jamester28

There's a hole in the lower leading edge of the door in my DZ's C-182 so when you're in the student spot (1st out) you can see the ground underneath the aircraft which is fine and doesn't bother me... Until we're on Jump run and I see the airport and the edge of a runway slipping into view. Then my heart starts racing a little and the pilot makes the cut... Then I get scared but the door opening and my climb out is fine and once I'm out of the door its gravy from there. But jump run and the cut are my "monsters".

Get my shoulder back to 100 percent Get my A Obtain an AAD so I can jump my rig Go back to Skydive Coastal Carolinas where I made my first tandem and do a fun jump with one of the instructors who introduced me to skydiving if he's still there. OH and not dislocate my shoulder again!

Oh I know how you feel. I've got 16 jumps and practically gone nowhere. After I recover and go back I'll pretty much be back to square one doing SLs and PRCPs. My operated shoulder is pretty stiff. I'm hoping I get full range of motion because I'm a little concerned over the possibility of having a new built in turn to have to correct on top of everything. Oh well. At least I'll have a lot of canopy experience by the time I get my A. LOL Good luck. Oh and remember to keep in mind that not all aspects of skydiving are learned aloft. I got the book "The Parachute and Its Pilot" by Brian Germain and I can't wait to apply what I've learned to flying a more accurate pattern. I also got the Skydiver's Handbook and a book called Mental Training for Skydiving And Life. Reading isn't as fun as jumping but at least it keeps your head in the game better than my original plan of moping. LOL

It was about as minor of a repair that can be done on the shoulder. My ortho said the shoulder has the widest range of motion of any joint in the body and also has the most inherent instability. After the outpatient arthroscopy its 6 weeks in an immobilzer (a sling on steroids) and PT 3 times a week for a month. No serious strain (push-ups or pull-ups, etc) for about 12 weeks. After that I'm not sure but he said expect a minimum of 4 months down but 6 would be on the safer side. I intend to follow his advice to the letter and do my PT religiously. Hopefully this will be the end of my shoulder problems and I can finish my training without having to go back to PRCPs again. (I'm aware I will be this time but it will be the 3rd time due to my shoulder and hopefully the last!)

See an orthopedist. I dislocated my shoulder on one of my 10 second delays and also had to go to the ER to have it put back in. 3 months later I felt great and started jumping again. All seemed well. Then a small slip at work and pop... Out it went again. 1 dislocation under 30 years of age equals an 80% chance of a repeat dislocation. I went to an ortho and he informed me that after a minor outpatient procedure and some recovery it would improve that statistic to a 1% chance. I'm on my 2nd week of physical therapy and won't be jumping for a total of 6 months but it will be worth it. I've broken bones but for me the dislocated shoulder was so much more painful. Hopefully it won't happen again.

I start PT monday. And I guess I'm lucky. I haven't experienced any pain over a 2 or 3 on the 10 scale. Dislocating it definitely hurt worse than the surgery. I hate this damned sling though. 4 more weeks and its coming off. Hopefully forever.

Hey... He offered to let me take a device home that would continue a drip to make it last 3 days but I just wanted enough to let me get home, get comfortable, and start on my narcs. I took my bandages off today and my chest and shoulder looks like abstract art. They wrote all over me with a permanent marker.

Surgery is done! I got a nerve block in addition to general anesthesia. I think the only difference it made was allowing me to get a head start on my narcs. So far my pain hasn't passed a 3 on the 1-10 scale. Although I am taking my pills religiously by what my anesthesiologist recommended. Lets hope the PT goes as smooth as the surgery. Thanks for the well wishes, guys!

I've had some basic instruction packing the student rigs at my DZ and still get shadowed but don't have too much trouble getting it in the bag. I have my rig at the house and decided I would try packing my Safire 1 189 (150 jumps) and that thing was slipping and sliding everywhere. LOL I can keep it decent until the second s-fold before pulling the bag around it. I put my knee on the first s-fold and raise up the opposite side to my thigh. As I try to fold it down over the first fold... "flop" the whole pack job pours out in front of me. LMAO I'm not to the point of frustration yet. I just think it's funny how hard this is when I see so many jumpers make it look easy. I guess I need to practice some more! I hope I'm just not incompetent and a lot of jumpers experience a longer than expected learning curve with packing.

I bought my main from square1.com. They usually have a wide selection of used gear.

Arthroscopic

Its not too bad... When we were going over my MRI all he mentioned was a repair to the glenoid. I have what I think is called a bankart lesion where the cartilage that holds the shoulder in is torn. I just need that sutured back in place. He pointed out 2 Hill-Sachs lesions that aren't bad enough to warrant repairs. I guess as far as shoulder injuries go I got lucky. Especially considering that the first one happened during a very hard opening and I had to turn and land with only my right arm. It didn't occur to me to take both toggles in one hand and flare so it was a no flair landing as well. The landing wasn't bad though as I was very lightly loaded (0.6). I REALLY appreciate the advice from some of you guys as to insurance not covering the nerve block. I will definitely ask beforehand and check. I was also not aware they would do both. Thanks for all the replies. And @Grant... I have definitely considered coming to hang out at the boro. I could use some practice packing. Not ALL aspects of skydiving are learned in the air I suppose.

I am having surgery to repair damage to my shoulder from a skydiving incident involving a dislocation in June which resulted in another dislocation a couple of weeks ago. I want the fastest recovery time and I read that having a nerve block vs general anesthesia produces better results but I would have to be awake for the procedure. I know one person who had general and it worked out but I was wondering of you skydivers who have had shoulder surgery could weigh in. I have a choice of regional or general anesthesia and I want to hear your experience with your method of anesthesia and if you wished you had chosen a different method. This may at first seem like a narrow poll audience but I have seen A LOT of posts from skydivers who have had shoulder repairs.

Well we all get along for the most part. One of Rob's friends suggested I fail my last 10 second delay because I was Chair Force... I mean Air Force.

Wow... I found one of their sites for "Skydive Wyoming". There isn't a drop zone in the state. I got online with their customer service and played with them for a few minutes. They are despicable.

I wouldn't be doing it otherwise! It's a blast.

I already have a vector 3 container with skyhook ready to go for when I get off student status and I must have read the manual 5 times. I like showing my concerned family members how it all works and have taken it apart and assembled it many many times. I already talked to my DZ's rigger and am going to watch him assemble the reserve and skyhook and pack it all up when the time comes. My DZ has some really awesome people that will answer all your questions. I love that place! Thanks for the reply!

Well its very similar... The arch, reach, pull steps are said in cadence with the counting thereafter with a canopy check at 3... We just don't add the "thousands" between those first few... I mean some instructors say it but the rhythm is still the same. Basically I just waited for line stretch and went to silver after I realized "I should have a canopy by now" without looking over my shoulder. It was a "newbie mistake" but I learned the lesson without actually cutting away... Luckily. I just wanted to post this so maybe a student at or below my level might see it and see what can happen if you don't actually look over your shoulder. :-)

So just wanted to share a close call I had today. I have been in a static line training program. I dislocated my shoulder on my 10 sec delay two months ago (weak shoulder joint) and went in to continue my training with a prcp today... I've done 4 already so I was familiar with the procedure. Arch, reach, pull, 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3 one thousand, canopy check. Well this time it went 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, 3 one thousand, 4 one thousand 5 one thousand, 6 one thousand... nothing. I reached for silver (single handle system) and had the handle out of the velcro when the main finally deployed... I reacted instantly by stopping the pull and the yellow cutaway cable was staring me in the face about an inch short of the closing loop... I tucked the handle back in the velcro and scooted the cable up into the guide housing... kicked out of about 4 line twists and checked my 3 S's. My instructor informed me on the ground I had a pilot chute hesitation and I could've cleared it out of the burble by looking over my shoulder and they had said this before. I guess with the adrenaline running I was just thinking about getting fabric out and when I reached for the cutaway/reserve handle I broke the burble releasing the pilot chute. I was debriefed on the issue and continued on to my clear n pull an hour later which went very well. I am now very aware of what pilot chute hesitation feels like. There's a reason for the canopy check at 3 seconds... to break the burble in the event of pilot chute hesitation. Not "Wait for the line stretch and then check your canopy when you are seated in your harness". Which WAS my mindset I admit. A new lesson learned every day I guess.

I've been in the static line program over the summer and have enjoyed all of it from the ground training, to the jumps, to the conversation between loads. Two months ago I was on my ten second delay and due to some instability at deployment (and a pre-existing weakness in the joint) suffered a dislocated shoulder which put me out of the training for awhile. Was welcomed back today by name with smiles and well wishes. Was directed to a jumper who shared my predisposition to shoulder instability and got some good pointers. Did a prcp and a clear and pull. Good stable exits and helpful feedback from my instructors Robert and Chuck. Will be back next weekend. Great times had by all. :-)

Thanks for all your replies... I've been reading a lot of gear reviews and forums. I also spend a lot of time on YouTube. Obviously that doesn't equate to real world experience but I have seen a lot of things to be wary of. The two more notable are situational awareness and downsizing too quickly/over confidence in my own abilities. There's a lot of people smacking the ground during high performance landings! The situational awareness is something that got pounded into my head by the military though. Lol. Again, thanks for your info. Its nice to hear from people who fly the canopy! Blue Skies

Firstly I am aware of the 8% size difference between the Safire 1 and comparable canopies. My weight is 140-145 with an exit weight of ~170. The canopy in question is a 189 (per the Icarus placard). Would any of you S&TAs out there let a low-timer jump a Safire 1 with this wing loading? And by low-timer I mean less than 50 jumps. What kind of differences can I expect from jumping a square student canopy loaded at 0.8 and then downsizing to a "lightly elliptical" canopy loaded at just under 1:1? Is it a bad idea to change planforms AND downsize? And is "lightly elliptical" really elliptical? Honestly I just want off of rental/student gear. At my dz the rental gear is awkward (one size fits most) and the padding is worn down and they are expensive to rent. So to summarize... Newbie A license holder wants to downsize from a square loaded 0.8 to a lightly elliptical loaded at 1:1. Yay or nay? And if you're gonna be rude and abrasive please just leave it in your therapy sessions. I see a lot of threads where newbies get talked down to for asking questions and I feel that attitude is a misrepresentation of the skydiving community I have come to love and appreciate... just sayin.

This thread has put me at ease. I have a V348 and was concerned about fitting my Safire 189 (which from what I hear is actually a 175ish due to the 8% size difference.) I ordered it off of Square1 and it should be here in a week. I've heard so many different things about pack volume. Fingers crossed. please fit please fit please fit. LOL