Dutchboy

Listen to your instructor in the class. Especially listen to the bits about landing paterns and malfunctions. Believe it or not, I know several people that had problems figuring out the landing patern thing. When you are flying try to relax and have fun. Don't fixate on the fact that each jump is a test. If you do, you may get tense and hence not fly well.

Hmmm... I've landed a plane myself several hundred times, and landed in a plane flown by others maybe a hundred times. I have yet to land in a jump plane. About the closest was the day I went and sat in the Cessna that wouldn't start. ;-)

Are you being confused by the new A license proficiency card that is part of the new ISP? There is no longer a written test. Instead you have several verbal tests and have to have everything on this card signed off in order to get an A license. As money hungry as the USPA is I can't imagine they would get rid of this source of revenue.

It isn't just you. I experience buffeting when tracking in my freefly suit as well. I've tried to do RW with my freefly suit before. Nearly impossible to move forward without totally droping your head down into a wicked delta.

Above 3 years ago I cut my hair down to 1/8". I'll never go back to long again. I don't waste jump money on haircuts. I cut it myself. Takes about 5 minutes every other week. I never have to comb it and it is quick to wash. Very low maint.

No, they didn't smoke in the plane. What I learned as a student pilot (10 years ago) was that smokers destroy their lungs so they cannot function as well at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. Depending on how much they smoke they raise their effect altitude 5-7k feet.

Mine is a bit tight. I definitely notice that it is there, but my Z1 is tight in general. I wouldn't say that it is uncomfortable. I have mine in the power save mode. Only time that was a problem was when I stayed at the DZ all weekend and went to jump on Sunday. It only remembered that I had turned it off when we hit 1k. Of course, I foolishly turned it on and then it was 1k too high.

It seems like most of the smokers at my DZ are old skydivers (15 years+). I don't see too many of the younger ones (like the Atlanta Freeflight crowd) smoking.

I've psycho packed my Hornet a few times. I mostly tried this packing method to make getting it in the bag easier. My Hornet already opens slowly when I PRO pack and just tuck in, but not roll, the nose. I'm probably going to stick with the PRO pack for now because the psycho pack opens too slow.

It reminds me of when I was a student pilot. All of my flight instructors smoked. It was scary since smoking raises your effective altitude 5-7k feet. So if you do a cross country at 10k your instructor could end up with hypoxia!

If that makes you a bad skydiver, it might explain why some of my friends and I can't turn 20 points on a dive. Seriously, I'm a very light drinker (1 beer a month on average) and several of my skydiver friends don't drink at all. I also know some folks at the DZ who actually missed the sunset load so they could start drinking 30 minutes earlier.

Basically any time you want to delay pulling a reserve after a cutaway. In addition to your list, you should add freefall photography.

Weather was crap in Atlanta this weekend. Glad I got off early on Friday and got in 3 jumps.

yo no intendie

Hugh?