the thought of 8-way block 2 going wrong brings tears to my eyes just imagining it. -- "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?

What she said. Get your rigger to take a look and then keep an eye on the holes in case/until they get bigger... I have some little ones in the tail of my old Pilot that look a bit like that and have been in "keep an eye on it" status for about 3-400 jumps. -- "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?

Dropzone.com is amazing some days. GUY: "Help me to choose between an Infinity and a Vortex." DZ.COM: "RACERS SUCK!" DZ.COM: "RACERS ARE GREAT!" DZ.COM: "RACERS SUCK!" DZ.COM: "RACERS ARE GREAT! ANYONE WHO THINKS THEY SUCK IS A MORON!" I swear, nobody gives a shit either way about Racers except for like seven people on here, but they are literally unable to discuss anything else, or let other people discuss anything else. Can they just get a subforum or something? [On topic for a single moment: In addition to the other factors mentioned in favour of both rigs, there is no doubt that the Infinity looks a lot cooler. Vortex seems like an OK rig but it is not lovely to look at - that said neither is a Vector and it hasn't hurt its popularity at all.] -- "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?

Oooh! I have another one. A friend of mine bent over in a crowded plane before exit and had the excess Teflon cable from (IIRC) a tandem drogue go straight up her nose. Filmed the jump with blood pouring out over her goggles. I can only imagine what the student must have thought. -- "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 found the original dropzone.com thread, but the video seems to be gone: http://www.dropzone.com/forum/Skydiving_C1/Gear_and_Rigging_F6/Skyhook_RSL_snag_on_door_handle,_at_pin_cover_flap_P3645850 -- "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?