Beachbum

I'm finding that once inside both the forums themselves, and posts, I continually have to scroll sideways to see entire posts instead of them wrapping as they used to ... is there something I can set to stop this? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Hey Dave ... get hold of a rig so you can make some skydives, or just swooping? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I may be a little mean hearted relative to this since they caused a place that I really liked to close, but when Todd posted that article on FB and I read that they are now losing money, my first reaction was of joy ... LOL! If I remember correctly, I was told that the dz was the largest fuel purchaser on the airport. It will be interesting to watch this unfold, especially if they do spend the money to lengthen the runway. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I vote for Pop's Mason jar! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

based on this from his original post: "something I'm scared of without even starting to jump!" .... I'm guessing zero? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

It's part of the instructor's job to NOT influence your stability in a negative way. If you have doubts, I'd suggest that you talk with the person who jumped with you about it and see what they have to say. If it was a fall rate issue, the instructor should make sure you jump with someone who can float with you on your next jump. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I agree about the student learning, and that a coach shouldn't NEED to use grips to maintain proximity. As for staying close on exit, it seems to me the coach ought to be sufficiently decent at flying themselves to stay close without needing grips to do so? That kind of thing is one reason I waited as long as I did to bother getting the rating. But that said, I'm sure there are more dz's than just the one where I jump the most that have their training program set up with a lot of the post AFF jumps having a gripped exit. The thinking I was told about this is that the less time you waste getting together after exit, the more time they have to work on the goals for that particular jump. The jumps using it are all set up with a star exit, some with coach in, some with student in. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

First, a question. Are you talking about exit, or during freefall? I very recently got my coach rating, and I couldn't remember this being discussed, so out came the IRM and ISP/SIM. I couldn't find anything one way or the other except for a mention in the ISP category G that says "Main lift web and chest strap grips are counterproductive for most belly-to-earth exits." If the poll is about exits .... To be honest, I can't see any reason TO use one, on the dive flows for the coach jumps, but also don't know offhand any reason not to if you really wanted to for some odd reason. Harness grips are quite common on RW jump exits. I'm curious as to why it would be considered a problem doing so with a coached student? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Thanks much for the link ... a good read! I noted one thing about it near the top, that the PIA Technical Committee concluded ... "Both of these studies, while encouraging, were felt to be inconclusive" ... basically saying that more thorough testing should be done. After reading through it all, I think the results are likely pretty accurate for the combinations tested, but do agree that I'd like to see a wider variety of combinations tested. I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet that more HAS been done, just maybe not by the same group? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

No, I wasn't thinking it would fly circles around the other or anything that drastic, but as you state, in that situation gentle input, and as little as possible, is likely best. It just seems to me that if they're flying about the same speed with brakes stowed, why mess with that. I DO understand that the testing has been done, etc. ... Just so I could understand their logic I'd like to see what their results were in that situation (meaning, with 2 similarly sized canopies flying well together), for both leaving brakes stowed and not. To me, the logic is there for in a biplane, but a side by side? It just seems that keeping the speed of the 2 as similar as possible would be a good thing, and assist toward the goal of minimal input? I hope to never find out firsthand! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Question about the SIM part below: Side-by-side procedure 2: Land both canopies. (1) Release the brakes of the dominant canopy (larger and more overhead) and steer gently with the toggles. (2) Land without flaring and perform a parachute landing fall. If the 2 are flying relatively stable together, why would you want to release brakes on one and thus allow it to start flying faster, as opposed to leaving brakes stowed (thus maintaining their speeds relative to one another) and steering with rear risers? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

contact RI and ask 'em! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Can't beat the mix (assuming the gulf cooperates, that is!) ... waves and skydiving!! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Thanks for the input (spot on, btw!), everyone! As expected, the course instructor who is also an S&TA replied with the "never" train of thought. I even asked about a situation in which I think I might be more likely to risk going against training, which would be a currency jump with someone jumping a rig without an AAD. ... same answer ... a resounding NO! oh ... and yes, I did pass the course, beer will be there next weekend! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

This brings up a point that is of interest to me since I am about to take a coach course (and I will be sure to ask about this scenario!). I know that a coach is not trained, nor supposed to, pull for someone. But if a coach is on a jump with someone who has obviously frozen up, is he/she required to back off and depend on an AAD to save their locked up student? If the coach DOES move in and pull for the student, would their rating be pulled? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

thank you, thank you! Had to check up on our local celeb in the making, JP ... he did great, finishing 5th, in amongst the pros! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Anyone know if the scores are posted somewhere yet? I tried the FLCPA site, and there is a link that says it's them, but it brings up the scores from meet 4 instead of meet 5. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I know John Rich does accuracry ... hopefully he'll find this and post. I THINK he jumps a Classic when he competes, but he's pretty danged good with his Triathlon! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

My packer rarely does anything to deserve a tip, but if he does, I just transfer a few $$ from my left pocket to my right ... As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I think that for any of us, it's a sliding scale. The stronger the wind, the less difference between steady wind and gusts we're willing to risk. That said, up to a point, the more experience you have, the higher that gets for most people. I'm just a fun jumper, but I'd guess that a 7 mph spread with the top end at 14 would not be considered a problem at most dz's landing areas even for students. Edit to add: ... not sure about your jump #'s. If still a student, your instructors aren't likely to let you jump in something they don't think you're ready to handle. If you're no longer technically a student, but in doubt ... you can still check with your instructors, since they probably have a pretty good feel for how you are progressing. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Preface with, I'm not an instructor or anything, so grain of salt! Not that I would recommend it to anyone (I would NOT, now that I know better!), but I went from a 215 student canopy to my Tri 160. The dz didn't have any smaller student gear. I was supposed to do some jumps on a borrowed 190 in between, but the guy who owned it never seemed to make it out when I was there to do so. So, after much discussion with those in the know, jump # 20 was on my own gear at 1:1. No problems as a result, but I now realize how fortunate I was for that to be the case. I don't think that large a change would happen on most dz's these days. I don't see going from an F-111/zp to a conservative canopy like a tri with full zp to be an issue. If your instructors are ok with you going to your Tri ... why not? If you are nervous about that, I figure your best bet would be to go ahead and do a few jumps on the 220 instead of going straight to your 210. It sure won't hurt you to do it, and it decreases the size change a little bit, at least, plus keeps you on a similar style canopy for the size change. Then, when you do go to the tri, the main change would be the canopy type itself, since 10 sq ft isn't all that big a change in itself at that size. edit/typo correction As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

Well, we've got SDH folks, Spaceland folks, a few from San Marcos, at least one from West Texas ... nobody from Temple or the Dallas area yet, I don't think. Where are y'all?? ... ;) ... If you're a native, come play with us! As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I like the section from the Sabre owner's manual ... "If the wing loading is greater than 1.0 lbs./sq.ft. you are exposing yourself to a dangerous situation" ... and then goes on to say that PD doesn't recommend anyone jump a canopy exceeding a 1.0 loading! That would eliminate what ... 70% or more of their market these days?? As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I'd have to figure they use different modelling software, or else have different data that they input TO their model. SDH is now a weatherbug site, which you can see at: http://weather.weatherbug.com/TX/Eagle%20Lake-weather.html?zcode=z6286&stat=p10686 None of them get it right all of the time, but the two I've found to be the most reliable wind forecasts are Intellicast.com (enter city/state, or zip), and USAirnet.com http://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/code.cgi?Submit=Go&sta=KDWH&state=TX As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

I think there is still a thread in Swooping & Canopy Control about them. As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?