GLIDEANGLE

I think that the above quote points out something VERY important to this discussion.... NOT ALL COACH JUMPS ARE EQUAL. I am the product of Skydive University coaching. The time involvement of my coach in each jump was probably at least 90 minutes. The pre-jump briefing was extensive and easily took at least 30 minutes for most jumps. The actual jump took 30-40 minutes if you include the pre-boarding gear check and waiting to board. There was an extensive debrief of every jump. To have only paid my coach's slot would have made no sense....they spent A LOT of time with me. I suspect that there are many other coached jumps that involve FAR less of the coach's time and effort. Any discussion of how to compensate for coached jumps (if at all) needs to take into account the diversity in the coach's time and effort. I have said it before, and I will say it again... I got every penny's worth of the money that I paid for coached jumps with my Skydive University coaches. I got plenty of free "coaching" after I got my license too. I remember times after I got my license that up jumpers devoted a 2-way jump to simply helping me improve my skills. They never asked for a slot or a penny. I have tried to pay that forward with newly licensed jumpers who need someone to be a "target" for thier efforts. My bottom line is that I see a place for both the very structured "formal" coached jump (with compensation), and the more "informal" coached jump which might be for a slot or a beer. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Here is some excellent reading for you on this topic by REAL experts. This will help you evaluate your readiness for a smaller canopy. It is the Downsizing Checklist By Bill von Novak http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=47 This one is 22 pages long... all of it worth your time! It is the Parachute Downsizing Criterion by Brian Germain http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf Here is what the manufacturer of the Sabre 2 has to say about wing loading for this canopy. http://www.performancedesigns.com/products.asp?product=sa The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

The options offered are incomplete. Some coaches get both a free slot and $ for each coached jump. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I echo the observations above. Skydiving is composed of several different disciplines. Some are inherently group events, some are solitary. Based on my observations it would be fair to group these disciplines this way: GROUP -- Relative Work (aka: "belly flying" or formation skydiving) -- Free flying -- Canopy Relative work*** -- Wingsuit flight SOLITARY -- Classic Accuracy* -- Swooping* -- Classic Style -- Speed (I cannot remember the full name of this. It is single freeflyers attempting to achieve the fastest freefall speed). With the exception of swooping, most of the solitary disciplines are rather unpopular. A common cure for the "loner" problem is to bring a case of and pass it out to the jumpers after the day's jumping is over. You won't be a loner for long! *** The CReW community is full of interesting folks. I bet that many of them would describe themselves as being a bit outside the "typical" skydiver model. This might be a good match for you. * There are team versions of these disciplines too. Warning.... Being a loner is fine, but being cavalier about the safety of other jumpers is NOT OK! It is important that you learn to NOT put other jumpers at risk by your behavior. Keep everyone safe and we can all have a GREAT time!!! Come on out and give it a try!!! The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

If by that you mean the last drowing of a jumper, I seem to recollect the death in the last 18-24 months of a Tandem master and student when they landed offshore in surf. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Congratulations!!! Keep up the good work.

Clearly your problem isn't how much you are spending on jumping... It is that you are tracking it. No good can come from that. Back away from the keyboard slowly...... The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

The most important advice, the big secret, is a paradox: Even though you are jumping from an allegedly "perfectly good airplane".... you will fly SOOOO much better if you can R-E-L-A-X. Smile....Breathe....Relax.

I started by using www.wunderground.com, but now i MUCH prefer http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi The latter site even gives me a very nicely formatted Winds Aloft report (see button below the nicely formatted every three hour report). The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

This is a link to the actual kit. http://www.usapr.com/prk-1.htm It will prevent folks from confusing the empty Rigger Kit Bag - excludes tools $195.00 with the new PRK-1 complete, without mini seal press $495.00 The PRK-1 comes with 20 tools. Clearly not the kit that some folks are referring to above ("build you own for $50"). The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Try this from the SIM http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section6/tabid/169/Default.aspx#610b The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

It took me only about 10 seconds of freefall to fall in love with my first booties. Just remember to USE YOUR LEGS. You already know what to do... it will now just work much better. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

How skydiving is better than sex— • I can skydive with women young enough to be my daughter and no one cares. • I can skydive with cute women and their boyfriends and husbands don’t care. • At work I can share photos and videos of me skydiving. • When boarding a “sit on the floor” aircraft, I can tell a female jumper to “Spread your legs more. Make room for me.” … without buying her dinner. • I can keep a diary of my jumps and not worry about it coming back to haunt me later. • I am never going to meet a little pilot chute that looks just like me. • I can ask a woman how much she weighs and get a straight answer. • I can say that a female jumper “went low” and nobody says… “Lucky you”. • A female jumper can say that I “couldn’t get in” and no one snickers or offers me Viagra. • I can tell a female jumper to “push your pelvis forward more” with a straight face. • If a skydive goes poorly we all laugh at the video. • If a female jumper calls me and says that she is late… It means that I need to find another group for the first load. • The Otter isn’t going to stalk me. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Welcome aboard! Let the fun (and learning) begin. Make mine a Shiner (It didn't take me a year....but it did take me 40 jumps.) The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I would argue that much of this discussion may be about the wrong relationship. Most folks have written about the relationship between you and your wife (Man card, balls, etc). Perhaps the more important relationship to examine is between you and your child. I know that I felt a tremendous responsibility to provide for and rear my son. That got between me and skydiving for a long time. We each have to make our own decisions based on what matters to us. Good Luck... the sky will be there tomorrow. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

1. I waited until our son was 18 and out of the house. 2. I had life insurance that I had bought LONG ago. When I bought it I honestly said that I wasn't a skydiver. 3. My wife has undue faith in my AAD. I do nothing to inform her differently. You must decide your priorities, make your choices, and deal with the consequences. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Search for "collins lanyard". The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I know how to pack. (Why on earth would you assume that I don't know how to pack?) I usually only use packers on team training days when I need the time between jumps for dirt dives and debriefs. I find that using a packer on team training days lets me conserve my energy and be sharper for the later jumps in the day (especially in July/August). Usually the paid packing quality at my DZ is excellent. This was a new guy, who was being supervised by a diligent rigger. Shit happens. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

These mals give me the willies. I am not overly worried about a crappy canopy overhead... but the high speed ones spook me. Fortunately, I haven't had either yet, although I came damn close to having a "hard pull" a couple of weeks ago (new packer). Yes, I have spent time recently in the training harness. Yes, I practice every time I put on my rig. I know the drill, but these mals still spook me. On the other hand, I suppose that it is better for me to be a bit spooked by these than to have a cavalier attitude about them. I am delighted that these events warrant posting HERE rather than in "Incidents".

Hmmmmm..........I have ONLY jumped ram-air canopies. My most memorable PLFs: == Landing out.... unknown surface texture and level due to vegetation. == Night jump....surprisingly strong uppers, missed illuminated LZ, mis-timed flare due to poor depth perception in dark. == Windy day... landing backwards. Less memorable (hangs head): == poor flare timing on a NO wind day. == general student stupidity. Seat belts, fire extinguishers, PLFs.... I don't want to need any of them... but glad I have them. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

What do you want it to do? Freefall alerts only? Canopy alerts? Transmit history to your PC? What features do you want or need? Audible alert only? Visual alert (light)? Screen that allows you to use it as a visual altimiter if you want? Waterproof? "Best" only has meaning in the context of what you want it to do. Best for me may not be best for you. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Here is a way to have your doc help you figure this out. He/she does not need to be a skydiver, he/she just needs to know what abilites skydiving requires. Explain that skydiving requires: -- Quick decision making under stress and extreme time pressure. (Think high speed mal) -- The ability to solve dynamic spatial puzzles under time pressure (think of planning and flying a safe pattern while avoiding other canopies and landing on target). -- The ability to remain calm (or at least functional) in the aircraft when facing an activity that your brain is rightly going to protest is high risk. -- Good psychomotor coordination (think the timing necessary to flare correctly). -- Good depth perception (think flaring again). -- Good sense of balance (think of free fall stability) There is a chance that the answer may be that for a couple of weeks following a dose increase you would be wise to not jump. Some of the problematic side effects may lessen as you become adjusted to the new dose. Since beer is a common element of the DZ experience... discuss with your doctor the risks of combining alcohol with your drugs. Of course, part of my brain is wondering how the autopsy report would play out for your DZ if the coroner found you full of Xanax. Might not be a problem if your doc signs the letter. Might be a problem if there is pre-existing friction between DZ and land owner / airport. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

When you compare skydiving instruction programs do not disregard the value of coached jumps after AFF. There is much to be learned after AFF!!! Coach jumps will help you learn the necessary skills more quickly. I chose my DZ mostly (but not exclusively) on the basis of the coaching program (Skydive University @ Skydive Dallas). I feel that it was money very well spent. Tunnel time is valuable too; but some essential skills, like exits and tracking, are best taught on coached jumps. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

I had sworn to myself that I was not going to read any more of your posts until you had made a jump. However, your posting above was so entertaining I had to thank you for the laugh. Let's see... == only 90 minutes to two great turbine dropzones, == only 90 minutes to a vertical wind tunnel == jumpable weather year-round. I am still struggling to understand what the problem is. I would hazard a guess that 95% of jumpers in the world lack at least one of these three things (if not ALL of them). Bitch less, jump more. The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

Get a civilian rigger rating. If you have the correct military credentials, getting the civilian rating is straightforward. Your only exam will be a brief one limited to FAA rules. Riggers don't make a lot per hour, but there is always some rigging to be done. The real money is not in rigging, but in packing mains. Search these forums for more info about how to become a rigger and packing as a revenue source. (hint: if you are a rated rigger... you don't need supervision to pack mains, otherwise you have to have rigger supervision.) The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!