ChuckMartin

It might come at some point. I was told Mid Nov, then late Nov-early Dec, then mid Dec, then I was told is was done and sent out Dec 22nd, really it was sent out Jan 13th. At first I was told 7 weeks, came 15 weeks later. I am working on a review on the company and the suit but will wait until after everything is said and done to post it. I want to see if the company will try and make things right.

What you are looking for is a "Hybrid" suit. A freefly suit with flat grippers. http://www.michigansuits.com/order/suit/freefly http://www.tonysuits.com/products/freefly_suit.php Its about a $40 options from most the people that offer it. I ordered a Michigan suit without it and it came with it. Didn't really need it but a free option is a free option. It's not like its a 50/50 FF and RW suit its more like it 95% a freefly suit but you can do some light RW in them. Also I would recommend staying away from freefallsuits.com. Unless that is you want to be lied to, ignored, wait longer then promised, have the suit not fit (AT ALL), and have none of the options you paid for come on it. Sorry for that mini rant, more then a little pissed off at them right now.

http://www.cypres-usa.com/english_maintenance.pdf

You will learn that "buy beer" thing is going to come up a lot.

"We find the Katana opens best when the nose is left completely straight, with the leading edge hanging just below the front of the slider. We do not recommend pushing the nose into the center of the pack job on any canopy, even a little bit, as this promotes off-heading openings." http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/KatanaFlightCharacteristics.pdf I was doing the same thing on mine and having really long bad opening. Stopped tucking the nose and that alone helped a lot. I still get some weird openings sometimes and i'm particular on who I let pack it. I only load mine at a 1.35-1.4 so that might have something to do with it. It keeps me on my toes. Fun fact: First time I ever jumped it was also my first jump on a reserve I packed myself, the things that were going through my mind on the ride up. Had the rigger that is teaching me and another one sitting behind me screwing with me the whole time. "Hmm that doesn't look right, we can fix it later."

Long answer: When I was in the Marines I went to a TON of medical courses. They even gave me time off to go take a month long EMT course. So from the view point of somebody that can help I would say just stand back and try not to get in the way. People always want to help and that is awesome but it makes it harder sometimes. Not only do I have to deal with somebody that got hurt by now I also have to deal with their friends and family members getting in the way. I was on a date with my now wife about 8 months ago and as we were driving back a car speeding hit a power line poll did some rolls and then stopped. It was dark and what I learned later to be transformer oil was all over the place and sparks were going off, one of the worst crashes I have seen. I stop and walk over to the car and see somebody pulling somebody else out. Turns out the car had 4 drunk teenage girls in it and the driver was pulling out her girlfriend. As I am telling her to leave her inside but she does not listen and pulls her from the car before I could get over to her. About a minute later another guy that is also an EMT stops to help also but instead of both of us helping my giving medical attention to the girls he had to physically hold back the driver because she kept trying to push us away and lay on top of/ pick up the head of/ kiss ect.... her girlfriend. We did not ever know there were two more girls in the back seat for a few minutes because we both had things we had to deal with. They all survived with some minor to major injuries but it could have been a lot worse. People always feel like they need to do something and sometimes you have to tell people something to do just to get them away from you and make them think they are helping. Even in a basic CPR class you will learn to point at somebody and tell them to call the police because of the "bystander effect" people think that somebody else is going to call the police. I even told a woman once that she had to call the police and get help here (police and EMT's were already there) she didn't even think twice and went and did it. Thinking back on it now it was not the best idea I ever had. Not that a 911 call center can only take one call at a time but it still added to what they had to deal with. In country when people see their friends go down some of them lose their mind and become useless. Others don't react at all, and some zone out. Everybody is different and it depends on who it happens to. You are going to care way more when it's your best friend or a close family member. Short answer: Stay out of the way, and if you can make sure other people stay out of the way.

Makes it easier to see on the plane too. If the bottom of your rig, pilot chute, and handle are all the same color it would be hard for other people to notice if your pilot chute is sticking out some and warn you about it. Should be something you're checking but sometimes people don't. Every few weeks I see somebody being told to check their pilot chute on the ride up.

Smaller, it will form to your head better.

I got pretty badly hurt in Afg by stepping on an IED and spent about two and a half years in Wounded Warrior Battalion, a unit for guys to recover. Shattered my right ankle, tib-fibed the same leg, some "minor" fractures in my left leg, same in my right hard, and did some damage to my knees and back. When I was in WWB a charity called Wounded Wear took us for tandems. I did one a year for two years then when I was down in Texas for some medical stuff I did the AFF program. Jan 20th will be three years from the injury and Jan 18th will be a year since my first AFF jump.

PP should have it already. Not sure about FCP, I don't use it so I don't follow its updates, but it is hard to imagine that it wont. http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013/09/adobe-premiere-pro-cc-october-2013-release.html

Jump 40ish I landed in a tree that was right next to a wide open field. S&TA asked me why I didn't just land in the field and I said that it would have been a downwind or cross wind landing. Then he asked me if I thought a tree landing was better. A week later I was on a road trip with my girlfriend, now my wife, and two skydiving buddies one with about 400 jumps and the other with 14,000. First jump at Eloy, gusts to 36 We looked at each other and decided to go anyway. We had just drove 16 hours and would have jumped in a hurricane at this point. Didn't get hurt but landed off going backwards. I don't think anybody made it to the grass on that one and we left right after that and went to Perris.

Medical grade oxygen has to much water in it and will freeze. You will need aviation grade the H20 levels are (should be) lower. Some say it is all the same thing but why risk it?

Country-Zimbabwe City- Salem Home DZ- Deland Location map- SoCal You say your from New England and wont tell anybody anything about yourself. People keep attacking what you are saying because most the time it doesn't make sense. Would it not just be easier for you to fill out your profile and let people know what your level really is? Unless you really are here just to piss people off and then you're doing what you set out to do. Stop trying to get into a logical debate with people asking them what you have said that is wrong (even though people have pointed that out to you a few times). Even if its not for this post let people know what your experience level is so when you do say something to a student on here asking a question they can decide if they want to listen to you at all. Stop typing 3000 words trying to get around a incredibly easy answer.

It's not about who or what your hearing, or listen more from this guy or that guy, the source isn't important () it's what YOU learn! True I agree with you. No matter what the source people can still be wrong. Every president we have had knows way more then you or I about economics and foreign policy but that does not mean that all of them are always right or that we should blindly listen to people even if they do know more then we do about a subject. In fact even experts always disagree with each other. You make a good point but kind of took what I said out of context. I was hinting at the fact that time doing something does always directly correlate to what most of us would call "experience". If that were true the oldest person in the world would be the smartest and no body would want a young pretty girl in bed they would all be going after the old wrinkled ones with some miles on them ;)

Lets look at this same idea but take skydiving out of it because we all have a lot of invested in it and opinions run deep. Man 1 Has been golfing for 5 years and has played 500 rounds of gold. He only goes out when he feels like it. Only plays on nice days when the weather is good. He almost always plays with the same people at the same golf course. He likes it but it is not a big part of his life. If he is not golfing he is not at the club and learns only what he feels like he wants to learn and has no ambition of teaching people or becoming a pro. He likes golfing but it is not his life and never wants it to be. He has other hobbies that keep him busy and he can go for weeks without playing. He shows up plays a game or two and leaves and he still uses the first set of clubs he got because they work just fine for him. Man 2 Same 500 games of golf but in one year. Plays whenever he can. Ran or shine, hot or cold. Travels around the country and has played at a lot of different courses. Has played in really high winds and on days when most other people (Man 1) would not play. When he is not at the course he is at a driving range. He reads everything he can on the sport he has all the books and magazines, gets online and reads even more. He teaches people how to play and sees what others are doing right and what they are doing wrong. When the weather is to bad to play he is still at the club talking to people and learning everything he can. He sits around all day in bad weather trying to get in half a game. He demos gear all the time to see what other clubs are like and to find what is best for him. Drives to other states to get around the weather or go to someplace because the club by were he lives in closed on some days. Man 3 Only 100 games in five years but has the passion of man 2. He has not played as many games but learns as much as he can. So who is better? Who knows more? Truth is, who knows? You would think man 2 is the best golfer and man 3 knows more right? But without knowing the people we have no way of knowing. It all comes down to the person maybe the third man learns a lot faster and is a better golfer then then the other two people with 5x as many games. Maybe the 2nd guy can not retain knowledge and no matter how much he reads and learn he wont remember as much as the 1st guy and though he does not set out to learn. I jump with students and I jump with people with 1000+ jumps and some students I have seen can fly better then the veteran guys. Some of them know more about gear then guys with 2 or 3 years. I have also seen guys with years in the sport and thousands of years that I feel are to unsafe. You cant compare people all the time. People have different goals from each other. As much as a lot of us don't want to admit it skydiving is not a big deal for a lot of people, even the ones that do it. We are saying that people with more time in should know more because they have more time to learn but most people don't want to learn. If you are on this forum you most likely care more then others or you wouldn't be here and want to think you know more then people that have been around the sport less time then you but that is because you care about it. If you have been around for 20 years and care and want to learn and make yourself better you will know more then some that has been around 5 years and cares the same but you will also know more then somebody that has been around for 30 and doesn't.

As a retired Marine you should know that when it comes to staying alive nothing is “out dated”. It doesn’t matter if you have 500 jumps in a year or 1000 jumps in 10 years. If you are not paying attention to the past you are not learning the things that will keep you alive in the future. You can become the best flyer the sport has ever seen but if you go in because in you rush to win the race you failed to learn some “random fact” you will still be dead. This was posted some years ago and I think it is still valid today. Sparky “Some of the best in the world, Dave Wilds, Tom Piras, Roger Nelson…. They were true Skygods, World Champions – Icons of the sport. They had natural talent, had developed incredible skills and were hugely current. ... And yet the ground offered them no concession for their level of skill or experience. Knowing that your experience and skill will probably never approach their level, try not to be so arrogant as to think for a moment you will be afforded any more consideration.” “The only source of knowledge is experience.” Albert Einstein True the only way we can learn is by knowing the bast but just because somebody has been around longer does not always mean they know more. Even jumps don't matter for some things. But all other things being equal I would listen more to the guy with 4000 jumps and 6 years over somebody with 500 in 20. Neither time in the sport or number of jumps guarantees you knowledge. I know master riggers that have less then 200 jumps but have been rigging longer then I have been alive does not mean I know more then them about gear but at the same time does not mean they know more then me about other parts of the sport. Just because somebody was there to see something does not mean they are the only ones that can learn from it. I don't need to jump a round from the 50's to know that ram air ones are more movable. We share and learn from each other and the people that came before us but at the same time that does not mean the people that have been around the longest know more, if that was true the best and most knowledgeable drivers on the road will be the people in the 80-90's. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Isaac Newton The oldest scientist is not always the smartest ;)

When we say time in sport what we mean is time learning. What if the person has 500 jumps in a year and the other 200 in three years. According to the logic a few have said the person with three years should know more. What about somebody with 4000 jumps in 6 years or 500 in 20 years? The guy with 20 years in will know more about out dated things and maybe some random facts from the olden days but the guy with 4000 jumps will know way more about things that matter and will be a much better flyer. Knowledge is not gained simply by time but by learning. Somebody with 500 jumps in a year is pretty dedicated 500 in three, not so much. With anything it comes down to the person more then anything. There will be people with the same number of jumps and the same time in and one person will be better and know more then the other. Somebody said that here that some people have 500 jumps and some people have the same jump 500 times and this has a lot to do with it. Has the person been pushing themselves to learn and get better or have they just jumped out of a plane a lot? Is it a passion for the person or is it a hobby? Do they work in the sport and some of their jumps are work jumps or are they rich and just pay for every jump? Has the person jumped at a lot of DZ's and from a lot of different planes, in all kinds of winds and weather? Experience to me is time learning and time at the DZ and around the sport you can get the same amount of time in a year as you can in 5. The person with three years in has the opportunity to know more but that is not always the case. Life gets in the way for some people. Something I find a little disturbing is the number of people talking about seeing vs not seeing people get hurt or killed. How does that matter? Do you need to have a friend killed by a drunk driver or make you a better driver? Iv seen a few people get banged up pretty bad and that does not make me any better or safer. Just makes me wish they were better or safer. You don't need to see somebody do a turn into the ground or see a student flare then let it go at 20 feet to know its a bad idea do you? If you do then you are just a dumb ass, end of story. "You mean pulling at 500 feet is a bad idea? Glad good old Jim did it so I know not to do it now."

Probs ask your instructors after jumps if you're fast or slow. I made the mistake of buying the first suit that would fit me and it was quite tight with a nylon front and at 195lbs I was falling quite fast. Sold it and got a looser fitting suit with polycotton instead of nylon. I didn't fully understand the importance of different materials etc at the time. ^^ That. A lot of people buy a suit that is not right for them. Don't be this guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYB3Fx0a8-4 You might want to think about buying used at first and ask around and ask people if you can try their suits to see what you like.

+1 I have a Oxygn and a Phantom. I got the Oxygn when I first started because I wanted a full face and got a good deal on one. I didn't even wear it that much because it was a pain to use. I got a Phantom the other week and it is awesome. Easy to use and a nice field of view.

If they car from 88 ran perfectly and had no extra maintanence issues and was functionally the same as the new one, then the 88 one obviously. Cars are kind of a rough comparison ;) I was making the point it might be worth a little more just because its new. There has been some advances in both rigs and cars in the last 25 years. Cars are more safe, get better gas millage, more comfortable ect.... Rigs are more safe, have stronger materials, more comfortable ect...

Some people will not want to buy at first then after they see it they do. Its not much extra work and is you sell one more video a week because of it all the better. Its the same reason some photographers will do a free sitting and maybe a free 8x10. If you have open time slots and have nothing to do might as well be doing something. Most people wont buy anything more then that one free photo but if a few people do a week its worth it.

Thanks. Its been repacked more times in the last few weeks then it had in the past 10+ years.

They are nice canopies and work well as a first canopy for a lot of people. Not sure how much I would trust a DZ canopy that is 5-7 years old only having 350-500 jumps on it. That comes out to be about 70 a year or so. Lets say they only open 3 days a week and get 3 jumps a day on them. That is still 9 a week. At some busy DZ's a rental canopy can get 50 or more jumps on it in a month.

I just bought an old rig from 88'. I am getting my rigger ticket and did not want to wear out my gear. This thing is 25 and everything on it is fine. It has been sitting in a closet for almost 12 years though. Its been looked at by a few riggers and all of them have said it could be jumped. So they don't really have an expiration date but that does not mean they shouldn't. A lot of countries and the military put life limits on gear so that has to mean something. If you could get a car from 1988 for $300-400 or a brand new one for $1600 what would you get?