osmrwangs

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Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Perris
  • License
    Student
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    13
  • Years in Sport
    2
  1. I have done AFF jumps at both and I preferred the level of detail in the ground school at Perris. Additionally, the incorporation of tunnel time can really help. I can't disagree with anyone about the vibe at Elsinore, but if being a student is where your focus is (and should be), I would recommend Perris.
  2. I have a great review for Las Vegas Indoor Skydiving. While on vacation with my family, I noticed that there was a tunnel located a few blocks from my hotel and of course, I was compelled to go. Actually, it was my 9 year-old son who first hit the tunnel at Perris when he was 7 who was dying to go. I am a little over 6'3" and close to 240 lbs. (yes, I could lose a few pounds, but I carry a lot of muscle... nonetheless, I am heavy for this tunnel). Given that I am a skydiver and that I had previous tunnel experience at Perris (Grand total of 20 minutes, thus far), they took me. Using a super-baggy suit, I had no issues getting aloft, but the feel is quite different from the Skyventure tunnel. You can actually feel the fan vortex and it is essential that you are aware of the tunnel center. My tunnel coach, "Reynolds" (Chris Reynolds) motioned for me to "look down" during my flight(s), and as soon as I was spotting on the tunnel center, I was stable and doing great. Turning (as well as everything else) in this tunnel requires exaggerated movements and is quite different from either freefall, or the Skyventure tunnels. Nonetheless... the coaching is top notch. I would say that if you can fly well in the tunnel in Las Vegas, you should be able to fly anywhere! Tunnel rates for USPA are much less than the tourist trap stuff that this place thrives on. I will be back every time I am in Vegas on business. ;-)
  3. As someone who repeated AFF Level 1 3 times... my advice as a successive failure will echo that of those whose advice I admire here: 1. Pull Priorities (Pull, Pull at the right altitude, pull stable - arch-pull). 2. Relax (when you smile, you relax). 3. ARCH! (If you forget to relax, at least arch). 4. Listen to your instructors. They have dealt with people like you before. You're less unique than you think. 5. Pay attention to hand signals, rig shakes, etc. 6. Every few seconds (5 or so) say your altitude out loud or yell it at your main side. They like that, even though they have no idea what you're saying, they at least know you checked your altimeter. 7. When you pull, remember what you're supposed to look for. Your instructors will cover most scenarios of "bad stuff". Pay attention. Even as a new skydiver, some of these have happened to me. 7. Pay attention to the landing pattern stuff in ground school in the event your radio fails. 8. YOU are responsible for getting your canopy out, piloting it safely and landing. Take this seriously but don't freak out. 9. (related to #4) Ignore my advice unless other people with way more jumps agree. I'm a noob. Your instructors have seen almost everything you can throw at them and they will get you through it. 10. Have a BLAST! This is way cooler than golf.
  4. Looks like they got it corrected again. The story now reads 13,000. I would love to jump in Oceanside. This is good motivation to progress in the sport!
  5. The article now says, "How's this for a different way to spend an afternoon in Oceanside: get in a plane, fly 3,000 feet into the air then jump out the door." Their "correction" just got worse.
  6. BOC hand-deploy. I threw it out pretty good (so I thought). I have had two instructors give me two different points of view on throwing out the PC. One said to just throw it sideways as hard as possible. The other said to hold it out and let it go. On this dive, I threw it. I'd love to hear some input on technique, as there are obviously differing opinions. This PC seemed quite dirty when I landed, and I followed the excellent instruction I was given to gather in my lines, then canopy, then grab the bag/bridle/pc and put them on top of all of that before I hopped in the truck. The way I see it... that equipment will be on plenty of other jumpers and I need to take excellent care of it. Just seeing the canopy dragging on the dirt clods made me want to advance so I can start landing on the grass. ;-)
  7. Thanks for the insight, Dave. I am sure that I will be jumping whatever my instructors settle on, BTW... ;-). So, I guess I have more of an out there question about whether big boy rigs are more likely to have this happen? I was very fortunate to have two VERY seasoned instructors... (*A couple of old guys *their words*... diving since the 1970's) and I am grateful for their quick reaction to my high speed mal. BTW... my 2nd AFF... I had a couple of good line twists (which I dealt with), so I am getting used to mals. My guess is that an unstable pull on my 2nd AFF was the reason I had twists... but I will leave the analysis to the experts. ;-) I'm 2 for 3 on mals... eesh. Thanks to my instructors for good training and good attention in flight.
  8. Thanks Dave, I am 6'3" and 215, so they had me jumping a big-boy with a 280. I'm not yet keen to the potential packing issues with canopies that size, but I do know that the container I was jumping was a little different than even the containers for the 260's. Given that I had a soft, stand up landing, would you think that my AFFI's would allow me to jump a smaller container/main on my next jump? My only concerns with the big container was whether I could maintain an easy arch. I wasn't thinking that the container/canopy combo could lead to a stuck/sticky bag.
  9. Hey all, This is my first post. I was at Perris Valley Skydiving School on Sunday. It's been over a year since my Level 2 AFF so I was re-starting the process with a fresh first jump course... which by the way, is better than the first one I took at a different DZ. So on my 3rd AFF jump in about a year and a half, I had an okay exit, arched into a good dive and got through my 3 practice pulls plenty high (above 9k), so I got to hang out and enjoy the rest of the dive. At 5300, I waived off and pulled. Waiting... (still see my main side AFFI near me)... waiting... still no float. Then, just as I looked at my altimeter, I went vertical and I had a nice canopy over me. Great ride down and a stand-up landing near the center of the student landing area. When I got my debrief, I was told that the delay in opening was because my d-bag was stuck and my reserve side AFFI (veteran Jim Wallace) knocked it out. Jim hopped on another load after we landed and I didn't get a chance to thank him or ask what happened... so umm... Thanks Jim! My question for the community is... how often does this happen and what would you do solo to try to get the d-bag out if it's not being pulled out by the pilot chute before initiating emergency procedures? Bag lock was covered in both first jump courses, but a stuck d-bag with a pilot chute out wasn't a scenario I thought of. My initial reaction when I sensed that I should be vertical was to look for the chute, then look at my altimeter. If Jim hadn't knocked my d-bag loose, I'm sure I would have been all over my handles. Thanks in advance for any insight and advice.
  10. Best of luck! I started doing SL when I was 17 and then wasted more than 17 years before getting back to the sport. Start now and don't stop!