chronistin

I heard a while ago that if you get a new canopy, you need to do a few jumps without freefall, i.e. opening the canopy before you reach terminal velocity so the lines can "adapt" before they get "full stress", because if you don't, they will be stretched unsymmetrically. Now I should get my new gear any day, and at the shop where I buy it they say that this is not necessary, just go ahead and jump it normally. So, is the advice I got before just a legend, a story for new skydivers so the others can laugh at you? Or does it apply to older canopies only, did the lining materials change in a way that it's not necessary any more? Or should I do it anyway? What's your opinion? (Yeah, I'm gonna ask my ex-Instructors at the dropzone, but if you've got any info, i would not have to wait until the weekend) ;) Greetings from Vienna Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

I used to like it... but since I started skydiving, it doesn't work any more for me. strange but true. I've been wondering for a while now... anyway, legalize it. It doesn't do much harm, less than alcohol and less than a lot of other things you can buy legally. Greetings Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Hi, i found a german article about this here: http://www.nordbayern.de/nb/fort20.htm rough translation: sorry for any mistakes in grammar and spelling. Just thought the info might be interesting to some. While it doesn't say which canopies have been used, it sounds a lot like round ones to me. Otherwise, the dry and hard ground probably wouldn't have been an issue. although i have seen the military (austrian and tunisian) jumping squares (parafoils, to be precise )... Greetings from Vienna Andrea (looking forward to a few jumps tomorrow, if the weather holds... please... please...!) ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

the best? everything from aircraft takeoff to canopy landing the worst? packing. Have fun, stay safe... Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Yeah, right, the Caravan, I forgot to add the Caravan! Greetings Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Skyvan, C 172, C182, C206. Would like to try a heli soon, and a balloon, and every plane with a "backdoor"... Greetings Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Rook Nelson? Oh well... He was there in Tunisia during my FJC - and ignorant as I was, I didn't even know what a celebrity I shared the plane with... ...not that I would've cared much, scared as I was Greetings from Vienna Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

it does, but not when jumping and not when i see the others in the plane, but only when I see a video about it. everytime i see somebody exit a plane in a video, my stomach goes up and i feel dizzy for a moment. never happened in reality, only in front of the tv. strange, very strange. oh and there is that other moment, when i exit the skyvan and lie on my back (i love to to that for a few seconds right after exiting), and there is some crazy guy or girl standing right in the door, grinning as if the world was his/hers. these are the two moments when i think: this is absolutely crazy. as a greek friend of mine would say: crazy good. love & jump! Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Me too. no time for meetings, gotta find that plane Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

That's exactly what I feel after every jump... oh wait, are we talking about computers here? Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Morning everybody, glad you like the pictures. Yeah, it's a great place. Whenever I go there, I ask myself why I don't stay all summer ... well, gotta earn that money for the jumptickets somehow. I'm living im Vienna, Austria. The DZ in Klatovy is about a 4-hour-drive from here, others would be nearer, but they don't have a skyvan - and all the jumpers I learned from and with are going there. It's in czechia, but near the german border. About 200 kilometres from munich, good roads. Yeah, let's do that! just drop me an email when you're ready... Have a nice day... or is it night over there ;-) Greetings Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Yeah, isn't she cute? You've got to love her! (strange thing for me to say, being a woman and all ) Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Well, we were taking a combined S/L - AFF Course, and on her first S/L, she just jumped out of the plane, the chute opened, and she didn't move until she hit the ground. I was standing down there with our favorite instructor, who tried to stay calm and talk to her on the radio, and when she just did nothing and just went straight out of sight, we knew there was something wrong. The car went out to get her and found her with two broken arms/hands (well actually the moving thing between the hands and the arms, however this is called in english). We asked her what had happened, she just said she couldn't hear the radio.We tested the radio, it worked just fine. Anyway, we had two days of instruction before, we were told what to do and what not and that the radio is just a backup... everything. So, most probably, she just had some kind of blackout. Sensory Overload. Whatever. Greetings from Vienna Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

This is the best thing I've ever read about a first solo jump. Including my own writing. Made me remember every second of my own first. Thankyou! Greetings Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

eeek! if i had met someone with blood over all of his face in my early days, I just might have quit.... then again, maybe not. A friend from FJC broke both arms on her first jump. Nobody even thought of quitting. On my 18th jump I made the dumb mistake to reach up into the lines during opening. Both of my hands were bloody, some spots down to the bone. I decided quickly not to look at my hands until landing, fearing I might become dizzy... That was my first standup-landing, I was so afraid to reach into the dirt with those hands. Afterwards everybody was so nice, they made me feel like a hero. Which I wasn't. Still a nice feeling.... Greetings from Vienna Chronistin ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Hi everyone! Well, actually I had a great week at my favorite dropzone with my favorite plane, from last tuesday to sunday... Did my first 2ways, this was truly amazing. First time I saw someone close to me since the training days... Made 2 points in 8 jumps together, not too much, but it felt so good! I'm gonna solve my slow-falling problem somehow. Ah, jumping is so much fun. Time and time again. And it keeps getting better... Greetings from Vienna Andrea A friend made some fotos up there, best one is here: http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving/20010801_klatovy/17_andreahigh.jpg More fotos from the sky and from the ground: http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving/20010801_klatovy/ ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Well there's always Klatovy, where the pink skyvan flies... http://home.debitel.net/user/ralbrecht/klatovy.html for pictures look here: http://www.pink.at/klatovy.htm (gotta love this place, well, I do...) Then there's Kunovice, which is farther from Prague, but cheaper tickets; they have a turboprop to fly with, their webpage is only in czech 8-} http://www.paraskola.cz/mapa.html I haven't been there, but friends told me it's a nice place, too. Other than that, there are some listed here: http://home.worldonline.cz/~cz338204/term.htm but since I don't speak czech, I don't get much out of the webpages Anyway, have fun, I'm from Austria which is just a few kilometres south, so when you're gonna jump around here, drop me a mail! Greetings Chronistin ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

What a weekend... 2 happy jumps without too much program, just for the fun of it... the 3 most beautiful sunsets of my life, once on the ground, once going up, once under canopy... (http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving/20010722/27_sundown.jpg and I finally decided on a canopy to call my own, a nitro 135 like this one... http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving/img/26_flying_big.jpg ...just a little more colorful. I'm happy as a falling cat! Greetings from Vienna Andrea || Chronistin ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

My name is Andrea Sturm, and I make the Internet ... or some minor parts of it.

Thanks for all the good advice, especially about the sabr e being discontinued. I decided to do some more testing next weekend, probably the best thing to do. further opinions still appreciated ;-) thx Chronistin || Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

I tried some "slower" canopies also, a PD and a falcon, and didn't really like them. they may be more forgiving, but that means they're also less reactive (that the right word?), and it was harder for me to go where I wanted to go. I felt quite confident with the sabre and just loved the landing behaviour of the nitro. now it's hard for me to compare them, because the weather conditions were very different, the day I jumped the nitro it was very windy in the upper regions (just below non-jumpable, they stopped jumping after the load), and I think that the "nervousness" of this canopy may have resulted from the wind. which wouldn't bother me, because I shouldn't be going up with winds like that anyway. So, if anyone has experience on both, I would appreciate your comparison... thx again Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Hi everyone, I had two scaring jumps this weekend (out of 4 total, which makes my ratio 0:4:0) First one was late on saturday. I went up in Cessna Caravan (first time I jumped that kind of a bird, a nice one!) and exited fairly late. On jumprun, when it was my turn, I watched the guy before me, waiting. Everybody was yelling "gogogo", I was thinking "too early" but I went out at the same time. Tumbled a little after the exit, I'm not used to side-exits, but it was fun. Kind of rolling around all directions at the same time. After getting stable I tried to sit, saw a friend of mine who exited after me going by in a great headdown position. Turned around on my belly to watch him going down. Suddenly I noticed there was someone right below me, too close to feel good about it. I tracked away from him, and, thinking that I went far enough, forgot all about him. On opening altitude (1000m / about 3000ft (?)), I grabbed my hackey, and suddenly - woosh - out comes a canopy right beside/below me. seems the guy had taken the same way as I did. I knew that I couldn't open at the same time, the chances of us colliding were too big. I kept the pilot chute in my hand, hoping that not too much bridle was out already, thinking that I had to go lower to open safely. Shit, the ground was coming nearer sooo fast... hold it for 2 more seconds... alright, that should be enough, now let go! I was under canopy at about 600m (1800 ft(?)), heart beating like some disco machine. Ever since I've been wondering: How could I forget about this guy after I'd already seen him? I was sure I got away, but should have looked again. And secondly, was that the right way to handle the situation in the end? Can't think of anything else to do... but still... pretty scary. The other situation was not that bad, pilot chute stuck in its pocket, I pulled and pulled and finally thought: Just one more try, than I have to go for silver... pulled really hard, and it came out... pretty scary too, I'm gonna be a little more careful about tucking that thing in... Anyway, still alive & jumping, just had to share all this with people who understand... Greetings Chronistin || Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

I decided to buy a brandnew Gear. I'm quite sure I want a mirage container, a *big* reserve

Hi, i really like to read your (and micheles) stories - reminds me of my own fear & trouble, not so long ago. and you write well, both of you. as for the fear, it will go away, suddenly or gradually, that's different for everyone. it helped me to accept the fear (like saying, "yes, i'm scared, but i'll do it anyway" instead of "i don't want to be afraid"), and then, on jump fifteen, it went away. i was more scared than ever on the ride up (long break, unfamiliar dz) and braced myself for the final gust of panic when the door opened (because thats what always happened), but it didn't come. Instead, all my fear went away and i was just standing there, for the first time able to calmly look out of the door. i was smiling a whole week after that. I've been nervous since, but never scared. as for the troubles, the magic word really is "relax!". when my JMs told me to relax, i didn't understand them. i always thought they were referring to my tensioned mind. took me 30+ jumps to find out that they actually meant the body. the arch is not a body position you have to hold: just relax and it comes naturally. let that belly hang out, the rest follows by itself. hope it helps (but probably it won't, and you'll have to figure it out all by yourself, like i did in spite of all the nice & experienced people trying to help me) keep it up, and, yes, that's right: don't forget it's supposed to be fun! Greetings Chronistin || Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving

Grandaddy's "so you'll aim toward the sky" Haven't used it yet, it's a slow, hymnic song, and though it may sound strange, for me it's the song that best communicates the feeling of jumping... lyrics are here: http://gene.wins.uva.nl/~jellekok/lyrics/sophtware.html#11 (but I always heard: "so you'll aim toward the sky in your eye" which makes it even better) Greetings Chronistin || Andrea ************************************* http://www.wortwerkstatt.at/skydiving