jhilden

I had the same thing happen during my AFF, I had one instructor but was spinning so fast there wasn't much he could do. After about 10 seconds of the situation not improving I said F*ck it and pulled around 8k. Nothing wrong with pulling high if you're not having any fun and things are not improving. BTW, my problem turned out to be that I just needed to relax.

welcome to the sport! One thing to keep in mind is that the people on this forum are very knowledgeable but do not know your skill level and comfort level. Your best bet is to talk with your instructors and a rigger at your DZ. Cheers

I've heard a few people tell whuffo's that they don't need to breath in FF because the body will obsorb the oxygen it needs (I'd heard this before I became a skydiver). I always thought that was just a story we told to be funny. Then I come across think link on an actual skyding FAQ site: http://www.minnesotaskydiving.com/minnesota_skydiving_questions.html#breathing Give me a break, we breathe normally in FF, I think this is a load of crap!

Thanks all, the article says that he had on a special rig (which you can see in the show if you look at the shoulder straps.

I saw Stunt Junkies yesterday where a member of the PD Factory Team did a helicopter jump, swooped a bridge, then cutaway just over the bridge and deployed his base canopy. Pretty cool stunt. When he exited the helicopter at 4000' rather than jumping and pulling right away someone else in the helicopter held his D-bag and when the jumper fell away his canopy opened and the person in the helicopter was left holding the D-bag. What was the point in that? The only thing I could come up with is that he didn't the D-bag or pilot chute to slow him down on his Velocity 79. Any thoughts?

It took me around 6 jumps because I was stable in FF, my only problem: I wasn't relaxed! Everyone has already said it so you should trust us. Regarding the wind tunnel, it's going to be cheaper for you but it's also a lot harder to do manuvers in a tunnel than in the sky. If you can master the tunnel you have no problem in the sky (but you might frustrate the hell out of yourself in the tunnel ). Biggest thing, don't quit. If this was easy it wouldn't be any fun! You'll be doing backflips before you know it.

Hi all, I'm thinking about purchasing my first rig this summer and I was curious what the annual cost of ownership is once I have a rig. Between reserve repacks, AAD maintenance and everything thing else how much should I expect to spend maintaining the rig assuming I make 50-150 jumps per year? Thanks everyone, Cheers.

Thanks for the advice everything, I actually got a neptune for xmas but don't plan on using it as an audible for a while on recommendation of one of my instructors. I think I'll look hard into getting the pimp daddy, it's about $50 than the last one I was looking at but I like the moldable liner and the customer service from a US company. Thanks again everyone!!

Hey everyone, I have about 35 jumps and I am looking into getting a helmet, I don't need anything fancy, just something comfortable that will do the job and won't cost me $400. I like the look of 2K's FF1, the reviews on the webpage of good and it's not too pricy. Would you recommend this helmet to a new jumper who has just done relative work up to this point and will continue to just do that for a while? Thanks everyone, cheers!

Thanks for the opinions guys, I really like that you can upgrade the neptune without sending it back, plus I checked their website and they will do it for me for free as well. I'm going to go with that!

A little clarification, I DO have a log book that I fill out diligently for every jump, I just never had anyone but myself sign it. When I completed a requirement for my A lic. I just had them sign my prof. card instead. I guess the real question is: is my log book not valid if another jumper hasn't signed it? I fully expect to have my logbook checked when I go to another DZ (and realistically I'm not going to go to another DZ until I have my A lic), but are they going to look at it and say "where is the signature from another jumper/pilot?"

I'm up to 31 jumps now and I think it's finally time to start collecting some gear. I don't have $2000+ to drop on a used rig right now so I figure I'll start small with an altimiter. I really like the look of the SKYTRONIC GFX because for the time being I would like to use it as a wrist mount but eventually I would like to get an audible; I figure this solves both scenarios. What's really selling me on the GFX are the logbook features. The problem around my dropzone is that this thing is so new no one knows anything about it, so I look to the greatk dropzone.com for user opinions. Should I get this one? Or maybe a Protrack (which from what I've heard has basically the same logbook features)? All opinions welcome, if you haven't seen the GFX here's a link: http://www.para-gear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=5&level=1

I made about 30 jumps this year and I've completed everything except the checkdive for my A licence (and because I live in MN I have to wait until April for that ). I was just checking out Perris' website for fun and they said that they require a signed logbook to prove that you're a current jumper. Well I have my A lic. proficiency card with all my signatures and I'm sure that's fine for now but once I get my A licence should I be getting instructors to sign my logbook for each jump? And if so how long should I be doing that for? Thanks In advance, Cheers, blue skies, and warm weather (stupid Minnesota)