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this. replacement batteries for my neptune 2 are cheap, I have three or four new in packaging in my gear bag. if it gets say less than 1/3 remaining charge I just replace the battery and then you never have to worry about being in a situation where it might not have enough juice to make it through a single jump.

thanks!

terminology question: what is reefing? With regards to a parachute.

now you're just being obtuse. i meant what i wrote and in both posts I said a jumper is responsible for their spot, even if by being responsible that means they designate a member of their stick to spot. which is? lol (i'm not holding my breath for an answer) i'm done with this thread. but you can have the last word if you want, that's cool. just another day in dropzone.com paradise

Excellent points. There isn't much point in having an evaluation without the evaluator, and the evaluator can also serve as a safety check to keep a dangerous situation from developing. Your method is very similar to the one I experienced as a student and it seems to work great for me. Having the pressure of spotting for other jumps as part of the evaluation is a great motivator to get it right. Because if you do it wrong not only do you not "pass" but you also inconvenience everyone else, so you have extra motivation to get it right. Which is why I'm a little confused why this is a problem. How to spot and how to evaluate that spot has been part of the sport from the beginning, so it's not like there aren't methods for solving this problem already available. To me it doesn't seem to be a question of "how do we solve this problem" it's a question of "why aren't we just making people do it over and over until they learn it".

It's an A license requirement that you essentially do all of that anyway. You are supposed to brief the pilot, you are supposed to give corrections and you are supposed to spot. Nobody says that the rest of the load has to get out. Each jumper is responsible for their own spot. And everyone should know how to spot, right? You are being inconsistent. I'm entirely consistent. You are conflating the procedure for exiting an aircraft with evaluation criteria for spotting. Requiring the load to open up wind is a criteria for evaluating the quality of the spot. If the entire load doesn't open up wind, if people land off, or if they require a go around, then obviously it was a bad spot and the person needs to work on it. Nothing about that evaluation criteria suspends the normal procedures for the rest of the load. It is still each jumpers responsibility to check their spot before they get out. You do kind of get into semantics with your 20 way analogy. So just to clarify, the rule about each jumper being responsible for their spot should not be interpreted literally. what it really comes down to is each stick is responsible for their spot. that 20 way certainly has someone designated as the spotter for the stick. everyone on that jump should be comfortable with that person's spotting ability as they are essentially trusting that they will make sure the whole group has a safe spot. but really that is still in the spirit of what I wrote, because they are taking responsibility, if indirectly, by designating someone in advance as the spotter. in context, you will see that this is all entirely consistent. and it isn't really that complicated. know how to spot, make sure you stick communicates with all the other sticks, communicate with the pilot, make sure your stick checks the spot before exiting. land. pack. repeat. unless i'm dense and missing your point, and you're arguing that it isn't possible to evaluate spots and it isn't possible to expect each stick to know where they are getting out relative to the ideal spot, i'm not quite sure what you are arguing for.

It's an A license requirement that you essentially do all of that anyway. You are supposed to brief the pilot, you are supposed to give corrections and you are supposed to spot. Nobody says that the rest of the load has to get out. Each jumper is responsible for their own spot. And everyone should know how to spot, right? So if the person up front has a bad spot the following jumpers should see that and take responsibility for themselves and make corrections with the pilot or ask for a go around. Nothing about that should be out of the ordinary. That should be happening on *every load*. If simply evaluating someone on something that should be absolutely routine puts jumpers at risk then we have a pretty big problem, don't we?

Make someone spot for the whole load, and require that everyone open up wind and in a position where people are able to promote a smooth pattern for landing. If they are too early then people will be opening downwind. If they are too late the last people out may need a go-around. Make them look at the winds aloft and estimate separation times and have them communicate that to the load before leaving the ground. Have them tell the pilot what jump run they want and have the pilot fly that jump run. Have the pilot give them a MEGA early green light so they have to open the door and actually look, identify the spot, and then climb out. If they can do that say 5 times over at least two different days then you could argue they have an idea of how to spot. I love spotting. It's like a puzzle where you take in all the data inputs you have and then seeing it all come together is really fun. That's easier to do at a smaller DZ though. When it's a 182 you can ask for any jump run you want and you have more control over it. If you've got a tandem filled otter then you pretty much just get out when you are told because they don't have time to waste because they're trying to keep things moving.

I like it. I was figuring half days or jumping every other weekend would probably be the best bet. Also flying the tunnel more and jumping less since you can get in and out of the tunnel in a few hours but still get lots of flying in.

This is one thing I haven't figured out yet. I looked at my log book the other day and I did 196 jumps between Jan 1 and Dec 31. That's including bad weather in the spring, so I easily could have done another 30. Every Friday afternoon, all day saturday, all day sunday, and sometimes on wednesdays I would be jumping. obviously I won't be keeping that pace but I am curious to see what the balance will end up being.

As a new jumper you also tend to fly into burbles and have mid-air collisions so there is that risk as well. However even the tunnel shouldn't be considered a non-impact sport. You can have collisions or break bones in the tunnel, as well. If you have any major medical condition like the one described above, I would steer clear. I would however ALSO ask them (doctors) if they couldn't just go in there and take that sucker out, which would open this sport back up to you :) :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O9cw4gv-Mg Has anyone mounted an Alti2 Neptune 2 on a BoneHead AltiMount? In the demo video above they recommend measuring and drilling to mount OR using Velcro. I'm curious if anyone out there has done this specifically with a neptune 2? Were the stock screws that you would use to mount to the wrist strap long enough to mount to the BoneHead? I hadn't heard of using Velcro, would that really be a good idea? I have some patches of Velcro with adhesive on the back--I used it to put on the inside of my helmet to make the inserts stay on better. I'm a little hesitant to use that to attach an alti...? Is there a different mount that people with Neptunes use with more success? Thanks in advance all!

wut? I will give this a try when I get home but I bet I'll need a photo. This sounds pretty 1337 to me, though!

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I've gotten a lot of ideas to work with. I'll post an update with results showing what I ultimately end up with. cheers

I like this approach as well I'm going to give it a try and see what works best for me--cheers!

this is great I'll give this a try, thanks for the info and diagram!

I will give that a try. the bungee on my rig had been tied for around ten years so I had to cut it off.

Has anything changed with regard to this issue since 2007? I'm looking for a way to solve this same problem and was wondering if there is any more current information out there. Thanks!

I did a search and came up with a single thread (http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2750316;search_string=Wingsuit%20with%20leg%20strap%20bungee;#2750316) from 2007 and was wondering if there has been any progress made in a detachable bungee for your leg straps which would allow a rig to go from freefly friendly (with bungee) to wingsuit friendly (sans bungee) configuration. Is this still a roll your own solution type deal, in which case I should just talk to a rigger, or does anyone out there market something that fits this use case?

I've given this a lot of thought as my lady and I are expecting our first son in just under three months. I look at it like this: life is short and precious. You never know how long you are going to be here. So many people live as if they're going to be 100, that in all their years of living, they haven't lived much at all. what kind of example is that? who would wish a perfectly safe and perfectly empty life for their kid? Doing something that affirms life, that celebrates your time on this planet, is not selfish. It is setting an example that your kids can look up to. By jumping you can show them that dad is not fenced by life, but steps boldly into a dangerous world with preparation and dedication. That they too can live up to their potential if they so choose, and that fear of bad things happening is no reason to lock yourself into a prison cell voluntarily. But it takes hard work and dedication to do so safely. And it takes a conscious choice to do something that others are afraid to, but in that choice is freedom. But with that freedom comes responsibility. Make sure you are not wreckless. That you are listening to that voice in your head that says "do you *really* need to be on this jump?" When the winds are gusty or the jump is sketchy, just have the gumption to step aside and be responsible for your safety because you know others count on it. Be the man you're meant to be, not the kid who just hucks it and sees what happens. failing to be prudent in this sport is selfish. participating in it, however, is not. be safe, be vigilant of yourself and those on your jump, and as much as it sucks, don't do things like BASE, and you should have a clear conscience. at least that is what works for me.

If you can go you totally should you won't regret it. I went last year when I had less than 100 jumps and I learned a lot and felt much more confident about many aspects of the skydive. You have great access to world class coaches plus you can meet other jumpers that you will be able to jump with in the future, so you can't really lose.

I jump year round. You can't jump every weekend, you might only get a few jumps on a given day, and you may need to accept a 4-6k ceiling from time to time, but it's not like a cold weather state where you're shut down for 4 months. Sunday I made 4 jumps between 1pm and sunset and aside from it being about 9 degrees F at altitude, it was fine. Just depends on where you're coming from. The soft californians bitch about it, and the midwestern folks who know what winter really is are thankful for the chance to jump in january

Wow. That is incredible.

that would be kapowsin. snohomish has a caravan and leases a second caravan from kapowsin during the summer months (only on certain weekends). kapowsin has more fun jumpers and is more social after hours. at snohomish things shut down pretty quick after sunset load but there is a skydiver bar close by that everyone goes to. they're both good DZs, just depends on what you're interested in. snohomish is closer to Seattle, kapowsin is easier to get on loads (fewer tandems). 1/2 way between is the new 14 foot iFly seattle tunnel edited to add: kpow has a twin otter

I got a cobalt for my first main before I really knew much about canopies and it was a pretty bad decision. I put less than 20 jumps on it before I got rid of it and got a Sabre 2. get something else until you have many more jumps and are better prepared to decide if a cobalt is for you.