jim_32766

Congrats on the new chute. I went that route too, only with a Sabre2 v a Pulse. As many have said - have fun packing. Even with the hybrid ZP and lowP, you'll probably find it much tougher than the old chutes we all trained on when learning to pack. I really struggled the first several pack "attempts" with mine. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Careful scout, you're going to get all the chicks in a dither with lines like that! Welcome to the forum and good luck as you continue on to your A license! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Sounds like you have a pretty good opportunity to try skydiving; a supportive wife, boss that is a tandem instructor, and close to Eloy. Not many have that combination. I started in my 40s too and have been enjoying every minute. Let us know how your first jump goes and what you think. Like most you will probably be hooked! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Welcome to the forum from another pilot turned skydiver. Back when I was learning to fly I couldn't have imagined climbing out the door at altitude. Now it's what I imagine all the time and do as much as possible. Have fun working on the A license! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Unless you have otherwise granted permission, another person has no legal right to take and use your possessions. In addition, you may incur liability regarding their safety while they use your gear. I would have been upset. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I think an attractive woman can have a more difficult time meeting Mr. Right. They can appear to be, or actually be, so busy weeding through all the attention from many suitors that Mr. Right may be put off, and not even approach. The woman can also be affected by all the attention, thus impeding her ability to recognize Mr. Right. I guess I basically agree with your assumption, but think it can go even further. Too many choices, and too much attention, may diminish the probability of finding Mr. Right. Of course this is a generalization. Each woman is unique and some may handle the situation better than others. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Your safest and wisest choice on this one is to head to your local DZ and talk to the people who currently serve as AFFIs. I know students do sometimes accomplish the goals of more than one AFF level in a single jump, and the AFFIs have the knowledge as to whether or not it's warranted in your case. Of course, the tunnel does little for canopy training, and landings are important too. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I have less experience with booties than most people that have replied but the one thing I can share is that you don't want booties too loose. If you point your toes as far as you can and the booties are not tight, you can get some uncontrolled input from them and struggle with flight. I had to have the booties on my recent RW suit "shortened" twice before they were truly controllable. Blue skies. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

As you can see from my jump number I am pretty new to the sport. Still, I have experienced a loss of someone I knew. The guy that filmed by tandem and later my AFF graduation jump died landing out. It does make you think a little about the reality of the risks associated with skydiving. But as many have said, you are going to go sometime and you can sit around and wait for that eventuality or get out there and live. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I did my AFF training at Deland and have nothing but positive things to say about the instructors and the whole experience. You should be able to get a feel for the place and the people by visiting the DZ. Hope to see you there. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congratulations!!! What a great feeling. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I wear the soft foam earplugs from before take-off until just after I land. I can still hear my ProTrack alarms just fine with the plugs in. They are a very cost effective way help reduce hearing damage. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Wow - what a condescending post! And then you tell him to go talk to AFF instructors, which is exactly where we "youngsters" advised him to go. Were you thinking our advice to check into the AFF course would somehow have him bypass the AFFIs or their input? Posts # 2, 3, and 4 were indeed "skydiving advice to a student" by people not yet remotely qualified to give it; most definitely more than simply advising the OP to speak to his instructors. One of those posts was made by a person who, as of this date, has never jumped yet. FYI, Andy (popsjumper), a long-time jumper and well-respected instructor who you just treated very disrespectfully, is consistently sensible and non-condescending on these boards. You are completely off-base in thinking his post was condescending; in fact, it was spot on. I strongly urge you to take a deep breath and reconsider, not just your post, but your attitude. Advising someone to go to a medical clinic or to see a doctor is far from providing medical advice. Likewise, advising someone to look into AFF is far from giving skydiving advice. I believe most people can tell the difference. I for one hope all new skydivers, experienced skydivers, young skydivers, old skydivers, and even whuffos promote our sport by encouraging those that have an interest in learning to skydive to look into AFF. Doing so puts the person safely into the hands of AFFIs and potentially expands participation in skydiving. Why would any of us discourage someone from providing that promotion? Why would we tell the recipient to "ignore it"? The value and validity of that encouragement have no relation to jump numbers of the source. I further hope the OP did indeed check into AFF, and then encourages others that have in interest in learning to skydive to do the same, regardless of the OP's jump numbers at the time he provides that encouragement. Such promotion, and my earlier response defending it, is entirely "on-base". If condescending responses have a place at all, let's save them for situations where newbies are truly providing skydiving advice, and bad advice at that, e.g. advising canopy downsizing too rapidly. True harm could come from such advice, to the recipient and to our sport in general. We all look for the voice of experience to step into those situations and help. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Some of the better known and/or larger DZs usually will act as the trusted third party. The money and the item for sale have to be in control of the third party. When and if the item for sale passes inspection the third party passes the money to the seller and the item to buyer. They usually charge a fee for this service of course. If you have shipping involved make sure the terms regarding who pays for shipping to/from is also agreed upon in advance. People interested in a sound business transaction usually have no problem with this approach. If someone refuses to use a trusted third party or won't provide full information, walk away. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Wow - what a condescending post! And then you tell him to go talk to AFF instructors, which is exactly where we "youngsters" advised him to go. Were you thinking our advice to check into the AFF course would somehow have him bypass the AFFIs or their input? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I don't know your specifics but you might try equalizing your ears when first under canopy. You can do that again after landing. It might help keep the pressure differential from getting too extreme. As always, your mileage may vary. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Welcome to the world of skydiving and to the forums! Many people enter into AFF without doing any tandem jumps. I think doing one tandem is a good way to get over the fear of getting out of the plane. After that, if you are planning to learn to skydive, I'd go to AFF, not more tandems. You are ready! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the license and welcome to the insanity! Do a lot of research and jump a few different canopies before deciding on gear. Let us know how it goes. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

You dug deep for this thread - it was nearly 6 years old until resurrected today. Even if your air speed were down 7mph, from 120mph to 113mph, think about the difference in your body position. In the track your head will be pointed away from the opening canopy, and your feet toward it. Your body will get rapidly snapped 180 degrees. When you are in normal boxman position with no horizontal speed, your body will only transition through 90 degrees during deployment. All instructors I've had say to not deploy in a track. Regarding the horizontal speed component, take a look at the following site to see what is being recorded by GPS. Of course, you could always get the type of GPS used for this and measure your track. http://www.trackingderby.com/ You notice via the data on that site that people achieve better than 1:1 glide ratio in RW suits. If you are doing this then your 113mph number could be much higher, and even more dangerous. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Don't be too hard on yourself and definitely make it to the tunnel when you can. You will be able to completely focus on just the one task, without any distraction, plus have a coach right there with you. I'll bet you fix the spin in the first 60 seconds of tunnel time. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Sorry to hear of the landing lesson, but glad to hear you are ok and back in the sky. Yes, the timing of the flare is very important, and it can take several jumps with the same canopy to start to get it consistently right. Most of us get a few grass stains and bumps as we progress along the learning curve. As others will tell you, it's a good idea to open relatively high and really learn the flight envelope of the canopy. That practice will help develop more of a "feel" regarding how the canopy will behave. You will find that different canopies vary greatly in their responsiveness and strength of flare. Blue skies! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I've made only ~30 jumps with a ProTrack. The only one that it didn't record was a hop-n-pop where I deployed pretty quickly on exit. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

[replyI don't think that will happen, she doesn't have a very high opinion of skydivers. Wow, she's cute AND smart? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on that first jump! Only problem with making that first jump is that you are probably hooked now. Noticed your user name. Are you from Hawaii fiveoh? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Welcome to the skydiving insanity! You are so right about all the people who say they'd like to try skydiving someday. The problem is that their "someday" is not likely to occur in this lifetime. Like my tagline says, you have to make life have meaning. Get out there and build those experiences! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.