MedicJumper

love this project. Keep posting!! Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Hey alex. Welcome aboard. Awesome advice from councilman above! It's bang on on everything. my 2 cents: 1) between now and 50-60 jumps. I'm saying that because for your first 50 jumps or so your learning curve is HUGE. The more you wait and the more you'll know which parachute fits you best... but of course the more money you'll spend. It's a question of balance. Councilman is right that continuing to rent will both be annoying and not as productive as if you have your own stuff. A good start is at least do your class A licence where you learn the basics on a huge canopy. After that... well, if you KNOW you'll stay in the sport, the earlier you buy, the more money you save that you can spend on jumping instead of rental. Just realize that your first canopy is a learning canopy where you need to feel safe developping your skills. 2) again coucilman is bang on. I've had good luck with mirage and talon 3 (www.miragesys.com, www.rigginginnovations.com) in the past. Those are containers if you're not familiar with brand names. Both are freefly friendly. There are others but I haven't jumped them so I can't give advice. 3) There are a million different canopies out there. The most fun I have flown at your skill level were the icarus safire2, sabre2 (more recent so probably more expensive on the used market). I've also put quite a number of jumps on a triathlon and it would probably be a good choice for a first used canopy. Again there are others that would work for you but I haven't jumped them... the main companies manufacturing canopies are: Performance designs, icarus canopies, Precision aerodynamics, aerodyne... there are others. if you want to learn, a good start is to go on their site and read what they have to say. www.paragear.com or www.square1.com (they both sell skydiving stuff) are good places to learn about gear. For the reserve I'd go PD (performance designs). That's all I've ever had in mine and I've never heard a bad thing about them... ever. It's a proven design, it's a safe design and that's what you need if you ever need to use it. Last thing you need when you start skydiving is worry about what you have in your container... 4) container: used main: used reserve: used or new but if used then definitely in good shape and not too old altimeter: new hook knife: recommended but not essential. New if you go for it, they're not that expensive anyway. helmet: new though it doesn't have to be a 300$ helmet! At your level what you need is a helmet for protection, not for look... and forget about camera anything for now... learn to skydive you'll have plenty of time to film yourself and your buddies down the road. jumpsuit: yish, I dont' know what to say to that one. Personally I hated getting the dz suits. They always fit me poorly and, well, how often do they wash these things anyway... anyone knows? I bought mine right away but it's up to you. new or used. and lastly. Absolutely, definitely, without a doubt do get your future rig checked by a competent rigger. There's mostly good stuff out there but you wouldn't believe the kind of crap some people are trying to pawn off to unsuspected beginners. Get it checked and jump it if you can. I know it makes it pretty difficult if you shop in places like this site or others on the net but I think it's essential. Can you tell yourself if the equipment has been abused, if the lines need to be replaced, if the porosity of the material makes the canopy beyond salvage (or a poor flight/flare on anotherwise good canopy design)... not many people can. Riggers do this for a living. They also tend to be skydiving bums (sorry guys) who spend half their life either skydiving or thinking about it so they tend to be good references. Anymore questions, post them here we'll try to answer hope this helps Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Well, I can kinda relate. I just redid my resume for an air traffic controller job I'm applying for. Wrote my skydiving exp. both in my job description as I did crew demos for 2 years and in my skills section. I left it there against the advice of almost all the people who reviewed my resume because skydiving is an important part of my life and I wanted it there. Turned out in my favor as it was the first subject of conversation on my initial contact with the selection office. I'm positive my file will be remembered more easily because of it... therefore my advice: if it's important in your life, write it. Your resume should reflect who you are! Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Thanks guys. Great feedback. Tara, sounds like your course is closest to what I`m looking for. I`ll look into that... + nothing wrong with spending some time down in Sebastian! Great location, beautiful view... I can live with that! Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Scott Miller... that's in Florida I think right? I heard that name before. Oh, and don't get me wrong, I do use front riser approaches and do 90's regularly with my canopy... and the odd conservative 270 but I just know I'm not getting what I can out of that canopy... that's why I want a course. Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

yeah... you know I kinda agree with that in the way that someone who skydive everyday, gets serious coaching takes courses... etc, etc. will progress faster. And for a while I really thought I was that guy because I love skydiving, always took it seriously, asked for advice etc... but when it comes down to be honest with myself... well I DON'T skydive everyday. I don't live in Cal. or Fl. where tons of swooper hangout. My dz (or the ones close by) just don't have the level of experience. I haven't swooped for 850 jumps either, people tend to forget that... swooping is a whole different discipline than Crew or doing RW and a normal approach... so all in all maybe someone out there is that guy that can jump that crossbraced right now. Wish to hell it was me but I'll wait another season. And more importantly after I get some training by people who know... any ideas? Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Hello all, I have ALMOST made a mistake recently but fornutately wisened up. I have developped a strong interest in the swooping part of skydiving and plan on concentrating on that discipline for the future. My mistake: I wanted to swoop, so I looked at swooping canopies: i.e. I was planning on buying a xaos 108. Now there's nothing wrong with that except for the fact that I have nowhere near the number of jumps (850) or expertise to fly this yet (IMHO) even if I consider myself a competent canopy flyer and have had good canopy coaching in the past in terms of flying patterns, accuracy, basic swooping techniques. I know some people will say 850 jumps is good enough if you're talented, serious...etc. (huh, which I am damnit!). I used to think the same but have since changed my mind. Hell, I hate saying it but 100 guys with 3000-4000-5000 jumps can't all be wrong. It's almost a constant with these guys. When you ask them what they hate the most about the sport they answer: "I wish people would stop asking me advice and not follow it, then get hurt because they downsized too fast"... well here's one for you guys. You convinced one guy at least. My solution: Instead of the Xaos, I decided to go for a new Crossfire 2 119 loaded at 1.6 for the moment... from a used crossfire 119 that was getting old. Not much of a downsize you say? Well, you're right but I figured a good swooper is a swooper who can land and jump again, instead of one who lands and go THUMP. My question: I really want to learn this so I'm looking for serious canopy control school geared for the would be swooper. I don't really care where (in North America anyway) but I want the best, because one day I WILL swoop the damn pond on my Xaos, JVX or whatever they come up with when I'm ready... so any suggestions? Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

I'd like to add that I have just tried one on at Eden North DZ and was amazed by the comfort of that rig! It wasn't measured for me obviously but I'm about the same body size with the guy who owns it. Couldn't be more impressed with the fit and workmanship. I've jumped a mirage G3 for fun and a Talon for work and was planning on downsizing with a new mirage but this fx rig is something else... I'm sold. They will see my order this week, I don't care how long it takes. Great job RI! Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

had a safire2 149 for approx. 175 jumps. Was quite happy with it... wrote a review at the time and still believe all of it. It's a great intermediate canopy. It snivels a lot and it's not very ground hungry so you've got to decide what you plan on using it for. General fun canopy - check! Swooping... well, it's a great learning canopy but you'll get tired of it after a few hundred jumps. As far as the Sabre2, sorry... I've demoed it for maybe 10 jumps so I'm no pro at it. Found the flare a little less powerful than the safire but just as fun to fly... openings a little snappier but nowhere near as bad as the original sabre. PD definitely has a good reputation in the industry so I'd say you wouldn't go wrong either way. My best advice really is that you should a) be certain what you're going to be using your canopy for, b) try a demo of every model you wanna consider (if that's feasible) and c)please, please, please don't try to go too small too fast! It's one of the most common 200jump skydiver mistake. hope that helps. Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Anyone ever seen a non DSLR camera with a remote jack for a bite switch? I'm a new camera flyer and have only used a Canon D20 mounted on a flat top pro + a sony camcorder and find the weight ridiculous... I know there's stuff out there that weigh much more for you professional dudes but for me, a nice compact camera with good resolution would do just as well... and before you ask, all that equipment is not mine, it's from work. I've kinda been put in the camera role by default but found I really enjoy it and would like to set myself up with my own gear. I already know what I want for a helmet and camcorder but for a still??? On an aside I can't believe the amount of knowledge there is on this site! I've learned an unbelievable amount from you guys so thanks! DSE, I don't know who you are buddy but you look like you know your stuff! Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

The first time I did tunnel I had about 100 jumps. I was in the same boat as you fitness wise. I ended up booking 2hours. The first day I had 30min. coached time in an hour slot (i.e. I go two minutes, another student goes two minutes, I go two min....). I was fine physically. Maybe a little sore at the shoulders but that's it. The next (3) days I had two 15min. coached sessions with an hour break in between. Same mild soreness but MUCH more productive! You have time to sit down debrief, look at your video to your heart's content and really think about what you just learned. These days, I'm booking 20min. times usually with friends but we rarely go above that even if we easily could, fitness wise. We get out, take a break, talk about what went right and wrong and we go back in for another 20 min. later that day if we want to. The trick is not just to do tunnel time but to maximise your learning curve with it as it's fairly expensive to crank up the hours. Hopes that helps. Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

I've jumped my safire 2 149 for approximately 100 jumps now. I load it at 1.3 and have 350ish jumps overall. I love it! It flies great, lands even better. I am working on learning 180 hook turns right now and the canopy is really well behaved and forgiving wanting to fly straight fairly quick if I let go of the risers early. The flare is powerful on risers or just doing a normal approach. The canopy response on toggles is crisp but not as aggressive as my friend's crossfire. Plenty of 'sportiness' at my level. The only thing I can really reproach it is the openings. Yes they're smooth, yes they're on heading but man 800 ft! It was even longer when the canopy was brand new approaching 1000 ft. That's long. Time to have a coffee while watching this thing unfold :) Took me 25 jumps or so to get over it during which time I was debating returning it but now I think the flying characteristics way outweigh that small detail. After all it only takes 1 or 2 seconds more than other canopies... it just feels long! hope that helps

Brenan, Gimme an email... I`m driving down from Ottawa on the 5th of Feb... I may have a spot for you. My plan is to be there between 9th to 19th

Thanks for the info... You're from Edmonton! I was for work in apr-may but never managed to go jump. Heard good things about your dz though. You guys have a lot of experienced jumpers there... especially crew. I hear it's sorta the dz's specialty? Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.

Hi... and huh? Don't know Kapowsin... is it in Ontario? I just started jumping at Mile high so there might be a nick name for it or something but it's in Arnprior close to Ottawa... no other dz I went to had that name that I remember either... talk soon! Nierko Somewhere, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, you will loose.