PaulProbuild

My Sabre 190 snivels like F**k over about 1000ft & gives a real soft gentle opening with collapsed end cells which slowly pop out if I roll the nose, scares the hell out of me so I don't roll it, even with a brisk opening it is in my opinion soft so I just pack it without roling the nose

I used to get really spanked by the student rigs I used & so did my female jump buddy (Crazy_Biatch), we both had some really bad bruising on our arms & legs, This got better for me when I converted from student rigs to my own rig & now I don't get any bruises at all, It got better for her when she also came off student rigs & converted to the "better" club rigs, A well fitting harness helps, My rig was bought secondhand but it was originally made for someone about my size we both did the RAPS Static line system & not AFF

Started on 1st April 2005 age 38 Should have done it 20 years ago

I hated my clubs student rigs I used to get some right spankings from them, loads of pain & bruises meant I could only just manage two jumps in a day, one was so bad I thought I was going to pass out from the spanking it gave me, I saw stars, Screamed & I was that badly bruised I could not jump for about two weeks, I got better openings when I packed it myself but it still hurt I finally got to jump my own rig last week, Zerox container with a Sabre 190 main which I bought secondhand, it was made for someone similar to me in size & weight but even so on my way up to my first jump with it I was terrified waiting to get a spanking from the Sabre, what a joy it was no spanking, nice soft opening, no bruises or pain, done four jumps on it so far & all have been good soft pain & bruiseless on heading openings even though my packing is not the best Well fitting rig What a joy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thomas Sports made my suit, They are local to my DZ & I got measured on the Monday & had it on Wednesday as a rush job,usual time is a couple of weeks I would if I were you get the supplier or manufacturer of the suits to measure you for fit rather than try to do it yourself for several reasons as it is not the same as getting measured for clothes etc

Here in the UK my Packing Certificate (June 2005) has all the Canopy's, Containers & Deployment methods listed separately so you can do any combination of Container, Canopy & deployment methods listed on it

Hi Neil Go for it, I did my first static line jump on the 01/04/05 & did my Cat 8 jump on 10/07/05 I was dared to do my first S/L jump for charity by the Air cadets where I am adult staff Took me a total of 34 jumps to get Cat 8, but don't worry even if it takes you more, do it at your own pace If you want a laugh you should have seen some of my exits & on my first jump, no arch, no count & I can remember looking up after the canopy had opened & thought "Thank F**k it opened" I was really scared There were times when I thought that I could not do it & nearly gave it up as it has been very hard work for me but I stuck at it & got there in the end Did my second & third solo Freefall from 13,000ft on Tuesday deployed @ 3,500, what a rush I was in the door on my first solo jump from 9.000ft & I was waiting for my instructor to say "Go" then I realised that I was on my own Paul

Practice is what is needed then when you think you are ready do your packing test I got my approved packing cert in less than a month, I can pack, Flat pack, pro pack, student & experinced rigs & tandem rigs with all deployment methods Cirrent rate of pay is £5 for ordinary rigs & £15 for tandem rigs @ my local DZ

Finally got my Category 8 today, Took me 34 jumps, It was weird to dive out at 10,000 on my own without an instructor on my 35th jump I was waiting to be told to GO then I realised I was on my own Also got my Approved Packer Certificate last week, I have been cleared to do everything (student, Flat & Pro pack & Tandems with all deployment methods) except reserves

Sadly there are many people out there like this, I have a friend who is exactly the same & really goes to the extreme, I showed him a video of what I am currently doing & explained about the skydive training I have had & he wants to do it without all the training, fancies himself as a BASE jumper, he seems to think he can jump off Valley Bridge in the town centre appx 75 feet high!!!!!!!!!!!! He does the same with anything I do, I build models for living & all of a sudden he is the worlds best model maker & he thinks he can make better models & earn far more than I do even though his model making skills are on par with a seven year old (no offence to anyone with gifted children) I build & repair electric guitars & he seems to think he can build a world class guitar with some planks of wood from his back garden & a few bits of piano wire He has had one driving lesson, can't drive for toffee but he thinks he can handle the 300BHP Jaguar I drive like he was David Coultard I really have to snap him back at times for his own good even though he is a good friend to me Paul

I am new to skydiving (but not to other high risk Sports) & my Instructors tell me that if you have a Mal it is up to you to make the decision to "Cut away" or not as it is your ass on the line & fuck the people who say "I could have flown that" or "I would have done this or that" & that in a similar position they would probably shit themselves just as much as you did More experinced Skydivers may have been able to fly the Mal but a newbie may have not been able to I think I would rather come down on a fully open reserve than a half opened main canopy, not that my opinion counts for much Paul

I collect Medal groups to the Royal Air Force & there are similar scams happening to them, I have twice been contacted about items I had for sale on Ebay to see if I would end the auction early & accept a cheque for far more than I want for the items It is probably happening to just about any hobby goods or items with a large intrinsic value Beware Paul

Is there anyone out there who has Fibromyalgia & goes parachuting?

I did my packing certificate test last week & my instructor put all sorts of twists & defects into rigs for me to sort out including a "step thru", just take a little more care & logic thought on your line checks & remember if it got tangled attached to the container it will be untangled without disconecting the canopy, trace the twists from the canopy down towards the container I appologise for being someone new to the sport & trying to tell experienced packers what they should be doing, but it is still fresh in my mind & I would like to have my packing checked every so often to make sure I wasn't getting sloppy or complacent Happy jumping Paul