MorfiusX

Ray will be down there at some point. See if he will work with you.

i'm sure that would require manuevers that a student would most defenatly not do: crank the toggle to feet, front riser spirals(large amount of strengh would be required for that) etc etc Students aren't the only ones who might use a student cypress. My DZ's rental gear is also the student gear. It is all Navigator 200-280s, all have the student cypress (actually, they are Vigil's). Lots of people rent the rigs, not just students. Also, I was just looking through the classifieds, someone is selling a complete rig with a Spectre and a student cypress. An experienced jumper may end up using one, it would just depend on the situation.

Since you mentioned Bonehead, if you sign up for their newsletter, you get a 15% off coupon. They also have a 30% off deal if you trade in any skydiving helmet (even a protec). You have to order directly from them and it takes 4 to 6 weeks. My total for an All-Sport was around $175 after shipping. It's not a huge difference, but may swing your decision seeing that there are tones of positive reviews for them.

I don't have a lot of experience with different canopies, but I've been trying out a friends Saffire 2. Did a hop and pop with it and it was the softest opening I've ever had. With only a couple test jumps on it, I'm really liking it. Not that I am recommending one thing over another, just some thoughts.

From what I've read, when Bill posts here, his user name is simply "BillBooth".

Not that this is what the OP did, but this a similar example: On the PD Nav rigs, there is a pin for the toggle. Excess stowed line is looped around that pin. A student recently pulled the entire toggle trough the excess stow loop, which then knotted on the pocked on the back side of the riser. He said he performed his controllability checks, but the canopy was hard to steer. He was essentially performing a riser turn every time he used that toggle.

Yes, same link.

Definitly SFW!

I think I am gonna plan a road trip in January. Swing by The Farm on the way down, hit up Start in Florida, the go over to Skyventure in Orlando. It's a crap ton of drive, but oh well...

This might help until others (who are more experience than I) chime in: http://www.uspa.org/SIM/Read/Section6/tabid/169/Default.aspx#977

Working on it. I've lost 31lbs so far.

At my DZ, the rent per jump (not per day). So technically, if I am to put the rig back on the rack, it has to be packed by a packer. Usually when I go in, I take a rig off the rack and keep it to the side. I then talk to the AFF instructors and Manifest and tell them I have it, and if someone needs it to let me know so that it can be repacked by a packer before use. They usually never need it and I get to practice packing. Final pack job still has to be done by a packer though. In short, talk to the people at your DZ, they will probably be pretty accommodating if you tell them you want to practice packing on the rental gear when you use it.

Ah good to see another brick like myself Ha, that's almost funny. My top speed on belly during training was 159, my averages were in the 140s. I'm still trying to slow my fat a** down...

This is pretty much the story of my chop at jump 15 with a skyhook.

Anyone one have a link to the Cincy Crew video that took first place?

I was there when the where talking to Randy (a fellow student). I refrained from talking to them for the same reasons I haven't talked about the details of the incident. It was very clear they (there was a reporter and a camera guy) didn't know anything about the sport. I think the "Team Fastrax" thing is probably just an honest mix up seeing that the name is readily advertised at the DZ being that they are, from what I am aware, a sponsor. All "official" (and I use that losely) signs do say "Start Skydiving". I think you are making an assumption that Start is hiding behind Team Fastrax. The reporter had a job to do and then moved on. Being a very small local paper, he may have just overlooked the mistake before the story ran.

I was making a generalization, which I admit was not clear in intent. So, I will elaborate as requested. Some people do not handle high stress situations very well. Tunnel vision and mental shutdown (sensory overload) are some of the symptoms the one of these people may encounter when placed into a high stress situation. A person may not know that they can not handle this type of situation until they are placed into one. Unfortunately, when you combine this with skydiving, the result can be deadly. The reason I said "This was one of those people" was that, from my completely uninvolved observation, this incident may be one of those cases. I can see how you concluded that my two statements where opposed, maybe this will clarify the statements. The main reason I replied was that the original poster seemed more interested in pointing a finger at Start Skydiving than actually learning something from the incident. As I have recently completed there training program, I felt I could provide insight from a trainee perspective. As right or wrong as it may have been, this was the reason for my reply. The thought that I would have any exuberance in knowing someone has been seriously injured, frankly, saddens me. I don't know how my time in this sport (or jump numbers) has any bearing on my value and respect for human life. Because I did not directly train or assist in any way in this incident, I will refrain from posting any details about it. I am not qualified to do so and will leave that to those who are. Once again, the reason for my post was to share insight from someone who was recently trained at Start Skydiving because the original poster's comment where interpreted, in part, as attack against the people whom I know have safety as their number one priority.

Some people just shouldn't skydive, regardless of age. This was one of those people. I am not at liberty to discuss details of the incident. But after going through the AFF course at Start (doing my A license check dive today), I will say the instructors there are top notch and have more than fully trained me for this sport as required by the USPA. In other words, they have done a great job instructing me through my 22 jumps.

I take the opportunity to spot when given a chance. Even if a JM is calling the spot, I like to look out and see where we are at, think about where I would tell the pilot to cut, and compare that to where the JM would tell them to cut. I spotted for my 3500 hop and pop, pilot waited about 10 seconds after I told him to cut before doing so (I guess is GPS is more accurate than me... :) ) But yeah, I like to know that if I am ever in a new place or situation and need to spot, that I have the right skills to do so. The biggest reason I replied is to say, "Yes, at my DZ, students are trained to spot".

Not that anything I say holds any weight as I am still a newbie... Did my first solo jump today as well (jump 13) and it was fun just chilling out with no real objects other than to have fun. My first real stand up landing was jump 11. Before that I had done a couple baseball slide/pop up landings, but not a "real" stand up landing. Once I stood up on jump 11, I realized I was looking at it wrong. I had been trying to stand up during the forward movement (the swing forward) of the flare. With landing 11, I saw that I want to touch my feet down right as the dynamic stall started to happen and no additional forward movement from the flare is generated. After looking at it that way, I have stood of my last three of four landings. Normal "talk to your instructor" spiel applies, but maybe that will help.

If by bugeye you referring to the Peerser, that's what I use. They work well with my contacts. http://www.paragear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=257#G1142

So, has anyone posted video from the 36 way or the pyro display? I watched a couple there, but would like to see it again.

I moved down to a student 260 on my last jump due to the student 280 being in use. I'm 6'0" and 225. I also liked it much better than the 280. Not that it really has any relevance to your mal, but I am going to stick with the 260 unless someone objects.

That's a good idea. Santa is gonna be a skydiver this year... :)