SPAWNmaster

I used to organize tracking derbys for fun every now and again...really just races to see who could get the furthest by pull altitutde. But you learn a lot about who you're jumping with...things like how fast they can go, who's floating/falling in their "max track", starting up right out the door, etc. Might be a good idea and something fun to try.

I haven't done any training with Joe, but saw him at the tunnel last night. Seemed like a really nice guy. My fiancee, who was also flying with us, talked to him at some length and said he was super nice. Not really relevent to the OP's question but I figured I'd add that he's good people too, not just an amazing flyer/coach :D

Question: "Any famous last words?" Response: "Yeah- hold my beer, watch this..."

That is awesome. I don't think I can see swooping as hot shit ever again. It is true, "You don't know what you don't know" Never knew hang gliders were ever that small and were flown that aggressively. Fun to see the blending of aero disciplines, Speed hang gliding looks to me more like wingsuiting, as you are flying with the body. I sort of agree with you. Speedgliding is sweet...but it's also a perspective thing. We tend to get locked into our perspective of skydiving being the hottest shit, but in reality there are a lot of other really rad sports (let alone other facets) in life.

This is a little more rad in my opinion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAiJsUXgknQ

Fair enough, thanks for the replies. I'm thinking I'll probably go for a 150 something and stick with that for a while and if it's really so necessary for me to downsize at that point I can always get a new canopy. The reason I took a break was because of a lifechange...ie I finished college, was in the middle of planning my wedding, working on starting my career and also moved from New York to Boston. Too much going on at one time to stay current. Now that we're finally settled in Boston and I have more time on my hands I'm making a plan for a return to skydiving.

Hey Guys. Looking to tap the collective wisdom of the community here. After taking a small break from skydiving (last jumped in August) I am looking to get back into the sport. I am wondering how to ease back into canopy flight and what sort of sized canopy to invest in since I will be purchasing a new rig when the time is right. I was very current on a Stiletto 135 before I quit and my last few jumps were on a Crossfire 2 119 (at a 1.25 WL) before I finally stopped jumping. Obviously, it's better to err on the side of safety and go bigger but I would rather not have to buy multiple canopies to slowly downsize from, say 160 back down to 135 where I was most comfortable. Would it be out of line to just put a few recurrency jumps on a borrowed rig in the 150/160 range and simply buy a Sabre 2 135 for my new canopy? My exit weight was previously 150 and if anything has probably gone down since August. I was previously very focused on canopy control and consider myself to be a heads up and safety oriented jumper. Looking for opinions. Thanks!

I use to run Tracking races at my home dropzone from time to time which is pretty fun. Have the jump pilot set up jump run over a certain ground reference point...drop the load...the person to track furthest while staying within a certain deployment altitude wins.

Awesome...thanks! In that case...what goes into measuring a perfect fit for MLW? The ideal MLW would extend from where to where...with a little leeway...know what I'm getting at? You answered my question, I'm just curious about this misc. rigging issue at this point.

Hey Guys, Thinking about getting back into the sport (pretty much only took the winter off...but I did sell my gear so I think that counts as getting out ). Is the main lift web measurement typically from the hips to where the mudflaps/chest-strap would be? Or does it go from the hips to the shoulders? Wondering for gear-hunting purposes. Thanks! Andrew

You pay for the packjob, not the opening! There are certain liabilities that one assumes when trusting another individual with their gear. It might change things a bit if you intentionally packed someone a mal, but that's still a liability imposed on the jumper. Just my 2cts.

For most stuff related to the game check out the forums as AVDAN suggested. They are a great resource and the community is small and sociable. There is some crossover with the BASE community. As far as the error you are getting it is one of two things- 1) You don't have the PhysX engine or .NET Framework installed 2) Your video card blows. Most stock video cards or "onboard" integrated gpus won't suffice. Best buy sells low end NVidia cards for like $50...and yea it's worth it for the game :)

Just PC. And it's a ton of fun. Multiple locations including all the BASE object types, a dropzone, multiple canopies...ability to develop your character and customize their tracking and rigging abilities...etc. Ability to customize gear (slider up/slider down, canopy choice, rig selection, PC size/selection) depending on the jump and what you want to do...can freefly, track, wingsuit, PCA, aerials. Also can do first or third person...cool camera shots, etc. And lots of add ons, additional misions, mods.

The first one was a lot cooler. The BASE sites were a lot better placed and the tracking was much more workable. I'm not too impressed with the second one except to say the graphics are fantastic! If you're looking for "jumping" type games...might want to look into this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP7M37R9k3s

Thank you! Very interested...especially in the "creative financing" department lol.

"There's iron in your words." If you're starting from zero in an area that's never had a DZ, or you're going to compete with an established DZ, then you will have do do it all! If you're in an area which has had a DZ close down and there's a vacuum, you'll most likely be able to use existing talent. It'll require a minimum of two years to really grow the staff to run a small one Cessna DZ if starting from zero, probably more like five years. I had a tandem student ask me last weekend what the minimum staff is to run my DZ. That was a first from a tandem student, the answer is three. Got'a have a pilot, and need two multi discipline instructors. For the traffic we do on a typical summer weekend, we need two TIs, one or two IAD Instructors, a Coach or two help but can operate without them, and someone to cover packing the tandem rigs. Fun jumpers and instructional staff assist with the manifest, answering the phone, and getting tandem students going on video and paperwork as they walk in. I like this story and have posted it before. I think it was the first year I owned the DZ, the other TI was looking for me, the airplane was about to land and we had two tandem students going up. He found me in the rest room, tandem rig on my back plunging a load of shit down the toilet. He later told me that this was the point he came to understand what being DZO actually meant. On the other side of that coin, I had a fun jumper upset with me that his load had been bumped up while he was gone to get lunch, he'd missed it, and was again on a two hour wait. He shit on the floor in the rest room and left. I was up at the time, and one of the fun jumpers did the nasty and cleaned up the mess (thanks again Dan!). I have a great bunch of fun jumpers and part time staff! I guess the point is that as DZO you need to be prepaired to deal with the shit, figuratively and literally! Martin Haha, great anecdote. Thanks. This is all hypothetical right now is a thought that's rolling around in my head. There are talks of a local DZO retiring soon and it ocurred to me that this might be something I could be happy doing with my life. For now I'm doing the corporate thing for work and just enjoying my hobbies...but Id like to settle down somewhere eventually where the sport is accessible to me as something I can devote myself to and where my passions and job could be one. Just an idea...for now I'm doing the research and obviously working towards all the ratings. Edit to add: Thank you for all the nuggets and advice.

Thank you for your replies.

Thanks man, I just noticed that and will look into it. Appreciate the reply.

I've done some searches and haven't come up with anything in the articles or in previous threads. Does anyone have any good articles or threads they could recommend about owning and/or managing a dropzone? I could have sworn I came across some documents a year or two ago about the benefits and difficulties of owning a club vs. privately owned, etc. Tips and experience would certainly be appreciated. Feel free to PM. And obviously I know that there's no better resource to ask stuff like this about than my DZO. edit: found this. will look into getting the USPA packet and/or calling them. they should be a good resource for information. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=951144;search_string=how%20to%20start%20dropzone;#951144

I asked Icarus for a XF2 demo for some canopy coaching while traveling, and they had it at the Dropzone I was visiting that same week. Strangely though, when I called 2/3 weeks later to let them know I had every intention of returning it soon, and had just gotten caught up (read: lazy) with life, the rep didn't even seem to know the demo was out!

If you can get someone to stop traffic on septimo, I'll do the rest!

Not interested unless it's from the Colpatria Building ;) May give you guys a PM when I'm down there next Easter. Saludos, Andrew

Bingo!!!! in fact.. to Really be a Skydiver,,,,,, "every once in a while"... you ought to Pull at 1,500 feet!!!!!! jmy Good. So all the whuffos I'm telling I'm a skydiver even though I'm on "hiatus" aren't being misled. I still have a picture with you and the other old-timers after I made that jump...it's framed in my bedroom.

In my experience, jumping at different dropzones early in your skydiving career can provide invaluable knowledge and skill building.

Quite the wingloading you've got there!