3mpire

You know the more I've thought about it, if I had unlimited fundage I'd have manifest put the whole DZ's jumps on my account. If you're not an idiot or an asshole, you jump for free on my unlimited dime.

Every single time I'm at the tunnel I have anxiety right before I get in the wind because I'm not wearing my rig and my body knows it. I tap my chest/legs where my harness would normally be and I adjust the velcro on my glove repeatedly because doing a "gear check" for some reason mellows me out even though there is no rig there. Everyone is different... your anxiety is your own. Live in it and learn to love it. You learn how to quiet it, but never ignore it. Sometimes your body is trying to tell you something isn't right, so listen to it. If you feel nerves, go through your gear check again. look at everyone else's gear, look out the window for aircraft, think about the spot, etc. Replace the fear with knowledge that you have done everything you're supposed to. If you still feel the nerves, check it all again starting at the top. Skydiving isn't so much about making fear go away, it's about managing it. Being able to still function even when fear is present is the name of the game. This is where jump numbers and currency come into play. The more your jump, the more tuned in you get. You start to "see" things you were oblivious to before because your awareness levels are increasing. So there's no answer to your question other than: keep jumping and you will get past it.

This is just a quibble but it isn't the OS it is the application. I've written simple document based apps for Mac OS and you can have multiple instances open, each with their own context. This doesn't change the overall answer, but I wanted to just make that clarification.

So how did it go?

I'd do 200-300 jumps a year and with the rest of my time, I would get my private pilot license and a classic plane and spend the rest of my free time doing that.

Did you have that done custom by a rigger or did it come from the manufacturer with that design? What rig do you use?

An I the only one that thinks Joey got a new sock?

People aren't looking down on you for your modest ambitions in the sport as far as jump numbers go. It's your attitude. I do agree with you on this point: And on all of those measures based on your posts I'd say your skill level leaves much to be desired. BTW: I have to drive 100 miles each way in shitty traffic and I have a toddler, so don't make excuses. Either you want to jump or you don't. If you don't that's fine, there is nothing wrong with that. But if you jump as rarely as you say you plan to, then you should accept the consequences of that decision which is you won't be treated like a current jumper. If you don't like it, then save yourself the trouble and swing on your monkey bars at home or make the drive, jump, and stay current.

he's talking about new zealand

Very good points, I should clarify that it is absolutely not without risk. The point I was going after is that one shouldn't conflate swooping and free flying (one doesn't have to go with the other). I think that there is a perception out there that if you are a badass free flyer then you must necessarily be a badass canopy pilot, and skills in one discipline dictate choices in the other. While not everyone is susceptible to this, some are, and some have paid a high price for it.

I think there can be (internal and external) pressure on tunnel rats to jump small canopies. It may be a belief that being advanced in the tunnel translates to being advanced at other aspects of the jump. However I would preface that by saying it isn't free flying that is the issue here, it is the tunnel. If you are primarily a skydiver who jumps every weekend and uses the tunnel to build free flying skills, then there isn't much of an issue because your body flying time is somewhat matched by your canopy flying time. If you are in the tunnel every weekend and only jump a parachute a few times a month, then you're "at risk" for what you describe. Just being a free flyer is not dangerous. It is when the tunnel time is massively disproportionate to canopy time that the danger of ill-considered downsizing becomes a bigger issue. It has proven to be fatal.

I like the bit where the coach is a distraction but a camera isn't

How much does a demo cost to put on? Is it reasonable or is it high enough that people try to get away without laying out the cash to do it right? I'm just curious if it is the cost that deters people from getting the insurance and covering all their bases and whatnot or if they're just being lazy and not respecting the jump for what it is? Obviously the costs are only going to go up if there is too much bad publicity or damage/injuries...

Depends on if the DZ doesn't mind having a chomo hanging around I suppose

100% agreement on having someone to watch the kids at all times, and kids should be taught what behavior is and is not ok. if they don't follow the rules, then they should be removed by the caregiver or parent. but if a kid is behaving, they and their parents should be welcomed and supported. If you look at some of the people dominating this sport as adults, you'll find many of them grew up on a drop zone. If you're not allowed with 100 yards of a playground, however, letting everyone at the DZ know is probably a good idea

I found a hard copy of the 8083 on Amazon for $15.65

Thanks again John, I'm happy to see so much support out there for your efforts and I hope that the research team comes up with something that will help patients sooner rather than later. Just as important: thanks to everyone who donated time, money, prizes, etc.!

dude I don't even bring jumping up anymore in conversation, it's a waste of time. I just don't mention it. If someone asks if I jump I'll just say "yes" and don't say anything else unless they ask follow up questions and seem actually interested. If after saying "yes" they go on a rant about how it's unsafe or that I'm somehow crazy I just patiently let them get it out of their system and say "it's not for everyone" and nothing else. Ultimately you'll save yourself a lot of grief and effort that way. 1 out of a 100 times someone will actually be interested and ask good questions and you can elaborate a bit for them. I never encourage them to try jumping unless they say they'd like to try it without me prompting them. I find this approach works great for me.

Thanks for the links and the examples--good reading material and your experience jives with what my gut feeling was. I have an G3 sized M4 so I can relate.

On Mirage's container sizing guide when they say "soft" I'm assuming that is the smallest size they would recommend? i.e. if they say a 170 is optimal and a 150 is soft, you wouldn't want to put a 135 in there (either main or reserve). Conventional wisdom I've heard is for most rigs you can fit three sizes in there, so if a 170 is optimal one size up or down is within reason?

Thanks for sharing, this has been an interesting topic

I was sent a link to the FAA-H-8083-17 Parachute Rigger Handbook via a PM shortly after I posted so I do have that on my reading list. Soft copy is fine for me though if I really needed to I'm sure I could print a copy out and stick it in a binder. My friend and rigger suggested I check out Poynter's book from the library, so I'll be doing that as well. The 8083 is at least a good place to start--thanks for the tips!

I'm looking for ways to self-educate about gear in a more structured way. Instead of just trolling the forum for unfamiliar terms and asking questions, I'd like to try to learn in a more top to bottom fashion so I have a better baseline of knowledge. I read in a sticky on this forum about Dan Poynter's books and I see that they are highly recommended. Volume II covers parachutes post 1985 but it was published in 1991. I know that since then parachutes in particular have changed a lot. Since the book is 50 bucks new and 40 bucks used, I wanted to get some feedback on if it's worth the high cost given that it's 20 years old. Don't get me wrong, I love learning about vintage gear and whatnot and I would like to eventually expand my knowledge to cover as much as I can. But I'd like to first become more knowledgeable about the gear I'm either jumping or might come across at the DZ. Is this still a good book to get? Is there anything more recent or less expensive that might be worth a look? Thanks!

16,5 - is this better? [inline Untitled-3.png]