pinkfairy

220 student canopy to 150 square ft Sabre was pretty scary, but not as scary as 150 to a 132 after having broken my leg on said 150. Man, what we go through just for the sake of looking cool. I was terrified of that canopy the first 50 jumps, then I found out that it was quite docile, and soon downsized to a 124, and then to a 111, which I've jumped now for 400, maybe time for new HMA lines. I'm not scared of any size canopy now, but I know that the 111 is probably the smallest I should go with my jump numbers (i'm light, so I don't load it heavily), so I'll keep that. With some more experience, downsized will be less scary, and downsizes on the same model canopy are easier and safer than downsizes to a more aggressive type of canopy. I've owned three different sizes of Pilot, and even though the smaller ones were faster, they all flew and handled in much the same way. Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

I don't know if it's much help, but I've walked long ways from out landings, and my best tip is still just "suck it up". It also helps to have a smaller canopy, yet another reason to downsize! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

You paid for the tunnel, of course you want to use all of it, all the way out to the walls! No, seriously, your tunnel instructor can give you tips on how to stay the right way up.

Fly in the windtunnel. Jump out of an airplane. Pull handles. Land in a safe area. Flare. Learn to pack a parachute. Pack many parachutes. Listen to your instructors. Have fun. Be safe. Oh, and it's normal to hit the wall and flip over in the tunnel. Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

How much weights you wear is a very personal thing, and there is no set amount that you should wear based on your weight and height. It depends on how much you arch when flying normally, your jumpsuit, your rig, probably even your fat to muscle ratio. I've been very surprised to hear what other bigway jumpers have been wearing, I could certainly not have guessed. One or two pounds doesn't make much of a difference to anyone, but you can still start out small and then add more. I'm really short, so I find that wearing a belt that isn't too bulky is most comfortable. I adjust my belt so it goes around my tummy and doesn't rest on my hips. If I need to wear massive amounts of weight, I wear two belts, as one very full belt becomes very stiff. I wear the belts outside my jumpsuit, figuring that I'd be able to free myself from them in case of a water landing. However, if there's any realistic chance of that, I'd probably go without. If you are familiar with your canopy and can do consistently soft landings with a good flare, then you can load up quite a lot even on a smaller canopy. If you just aim at the planet and pound in, you will injure yourself even with just a little extra weight. Weights speed you up and makes it easier for you to concentrate on flying instead of just keeping up, if you're going to get any good on your belly, you need to be able to use gear to control fallrate. Don't listen to the people who say that you can just do it with body position. I hope this helps! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Actually, it was kinda a spinner for the second, but we didn't make it, we only had that one completion. Fun jump, and I was on it Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Other people have sold their gear and then gotten back in the sport. Other people also have downsized their canopies to a point where their gear wasn't appropriate for them anymore and still been able to get back in the sport. They get back in because they want to. It's totally up to you. If you're sure you're not gonna jump the next few years, then sell your gear. Especially if you are fairly "standard sized" and can easily find used gear that fits you. It's no point in having gear that just sits in a closet. Oh, yeah, who wouldn't want to be an awesome freeflyer (watch me raise my hand!), but I've seen people with pretty limited budgets end up as awesome freeflyers. It just took a lot of hard work and dedication. Even if you do sell your gear, you can still go in the tunnel, if that's your thing. Best of luck! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Hip rings gives you more movement and a more comfortable rig, same with cut in laterals. Chest rings are good if you like to wear your rig tight, but pointless if you like a loose fit. I think thin chest straps are more comfortable, but opinions vary. Definitely get a hook knife, and just search RSL here and you'll find an abundance of debates about them, but really, they are an inexpensive way of making a rig safer. The Skyhook is especially good, it's not just a great safety device, it also makes your freebag land along with your main. Bonus! The Aerodyne Smart is a really good reserve, it's so easy to fly and land that you'll think you're flying a main. But new reserve models are very good, I haven't tried the PD Optimum, but I hear it's good too. None of the options that you mention makes the rig unfit for wingsuiting. strictly speaking, you should use a longer PC bridle for wingsuit, and BOC is the best option, but everyone orders BOC these days anyway. Cool colors is of course a must, you can post here for free expert advice! Congratulations on new gear! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Visualizing always helps, and if watching videos helps you do that, then maybe it has some effect. Then again: You might just have talent! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

No, I drive too fast, and I'm not safe around stairs and electric tools. Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

The first thing I heard about parachuting activities were the news about the early Trollveggen fatalities in the 80s here in Norway, so I thought I'd NEVER start jumping off stuff. But then, when I was 28 and had just kicked out my BF, I started doing just that.

Moderate planform 7 or 9 cell, wingloaded from 1.26-ish:1 to 1.77-ish:1 Good opening characteristics, good glide characteristics, easy to float in brakes, big enough that you feel good about landing it out wearing whatever weights you require to be in the formation. I really like my Pilot, but I'd feel good about jumping a spectre, Sabre2, Pulse, Safire, Storm or anything similar. I fly so small canopies anyway that care must be taken to pack an on heading opening, but all of these have good openings. With the ZPX fabric, you could get a bigger Pilot that fits your rig than you could with other canopies.

Fact: The formation slows down as it gets bigger. Not just because people relax when they dock, more because people don't dock perfectly. Waves slow down formations. If it kept falling as fast when it got bigger I wouldn't have to wear 22 pounds in the base and almost nothing at the outside. Slow and floaty bases are really hard to dock on, you don't just have to slow down your vertical dive a lot, but they tend to float around as well. Getting down there is a piece of cake even for us light jumpers: That's done with body position, just like the freeflyers keep up with each other. We become REALLY fast when we get a little bit more vertical. I can easily fly to a formation that I couldn't keep up with once I was docked. I wear weights to fly my slot once docked, not to get there, I could easily get there naked! Actually, speed isn't the key to base success, keeping up a good fallrate, maintaining heading and absorbing hard docks are just as important. I'd rather have some experienced, skinny guys in the base than big beginners. I hope this helps! Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Yup, I had this come up during a meeting where the managements made some empty threats to fire me. "You're too much of a skydiver, it bothers your co workers!". I keep a low profile on it mostly now, when I'm asked what I did on my vacation, I tell them about all the sight seeing and shopping I did. If they ask if I still jump, I say, "Oh, and I did some 100-way skydiving too." Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?

Straight, even, clean pro pack with the slider set properly for sub terminal, same for terminal. It works on big, small, fully elliptical and slightly tapered canopies. That's what I do. "Just pack it the way it was!" That's really funny, I'll tell my packer the next time I see him! Hey, Docpop? I distinctly remember telling you to jump more, did you do that? Relax, you can die if you mess up, but it will probably not be by bullet. I'm a BIG, TOUGH BIGWAY FORMATION SKYDIVER! What are you?