LemmingBoy

Thanks everyone. At the advice of the crowd, I held off getting an AAD. A rigger took a look and gave it a clean bill of health. Next goal: finding a lens for my factory diver

I pulled my rig out of storage and its got some discoloration (pic attached). I'm going to have a rigger look at this, but I am trying to determine if I should bother buying a new AAD before bringing it to an expert. A short hiatus turned into a 7 years of not jumping. Didn't mean to stop jumping so long, otherwise I would have sold my gear. Everything stayed fully packed and in a gear bag the entire time. I pulled it out of storage and the container is discolored, especially around areas that had pressure on them from metal fittings. It also has a slightly "sticky" feeling and it smells like army equipment (it's a smell you remember). Yes, I know that it's not great, but is it jumpable? Is there a criteria to know if it and the parachutes are good?

Any recommendations for a rigger near LAX? Thanks,

One of the best things about collegiates is that it is held over the Christmas/ New Years break when pretty much every school has off. The team I was on would have loved to go to the big USPA nationals, but as students, we couldn't just take a week off to travel and compete any time we felt like it. Most of us have to travel over the holidays anyway, so having a stop in AZ, or TX, didn't cost us nearly as much as making a separate trip out someplace else. Time and money. Really, collegiates is about giving people who have no chance to fo to nationals an opportunity to compete.

USAFA uses a Single Operating System on their student rigs, so that's not an issue.

I'm 5'10" ~145lbs and have under 200 jumps, but I routinely jump with people much shorter and heavier than me, so take this for what it's worth. Based off my Alti-track, I have found that if I wear about 12 lbs of lead my comfortable speed goes up about 7-8 mph. It takes 20 lbs if I want to speed up to about 13 mph above unleaded. I start feeling a forced change in body position after about 8 lbs from the lead dragging down my hips. To answer to your question, "it depends" for the first few lbs, since it changes your body position. But, if you are going through the trouble of wearing lead, wear enough to know it will have a good effect. I wouldn't even bother with less than 5 lbs on a pickup jump with people I don’t know. If I am wearing that little, I might as well add more to give myself a larger range of fall rates that overlaps with theirs.

Ouch, us Volvo driving mirage owners take offense to that. To the OP: I got a used mirage and I have loved it ever since. The only time I ever had an issue with it was when I was trying to demo my (relatively small) reserve when PD was in town. Their closing loop comes out of the bottom of the flap and not the backpad like you see on Jav's and Wings (which is normally a feature I like). Because of this, I couldn't shorten the closing loop enough to put any force on the pin. The solution was to hold it closed the whole ride up. As long as you keep the size of canopies you reasonable to the manufacture’s instructions, I don't think you'll have a problem and will absolutely love the rig.

Does happen to know who is putting all this stuff online? One of the names of the guys on team Revolution is completely wrong. Not that it's a big deal, but I'm starting to feel a little left out.

Because it felt like we were the only ones at calhan (and many times we were), are supposed to only jump at USPA dropzones, and the diffrence in driving to Denver and Canon City isn't a factor since spending the night in Denver has much better opportunities.

Correct me if I’m wrong but it seemed like you really were trying to ask for a combination of a visual and audible with a logging feature included somewhere in there. If that’s the case, if you pick the Alti2-Galaxy your only other choice is between a Pro-Track and a Neptune. I got a pro-track, my friend has a Neptune, each has its pro’s and con’s, if you want to check either of them out before you buy anything let me know. The Alti-track looks really cool and is probably kick ass at what it does. I have just been far too poor to afford the upgrade. However, I am positive there is someone who lives within walking distance of you that would probably let you check it out.

Results?

Before boarding I always walk unzip the jumpsuit and pull my nuts away from the leg straps one last time. In the plane I focus all of my attention at the cute tandem de jur until that last 2000ft. On downwind, I check my pin and handles and yell to the rest of the 4-way, "don't fuck up!"

Worst one- When the pilot decided on jumprun that he would keep climbing at full power with the green light on. Best one- After 3 hours of coaching in the tunnel, my team tried out our new skills in the air. We spun some amazing points that jump. To add icing to the cake, someone we had just met (Ori Kuper) was willing to jump video. Little did we know that the stills he took would land us on the cover of the latest issue of Skydiving Magazine :)

I guess I should have been more specific, the altimaster always reads high compared to the protrac. I haven't been able to compare them to any other altimeters outside the plane. It boils down to the "man with two watches never knows exactly what time it is" syndrome- never knowing which one to trust. I was wondering if there was a general rule about how accurate one would be over the other. Thanks for the tip though on the repairs. I guess there's a reason for the warranty.

So what is more accurate, an altimaster III or a protrac inside a factory diver? The reason I ask is because my altimaster constantly reads high (between 500-750 ft) when my protrac is going off. To make it more confusing, the needle always reads low at anything above 10,000 AGL (which in CO is ~15,500 MSL) and I have not been able to figure out where it begins to measure right again (but I trust it under canopy).

Good to know. Thanks. Now all I have to worry about is the 12 drift of ice and snow that is inevitably behind my car.

I fly back to Denver tommorow afternoon, anyone out there mind telling me if I will be able to drive back to C-springs in one piece?

I got a Zen Vision for Christmas and absolutely love the thing. I don't own an Ipod, but I have used enough of my friend's to have a decent opinion. I agree with everything in that long post above about the pro's of the ZVM, and I can think of a few more. The best feature the ZVM has over the Ipod is the functionality provided by the extra buttons on the front of the unit. The vertical touchpad might not be as cute as the round one, but it is much easier to scroll long lists. The shortcut button is great for making playlists on the fly, which is something that I have never managed to do on an Ipod. Ipod accessories are overpriced. ZVM accessories aren't much better, but some times it seems that the "made for Ipod" stickers add an extra $15 to anything they touch. When it comes down to it, there are enough of ZVM accessories out there to keep you happy. I'm finding out that Ebay is the best place to get all that stuff. The only gripe I have about my ZVM is the dongle needed to plug in the usb or power cords. They are only $10 to replace if lost, but I am retarded and will probably loose a few of them. Everyone I know with a ZVM loves them. I think if you got one you wouldn't be disappointed.

I have had the unfortunate experience of witnessing these roads first hand. Leaving Colorado Springs at 7 am, everything looked fine, 3 hours and countless accidents later, got to the Denver Airport and conditions absolutely sucked. It looks like I get to stay in Colorado for 3 extra days.

I can't get to youtube to judge your Rock, Paper, Scissors talent. But, I can judge on the type of people you jump with. Find some new friends, all the people you jumped with this weekend are a pack of losers.

How do you guys change your patterns when you know that somewhere between where you start your pattern and the ground the winds will change significantly? Is it better to just make a good guess at where your entry point should be and keep the altitudes of your turns the same, or should you kept the same entry point and just change where and at what altitude you are turning?

Me and my buddies had the same problem, it became especially bad when we tried adjusting fall rate. An easy jump we came up to fix that was going into a sidebody, letting go but staying put, have one person adjust the fall rate, get back next to each other and docking. Then we would then each turn 90 degrees to another sidebody and repeat the process. If we had to move a lot to stay hovering, it was a sign that the guy taking grips was backsliding. We did it REALLY slow and focused on form. Hope this helps, Good Luck. PS- If you get stuck in a rut on 2-ways, try 3-ways, they are a real easy way to figure out who is doing what.

I went to REI and got some $20 Peppers. They are polarized, look halfway decent, and if I lose them, no big deal. There are different sizes and styles, so I was able to find some that fit really close and are just slightly tinted so people can still see my eyes.

The big question is if you think your next landing will be any better. If you are not confident you can stand it up, stay on the ground for a bit. If you do insist on jumping, high topped boots would help, but an even better idea would be to wrap up the ankle and foot with athletic tape. Realize that being active on a bad ankle/ foot/ knee will slow down healing, but if you're not going to be seriously resting it, you might as well go all out. Before your jump, make sure you are walking around to keep it loose and try to keep it moving in the plane to keep it from getting stiff. If you are loose, you will have less pain and it will help prevent further injury. Disclaimer- I am not a doctor, I just run marathons so I am used to dealing with my own ankle/ foot/ knee injuries.

Most of the ski goggles I have used are very well ventilated. When I point my tips downhill and haul ass, occasionally my eyes will be watering at the end of the run due to how much airflow went through the goggles. I don't think teary eyes would help reading an altimeter.