1993

[nicknitro71 0]

1993, the year I started skydiving, only 12 years ago...

At the begining of the year people were still talking about the new 200-way record and the new CRW records.

The most experienced skydivers were jumping Sabres, some hooking them, some hurting and killing themselves while hooking. The toggle-hook turn was the thing to do. Front risers did not have loops yet...

A lot of jumpers were still using round reserves.

FF was more like FreeStyle.

The Cypres was still more fiction than fact. Experienced jumpers usually did not jump with one.

Strong was introducing the Kitty Hawk, little sister of the mini Hawk.

"High performace has an all-new defition: The new NOVA Canopy from Glide Path. Faster, smaller, and with a higher glide ratio than any other canopy in the world, the NOVA has already set new standards in forward speed and low descent rates."

The Flexon was where it's at when it came to containers.

Air time was still pushing the Tomcat and the Jonathan canopies.

The Prestige container from The Adventure Loft.

Aerodyne introduces the AR-11. Ultra-high performance canopy with 11 cells.

The EOS container from Para Flite.

The custom built Stewart Systems Container.

In March 2003 Parachutist changes its magazine logo.

The Digimaster altimeter was the HOT altimeter to have.

The all new Racer Elite 2000 and N.O.S.

Precison introduces the new Monarch as their highest perfomance canopy.

Para Flite introduces the Turbo-Z with Z-po upper skin only like its predecessor the ROBO-Z.

The Sabre was still the shit and "there is only one thing that outperforms the Sabre... but it costs over $30 million & only comes in grey!"

Quincy hostes the second WFFC.

Spetember: "Her dreamed it. He desgned it. We built it. STILETTO, the new elliptical from PD. It's ready...let's fly it!"

Glide Path indroduces the Prodigy CRW canopy.

Aerodyne introduces the AR-7Z.

The worst annual fatalities in a decade: 41 deaths: 10 landing problems, 10 mulfunctions, 7 collisions, 7 no/low pulls, and 7 reserve problems.

Memento Audere Semper

903

[katzurki 0]

Great post. Thanks.

[FlyinseivLP2 0]

I also started jumping in 93. It's amazing to me how much the sport has evolved since then. I wonder what the next 12 years will bring?
Jeff

[Thunderbow 1]

I started in 1974 and was very sporodic. I just started again after about 7 years off. What a change since then. My first canopy was a Thunderbow. Hence my user name. Staged steering, tons of big lines, what fun to pack. Two malfunctions on it in about 100 jumps. They called it the Polish paracommander because it had an arrow built into the design that was always an off color. It pointed in the direction you were going so you didn't get lost.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Lord, let me be the person my dog thinks I am.

[teason 0]

I remember the era well, PD told us you could use tubestoes with sabres, the Nova was "Shaper than a sword" and a young Patrick Passe gave us Travelling 1-3. A much simpler time, Max loading on a Sabre 170 was 187lbs with gear! I still remember a rigger looking at my square reserve like a caveman looking at fire

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[fergs 0]

1973, the year I started skydiving, only 32 years ago...

And now some of the memory dims, but:

The world may not yet have seen a 30 way

First jumps were all static line using either a 7TU or T10 (yes, once apon a time parachutes were round)

Paracommanders were such high performance canopes that you needed to have an A licence before even touching one

Square canopies were just emerging - but they weren't too popular - brutal openings at anything over 7 seconds and hugh bulk and weight.

We still used french Paraboots

Front mounted reserves usually had no pilot chute.

Capewells were the order of the day - making cutaways a real hand to eye to muscle memory coordination excercise.

Sequential RW meant 4 way round - backloop - 4 way round

We were natural at freefly, but back then we called it "unstable again".

Accuracy landings were hitting a 10cm disc on a downwind approach (except for those suicidal square jumpers)

You could actually score a dead center if you were on the mark, as the disc diameter was actually slightly larger then our French Paraboot heel width.

Other than accuracy, almost every landing was going backwards - as our canopies really did not go faster than the wind all that often.

Some of us were radical by jumping canopies such as Thunderbows instead of paracommanders

We made cheap rubberbands for packing using old bicycle tubes - and learned that thicker cut ones may last more than 4 or 5 jumps.

Those of us who converted to piggy back systems earlier than the masses were looked upon with suspicion

Our first square canopies did not have sliders - ring-and-rope reefing was the technology of the time.

When we converted to sliders we were even more radical

Throw out pilot chutes were unheard of

Single point releases were unheard of

Anyone with 200 jumps was a true sky-god

But heck, we were still skydivers and we loved every minute of it!!

Blue Skies,

fergs

[Travman 6]

When sex was safe and skydiving was dangerous.

[Praetorian 1]

sex was only "safe" because the world was not yet aware of the dangers ... some still are

Good Judgment comes from experience...a lot of experience comes from bad
judgment.

[billvon 2,990]

Memories from 1991 -

The Cypres wasn't out yet. Your choices were the FXC or the Sentinel. Of course, no one in their right mind would do RW with someone who had an AAD. If they couldn't remember to pull, how could they do RW? Besides, it could fire at any altitude and kill you.

Booties were for faggy French teams.

Few people wore seatbelts; why wear them if you were just going to jump out at the first sign of trouble? The 1992 Perris crash would change that attitude.

DC-3's were the aircraft of choice for bigways. We knew not to stand anywhere near them when they were firing up; they spewed oil like Otters spew jet exhaust.

Our DZO bought a Monarch 190. We all marveled at this tiny slick parachute, so unlike our Cruislites and PD210's. No one was allowed to jump it but him, of course - it was deadly.

The Racer Elite was the cool rig. The Vector 2 was the standard.

I remember everyone talking about the upcoming WFFC in a new place - Quincy. It would have a jet! Everyone wanted to jump it. I couldn't go; with 30 jumps, I wasn't quite a newbie at our DZ any more, but I also wasn't one of the cool guys.

Student mains were DC-5's that descended almost like rounds. Reserves were all 26' conicals. We had one 28' for the big boys.

[wmw999 2,444]

1975
The first 4-way competition I watched was won by the team that completed a 4-way all 4 rounds.

PCs were for people with at least 50 jumps, but there were some folks who were shaving that.

A guy on my (second) drop zone got a Strato-Star with a little over 50 jumps. He was sure to die.

An AAD was mandatory for the first freefall. It was an additional $2 after that (and before, for that matter).

Piggy backs were largely big and bulky.

The Stevens Cutaway System improved safety for students.

You had to get an altimeter before you could do delays above 15 seconds.

French para-boots were the expensive footwear. Everyone else wore some form of army boots, and some experienced jumpers wore sneakers.

I don't remember much in the way of injuries between going in and broken ankels/legs (and we're not talking femurs here).

I wasn't aware of a lot that went on, obviously -- I was still a college student, and it took me 2 years to make my first 30 jumps.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[skypuppy 1]

When men were men .....

And half the women were men, too!

If some old guy can do it then obviously it can't be very extreme. Otherwise he'd already be dead.
Bruce McConkey 'I thought we were gonna die, and I couldn't think of anyone

[skydived19006 4]

Early 90s most reserve rides were due to “issues” with CRW. Now most are from line twists.

Wing Loading was calculated as square feet/lb 230sf parachute with 200lb under it would have been 1.15 loading.

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[pchapman 279]

1991 (or thereabouts)

There were rumours that people in Europe were killing themselves on landing under a new canopy, the Blue Track. How could you kill yourself landing?

[BillyVance 34]

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I also started jumping in 93. It's amazing to me how much the sport has evolved since then. I wonder what the next 12 years will bring?
Jeff

Same here... Hard to believe it's been nearly 12 years... I suspect 12 years from now, we'll have figured out how to land safely without parachutes!

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[airtwardo 7]

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I also started jumping in 93. It's amazing to me how much the sport has evolved since then. I wonder what the next 12 years will bring?
Jeff

Same here... Hard to believe it's been nearly 12 years... I suspect 12 years from now, we'll have figured out how to land safely without parachutes!

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You first Billy...I'll film it!


I don't know...I heard that in79...89...& 99

Gonna be awhile more I'd bet!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[tonyhathaway 0]

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Front risers did not have loops yet...

Some did!!-Tony

My O.C.D. has me chasing a dream my A.D.D. won't let me catch.

[slug 1]

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1993, the year I started skydiving, only 12 years ago...

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But Butt

That was way.....back in the 20th century

I don't think most of us will be around for the 22 century If you are look me up or down.



R.I.P.

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[BillyVance 34]

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I don't think most of us will be around for the 22 century
If you are look me up
or down. <---- You mean this, right??

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

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[tempretired 0]

I have (but don't use it) a Precision Aerodynamics Interceptor 225 (CRW) with Dive Loops that was manufactured in 1990. I bought it in 1993 as a first canopy (landing was fun).

[PROGRESSIVE 0]

I started in 79, at the age of 16. No one in high school really wanted to hang with me on weekends at the DZ...humm.

First couple of static line jumps were with 35 ft T10s, direct bag deployment. Then I graduated to 28 ft. Cheapo.

After that, I went with a Style Master harness with a Mark IV Para-Commander...I was HOT! Bad Company was my favorite group and "Buring Sky" was the song I thought of while climbing to altitude in the C180, that seemed to take forever and a life time just to reach 9500 ft.

I really moved up in the world when I purchased the Rapid Transit Systems, made by Sky Supplies in Deland, and jumped a 26 ft piglet reserve and a Pioneer Merlin for a main. The first F111 canopy...and I was burning up the sky! I got thru a Texas dealer, Mc Elfish?

My former jump master at the time said, "you can't slow the Merlin down!" He didn't like my choice of canopy.

To this day, my non-jumping friends still don't want to hang with me on weekends. Oh well.

Good times!

[jumpergirl 0]

I started in 1994, but I remember the majority of what you posted.

Thanks for the memories!

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