Baksteen

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Posts posted by Baksteen

  3. Quote

    Type 5 The “I have 100 to 300 j’s, I’ve been in the sport for 1-3 years, and I’m always the 1st to voice my opinion when a question is asked” poster. We love this guy/girl, what a waste of time/bandwidth reading these posts. Nobody cares what you think and if someone with 50 j’s does care well then they shouldn’t. You are dangerous! Get out a notepad, write down what you think the answer is and then compare it to what the truly knowledgeable people say. And if you do turn out to be correct? Well I don’t want to read about it in the incidents forum because you threw your shoulder out trying to pat yourself on the back.



    *The holier-than-thou poster: Born with a thousand jumps, and never been an exitable noob. Tends to tell noobs to stfu until they got more experience.

    *the troll: Makes posts that border on a PA, like
    Quote


    *The holier-than-thou poster: Born with a thousand jumps, and never been an exitable noob. Tends to tell noobs to stfu until they got more experience.



    The spammer: Perpetrates stuff like quoting his own posts without really adding anything to the discussion.

    The Well-I-know-the-answer-to-your-question-but-I-have-only-1-to-300-jumps-and-1-to-3-years-in-the-sport-so-I-am-afraid-to-post-my-opinion-and-am-going-to-try-to-cover-my-a$$-as-well-as-I'm-able-by-including-a-lot-of-the-standard-replies-to-questions-similar-to-yours-else-I-get-flamed-mercilessly-by-the-DZ.com-police-posters-type-of-poster poster
    Jumpers without much experience, who enthousiastically try to give well meant advice, but tend to get bogged down avoiding to be flamed. While their advice should be taken well salted by anyone, they can nevertheless contribute a student's point of view to an issue.

    The Contributor of Valuable Responses:
    This type of poster really pisses me off, usually limiting his reply to "Do a search" or something similar.

    The crusader: Hijacks threads to more but usually less subtly fight for his cause, such as for instance the right of newbies to post their opinions without getting shouted down.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  5. Hi clayton, and welcome.

    I was like you, I never did a tandem but went straight to the course. However, I did static-line, not AFF, nor am i an instructor.
    Therefore I cannot comment on how long it takes on average to complete all AFF levels, but there is no shame in having to repeat one or more. You'll get there.

    Whether or not you'll have to repeat any ground instruction if you only want to jump every few months is up to your instructor. I do know however, that the more you jump, the quicker your progression will be. I also know that if you truly catch the SkydiVirus you'll not be satisfied with only one jump every few months, and that you'll find yourself at the DZ whenever possible. :)
    All that being said, it's quite possible that the DZ you're going to doesn't offer courses in January, so it might be best to give them a call or pay them a visit.

    As to tandems, there are those who argue that a tandem is an ideal way of familiarising oneself with the freefall environment, without having to worry about stuff like opening and flying the parachute. You'll have to make up your own mind whether or not you are willing to pay the money for that.
    But if you do, do not forget to tell your tandem instructor that you are considering AFF. Also, pay the extra fee to get a video of your tandem. it's great for debriefing and for bragging to your friends ;)

    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  6. Quote

    I used to think a parachute was just a parachute [...] and cheese is cheese?!



    Sure, but there is swiss cheese, gorgonzola, brie, edam, Limburger, cheese spread etc. etc.
    All cheese, yet all very different.

    The same goes for parachutes. There are many different ones, with 9 or 7 cells. They are constructed from F111 or Zero porosity fabric or both, they come in different sizes, and with different lines ( microline, spectra, dacron). There is a difference in the amount of taper of the canopy, as well as in how steep it is trimmed.

    Just a few things off the top of my head.

    Quote


    if you exceeded those guidelines is that then dangerous?


    They're not cast-iron rules, they're guidelines.
    But the manufacturer puts them up for a good reason. Especially at our experience level we should follow those guidelines, as well as our instructors recommendations.
    There is no such thing as downsizing too slowly, or "under loading" your canopy.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  9. Quote

    First, let me say that I am not ashamed of my epilepsy, and don't mind telling people - under my own conditions.



    This is me.
    It's a year later now, and I have found the vast majority of skydivers surprisingly tolerant of people with medical issues.

    As to the few people who are scared of epilepsy patients, and say stuff like
    Quote


    However, if the skydiver had disclosed [their epilepsy] to him, he would have had a _choice_ as to make the jump with the other diver. He may have, he may not have; but he would have been informed.


    I have news for you.
    The choice is actually mine, not theirs, since these are not the people who I wish to jump, or indeed, associate with anyway. So there should be no moral dilemma for them in how to turn me away firmly but politely.
    So you see, in a way i am just as bigoted as they are. Life is all about balance.

    edited for spelling
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  10. I've read a few similar posts, and every time I can't help but wonder: What's the hurry?

    Relax, and have some fun along the way.
    The A-licence (or D-licence for that matter) is not what people will judge you by.
    It's the skills you demonstrate on a jump, and equally important (or even more so) the person you are when having a beer after the jumnping is done.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  11. I agree with you.

    Give them a chance!

    [rant]
    As to the rest of the article, why does everyone only focus on the negative?
    I'm glad that, for once, there is a reporter who does his best to try to see things our way, and to show the general public the problems skydiving is starting to face. He doesn't quite get it spot on, but attitudes like some of those in this thread aren't helping.

    As skydivers, it is our own resposibility to educate the well intentioned part of the media and to KEEP them friendly.
    Check out my sig, and think about it.
    [/rant]
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  12. [reply(I use the DZ's hangar as a guide, as it is about 12 feet high -- when I can no longer see over its roof, it's time!)



    Isn't there a kinda dangerous problem with this method? How do you know to time your flare when you land off? Not ragging on you, just curious, and slighty worried...
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  • disclaimer: I'm freshly off student status, so I am not claiming to give good advice. Listening to me instead of a knowledgable and certified instructor could very well get you killed or injured..yadda yadda. (God, I hate having to put this up with every single post :S)

    Quote

    Instructors: I have talked to a few of them about this, but it is difficult to work out the issues with canopy skills since they have to be done in real time...



    Maybe get a videot to capture (quite) a few of your landings?
    I feel I learned a lot by having an instructor who specialises in canopy control debrief those landings step by step with me.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  • I'm not an instructor, in fact I made my first jump a relatively short while ago.

    Do you really trust a student with a malfunctioning radio during their very first oh-so-overwhelming-jump to have the judgement to determine when a low turn is necessary / survivable /merited?

    Just this weekend, a relatively new jumper told me quite happily he did a low 90 because they thought they were venturing too close to a ditch.
    I asked to show me how their hands were positioned during the turn. They indicated that one hand was at full flight, the other at hip level.
    Then I asked this person how high up they were. They said that when they came out of the turn, they had only just enough time left to flare...
    Keeping my face carefully neutral, I told the student to ask the instructor on duty about flat turns.

    I'm certain our FJC teaches about different toggle inputs. I'm also certain that not all students (myself included) remembered that when first encountering an unexpected situation.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  • Quote

    Quote

    When you have sex you dirt dive it before hand, and debrief afterwords:P



    .....then log it. :|


    Something you wanna tell us? :ph34r:
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  • Funny you should mention that.

    Check this out.

    http://www.parachute.nl/interactief.html

    It refers to the site of the KNVVL, the Dutch parachuting association.
    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom

  • Apparently I came very close to losing your respect, as i only got my A-license on jump 91 :D

    I was too busy having fun to concentrate on actually having my skills signed off on my proficiency card.
    But that doesn't mean those fun jumps didn't teach me anything. :S

    "That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
    ~mom