I find it hard to believe that any eBay seller is willing to ship a product before getting paid.
You're right... though I was hoping that one skydiver would be willing to work with another in some way. It's one thing to buy a cell phone on eBay and be dissatisfied with it... it's quite another to buy a lifesaving device that's unsatisfactory.
But, then again.. they are selling rigs on eBay... the hidden message might be "trust me, it's a good rig sight unseen." lol.
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However, eBay does offer great consumer protection, and if the product is not as described they will get you a refund after you prove return delivery. This is a recent change with them, and makes their protection on par with what credit cards offer.
Very true... though I do need to research the exact terms and conditions for the buyer protection program.
I hope that the first rig I buy is available for me to try before I buy. Or, I'll just buy a rig from the DZ's stock.
What you need is a complete pre-purchase inspection of all components with zero jump since the inspection, so you know you're getting what the rigger saw. How you work that ouy between you, the seller, and e-bay is anyone's guess.
I suspect that one could win the auction and have the rig mailed to the local rigger for inspection. If it's a "go" by him, then the transfer of funds can commence. Though, I think that eBay has certain rules about paying within a certain time frame.
However, I do most of my searching for rigs here on this site in the classifieds.
One jumper landed South, setting the pattern for everyone after. The next jumper landed north, resetting the landing pattern for everyone after(or atleast we all followed them, since most jumpers all saw that landing). And one group decided to land slightly into the Wind(west).
This is exactly why I'm a fan of setting a predetermined direction. I hate sitting under canopy being confused about where everyone is landing. It's to the point now that if I'm not one of the last guys down, I just land away from the mess. I'd rather walk an extra 100 yards than to be involved in a collision.
ok iv got around 200+ jumps....my justification for pulling at this height is not just that but also when you finish your training your signed off for pulling at that height.
I could be wrong, but I think this guy is a troll.
I think you're definitely wrong (unless it's the lamest troll attempt ever).
Pulling at 2.5k with 200 jumps is not unreasonable. It's getting towards the low side of reasonable, but it's not unreasonable. Certainly not troll-worthy!
No, I was just mistaken. I know a guy that sometimes pulls at 2,000 feet (though, he does say it isn't the greatest idea). What I thought the guy was getting at was that after you finish "training" (which I figured he meant AFF or something) then the lowest you're allowed to pull at is whatever you ended training with (for me, 5,000 feet).
But, I misunderstood what the guy was talking about. Sorry.
Also BTW your Altimeter is NOT accurate below 1,000 Feet.... if you were trying to track your legs using that exclusively... you are setting yourself up for a funeral.
Many times I've landed and had my altimeter say -20 feet... and once it told me I was at 3000 feet when I was only 500 feet up.
Your altimeter is only a reference. It's not a substitute for poor judgment.
I can't imagine looking at the altimeter coming in on final... it just isn't smart.
What did he do to your rig that pissed you off? I'm not getting it. Are you upset because he just picked it up, maybe moving it out of the way or trying to figure out who it belonged to?
That's my question, too. Maybe the guy was seeing if it was a rental rig that he could use? The only rigs I touch are either rental rigs or rigs that are in the way of the packing area...
I'm 26... but how in the hell do some people have the energy to sleep 4 hours, go to work, party all night, sleep 4 hours, go to work hungover, and then party all night again?
ok iv got around 200+ jumps....my justification for pulling at this height is not just that but also when you finish your training your signed off for pulling at that height.
I could be wrong, but I think this guy is a troll.
I don't know about you guys, but I still get nervous before every jump. Even if it's my 4th or 5th jump of the day I always get that little ounce of adrenaline before I make the leap.
The day you stop getting nervous is the day you should hang up the rig and take a break... or quit. We naturally regard jumping out of a plane as life threatening... so if the day comes that you aren't a bit nervous, then you either have a suicide wish or you've become complacent.
My first jump of the day is anyways the scariest... especially if I haven't gone in over 2 weeks. After that, I find it easy to deal with the anxiety.
Student loans seem to be popular amongst the college crowd.
But, I mean... how do they do that? Register for classes, pay for them in full with the loans, and then drop all the classes before the 100% refund deadline?
What did you do on your first solo skydive? How did you exit? And what where you thinking about?
My first solo was right off AFF. What did I do? I did what a coach that I highly respect told me to do: exit the plane and do nothing but watch my altimeter until it was time to pull. The reasoning was to point out to me that I have much more time in freefall than I think I do... because as a student, it feels like FF lasts only 10 seconds and we have to rush everything to perfection. It was a great experience for me... I'd look at the altimeter and glance at the ground from time to time.
How did I exit? I think it was some sort of fetal position because I was too lazy to force a stable exit. Doing a few of those actually taught me a great deal about getting stable quickly.
What was going through my head? "OMFG I cannot believe I'm falling 120 MPH towards the ground all alone." It was very freeing.
The bellyflyers are going to break off and track at assigned altitudes.
My question relates to the hangers who are in a sit or stand. How can the bellyflyers keep track of where the hangers are ?
"They are down there somewhere..."
I did my first (and so far only) hybrid on jump 35. It was a 4-way (2 belly, 1 hanger, and one head down). I flew belly.
Our break off was at 6,500 feet... I'm the highest puller out of all of us (4,500 feet)... so we all got more than enough separation. As for the hanger... he just fell straight down, leveled out, got stable, and pulled. So, yea.. he was "down there somewhere," but since the rest of us tracked away from the center, we weren't all that concerned.
I did do a 3-way horny gorilla where we flew apart resulting in meat missiles. I found one guy... but lost track of the other guy who decided to backloop his way down to his pull altitude. Of course then I was concerned.. because he was "down there somewhere" and couldn't see him. So, I decided to track hard at our normal break off altitude.
Perfectly normal to be more nervous about your second jump!
hang in there, some get over those nerves in 5 jumps, some 50....
I was more nervous my second jump than I was on my first jump. That's because I didn't know what I got my self into on the first jump! Most of my nerves went away on AFF 7 and beyond. I was confident that I'd nail level 7 and after that, I didn't have to deal with performance anxiety.
Though, they reappeared during the coach jumps, hop n hops, and my A license check dive.
Used gear on eBay
in Gear and Rigging
Used gear on eBay
in Gear and Rigging
I suspect that one could win the auction and have the rig mailed to the local rigger for inspection. If it's a "go" by him, then the transfer of funds can commence. Though, I think that eBay has certain rules about paying within a certain time frame.
However, I do most of my searching for rigs here on this site in the classifieds.
Used gear on eBay
in Gear and Rigging
Looks like someone bought it for $1,900, too.
Used gear on eBay
in Gear and Rigging
Used gear on eBay
in Gear and Rigging
To sum it up... the seller is reputable.
Vector V-5 (1988 brand new) with < 100 jumps
Falcon 215 with ~ 125 jumps
Raven 2 with 1 ride
Been in storage ever since.
Looking at the photos, it looks new for a rig that's 23 years old.
Question... would this be safe for a first rig? And for the price that it's at now, is it worth it?
Poor pattern choices and pattern/other jumper awareness
in General Skydiving Discussions
This is exactly why I'm a fan of setting a predetermined direction. I hate sitting under canopy being confused about where everyone is landing. It's to the point now that if I'm not one of the last guys down, I just land away from the mess. I'd rather walk an extra 100 yards than to be involved in a collision.
pulling low
in Safety and Training
No, I was just mistaken. I know a guy that sometimes pulls at 2,000 feet (though, he does say it isn't the greatest idea). What I thought the guy was getting at was that after you finish "training" (which I figured he meant AFF or something) then the lowest you're allowed to pull at is whatever you ended training with (for me, 5,000 feet).
But, I misunderstood what the guy was talking about. Sorry.
Red Bull Stratos - Space Dive
in General Skydiving Discussions
Poor pattern choices and pattern/other jumper awareness
in General Skydiving Discussions
Many times I've landed and had my altimeter say -20 feet... and once it told me I was at 3000 feet when I was only 500 feet up.
Your altimeter is only a reference. It's not a substitute for poor judgment.
I can't imagine looking at the altimeter coming in on final... it just isn't smart.
Traveling with Gear
in Gear and Rigging
That's my question, too. Maybe the guy was seeing if it was a rental rig that he could use? The only rigs I touch are either rental rigs or rigs that are in the way of the packing area...
clubbing!
in The Bonfire
I just can't do it.. never could.
Rigging horror
in Gear and Rigging
I remember being 17 years old.
in The Bonfire
The real question is: when does she turn 18?
pulling low
in Safety and Training
I could be wrong, but I think this guy is a troll.
skydiver stuck in a tree
in The Bonfire
At least he wasn't an AFF student that landed in another dropzone 3 miles away after pulling at 11,000 feet
So my 10,000th post is coming up.
in The Bonfire
Determined to get my A, I made 10 jumps this weekend.
in General Skydiving Discussions
The day you stop getting nervous is the day you should hang up the rig and take a break... or quit. We naturally regard jumping out of a plane as life threatening... so if the day comes that you aren't a bit nervous, then you either have a suicide wish or you've become complacent.
My first jump of the day is anyways the scariest... especially if I haven't gone in over 2 weeks. After that, I find it easy to deal with the anxiety.
Financing Gear
in Gear and Rigging
But, I mean... how do they do that? Register for classes, pay for them in full with the loans, and then drop all the classes before the 100% refund deadline?
Lightning Photography
in The Bonfire
Determined to get my A, I made 10 jumps this weekend.
in General Skydiving Discussions
My first solo was right off AFF. What did I do? I did what a coach that I highly respect told me to do: exit the plane and do nothing but watch my altimeter until it was time to pull. The reasoning was to point out to me that I have much more time in freefall than I think I do... because as a student, it feels like FF lasts only 10 seconds and we have to rush everything to perfection. It was a great experience for me... I'd look at the altimeter and glance at the ground from time to time.
How did I exit? I think it was some sort of fetal position because I was too lazy to force a stable exit. Doing a few of those actually taught me a great deal about getting stable quickly.
What was going through my head? "OMFG I cannot believe I'm falling 120 MPH towards the ground all alone." It was very freeing.
B Today!!
in General Skydiving Discussions
Awesome, dude! Looking forward to night jumps?
Hybrids are fun. I hope to get my B in the next two weeks myself.
Did my check dive...
in General Skydiving Discussions
Haha. Nice landing. I've had much worse ones than that. I'd post one, but I think they'd revoke my A license and tell me to try ping pong instead.
Good job, dude. Rock on.
hybrid breakoff
in General Skydiving Discussions
I did my first (and so far only) hybrid on jump 35. It was a 4-way (2 belly, 1 hanger, and one head down). I flew belly.
Our break off was at 6,500 feet... I'm the highest puller out of all of us (4,500 feet)... so we all got more than enough separation. As for the hanger... he just fell straight down, leveled out, got stable, and pulled. So, yea.. he was "down there somewhere," but since the rest of us tracked away from the center, we weren't all that concerned.
I did do a 3-way horny gorilla where we flew apart resulting in meat missiles. I found one guy... but lost track of the other guy who decided to backloop his way down to his pull altitude. Of course then I was concerned.. because he was "down there somewhere" and couldn't see him. So, I decided to track hard at our normal break off altitude.
Nervous about second jump
in General Skydiving Discussions
I was more nervous my second jump than I was on my first jump. That's because I didn't know what I got my self into on the first jump! Most of my nerves went away on AFF 7 and beyond. I was confident that I'd nail level 7 and after that, I didn't have to deal with performance anxiety.
Though, they reappeared during the coach jumps, hop n hops, and my A license check dive.
Now I just worry about having fun.
HOW MANY SKYDIVES A YEAR?
in General Skydiving Discussions
Though, I've heard that the estimate is more like 200,000 or so... but that counts those that do just 1 jump... only 2% of them go on to do more.