Olmed

I am impressed. It takes guts to act in such extremely stressful situations. My AFF course starts in 2 weeks. This weekend I spent 25 minutes in wind tunnel. One thing I now understand better is the importance of:RELAX. But also how important it is to practice procedures on ground if you expect them to go smoothly in the air. A stable pull of the main was especially harder than anticipated.

I know you cant base your decisions on advice from the DZ forum alone, but clearly its possible to see some trends..

Why did you have to say that.. Even if things could change while looking down from 12500 feet, I do really not feel afraid to go skydive in about 2 weeks. But is it really just a question of WHEN and not IF you are destined to hit ground too fast..? (Wow..tripple-posting..)

hmm. I was talking about something else - about being borred in combination with "just do it" mentality. That mix can be deadly. Ppl sometimes see "the guy" and think "wow it looks easy... I can do it too..." but they probably don't have a clue how much time and effort "the guy" invested in that act... If skydiver is bored with skydiving maybe it's good idea to take a training and controlled progression into some specific discipline or doing something else (BASE included). But please DON'T JUST DO IT! This sounds like a very good advice! I will remember that whenever I find myself at a DZ. I suspect skydiving is not the best sport to "learn the hard way".

I "wish" this was true...but unfortunately I am not convinced..

Hehe.. Mess with my main..but NOT with my reserve (i.e. safety net) Videos like this produce at least more questions to ask the AFF instructor..

Static line course with 17 jumps in 1993. Now back for AFF course. I will be 39 this year.

Thank you very much! It explained much. Javelin or Vector seem as good alternatives. Stripped I expect to weigh 206-211 lbs. When looking at main canopies I would be classified as a novice with a Pulse 230 but as an intermediate with a Silhouette 260. I look for conservative, but should Pulse be a better option because of my weight?

Atlantis should be available...

Hmm..I am 6,07 tall and weigh 211 (stripped). Wonder how thats going to affect my falling rate..and RW

Any other rigs than Vector which comes with Skyhook? If you need a 260 main canopy, does this mean you should avoid the Vector container?

I am about the same size and weight as you (6´07" and 215). Preparing for my AFF course in August. If I go all the way and start looking for my own rig I have so far decided on a Silhouette main, PD Reserve and a V3 with skyhook. Conservative, yet fun.. So its real, you have to wait 12-19 weeks for a complete new rig? (by the way, how is your free fall with such weight and height. Do you fit in with the other smaller jumpers during RW?)

Thanks, I think they have a program for those who signed up for AFF. I will make sure to inform them on the actual day.

Would 10 minutes in the wind tunnel be sufficient for the basics before an AFF course? To become stable is my primary target. Also some practice for the exercises in the AFF jumps would be an extra bonus.

Thanks for the good advice. I will try to bring this with me in the first AFF jump.

Very common mistake. Very common instructor mistake not to cover that point. Do you remember if they covered it in the class? The way to become a better instructor? Don't have your students listen, have them do! Then, watch what they do and correct them. Then figure out how to teach the next student more accurately and less confusingly. I joke that my whole FJC is on a 3rd grade level, but that's most people's intellectual capacity once the door opens. In my logbok from the static line jump (1993..so years are turning..) it says.."when you leave the plane, dont kick so hard off the step".. This time I hope to be more relaxed and just let go while arching until I am face to earth. Despite every preparations...I am almost certain that my legs are going to cycle air..at least on the first jump

Thats exactly what problems I encountered during static line course. Tried to "throw myself" into face-to-earth when leaving the step. Ps! Just booked 10 minutes in wind tunnel before the AFF course. (Airkix Manchester UK). Not cheap, but hope it will be worth the experience.

The videos can give small clues about how it looks like; i.e. compared to never seen a jump at all. In addition you can recognize the look of different malfunctions. But I suspect we would be very "disappointed" if we expect to know anything about what it takes to jump out of a plane after watching a video about it. I try to arrange time in wind tunnel before the first AFF-jump. Waste of money or a good idea?

Majority is: - Skydiving: Something I hope describes the number of pulls ending with a good flying main canopy. - AFF course: number of days with clear blue skies. Otherwise, check out the excellent info above, thanks Sparky.

Last time it was just do dare myself. This time i hope to learn the sport. If successful...i guess my savings for pension would meet new times. Thanks, I will post how I progress or get scared shitless so I never come close to a dropzone again;)

Thats how I hope it will be too! AFF in less than 4 weeks.

Full-face helmets tend to be quieter. As for vision, it depends on the design of the helmet - some have a very wide field of vision, others have a more narrow field of vision. Of course, a dirty or scratched visor will impact vision, but that's remedied by cleaning/replacing the thing. Full-face fit can be a trickier thing than an open-face since the shape of your head/face matters more, so it's very critical to try them on to see which works for your particular noggin. I wore an open face helmet till I had around 450 jumps then switched to a full-face and haven't jumped my open face since. I waited as long as I did to switch to a full-face partly because I had trouble finding one that I liked that also fit my (freakishly large) head. I like the additional protection that a full-face gives me from errant body parts, as well as the additional warmth it gives in freefall in the winter months. I don't have to keep track of goggles, which is nice. I also strongly prefer it in the wind tunnel because it keeps me from getting snotty after a long tunnel session. A relief to hear others with "freakishly large" heads in this sport. I have been wanting to ask how this affect your flight..

Relax. You are overthinking the entire skydiving experience. Just relax and listen to you instructor - he'll tell you everything you need to know and don't overload yourslef with that kind of material prior your first jumps. Think you are on to something.[/;)] At the same time that I want to prepare were I can to improve my performance on jump-day, 4 weeks is an awful long time to go wait for it. Too much time to over think it.

Your story smells fishy. Tension knots will happen during deployment, and thus, there IS time to pull the reserve if you don't waste a lot of time trying to work them out. The only way you would not have time to pull the reserve would be if you waited too long to make your decision to cut-away. In other words, the cause of death in your story was not tension knots, but an inappropriate response by the jumper - jumper error. If the tension knots aren't bad, you might be able to land with them. Is the canopy controllable? Can you flare it? If not, get rid of it. Don't be like the "very experienced jumper" in that story, and ride a bad canopy down too low to cut it away. I just found it inappropriate (especially as a new person in this forum) to start talking about people who barely survived their jump. It was an experienced female jumper from Norway (who also base-jumped) who did a show in Switzerland. I have not read the full story but she got injured pretty bad, broke most of her lower limbs. I just read briefly that her reserve was not opened. If I got the story wrong I apologize for not checking the details before posting something like that. She has today made great progress in her rehab. I am glad to hear that even tension knots could be worked out either by cut away or in some cases by landing with it.

Incorrect. This year at least five jumpers have died that had under 25 jumps. One of those was a malfunction that cutaway too low to survive. To the OP: If you do some searches on here you'll find some good discussion about what should or shouldn't be said to a jumper who is on radio. There are some serious concerns about telling a jumper under radio to cutaway a malfunction. If there's more than one jumper on radio it can be heard by the wrong jumper. Or it can lead to a jumper hearing and reacting too low. That's why you get trained on EPs. It's ultimately your call. If you can't turn right, turn left, flare. Chop. Basically, that's on you. And the issue that happened with you was handling a malfunction not failing to complete the requirements of the AFF jump. I know people who didn't have a mal until a couple hundred jumps, so no point in failing you on something that is always possible but not an expected part of your AFF training. Good luck on your next jump! I would not appreciate an instructor telling me on the radio to cut away. It would worsen the whole situation. The skills to decide if you fly under a good canopy should be present BEFORE you jump. It would not be nice to hear a half tense voice on the radio yelling "CUT AWAY-CUT AWAY"... I think you should be prepared to cut away on every jump and trust that you reserve will take you down safely if the situation demands it. Well, big words from someone waiting for his AFF to start in a couple of weeks..