Jumpah

Archie! Glad to see you around! Many minors would be great skydivers, and I'm all for them getting into it. The undeniable problem is risk...a DZ will lose everything if a minor gets seriously injured and chooses to sue (and wins). The rigger, pilot, and instructors might also be named, even if they had nothing to do with it. Financially, if they lost, all those people will have to start over...they'll lose it all. Its not fair, but thats what will happen.

Only thing that annoys me is that their two big hits are both cover songs... Wait while I shout "yayyyyyyyy" to myself about how great a feat that is

I live in NH and am not aware of much in the way of camping within 30 mins around that area. Does Skydive Pepperell allow camping? (their website didn't seem to indicate they did). They are close to the tunnel I think, but I haven't been there so I'm not sure. Good luck...post an update if you find anything.

Now thats pretty interesting...on a NAV 260 (WL .8 or so for me), I was pretty much going nowhere in a 10-15 wind. The Saber 230 was a bit better, and the Saber 210 and Saber 190 (all first generation) have been great...no issues returning in any wind I see as jumpable. What factors are in play to determine forward penetration? Canopy design? Line set length? Body position under the wing? Etc. Really curious about this, thanks for any more info

I fly a 190 (WL 1.18/1), and recently got asked when I was going to stop flying a tandem rig =) It was a friendly rub, but he thought I had more jumps than I do and that I was lighter than I actually am. I might downsize to a 170 around 350 jumps, my last downsize for a while. As for "good" reasons to downsize as a newbie...one could be to get to a WL where the pilot has penetration in even low winds. If a person is going still or backwards in a 5mph wind due to a light WL and large canopy, perhaps that is more unsafe than downsizing to a canopy that lets them go 10mph in a light wind, especially if the DZ has few outs and many hazards.

Watch this movie: http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3706&string=camera%20entanglemen

Two broken ankles! I wonder if parachuting boots from the "old days" may be a good idea. Something with high ankle support. Those were designed to support ankles back in the day where all landings were PLFs.

Finding a new DZ close to you probably isn't an option since that would have been a logical first step. You say you are a safe, competent skydiver...so this is what I'd do if I were you (if its possible): This summer get in your car and get around for a few weekend trips to other DZs. Where you are there are lots of DZs in a 4 hour radius. Tenting is free, and you'll meet some folks who would enjoy jumping with you. And maybe those new friends will come to your home DZ and jump with you. Check out the reviews section on this website to help you pick the DZ. Try to go to a boogie, or go to a DZ when they've got a specialty aircraft (helicopter or Casa, etc), or find a DZ that is hosting a fun 4-way scrambles meet. Often these are randomly created teams consisting of one beginner, two intermediate, and 1 expert jumper...these are meant to be fun, turning points are option. Oh, and buy your beer for first jump at a new DZ...few things say "Hey, I'm probably an all-right guy!" better than buying a round for people!

Real glad to see this post! I read an article/editorial (in Parachutist I think) that said basically that the DZ's needed to get better about marketing skydiving. I really think its a three-way responsibility between the DZs, USPA, and us...the community of skydivers. But of the three, the major onus for promoting skydiving rests on the USPA. Many DZs don't have the resources, skill, or competence to do this in a meaningful way, and some DZs could actually be promoting skydiving to someone who takes their business to a competitor. Membership has been falling in the USPA...so why not give every tandem student a free 1-year USPA membership. Give them a USPA number, and do some of the other things people are writing here...an introductory magazine tailored to them (detail about equipment, testimonials from FJ and tandem students, a day-in-the-life of a FJ student), statistics about safety, smiling happy faces. Add in 3 months of Parachutist with an option to buy a full year for a nominal price. A tandem student did a skydive...they took the risk and they loved it (most of them!). Many of them would love to get some more information about it, and feel like they are being invited to become part of the community. A free membership would cost almost nothing and may bring a few more skydivers into our community than would otherwise happen. I know my home DZ follows up with tandem students to try and get them to come back for FJ training.

Ah, right, mis-read your post =)

300 foot...not 3k.

Has there been any consideration or attempt to band together skydivers in your country into some sort of buying group? A group of 200 or even 50 people may get the attention of a rig manufacturer or other equipment vendors, etc. Maybe that'll give them an incentive to lower their core prices, making the overall price when you add in the VAT and all the other brib----uh, "taxes and fees"....something more on par with adjusted values.

Repeated #1...didn't pull Repeats are normal...you won't suck for long.

Campgrounds appear to be for locals only: http://bermuda-online.org/accomm1.htm (search for camping)

I have no idea who you are talking about, but there is a saying in skydiving..."You didn't lose your girlfriend, just your turn".

A month ago it was hot, humid, and I was tired and sore after a long day of jumps. I did a so-so job closing the container...nylon was spewing out the top of the D bag and the neck was getting pretty slack, so I said to myself "I'll repack this in the morning". Next morning I woke up and remembered to repack..."I'll do it after breakfast and a shower". Next time I thought about repacking it was in freefall..."Ohhhh...riiiighhhhhttt". It opened fine, just a bit quicker than normal (mine opens really slow normally) Most people are far better packers than they give themselves credit for. Fear is normal...pack up, plan a 5k opening and go jump it... Edited to add: Let go of the vanity stuff with it taking so long to pack on your own...I know its hard, but its unnecessary. When you've got a couple hundred pack jobs you'll find yourself some day after sunset load drinking a Heinekin and watching some newbie packing and I'm sure you'll be thinking nice thoughts. Most likely the experienced people around you are doing the same, making sure you are doing a good job. They don't want to see you get f'd up.

Did he seriously turned himself in while in the possession of marijuana???

Stick with Intel stock parts...yah...AMD is a fine company...but if you want a good machine working with minimum hassel, go with an OEM Intel mobo + OEM Intel CPU, not a knock-off or clone or something that is built to work like something else. If you stick with Intel you'll end up with a machine that has a good chance of working without much fuss. If you start throwing in some mobo from one company with a processor from a different one you may not be sure that they are 100% compatible. At least with Intel cpu + mobo you know that they are designed to work together. I've built a number of Intel-only systems and had only minor issues, where the two AMD + whatever (Tyan I think) mobo systems I have tried to build were always squirrely. These were 5-8 years ago, and maybe things are better now. For me, saving a few bucks isn't worth it. Try to use an XP installation that has SP2 built in...if your mobo has any kind of RAID controller for the drives this will help, as I've found SP0 versions of XP tend to require drivers to even see the hard drives. www.newegg.com is a good place to buy components. If something doesn't work, they usually do warranty through the original manufacturer, so read their return/warranty policy carefully. Coolermaster makes a nice case, but any should do. Make sure you have enough fans. Nvidia and ATI make nice graphics cards. You can find cheap nvidia cards from a whole variety of companies that license the technology...I have found some work well and some don't. Make sure all the fans are working before you button it up. The mobo bios should also be able to tell you the internal temp after its been running for a while...make sure its within limits of everything. A cool system runs faster than a hot one. SATA drives are fun and fast. When assembling, have a nice high bench to work on with bright lights. Get one of those LED headlamps you can find at outdoor stores...the light helps make the little writing on the mobo easily visible. Consider installing linux and windows in a dual boot configuration...or just linux! Knoppix makes a free bootable linux distribution on a CD or DVD that requires no installation...I like this for testing that everything is hooked up right before installing the OS. www.knoppix.org. The case I have for my current system and the power supply both glow blue. I didn't expect it...but its a neat effect. Have fun. It's rewarding to make something go that you put together yourself.

Sucks that its so expensive out there. My 235 jumps has cost somewhere north of $15,000 USD so far...thats training, three trips, gear, beer... ...its been the best year and a half I've had in a very long time, and life has always been pretty damn good.

Nice info, thanks... I've been jumping with a wind jacket made for cycling worn under a sweatshirt...extremely lightweight and no wind gets through, moisture hasn't been a problem. Coldest I've jumped with this is about 20F at altitude. Just two shirts under the jacked and a hoodie sweatshirt over. The jacket isn't cheap, tho...I got mine as a door prize at a party that was hosted by a cyclist club. As one of the few non-cyclists some of them were pissed that I won. I learned that cyclists don't liked being called "bikers".

A post by mattaman in a thread in the safety and training forum could be an interesting basis for your talk (something like 'little things add up')...there are lots of great correlations that can be made alongside a work environment...strategies, disaster recovery, sales, HR, etc.

All hop and pops...land and pack for the next load.

Goals for 2007: Get my coach rating from Skydiver U, do as many night jumps as can, improve in freeflying, learn to pack reserves, learn to pack tandem mains, jump a few new types of aircraft. Goals I don't have for 2007: Swooping, BASE, and a WL > 1.4 . I know me...I'll either get really lucky or completely boned. I'll save these for 2008, maybe...

Anyone who gives you a hard time, or looks down at you, for being cautious is just an idiot. Do not worry about not feeling it. At altitude once, a guy refuse to jump due to cloud cover and an approaching storm cloud. I tell you...the collective sigh of relief could be felt throughout that plane. Several others decided to also ride the plane down. It seemed like a good idea to me (live to jump another day), so I joined them. We buckled in, turn off AADs, and the pilot gave us all a hell of a fun ride home. Zero g is a lotta fun, and pilots like to show off. Of course...when we landed we were met with cheers of [BEER] for first ride down with the plane...

An automatic will drive like it is programmed to drive. A manual is programmed by the driver in real-time. An economy-class car with an automatic will not perform as well as the same car with a manual. A premium car...BMW, Jaguar, etc...with an automatic will generally perform as well or better than the same car with a manual.