waveoff5500

glad it did! probably helped save my life in the future as well

just to preface i dont have thousands of jumps and dont pretend to know everything there is to know, but i think anyone with experience can offer help when it comes to something safety related. for example a lower jump jumper ended up not following pull priorities last weekend and kept trying to break off from someone who had lost alt awareness instead of getting to a point where it was too low and just pulling. all ended well but she maintained that she knew is wasnt good but it was distracting having them there not breaking off. i replied to it with "you know whats really distracting?" and she said "what?" and i finished up with "hitting the ground." she then realized that it was more than just a simple thing then and really reflected on it. i think that got the point across better than something to the effect of "what the hell are you thinking?!" etc. but like i said thats just my two cents and im sure the other approach works just fine in some cases. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i think i picked that up from you somewhere on the boards when i first started jumping. its come in handy as ive traveled down the road "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i had that dream too, took my local board members advice and flared in my dream and i was miraculously alright! haha. im pretty sure i would stay in a freefly, that ground rush would be insane and i would def try to yell something funny to my friends before i pounded in. considering that i was over the DZ. maybe try to track id have to imagine seeing a full out track all the way to impact would look crazy from the ground. but like others said i dont know situation that it would go down like that "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

this is more common on base rigs where you have a large pilot chute stuffed into the BOC. not much of an issue with a 42 etc but a 46 left in the BOC for awhile has a noticeable effect on the BOC. dont see it being much of an issue with a skydiving pc though plus it looks neater! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

this was addressed in the fjc at my dz. the remedy is a brake pump which usually fixes the issue. i have seen a cutaway by a student because of it though. might as well get rid of it while youre not paying for the repack "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

nice work in the tunnel man! but dont forget your relaxation techniques they will come in handy even as you become an experienced jumper. ive had to use breathing and body relaxation even this past weekend learning head down exits. my friend kept giving me the AFF shake to relax. once i did everything went well so keep relaxing but not so much that you dont pull "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

its good that you handled it well, but dont make a mistake line twists are a malfunction and can develop into a big problem quickly especially as you downsize as others have posted. give an alti check if youre at the middle ground where you might be too low because altitude doesnt lie, but your perception of time might be altered and spiraling into the ground under line twists or whistling in under a partially deployed reserve from a low cut away will stop laughter quickly. stay sharp out there tiger "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i was jumping an analog and then got an n2 on loan from a buddy who doesnt jump much. i have the n2 on my wrist and a protrac in my helmet with freefly alarms. i like the n2 because of the low buik and while a digital can quit on you (happened to me in the middle of a night jump) an analog can freak out as well. a lot of people also tend to rely on their audibles a lot so make it a habit to always check your wrist alti during the skydive. never forget you have two built in altimeters in your head called your eyes. if ground rush is noticeable, you feel like youre falling into a "bowl" or you can see in windows on a house its time to pull no matter what your altis say "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

when it comes to canopies (pretty much everything but canopies especially) i would listen to lepka. he is an awesome canopy pilot and has everything figured out and has helped me a lot when it comes to considering downsizing. i think this quote helped put it into perspective most "learn to be consistent and get better before downsizing" its easy to get ahead of yourself, but think about it, its going to be more impressive if you can do whatever you want with the size that youre on instead of being all over the place on a canopy that is too small for your skill level. be safe! but not safe enough to be lame "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i realize that, im addressing the idea in general that many new jumpers adopt that its safer than driving etc. the quote "you can do everything right and still die" pretty much encompasses that. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

lol thats an unrealistic comparison. if we spent the same amount of time actually skydiving (take off to landing) as we did in a car as well as having the same number of people participating in skydives as we did driving on the road, id imagine the results would be vastly different. people cant compare driving and skydiving. when an accident happens in a car you have a seat belt, air bag, metal frame around you so your odds of survival are higher than if you encounter an accident in skydiving. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

dont drop your handles? "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i went low on my instructor/good friends 6000th jump and the told them that the formation went high on me! its just skydiving as long as no one died it was a good jump. drink up and have fun! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

tried one with my buddy, had a deployment delay and when it opened we both got slammed. i was bruised on my shoulders for a week and he "felt like he had fallen from ten feet onto his hands" not to mention i was open at 11k after he had fallen off haha. also you have to be careful that the hanger doesnt strip your cutaway and reserve handle if they get ripped off. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

you get to a point where you realize its the same convo over and over. you get the odd one once in awhile that asks legit questions but those are few and far between. dont waste your time "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i ordered a liquid sky suit a bit ago, still waiting for it but they are awesome. did you get a tunnel suit? from what i hear they are designed a bit more sturdy because the tunnel is harder on them. hope it works out! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i have a protrack and then just borrow an analog from the DZ. i like analog a bit better because you know where the redzone is, your brain knows that it doesnt look good when youre low. in the end you should use your eyes to know that the ground looks too close. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i used it for a pull up cord and some rubberbands! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

im pretty sure wink made something like this, ask him about it "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

My dropzone enforces this rec very strictly. i always questioned the difference but when i finally was able to jump one i had an excess of a few minutes of film because i forgot it was on my helmet haha. i agree jumpers right off student status should not be allowed, but maybe there should be a sign off with the S&TA? then it could be a case by case basis. then if someone with less than 200 jumps was ready to get it they could but if someone who had more than 200 jumps but was still all over the place with skills could be told to wait. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

why dont you wait a bit until you need more gear, say an audible and then order that along with the closing pin necklace? "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

stow your breaks, check your lines (no step throughs, flip throughs etc.) uncollapse and quarter your slider, cock your PC and dont pack a total. the rest will hash itself out "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i like my women like i like my malfunctions....fast and messy "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

those base jumpers just cant follow rules "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653