KermieCorleone

... and is the adhesive on the adhesive mount sufficiently strong by itself? or is epoxy advised?

I just got a Sony HDRAS20 for Christmas and was wondering if I could/should mount the camera by directly bolting the Sleeve for Sony ActionCam by Cookie Composites to the left side of my Benny helmet or use the curved adhesive mount to put it up right on top of the helmet?

Thanks

anyone jump with mouthguards? I am just about done with ~$1500 dental work to make me look pretty again and my doc recommended I get and use a good mouthguard so I am not back in her chair, I could learn not to fuck it up under canopy but I digress. Anyone jump with a mouthguard? any opinions about jumping with a mouthguard?

brings me into the moment ... Day to day, I am reminiscing about the past, worrying about the future. But the moment I hear "ready, set, go". I am in drawn into the vertex of that moment in time. And after I am done squealing like a little girl at a Justin Bieber concert from the opening shock, I find the calm of being under canopy to be a very soothing contradicting the surge of adrenalin ...

that and I am still hoping that using the line, "I jump out of planes 2.75 miles up in the sky" will get me laid, rather than having to work at it.

Cheers

anyone know where I can get the skydiving music video to Van Halen's jump. The author of the video put it up on skydiving movies but since the website is no more I dont know if there was another location that video was put on?

Cheers

A recent mishap made me review my policy a little closer and found this exclusion:

Quote

The company will not pay benefits for loss or expense incurred: as a result of an accident occurring in consequence of riding as a passenger or otherwise in any vehicle or device for aerial navigation: except as a fare paying passenger in an aircraft operated by a commercial scheduled airline maintaining regular published schedules on a regularly established route

I was wondering how many folks jump while having medical insurance that does not cover skydiving. Anyone ever just tell the EMTs that they "tripped and fell" if they know they are not covered?

I'm with you. I'd love to get better at free flying but I have told myself that I'd like proficiency in belly flying before I change focus to free flying.

I did a canopy course, and I try to practice and work on what I learned/was told to work on from the canopy course. On hop and pops, (so I know I have the landing area all to myself) I practice, flat turns (I still need to get proficiency in these) braked approaches, flying in deep brakes (strange thing about flying in deep brakes is how unsettling the quiteness is). Over 2500 feet I practice collapsing my canopy using both toggles and rear risers, and work on knowing the stall point of the canopy. I try to ask a couple of the "really" experienced guys to do some close proximity flying when we do high pulls, so I am comfortable with other canopies flying close to me. And I work on my pattern and landing accuracy for every jump, fly a predictable pattern without holding brakes or S turns to make it to the X.

"Zoo dives/just fucking around" jumps are fun but I try to have an objective/dive plan for every jump, even if the jumps dont go according to the plan, working towards a planned objective for the entire jump means I always come away learning something or finding out something I need to work on. 2-3 way jumps are best for "working" on belly work and I like to do different drills, fly difficult exits and turn simple points to get better at belly. I jump with the lower experienced jumpers and help them with simple fall rate, or other simple drill I like or something to their preference. These jumps are a lot of fun because not only do they get to work on a skill but because of their lower experience it means I might have to compensate for their lack of experience in turn improving my flying as well.

ask the more experienced guys to give you some drills you can work on. eg: the names might not be the same but here are some drills I have fun with 3/way eggbeater, around the world, no contact RW/ "proximity" RW, burble hopping, 3 way leap frog, simple 90 degree turn and docks and fall rate drills when playing with kids who just got their A.

you can also work on your tracking by once again asking one of the experienced guys to lead a slow granny paced tracking dive and as you get better pump up the speed on later dives. I've found if you can other newbies to tracking and "organize" them, it makes it easier to find and experienced rabbit to lead.

Above all else if show some initiative and enthusiasm about wanting to learn, the experienced guys will every so often through out the weekend will jump with you and teach you nifty tip and tricks about getting better.

After having to unsuccessfully trying to find a first aid kit after I my tumble last weekend, I now see the need to have a kit of my own to keep in my car.

What do you guys keep in your house/car/on you? Any preferences and recommendations?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t62sVHRJJaE

a friend, did it with an SD gopro ... chk out his comments

Check out Crosswind, it might not be short but it displays all the various disciplines in skydiving

Quote

This sport favors smaller, lighter people than taller heavier. That's not to say that a person can't be a success over a wide range of heights and weights, but if you had to pick, smaller and lighter is "better." You can always wear lead if you need to be heavier for a particular skydive, but instantly dropping 20, 30, 40 pounds isn't an option for most people.

I am not skinny by any means (5'6", 160-165lbs) but chasing fatties can be fun at times. some folks might not enjoy the other guy sinking out after every point but I look at that as way for me to improve my flying.

PS: getting down is much easier than getting back up, hopefully I can change that with some more airtime

I'll walk it off

Quote

Welcome to the forums!

Skymama, said it perfectly. I was nervous through out my AFF program but that was more so due to the fact that I could not afford to redo levels LOL ... other than that once you understand how the training and gear works you gain trust in them, which in turn increases your confidence in your ability to work out any problems you might face. + trust in your instructors is key as well. I had the chance to observe the AFFIs at my DZ for a while before having to jump. Even though I knew that in the air my safety was in my hands I knew the instruction and training I was receiving was impeccable.

regarding how you can decide on a DZ, if you have the opportunity, go and hang out at the DZs close to you I am sure no one is going to chase you away but rather gladly answer any questions you might have. + you'll also see which DZ vibe is best suited to you.

Quote

I still remember having about 60 jumps and busting out 12 or 14 points on a 2-way with a friend who had around 1300 or 1400 jumps at the time and was an active 4-way competitor. In the middle of the dive I recall thinking "She's making me look really good right now!"

after I got my A licence I did a few jumps with a few really experienced jumpers and I had a blast but when I did my first 2 way with another fun jumper on the same experience level as me my first thought was, "wot the fuck? why do we suck so bad?"

Quote

One - 4yrs old. In tunnel from 3rd birthday and flies an elliptical.

bwahhahahaha, awesome pix.

26 ... never did a tandem, paid for the entire AFF package in cash upfront ...

Quote

Quote

*edit: damn where'd all these replies come from LOL ...

I do not understand how/why your current DZ is putting off on your A license? I started working on filling out my A license proficiency card as soon as I got off AFF.

Because some large/busy DZ's do not give a shit if you ever get your A or not. Why should they? No one should expect that anyone is ever going to hunt them down and tell you to do this and this and this.

Take the initiative, figure out what you need signed off on, and make sure someone is watching from the ground who has the credentials to sign off on it. A lot of it that you don't get signed off on during your AFF jumps, can be witnessed from the ground. There are only a few items on the card that require a coached jump between graduation of AFF and obtaining your A license.

If you're saying that the dz staff is just not willing to help you after you've asked, take your money elsewhere.

I think something was lost in translation ... I was wondering how the DZ can put it off when the onus is on the jumper (unless you paid for the A license package, then they'll hold your hand the entire way)... I know alot off the instructors and jumpers helped me out but I was the one approaching any and everyone, from the pilot to the instructors, the packers, to other experienced jumpers, whoever could help me get anything completed on my A card.

Quote

Sometimes the closest DZ to where you are isn't the best one for your needs. In this case, I'd have filled-out A and B license cards, and make sure that you stay current until you move to Louisiana, so that you don't have to do a recurrency jump.

Wendy P.

+ if you have both the A and B license cards filled out, you'll only have to pay USPA for the B license and not for both ...

*edit: damn where'd all these replies come from LOL ...

I do not understand how/why your current DZ is putting off on your A license? I started working on filling out my A license proficiency card as soon as I got off AFF.

Print out the A license Proficiency Card from the downloaded online version of the SIM or if you have an actual copy of the SIM, get it from there and try to find a certifying USPA Instructor or a Coach who will help you chk off the requirements.

With regards to buying gear, you cant go wrong with getting the basic Altimaster Galaxy altimeter (or even the Neptune 2) and either a full cut Protec (or Skysystems Benny) helmet, will be useful to you your entire skydiving career (or the life of the gear).

As for getting a jumpsuit, I believe that depends on your budget, as to which one you want to get FIRST because over the period of your skydiving career you'll probably accumulate various diff types of suits but I have been told that a basic belly flying suit is a good first investment. If you are tight on funds look around your DZ you might be able to get a interim used jumpsuit that will work for you on the cheap. You might also get lucky finding a similar size jumpsuit in the classified section here. If you plan on getting a brand new jumpsuit, be sure to have some one who knows what they are doing to take down your measurements for you, or simply ask a friendly experienced jumper/instructor at your DZ to help you out with that.

First time I saw skydivers was in the early 90s at the annual airshow at a small local airport in Nairobi, Kenya. I was in awe how wicked cool it was to see them flying with smoke. And after seeing the movie Dropzone and Point Break, it was a done deal. Even though I had no idea of any details as to how one jumps out of an airplane, I knew that I would one day do "that".

Over the years I thought that maybe only armed forces and the filthy rich were the few who could jump and put the thought jumping on the back burner. Fast forward to ~'06-'07, a friend of mine who just finished AFF asked me if I wanted to come hang out at the DZ to watch him jump. Having nothing to do for the day, I thought I'd tag along and since I was a broke student (still am) I knew I there was no way I was gonna jump anyways. But as soon as I saw the swoopers on first load come down, I was giggling like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. It was done. Tandem was for one hit wonders, I planned on being in this for the long run. I asked for the price list and the discount deals for packages. I knew if I paid for AFF one lvl at a time I was gonna run out of $ and never finish so planned to save up for the entire 'A' package. Took me 2 years, till I had enough for the AFF package. I told myself, "screw this, I'll finish AFF and then figure out how to complete the A license".

Thanks to my DZ's free gear rental Fridays, a little over a year later, still jumping on a shoestring budget I got my B license, and still plan on being in it for the long run with the hopes of eventually earning instructional ratings.

I completed the TLOs for level 5 and level 6 in one jump ...

I can see the benefit of the first one down changing the pattern according to the wind sock but I prefer to have a pre determined pattern before getting out of the plane. Licensed jumpers should be able to know their wind limits and be able to safely land upwind, downwind, crosswind, w/e to the LZ. if the winds are changing direction and speed that drastically that you will only be able to safely land upwind, then you should probably stay on the ground ...

I might be wrong in this but its much nicer when I know for a fact what the pattern is, cause I can fly with the wind changes and turbulence but its just slightly annoying when I am all set up in the pattern and the first one down changes it up, specially when I am second one down ...

dude, just use the student jumpsuits till you get your suit in... they dont mind. least you have yours on order, I was jumping student jumpsuits till like 70 jumps and they were ok with it ...

PS: were you at the DZ yesterday?

I know they are popular with BASE jumpers but I was wondering if anyone on here skydives with the Bellistic fullface? Anyone done any RW with it?

Congrats. now comes the fun part. you get to jump with all the other cool kids in the sky ...

Quote

We were doing 16 way at the Lost Prairie boogie last month. On our second jump the pilot made a series of errors and laumched us off of the plane at 130+kts and a 30 degree downward right turn. It was a pretty crazy launch to say the least. Very violent. I was outside center giving the count. Instantly and with tremendous force we were launched out of the door on "Set". I knocked heads with the inside jumper across from me and was knocked out for 3 or 4 seconds. I have a "Platinum" full face hard shell. The impact put a crack in my helmet about one inch long in two different spots. The jumper I hit lost his face piece and was knocked silly, but not out.
A frap hat or no helmet would have been a disaster. IMHO
Note: the pilot bought the entire 16 way and video man another jump ticket. That was a class thing to do.

I also think that jumpers with full face helmets have a better chance of surviving a crash on take off or some other aircraft problem. IMHO

I was in an Otter and a Skyvan that each had take off issues. Everyone was scrambling to get their helmets on. It amazes me that long time jumpers still don't wear their helmets on take off.

Wear your helmets kids.

Note: I don't wear it in Belize because I have seen a jumper almost drown during a water landing wearing a full face. But I plan on getting an open face hard shell soon for the boogie.

'Platinum" helmet? which company make and model is it?

I currently wear a BandX Protec knockoff and most likely my next helmet will be a protec. If and when I do get a full face helmet I would like to get one with some crush material on the inside not just a shell with a fleece liner like most skydiving helmets. Anyone try jumping with full face downhill mtb/bmx helmets?