dancy

Thank you for the advise. I have a larger canopy than I could fly safely (168 Pilot) so the wingload doesn't bother me. Anyway I think I'll start with less lead and put on more if necessary. 20 lb seems a lot

My exit weight is about 154 lbs (I'm a thin, tall woman). I want to do RW with a guy who is 215 lbs. How much lead should I wear? Is it preferable to put on a belt or a west?

I have tinnitus in my left ear. I use a Solo audible on that side and now I wonder if that could cause such desease. I don't know anyone with the same problem.

Does anyone know if an audible altimeter can cause ear problems eg. a ringing ear or bad hearing?

Are you really planning to build a wind tunnel in München, too? That would be really great because it's closer to Hungary where I live :-)

I also love FD but people can't easily hear what I say when the helmet is on. I wonder how it could affect the situation when a canopy collision occurs.

Because I just can't stop doing it.

Maybe when you realize you can't stop jumping. On the other hand no one really cares what you call yourself.

Here you are.

I like your drawings a lot. May I use them on my website (not as design elements, but for teaching and fun)?

Good advice, thanks. I'm planning a 150 reserve and a 170 main. Later I can downsize the main.

Many of us had difficulties when trying to control our bodies in the air. Unwanted spiraling is pretty common. My boyfriend has just finished his AFF course and he also stucked at level 3. We were talking about it a lot at that time and he also practiced a lot on the groud. Asymmetry might cause you turn and it's not easy to control your extremities, especially your legs because you can't see them. It can help a lot if you practice the body position with your instructor or an experienced skydiver or at the mirror at home. A camera flyer - that is the video he/she makes of you - can be a huge help. Don't give up!

I thought I was the only one who jumps for the view... After a jump my buddies usually discuss the freefall and how much they enjoyed their fast canopies and the landing. But most of them are boys while I'm a girl, and that might cause the difference between our attitudes.

I like my 190 but I've jumped a 170 and it was also great. A 150 would be ok as well. So it's not a safety point of view - just the time I can spend in the air. I might be weird because most jumpers nowadays prefer long, spectacular swoops which they can achieve with higher wing-loading. But on the other hand it means that they reach the ground in a shorter time.

You should discuss this scenario and your and his answers with your instructor. First of all think it over - why could your answer be a bad one and why you should do what he/she said. It is also interesting to think over how to "deal with any consequences". What can these be? In many of the possible dangerous situations there can be more than one solution. As for me I did go low (1600') once as a student and pulled my main. I was at terminal, solo, didn't have an audible and struggled stability problems. When I realized how low I got I did immediately what I was taught to do. I sow two guys this year going too low and pulling their main. They both were solo jumpers. After pulling they AAD activated their reserve. It couldn't inflate (there was not enough airspeed), so they didn't have to deal with a two-out situation. Which may be worse is that a reserve opening into the opening main. That could cause an entanglement. I'm not an instructor and I'm not quite sure if at 1500' in a 4-way it is better to pull your main or your reserve. What I'm sure about is that one has to make every effort to avoid such a situation.

I can see lots of guys around who are talking about downsizing all the time. To me it seems like one should be as cool as possible - the smallest your rig is the better. Now I'm planning to buy a new rig with a new main canopy and a little downsizing. At present I am using a 190 square-feet canopy with a wing loading of 0.8. Considering my exit weight and experience (180 jumps) I could jump a 150 or even a 140. In spite of this I'd like to buy a 170. The reason is that I do like to stay in the sky as long as possible - but everybody smiles at me. They say I should choose a smaller canopy. I know it would penetrate better into the wind and I could make more spectacular landings. The rig could be smaller which would look great. Do you also find my choice ridiculous?

I wonder why you can't wear a full-face with an A licence. I bought one as soon as I could afford. It's a Factory Diver and I love it. In my opinion it looks cool, very comfortable and I enjoy the excellent view it gives in free fall and under canopy as well. Sometimes it got a little fogged around my mouth in the plane but the wind then wipes it off very quickly. It also keeps my head and my face warm, which I love. The only disadvantage is that it's not very easy to change the visor. It may crack if you are not careful enough. But it won't open in free-fall. I've been to a wind tunnel where the instructor was wearing a Z1. It looks also very cool and at first sight I thought it could be great to have a visor that you can easily flip up. But he struggled with fogging and he did open it many times to clean from the inside. I had no problem with my FD. You also can remove the visor and use it with goggles if you like. And it also comes at a good price.

This might be the attitude that makes you an experienced jumper with thousands of jumps...

Hookturns shouldn't be banned. Everyone knows how dangerous they can be and still there are people who do them. There are swoop competitions, aren't there? So it's better to teach jumpers how to do hook turns correctly. The same applies to skdydiving in general. (I'm not a swooper and probably will never be one.) Going on jumping when there is a fatality on the dz is another thing. I wouldn't jump. I just couldn't enjoy it. For the dzo it may be business or "show must go on" but for me it's not.

I like your story! I also had spinning problems and once I pulled pretty low because I WANTED to fight it. Then I was thinking...the air isn't something you have to fight against. Rather you need to make friends with it. The air holds you and gives an amazingly solid mass that you can work with. I tried to use my hands like paddles in water. This helped and I gained confidence. It's not easy to control your legs since you can't see them. And if you can't stop spinning you may panic which makes things even worse. So it can help to use your hands first but soon I realized that it is a hard work to compensate a bad leg position this way. But the confidence and stability I gained gave me a chance to work on my leg position and develop the same feeling as with my hands. I think that "relax" is a good advice. Everybody has his or her own way to achieve this.

I think you made good decisions. The area isn't extremely dangerous since you could easily find a safe alternate landing area. Riding up to 13k and not to jump can be very frustrating. On the other hand you realized well in time that it was a bad spot and opened higher than you normally would. All in all - good job especially with 101 jumps. Nevertheless it would be harder for me with the same jump number but no paragliding experience.

It fits well into my helmet. Easy to use and loud enough but not too loud. I expected a more terrifying sound on my first jump. At the end of a jump-day I switch it off so I hope the battery will last. Very good product for a reasonable price. I like my Solo very much.

I bought my Factory Diver this year and started to "jump" it in an airpipe. The temperature was pretty low and people with half-shell helmets complained but my full-face helmet kept my nose warm :) Since that I use it for every type of jump. In freefall it gives good vision, reduces noise and I found it very comfortable. My Solo audible fits into its small pocket just perfectly. The only disadvantage is that the original visor I bought it with cracked when I first tried to fasten it into its place. I think it happens because the lens is not shaped to fit the helmet, it's just a more or less flexible piece of plexi. So I bought a new one and asked my rigger to put it in. I don't remove it but I try to keep it clean. It is worth to use a helmet bag and be careful not to touch the visor with your fingers. After 40 jumps it still looks like I'd put only 2-3 jumps in it. I use it even for accuracy because I find it safer than a leather hat. All in all Factory Diver is a good choice.