hokierower

My experience has been the exact opposite, although it sounds like I was proactive vs. the wait and see approach you took. I've moved around a lot for work and everytime I get to a new DZ I'll ask who to talk to about freeflying. You make a couple of jumps with 1-2 other people and the DZ in general gets to know where you stand with your skills. It grows after that. For better or worse FF has grown since it first came into being. While I have no problem doing a 2/3-way with newer jumpers, if it's gonna be a "I saw you the whole skydive from 200' away" and it turns out I had to chase them across the sky, then chances are it'll be a one and done until they get a bit better. This has nothing to do with me being a dick, but this is not a cheap sport and I do like to make my money count. The tunnel has advanced things rapidly and it continues to do so. You have to either put in the time and effort to build a solid foundation or you don't. If you don't, the number of people who will listen to you bitch is probably close to 0.

Sweet. Hoping to make it down for Meet 3 or 4. Good luck with the start of the season!

Nice calculator. I'm just a few jumps shy of where I should be :D

I was on the load with him. Very interesting story. Kudos to him for going through with it.

I just picked up a CX430v. It sounds like you're saying that with the adapter it will work with the Hypeye without having to modify anything?

Any update on the tunnel? I called at the end of last month to get an idea on pricing and they said they'd be open the end of April. I'm thinking about hopping the border and driving up to Toronto to take a look-see...maybe fly if they're open!

Which makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about. There is no reason to do that in your profile. We're all skydivers. Tell us the model and size accurately, we can count non-rounded numbers, it's OK. It will build your sky cred. Maybe he has two square feet? So 188 above and two to land with?I guess he's including the slider in his equation...

I've flown the Sabre2 150/135/120 but haven't jumped a Safire2. My experience with the SA is that it is great for canopy piloting, however to get very good swoops you have to have very good turns. A fast turn, a sloppy finish, touching the rears to early, etc. will result in the recovery arc a lot shorter than what you wanted. When I flew it right, I could start a turn from 770' on a 120 @ 1.8 and it would dive like a SOB and scream across the ground. It's just very difficult for me to be consistent with it, however I'm not willing to lower my turn because when I get it right I'm gonna smack into the ground if I lower my start altitude. Long answer short, I'd stick with the Sabre2.

I'll check them all out (Burnaby, Frontier, & WNY) and see which one I like the best. I mainly stick to getting out low and working on CP stuff but will freefly every once in a while.

I'm moving to Buffalo in two weeks. I'm definitely looking forward to 30min to an hour a month in that baby.

Not having huge toggles that allow your hands to slip out.

That's $25 Canadian? Yea, I'm used to paying $16 US for a quick PAC ride to 5k.

Good to know. Man, are the jump tickets for H&P expensive though!

How's the wait trying to get across the border? Burnaby has a swoop pond that I'm going to want to frequent...

Possibly moving up to Buffalo, NY for a couple of months for a quick project. I saw a couple of DZs in the vicinity, but am looking for recommendations. Thanks

I'm moving to Buffalo for a couple of months for work. I found a list showing prices of $895 an hour. Is that right? Is there a membership available? EDIT: WOW! I thought this tunnel was up and running, not wrapping up construction.

The choice was clear to me which is why I bought my first set of gear for $3,000 (3 separate purchases) at Jump 14 and put my first jump on it at Jump 20. $1,600 for a very used (2,000+ jumps in about 5 years) Wings that was still very nice and looked new and a PDR 176, $1,200 for a Spectre 190, and $200 for a Cypres I with 1.5yrs left on it. Since then I only bought used up until my new Curv. Other than that, every main, reserve, & AAD I've bought have been used. It definitely makes sense to buy your own gear. But I suggest piecing together your rig vs. buying a full setup and paying the premium that comes with that.

I have a Vc1 and it is an amazingly comfortable rig. I freefly in it, swoop, and have done some tracking jumps since I've had it. I can't say enough good things about it and it's amazing how the leg straps DON'T MOVE! Sitfly, head down, tracking and the container stays glued to your body. I'm on the East coast and I can't recall seeing another one thus far.

I would propose that before you throw down 6 grand on a 2nd rig that you look at the jumps you make and ask yourself if you're maximizing them. By that i mean are you doing jumps that help to make you a better skydiver or are you just pounding out solos and zoo dives. While they may be fun, I'm not sure they're the best use of your hard earned money. PS - I've been able to make 200 jumps in a year since I started and Im not at the dropzone every weekend. There's some months where I only make it out once or twice.

Finished Season 2 last night. Just kept having to press next...I couldn't help myself. The season ended how I expected it to, but the twists and turns were pretty interesting to see. I was a little disappointed in how some of the sub-plots turned out, but I don't see them fading away so I'll keep my eyes peeled for them in next season. Two thumbs up. I'm gonna have to watch the British version.

I demo'd a Pilot 132 last year at Carolinafest and had to pay $6 for the pack job when I turned in the canopy. Pretty sure PD & Icarus are the same. NZ Aerosports wasn't there.

I have a Vc1 with a Sabre2 120 in it and I can't imagine being able to stuff a larger canopy into it. Call up RI and talk to Angela or anyone over there. They'll be more than helpful in figuring out what size container will fit your needs best.

I got LASIK in August of '12. Best money I've ever spent. I went from 20/200 to 20/15 in both eyes, 20/10 combined. I had the surgery at 8am, got home at 11am, put in my first round of eye drops, took a 3hr nap they "prescribed" woke up in NO pain and seeing 20/25. My vision got better over the next couple of weeks. I didn't jump for about 6 weeks to give everything a chance to heal, but it's amazing.

Three months from Level 1 to A-license. Two months for just AFF. I was learning in TX in the summer and it was either clear and too windy or calm but overcast. That said, I lived at the DZ on the weekends during that time period and learned A LOT that I would never have had the chance to had my progression taken place in a week. Just because you're not jumping doesn't mean you can't be learning.

Then: Old guys complained about how "easy" it was nowadays. Now: Old guys complain about how "easy" it is nowadays. Oh wait...nothing ever changed.