heavydude

Thanks for the replies, I am going to try rolling the nose first and see how that works.

I would rate it easiest plane to exit, even if your 6 ft +, Skyvan is also great, 1 Step backwards and your out.

I have a lowtime Startrac that I want to jump. Typically I am jumping Triathlons and also have 50+ jumps on an old F111 Falcon. Typically on the Falcon I roll the nose heavily for packing which produces nice openings. Should the Startrac be rolled also for soft openings. Owners manual just says pro-pack as normal. I figure that somebody out there probably has lots of jumps on these canopies.

I would think 99.99% of Skydivers would say there are not enough Bikini clad women at any drop zone..... Oh should clarify that as male skydivers... My kids are into Surfing and Skateboarding...they have seen way worse than bikini skydivers by now at any beach visit !

Another vote yes for tunnel. You can get body position down before your real jumps, makes the jumps way easier because you already did the moves before. AFF for me would have been real pricey with repeat jumps, all solved with about 15 minutes of tunnel time. Like others above said student jumps are expensive, tunnel is excellent tool if you have one availible.

I would say its more similar to sports like Scuba Diving, Skateboarding, maybe Surfing. It can be an activity itself or a mode of military transportation. I kind of view it as another facet of aviation, planes, gliders, parachutes, paragliders, another method of Aerial fun. Like the above sports there are lots of recreational participants and a significantly lower number who are professionals and are high level competitive jumpers. So it can be both in my opinion.

Perris in CA is 240 I believe. They have Navigator 280s and MC4 for larger people. Physical Shape is a bigger factor than mass, if hes in good shape he will be OK. I came from powerlifting background as youth, not a real lightweight.

Heck, soon as my son can fly I figure hes a light Jump Pilot....I can take the door off the 150 and get some neat backwoods jumps. Takes a while to get to altitude though. Airwardo knows all..play ripcord theme now.

He He I am sure thats the comment I get the most !

When hot chicks see you at the drop zone with your stylin rig on and say "OOH look at the stylin SKYDIVER !"

Hey them are about my sizes on canopies. If you really have problems getting rid of it let me know. Although w/ shipping to Socal it may get too expensive.

Holy Shit ! I hope that never happens, or it happens when Im too old for skydiving

Aerodyne Triathlons are nice.(7-Cell) Also good for low jump #s like us. Jumped a Tri off student status at Perris. As a all-round canopy its what Im buying next.

Any climbing shop should carry it. 1 inch tube is dirt cheap. REI.com, backcounty.com, You can also find links to shops from sistersite Rockclimbing.com.

Interestingly enough it seems that if you learn powered flight first (like I did) unpowered is more difficult, you dont have the crutch of being able to add power on final to make the runway. Thats what I found out when flying gliders/sailplanes; it took some getting used to. Kids that start w/ gliders have a real advantage learning Airplane operations later. As far as transitioning from gliders to Canopy it was cake; I flew a pattern as usual just as hundreds of times before when I did FJC. The critical phase is of course the flare, just like planes and gliders it took a while to get timing right. (replace bounce w/ PLF here)

San Diego is a good option although not exotic. You can dive offshore for cheap and jump at Sky Dive SD. The jumping is better than the Scuba but heck its cheap. Only worth it seeing your from Italy if your here already.

I vote for 15 as allot of its based on experience, with my low jump nos I aint taking chances although it seems as my best landings are in higher consistent winds. No winds give you the high forward speed that screw me up more often, but I am good at PLFs. Type of winds make even more difference, East wind days in CA are always weird to me, they are also gusty, etc. Last Sunday in San Diego was blown out as jump plane didnt even run as an example. Summer days at Perris can be intimidating as well with dust devils rollong through. I fly gliders and planes also and have been always very conservative/chicken about flying in bad weather. TIs in CA all usually have 10K+ jumps so they seem to be capable of flying in anything.

I was just asking manifest last Sunday best day during the week to jump. Winds were too high last Sunday. What days are you guys jumping ? I usually jump there on Sundays but want to get in some during the week.

When I did AFF they warned us about if you missed the waveoff go ahead and pull if its clear and your hands on the hacky. Starting the whole process again wastes time and gives you the lower pull.

I am with you there, the F111 canopies arent the stylin rigs to jump but they work OK. I am jumping an old Falcon and it works OK, probably will use it for another 50 or so jumps and buy a new Triathlon. Its very useful with these old rigs to roll the nose when packing...thats the key to good openings I have found. Oh and also be careful of PD F111 9 cells w/ non-dacron lines. Roll nose and maintain rubber bands on container really well with those....OOWWEEE. Yup its old gear and everything else is better, but its good for getting jumps in while saving coin for better rig.

Its funny but I have overheard the Tandem guys here at a Socal DZ say that they have had some of the best months ever. Maybe economy has had a positive impact at some places ?

Including playing with flying Airplanes and Gliders....I gave up counting a long time ago. You pay whatever it takes to punch the fun ticket as long as its fun.

I bought am older Cypress(unused) from DZ.com seller about a yaer ago. Sent it off and had batt replacement and 8 year check. When you fill out maint form on Cypress site they tell you what you need based on date, gives you price estimate right there. Then you send it in. I havnt checked site since then however.

Would be great if it happened in Ill., but I have the following wacky ideas: EAA has the big Oskosh Airshow. Oshkosh loves all the money the show generates. There is tons of open space there, good runways, and piles of vintage planes. Why not have WFFC at a place where its appreciated, after all skydiving is sort of aviation related. EAA also must have the liability thing sorted out also as there are unfortunately some fatalities at the show now and then. I propose WFFC the week after EAA Oskosh ! Dont wake me up Im still dreamin.....jumping out of Jimmy Buffets Albatross with 6 hot chicks......uuuuummm..

Better not catch them with one of those Obama "Hope" stickys on their van, bus, jet., they aint contributing. They sound like awful smart R&R people. Adam Clayton rules the Bass world !