SWATcop

I just picked up a Sabre2 210 from PD today. I was hoping to demo it at Deland but apparently that is easier said than done. I guess the Skydiveing capital of the world didn't have a rental harness/container to fit me (6', 195). I am hoping I can get something to put it in at Skydive Space Center to demo it. Griffon Rigging is going to try and help me out but they say it may be difficult. If not I may just buy all my new gear and hope I like the canopy when it gets here. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I am in the same boat as you. I busted my self up ten years ago (accidental opening) and just got back into jumping after a ten year break. I am going out to Deland tomorrow to demo some new gear. I have been back jumping for about a month now. Welcome back.

I am a third generation Army Paratrooper and LOVED making military jumps. When I was close to getting out of the Army (had about 6 months left to go) I realized the only way to keep jumping was to learn to skydive. I took a course at the Green Beret Sprot Parachute Club at Ft Bragg. When I found out how much FUN skydiving was I was kicking myself in the ass for not learning to skydive seven years sooner. I would still love to military jump again (but highly unlikely) but they are a different kind of fun and a LOT more work. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

That was very good, thanks for posting.

Yikes! Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I am quite sure this has been posted here at some time before and probably a lot of you have seen it. I was wondering if anyone knows if this guy just held on to the rig during deployment? It looks like it but its hard to tell. http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&stream=http%3A//www.videotiger.com/vids/skydiving.wmv&partner=singfish&atturl=http%3A//www.videotiger.com&player=wm&scroll1=&scroll2=Skydiving&referer=http%3A//aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I am in the process of getting insurance through DAN (Dive Alert Network). No exclusions and the rates were half of what the best USPA company could do for me and if I happen to die Scuba diving they pay out an additional 25,000 at no charge. Click on Premiums for rates based on your age. Doesn't matter if you are a smoker or not. http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/insurance/life/coverage.asp Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

You got that right, been there done that. Six months later after I healed I got to go back to work. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

When I was a student, we had to complete 10 graded packs before we could do our first staticline jumps. We always packed our own mains from jump one.

Congrats! If you are ever out at Skydive Space Center (Titusville) on a Monday I'll jump with you.

I have about 40 Military static line jumps and 5 civilian, I never felt a dropping feeling. I did the SL course in 1994 and only had to repeat one extra jump to get my A license. It was a lot cheaper than AFF, it cost me $700.00 total from 0 jumps to A license (1994).

I gotta make a reservation to get some tunnel time. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I just got back into Skydiving again after a ten year break. After the second jump it was like I had never stopped jumping. It all comes right back and you have about twice the jumps I had, so it will probably be easier for you. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I was in your shoes a month ago. I had 179 jumps with my last jump ten years ago (injury @ 7K ft 1996). I went to Skydive Space Center, sat through the ground training, went through emergency procedures in the harness. I then made two jumps with an instructor and I am cleared to jump solo again. I was very nervous on my first jump but once out the door it was like I never stopped jumping, it all came right back. I am going to be buying a new rig also, it sucks jumping rental gear and its $$. Get some instruction on packing I know I will be.

Interesting, I did not know that.

Is packing not a requirement of AFF? I learned on a staticline progression course at Ft Bragg. We packed our own main every jump from the first one. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

You were probably hitting rain, it stings and could easily be mistaken for ice. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

These are some good points. I see some used gear in the classified section that is 15-20 years old and its anyone's guess what that gears history really is. I can afford to buy all new gear but there was a time when I couldn't and bought used gear. I guess a rigger would catch any visual signs of wear but what about gear that is just old and possibly been stored improperly. Thanks for the input.

I was wondering if there is a general rule on how many years a harness is good for? You don't often hear of a harness failure but I know they have happened. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

Nothing gets your attention like a Kevlar hitting the ground next to you on the way to the turn in point. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I just got back into skydiving after a ten year break. I am no longer in the Army. According to SkymonkeyOne who is still there, the Green Beret Club and the 82nd Freefall Club are or have merged into one. There were some great instructors up there. I learned to skydive from Greg Offhaus and Fred Graub. I heard Greg is still there. I may stop by and say hello next month when I go up for "All American Week".

Except for a very very few, no one jumps in the 101st anymore. They are what they call Air assault (helicopter riders). All American Infantry Units have a Long Range Surveillance Unit and some of them are usually HALO qualified. I spent seven years on active duty and the last three in the 82nd Airborne Division. That type of jumping is totally different than HALO. Round T-10C canopy, weighed down with heavy equipment and weapons, 800 other guys in the air with you, jumping from 800 ft AGL (500 in combat). I can tell you from experience that on night training jumps landing on the DZ does not always happen and there are ALWAYS broken bones and injuries on nearly every jump. I learned to Skydive at the Green Beret Sport Parachute Club at Ft Bragg. All of my instructors were HALO instructors in their day job. My student rig was an OD green ex HALO rig with a main ripcord that looked the same as the reserve ripcord and leg strap pads (none). LOL. SkymonkeyONE could probably answer your question since he is still around those guys on a regular basis. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I have just gotten back into skydiving after having been out of it for the last ten years. My old (first) log book has the number of jumps required for a C license as 100 jumps and a D license as 200 jumps. According to the USPA website its 200 for a C license and 500 for a D license. Did they change the number of jumps required at some point or was the information in my log book incorrect? Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

Mine was 10 years. Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467

I am in your same boat, with the same number of jumps and layoff time. I think it will probably vary from DZ to DZ. I sat through the ground AFF student training and they are combining jumps so I will probably do 3-4 AFF jumps instead of 7. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2178789#2178789 Kevin Muff Brother #4041 Team Dirty Sanchez #467