Divalent

Hey! Why all the hatin' on psycho packing? I agree a student should probably learn the traditional "pro pack", since more people will be able to help him and he is more likely to find better online instruction, etc. (And if chosing to psycho pack, it is helpful to have an 8 inch or so bridle extension.) But once you know how to pack the traditional way, the transition is not complicated. And there are advantages of psycho packing beyond the ease of getting the canopy folded up and in the bag. The main one (IMO) is that, when layed out on the floor, you really don't do anything that can disturb the position of the lines, slider, and nose. And because you rotate it before putting it down, you can very easily open it up and inspect things to be sure nothing got disturbed with the floor flop. (recheck the slider, confirm no line is crossing the nose, etc). After that, you are doing two simple folds and then a roll; nothing that risks, say, creating a line-over or letting the slider get out of position (as might happen if you aren't careful when folding the canopy under itself with the tradational pro pack.) I've done over 350 psycho packs and haven't yet had a problem.

I think you need to sit down with an instructor and review your EPs. (And preferably an instructor who doesn't suggest that deploying your reserved by pulling on the reserve cable or the RSL lanyard is a viable option.)

A tandem jump in Dubai https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNF0ko4kyrQ

Psst! Hey buddy ... Come over to the dark side ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYb6R8CNqDQ

Don't you still need one hand to, like, you know, AIM? THIS is why I keep arguing (to no avail, so far) that it is in women's best interest that the default be "toilet seat up".

My Cypres had its 4 year service this past summer, and got the updated firmware that allows one to increase the activation altitude (in 100ft / 30m increments). I increased mine by 100ft. There are several hills near the Farm that get up that high, and sometimes I am opening right above one. I never plan to deploy below 3K, so I figure there is no reason to not increase it. (I might go another +100ft; but thought I'd start out conservatively). BTW, here is the Cypres Manual: http://www.cypresusa.com/userguide/CYPRES_2_Users_Guide_English_01-2013.pdf Info on changing the firing altitude is begins on page 21 (which is page 22 of the PDF)

A truck driver would amuse himself by running over lawyers. Whenever he saw a lawyer walking down the side of the road he would swerve to hit him, enjoy the loud, satisfying "THUMP", and then swerve back onto the road. One day, as the truck driver was driving along he saw a priest hitchhiking. He thought he would do a good turn and pulled the truck over. He asked the priest, "Where are you going, Father?" "I'm going to the church 5 miles down the road," replied the priest. "No problem, Father! I'll give you a lift. Climb in the truck." The happy priest climbed into the passenger seat and the truck driver continued down the road. Suddenly the truck driver saw a lawyer walking down the road and instinctively he swerved to hit him. But then he remembered there was a priest in the truck with him, so at the last minute he swerved back away, narrowly missing the lawyer. However even though he was certain he missed the lawyer, he still heard a loud "THUD". Not understanding where the noise came from he glanced in his mirrors and when he didn't see anything, he turned to the priest and said, "I'm sorry Father. I almost hit that lawyer." "That's okay", replied the priest. "I got him with the door!"

Bump ... because it's good stuff that might make a difference. Go read the OP at the top.

I'm afraid not.

Two brothers, 8 and 6 years old, were getting ready for breakfast when the older brother said, "I think we're old enough to start using cuss words like grown-ups, so when we go eat breakfast, let's use some cuss words. I'll say, "Hell", and you say, "Fat Ass." They agreed and went to breakfast. After sitting down, their mother asked the 8-year-old what he wanted for breakfast. He replied, "Oh Hell, I think I will have some Cheerios." "What did you say?" his mother yelled. She went over and slapped him so hard that he fell out of his chair. She picked him up off the floor, dragged him to his room, and slammed the door. When she got back in the kitchen, the 6-year-old was sitting there wide-eyed. She asked sharply, "Now young man what do you want for breakfast?" he stuttered and said, "I don't know but you can bet your fat ass it won't be Cheerios!!"

Sorta what he said. IMO, it is such a foreign environment and strange sensation that it can take a number of repetitions for your mind to connect up the sensation with the environment so that you understand it. Much like where riding a new roller coaster initially provides a thrill, but if you keep riding over an over, it becomes so familiar and predictable that it eventually becomes just a ride in a moving car. I'd wager that everyone who gets into this sport goes through it, but they can desensitize at different rates. (For me I think I pretty much got it over the worse by AFF-4.) Just keep doing jumps and it will come to you. (If that means doing a slew of tandems in a day, so be it. Maybe they give you a deal. (A lot of DZs offer cheap repeat tandems on the same day. Do 3 or 4 in a day and then get on with your AFF training.)) Good luck

IIRC, instructors from The Farm take AFF students up during the boogie, so no need to bring your own. There'll be coaches there too, if'n you make it to solo status by that time. (But that won't make you a Farm animal, since it ain't the Farm. OTOH, if you fly into Atl, you can always spend a few days there before or after.)

If you got a skyvan: http://youtu.be/oGeVbw94UMs

Congrats on making the transition from groupie to real skydiver! (And also for slashing in half your posts/jumps ratio with just a weekends effort! ) Before too long you'll soon be jumping without an instructor hanging onto you, which means that pretty much *you* will have to take care of yourself. So in that regards, might I humbly suggest some of the other forums here beside the Bonfire: Gear and Rigging Safety and Training General Skydiving Discussions Incidents There is a lot of good stuff in those places, although I should note a very important caveat: don't believe anything uncritically that you might read in those forums. Some stuff is not good. They're only useful if you expend the effort to build your own knowledge base. Always run any particular bit of advice you might read there by your actual instructor. But I found that reading those forums to be very useful to help me understand gear and techniques and safety. BTW, there are also some excellent skydiving-specific threads in the Women Only forum. For example, here an excellent thread on the challenges of being a woman at a DZ that you might want to check out: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3224190 Good luck with your training. You think you will be able to get your license before the winter sets in?

A few more: 6. Don't be a student (or seriously non-current). 7. Don't jump when winds/weather conditions are iffy. 8. Watch out for the other guy under canopy. 9. Pack your parachute as you would if your own child was going to jump it.

Steven walks up to his friend John of many years. He has always admired his friend John because John has a good job, a beautiful family, and is a deacon in his church. However, Steven notices that John looks extremely distressed. Steven says: "What's wrong John, you look terrible?" John: "I just got a letter in the mail. The guy says that if I don't stop sleeping with his wife, he is going to kill me and bury me so that I will never be found." Steven: "Well, that doesn't seem so bad, why don't you just stop sleeping with his wife and be done with it?" John: "It wasn't signed". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A boy is working on his English homework, and asks his father for some help. "Dad, what's the difference between 'potential' and 'reality'?" His dad replies, "I'll tell you what. Go ask your mother if she'd sleep with Robert Redford for a million bucks. Then go ask your sister if she'd sleep with Brad Pitt for a million bucks. Once you have their answers, you'll know the difference." So the boy goes to his mother and poses the question: Would she sleep with Robert Redford for a million bucks? She answers, "Don't tell your Dad, but yes, I certainly would!" The boy then goes to his sister and asks her his next question: Would she sleep with Brad Pitt for a million bucks? "Oh defintely!" she answers, without a moment's thought. The boy goes back to his father, an expression of understanding on his face. "You're right, Dad, I know the difference now. Potentially, we're sitting on two million bucks. In reality, we're living with a couple of sluts."

I think even the lower end limit of 250 ft of the US version would be absolutely great. For a canopy lost in a dense forest you might have to get within about 20 ft to be sure of spotting it visually, and when searching would have to be continually scanning all the time: up down left right forward back. And wandering about to check out things that might be it. If instead you only had to walk with a smart phone in your pocket, you could instead focus on quickly walking a planned grid about the area: you'd move faster and would be more likely to walk your planned route. If you know where it will be within about a 1 square mile area and have a search a party of, say, 5 others each with a smart phone, I'd bet 99% of the time you'd locate it in less than 2 hours. ETA: I should add the caveat that the BluTracker site shows no updates in over a year. Their facebook page appears to have been scrubbed. So although what they promise seems like it would be great, it looks like there is a strongly possibility it's going to turn out to be Vaporware. Oh well...

I have a nice snively pilot 188, and I like that it is that way. There is nothing inherently dangerous (or at least more dangerous; I mean, we're talking skydiving here) about a slow opening canopy. It's a feature (not a defect) that lots of people actually value. But you do need to factor in your canopy's opening time when planning your normal opening altitude and for determining your "straight-to-reserve" point if you unexpectedly find yourself low. And similarly for what altitude you will deploy your reserve if you have to make a low emergency exit. (And of course, that's true whether you got a slow opener or not.) For me, 2000 ft is my "straight-to-reserve" altitude, and for simplicity's sake it's the same whether I'm in free fall or hopping off a cripled plane in an emergency. (Other factors that went into that decision were 1) there are 100+ft hills near the DZ I jump at, 2) my Cypres is programmed to fire at 850 ft, 3) there are lots of densely wooded areas that I might not be able to overfly if I opened at just over 1000 ft directly above them.) BTW, my normal deployment altitude is 3,000 to 3,500 ft, but I've pulled as low as 2,500. Whats the difference in opening altitude for a slow opener vs a briskly opening canopy? About 500ft.

So you're saying 40 people went in during the last 15 years...none of them had an RSL hooked up? Is that reflected in a database somewhere because I kinda find that hard to believe. Last year (2013) 4 of the US fatalites were low cutaways with no RSL. That was a notable cluster, but 1 or 2 a year is typical. (There has been 1 such fatality in the US so far this year). But US fatalities typically compose a bit less than half of the total world wide. So 40 in 15 years (less than 3 per year average) in the world wouldn't be a surprising number.

A man goes to the doctor with a long history of migraine headaches. When the doctor does his history and physical, he discovers that the poor guy has tried practically every therapy known to man for his migraines and STILL no improvement. "Listen," says the doc, "I have migraines, too and the advice I'm going to give you isn't really anything I learned in medical school, but it's advice that I've gotten from my own experience. When I have a migraine, I go home, get in a nice hot bathtub, and soak for a while. Then I have my wife sponge me off with the hottest water I can stand, especially around the forehead. This helps a little. Then I get out of the tub, take her into the bedroom, and even if my head is killing me, I force myself to have sex with her. Almost always, the headache is immediately gone. Now, give it a try, and come back and see me in six weeks." Six weeks later, the patient returns with a big grin. "Doc! I took our advice and it works! It REALLY WORKS! I've had migraines for 17 years and this is the FIRST time anyone has ever helped me!" "Well," says the physician, "I'm glad I could help." "By the way, Doc," the patient adds, "You have a REALLY nice house!"

It would have better if his video started from the moment the PC was pitched so we could get some estimate of the time that had elapsed until he began to slow down and get stood up. (And perhaps even see what the bag looks like as it exits the container; and exactly when did lines become taut and straight) Still, looks like those cells were inflating extremely early. For comparison, here's my wonderfully snivelly pilot 188 opening at 1/10 speed (so 10 sec of video = one sec of real time): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtTbrdGW-dA. Mine takes 5-6 seconds to do what his did in less than 2.

And the "If you want to know what happened, get on the phone and do your own back-channel investigation, otherwise STFU" crowd. And the "What's the big deal? He said he was sorry and it won't happen again. Isn't that all you need to know?" crowd. And the "Somebody else's incident in the past was dealt with this way by USPA, so why you want to treat him different?" crowd. And the "My anonymous source told me something (that I won't reveal), but it has satisfied me that there is no problem here, so everyone should just move on, OK?" crowd.

The point that Humidity is only a minor contributor is correct, but that source is clearly not a good place to go to learn about things. Here's a quote from the article: That is just incorrect. The author is confused about the difference between atomic number and atomic mass.

No kidding. Going that fast it'd certainly roll your socks down, wouldn't it. But wouldn't the air density be so low that it would be pretty much a wash? I'd have guessed that a deployment way up there would feel pretty much like one you'd get from a typical skydiving jump. IOW, maybe you'd be falling at 5 times the velocity you'd fall at 10K, but because the air was only 1/5th the density, the force of the relative wind on the deploying canopy would be 1/5th as great. Am I missing something?

Two nuns were riding their bicycles over to the outdoor market place to get some groceries. As they were passing through the older section of town, one nun said "I've never come this way before." The other replied "It's the cobblestones."