peregrinerose

Have you seen what cigarette embers do to nylon? Smoking should not be allowed anywhere near canopies. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

What part of 50-100 jumps as a MINIMUM, compared to first canopy fresh off student status was tough to read? There's no way I would put a new jumper on a Nitro/Nitron as a first canopy. I have hundreds of jumps on varying sizes/wingloadings of the canopy, it's a great canopy, very versitile, but not for the student jumper. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

First, who cares about packing? I can pack a tandem canopy as quickly as my 120 when I want to, so that should have nothing to do with your decision. Neither should 'getting a workout' with the 220. Since when is a workout a bad thing? A docile 170 (Spectre, Nav, Triathalon, etc... there are lots of good options) is a reasonable choice for your first canopy to own. How do you define 'getting efficient with the 170'? That's where you may get yourself into trouble, jumping the gun on understanding how much there is to canopy flight. I am not sure why you've decided on a Sabre2 eventually with absolutely no experience in various canopies and no clue what you want out of canopy performance yet. Locking yourself in to that now doesn't make a lot of sense. Not knocking Sabre2 at all. It's a good canopy, I have a few hundred jumps on one, and it was the only canopy I've ever bought new. Get a 170, put 100+ jumps on it. Then demo all kinds of other 170s for comparison in the same size, put a lot of thought to what you want out of a canopy and your future skydiving goals. For me, I wanted the perfect blend of flat glide and ability to get back from a long spot if needed (I do AFF/video) as well as very responsive and fun to fly. You may want consistently soft openings, or the ability to dabble a bit in CRW, or precision accuracy... all different canopy designs. Demos will help you determine what canopy is best for your goals. Then decide what you want for that 150. You'll get lots of variations on the theme from what I said, all of them probably reasonable. You'll downsize fairly fast from the 200 to the 170, then spend some time there before going to the 150. Have fun, and be safe!

Thank you for asking for references and helping keep people from getting in over their heads. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

If you want to have a conversation on the economics of technology, by all means start one. However, YOU started a conversation called 'The Liberal/Progressive War on Science'. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Your mean like this? "Stubborn Scientific Fact No. 1: Petroleum packs a lot of energy per unit of volume. (Each liter contains 34 megajoules.) Consequently, gasoline makes a cheap, portable and convenient motor fuel. By contrast, even state-of-the-art batteries deliver far less energy than gas, in a far bigger package. A Volt can go 35 miles on a single charge of its 435-pound battery. This sounds like a big deal until you realize that a gas-engine Chevy Cruze gets 42 miles per gallon — and costs half as much as a Volt." Stubborn fact number 2, you are comparing non like units, which makes it an invalid comparison. How many litres are in a battery? No such beast. Battery is reused, gasoline is not, again different comparison. This boiled down to economics. I'll go back to reading my primary research and facts, not distilled politcally charged rants. It's better to soak in education than to spew forth opinions. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Uh, that was an article about economics, not science. And was on the opinion page for a reason. Try some critical thinking and reasoning skills, then post actual data not opinions supposedly about science while actually about economics. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Kind of a vague question, there are many types of seizures, some do not affect consciousness at all. Triggers are also very varied. Talk to your doctor, maybe an updated EEG on meds, consider doing a tandem first just to ensure that there are no triggers in freefall. Always jump with an AAD. Know your 'aura' pre seizure if you have one and don't be afraid to say no to be on the safe side. I started jumping after a year of seizure freeness. Now no meds, no seizures, but mine also never affected consciousness. I could have one right in front of you and you'd never know it. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

peregrinerose There is a time for fun and a time for being serious. this is serious! I don't want to ever get hurt again or worse see any of my friends get hurt for being dumb! So again in advance thank you for carring about us not so smart n00bs! It is kind of selfish motivation. The sport is a lot more fun when fellow sky-folk are not broken.

Personally, a 1:1 in general, after appropriate downsize progression from whatever was used as a student, and to a canopy that is not high performance (ie fully elliptical, under 150 sq. feet no matter the design) makes sense. Going from a 288 Manta to a 1:1 on a 170 Spectre in one step is stupid, a few steps in between makes sense. The 120 lb (geared up) jumper, should not be on a 120, even though it would be 1:1 due to the higher performance of that small a canopy, a little lighter, say a 150 might be more appropriate. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Good point. And Shah, I was suprised as hell to see you chime in on a thread that had nothing to do with boobies or skinny vs. fat chicks Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Noobs lie! That's all there is to it. We had an issue with a new jumper at our DZ wanting to downsize rather quickly. Both S&TA's and the DZO told him "HELL NO!" (He wanted to go from a 210 to a 170 at 35 jumps. He claimed that since he only weighed 172 it was OK.) Well, one weekend the DZO was out of town and unreachable. This guy insisted to the S&TA's that the DZO told him he could jump it. One of the S&TA's told him if he saw him with that rig, he was grounded. Not to long after one load left, someone came up to a group of us (one of which was a S&TA) and said, "guess who I saw run out there last second with the 170 on......" One S&TA quickly called to the plane, another very experienced and highly respected jumper at the DZ was on one of the headsets. He was told to let that jumper know if he got out of the plane with that rig he was done. Apparently at this point a very heated argument started on the plane between the dipshit and one of the TI's. Lucky for us (and his bones) he landed in the plane. Once the DZO got back, we told him what happened. He just shook his head. He had NEVER told the guy he could jump the 170, just as we suspected. So basically never take someone for their word. Unless you know them personally, or know someone who does, follow up on their so called "references". Call the DZ direct, call the rigger. Any number you can find for that DZ. Luckily, this guy seems to have learned his lesson. It took several arguments with several different people. But it seems to have gotten through his thick skull. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. Yep, newbs do lie. But a 30 jump wonder with that shiny high performance canopy they shouldn't be jumping even if it is a 1.1 WL doesn't know enough to lie. They just know that their AFFI or DZO told them it would be ok since it was around 1:1. I was given names and numbers of DZO, rigger, and AFFI to call by the first guy. Never called because no matter what they said, I wasn't trading canopies. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

A Nitro is definitely beyond a Safire2. As I said, Nitro may not be as aggressive as some, but it's by no stretch docile. There are gradations of ellipticallness. Edit to add... even the manufacturer calls the Safire2 'lightly elliptical' . Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Both jumpers are on Nitros now... That would be an elliptical SHAPE. Both are looking to also go smaller in size, one from a 135 to 120, the other from a 150 to a 120. Thus, someone at both DZs thought it was ok to put a student or new jumper on elliptical canopies, regardless of size. Granted Nitro is quite a bit tamer than some out there, but it still can be quite sporting. Yes, both size and shape do matter Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I am not my brother's keeper, by any stretch, but neither is anyone else mine, so I get to play goddess with who gets to buy or trade for my stuff. As an AFFI, I truly can't wrap my brain around how someone fresh off of student status gets elliptical canopies with the endorsement of their instructors. I would hope that we'd be better at educating our students in advising them. If a 2000 jump wonder that weighs 360 lbs wants to buy/trade my nitro, that's one thing, he should know the risks by that time and if he wants to jump at a 3.0WL, by all means have at it. But the 100 jump wonders? They don't have a clue, and maybe someone saying 'no' will get them to be a little more proactive in canopy education. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I agree with you. For all I know they might want to kite your velo 79? Its up to them, their S&TA, rigger, and DZO to determine if its an appropriate canopy to jump at the dropzone. Until then you are selling a chunk of nylon and shouldnt short change yourself, especially when you have medical bills to pay!!!! So I should let someone else have medical bills too? Sound logic there Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Why the hell are so many 100 jump wonders determined to get in over their heads, and why are so many experienced jumpers helping them get there? Since I got broken, I want to upsize as I will be uncurrent and with my husband no longer able to do tandems, will not be at the DZ every weekend any more. Staying on a 120 Nitro is just not conducive to reduced currency, so I'm looking for a trade for a 135 or 150 Nitro/Nitron. I have had two people ask for the trade. Person number one, 100 jumps, swears he will be at 350 by the end of this season, currently on a 135 Nitro. Loading it a little over 1:1 as is, and swears that his rigger and fellow experienced jumpers are all great references about what a conservative canopy pilot he is and that he promises to be careful and conservative on the Nitro. Uh. NO. Person number two, also 100 jump wonder, loading his current 150 Nitro at 1.1, expexts to trade his 150 for my 120. It is his first downsize. That one got a HELL NO. WTF? Who is putting new jumpers on elliptical canopies to begin with? Why are instructors encouraging these guys to downsize to the point that they are willing to serve as references regarding how conservative they are? Pardon the rant, but in light of the recent Velo threads, I just thought it would make me feel better. My Nitro 120 is going to stay mine until such time as someone actually qualified to jump it has a fair trade. Am I the only one that interviews people before handing gear over to them? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

We do have a jumper who can get us free legal advice from his sis/brother in law, so that will help out on answering those kinds of questions. Frankly, I don't think we have enough people to get it off the ground. The only real option I see is if a small club is set up, no facilities, just a willing airport, pilot, etc., and build from there. Taking over a full scope operation seems to be far more than is reasonable at this point. We'll see how things go. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

My husband has a co-worker that everyone, including himself, calls the 'token black guy'. Also the 'whitest black guy in Harrisburg' as he was adopted by a white family shortly after birth. So yes, people do get hired in part because of race. This guy has the skills to do the job well, so is definitely very qualified and deserves the job, but likely race also played a role. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

The prerequisites for passing level three are a stable exit, altitude awareness, able to release the student and they maintain stability (chipping ok, a little bit of a drift ok, flipping on their back, not ok, spinning not ok), and that the student pulls themselves at the appropriate altitude. Based on what you said, sounds like you did all of those things, but it really is helpful to have the instructor notes. Go buy yourself a log book (you can probably buy it there at Deland), and start copying the blue sheet information into it. It'll save you a lot of writing long term and give you much better information short term. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

I have watched parts of the conventions, and would get annoyed by that, and switch. So sick of the demonizing of the other side instead of actually doing something productive. This goes for both parties. They annoy me equally. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

You know, just because someone may differ with your political stance does not mean that they are not a 'real' man/woman. It doesn't mean their intentions are nefarious or that they are bad people. Personally, I like living in a world where other people are not mental clones of me. It makes for interesting dialogue and broader awareness of just how complicated things like politics can be. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Ummm, tunnel time is not a prerequisite for moving on to the next level. Potato chipping is not a reason for repeating a level. Sounds like there's more to the story here. Do you have their exact feedback, as written in your log book? Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Get a weight vest instead. Or a very snug jumpsuit, tight nylon, spandex arms, good hard arch. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

Just a technicality, but 'pulled my reserve' and 'reserve side pulled' are not the same thing. Your reserve was NOT pulled. Your reserve side (left side) instructor pulled your main for you (which makes it clear that fall rate was not really the entire issue, if it was, he would not be there to pull for you ) Did you have video of the jump? I'm not going to armchair quarter back what other instructors or students do. What happened on your jump is for your instructors and you to discuss, not really for an internet forum, as none of us have seen what happened, and it's kind of short changing both you and your instructors for us to try to guess. If you don't trust the feedback of your instructors, find new instructors or DZ. Trust in what your teachers are teaching you is important. Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda