Reginald

I think some tunnle time (either Orlando or Perris) is GREAT for students. I did it and it moved me from being a strugeling student to blowign through all my student stuff with no problem. It rocks!

Quote

Either there needs to be stricker guidelines, or more aggressive enforcement. If neither is going to happen....well then, its only a matter of time until people get killed due to these moronic acts and government steps in to regulate us because we cant regulate ourselves.

Uh, Dude...the government DOES regulate us...

FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS
SEC. 105.7 USE OF ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
No person may conduct a parachute operation, and no pilot in command of an aircraft may allow a person to conduct a parachute operation from that aircraft, if that person is or appears to be under the influence of—
(a) Alcohol, or
(b) Any drug that affects that person’s faculties in any way contrary to safety.

And the list goes on and on....

Quote

During my last jump I blew out one of my sinuses

How did you do this? I take it you jumped with a serious head cold?

LOL. I love skydivers!

Quote

Quote

And "A license' is generally considered a novce, "D" and expert.

I wouldn't agree with that. It's about canopy control experience, not jump numbers or licenses.

I don't think you got my point. I was simply saying that it is a generally accepted way to translate the PD recommendations to quantitative jump numbers and defined skills that are required for a particular license. I agree it is not a good way to do it but it is frequently used and it is easily measurable.

Yyou have to be trusted by the ones that you lie to, so when they turn their backs on you, you have a chance to stick the knife in!"

From memory so i may be off a word or two.

PD has recomended wing loadings. they are much more consertative than yours. ;-)

Check out the recomendations for the Sabre 2 http://www.performancedesigns.com/sabre2.htm

And "A license' is generally considered a novce, "D" and expert.

Interesting. I did this on mine too a few times. It scared me for a second but I was able to pull my finger out quickly. I always wear gloves so it slid out just fine after a few yanks. The switch to true lock breaks (which I love BTW) from more traditional caught me off guard a little. The excess break line is just looped through the back. I now pay serious attention to make sure I only have my hand through the toggle and don’t get a finger stuck in the looped break line. I also make sure I stow the breaks so there is not a bunch of break line loose when it should be stowed in the loops.

I’m glad it worked out okay for you; it made my heart race the first time I did it. As for hook knives, I wear 2 but frankly I’m hard pressed to think of a time that I’d use one. However, I want to give myself that option if it comes up.

I had the same fear as to how I would react. When the time came I was suprised how calm I was. I did what i had to do. You will too.

I used to have the same problem. I recently started doing a lot of h n p's to correct the issue. I don't do floating exits. I keep it to diving or "side step" exits. i find that diving exits where I turn 90 up the hill upon exit work best for me. i can do this, pitch and have a good main in about 600 feet. The key for me was to relax going out the door and take my time. There is no need to pitch 1 second out the door. Plan on taking 3 or 4 , it takes the pressure off andlets you concentrate on being stable.

Quote

Congrats... at the rate I am going, I should have about 120 or so a year from now... hopefully I have will have my "A" by the end of next week.

They go much, much faster once you get your license.

Quote

I find that skydivers, more than anyone else I have encountered in my life, love to raise an exception to whatever you say.

No they don't!

37 in my case.

The average age of skydivers is I believe 35 to 55. The USPA has some stats you can look up, probibly on line. Frankly, it is such an expensive sport people in their 20's have a hard time affording it.

there is a group at my DZ that comes out EVERY Friday. I think they are all in their 70's. A great bunch of guys and they give me hope that I will be that active when I am their age.

sounds like some of my first 4 way jumps at that expierence level. we couldn't manage to form a round. the bigest problem was heading control. We would all turn toward each other and end up orbiting each other. it took a while to learn to hold a good heading regardless of what other people were doing. i do suggest you get someone more expierenced (does not have to be more than a few hundread jumps) to jump with you and give you a stable point of reference and pointers afterward. it will help a lot.

Well, my first year has been great. I started as a struggling student last August. With weather and other limiting factors it took me until January to get my license at about 30 jumps. Since then I’ve got 170 jumps, joined a rookie division 4 way team, competed in the Texas Skydiving League, traveled to 5 different DZ’s in 3 states, spent 2 hours in a wind tunnel, met some great people and made some great friends.

This last weekend was a good one. I celebrated my 200th jump (which was my last requirement for my C license) by doing a 7 way with some friends and people that helped me develop and grow in the sport. Three of the guys on the jump have thousands of jumps and will legitimately compete for the national gold in 4 way in the open category in Perris next month and the others were my coach and some of his teammates (all of whom have at least 500 more jumps than I do). We planed to launch the 7 way and then form a 3 way and 2, 2 ways - spin the pieces, move into an open accordion and then back to a round. On exit we funneled! My favorite memory of the jump was forming back after the funnel and looking into everyone’s eyes as we were all laughing at ourselves! We were all having fun! We completed the page without a problem. This was not serious team training nor a high pressure jump but just a bunch of guys having fun. What a blast! I think it was more fun because we funneled!

One of the things I love about this sport is the camaraderie and how willing the experienced people are to befriend us low timers and help teach and develop us. I want to thank everyone that has helped and befriended me it the last year…no names are needed as they know who they are. I only hope I can pay it forward. I look forward to my next year!

Blue Skies,
Ron

Hmm, I had a reserve ride a couple of weeks ago and my thought was that the PD-176 flew like crap compared to my Saber 2 190. Of course I might have been under some stress and was being cautious.

Quote

But the moral of my story is, when it came to it I felt instantly calm and knew what to do. But I always thought I'd freak out.

That's the one. The strange sense of calm and clarity in middle of a mal is what I find the most interesting about the expierence.

Quote

I asked my dzso and he said to peel the handle from the bottom up as you pull. sure enough 20 mins later i am under a mal. i tried what he said and it worked perfectly. i could feel the strngth of the velcrove but it came off easy by peeling it. just something to keep in mind.
blue skies.

Yep, I tried pealing before I pulled but to no avail. The 2 handed grip of death sure worked though.

I've had neck pain ever since I started jumping. It's the opening shock. Think about a mild case of whiplash on every opening. I went to Dr.’s and Chiropractors, etc. The long and short of it is I stretch every night now, specifically my neck, and stretch every time before I jump. I only get neck pain now after a hard opening or a bunch of jumps in a weekend, 10 or more. It goes away faster and is more mild than before due to the stretching. You might be in great shape overall but I doubt you (like 99% of the rest of the planet) do neck stretches. It’s just a part of being in shape to jump. I know some people that it does not bother at all and others like me that have to work everyday to be in shape to jump.

“No shit, there I was…thought I was going to die!” Is how the story is supposed to start, right? Well, in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that bad at all. It was an otherwise uneventful 190th jump. I broke off from my 4 way teams' practice jump for the Texas Skydiving League meet the next day and tracked off. At pull time the lines started twisting as the bag was coming out and the main was inflating. The twisting force was strong enough that I was being spun around making the twists worse. I already had my hands on the risers trying to spread them and stop the twists to no avail. As I was fighting the line twists the partially inflated canopy started a strong downward spiral; I was parallel to the ground being swung out from my canopy. The line twists were getting worse and the centripetal force was beginning to become noticeable. ;-) I looked at my Alti and was at 2,000 feet. I knew this was not going to get any better anytime soon. So I reached for my handles. Once I had a firm grasp on both I pulled the cutaway handle. Damn it, it was stuck. It’s a new rig and the Velcro was stiff. I took my left hand off my reserve handle and used both hands to pull the cutaway. No this is not what I was taught but it was what needed to be done. I heard the 3 rings go “clink, clink” and then in the fraction of second when my mind was running a thousand miles an hour though, “Hmm, my skyhook should have deployed the reserve…maybe its not working (of course it was though). ” I reached for and puled the reserve handle. Before I knew it I was upright with a beautiful blue reserve above me. The thought that went through my mind was, “Hmm, I thought I ordered a yellow reserve.” I flew down and landed in the main landing area. My main floated down and landed 10 feet away from me! I walked back to the hanger and someone had already brought my freebag in. I tossed the handles with out thinking about it. It was a damn shame, I needed them as there were no spares available that night. Some of the staff went out and found both of my handles within about half an hour! A rigger stayed up late that night and repacked my reserve so I was ready to go the next morning for the meet. An instructor that I respect came up to me and said, “Ron you really need to get up and do another jump. I’ll loan you a student rig”. I protested that I was fine and that it was no big deal. Once all my parts were found and I knew I was going to be ready for the next day I did borrow a rig from a friend and go do another jump. It was totally uneventful. ;-)

The things that I found strange were that I did not hesitate to use both hands to pull the cutaway when it was stuck. Also, my mind was running so fast that I actually had time to debate if my skyhook was working or not. I have no doubt it was but man was my mind running fast. And finally, once I was under a good canopy I was thinking that it was not the color I ordered! You’d think I’d have better thoughts on my mind. I was also surprised that when the time came I was so calm through the actual cutway process and afterward. I was really not phased at all (I think).

It’s also great that every single piece of the rig was recovered including the handles. Wow, what luck!

I want to thank the staff and my friends for their support and for driving around looking for all the pieces and parts and staying up late to get my rig repacked so I was ready for the meet the next morning. What a great bunch of people at my DZ. Thank you all!

Yes, I brought beer the next day and yes, I’m buying a bottle for my rigger. My personal celebration was enjoying a giant Hershey’s chocolate bar I bought at the local gas station on the way home that night. That was the sweetest chocolate bar I ever had.

Blue Skies,
Ron

Jen,

I appreciate your views. I think the person’s comments were directed toward some people not being in good enough shape to able to do the physical minimum necessary to safely jump. I know of a tandem group that was for people that had gastric bypass surgery. They had all lost large amounts of weight (and good for them!). One of the people in the group endangered herself and the instructor because she was not in good enough shape to lift her legs in front of her for landing. This could have ended badly. Being a little out of shape and needing to lose a few pounds is not the issue (or I would not be jumping) not be in good enough shape to safely jump Is another matter altogether.

Quote

...they decided to withhold my last weeks pay.

So I am looking for some advice from fellow pilots, skydivers, and/or professionals (lawyers).

Why are you asking advice here? You damn well know that is illegal. Did they provide you with a reason? Did you owe the DZ money? If there is no justifiable reason that you agree with then contact your state agency in charge of employment matters. In Texas it is the Texas Workforce Commission (I have no clue what it is in whatever state you are in) and file a grievance. Most state employment agencies handle this stuff all the time and will act as your advocate (for free) in settling the matter.

You'll love the booties. i jumped without a suit recently and discovered how hard it is to fly without them. If you do good knee turns and position your feet propertly you'll discover how much power those babies give you. Your track should be much better too. My jump without a suit felt like I was stick in a tar pit, I had so little control.

Practice makes perfect…well almost. Bad exits will always happen on occasion. Here is a picture of a team at my DZ with probably an average of 4,000 jumps (plus or minus). It’s originally entitled “Not my day!” I keep it around as a reminder that it happens to the best of us.

It’s funny at my DZ I know several people including myself that I thought should have been given the speech but none were. I failed AFF4 3 times and AFF5 3 times due to spinning like a top. A dear friend no pulled 2 times on 2 consecutive jumps (she could not find the handle). We were given lots of encouragement and extra time was spent drilling us on what we should do in the air. I personally went to the tunnel and worked out my problems, not at the insistence of an instructor but on my own. My friend who no pulled spent many an hour doing practice touches on the ground. To be fair I see instructors spend huge amounts of time and effort working to keep students motivated and on track. The people that quit do so on there own.

A funny story - on my way back from the tunnel in FL I sat beside what turned out to the Air Force Academy Wings of Blue team. We talked and they gave me encouragement to continue jumping and said the tunnel time would solve my problems (which it did). They also said that several of them got the “bowling lecture” but kept jumping anyway. Hmm, they ended up doing okay!

Most people can do this sport if they are willing to spend the time working on it. There are a few exceptions however.