airman210

Thanks for all the fun, really good times. It is so cool to see that the organizers have as much fun as the we do.

vrw is dead. i quit. maybe the good times will be had by others.

Hey Joe, thanks for posting the video up. It was great seeing you guys over there, what a fun competition. We have started to train for next year already. Say hi to the team. Keith, I quit.

There really is no difference between this video and a video of someone living after a ridiculous low pull or hook turn. Sometimes you get lucky.... The idea of a controlabilty check is to ensure that a normal looking canopy flies normally. If it looks like shit, get rid of it. I had a cutaway from a bridle wraped around a brake line and d group. It flew okay but when you think about it, things could get bad low. So bye bye. If there is any question, altitude permitting, cut it. The reserve is a parachute too folks.

Hi everyone. I am a former teammate of Tims and current friend. I have probably partied with a lot of you and I have regretted some too. Tim has been a friend to me when I felt like I had none. He has spent countless days with me, flyng and coaching without allowing me to pay him.He would literally give you the rig of his back, so it sickens me to know that someone stole it. We have trained and travelled together, been through good times and bad. He flew camera for my AD test with the flu, after he tought me how to freefly. Is a kindred spirit to all skydivers, and unique spirit and I have been lucky to call him a best friend. I have attached a photo of our team. The rig that is missing is just like the gold one in the picture. Tim is flying the camera in the back. If anyone recovers this rig I will pay them $1000. $2000 with the theifs front teeth. Just kidding about the teeth. lov ya bro see ya in a week. Gorilla

Hi James. When I stated back flying I noticed I had an arch in my back, pushing my belly towards the top of the tunnel. This "de-arching" definitely caused the same instability that a de-arch would cause on your belly, potato chipping etc. I found it easier to have an a more rounded back. Very similar to an arch on your belly. Air flows around the body better. Also make sure that you hips and knees are at 90 degrees, as well as your arms and shoulder angles. Lift is provided by opening your hips and shoulders. Ray can really help in the tunnel so if you see him, see what it would take to get some coaching. He's a great tunnel coach. Keep your head back to control your stability, many people look at their feet and this causes instability, because the body folds up. You guys always seem to have so much fun, so don't be discouraged, the tunnel is whole new world. Thanks for fixing the boat. It works just great. See you at the dz and I will be calling about splitting some time in the tunnel (aka : backyard crackhouse) Paul

two cannibals are eating a clown, when one cannibals looks at the other and says "does this taste funny to you?"

Keith I think you are the best female flyer I know

This may be entertaining for some...

"You are not your job, you're not how much money you have in the bank, you're not the car you drive, you're not the contents of your wallet, you're not your fucking khackis. You are the all singing, all dancing, crap of the world." fight club

I think you put into words what alot of skydivers feel. I have 200 jumps in the last four months and I still think about it. Statistics comfort me. Don't do stupid sh*t, and your chances get better. Dont pull 360 hooks on your 75th jump. It is a true tragedy that most of our fellow jumpers that die, do so under fully functioning canopies. And it is not the experts, it is the rookies. People downsize without even learning to fully squeeze the performance out of the larger canopies. Do a "downsize checklist" (available in the forums). Anybody can make an arguement for or against the safety or non-safety of skydiving. But read the incidents, more often than not fatalities and injuries are from a multitude of mistakes, or just an oblivious attitude. When It is all said and done we will all die at some time. Don't fear death, fear the chances of life that you missed living afraid. Because beleive me, if you skydive or if you don't, you will most likely die from old age in a bed on your back thinking about the life you had and the life you missed. And you will not regret the chance you took, only the chance you missed. Blues. Be safe. Fly in the face of fear.

I would make sure you stand up, on multiple jumps in a row, before downsizing. When was the last time you heard of someone getting hurt because they had too big of a canopy?

Here'e some advice... Be careful who you get advice from. A large number of the folks posting here have less then one hundred jumps. Get professional coaching. A truly professional coach would not put you down for attempting to fly and land safely. The money you spend in coaching may just save what you would spend in, jump tickets and E.R. visits.

I've been back out a couple of times. Six to eight jumps each time. It feels pretty much the same, I am just more cautious of altitude, body position etc. We all know great skydivers, great skydivers come with many jumps. If you are going to do alot of jumps it will happen, eventually. It really does make you measure yourself against more experienced jumpers and ponder if you are cut from the same cloth. If there is no reason (read fear) to stop, why stop? After the first cutaway, you are in no more danger than you are now, just more prepared. It makes me wonder why a cutaway, is not part of the A license requirements.

thanks paul aka new chopper

Well it seems that the firsts in skydiving are always the most feared, and most fun. I was on my 252nd jump and finally had to chop. Like many in these forums, I have learned alot from posts and owe at least a good one myself. I was on a ff, that was normal. Tracked away, cleared the area, deployed and looked up to see the slider half way up, left three end cells closed. This sometimes happens with the Sabre 2-210 I jump, and usually resolves itself after a 360 turn or a riser pull. I have it loaded at 1.25, nothing extreme. I pulled the risers and soon realized it would not be that simple, as the canopy began to twist up. I don't think that I really decided what type of malfunction I was experiencing, just understood that it was a bad situation getting worse. I remember making the decision that this was going to be the first main to come down separate of my rig. I reached the cutaway handle with both hands, and fell away surprisingly easy. Adrenaline? Who knows. The reserve pulled just as easy, and it was over. Nice reserve over my head. I practice cutting away and deploying the reserve with both hands. I feel that this lessens the chances of an out of sequence cut away. I'm sure some disagree. Boy a rig is comfortable with no chutes in it and light too! I landed near the dz close to my main and began looking for my main and freebag. Stefan, one of the coaches at Skydive Arizona, picked me up in the van and helped me look for all the parts. Found the main, with one toggle fired. Got the stuff together and back to the hanger, where I was greeted by the same enthusiastic friendliness that I have come to enjoy around Skydive Arizona. It seems that people at that dz just have a love of skydiving and people that they just love to share. I have made many nice aquaintances and some good friends. There are so many world class skydivers on one load that it really blows your mind. It's cool to hang out and b.s. with people and then see them in a magazine the next day. I never get the "don't you know who I am" stuff. Almost always realizing individuals accomplishments only after a day of jumping followed by beers at the bar. But I digress. If I had to give my impressions of the first cut away: 1. Practice your emergency procedures often. I do, and when it was time my hands knew where to go quickly. 2. Take kindly the wisdom of years and experience in the sport. My coach Tim Straus, a fantastic skydiver and canopy pilot is always giving me tidbits of info that develop me over time. Like he says "Baby steps". Omar Alhegelan, talked to me after the chop. "What do you remember?" "What do you think you would have done different?" 3. Decide a hard deck. Know when your going to make a go no go decision. You don't have to know whats wrong with it before you chop it. In talking to more experienced jumpers, I realized that they may have tried other things before the cutaway, but for me I was done with it. It was not a bad experience, actually enlightening and fun. I feel like a better skydiver and alot safer now that I know what it feels like. Thanks to Margy at Square 2, for getting me on the next load, and stressing the importance of getting back up. Be safe. Blue Skies.

The "sport'" has inherant risks, no doubt. I just don't see myself cutting away and forgeting the reserve. I know there is an arguement for low cuts. My opinion has waivered many times about rsl's but I think the Vector "skyhook" is great idea.

I really can't say enough about Rigging Innovations. Great customer service, short production time, innovative products, and really nice rigs at a reasonable price. I ordered a talon fs, and liked it so much I ordered another a week ago. I own a business and understand the high cost of a low price. But I also understand that if you don't give the customer what they want, in a timely fashion, they will go to a competetor, who will. Take a serious look at an fs, call and talk to sandy at Rigging Innovations. Order one, the only thing that your gonna miss is jumps.

I jump a Rigging Innovations Talon FS. Really like it. Articulated harness is sweet

I know everybody has an opinion on rsl use. Just some fuel for the fire. 9/30/2001 Opelika, AL DMAL 48 >3000 YES/YES Description: Due to a hard opening, this jumper broke one of the D lines on his canopy, a 230 Rascal. it went into a spin, so he cut it away. The rapid deployment of the reserve via the RSL resulted in his capturing the reserve pilot chute on his right arm. One report indicates the reserve lines also entangled with his neck. The reserve never cleared the freebag. He was found dead at the scene. A second report from someone involved with the investigation reports that the RSL had nothing to do with it; I await further details. Lessons: RSL's are a mixed blessing. For novice jumpers, they provide insurance against failure to pull the reserve after a cutaway, a relatively frequent occurrence in the pre-CYPRES past. This incident may illustrate the downside of an RSL.

like the old saying goes "If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand"

more and more people are coming right of student status and dong ff. I only have 200 and going onto ff only now.