GLIDEANGLE

1. Lots of threads on this topic. Some recent. Re-read them. 2. One of the resources you might contact directly is “BIGUN” here on DZ.com 3. If your question is about training techniques alone (without regard to your size), Yes, students can jump solo for their first jump (no tandem). 4. If your question is about GEAR and your size… it gets complicated. 5. There are ways to do it. Consult knowledgeable instructors and riggers. a. SOME tandem rigs can be modified for big students b. SOME military surplus might be suitable (based on what the gear is and its condition). c. SOME manufacturers make big guy gear. 6. It is really important that you understand something about the weight limits that you will read on gear. a. The harness must at least as strong as the canopies (both the main and the reserve). (once again… work with a rigger) b. As you look at canopies, you will see a “Maximum Suspended Weight” (MSW). That is exactly what it says… the most that we can hang under the canopy (body plus ALL gear). A canopy might have an acceptably high MSW but be totally unacceptable for you. Just because it won’t tear apart during deployment doesn’t mean that it is big enough for you to FLY it safely and comfortably. Wing loading (lbs of weight divided by sq ft of canopy) influences many important elements of canopy flight… such as canopy speed and altitude lost in turns. If you found a canopy that had an adequate MSW but was too small to give you safe “student” flight characteristics…. You would be at increased risk of crashing your canopy and serious injury or death. (Again, work with rigger and instructor to determine what is the right WL for you on a specific canopy). c. All of the previous paragraph applies to BOTH the main and reserve canopies. Many experts believe that the reserve should have even lighter wing loading than the main…an even bigger challenge for you. 7. If you hope to learn by the Accelerated Free Fall method, I suspect that you will find that even if you can solve the gear issues, you may find that some small instructors won’t jump with you. The problem is that you may fall too fast for some instructors to be confident that they can keep up with you if you should get unstable in freefall. On the other hand, you may find some big AFF instructors who are confident that they can keep you safe. If you have trouble finding AFF instructors… you might want to consider “static line” or “instructor assisted deployment” methods of instruction. Static line would likely involve more gear issues… however with instructor assisted deployment you might be able to use your own rig. 8. Expect to spend $$$$ even faster than “typical” size students. 9. Welcome aboard! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I find that "There aren't any perfectly good airplanes" works well. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Condoms... buy new. First rig... buy used. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I wear my spectacles with a "croakie" strpa to keep them on my head. My helmet is a Havok by Bonehead... full face and spectacle friendly. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Your surprise probably comes from a preception that skydiving is a typical commercial service where the buyer relies on the vendor to keep them safe. Skydiving is different. It is a very hazardous sport. All the DZs do for experienced jumpers is provide an opportunity to exectute the sport. Certianly DZs should, and do, provide far more attention and effort into student operations, but even those operations remain very hazardous. Skydiving is NOT an amusement park ride! If you are looking for a "Good Housekeeping" seal of approval... I suggest that you consider bowling or golf. Rating DZs would make little sense, as the DZ cannot control the most important variable... jumper behavor. Of course, the DZ can and should control the plane flight to get us to altitude safely. USPA promulgates requirements and reccomendations for group member DZs. These are detailed in the USPA SIM. See it here: http://www.uspa.org/SIM.aspx The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

As a student, I found the term "arch hard" to be UNhelpful. The term implies arching rigidly...which can result in potato chipping. I much preferred the term "ARCH DEEPLY" I found it helpful to think of oozing down into an arch. Imagine a chocolate bar melting on a hot day and slowly sagging down. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This should get you started: Influencing customer behavior • How to increase the number of jumpers who do gear checks before boarding? • How to increase the number of jumpers who do pin checks before exit? • How to improve the understanding and execution of exit separation between groups by jumpers? • How to improve jumper compliance with DZ landing pattern? • How to improve the number of tandem jumpers who return for a second jump? Influencing independent contractor behavior • How to improve the performance of packers? --Speed of packing --Customer satisfaction --Malfunction/Nuisance occurrence rate • How to improve the performance of pilots? --Fuel efficiency --Noise abatement Influencing neighbor relationships • Improving off-airport neighbor relationships regarding jumpers landing out • Improving off-airport neighbor relationships regarding aircraft noise • Improving on-airport neighbor relationships regarding aircraft-jumper traffic conflicts. (If at an site with non-DZ aircraft sharing the airport) System efficiency • Speeding registration of new customers --Wavier/reserve date/payment • Manifesting/payment system --Selecting a system of collecting payments from jumpers that is accurate, efficient, and easy for all -----Pre-pay on account? -----Pre-pay with physical tickets? -----Jump first, pay at end of day? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Here is the USPA SIM glossary on line: http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Glossary/tabid/173/Default.aspx The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Damn... and some young'uns think RW is boring! Glad y'all are safe.

Did you walk to the hangar? If yes, it was a good jump. Many, many of us have had troubles in the beginning. It is very common. Keep plugging away. One of our DZs instructors holds the record for the most re-dos of one of the AFF levels as a student. He went to the tunnel and problem SOLVED. My 13th jump was very difficult and scary too. I worked hard on fixing it (my coach was as patient as a saint... Thank you, Jenny). I do OK now. Don't let one jump get you down. What other activity did you have all figured out after 4 minutes? The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

You might find it helpful to have a friend videotape your landings and then review them with your instructor. Be sure to discuss with your instructor where you should be LOOKING. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I have never jumped one. But as I recollect, the idea is to give air a way to get INTO the cells during near vertical descents. I guess that the very slow forward speed didn't "ram" enough air into the front of the cells. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I am not an AFF-I, but the following differences between real freefall and tunnel time seem relevant: No spotting No weather No exit No gripped exits No canopy deployment (and dealing with deployment problems) With the current time specification... we know that an applicant has at least ~360 of the above. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Of course you are correct. I was very aware of that error when I made my post. However, I was trying to be POSITIVE. Random sniping at minor errors undermines the EXCELLENT job the DZO did with that video. CDR Jim McGraw, USN, NC The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Bravo for opening this discussion! I haven't travelled to vary many other DZs, but I have often found the quality of the "visting jumper briefing" to be REALLY poor. It would be great if DZs typed out the essential orientation info, with an aeiral photo of the DZ and made it available to visiting jumpers. The very best orientation I have seen is this: http://www.jumpjax.com/brief.html It is too bad that more DZs don't make a similar resource available. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Direct quote from uninsured United Parachute Technologies, LLC. web site: You should know that for years, United Parachute Technologies has built custom rigs for the "big guys" by utilizing technology originally developed for the military. So when your student graduates off student status, he will have a source for his own gear. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or write. http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44 The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

If you really want to get your "sightseeing" value from jumping.... try full altitude hop and pops. Opening your parachute at full altitude and spending over 10 minutes soaking it all up is an excellent way to start or end the day (the visuals are more dramatic with low angle lighting). There are a couple of technical issues about full-altitude hop & pops that your local S&TA and pilots can help you with. None of the issues are hard, but they are important: Exit order, winds aloft, spot, coordination with the pilot, dressing for the weather at altitude, etc. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

How many jumps to practice? Well, that varies a lot. Fun teams like mine might have a goal of only 100 jumps in a season, while the open class experts might do a thousand in a year plus many hours of tunnel time. A team does not rehearse a "complete run", like a dance. A team practices all of the formations and then a random draw of those formations is made to consitute the script for each of the competition jumps. During each of the competition jumps (rounds) all the teams attempt to make as many of the specified formations as possible in the first 35 seconds after leaving the aircraft. If the team completes all of the specified formations, they repeat the list as many times as time allows. 4-way Formation Skydiving is widely considered to be one of the best ways to build bellyflying skills (outside of the tunnel). The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Allegedly we compete. Our first meet was this past weekend in the Texas Skydiving League at Skydive Dallas and we got rather completly smashed by our very cordial competition. We are a 4-way team (plus one camera flyer). The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

1. Yes, solo freefall is fun. Yes, solo freefall visuals are fun. 2. Yes, solo freefall can get REAL boring. Yes, formation skydiving (relative work) is lots of fun. 3. Damn, I wish my teammates and I were as skilled as the folks in this video. 4. Yes, folks find lots and lots of ways to play in freefall: belly flying formation skydiving like your video large groups goofy exits (horny gorilla, magic carpet, tube) free flying playing with toys (such as rafts or hoops) The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

If you are trying to control cost consider this: Tunnel time is usually cheaper than freefall time on a per minute basis. It is WAY cheaper than AFF freefall time on a per minute basis. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Tunnel time is great. However, remember that freefall is only the first part of the jump. Many would argue that the learning safe CANOPY flight is more important for students. If tunnel time lets you relax about freefall and concentrate on canopy flight.... GREAT. If tunnel time makes you think that you have the whole deal under control and have no need for those uptight instructors wasting your time with all this talk of landing patterns and flaring.... DANGER!!! Getting safely to the ground is the definitiion of a "good jump". Good Luck The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I totally mis-read your post the first three times I read it. Here is what you wrote: "Sunday morning, I laid in the runway..." Here is what my brain read: Sunday morning, I got laid in the runway Gotta get my mind out of the gutter. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

There... fixed it for you. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

With a body weight of 285, his exit weight will exceed 300 lbs. Without going to a military canopy I wonder if you will find a civilian/sport rig certified in excess of 300 lbs. I will watch this thread with interest. Too bad that Airborne Systems' Raider/Intruder rig does not appear to be available on the civilian market. It has TSO C23d certification to 450 lbs Max suspended weight and can be built for hand deploy PC. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!