Gato

We're currently making use of a U206 with a right-side cargo door. The door itself is a roll-up cordura and vinyl panel that velcros to the sides and floor. The first few times I had to take the door position, it didn't bother me at all, because it was colder at the beginning of the season. When it got warm, and people asked me to open the door at 1k, I was juuuust a bit hesitant. No one had to tell me, "Make sure your seatbelt is off!!" - if things go to shit, you can be assured I will NOT be in your way, and if I am, MOVE ME. Anyway, I'm still not willing to roll it all the way up. I'll check my handles, and then roll it up to about a foot off the floor, resting my left knee against it, and that seems to cool things off just fine. The partial roll of door also serves as a mighty fine armrest. One thing about sitting in the door position (if it's open on the way to altitude,) I don't think it's a good idea to do the helmet-on-the-chest strap thing - you pretty much have to be ready to launch out the door from 1000' up. Just my opinion. It does make me wonder if we should do what we make students do: Put everything on, and leave it on. Sorry, getting off topic, now. One other thing no one's mentioned yet: If the door's open on the way to altitude, you're robbed of the privilege of yelling, "Door!" T.I.N.S.

Van and Emiko are two of my favorite people (and pilots!!) Our DZ has been a lot more fun lately thanks to you two! I need to get my ass up to the Flying V....how could any guitarist/skydiver resist a place like that?? Have a great week, man! (Chill) LOL T.I.N.S.

The little moment of near silence as the forward throw transitions to downward terminal. Love it.

Mini feature on the filming of the sequence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcP1XPTQJyo Pretty amazing - I don't want to do it, but it is amazing. T.I.N.S.

Wow...very interesting thread. I wish I could have seen the footage. I earned my coach rating last year, and the perspectives here are invaluable to me. I remember an older jumper telling me while I was on student status, "I don't have any friends below 1500 feet." In my VERY limited experience, I haven't had this situation occur, but I remember during the rating course how much importance was placed on ME not breaking MY hard deck - in fact, that was the one of the only things that would result in an automatic fail during an eval jump. Just for a point of interest, here's the sequence I was taught for the end of the jump: Student is to turn and track at 5500. If he/she does NOT, point to my altimeter, signal the wave off, turn 90 degrees to the student, and give the pull signal as I side slide away, pulling by 3500. (Not saying this is what everyone should do, just what I was taught, and the procedure I follow, the idea being that you never have to take eyes off the student...until he/she pulls or disappears.) Having said all of this, I still remember NOT being aware of being given the pull signal from one of my instructors on a 10-second delay - the only time I went low during my student progression. Then again, I WAS in an uncontrolled flat spin, and it's hard to recognize a signal that you're seeing only once per high-speed rotation. T.I.N.S.

The "sneezegasm"???? This is NOT a good idea - I can imagine one specific side effect to doing this, and it ain't pretty. T.I.N.S.

Wow...I hadn't looked at this thread for a couple of days, and I had no idea it had been moved to SC. As many people have alluded, this isn't really an "optional" trip...assuming I wish to remain employed by this company. I will be with a group at almost all times, but I'll still keep my head on a swivel. Thanks for all the um....advice......and for the warnings. I honestly didn't intend for this discussion to go down this road, but who does't like all this lively banter? T.I.N.S.

N/A

Hey dz peeps - I tried looking for other threads on this place, but most are a couple of years old or better. I'll be heading down to Mexico City around the 27th of this month...a work trip that's currently scheduled to last two weeks. I'm not sure if there will be any time at all to do anything fun, let alone getting to jump, but I wanted to shake the tree a bit and see if anyone has any ideas, connections, warnings, etc.......if that makes any sense. I know there's a dz about an hour away from the city, and I was planning on contacting them before I go. (can't recall the name, and I'm posting from my phone!) Anyway, I await your wisdom. (Incidentally, I've already been told, "Don't drink the water.") T.I.N.S.

Why don't you look for her on Facebook? Chances are, she's there. Also, it would give you the opportunity to get a feel for the situation so you can avoid embarrassing yourself or her. I've reconnected (since my impending divorce became impending) with quite a few of my old friends there, including a couple of women I used to pal around with - coworkers & classmates I didn't actually go out with, but now they know I'm a skydiver...... I highly recommend the Facebook thing - it's made this very very awful experience slightly more bearable! T.I.N.S.

Thanks for this, Skymama - I agree with you, for what it's worth. I have a hardass and completely vulgar therapist who won't let me lie to myself, and she's helped me tremendously. She's helped me realize how important being communicative (which I was, believe it or not) really can be. Without going into detail about it, 90% of our problems can be traced to being too nice, not communicating what's really bothering us - by the time this was realized, she'd already begun the process of pulling away from me emotionally, and it was too late to go back. Very sad. She left the house the day after my 100th jump (Sept. 20) - and to be frank, the pain and hurt I feel now is nothing compared to what I felt then. I don't deny it, but I'm through wallowing in self pity. I'm more pissed off than anything for having sort-of wasted all this time trying to fix something she wasn't really interested in fixing. I really appreciate everyone's encouragement and kind words - I knew I loved this site for a reason. Love you guys! T.I.N.S.

Thanks, everybody - I really appreciate the support. I know this won't be easy, nor will it be fun. It absolutely sucks to be losing my companion. The Facebook thing......already on it since December. Come be my phucking friend!!!! --> Christophor V Hill. Phuck it.

Oh, and if you timed it correctly, the deployment sequence would get it everywhere. T.I.N.S.

You know, I was just thinking.... If you did it while head down, and know how to scat-spot correctly, you could make it drop onto your canopy on deployment. T.I.N.S.

Simple. Go into a sit, see what happens.

Hello, my skydiving peeps.... It's been awhile since I've come to these sacred (*COUGH*) forums, so I'll ask you all to forgive my absence. If it's not out of line, I could use some good vibes. Last Wednesday, my wife decided (for the second time after saying it on Dec. 10th, going back on her decision on Dec. 21, and us "working" on it since then) that she wants out of our marriage. I won't go into much detail about the reasons why, because they sort-of don't matter anymore - I will say that there was no infidelity, though, and that it was mostly 13 years of built-up mutual resentment. On both our parts. Also, skydiving had very little, if anything, to do with it, for those of you who might say it's Altitude Induced Divorce Syndrome. Thankfully, we don't have any kids, and the only asset we have is a house with not much equity, so this will likely be a lot less messy than a lot of divorces. She doesn't want to drag it out, nor does she want to bleed me dry, or anything, and I'm not really vindictive at all. One good thing, on the same day: That afternoon, the company I'd been temping for since August formally offered me a position for more money than I'd anticipated. It's a position that will kick my ass with long hours, but I'll be traveling all over the world. Plus it will act as a stepping stone to bigger and better things - and maybe, just maybe....a second rig??? So I guess you can say that one door closes, and another one opens. How often do you suppose that shit happens on the same day? Thanks for reading this crap. I think I just wanted to get some things off my chest, and this community of people has been so good to me in the past. So I don't end on a sour note, here are two photos from the pieing I received last fall after my 100th - 14 people, 2 pies each. Nasty wonderful people. T.I.N.S.

Calling what you did 'Skydiving' is enough of a stretch... Best answer so far, IMO! As another poster said, being a skydiver isn't something you are, it's something you do. Having said that, it also depends on the context. Don't be surprised, though, if you find yourself cock-blocked by someone with 15 jumps - if he has 4 more than you, his is bigger. T.I.N.S.

Now that is fucking funny. My friend, be very, very, very careful who you say that to around the DZ. Just sayin'. T.I.N.S.

Yep, 'cause ain't nuttin' to do 'round here 'cep git high an' fu-uuck!! T.I.N.S.

Just as a side note, I've seen a few shredded hands from people trying to "fly" their opening too soon. To the OP: DId someone recommend the Stiletto to you, or what? I'm just curious to know how you went about getting one. T.I.N.S.

Now you actually get to learn to skydive! For reals. T.I.N.S.

Here are a few that will fuck you right up! If only vision restriction, weight, and snag-hazards weren't factors. Dammit! T.I.N.S.

I'll give you the answer you need: No. There are a lot of things these days that you can learn just by watching Youtube. This isn't one of them. You are over-thinking it. I know, because that's what I did. Don't exhaust yourself trying to find out everything about the sport before you jump for the first time. What you can expect is a thing we call "information overload" - meaning you'll likely be overwhelmed by the experience. I personally have never met anyone who didn't experience some form of overload in the beginning of their student progression, T.I.N.S.

Your rigger probably doesn't like the idea of having to build the Reflex's very specific reserve closing loops - and/or he may not be aware that brand new replacement parts for the Reflex are being made available again by I-can't-remember-who. Some company. Sounds very much to me like he only wants to pack what he wants to pack. If I had a choice, sure, I'd only do repacks on Vectors, because I like the way they pack up, but that's not gonna happen. Find another open-minded rigger. T.I.N.S.

I must agree with Andy on this one - stop posting like you're texting, please. You'll need to put on your Big-Boy Pants if you want to hang, kiddo! T.I.N.S.