mattjw916

wow, you people really do believe everything you read... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

:2: First jump at Mile-hi, first jump on a 7-cell (Spectre)... landed it almost dead center on the peas and stood it up... bought beer of course. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=75746;search_string=beer%20tradition;#75746 NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I guess you couldn't grasp the sarcasm there... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I have spiralled the hell out of a Sabre2 190 loaded about the same and never induced any line twists... if you want to cause a line-twist induced cutaway then stall your Sabre2 and let go of one toggle, that'll cause some nice twists. My question is why you want to induce a mal??? NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I forgot about the Cypres "arming" altitude... but I thought it was lower than 1500ft... I guess I need to go reread the manual again. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Doing at least a tandem or two before AFF seems to be a good idea, and it certainly won't hurt. I did ASP which was basically 2 tandems then 7 AFF-like jumps. I had no problem with AFF and got my A license in only a few weekends. I know plenty of people that did no tandems, 1 or 2 tandems, straight AFF, ASP and static line methods... and in the end it is basically just personal preference since they are all different roads to the same destination. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Use the money you were going to spend on the tunnel for a ticket to Eloy and learn to skydive there instead. You won't need the tunnel... I personally know loads of people that are badass skydivers and have never set foot in a windtunnel. I'd rather spend my money on actual jumps rather than rattling around a 12 foot diameter beer can. FWIW I will probably do 5 minutes in the Perris wind tunnel when I am there next month just for fun though. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Well, if you have a Cypres or equivalent it would be pretty logical to bailout and go straight to silver up to about up to probably 1500-2000 feet since it will be a sub-terminal deployment and with some mains taking over 700ft to deploy at terminal the chances for a 2-out would be pretty high if your main sniveled down to Cypres territory. Anything over ~2000 and I would go to my main since I would never really relish going to my "last chance" first, unless I really had a reason to. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

you can't "teach" common sense... some people just lack it in sufficient quantities, period NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

The rule I was told for motorcycling was 60mph for 60min or more, you should really have earplugs... I have recently thought about going with earplugs since between all my motorcycle riding, explosions and weapons fire when I was Army, and now loud SkyVan rides + freefall I can't hear a bloody thing! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Personally, I think if you are worried about "bad landings" while you are on final... you are going to have one... since you are not concentrating on the important things, i.e. landing into the wind and flaring at the proper height. I have never PLF'd and "sat down" a lot of landings that I could have easily stood up when I was a student. Listen to the radio (yes it WILL work) and you will likely have a nice soft landing, whether on your feet or not. Talk to your instructors, but some of the best advice ever given to me re: landings is very simple and it works... it is "don't reach for the ground" and "don't stop flying your canopy until you are on the ground and stopped". NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Yes, you should have known what they were talking about... part of checking the 3 rings in to make sure the loop is through the top ring and then down through the grommet with the yellow (cutaway) cable routed through the fabric loop only and then into the channel behind the riser. Personally I would ask anyone experienced to show you how this works ASAP since you should be checking it already. As one of your coaches/instructors to show you how to connect a main that has been chopped back to the rig too while you are at it. It is really simple and straight forward... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

My back hurts just thinking about how hard I have to arch to keep up with you guys... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

That's a pretty broad statement... did anyone here offer any advise that could be construed as dangerous? Nope. Countersteering is how you stop a fast spin unless the laws of physics have been amended for the state of CA. Besides it is not like anyone was suggesting 270° hook turns on to final... a relaxed arch never killed anyone, at least not at 10k feet. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I use a Talon FS currently, which has the same harness as the Voodoo, and it is very comfortable and forgiving even though the size of the demo container is not quite perfect. I haven't bought my own rig yet but am leaning towards either a Voodoo or a Mirage. Why would you want a pull-out anyway? I don't think I know anyone who uses one. Just curious that's all. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Really there is no way to judge one instructor vs. another since there is no true "right" way to do it. You will find opinions vary wildly in skydiving esp among the "pros". If you want a heads up as to what you are going to encounter in the air during AFF go to http://www.skydivingmovies.com and download and watch the student AFF level 1 vids and anything else you find interesting. Read as much as you can but take it with a grain of salt and listen to your AFF/Is since they are the only ones that will actually see you fly. You can also read the dive flows from the SIM that you can get here: http://uspa.org/about/index.htm after you read all the other stuff until you are blue in the face. BTW, you can study and read all you want, but the only way you are going to get proficient is to jump, stay current, listen, and have fun!!! Blue Skies NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Did you even watch the video??? He was in a gentle turn due to poor body position and being tense/not arching... it doesn't take an instructor rating and 500 jumps to figure that one out. He was in no danger of passing out, watch some Airspeed vids and see how fast you can rotate without incident. If everyone under 1000 jumps kept their opinions to themselves no one would post here because it would be even more boring. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Best thread ever!!!

Sorry if I came off as harsh... Remember... you jumped, you lived... so it was still a successful skydive. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I'd say nice job, but seriously... we have similar experience levels, fly similarly loaded canopies (mains at least), and I can't even fathom doing a double-front approach at my experience level. I jump with some of the best coaches/people on earth and when the guy with 2500 jumps who flies an Icarus VX loaded at 2.4 suggests I do or don't do something, I listen... try it... or you won't live to fly a Katana or Velocity. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I really don't think anyone was flaming... even exiting at 12k you still had at least 25-30 seconds to try and stop your spin. As for what you were doing wrong I leave it to the AFF/Is to help you. However almost all spins can be stopped by: RELAX, breathe, arch, and drop the opposite shoulder. This is exactly what I was taught and have never spun even once (unless I wanted to). If you are spinning fast (which you really weren't) merely returning to neutral is not going to stop your spin due to the inertia you have built up. Buy your beer, talk to your intructors... but dumping high is dangerous, esp without warning... I mean what if a tandem was exiting after you and you pull 3-4k high and spin across the sky with line twists and a chop have them slam into you since they don't pull until 5-6k??? The sky isn't as big as it seems, trust me! edit: spelling NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

thanks, I was about to say that... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I see your point, but as soon as the student pitches they are merely spectators, watching the dude spin doesn't have any tangible value IMHO. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Too bad both of those failures had nothing to do with the shuttle body itself and were caused by an SRB and insulation impacts which are reuseable and disposable components respectively. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080