AllisonH

See, you're so far ahead on yours that I think you should write my lit review too! I'm almost finished with all the other parts of my dissertation, but that dang lit review is still missing several sections...

Grading calculus homework papers for the math department at my school. Did that for a couple of years. Wasn't thrilling but paid pretty well and I could set my own hours. About a month later I started coaching kids gymnastics. Kept that job until I moved 6 years later. Was pretty cool to see the kids I started with when they were 4-6 years old grow up. They're all in middle school/high school/college now. Still chat with a few of them on Facebook.

I stayed there during a bigway camp too. I suspect you're probably right about it being mostly filled with other camp participants who also needed to be up and functioning at a reasonable hour.

Maybe I just happened to be there at a good time. It probably helped that I got in early afternoon when it was light and everyone was out for the day. I went to bed pretty early and never had a problem with excessive noise when I was trying to sleep.

I've only stayed in a few, but I found the IHOP at Perris and the bunkhouse at Eloy to be good places to stay. The IHOP is nice because, being a real house, it has real bathrooms (though only 2?) and more ammenities. It was especially nice when I stayed there because the 4 bed room I stayed in had only 1 other person in it. At Eloy, I like that the bunkhouse is so close to both the bathrooms/showerhouse and to the hangar. The heavy duty privacy curtains on each bunk are also nice, and they're built in a way that the mattress doesn't take up quite the whole bunk, so it's easy to stash water, phone, book, etc. in the extra space.

I think this probably varies from dropzone to dropzone. At my DZ, Pilots are very popular among the non-swooping crowd, and we have several people flying Spectres and Sillhouettes as well. Some of these people have been around for quite a while, and picked the canopy they thought best fit their flying/landing style, while others are new and bought what was suggested or what they could get a good deal on. Might depend somewhat on what the local instructors/gear store are recommending. To me, a canopy is like a jumpsuit -- it's possible to get one that will "do it all" but you'll likely be much happier and more successful if you find the one that meets your goals/needs/expectations.

Someone on staff at Perris used to own a house a couple miles from the dropzone that they rented out to skydivers. I stayed in it the first time I went there - 3 bedrooms (beds for 10 or so?), 2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms with couches. This was a few years ago, so I'm not sure if it's still available, but contact the DZ and ask. They may know of other options as well.

I still have to get official info, but my understanding is that it's target market is the Pilot crowd. Don't quote me on that, but that's my current understanding. Blues, Ian I believe you're correct. I'm a member of the "Pilot crowd" who demo'd a Sabre2 and didn't like it. I was told by 2 different guys from PD within the past 6 months that something new was coming that I would like, and that they couldn't tell me any more about it, but I'd know it when I saw it. Looks like the Pulse is it.

I don't view the two as being mutually exclusive. I prefer to look at each task individually. Frequently the student will accomplish at least some goals (i.e. be able to get at least 1 thing signed off on their progression card) on a jump, though they may not complete them all. I prefer to present that in a "alright, you did well enough on w and x for me to sign them off on your card - on your next jump let's practice y some more and also give z a try" manner than in a "you failed this jump" way.

AirRage used to make nice ones. http://www.airrageskydivingservices.com/

Ya know, there are worse ideas... Wendy W. Perhaps, but I really fail to see how offering to pay for sterilization would tempt someone who went in for fertility treatments after 6 kids... It probably wouldn't tempt her, but it wouldn't take me long to figure out how much tunnel time that would buy.

Their containers tend to hold a decent range of canopies. They told me that mine would hold a 135-170. Edit to add: it's a W12-1 (I've put everything from 117-170 in it. The 170 was really tight, 135-150 fit very well, and 117 was pushing it a bit on the small side.) If you're buying used do as suggested above and call/e-mail them with the serial number. If you're buying new, tell them what size you want to put into it (don't lie on the order form) and that you'll want to downsize eventually. They can then build you an appropriately sized container, and when it's finished they can tell you how much you should be able to downsize in it. Or if you called/e-mailed and asked if they made a container that would hold 170-210, I'm sure they could answer that question as well.

In that case, do your future students a favor and spend the time on your belly. You don't have to be a kick-ass belly flier to be a good coach, but you need to be able to fall straight down, maintain fabulous altitude awareness, adjust fall rate, etc. without thinking about it at all. This will allow you to focus on what your student is doing instead of focusing on your own flying. If you're rotating in the tunnel with any belly fliers (or if you see any before/after your session) take a few minutes to observe their body positions. What's making them slide/turn/float/sink? Those are the things you'll be observing in-air as a coach.

Glad I could provide another perspective. Last year I jumped canopies ranging from 117 (loaded at about 1.2) to 218 sq. ft. including both rectangular and semi-elliptical, 7 and 9 cell, ZP and F1-11. There was at least one really fun or memorable thing about each one of those jumps. That said, you don't have to downsize to get a more "fun" or responsive canopy. Have you tried out a semi-elliptical 170? As mentioned earlier in the thread, the Safire2, Sabre2 and Pilot (as well as the Spectre, Storm, Silhouette, and several others) all come in sizes between 168-170, and all are available to be demo'd so you can try them out before you buy one. Or maybe a friend at your dropzone has one you can try for a few jumps?

This made me laugh and reminded me of a conversation I was having with a friend recently about solo jumps being boring. I stopped and thought about it for a minute, then I was like "What the hell is wrong with me? Did I just call jumping from an airplane BORING?!?" Your landing is very important, but it's only one small part of your skydive. Maybe do something more "exciting" in freefall? Or do some higher speed canopy exercises before you start your landing pattern (if you have clear air space)? That way you could have your thrills above 1000 feet for a few hundred jumps while you gain the experience to jump a smaller canopy.

If my lines end up anywhere near my laterals during deployment I think I have bigger problems than a couple flimsy little strips of paper!

I took my last one off the second day of the boogie. The only thing you needed it for was the free beer I wasn't going to drink, and they always bother me when they get squished under the spandex forearms of my jumpsuit. I do, however, have a collection of 3 or 4 of them on the lateral of my rig. Those I just leave there until they fall off.

You won't go wrong with either SDC or CSC. The atmosphere or "feel" is very different between the two, but both are great places to jump. Both have high quality student gear and instructors, and great planes. It's simpler if you pick one of them and stick with it until you get your A license, then make sure to check them both out.

It depends on how much you pull on the canopy while you're packing it. I pack mine with a 5-8 pound weight belt as a packing weight quite frequently. If I lean/pull on the canopy a lot it will slide, if I don't it will stay put. I think the weight will be more important when you're first learning to pack - I think I used to pull on my canopy a lot more - but once you get the hang of it it isn't a big deal to pack without a weight. I use one if it's convenient (and my weight belt almost always is), but I'd rather pack without a weight than go searching for one. In our packing room we have a dumbbell like the one pictured earlier in this thread. It's either 10 or 15 pounds, and works very well.

Dec. 26 I hope - assuming the weather cooperates.

Haven't checked out the gym, but the restrooms on the DZ include showers and laundry facilities.

I was thinking the same thing!

I'll be in Eloy between Christmas and New Years.

I have gotten tunnel coaching from several different people, and their coaching fees ranged from $25 for 20 minutes flying time to $50 for 15 minutes flying time. I ALWAYS felt like I got my money's worth, and every coach spent a significant amount of time teaching/dirt diving before the tunnel session, and debriefing afterward. That said, I tipped the person on the low end of the price scale generously (partly because I thought he undercharged), and did not tip the person at the top end at all. Not because he didn't do a great job, he was fabulous and worth every penney, but because I felt he had already been paid fairly and I didn't have a lot of $$ left after paying for him and the tunnel time.

So there you have it! Cheers, MEL I e-mailed Skydive Arizona today to check their interpretation of this. I asked "Will the new 180 day repack cycle be in use at the boogie? (i.e. will my reserve that was packed on August 1 be in date Dec. 26-30? or do I need to get it repacked before I come?)" The reply I received was "The 180 day repack cycle is set to go into effect December 19th but does not cover reserves packed prior to that date. So your reserve will need to be repacked prior to your arrival to Skydive Arizona." Not trying to start any arguments, just giving a heads up to anyone else in my situation who may be headed there this month.