mattyblast

Hey, folks. I'm visiting Eloy this weekend. How many other novices will be there? I'm going to be interested in doing just some skill-building stuff...maybe some 2- or 3-way drills or pathetically easy RW. And I'll be visiting the tunnel, of course...can't miss that. Is it only world champion world cup hot shots and students there, or will there be licensed noobs like me? (searched forums--came up empty on this one) "DOOR!!!"

"Kneel here for me while I stuff it in." "DOOR!!!"

I voted "like it a lot" - looks lovely.

If you've been listening to sports broadcasts on the radio in the US (don't know if they've been airing these in other countries), then you've probably heard this ad campaign by Bud Light, which has been going on for over five years now. And damn, are they still hilarious. :D For awhile they were airing on TV, and they featured the lead singer from Survivor. I know the "Mr. Way-too-much Cologine Wearer" one was made into a TV version, but I don't know which others (if any) were. Kudos to Bud Light for giving me a spleen-busting laugh while I'm listening to my Blackhawks games. :) "DOOR!!!"

"This was me, before I started using Proactive Solutions..." "DOOR!!!"

Dang. That's a good point. Come to think of it, I always breathe a little easier when the plane gets past about 1500 feet. I wish I could edit the poll choices. "DOOR!!!"

When answering, assume we're talking about a skydive that turns out to be free of malfunction, incident, or injury. 'Cause if something goes wrong, then that part of the skydive will naturally be the scariest! Different things have scared me more at different times in my newly-blossoming skydiving career...right now it's that 5 seconds of canopy inflation. Once it's open, it's all good again. "DOOR!!!"

Ever notice how it's actually pleasant to smell your own farts? If I'm in the middle of my afternoon commute, and I rip one of those big, damn-near toxic farts that smells like rotten eggs mixed with dried-up citrus fruit, then I'll think to myself, "Cool!" and enjoy it. However, if somebody else were to do the same thing, I'd cringe. Is there an explanation for this phenomenon? "DOOR!!!"

So... is there, or will there ever be, a perfect stent? "DOOR!!!"

How many folks do you think will be jumping there on Saturday? "DOOR!!!"

This is a long shot, I know, but it couldn't hurt. Is anyone from El Paso going over to Skydive El Paso (located in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, for those who may be wondering) on Saturday (12/16)? Or if they're not from El Paso, will they be passing through El Paso on the way there?. I'm currently staying at a hotel next to the El Paso airport, and am planning on going over to Santa Teresa on Saturday morning. Cab fare will be quite expensive, so I thought I'd see if anyone here could pick me up. I'll give you gas money, beer, and the gas that results from drinking beer. "DOOR!!!"

1. Work on backward & forward movement. 2. More tunnel time. 3. Learn to do sit-fly maneuvers instead of just holding the sit-fly position. 4. Do more simple (really simple) RW jumps. 5. Organize a special event for first-timers at my DZ so I can bring in lots of tandems & AFF-Level 1'ers. 6. Participate in more social events with the folks at my DZ. 7. Get my whuffo girlfriend to finally do a tandem. 8. Do a couple of nekkid jumps--the first one being at jump 100, of course. 9. Practice steering & landing with just the risers (& other such canopy proficiency exercises). 10. B license. 11. First night jump (file that one under "maybe"). 12. Attend and participate in my first out-of-state boogie. 13. Get the Jump Track software and have fun playing with it. 14. Cause no injuries or death--to myself or anyone else. "DOOR!!!"

I'm interested in hearing about people's experiences with poor customer service (as it relates to skydiving only, please). How did you handle it...did you lay the smack down or just be a pacifist? How was the issue resolved? How would you have handled it if you could approach the issue again? "DOOR!!!"

When I did my first gear check of the day, I unsnapped & resnapped the rsl shackle. Most likely I didn't snap it back on tightly enough or something. Although I can't say for certain, I'm with Sundevil that that's where the problem was. And everything in my gut tells me the problem was human (meaning me). And I'm 99% positive that the skyhook didn't work because I had to fumble a bit before finding the reserve handle...and the reserve didn't deploy until I gave it a good yank. As far as the toggle problem on the reserve chute, eh, stuff happens. Don't let my experience shake you up--you have a great system. This whole experience was my fault. "DOOR!!!"

You jerk!!!

I'll get her analysis & opinion & get back to you. "DOOR!!!"

First cutaway. Scary stuff, but thankfully I'm ok. Yesterday, after an uneventful sit-fly, I opened at about 3500ft. Slam. Pretty hard opening, but no big deal (yet). I went to grab the toggles, and the right one wouldn't dislodge. It was caught somehow and I couldn't tell how. So I'm spinning, checked my altitude & I think I was just under 2k. Rather than try and fix the problem & use up valuable altitude, I thought "Holy s***, this is it!" and did my EPs. The reserve opened just fine, and I went to grab the toggles, and would you believe the same dang thing happened. The right toggle was somehow caught on something, and here I am spinning again & going down, down, down. The loop in the brake line that slips over the tip of the toggle had tightened around the tip of the toggle instead of slipping off of it. Thankfully I was able to pry that loop off of there with my thumbnail. Once I did, the reserve canopy leveled out, and about 10 seconds later I landed in a woman's back yard. A few random items: 1. After inspecting the main, I could see that the main's toggle had the same problem. The tip of the right toggle has a "waistline" (if you will) where you could see where that loop decided to hug it super tightly instead of letting go of it. When you stow the toggles, pull on the line toward the canopy after you stick the tip of the toggle in the garage. That'll help make sure it slips off of there instead of getting stuck. Also, make sure that the lines on both sides of that loop go off to the sides of the toggle. 2. My pulling of the reserve handle was what deployed the reserve (!) because the Skyhook rsl didn't work. Not sure why. 3. Yeah, I could have wrapped the other brake line around my hand a couple of times to try to level the main out, but like I said, I didn't want to take a chance on losing altitude. What if I had tried to level it out but failed, and kept spinning down to my hard deck? 4. Thank you Lisa, for noting where my main landed, and giving me a ride out to the cornfield to find it! I owe you big time! 5. Thank you Ravin, for finding my freebag! 6. Don't worry, Hoochie, I won't forget the beer! Thanks for reading. Stow those toggles carefully, and keep going through the motions of the EPs. And don't give up! No matter what is wrong, keep trying to fix it! "DOOR!!!"

To answer your specific question, my favorite thing to do for the first dozen jumps or so after getting my A license was to simply do a solo belly-fly jump with no turns, no objectives... just a straight down plain ol' freefall until pull-time. The reason I did that was because I wanted to relish the fact that I finally had no specific "Level" to pass and no coach to have to jump with. If formation skydiving doesn't look like your cup of tea, I'd check out some great freefly videos & maybe talk to some real freefly hot-shots. See if the whole sit-fly/back-fly/head-down thing might be worth pursuing before you completely write the sport off for yourself. Whatever you decide, it sounds like you're a pretty multi-talented dude with a lot of interests. Do what thrills you the most, and have fun. "DOOR!!!"

After doing a jump with a borrowed altimeter where the needle stuck at 8 on the plane ride up, I knew it was time to invest in my own. I opted for this one and have been extremely pleased. Unlike the older models, this one doesn't wobble on your wrist at all during freefall; it stays flush on the wrist and is easy to read. Movement of the needle has always been smooth for me--no sticking at all. I wear mine so that the dial itself sits not precisely on the back of my wrist but more on the pocket between my thumb & forefinger. The strap's design keeps it in place and makes viewing it very easy during every skydive, regardless of the type of jump I'm doing. Calibrating is easy with the large knob. I highly recommend this item.

Don't sweat it--sounds like a string of bad luck. Don't over-analyze it, just keep jumping and re-build your confidence. Are you anywhere close to a wind tunnel? It would be a great place to work on your fall rate/de-arch technique. "DOOR!!!"

Tough to pick a clear answer for me. Lately it's been the exit--that initial rush when stepping out into the relative wind is just fantastic. "DOOR!!!"

Hello, folks. I did a search for the above topic and came up empty. Anyone have any pointers for getting into and out of the tunnel? The hot-shots make it look so easy. "DOOR!!!"

"DOOR!!!"

Both are step-through, if I'm not mistaken. See the pics, please. Which would you prefer? "DOOR!!!"

Which do you prefer and why? "DOOR!!!"