narcimund

I've had the same thing happen when I've tightened my leg straps carelessly. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Well, I just got my brand new Safire 2 from Icarus and the logo patches on the stabilizers have the old "Safire" logo. When I talked with Icarus they said they just haven't gotten in the new logos yet, so they're using up the old ones on the new canopies. I can't exactly say I doubt this, but I'm withholding judgement. If I were more of an expert in canopy design perhaps I could compare them and be sure the canopy I'm holding is different than the old one I was jumping. No huge deal either way, I suppose. It's a drag that I'll have to answer the same stupid question twenty dozen times in the next several years: "If you got the Safire 2 why doesn't it say so on the side?" It could also be trouble if I ever try to sell it later. It's not the best marketing decision I've ever seen a company make. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

My main showed up today too. :) Safire2 149! "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Fascinating question. It's been on my mind lately too. I started skydiving in 1984 at a small DZ in Oregon that no longer exists. I jumped fairly regularly for several years, then stopped when I got distracted other things. I just started again last year, so there's been a great big gap in between. I was interested to see what had changed while I was gone. Let's see... equipment is much more sophisticated of course. There was no such thing as a Cypres. There were AADs, but at least at my DZ they were frowned upon as sissy training wheels. Everyone was scared of them too. They had a nasty habit of opening at the wrong time. Parachutes were less exciting by a long shot. ZeroP fabric was rare. Canopies were bigger then. (I jumped a 200 and most people I knew did too.) Very few people did swoops and the few who attempted the dreaded hook turn got hurt just like they do now. Wingsuits were unheard of. Everyone KNEW that a wingsuit or anything like it would kill you. They'd killed nearly everyone who had every tried them and we were all past that. Round mains were rare 20 years ago, except for students. I had about 35 round jumps until I bought my 200 foot square "Unit". Almost everyone had round reserves. Wrist altimeters were a new thing. Everyone wore theirs on a triangular pillow on their chest strap. Fancy helmets didn't exist. Frap hats and Protecs were it. No tandem. No freefly. AFF was just getting started. Accuracy was still a real sport. So was freestyle. All judging was done from the ground with a spotting scope. There was no GPS so sometimes if the clouds were heavy we'd get spotting instructions by radio from the DZ owner on the ground. He could tell from the sound if we were overhead. Well, sometimes he could tell... Spotting mattered. In fact. If you had a reserve ride (under a round) you REALLY cared if the spot were good. We would throw wind drift indicators to judge the exact wind from 3000 to the ground so we could pick the exact exit point. The goal was that you'd drift onto the target. We jumped the same planes, did the same 4-way belly fly RW, drank beer afterwards, told lame jokes. The only thing I see different about the culture now is that it's a bit more flamboyant and fashionable. There's maybe more excitement about the equipment and less about the thrill of just being there. New digital cameras and elliptical parachutes and wild fabric jumpsuits maybe mean more these days than the gear we had then mattered to us. But only a little bit... everyone still showed off their new toys. One thing I remember fondly is jumping with Roch Charmet. At the time he was the world record holder for most jumps. I think he had 15,000 more or less. He was a crotchety old Frech fellow with a mission. He jumped hard every day. Jump jump jump. Always from 2,000' because it was cheaper and didn't take as long. He could get more jumps in that way. As I remember, he was the only person licenced to open at 1,500'. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough even for him and he died at my DZ (I think in 1986.) Skydiving is still analog, even if some people get digi-happy with their toys. I think it will always be that way.

I've been looking at some paragliding setups. I don't have any recommendations yet, but if anyone's interested, do a google search on "helmet radio". "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Um, thanks for the advice. I've been in the same relationship for over three years and it's going just fine. Both of us have interests which we've shared. Some have stuck and some have wandered. Thank god we're not basing our togetherness on liking the same hobbies. Relationships based on interests are probably great for a year or so. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Simple: I want to communicate with my skydiving partner while under canopy. Maybe I'll say, "Look at that beautiful sunset." Maybe I'll say, "Let's fly circles around each other." Maybe I'll say, "Look out! You're about to run into me." Maybe someday we'll do crew together. Basically, it's just to open communication. Who knows where it will lead? "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Is there such a thing as air to air radio on the market? I'm talking about helmet mounted two-way radios for use after opening. Has anyone assembled such a thing themselves? There are decent FRS radios that could be mounted to a camera helmet, I suppose. Anyone got advice about it? "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

I can't see that it's a critical decision. I mean, whether or not your partner shares your hobby (even a great big powerful one like skydiving) shouldn't be a make-it-or-break-it consideration. A relationship shouldn't be based on silly "joint interests" like musical tastes, fashion, hobbies, etc. Those things come and go. On the other hand, my boyfriend and I jump together and I love it. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

A month ago I ordered a Safire. A couple of days later Icarus announced the Safire2. I called and found out I could choose either one. I chose the newer. Why? Because I like the original and I like the description of the update. If it's what they claim, I'll enjoy it more than I do the original. What if the update isn't what they claim? Then I have 30 days to send it back for a full refund. Icarus' return policy makes up for the lack of history in my mind. And this is extra encouragement to make a LOT of jumps in the next four weeks! "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Who says they're not selling? I ordered mine a couple of weeks ago. Turns out I'm getting one of the first Safire2s. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

This weekend I made jump # 207. Considering my 7 static line jumps, I now have the minimum freefalls for a D. I think I have everything else covered (night jumps, accuracy, etc.) Theoretically I can take the test and USPA will issue the new number. Here's the problem: 177 of the 207 jumps were more than 10 years ago. I just returned to the sport last fall. So while I have made over 200 jumps, only 30 of them are since 1990. The result? While I feel perfectly safe in the air, I'm HARDLY an advanced skydiver. I used to do reasonably well for someone with a couple of hundred jumps, but that was in the 80s. Now I know how to fall stable, pull the right handle, play around for 4 minutes, then flare for landing. But don't count on me successfully docking on your 4-way. I doubt I could get within 5 meters of the target without luck. I'm not standing up all of my landings yet. So I think I'm going to hold off on getting that licence upgrade. Even though I could have it, I'd feel like I was cheating. The INTENT of the thing is that it should mark a skydiver's skill and knowledge levels, and I certainly don't qualify for those. Now I just have to figure out what to tell people at the DZ who ask how many jumps I have. If they ask before they see me jump, they get unrealistic expectations. If they ask me AFTER they see me jump, they wonder why I'm such a screwup with that much experience. "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Nothing fancy about this place -- just enthusiasm and good attitude. Urban and Whitney are the heart and soul of it all and they'll make you feel great about coming here. With three airplanes flying there's very little waiting for a ride, and there's always plenty of jumpmasters and video guys for the students. The growth rate here is remarkable, too. Oh, and despite what you've heard, Oregon doesn't rain all the time. We have the most lovely, mild summer and fall weather from May through October. Perfect!

Sorry, that was rude. It's just this apostrophe thing everyone is suddenly doing is driving me crazy! "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

My only correction is the spelling of "ships". "Flying without feathers is not easy; my wings have no feathers" -- Titus Maccius Plautus, 220 B.C.

Don't know if this is interesting enough for a thread, but it's unusual at least. 18 years after my first jump, I just got my first licence. Qualified for C back in 1985, but somehow never saw a point to spending two jumps' price on a beaurocrat's permission to call myself a skydiver. Later I stopped jumping for ten years. Now I'm jumping again and the income's better so I have a different view of what $20 can buy. I finally dropped the paperwork in the mail and got my C#32366. (If I'd done it back in '85 I suppose I'd have a C# under 10,000 and people would think I was cool.)

Go Whitney!