LittleOne

I am going to buy my first new container and am considering these two options. I have researched the forums extensively so I hope I am not beating old issues into the ground but I did not find answers to the following questions: 1. Speed of reserve deployment comparison The speed of the reserve deployment with a Skyhook is indisputable. However, the Racer is supposed to be very speedy too, by design. If the Racer is coupled with a standard RSL, how does the speed of deployment compare to the Skyhook? 2. Rigger familiarity Much has been written about how some riggers may not be familiar with a Racer. Since the Skyhook is fairly new, does this situation exist for Vectors as well or are all riggers familiar with the Skyhook? Is it something I should even be concerned about? 3. Non standard main deployment positions with a Racer Does an exposed pop top present a tangible, additional risk while deploying in a stand position, with a camera or with a wingsuit? The stand position is a minor issue since I am nowhere near being in this situation but I have vaguely thought about trying skysurfing somewhere down the line. I know that skysurfers on a beginner board deploy on their bellies and I would probably never get past the beginner board anyway (then again, I only ever expected to do one tandem...) but I was just wondering anyway. However, I am very likely to try a wingsuit and would like to know if this should affect my container choice. 4. Comfort-seek women's responses only Both containers are narrow over the shoulders. I did one jump on a Vector and tried on a friend's Racer and I felt more secure since my shoulders are very small. However, do NOS shoulder straps ever cut into or crush larger breasts? Also, is there anything particular about the Vector that puts less strain on the lower back? I know that the Racer has an articulated back pad (terminology??) and I could readily feel the difference this makes. Or should I just get an Odyssey? Edited to add I am focusing on these two containers for the following reasons: Vector-Skyhook Racer-comfort and slim profile Thanks! Arianna

I received a response from an alleged buyer who is currently located in Western Africa. Pretty funny, especially since my ad's tag line reads "pick up in NYC". Definitely a scam. Or else the person is really stupid.

I saw the ad in Skydiving magazine for travelling salespeople so I checked out the website. Quality's good, concept's good, but it doesn't look like they have any customers yet. I don't know what the sales pitch or financial arrangement with the dz would be but it might take one or more major dz's buying in for the rest of the small and medium dzs to sign up. If it does become really popular, wouldn't it be great if prospective tandem customers hit this site before stumbling upon 800Skyride? It would a perfect job for me (jump! travel! work! all in one!) but I just got a new job that I would be stupid to give up (and am contractually bound anyway).

The Holiday Inn on Route 92 (3-5 minutes away from the dz) offers a walk in rate for skydivers of $50/night (you must show licensing organization credentials). The usual rate is $109. They will probably charge $10/night for a third person but it is still a reasonable price, especially when you compare the quality of the hotel (2-3 star, very clean, room service, restaurant, turn down service, close to restaurants and shops etc.) to the DeLand bunkhouse. Don't know what you will get by way of apartments. Have fun at DeLand and enjoy the new PAC! I had the pleasure of being on Load 1 of their new plane.

Congratulations! It takes a special person to skydive but it takes an even more special person to skydive when it is as cold as it was this past Friday and Saturday. I did one on Saturday and had to call it quits for lack of sensation in my hands. Now that you have that A, head to Florida with all the other snowbirds ASAP!

Hey Evelyn and Rosa, You are two of the reasons why Elsinore is my favorite drop zone! If I did not have this pesky thing in my life called work, I would be out there now. Thanks for making Chicks Rock such an awesome first boogie. FYI, accuracy is easy: jump at Palatka. The layout of the dz is just so easy that even I was able to nail my target every time (except for that time I fell asleep at the helm, got too far downwind and landed by the tents...oopsie!). Congrats Evelyn on the C!!

Confidence has always my biggest nemesis in this sport so getting the higher licenses was a way for me to prove to myself that I do have the stuff to jump with the big boys. I will pursue a D because it does not require very much. I've gotten this far, much further than I thought I would so I might as well go all the way. It won't happen next year though because I will not be able to keep up this pace. I met this guy with several thousand jumps who, when he learned that I had just passed the 200 mark, told me that he considered this phase to be the most fun of all. Time will tell but so far, I agree with him. It is all so fresh, I am not involved in dz politics, I am untouched by tragedy and I can finally (sort of) hold my own. When I win the lottery, I will get an AFF rating and teach for free. My only goals in skydiving are to have fun, meet people at different dzs and be safe. Cheers, Arianna

Thanks all for the kind sentiments. The only downside to this milestone, which I actually started noticing after I crossed the 200 jump mark, is that now people expect me to be half good.

Congratulations! Good for you for coming back after the injury.

Congratulations! I don't even like to drive 26 miles, unless it is to a dz. We'll have to celebrate with a nice juicy steak at the Outback on 42, your favorite restaurant. Hope you saved some energy for CK next weekend!

No but there is hope that it will be there tomorrow. Hijack over.

Backloops. The scourge of my skydiving existence. I spent so many jumps trying to nail it while getting my A license that the instructors finally told me point blank that they would give it to me even if it was not perfect. Then, I saw video of the Hog Flop (4 way star, backloop, 4 way star) and I realized that my backloop is really not that bad after all. Next year, I will enter the Hog Flop! It might have to do with the fact that my legs are short, my rig is big and I fly with my head already high and back. Either that or I just suck. I think most people have trouble with a particular move. I do not know why your float exit is not great but if you nailed it in 5 attempts, then that does not sound so bad. Good for you!

Lots of people post when they get their A and I can certainly understand the elation but I am happier now that I just got my C than when I got my A. I was the World's Worst Student and the Least Likely Person to Become a Skydiver. Somehow, I made it through and am so happy that my stubborn nature won out. There was a time during my student progression when I expected to receive the Bowling Speech at any given moment. Instead, my instructor kept telling me to keep at it and that I had the right attitude. Thank you Damian (and sorry for making you work so hard)! 2005 is my first full year in the sport. Thanks in part to skydiving, it has been the best year of my life. This year, I accomplished the following in this sport: -Visited 15 dropzones -Had fun 200 times -Did not hurt or kill myself 200 times -Did not hurt or kill anyone else 200 times My sincerest gratitude goes out to all the instructors, coaches and experienced jumpers that helped me along the way (and will continue to help since I have so very much to learn). To the newer jumpers I have jumped with, I hope you learned a little something from me and had fun. To the dz.com community, thanks for educating me in so many areas and providing numerous hours of entertainment. I love skydiving.

Great stuff! Sure hope I hit the mute button while I was on that conference call... How about one for Ms. Skydiver Chick? How could you forget the chicks?? Mr. Packer-with-no-shirt-no-shoes-guy Mr. Old Timer started on rounds guy Mr. I'll only help you if you got titts guy err, gotta go to next con call. damn, working sux.

Is it legal and/or ethical to specify that the potential buyer of gear be able to execute the transaction face to face? I am about to sell gear and wish to simplify the transaction by selling it to a local buyer that I can meet and may even know, leading to an enhanced sense of trust and recourse.

I flew a SA2 170 (0.95) for 150 jumps and just purchased a Pilot 150 (1.08) after demoing it. I wanted to demo the SA2 150 but they are not available due to popular demand. I am a conservative pilot with no high performance goals. I find the openings on the Pilot to be more consistent than the SA2 in terms of both speed and being on heading. The opening on the Pilot takes a second or two longer than the middle range of the SA2 but was about the same length on every jump regardless of who packed it. On the SA2, the opening speed ranged from Hello up there, please open to BLAMMO. Off heading openings were quite common on the SA2 but non existent on the Pilot. My landings on the Pilot were excellent. Landings on the SA2 were inconsistent but that could be attributed to a combination of inexperience, improper brake line length and improper riser length. I was informed by the Aerodyne rep that the Pilot is trimmed flatter than the SA2. This works well for me since there is less ground rush. Also, the Pilot is generally considered more docile than the SA2 (according to the rep) even though they market to the same class. Hope that helps.

I stopped by SDNM while on a road trip. It was very busy but everybody went out of their way to make me and my friend feel welcome. I have never met such warm, friendly, hospitable people. This also shows in how the staff treats their students and tandems. The 5,000'+ altitude of the dz made landing interesting and effectively let me feel the effects of downsizing the cheap and easy way. I only did one jump that day (by choice) but had a great time just hanging out with the folks. Please stop by this dz if you are in the area.

Skydive Thailand. Seafood, curry, veggies, meat, rice, fruit and all of it absolutely fresh. Just be prepared to fall asleep on the ride up after lunch. I did.

One on one canopy coaching may be the most effective way to restore confidence and address your specific concerns. If you cannot afford a series of 4-5 jumps, then even one jump with coaching can be enourmously helpful. If you can go to the dz on a weekday, I am sure the instructors will give you all the time you need. One week after I came back from a two month layoff, I had my risers shortened. During a month of no wind days, I bashed myself into the ground so badly that I stopped having fun and became seriously concerned for my safety. I hobbled over to manifest and arranged to work with a coach on a 4 jump package. For the first jump, we determined my objectives, reviewed spotting, analyzed a load's landings, drew the landing pattern for me, reviewed the mechanical effects of shortened risers, talked about leg position under canopy, reviewed harness turns in the hanging harness and agreed on canopy exercises. Armed with all this information, I spotted, I executed the exercises and I managed to stick a standup landing in the peas. In one jump, my coach fully restored my confidence and that alone was worth every penny.

Hey Melanie, I volunteer to be your first Pink Mafia inductee! I'm trying to jump my butt off now so that I can do #200 at the boogie. Can't think of a better time and place, especially since I did #100 at Elsinore. And I can't wait to see all the men with hairy chests wearing coconut bikini tops and grass skirts Sooo looking forward to this, Arianna

Does anyone have an opinion on the Lakeview Inn near Elsinore or other hotels near Elsinore? We don't need a five star hotel (well, I would like one but do not want to pay as such) but I am a bit of a freak when it comes to the cleanliness of the linens and bathroom. Plain is fine, dirty is not. thanks, Arianna

Sep 30-Oct 2: Pink Mafia Boogie/Cross Keys (long overdue first boogie) Oct 7-9: Chicks Rock/Elsinore Oct 28-30: Halloween Boogie/San Marcos Nov 4-6: Hog Flop/Palatka Then, no more jumping for many, many months Hmm, boogie burnout in my future? Oh well, there's some pretty good geographical coverage of the US in there. Hope to meet some of y'all along the way. You can't miss me. I'm the confused (RW? FF?), little (5'2") Asian (Korean) chick under the big ass (170) green canopy. -Arianna

Since I got my A license, I chose to pursue both freeflying and RW simultaneously. One year and over 100 jumps later, I cannot pick one or the other. This is not because I am an indecisive person. I just enjoy both so much that I cannot see forsaking or postponing one for the other. (I know there are other disciplines but I am not ready for swooping, sky surfing, wingsuit, etc just yet.) Everyone I know at my level has already made the choice. Their reasons vary but I am the only one left, seemingly, on the fence. I do not aspire to compete or attain ratings. My volatile work/travel schedule creates lengthy layoffs followed by intense periods of jumping. I know that if I continue to pursue both, my progression in both will likely be slower. I have already felt this effect since I have been doing a lot of RW lately and have seen my sitflying skills degrade. However, I love mixing it up on any given day and like having a larger pool of people to jump with. My questions are: To the people at my level, is there anyone else out there pursuing RW and freeflying simultaneously? How are you going about your progression? To the more experienced people, is there anyone out there who did pursue both from the early stages? What was your progression like and what advice might you offer? Generally, is this a really bad idea? thanks all...

I plan to first go to Perris after the boogie, then make my way out to Eloy within a week or so. Are you in need of a ride? PM me.

-One way ticket to SoCal -Start at Elsinore with the Chicks Rock Boogie in early October -Drive the southern route of the US to Florida, hitting as many dz's as you want and seeing a nice slice of the US in the best way possible -End in Florida, spending a load of time at any number of the dzs out there -One way ticket back to NYC Oh wait, that's what I'm going to do! Not working is a beautiful thing. Come join the ride of your life!