dragon2

Thanks!

So, I'm in the instructor course this year, meaning I get a lot of student referred to me as "I need to practice" The weather started out crappy today, so no one was in any hurry, a good environment for newer jumpers to chat about stuff. Since I like to chat a lot, this worked out just fine My catch for today was: - 2 guys for their 3-monthly "harness tests": taught them a lot about 2 out situations, in-plane emergencies, and most notably explained to one of them, a ~150 jump jumper, what exactly an RSL does and does not do and some ins-and-outs of an AAD. He had some notions about both but mostly had no clue. Took me a while, but then the light dawned and he got it! Then a group of 3 newer jumpers was getting a show-and-tell about gear (risers, cutaway, RLS etc) and I got them passed over to me, so helped them understand about RSLs some more, explained the concept of a freebag, and enrolled them all into the upcoming creeper competition to boot. Also I had to do preparation for my next course day, in which I will get to teach other instructor-wannabees about plfs. So, thought it was a splendid idea to get some practice in those myself, first! Oh yeah I actually got one jump in late in the day, a tandemvideo, with unexpected splendid weather: a few clouds in the background to catch the low setting sun. How good can life get? ciel bleu, Saskia

Hmm that's more what I meant than videos being "off-putting": You'll learn what to do and what not to do in your skydiving course. Sometimes it's hard to get pre-conceived notions that do not fit the initial skydiving course out of student's heads (the "youtube" generation LOL). Youtube is so not the place to learn skydiving Then again, neither is this forum, so go away and jump ciel bleu, Saskia

the Vengeance 120 is no longer available for demo. V = Velocity besides that, does a velo at roughly 1.6 even make sense? does PD recommend that? Probably not... I got offered a borrowed velo 120 (@ 1.3-1.4 at the time), I declined so haven't actually tried a underloaded velo myself. I do know my vengeance 135 now flies and most notably opens way better than back when I weighed a good bit less and loaded it only @ 1.1-1.2. Now I'm @ 1.4-1.5 and it behaves much better all round. ciel bleu, Saskia

No, but certain (beer-belly) types do fall stable on their belly a bit easier You're actually not THAT light or that small Don't worry, just go jump

the Vengeance 120 is no longer available for demo. V = Velocity ciel bleu, Saskia

About 1.4 on my main rig (highest loaded reserve). Landed it once before and I have ~15 rides on reserve canopies plus a lot of jumps on lightnings etc. Still, wish that particular reserve was a bit bigger. ciel bleu, Saskia

- play guitar - watch a movie - play a game - work @ laptop - read a book - fly a RC airplane - talk too damn much But in your case, aside from the need to bring a book or laptop, see if you can make the most of your stay at the DZ. Bad weather days can be ideal for learning how to pack, for bugging instructors about things you want to know more about, bugging the local rigger for same. Also in some cases you can make yourself useful around the DZ, by driving the van, help refueling the plane, stuff like that. ciel bleu, Saskia

At my work, if you have a support request you fill out a Word form. The first part is for the cusotmer to fill out, the 2nd part is for us. Some people however print out said form, fill it out by hand, scan it, then email it as a pdf. Another one: If you have a digital photo and want to make it unrecognizable, you print said photo, stick a piece of ducktape over the eyes and then scan the now anonimized photo again. CSI try to enhance THAT ciel bleu, Saskia

Actually, there is such a thing as a a Techno 140. PdF Techno sizes are: 98, 115, 128, 140, 155, 190, 240. ciel bleu, Saskia

It's not insulting at all, it's just the 100% truth. According to the current wingloading wisdom (bought in blood and femurs), a low jump number skydiver (say

It has OIS, so no, not really. If you want to do any backflying, sitflying or wingsuiting forget about it. For bellyfly , mayyybe. But not ideal. ciel bleu, Saskia

-22oC at altitude isn't that bad, use 2 or 3 layers of thermal underwear and fleece and you should be good. I wouldn't wear a jacket at all if it's bulky, and not on the outside at all as it may ride up or flip over your handles. People have gotten killed by clothing that didn't stay put. I have a thin fleece jacket that I wear under my suit but like i said, some fleece shirts should be fine too. I love the Rainbow thermal suits, if you want an out of the box option you can comfortably wear under your suit or for some jumps AS your suit, check them out: click ciel bleu, Saskia

What country are you in? You need to get a TM license. This is a course you take, and you need a number of prerequisites that vary by country and even by manufacturer. Like you need 500 to 1000 jumps, with maybe a minimum freefall time too, a D-license, sometimes you need to have had a cutaway, you usually need a current medical, and some specific time in the sport is also a common requirement (say 3 years). Then when you pass the course you may need to stay current to keep your tandem license (do a minimum number of jumps and a minimum number of tandem jumps per year). ciel bleu, Saskia

3 DZs in The Netherlands fly Caravans. ciel bleu, Saskia

No. However the legstrap bungee that you need for freefly needs to be detachable if you want to fit a wingsuit around it, that or you need to be good @ threading and knotting bungees But you still have a number of jumps to go before you can wingsuit so don't worry about this small issue yet, just get the bungee. ciel bleu, Saskia

SpeedyLee The website is in Dutch but not hard to navigate. ciel bleu, Saskia

I know a Dutch company who makes custom fit helmets, but you'd have to come over here to have it made, kinda expensive... ciel bleu, Saskia

Where are you based? (which country?) ciel bleu, Saskia

Huh? Still on my helmet is just a camerascrew. Video is held on by a strobo. Edit: on all the other helmeys i posted, yes a quick release is all you need. ciel bleu, Saskia

You can either splice a Canon remote yourself or buy switches ready made for a Canon pro-camera (paragear, Laszlo). Lazlo can also make you a "converter remote" you can plug in the 7D on one end and your old switch on the other end. ciel bleu, Saskia

I switch around canopies a lot. I tend to put 200-500 jumps on the ones I own/have owned myself and like: spectre 150 spectre 135 safire 135 safire 119 vengeance 135 fusion 120 pilot 124 Right now I own the bottom 3 plus a foil 252. ciel bleu, Saskia

Doesn't seem that wrong to me either. A safire opens soft, that's a GOOD thing. If you want it to open a bit faster, look at how you're packing. Do not roll the tail anymore than absolutely necesarry to keep the canopy together for packing. Do not roll the nose or do anything other special to the canopy during poacking. Have a rigger look at your pilotchute. But really, nothing wrong with the openings. Certainly it is not dangerous. Some canopies just open like that. If you don't like the openings just sell the canopy and get something else. And do testjump that new canopy before you buy it, as a lot of modern canopies open quite slow these days. Oh yeah, better not look up during opening when you're jumping camera, bad idea. And like mentioned before, do stow your brakelines especially when jumping camera and ESPECIALLY when you're sticking the camera between your risers on opening. ciel bleu, Saskia

Did you have a look around in the Skydivers with Disabilities forum yet? Even if there are no little people there (no clue of there are), there is lots of information there about modifying gear. ciel bleu, Saskia

Suuure... I did about 40 jumps loaded @ .45/1, not a single collapse. Not a single closed endcell, even. Of course all the accuray and BASE canopies tend to see an awful lot of collapses Anything less than a 170sqft is stupid for even the lightest of students. A 94sqft? Not even going there Best keep your mouth firmly shut if you do not have a clue about what you're saying ciel bleu, Saskia