fencebuster

Bright colors, in my opinion. If you are flying a stealth canopy, it increases the chances that someone won't see you. I fly an Orange and white canopy (PD stock colors) and the pilot tells me mine is the most visible canopy on the DZ. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

I don't pretend to be an expert canopy pilot. I have been hurt twice on bad landings. As for rear riser landings, I'll say this . . . At 150 jumps I had a hard opening on a Spectre and, without much rear riser practice since the student progression, I did some rear riser flares quickly and decided to land on rears. Worked out OK. About 400 jumps later, I had a steering line knot around the guide ring on the riser and could not clear it. I decided that since I could not land it as Bill Booth designed it, I would cut away. Stand up Reserve landing. If it happened to me today, I'd cut away. Trust the equipment on a mal. Last year I was trying to sink into a baseball field and stalled my canopy and had an exceptionally hard landing -- I stalled the canopy in deep brakes, recovered in a dive and managed to flare full rear risers just before impact. I am walking, so I do believe in rears, but I consider them an emergency procedure that I would not use if I did not need to use them. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1 Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

I am a retired Marine and I run Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures. We are located at New Market airport in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. We are a new DZ with a Cessna 182. Come on out and we'll show you a good time! Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

USPA Safety and Training Manual. It is on the website and can be downloaded. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

I'll let you know in December. I am operating anew DZ in VA with a C-182; tandems, AFF, IAD and fun jumpers. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

I broke my back in May -- L1 fracture, L-2 burst fracture and L-5 fracture. I was out for 5.5 months. My first jump back I managed to have a hard landing. While it sucked, it gave me confidence that my injuries were healed, which I am sure they are now. Work on landing like a tandem when things are going too fast. If you can't outrun it, slide it; preferably into the wind. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Tunnel time is a great supplement to experience in actual free fall. I did an hour of tunnel working on fall rate, roll-over, spins stops before my AFFi course and it was great experience. But there is no substitution for the free fall experience with student/evaluators; the tunnel is small and limiting when it comes to a student in an AFF jump. Good experience and practice for certain skills; not a substitute for real free fall and chasing a student. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Deepseed Multispeed Suit. Ask them to make it extra baggy. Great suit; well made, lasts forever. Buy one with dark colors because they don't fade. I have 2 of them and they work. I am 6'0" and weigh 240 and I use mine for AFF instruction. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1 Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

No experience dropping jumpers tells me he has no idea about the requirement for a NOTAM. 6 or 7 other facts in this thread make it clear that this is a bad idea and several levels. You may want to talk to your local S & TA before you take this on. I have 2 helicopter jumps and they were nothing like the other 1068 jumps I have made. Plus if you are not landing at your regular DZ, you have all kinds of regs to comply with; any of which can get you or your pilot in dutch with the FAA. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1 Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

As a guy who broke himself pretty good on a conservative canopy last summer, let me suggest that you buy yourself a Sabre 2 or Stiletto 170 and make 100 jumps on it until you are really current. Then think about downsizing to a high performance (l150 sq ft) canopy. There is no hurry to down size and a mistake can be catastrophic. Really? No one gives shit what size canopy you are flying, IMO. So safe is best. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Being an AFFI requires flying skills, to be sure. But more importantly, you must be able to TEACH. The essence of an AFFI, is teaching the skills to student skydivers. There are many skydivers with outstanding flying skills that cannot communicate, much less teach. And there are some great teachers who cannot fly. You need to work on both sets of skills; they are equally important, despite what the skygods may say. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1. And also ask to have the seller send it to a rigger as a neutral intermediery so that you don't get screwed. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Really? Are you kidding? We had stupid accidents involving very experienced skydivers that should never have happened. Two AFFI's colliding in the landing pattern? You must be kidding. We need to do some work on judgment in 2012. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1. Great analogy! Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Thanks, man. I am trying to do it right; doing it right is definitely more expensive, but doing it right makes it more likely to be safe. I had some good teachers and I hope I can make them proud. Come visit us if you are in the area after the new year. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Good advice. As a guy who broke his back in a landing accident, I can tell you, talk to the Doc. He'll be conservative, to be sure, but he'll give you info you need to know to make decisions that could affect the rest of your life. Unless you get an answer here from a spinal doc who has looked at your spinal MRI, i'd ignore it. See a Doc! Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

+1!!!! Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

As one who is not a rigger but working toward the rating, isn't the answer that you pack IAW the manufacturer's instructions? What do I know, anyway? Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Every student should have an altimeter, tandem, AFF, SL, or whatever. Altitude awareness is the single most important competence in skydiving. Not everyone needs to look at an altimeter to judge altitude, but if you don't have one, you have no way to confirm where you are. $160 bucks is not that costly that a student should not have an altimeter, IMO. I am starting a DZ and I have purchased 6 student altimeters and I am flying 1 C-182. My $.02. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

I went with a couple of experienced jumper friends to see a different DZ. We were welcomed and invited to participate in several large RW jumps, with varying degrees of success, but we had a great time. I would definitely recommend Chambersburg for fun jumpers to jump. Everyone was very welcoming and it was a low key fun place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

People seem to be more comfortable with gray haired airline pilots. I should think that the same may hold for TI's. Doesn't help me much though . . . I shave my head. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

Know the cloud clearances and all the D specific rules (min deployment altitude, min cut-away altitude, min landing area size) and you are more than half way home. Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208 AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures