dragon2

Tandem passenger under canopy: I want to try something, is that OK? TM: sure. ... Me on the ground filming them: WTF, am I seeing that right? ciel bleu, Saskia

If you do that and consequently hurt your ankle or leg, I'm actually going to laugh at you for being so dumb. Feet TOGETHER can take a good bit of force, flare time perfect or otherwise. Feet APART is what gets you hurt, this is even possible with good flare timing and with a big canopy to boot. ciel bleu, Saskia

Try explaining at a team building thing that no you really will not do the climbing wall, and CERTAINLY won't do the abseiling thing, but yes I do have 2000+ skydives. ciel bleu, Saskia

Oceanborn is one of my alltime fav albums. Loved the old singer... ciel bleu, Saskia

+ the size of the reserve in that rig! ciel bleu, Saskia

They mostly now moved over the pond to our DZ We regurlarly have British (and various other nationalities too) doing FJC SL round at our DZ. They did a whole documentary on one of these courses this year, a group of British "problem youths" who came to our DZ (some with ankle bracelets on!) to make at least their first jump, so they could then go on to do the re-enactment jump @ Arnhem the next weekend. And they did

Age (within reason) doesn't matter that much with 2nd hand canopies and rigs. Number of jumps and conditions it was jumped and stored in (and for a reserve, repacks as well) are much more important. That said, as sometimes you can get a good deal on a canopy that's still a currently made model but is a bit older (say a 15yr old spectre), just grab such a deal I personally don't mind patches etc (a little damage) that much either, or a large number of jumps (bought and canopies with ~1000 jumps a few times), but I do mind gear having been wet a lot, been jumped in sand a lot or needing a new lineset soon. But that's me ciel bleu, Saskia

Um, if you only have 200-ish jumps, IMO you have no business being under a xfire (of any size). I'd lookl for a sabre2 or a fusion, as more appropriate canopies that can also be swooped quite well. ciel bleu, Saskia

We don't have a set max age, but our FAQ says there are not that many people that are over sixty and want to sign up for a skydiving course ciel bleu, Saskia

But that's unsafe because of their use. If you do not overload a micro raven, it's not that bad right? And if you want to BASE there are way better alternatives available, of course. Even new reserves don't make very good BASE canopies... Anyway, I have 2 "recent" reserves, both smallish, and one swift 5. Don't mind being under any one of them, although the swift probably is better if I'm incapacitated or something. A couple years ago, a (fairly heavy) jumper here had a cutaway on his big spectre where his camera got bumped off his sidemount bracket. Said bracket then sheared off a couple lines of his swift 5 during deployment. The jumper was fine, and he was glad it was a "square round" reserve and not a small overloaded "normal" reserve, in fact AFAIK he had the swift fixed after that (and his camera helmet too.... ) ciel bleu, Saskia

This is why I was told to let my ear drum heal before I jumped again, and I'm glad I did :) It was only two weeks, jeez. Yeah, like, it's only your hearing I've got 1 deaf colleague and one quite deaf colleague ATM, and it has made me even more appreciative of my OK hearing ciel bleu, Saskia

Wait. In my book, students are themselves partly responsible for getting both a gearcheck and a steering briefing (both mandatory here) BEFORE boarding the airplane. Some initiative is expected here people. Don't just grab a rig (are you even alowed to do that by yourself at this point?), gear up and then stand around. Make sure you know what the procedure is at your DZ, and if not sure or if you think it's getting close to boarding time, GO FIND an instructor to check you and brief you, all this you make sure is done comfortably on time before boarding the plane. YOU are partly responsible if you feel you are getting rushed. You can think for yourself, right? If you feel you're getting rushed too much, you could also stand down from the load. But mostly, you can make things go more smoothly for you by being more pro-active if needed, and sounds like it is. ciel bleu, Saskia

You're in the UK, so you're gonna need gloves at some point. Don't know what the rules are over there, over here you need to wear gloves whenever it's freezing at exit altitude. Which basically, been much of this summer When you buy gloves, buy thin (summerweight) ones at first, and make sure they have no spare material in the palm area plus you can easily tie your shoelaces while wearing them. You want them to be wind proof. Your local skydive shop will sell suitable gloves, if you buy from anywhere else show them to your instructor before jumping them. ciel bleu, Saskia

I really really dislike slippery soles when i'm jumping, so I only jump shoes with some grip. I've tried a bunch of shoes and stick with the following now: Either Nike Air Max 1 or 90 whenever it's hot and dry (not happening much this summer ), otherwise the more sturdy, waterproof, grippy and totally comfortable Hanwag Arrows. ciel bleu, Saskia

Awesome response, tons of info, let me see if I can boil this down to the info I'm looking for, and correct me if I am wrong......If a 245 F111 seven cell fits, you are saying the equivalent would be something close to a 230 ZP 9cell? So then a 190-210 ZP 9 cell should fit just fine? Ideally I would like a ZP 9 cell, but I thought I needed to go with F111 to make it fit into the container I'm using. It says here a J3 is made for a ZP170 max. And a 160 reserve. ciel bleu, Saskia

You could look for a 2nd hand hybrid canopy like a silhouette or pulse 190/210 (?) as these pack quite small, and are way more fun and easier to fly than an old F111 canopy (although of course not quite as cheap). ciel bleu, Saskia

That combo will work for FS4 (and bigger), provided you do not really hug them. Since you are apperantly not hugging the tandems (I'm presuming you are not cutting off hands etc in the shots here) I doubt you'll be flying that close to FS yet, so just use that combo untill and unless you need/want something wider. ciel bleu, Saskia

You could also consider going the staticline route. Less to learn for each jump, it goes at a slower pace. And repeating a jump is quite cheap compared to AFF. ciel bleu, Saskia

How you doin'? Feeling better by the minute ciel bleu, Saskia

Nothing, and tawny port. Good enough? ciel bleu, Saskia

You wouldn't be worried about the main risers catching wind etc and deploying unintentionally? Think about it. While the risers are disconnected, the main container is still held closed by the closing pin. How would disconnecting your risers open the main container? So what could "deploy"? ciel bleu, Saskia

Yeah, the first question is: WHAT are you buying, and in what sizes. Reserve: what brand, type and size (you want a wingload of max 1.0) Main: what brand, type and size, how are the lines (when is it going to need a reline), and again is it suitable for you (student or intermediate model, appropriate size to your bodyweight, experience and wishes) RIGHT NOW, not in another -insert number here- jumps. AAD: IS there one? If so, (when) does it need maintenance/batteries? Rig: does it fit you? Does it have an RSL? I personally don't care much how old something is (other than, price wise), how many rides are on a reserve, when the last time was when it was used, and least of all how many people have owned it. What IS important IMO is whether it's airworthy, is it a good rig for you AT THIS TIME, and if the price is right. Without knowing your exit weight, your previous experience, and WHAT IT IS YOURE LOOKING TO BUY, no one here can give you any answer on it, other than, from previous experience withs newbies buying gear on their own: it's probably NOT a good rig for you. Oh, and do not take the word of your friend of a friend about whether the rig is OK for you or not. Aks your own instructors. First. ciel bleu, Saskia

Even then, recovery software could still get stuff back. ciel bleu, Saskia

We have a 87yr old currently going for his wing @ our DZ, doing staticline ROUND. The weather here hasn't been great this week but he has done at least 2 jumps already (see pic) I hope should I live to that age I'm just as active as these senior citizens

I have a fear of heights, not rollercoasters but climbing walls, abseiling, mountaineering etc will never become hobbies of mine. I started SL mostly to get over that. I racked up 2k+ jumps but it didn't work, I'm still afraid of heights ciel bleu, Saskia