Stearny

Well.....this thread is interesting. Taking a step out of the past for a second. I actually have a question. What is your opinion regarding counting tunnel time towards ratings? What is your stance on the current requirements for ratings? In particular Coach and AFF? Sidenote: Jeremy was there on my AFF jump #1 and I have known him and jumped with him at Skydive Kansas ever since. Jen, Bill, and Jeremy have all been wonderful mentors that have made me the jumper I am today. Jeremy is an amazing mix of talent, humility, meticulousness, and just plain fun to be around. I traveled quite extensively for a previous employer and had the opportunity to visit quite a few dropzones around the country. I would say I have a relatively decent "feel" for dropzones. I'm very proud to call Skydive Kansas home. -Andrew Stearns Stearny

The first question I always ask/lookup when I get to the DZ is find out what the uppers are doing. Stearny

Might sound a little silly,but I personally "start" spotting after take off (and obviously on jump run). I mentally keep track of where the dropzone is at all times during climb. Luckily we have a lot of good geographical markers to help accomplish this. We don't have a green light, but do get "door" from the pilot. Green light, does not mean go. Also, we talk about the spot / jump run / landing direction after almost every load. Stearny

I am a local upjumper and got my license at Skydive Kansas (so my opinions might be a tad bias). My mother, father, and sister have all made tandems at SDK. There is typically a nice mix between tandem students and experienced upjumpers. I have been to other dropzone across the country and have not found nicer people who genuinely care not only about your safety but also about you personally. Everyone that walks through the door is a friend. For experienced jumpers there are a couple of drawbacks that accompany a smaller dropzone (limited gear rentals, lower capacity, and rather strict WL limits). There is a dropzone about an hour closer to me than SDK, however; the people make the extra drive worth it. SDK is a great place to make a skydive! Blue Skies

ABSOLUTELY! While you might not fully understand some of the topics or discussions it does a great job of at least exposing you to the vast disciplines and players in the skydiving community. I am gradually working my way through all the episodes Stearny

First, is your problem gettnig it in the bag, or closing the container? I definitely experienced both, PM me if you want some of the tips I use for both. Here is what I generally did to overcome this issue. I had this exact same problem getting my safire2 189 into my mirage m6 bag/container. Here are a couple of packing tips I use. 1.) I use PD method of folding the sides underneath while laying down on the canopy. 2.) When making the S folds make sure to keep one need on oneside of the folds and the other directly behind where the slider is to keep the bottom S fold in place. 3.) After cleaning up the the last S fold I try to hold the the entire pack job together by placing my hand on the last S fold to hold it in place and kind of pinch it together. (This helps me get the first corner in the bag more easily). 4.) Make sure the corners of the packjob are in the corners of the bag. 5.) When putting the container in the bag make sure the corners of the bag are in the corners of the container. Then put your knees on the bag while its in the container and quickly close the first flap. Many blisters, lots of sweat, and many hours of work, and I can actually enjoyably jump and pack my gear

I was at my DZ one day when a local jumper in for a reserve repack. This exact thing happened to him. He didn't turn off his vigil and jumped at a higher elevation DZ and had a reserve fire at about 7 grand. I ALWAYS turn off ALL of my gear at the end of the day. Why not right?! Stearny

I have jumped all of the DZs in Kansas. That is plenty of landing area. Stearny

Instructors should be your source numero uno. The important factors are wingloading (thus size) and canopy shape. I jumped a Voyager 220 WL=0.83 (similar to a PD Navigator) all through student status. Around jump 30 I tried a friends Sabre 190 WL=0.97, put around 10 jumps on it. Tried a friends sabre 170 WL=1.08 for one jump. While I felt comfortable with the 170 around jump 50, I ultimately choose to go with a safire2 190. I plan on staying in the sport for a long time and a conservative canopy progression doesn't hurt. Good luck in your gear search. Check dz.com everyday. That's what I did for a very long time. It will eventually work out. Cheers Stearny

This is what you are referring to. The gopro lowprofile mount by delta gear inc. http://www.deltagearinc.com/Kit&Tools/CameraMounts/GoProLowProMount.htm This is hands down the best gopro mount I have seen on the market. I have a lot of buddies that jump with the provided adhesive mount. It is so high above your head that you ocassionaly will turn off the device by bumping into the roof of the plane. Not to mention the extremely dangerous snag hazard. This is what I will be jumping when I get my jumps in to have a camera. Cheers. Stearny

Lots and lots of cool stories like this. L&B are amazing. The sole reason I bought both optima and viso II Stearny

I bought my safire2 189 (WL ~ 0.97) used with 200 jumps on it. I have put about 10 jumps on the canopy thus far. The openings are as everyone has stated consistently extremely soft and on heading. I have not had an opening more than 500 ft with a normal pro pack (not messing with nose). Maybe I am just a shitty packer but I have a hell of a time putting the canopy in the bag / closing my mirage g4 m6 (mirage recommends a safire2 189 to be the smallest "soft" fit). You would think it would have no problem fitting??? I have also put about 15 jumps on a sabre2 190. The sabre2 was much more responsive to toggle inputs, and riser pressure was much lighter. However, the glide slope on the safire2 is much flatter compared to the steeper sabre2. Openings on a sabre2 are complete shit when compared to a safire2. Amount of flare was very comparable, not much difference. The biggest selling point of the safire2 to me were the amazing openings. I am a rather conservative pilot and don't plan on changing for a while. When I downsize to a 170 I will probably be going with more aggressive sabre2 or nitron.

Nothing but open fields below. He said he wouldn't have let me get out if on the other side of the runway. Pulling higher than normal was in the original plan (first jump on new gear). note: canopy was not new to me. So becoming fixated on making it back wasn't really an issue. Really just wanted to commend all coaches and jumpers out there allowing new guys to make a learn from "safe" mistakes to become better and safer skydivers. Thanks for the responses especially the one about raising your kids

Search bar is your friend. Stearny

Agreed. Lessons I don't want to learn Stearny