humbled1

imo a 210 would be more suitable for a new jumper of your weight. Of course I have am still loaded at 1.0 but I love my canopy and still have a ton to learn about flying it. I have taken 2 canopy courses and both times I was amazed at what I didn't know. If you weigh 190 thats about 215 out the door so with a 190 you would be at a 1:1.13 check this out: http://www.bigairsportz.com/pdf/bas-sizingchart.pdf according to this guy (who may actually know a thing or two about parachutes) you should have about 180 jumps before you even jump a 190. good luck "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

lmao, yeah I bought one BEFORE my FJC!! pretty dumb looking back, but after my tandem I knew I was in the right place. I wanted to log EVERY jump and so far I have. I now have an AltiTrack, an Optima, and a Viso (on my chest) My seal and face are really messed up after crashing into the packing tent last year, I have glued the seal but I need to send it in, but I dont want to jump w/o it! PS my favorite thing about the Viso is the clock, at anytime on the plane, freefall, or under canopy, its ez to see! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Well there's ur problem..... I hear that skool stuff costs lots of jumps, just take a year or two off, ull go back I swear!! Seriously just pick up something used. I got an Icon and a Smart Reserve 160 both less than 3 years old for 1700 bux, gave teh guy 900 down and he let me make payments over the next few months but gave me the rig. I was then GIVEN a Sabre 170, which I got a new line set for right away. I got very lucky but imo best deals are from a friend or a friends friend or sumthing like that!! good luck "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

+1 WOW, I just found the feedback forum for the first time in order to leave the same suggestion for the same reason "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

it has changed my life, and it all started with a tandem for me. I suggest a tandem first, only because I truly believe its a good idea for anyone interested in learning to skydive. I wont get into the details in a public forum, but yes, I suffer from a similar disorder and for me if I do get "down" I just don't jump, and really just cuz when I feel "down" nothing seems fun, not even jumping. lol but as you can see the "down" periods have been pretty rare lately seeing as I have been jumping my ass off for the last 4 months. (I got my A last spring but since Feb '09 I have done about 125 jumps) I can honestly say skydiving has changed my life completely, and not just when I am at the dz, its affected everything I think or do! btw, I am 41 now, my daughter who I did my first jump with, (a tandem, well we were on the plane together) is 20. She has 34 jumps and works at the pro shop at our dz. I have done about 4 jumps with her so far. Even better this Saturday we are both working for the dz, she will be gearing up the tandems, and I will train them, and for the that 5 jumps each!! I love my DZ! fyi, after our tandem, I came back 3 months later, jammed thru my A, got a rig, and got her thru AFF and eventually she got her A (teenage girls dont do ANYTHING fast!) anyways I suggest a tandem for you both then see where it goes, some peeps come down and seem to not be impressed, while most people like it; only a few like it enuff to get their A lic. good luck and the best to both u and ur daughter

I own a sabre 170 and I have put about 150 jumps on it in the last 8 months. When can I expect the back problems to start? My openings are quite nice (tho like all skydivers, I do have a brisk one from time to time) Just wondering how many jumps you have on a sabre 1? If you take the time to do a proper pack job and good body position at pull time, you may find that most of what your saying is hype. I am not saying no one has gotten spanked by a sabre 1, but to say they all open hard is just plain wrong. And I am sure other canopies can open hard as well and I got an even better price, FREE! (thanks again Montana!), I put a new lineset on before jumping it and couldn't be happier! EDIT: I had not read your second post, if I only got what I paid for, then I got nothing!! just some lines to slow me. My canopy is a dream to pack, opens nice, on heading, and I can land it perfectly even in the dark (literaly) Minds are like parachutes, the only work when opened (and you need to pull brother) "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

+1 (freeflyers first?? wtf?? I say find a new dz, bad enuff u fuks drive on the wrong side of the road, now u gonna exit backwards too?) tell the dude that bitch'd; "plan the dive, dive the plan" he fucked up, ez to see from here. Relax tho, the one thing about this sport I know, no matter what you do, someone will whine and bitch.. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

There are a few reason to go used as far as a rig goes. The downsizing is one issue for sure, plus you can always resell the gear for close to what you paid once you are ready to downsize. Good luck! edit: decided my first response was to off topic "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I am down in So Cal, I jump at Elsinore. I am so hooked on jumping my wife is convinced I am having an affair with someone down there. This morning she said maybe I am not actually seeing someone but I am obviously interested in someone or I would not be at the DZ so much. So funny, I've told her I understand I spend too much time and money on jumping but it has NOTHING to do with anyone else. Ironically, if I named the top 5 people I most want to see at the DZ, none of them are female, hmmm...maybe she should be worried "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Dustin, Like I said before the jump, most of the time RW doesnt go as planned, but the ones that do, well its a pretty bitchin feeling!! I will edit the footage and send you a link to d/l it. I am waiting for it to clear up and I will be doing some jumps this morning, I just gotta get back before the wife gets home from work!! btw, June 14th is the next Excel belly camp, so if you can make it that day, it would be a good idea! Cya, Steve "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I started skydiving only cuz my daugther had been bugging me to do a tandem since she was 14. When she turned 18 in 07 that xmas I got us both a jump. 3 months later (march 08) I was getting my A and now she has 34 jumps and works at the DZ. This was only going to be a one time thing, so I thought. I was wondering what DZ you are jumping at? Regardless, I hope your training goes well! btw, I like what you said in another thread about the feeling of empowerment, each time I jump out the door I know its up to me to save my own life, it's the same reason I started doing my own packing awhile ago (I used to hate it, not so bad anymore) its more satisfying when it opens, makes me feel more responsible for my own safety. This is an AWESOME sport! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

lmao sounds like Bill taught you to pack? "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

being scared and unsure is pretty common the first few jumps, tandem or AFF. At one point you had decided to jump or you would have never bought the ticket. Nothing in skydiving has changed, its no more dangerous than it was when you bought the ticket. Tandems are even safer than a solo jump, just do it. The only thing that has changed is in your head. I almost rode my first 10 jumps back down I was so scared, sometimes I WANTED it to be too windy to jump as I drove down to the DZ. The morning I showed up to do level 3 I changed my mind and told everyone I had to goto work but I just went to my buddy's house, I went back the next day and jumped. The point is you can walk through the fear that is gnawing at you. Once you land you will wonder what was so terrifying! Dude my 20 year old daughter has 2 tandems and 33 solo jumps under her belt, trust me you can do this!!!! Good luck, I know you will jump!! (or u never would have bought the ticket imo)!! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I know one registered dzer that the OP is gonna buy beer for; You still doing your check dive tomorrow? I am a bit short on cash this week so I wasnt gonna jump but then I realized people lived for thousands of years without electricity in their homes, so I have re-allocated some funds and I can now jump tomorrow! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Hey I know you!! Well what I mean is I have seen you at Elsinore. I will be there this weekend doing a few jumps on Saturday (hopefully a couple with my daughter!) and maybe stick around for the festivities later on....BUT on Sunday I am taking a canopy course being taught by the Johnathan Tagle, I am stoked as hell about that.... "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

WAY TO GO!!! they were out filming for the time warp show at Elsinore a few months back. I believe they were trying to keep a flame lit while in free fall, something like that, they had all kinds of equipment and such set up... thanks alot!!! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

A buddy of mine wears his rig on his bike from Santa Monica out to Elsinore (about 80 or 90 miles) all the time. Not sure what bike it is but its pretty dam big.. I was amazed that he just wore the rig, no gear bag no nothing. Only thing special he does is stuff the hackey (its the ball type, like a hackey sack) all the way into the pilot chute pouch. I don't ride (way too dangerous imo) but seems ballsy (dumb?) as hell to me (what my buddy does with his rig) but it can be done safely from what I can tell... "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Not sure how it works at other DZs or in other countries, but at Elsinore students cannot use a digital altimeter till they get their A. I purchased my alti before I took my FJC so I got the Altitrack as well. & yes I completely agree with you regarding the manual, I have a Viso that I wear on my mudflap. (which I too, had to remove the portion of the protector over the screen cuz of trouble seeing it.) On saturday night we were doing night jumps and on the way to altitude the light on my visio went off, my altitrack was on tho, got down, packed and turned the light back on, I get on the plane and realize its still on but now reading in meters. Needless to say I just focused on my wrist alti. But to be fair to skydivers (including myself), the L&B manuals are pretty confusing. I did read up on both devices regarding the light function and even brought the roadmaps with me, still was not simple. Just last week a jumper on Level 3 was moaning and bitching they would not let him wear his Viso or Mamba until he gets his A. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

Dustin, if you plan on doing belly for a while after getting your A I suggest you order a nice RW suit with all the major options (Mega booties, big grippers, inside leg grips and extra courda on the booties/knees and butt) The great thing about doing RW at Elsinore is all the free coaching. Besides excel camp they do stuff all the time, just yesterday Julia had a free 4 way camp that had about 15 people participating. As for brands, I only have experience with Tony and Bev suits. From what I have seen, Tony's hold up better than Bev suits. (2 of the guys I jump with have Bev suits and both had booties goto crap) But there are other great brands besides those 2. I am guessing you never got a chance to talk to Melanie last weekend, if you are there this weekend I will hunt her down for you!! btw, there is a canopy course this Sunday being taught by Johnathan Tagle. I dont know if you will be done with your A (u might tho) but since you have that rig u may want to think about it, check out the website. Also dont get zippers or vented booties, if you get the mega booties you dont need zippers and cuz of your build you sure dont want vents. Also whatever brand you get I would consider getting it thru Square1 since Purusha is very good at measuring, she did mine and it fits like a glove. Of course the downside is you will pay tax on the order, most likely would not if you order directly. Good luck and hope to see you soon... Steve btw last night we did 3 loads, last one went up about 10:30pm, I got in two 3-way jumps! Next ones are in July and I hope you will be there!! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

dragon, I actually got a very good price on my HC5, I could not pass it up. I only have 12 jumps with a camera and I am only doing it for fun at this point. Once I get decent and get more serious I will get a Raynox or a Royal, until then I dont feel the need to pay top dollar for a lens that I very well may screw up or even lose. edit: but even with my cheapo lens the footage I have looks awesome. Even on my pc at 1680 x 1050 full screen it looks quite sharp. Much better than any SD footage I have seen. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

also there is Jay Stokes, I have no idea on his jump numbers but he did 640 in one day so he has to be over 10k I would guess. Also I "heard" he will be trying to break his record at some point. "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

I don't know how it will do on your camera but Royal makes a .2 lens. They claim: Our Newest Product Low Profile 0.2x Fish-Eye Lens Ultra High Quality, Ultra WIDE! 180-degree field of view * Super Low Profile (12mm in length, 44mm in diameter) Dual Element, Resilient Glass Construction Durable Anodized Aluminum Casing Low Distortion Fish-Eye Lens Absolutely NO Vignette ('black corners')** Three standard Thread Sizes: 25mm, 30mm and

Big (Bottom) Tittied (Top) Russian (Right) Ladies (Left) Thats how I learned packing, and if I ever forget my icon is numbered beneath the flaps... I had to re-read your post a few times to be sure, I honestly thought most (if not all) rigs used this order, obviously that is not correct, now I know! Thanks for the info! "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."

wow a voice of reason.....in california no less

personally I am hooked on this thread. The beauty is it all started long before I even considered doing a jump. I am disappointed that so many of the recent post have been deleted. I read them before but that was before I launched my own investigation. I have a few questions, who is the imposter (alleged)? Is this related to the OP? If so, how? I have been trying very hard to connect the dots but I believe a few r missing "Tell ya the truth, I don't think this is a brains kind of operation."