GPSJane

Haha, we all try to explain it to someone at some point. What I usually end with after a few minutes of trying it that is unexplainable and you just need to do it! Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

When I got off ripcord to throw-out rigs it scared the hell out of me because it took to long to open and you couldn't feel it like the spring-loaded variety. This was compounded by my purchase of a brand new Pilot which opens very softly (slowly). I started to have dreams almost every night where I was freefalling without a rig, having mals, the whole lot. I also would sit in the plane and wonder what the hell I was doing there! I would suddenly realise that this is craziness. Funny thing is; I get it every time I jump and I am not current. The good news is that as soon as we go to the doorr I have to concentrate on the planned jump and the nerves go out the door! I remember my first jump away from my home dz with my brand new A license. They told me to do a solo first. I hadn't done a solo since static line. I didn't do much - a few turns then just looked around. And it hit me how incredibly crazy it is to be falling toward the earth like that. That was the closest I have every come to knowing what it's like to jump without a parachute. i almost panicked. Latler I realised that on my first jumps I was pretty ignorant; blindly jumping out a plane without realising the consequences should something go wrong. I have reevaluated and now that I am informed I choose to jump. Ignorance is bliss and we probably all start off a little ignorant but it's really not a bad thing to question what you're doing once you know better. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Either at a DZ close to you if there is someone who knows how - preferabley someone who is also a dealer. Or ask a friend to help you and make sure you follow the directions on the manufacturer's form correctly. If you don't have a form, email them and ask for it. It should have space for all the required measurements and a picture. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

And you need a Herc C-130 Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Out a Kudu - a South African military aircraft. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Whatever you do, just don't wear ear-plugs on the way down because then your sinuses will be very sore! Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

PS the samsonite case is perfect! We traveled around with wheely cases for a couple of months and they worked very well. (with all our gear in) Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

You can put all that stuff in with the rig - I travelled to the US, all around, out to Mexico, back in,around again and out and I only got searched the day that I lost my passport and had to get to New York to get a new one. For some reason they thought that was suspicious? From the horses mouth (a security guard in the US): never check your rig in with your luggage because if they want to search it for any reason then you're not present and can you imagine the damage? Another tip: the rig is waay to heavy for carry-on. Just avoid any weighing. hehe Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Oh ok, I get it I think. From what everyone says here though I basically am not going to be able to do front riser turns on my Pilot unless I go lift some serious weights. That's ok. I just wanted to play. Just to totally change the subject though... this tapered and rectangular square thing is a new concept for me. It makes some sense though because they call the Pilot a semi-elliptical on the box. I am finally getting it. So why did they do that? What's the difference performance-wise? And what the diff between that and elliptical? Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Oh ja, it's higher now. Ahem. No more cheeseburgers. So I will try the half brakes thing and see what happens. But still my boyfriend (who is way stronger than me) could only pull down the tiniest bit on my canopy compared to the quite a lot on his. So it must be trim and other design fatures then? Because his is also a square and the same size. I won't be downsizing anytime soon but my next canopy will be elliptical (a Hurricane 170) and I wonder if I will get a better response on that? Still that's a long way off. Basically between what everyone says it's a design thing but loading may affect it. So what effect does loading have exactly and why does another canopy have lighter riser pressure than mine? Seems to be a correllation between what my canopy is designed to do (open nicely) and this. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Balloon most defintley even though the the C-130 is a close second :) Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Canopy: Pilot 168 Loading: 1.2 : 1 When I first got my canopy I complained that I could not pull down on my front risers at all. People just looked at me weird. Recently my boyfriend and I jump each other's canopies. He said that it was very hard compared to his his. Granted, he is much stronger than me so he could pull a little bit but his is much softer (he has a Sabre 170). Since his canopy is much the same size and the loading similar I would like to know why there is a difference? We discussed the reasons why and obviously the design of the canopy has to be part of it. We also wondered if loading has got anything to do with it? Anyone with answers? PS I don't want to do much with it yet - just playing around. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

I have no idea why you did not receive a reply but I will kick Ralph's ass for you! Make sure the email address is [email protected] and also visit www.africanfreefall.com for info. The jump tickets are about R220 or so. The exchange rate is about R7 (climbing) to the $. Camping is awesome fun and right on the dz but the hotel (Tusk) is really nice if you like comfort and a soft bed. There's a pool at the hotel too. It's hot and sunny here and AFFC is the best new year party I have ever had! There are big ways and all the usual load organisers and of course the herc and the huey. It's worth coming for that! The herc jumps are awesome! Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

After reading some of the posts I thought I'd give my 2 cents worth. Hope I'm not repeating all the posts above! I think you have the right attitude Zagor. You realise what you did wrong but you expect a certain amount of professionalism and personal attention as a first time jumper. In the future, remember this incident and be more assertive in asking to be made more comfortable. Request that your instructor does whatever it is that you need to be completley satisfied. It IS your responsibility and you should never again get on a plane without being comfortable with your equipment/the weather/the people you are jumping with etc etc. This applies to ALL jumps - tandems, AFF and even once you are more experienced. Learn to pack as soon as you can but it doesn't have to be before your first jump either. Of course there's no harm in learning to pack before jumping either! I once took myself off a load because I had a fight with my boyfriend while we were walking out. People were all annoyed with me but I did not feel comfortable going up in that state so as far as I was concerned that's was how it was going to be. Moral of the story: don't let people walk all over you just because they are all experienced and stuff! (PS but also trust your instructor to know what is safe - sometimes just asking him some questions will ease your mind) Edited to add: Oh and why don't they have apacking slip for each rig. Then you know when and by whom it was packed! At our dz you can't jump a student rig unless it had a packing slip and the packer has a packing license. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!

Doug that's very interesting as I have found the same thing with my old canopy - ie that it opens very slowly, very nicely and never has line twists. The only thing is that I have had many off-heading openings (body position or packing or lines?) I actually pack just like you describe but this pack job was not me as I already said in a previous reply. I reckon it was just one of those things then so I'll jump next week and see what happens. Only skydivers know why the birds sing; they don't have to pack a parachute!