thrillstalker

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Posts posted by thrillstalker

  9. i am about your size. 5'10 and 210 lbs.

    put aside all the "you need to loose weight." you need to learn to fly your body. i fall around 109 mph with my suit on in a relaxed arch.

    a lot of people will tell you to hug a beach ball, but you have to figure out what works for you.

    when i am in my slow fall, i drop my knees down around 45 degress with my legs out (basically making a huge cup). i get my arms out in front of me with my shoulders at a 45ish degree angle (elbows even with my ears but about 8 inches below my head). keep you hands cupped close together (or even touching) and you can also turn your toes outward. that way you are presenting more surface area of your feet to the wind, and cupping more air with your hands.

    you have to get the ratio between arms and legs out so you dont backslide or track forward.

    find someone with a fall rate close to yours and get it to where you can fall together easily. then start slowing it down.

    i spent my first 80 jumps as the low man, so dont get discouraged.

    i have a homemade suit that is constructed of cordura. it is hot as hell but really works good. it is pretty baggy too. you might want to get one that is a little long in the legs so it stays baggie when you cinch it down under you leg straps.

    you can see how baggy it is in the attached photo (black and red is me)

    good luck and blue skies
    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  13. i had gotten up to 283 lbs. now i weigh 210 and couldnt feel better. this sport is a great motivator to loose weight. i still fall fast, but not breaking the sound barrier anymore;)

    i pretty much quit drinking soft drinks and only eat fast food when it is necessary. a couple games of disc golf during the week is a decent work out if you pick up the pace and add in some jogging.

    edited to add: i was around 250 255 when i started aff and didnt have to buy my own gear. where i did aff they have a 280.

    good luck and blue skies

    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  15. out of 150 jumps i have seen aircraft traffic three times. of those three only two were planes below us. pilot did a go around and all was well.

    could you or anyone on the load not see the ac prior to exit?

    experienced jumpers, how big is our "blind spot" when spotting for ac? can you have clear skies on exit and 2 minutes later under canopy get buzzed by an ac? wouldn't said ac show up when you spot (if you do it well)?
    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  16. Quote

    Quote

    if you get out at 5,000 feet, you have roughly 25 seconds till your reserve arms.



    Think about this statement. Reserves don't arm, so you're probably talking about the AAD, which arms on the way up.



    yep, thanks for pointing it out.
    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  17. if you get out at 5,000 feet, you have roughly 25 seconds till your reserve arms.

    at 4,000 it is 20 seconds, and 15 seconds from 3,000.

    15 seconds is a quarter of a normal skydive, 25 is half of a skydive.

    when you realistically think about the time you have to work with, it doesn't seem so short.

    if you are still nervous about the hnp, do an exit or two at full altitude with a practice touch within 5 seconds of coming out of the door.

    good luck and blue skies
    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  21. i have done two tandem frontrides. the first was my first jump, the second was on jump 102.

    once you learn the basics in your first jump course, you should be ready to jump by yourself.

    everything you do in life is a little "leap of faith." in skydiving, it literally is a "leap of faith."

    have faith in what you were taught and the ability to act on it, have faith in the instructors that are literally by your side, have faith in the equipment (it's a parachute, it wants to be open), and most importantly have faith in yourself. once you leave the plane you are committed and there is no time for "can i do this?". you just do it and you will love it.

    once you get in a few jumps will realize tandems are way more scary;)

    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  23. Quote

    I vowed that would never happen again. That being said, I could be in a horrible car accident tomorrow or have some horrible decease that would do the same.

    I don't want to loose my zest for life!
    Will quitting this sport be the first step in that??



    the sport we choose is dangerous. a very good friend of mine, who was an instructor with over 2000 jumps, was killed in a car crash earlier this year. so it appears that driving for him was more dangerous than 2000 skydives. his death made me reevaluate a lot of things, including skydiving.

    i wont trade skydiving for anything in the world. for those few minutes of every jump i feel alive, not just living but truly alive.

    "I refuse to tip toe through life, only to arrive at death's door safely"
    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."

  24. friends typically are your friends because you share mutual interests. you take away those mutual interests, you take away the friend.

    they are probably jealous or upset that you aren't around all the time.

    skydiving lets you know which friends you have that are worth putting the time in to see outside of skydiving. the list dwindles fast so just get used to it:|

    "Never grow a wishbone, where your backbone ought to be."