voilsb

In the next couple of weeks I'm moving near Baytown, TX. I'm considering the Pasadena / Deer Park area. In typical traffic, how far are those areas (Pasadena, and Baytown) from Spaceland? What about Ground Rush Skydiving? I understand they're in a temporary location right now. Also, what about finding a decent place to live in that area? Any tips? See you in the skies! Brian Brian

Hey, how long are you in the area? I just got in for a few weeks myself. Brian

Alright, I'm passing from beneath the perpetual raincloud tomorrow (Wednesday) Should I hit up Skydance in Davis, or Lodi? How active are they gonna be on a Wednesday afternoon in January? Edit: Also, how active are Skydive Taft, Elsinore, and/or Perris on Thursdays this time of year? Brian

I'll be in ZHills that weekend (and a few days on either side). Dunno if anything special's going on, but I'll be there Brian

I didn't skydive at the time, but I took my R&R leave to Australia last February. Awesome. Definitely worth going. Like I said, I didn't jump at the time, so I don't know where the best jumping there is, but I'm sure someone will offer some advice. Do you own your own gear yet? If so, do you want it with you on your vacation? That might limit where you can go. Brian

Hi guys, I'm moving from Washington to Houston, TX next week, and I plan to stop at some DZs along the way. I plan to stop by Lodi, Elsinore and/or Perris, Eloy, San Marcos, ZHills, and Spaceland. My rough estimated itinerary is: Lodi: 7-9 Jan SoCal: 8-10 Jan Eloy: 9-11 Jan San Marcos: 11-13 Jan, 23-31 Jan ZHills: 14-22 Jan Spaceland: From 1 Feb for the next 3+ years. Most of the dates are flexible. My ZHills trip is set in stone, because I already paid for the flight. The start dates for each location are the earliest date I'll be there, and the last date is the last day I can be there. I already know some people at ZHills, because that's where I did my AFF and A license, but I'd still like to meet other people there to jump with. And I don't know anybody at the other DZs I'm visiting, so I'd obviously love to hear from you all, to have people to jump with, and recommendations if it's even worth a visit (for example, should I bother stopping at Lodi on a Wednesday/Thursday?). I look forward to meeting ya'll and jumping at your dropzones! Blue Skies, Brian Brian

I don't care if that's true or not. It's funny. Brian

I wish the government would just leave well-enough alone. Brian

Like I really needed a reason to sell my G9 and buy a G10 ... and yes, that was the first thing that came to mind when I read the announcement that the G10 was being released. Brian

Not advice, but an anecdote from my (limited) experience: I'm about 200 lbs without gear right now, so my exit weight is about 225. During my A license progression my instructors downsized me from a Navigator 280, to a Nav260, 240, 220, and then 200. Then they downsized me to a Spectre 190. Through the progression, I didn't notice much of a difference from 280 to 240. The 220 seemed noticeably faster than the 240+, and the 200 was noticeably faster than the 220. The 200 also seemed to land better/easier than the 220, which seemed better/easier to land than the 240+. The Spectre 190 didn't seem much different from the Nav 200. I don't really know why. Maybe it was a fluke, or maybe I just didn't know how to notice. They (my instructors and S&TA) suggested the first rig I buy have a 190 main, and that I'd probably stick with it for quite a while. Anyways, at this point I changed dropzones (major geographic shift), and started jumping a Silhouette 190. It was fun, not really any different from what I was used to jumping. Easy to fly, easy to land. I jumped a Sil210 a couple of times, and it seemed be about the same. I jumped a Fusion 190 and a Sabre 170, and they seemed pretty similar, too. I ended up buying a Sabre2 190, and it's *much* more snappy/reactive than the Silhouette 190. There's about 800 times more power in the flare, It planes out more/longer at the start of the flare, and you have to more gently bleed off airspeed prior to landing in the second stage of the flare. I have no idea what jumping a Sabre2 170 would be like, but I know just going from Silhouette to Sabre2 at the same size drastically changed the flight characteristics I was experiencing. Just saying, if you're going from a Silhouette 190 to a Sabre2 170, you'll probably notice a difference. If your instructors and S&TA are suggesting it, trust them over the internet, since they have seen you fly and land, and we have not. Me personally, I'm glad I didn't drop in size, too, since just the planeform change was noticeable. Brian

Hey, my parents and brother live in New Braunfels ... that would be nice for me, I think, but not so nice for them. Because I'd always blow all my money at a tunnel whenever I would visit ... Brian

Out of curiosity, how many instructors per student for a normal 6-hour FJC? How long do you think it could safely be shortened if it was two AFF-Is per student, so each student could go at his own pace? I know my FJC (5 1/2 hours, one instructor for 6 students) could have been about two hours shorter, if one of the students wasn't there. A lot of material got repeated just for him, while the rest of us were ready to move on. I've heard of very safe, successful 4-hour FJCs with one instructor for 4 students. So 2:1 you get *very* personalized instruction, and lots of personal attention. Brian

Somehow, I wasn't on that list. Brian

Cool enough. I was asked where I got that idea, so I found it, though. I wonder if there are other people who learned back then, who never learned that they now count? Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. Because even if you had 75 static line jumps (really slow learner) that didn't used to count, that was 15 years ago. By now those 75 jumps probably don't make much of a difference, since you'd probably have over 1,000 jumps in those 15 years. And seriously, who cares about the difference between 1,037 jumps versus 1,112 jumps? Brian

Found it. I heard it from reading Wendy Faulkner's Log, where it says "For those non-static liners out there, the reason these jumped are lettered, not numbered, is because static line jumps don't count towards licenses, only freefall ones." Brian

Hey, I just found out I'm moving to Houston at the beginning of February. So expect to see me in the area, too! Brian

I've heard from some people that (if you do static line progression) static line jumps don't count toward license requirements, either. I've also heard that they do. It doesn't apply to me, but it did make me curious. Anyone know the bottom line? Brian

I think the B has it's place pretty well, at least if you travel to different DZs from time to time. It tells them you didn't do AFF yesterday, so your skills are more solid than an A or an A card, but they're probably not super. It says you know how to safely jump with other people, you can reasonably land where you want to, and you might not die if you land out, especially in water. It also opens up night jumps and higher altitudes, and it might be easier to get on 4-way or bigger skydives at places you're visiting. Brian

That reminds me. The PD Website says 270 lbs for a student on a Nav-280. It says 254 for the Nav-260. It suddently drops to 180 for the Nav-240, but recommends up to 192 for a "Novice" on that canopy. Brian

By the way, I did my AFF and got my A license in 2 weeks there. Probably could have done it faster, but I took a couple of gorgeous Saturdays off to enjoy quietly, too. Brian

(14 stone) + (12 pounds) = 208 pounds, + gear is gonna be about 235. At my current DZ, you'd be jumping a 260 or smaller if you were on solo status, just making jumps to finish up your license. Possibly even as small as a 220, but most likely a 240. That's a little bit more than my exit weight, and I was jumping Spectre 190s and Navigator 200s when I was finishing up my A license. Edited to correct for understanding. Brian

I did my AFF and got my A at Skydive City. I recommend them. Very professional, fun, clean, knowledgeable, experienced. Brian

Haha, I asked this question on the google group. Short answers are: "yes" and "hopefully, but not yet" Brian

The things that hinder me from going more often are: Earlier Sunsets. Crappy Winter Weather Work Schedule. If the sun would set later, if the weather was more cooperative (overcast at 500' generally means no jumping), and if I got off work earlier, I'd go more often. Brian

I can't wait!!! I'll be at a friend's for actual Thanksgiving, but after that I'll be up there. Oh, I'm used to jumping a Super Caravan or a Twin Otter, but I did both my night jumps out of a 182. Brian