waveoff5500

no problem, i had the same issue when i first learned tracking, especially when it was break off time. what helps a lot is to start moving forward with your legs extended first then bring your arms back to about 90 degrees with your torso and de arch a bit and "hug" the air. you dont want to bring your arms back behind you because that causes the dive, so im not surprised after a few seconds of track that you lost that much altitude. just before entering your track check your altitude, extend your legs and push against the air with your arms count to 4 stop on 5 and wave off and pull. also get video of your tracking so you can see what youre doing wrong, that helped me a lot. also to improve alt awareness, check your altimeter over and over again on the ground in the plane and then remind yourself to check it in the air. making sure youre not too low is a lot more important than trying to squeaze in one last dock or turn. good luck! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

were you diving in your track? "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i broke my pinky on my first aff, lesson learned? dont rely on the radio to bring you in safely. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i remember after my first jump my body was literally buzzing, and then i went home and passed out haha. its a lot for your body to go through so im not surprised you felt tired and fatigued. it gets better! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

yeah i get what you guys are saying its a hard thing to determine because we also have to deal with the opening shock and cervical spine injuries due to a heavy helmet would probably increase in a hard opening. protecs are nice for the price and do give you some piece of mind but i feel like some people over estimate the protection they offer. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i will have to disagree with your protec statement providing a lot of protection. ive ridden bmx bikes in competition for the last 8 years, and i cant count the number of concussions that come from the soft foam helmets that protec makes these days. a hard foam helmet will protect the best, but the soft foam deforms after even one hit and wont provide the same amount of protection as when it was new. sadly the protec helmets arent what they should be, and ive had quite a few concussions with them to learn that. they are very comfortable though and will protect against the odd bump and bang, but on a serious hit youre better off with a hard foam helmet of any kind. "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i live in akron, just across the y bridge from downtown, but i would agree with stopping at the hospitals, because akron is pretty sketch there are usually cops at the hospitals during the night. also, there are a lot of people in akron who are just there to harass people, ive been on the receiving end a few times, but don't stop if you feel like youre being followed, even call the cops and tell them, a lot safer than not knowing whats going on with someone following you. or get your concealed carry license ;) haha "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

thanks guys im definitely going to take it slow and just focus on jump numbers and canopy control at this point and worry about gear when the time comes around! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

as a new jumper i see myself opening high so i can avoid people like that and focus on learning how to do a good landing pattern every time. that is until i downsize to a sub-100 canopy then its all out the door ;) jk jk "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

thanks for the advice dave, its just really exciting at this point and easy to get ahead of yourself haha but youre right, i want to focus on learning right now and worry about gear later. ill cya on saturday if youre there, im gonna call garfield right now to make sure there are instructors there. thanks again guys! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

that was awesome! iloveskydiving is an awesome site i liked them on facebook so i always get the updates "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

good call, ill do that when i have time to borrow my friends icon i5 "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

alright thanks a lot guys, and im sure ill see you around, as long as we get some good weather soon! haha this weekend is looking partly promising at least :p "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

im kind of in between whether to get a 190 main or a 170 main for my first canopy. i weight 160 without gear so my exit weight would be around 180 lbs. so if i went with a 170 my wingloading would be about 1.05:1 and if i went with a 190 it would be about .96:1. im not super familiar with how much a variation in wingloading can affect performance, so if i went with a 170 and the slightly higher wl would it be that huge of a difference? thanks! adam "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

thanks a lot! im trying to figure out a way to have the container last through some downsizing, because i know it will fit down to a 150 comfortably "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

thanks a lot! but yeah ive been back at the gym swimming and strengthening a lot to get back in shape im almost 100% pain free, slight pain due to the nerve still healing but the dr said this will diminish with time! and ian that made me lol "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

so almost 2 months post op from a micro discectomy, and i took my refresher AFF class today. couldnt jump because of high winds but hopefully ill be able to fit a few jumps in later in the week! im so psyched to be back at it and pumped that i could get most of my recovery out of the way during the off season! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

will a pilot 188 ZPX fit into a mirage G3 m4? the container is made for a 170 canopy but ive read that the ZPX packs smaller than the regular ZP fabric. any help would be appreciated! Thanks! adam "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i like the gainer off the grand canyon and the balloon jumps "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i did my first aff out of the caravan and then the second i did out of the cessna, i actually preferred the cessna because i was already in the relative wind when i let go and it felt smoother haha but the ride up in the cramped plane felt kinda nerve racking at first "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

i just had a microdiscectomy and ridestrong who is a PA for spinal surgery gave me some good advice so try pm'ing him he might be able to give you some advice. goodluck! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

yeah, my pain has returned a little bit, but i talked to the nurse and she said that its pretty normal to have those days and that if it continues to give her a call and they would give me a steroid pack to calm it down a bit. but the nerve takes time to heal and that is normal apparently. thanks for all the support guys! ive just been through a lot haha "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

thanks! day two of sitting on my ass, im able to walk around a fair bit and the leg pain is gone, but the incision is pretty sore "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

watched that last night, same guy who used to hold the longest wingsuit flight! i have the dvd haha gonna watch it again to pass the time during recovery from surgery "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653

hey guys thanks for the wishes! im not out of the hospital and recovering at home. it was a bit calcified when they got to the disk so it took a bit longer than they anticipated, but im all stitched up and m leg pain seems to be gone, a little intermittent pain but nothing like it was. sore back where the incision is but thats to be expected, im glad its finally over though! "its just a normal day at the dropzone until its not" 1653