Professor

Some audibles will sound if you reach a certain speed under canopy. I've only had my protrack sound once under my pretty well loaded stiletto 120, in almost 200 jumps on the canopy, so I don't think it's too easy to do, but it can happen. I guess the speed the audible sounds at and the cypres trigger speed (78 mph, IIRC) must be close to each other. low wind blue skies Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Yeah, what they said! I'd recomend buying used for your first rig, since your probably going to beat it up pretty bad, and want to downsize pretty quickly. If you're intending to freefly, anything new will work fine. On used rigs, try to avoid velcro, especially on riser covers, since they'll be constantly coming undone. Most used rigs will have velcro on them, consider getting any of it that is worn out replaced by your rigger. Also, get a BOC, not an ROL, and make sure it is in good shape, or get it replaced also. If you get a rig w/ a big main closing flap (javelin, infinity, etc) try to make sure that it is quite secure, since it will be taking a lot of wind as you learn to sit. Walrus teeth suck. Look at the bridle coverage as well. A little exposed bridle (an inch or two) won't kill you, but the less the better (once again, replace worn out velcro). If you're going to freefly, get a cypres, and a helmet. Old cypres' seem to be holding up well, but be aware that they need to be sent back for factory maintenence every four years, so ask how old the unit is if you get one w/ the rig. Most importantly, demo the rig before you buy it. Make sure you like it, and there's no hidden 'gotcha's' that you didn't notice. Have fun Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Sandi, This is completely anecdotal, but, I just got one of my canopys relined (a Jedei 136) and the change in the thing is amazing. It's gone from opening so hard I could barely hold my head up on Mondays, to being frighteningly slow, and the flight and landings have improved noticably too. A couple of more experienced jumpers I've talked to say this sort of improvement isn't all that unsual. You may want to consider getting it done, as you may end up w/ what seems like a new canopy. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I think he was talking about San Marcos' fun jumpers. Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I'm still learnin', but when I swoop, I usually do 180 carves. This weekend I was experimenting w/ slightly more than 180's, and had a lot of fun. Current canopy is a stilletto 120 @ 1.9, which I've jumped about 150 times. Ted Like a giddy school girl.

243 mph TAS in a FF suit, intentionally, but I'm pretty heavy. I just wish I could slow down. Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I know you have to add another set of d-rings, to attach the third canopy to. I'm not sure if there are any other mods. Wendy Faulkner (crew forum moderator) would be a good source of info for this, as she's done a few intentional cutaway's, and has a rig set up for them. Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Also, it's easier to maintain altitude awareness in a sit because you can usually see your altimeter a little easier (if you're flying palms to earth in both positions) , and you can see the ground in a sit, which you really can't HD. Most people go slightly slower in a sit too, so the consequences for not giving enough time to slow down, or having a premi are a little less brutal. Generally learning to sit first is a little safer, until you get the awareness Levin was talking about. Ted Like a giddy school girl.

One thing I like to do that might help you, and is a good challenge: jump out, head up or head down, and do a 360 rotation around all 3 axis, in both directions (right 360, left 360, right cartwheel, left cartwheel, front flip, back flip), transition, and do the same thing in the other orientation. See how many times you can get through it in one dive. If that's too easy, add more transitions. Put one between each set of manuevers (spin-spin tr spin-spin flip-flip tr flip flip cw cw tr cw cw) or between each pair of rotations, or, if you're really ambitious, between each rotation. This is fun and can be done solo, and should help w/ stability and transitions. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

It seems like a lot of people like the '90 degree angles' thing, which snowflake mentioned. Do you disagree w/ this advice for beginners? Also, I like the 'head up' way of thinking about it. There doesn't seem to be a reason to differentiate between sit and stand any more than you would between a pin and a straddle or daffy in a head down. So yeah, that makes sense. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

hmmm, it shouldn't be too much of a physical strain, just a little to keep your arms down. It's hard to say what you're doing wrong w/o seeing you fly. Too bad you aren't in TX. Then again, you can probably dig up some OK freaks at SDA . Just keep at it, but don't let yourself get to frustrated. Have fun and relax. Good luck Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Cream of Sum yung gie? Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

It seems like it depends greatly on the person. I've seen some people get into a fairly good sit real quick, and some just can't seem to get it. It took me quite a while to learn to stand, then about 5 jumps to get into a stable head down, but I couldn't sit for the life of me. Finally I gave up on it, and just flew HD for about a hundred jumps, then, one day, just playing around solo, tried to sit and got it. It sort of just clicked. Everybody is a little different. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I think this is a book. About a couple mice and some midgets. And something to do with the way people accept change. We got a presentation about this at work, right before a group-wide reorg . Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Sounds like it's coming from a pervert! Pervert, freak, what's the difference? Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Try to remember to keep your legs spread nice and wide, breath and relax. Try to feel around for a stable 'sweet spot'. Good luck and keep at it. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

Damn! Who landed that?!? Are you defining "ablitity to land" as a complete stop, as zero decent, or as something else? Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I was thinking something like this, but since I'm pretty fast, I'd probably have to belly fly over to him and rotate into the sit/stand from a couple feet above. Only problem, if I was too high, this might bring me down pretty fast on his back and hurt him. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

A guy I jump with and myself tried to build a 2 way hybrid w/ me standing on his back "surfing" (I don't know the offical name of this) and had a hell of a time of it. Has anyone had any luck putting one of these together? How did you do it? Thanks, Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I've jumped a couple of stillettos, a 150 @ ~1.5 psf for about 25 jumps, and a 120 @ ~ 1.9 about 100 times, and I haven't really ever had bad line twist. A couple times I've had 1/2 or 1 twist, but been able to kick out during the opening, and once I got a bit of a bad twist from opening right off the step (prop wash), but over all I've found them to be great canopies. Like all the other americans, I can't comment on the springo, but I think it is squarer than the Stiletto. The Jedei 136 I used to jump seemed much more prone to twist up, for what it's worth. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

I don't post much, but I lurk some. Anyway, my home DZ is Skydive Temple in Salado, TX. We have one really fast 182, one really slow 182, and one 206. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.

10 minutes, 158. I doubt I'm a genius, but I am smart enough to figure out that this is a scam. Ted Ted Like a giddy school girl.