DontPanic

Please re-read the problems expressed by the original poster. I stand by my opinion that spending several thousand dollars to re-configure his skydiving gear around a BASE canopy is the wrong suggestion.

The last 288 Manta I landed was on worn out student gear, and I'm sure my impression is colored by that experience. But I have a hard time seeing a 288 Manta being a solution.

I only have a handful of landings on BASE canopies, but given the information you've provided, I'd be reluctant to recommend a BASE canopy. You may need a new container to hold the bigger canopy. BASE canopies aren't designed for terminal skydiving openings. Since you're 70 years old, it might take some experimenting with sliders to get acceptable openings. There probably aren't that many people in the skydiving world who have extensive experience with taming the openings of BASE canopies for skydiving. And, it appears you'll have to slightly modify the toggles to accommodate your physical limitation. It all adds up to a fair amount of improvisation on your equipment just so you can land on no wind days without running out your landings. BASE canopies are trimmed steeper compared to skydiving 7-cell canopies. It would be hard to guarantee that you won't have to run out your landing on a BASE canopy as much as a Navigator. Before trying to modify all your equipment around a large BASE canopy, I would recommend you try a Triathlon or Spectre sized the same as your Navigator, or slightly larger if your container will hold it.

Last time I tried to figure out the requirements, I understood the SIM to basically require signatures on all jumps until you get your D-license (since the number of jumps is one of the license requirements). After that, the SIM only requires signatures on jumps towards ratings. Have I understood the SIM wrong? I have seen the actual practice of signing logbooks vary widely. For reference: http://www.uspa.org/tabid/165/Default.aspx#31c

I think I had somewhere around 15 jumps before I told my parents, and I was 42 at the time.

Tell Red it's a Glow-In-The-Dark weight belt now.

Gary's Obituary: http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20100611/OBITUARIES/6110341

Blue Skies Mike! As much as Mike taught me about skydiving, I think I've learned more about life just watching Mike keeping our dropzone going for the last 7 years I've known him.

I think J Mike's been having some issues with his WWW stuff, but I see him just about every time I go out to the dropzone, and he's still in business. He still advertises in Parachutist, and you can contact him at the telephone numbers listed in his ads.

OK, I'll keep the thread alive. 66,747 + 470 = 67,217 127 + 0 = 127 67,217 / 127 = 529.3

Thanks for continuing to "carry the torch" on the SCR awards. I've had a lot of fun doing SCR jumps.

At the last company I worked for, I asked the HR manager about the status of my company health insurance and a possible future skydiving accident (they knew I was a skydiver, so I had nothing to lose). The HR manager indicated that since there was no exclusion for skydiving, it should be covered. Supposedly, it needs an exclusion clause in your contract. But as others have said in this topic, I wouldn't be surprised if I have to fight for it.

For what it's worth, my Blue Cross/Blue Shield didn't have any rider's for skydiving (I looked it over pretty closely, but I'm curious if anybody else has seen one in their BC/BS). At about $170/month, I didn't think it was too expensive, either.

I'm just imagining the looks on the faces of the people around me when my Neptune beeps at 1,000 feet on climb-out.

In this context, 'ambient' means the surrounding temperature and atmospheric conditions. The probably settled on the word 'ambient' for the reason you listed to give people the flexibility to test in a variety of geographical locations.