Reginald

Okay, I have 75 jumps and will be obtaining my B license as soon as I can get water training next month. I am interested in trying my first night jump in May. I expect to have 100 jumps by then. I will be well within license requirements for a night jump. However, I thought I would ask how everyone feel about actually doing one. I know some people wait until they are trying to get their D license before they do night jumps. To me they just sound like plain old fashion fun! I’m a conservative jumper so I’m not some wild man wanting to push the envelope.

On a side note I will be traveling to another DZ in May when most DZ’s are planning night jumps due to the lunar cycle. I have jumped at this DZ before and it has a very large landing area with plenty of nice flat outs. Should I be more concerned about jumping there since it is not my home DZ that I am intimately familiar with?

Any good stories about night jump anyone wants to share…preferably good experiences?

This is an interesting discussion. I wear a full-face helmet and have decided after only 75 jumps that I would be very hard pressed not to jump with one for some time. I don’t feel it will help on a hard landing so much since I am more afraid of breaking my back than smashing my head, but of course flying a 190 that is not as much of an issue for me as some of the people flying highly loaded canopies. I wear a helmet because I have had my head banged into several times in the plane by other people and by the door, etc. I would have several dozen stitches in my head had I not been wearing a real hard helmet. Sorry, but a frap hat won’t do much of anything but keep your hair in place. I also feel in RW work a good full-face helmet is a smart idea. Particularly for a low timer like me, and jumping with other low timers. There is always a bit of bumping around on exit.

Will I jump without a helmet? Sure. My first helicopter jump was in jeans, a tee shirt and no headgear but a pair of goggles. It was cool! Will I climb on an Otter with 20 other people and jump a RW formation without one? Hell no.

As for AAD’s? I wear one. I use it and I would prefer not to jump without it. I just think that for a low timer it is a good idea. When I have 10,000 jumps I might think otherwise. But in the mean time the very minimal risk it adds is immaterial in comparison to the risk it reduces. So I plan on ever needing it? Hell no!

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I don’t, however, I believe an earlier poster said that he experienced it doing a tandem jump.

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Yeah, i just made it up because I like to lie to strangers on the internet.

"We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things." CP

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It took 8 months, but I got my A-license yesterday.

Good for you! Now have fun and be careful.

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yea, my left side leg strap slips...I was told to send it back to the manufacturer however I can't give the rig up for that long. A rubber band has preserved used for the time being...

Do you know how this would sound to a Whuffo? But we all understand. LOL!

I felt a falling sensation 2 times. The first couple of seconds out the door on my first tandem and on Helicopter jumps. I don’t feel a falling sensation anymore going out the door on a plane. Boy did I ever feel it going out of a helicopter, thought!

A falling sensation is created by acceleration. The falling sensation is the same effect (although perceived slightly differently) as acceleration in a car. Picture this debate in terms of acceleration in a car. If you step on the gas you might feel the acceleration. Once you get to a constant speed there is no feeling of acceleration. So in any case you would only feel liked you are falling for the first few seconds of a jump. If you accelerate slowly you won’t feel anything. I believe the poster is correct about downward acceleration being slowed down going out of a plane because of the drag caused by the forward wind. In a helicopter you don’t get this and hence the feeling of falling. I would think there is enough downward acceleration going out of a plane to get some sensation of falling but experienced jumpers probably don’t notice as much as newbies since they are desensitized to it.

Or I could be full of ****.

Ron

Interesting. I assume it was because if was a rig you were not familiar with and the handle was in a slightly different position? At 64 jumps I’ve probably jumped 12 different rigs (I look forward to mine coming in April 9th!). I always spend a few minutes doing practice touches on the ground with the BOC and emergency handles. It does help. I think going to gloves for the first time and going from a hard handle to a hacky were the biggest changes, not so much the handle in a different place. I always do at least one more practice touch of the hacky in the plane near door time even if its crowded. It helps with my confidence.

On a slight tangent I used to be scared to death I might not be able to find the hacky at pull time. Even after 45 plus jumps with no problems. I recently started being much slower and more deliberate about pulling. I reach back more slowly, pull and move my hand out to my side into the air stream and hold my hand in the air stream a little longer than I used to before I let go. It’s probably just a fraction of a second more in total but it is clearly a slower more deliberate set of movements. I used to be so rushed to pull and get a good canopy above me that I grabbed and pitched in a flash. Ultimately I think that being slower and more deliberate will result in fewer scary moments and less probability of a mal.

FF are skydivers without friends.

Seriously, I think many people do FF because as low timers it is difficult to find a group to do RW with on a regular basis and FF can be done alone. I am working on RW because I have a number of people both at my low experience level and at higher levels of experience that I can jump with. I also think learning belly flying well is a good first step on being a well rounded skydiver. Do I want to learn FF? Sure but I think, for me anyway, it is best to learn RW first. Also, I really like the feeling of looking in people eyes a foot away from me as we plummet through the atmosphere turning points.

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Isn't this something for the talk-back forum?

No it's a critical aspect of general skydiving!

I have a new Z1 with about 16 jumps on it. It fogged up so bad on my last two jumps, under canopy, that I had a hard time landing. Nothing too serious but not something I’m going to do on every jump. A guy at the DZ said it was because I wiped the anti fog coating off the inside and I needed to replace the lens. I have not wiped the lens off at all so that sounds doubtful. I can open it after the canopy deploys but with gloves it is difficult and I would like to leave it down sometimes under canopy.

My questions are, is this a common problem and what did you do, get a new lens, apply an anti fogging treatment, what?

Don’t sweat it. Just stick with it. I had so many uncontrollable spins in AFF I thought they were going to nickname me “top” or “spinner”. I repeated L4 4 times and L5 4 times. I ended up going to a wind tunnel and working out the kinks. Blew through AFF and SDU after that. If you are near Orlando or Perris go hit the tunnel. 15 minutes should do it, more will do nothing but help.

In any case. Just stick with it.

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In Aggieland? This is home of Texas A&M University, the Aggies. With 45,000 hard-core Aggies going to school here

Don't let that deter you. hook um!

The question is not so much what have I done to scrape up $20 bucks (at least not yet) but more what have I done to go to a DZ on a good weather day. Good weather has been hard for me to get so far (just started last fall and got my A in the winter).

I've lied to my boss a lot...

“Sorry about the meeting with the CEO boss I've got to, um, oh, take my father to the hospital!”

“Boss, this is Ron I’m really not feeling well today. I can’t make it in.” I used this one when I was hung over and slept at the DZ and awoke to the most beautiful day in months. Hey, I DIDN’T feel well, that part was true.

“Boss, I’ve got to see my divorce attorney, again. I’m so upset about this.” This is one he never questions!

I’ve also lied to my soon to be X wife.

“Sorry I can’t make it to the meeting with the attorney, I’ve got a big meeting at work with the CEO.”

Then there is lying to my family

“Sorry Dad, I can’t take you to the Dr. today I’ve got to meet my attorney about the divorce”

Next is lying to my wuffo friends.

“Sorry about your big party but I got stuck having to go into work this weekend.”

Then we move into more lies at work.

“Boss, I’m telling you the trip to (sunny and warm) southern California is essential. I really don’t want to go but I just have to visit that vendor. I’ll take one for the company and stay the weekend to save on airfare. I’ll find something to do. You really own me one on this boss.”

I’m so convincing that I might even get an award!

I can hear the CEO of my company now addressing the board of directors.....
"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present to you my nominee for employee of the year, Ronald Shipp. Who tirelessly fought through personal
legal struggles and multiple recent illnesses, and stayed on top of his game while still keeping the company's bottom line on top of his list of
priorities."

Oh sure so I worry that I’m lying to get my fix more than a crack head. Thank God I don’t have an addictive personality!

Seriously, I only lie to my boss…and my X. My father is senile anyway so what’s the point and my wuffo friends know their place on the totem pole.

BTW: I’m leaving work early today to take care of some “personal business” hey it’s going to be 65 and sunny!

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How about when you have your own gear and give it to a rigger for a repack. Do you trust them to do it? Of course you do! They went through a lot to get that ticket, and they are not going to screw themselves out of it just to stuff socks in your rig so they can sell your second hand reserve for a small amount of money that is no where near what they paid to get that ticket.

I'll take issue with this. There are any number of cases where riggers "pencil pack” a reserve. Do I trust MY rigger? Yes. Do I trust any rigger? Hell no!

About 25. A license territory. That's is when I was sure i was sticking with the sport. I looked at used but went with carefully selected new. I went with new because i wanted it to fit RIGHT not close to right. Also, I could get a rig that I knew I could downsize in and be able to use, with one main change, for years to come.

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I just got into the sport in July 2002 after retiring from the military. Kept missing the feeling of jumping from a plane. I thought being under a parachute again was so great. As I started doing more freefall work and RW, I just kept finding more parts of the sport that I enjoy. Looking forward to continue to learn and have fun. Blue Skies

Good for you! Just remember though don't shoot at anyone when you hit the ground. Seriously, just relax and enjoy it all now. The serious pressure is off, have fun!

What is your wingloading? In addition to all the advice above maybe you should consider a bigger canopy too? Just a thought.

Read the first one. Didn't read the next 3 because I know the basic deal, the DZ is not responsible for anything even if the staff chops me “into to tiny little pieces.” Anyone get the Floyd reference?

Seriously, if you don’t sign you don’t jump. If you get hurt it’s your problem. If the DZ does something that qualifies as gross negligence and you get hurt the waiver won’t protect them anyway. In short though I understand that I’m JUMPING OUT OF A F****** AIRPLANE AND I COULD GET HURT ANDIT WOULD BE MY PROBLEM.

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Thinking about getting myself a jumpsuit. Just wondering what type you should buy when your starting out? Any help?

One thing I would highly recomend is to consult with an instructor or coach about your fall rate and buy a jumpsuit that is either "fast' or "slow" based on your needs. Typically if you are big and heavy you will need a baggy suit to slow you down. If you are small and light you will need a tight slick suit to speed you up. This is more important than anything else. My best friend bought a suit that is too slick and tight and he is falling much faster than everyone he jumps with even when he is dearched. So he is looking at having to buy another looser jumpsuit.

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As JJ said. I don't even know why we bother to have the thing signed. I will count less than toilet paper in a civil suit. It might be used better against a criminal charge but I sill doubt.

Well, that might be a bit of an overstatement. A waiver will provide some protection to the DZ but not blanket protection. The most likely scenario of a waver being thrown out is gross negligence on the part of the DZ or its staff.

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ok i'll admit that i got scared after landing pretty hard almost six miles off from tthe dropzone,

6 miles? That must be the mother of all bad spots? Do you mind sharing the story?

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I get nervous every time I am first out and I have to open the door and spot.... What scares me is not the spotting part, it's the fact that i have to stick my head out fully and hang at the door.
For some irrational reasons, I am scared of falling out No Joke!
But then again when I determine the spot is good I get up and do my thing and jump out with no fear...

I think it might have to do with the fact that my brain see falling out is not like jumping out...

LOL

47 jumps and at some level scared on everyone. I still think n the plane ride up sometimes, "Shat the hell am I doing? I can ride the plane down." But once the door opens I'm on auto pilot and out I go. Will the apprehension fade as I get more experience, probably. Part of what I like about the sport is facing fear and calmly dealing with it; it’s part of the challenge.

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Robin,My first advice as Helpful-Guy-Who's-Not-a-Real-4-Way-Coach is: ...to find a 4th...

Oh man your gonna make this hard coach.