20kN

If that's your benchmark, then I guess you're done with the sport because that will not happen. Covid is not going away. It's here to stay permanently. Even if a vaccine is developed, a lot of people wont take it so there will still be people getting infected. Also, if a vaccine is developed, it might not actually make you immune. The flu vaccine only moderately reduces your chances of getting the flu. It absolutely does not grant immunity. I doubt we're ever going to get down to zero new infections per day for two weeks in an entire state. Most likely Covid will just end up becoming as common as the seasonal flu and the vaccine for it will be included in the flu shot.

Yes but how is any of what you said different at a big DZ? A big DZ going months with no income and $50,000+ per month in bills is an issue too.

Why? They have far fewer bills than the big turbine DZs do. Monthly payments on a 182 arnt that bad. Monthly payments on two Otters, two Caravans, a hanger for all of them, insurance for them and all the other fees that come with that... not so cheap. Small DZs have less capital, but also far fewer bills.

An I5 will not fit a Sabre 2 150. It will be too lose. You're better off getting an I4. The I4 can fit a ZPX 188, although it may be a bit tight if you live in a low humidity climate. Then when you get down to the Sabre 2 150 it will fit well. Just know you'll need an ULPV reserve because a standard reserve will max out at a 150 in the I4. You can get a Smart LPV or Optimum 175 that will fit fine in the I4 though.

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Getting a main and reserve that is on the small side of what the container can hold will make it softer. Overstuffing rigs make the parachutes quite hard. The downside is you would have no room for downsizing.

Well those are all real things. Most reputable DZs require you have an AAD. Eventually it will become a BSR at some point. Most riggers wont pack a reserve more than 20 years old. Some wont work on a container that old. Some DZs require an RSL for less experienced jumpers. So yea, people already say all of those things..

You'll probably be fine. If it's safe to eat it's probably not that damaging to nylon. The things you want to watch out for are those that are on the extreme ends of the ph scale. Specifically, acids. Acid is particularly damaging to nylon. If you're really worried you can look up the ingredients and compare it to a chemical compatibility chart. There are several online that test a wide range of substances against nylon.

Several DZs are opening this weekend. Even more plan to open within two weeks. For sure people will get infected. It will happen. It's just a question of how long and who gets it first.

Several DZs announced they will be opening this weekend or within a few weeks.

Of course we know that it's not a hard and fast rule that once you hit day 91 you're suddenly a walking dead man if you make a jump. But we cannot measure accurately something that is variable in nature and dependent on the individual. There needs to be a specific number that is easy to judge. That's why speed limits are not 'drive somewhat safely slow'. There is a specific number. Yea, one dude may be able to drive safer at 70 MPH than others can at 45 MPH, but we cant make rules that do not apply equally to everyone. Same with skydiving instruction. The problem with bending the rules is how far is too far? You say 20 days over is fine. Maybe I say 40 is over. Maybe the guy next to me says 90 is fine. Maybe another says no limit is fine for him. If we bend the rules then we basically have no rules at all because I can always make the argument that 'ah, it's just a few more days longer, we can just push out the requirement again'. Also your understanding that everyone in the sport is wildly uncurrent is highly inaccurate. I've made around 100 jumps this year alone before Covid closed things down. Almost all of the skydivers I know have made at least some jumps in the last three months. Many major DZs are open year around so a lot of skydivers, particularly in the south, will not become that uncurrent. There are even some DZs as far north as Washington that are open in the winter weather dependent. So really it's a regional thing. Some regions are affected by the winter and others are not.

If WS becomes your main discipline, then larger is pretty much always better. As you get into larger suits linetwists are going to become common as you figure stuff out and having a canopy that falls out of the sky doesent give you much time to deal with them. I havent flown both of those canopies so I cant say how they compare in glide. i can say the Kraken opens better for sure. The Kraken is a WS canopy. The Storm is not. The Storm is not even a good 'off label' WS canopy. There are 9 cell canopies that are better for WS than the Storm.

If your goal is WS BASE, then the Carve is not really an ideal choice. I mean it's easy to fly, but the performance just does not match most T suits. The Carve is a Delta wingsuit which Delta-shaped wingsuits in general are intended for acro, not performance. You want something fast that can give you a solid glide ratio while still maintaining a lot of forward speed. The ATC2 or Strix would be a lot better in that environment with the ATC2 being the safer of the choice since the tail does not pass the feet like the Strix (less chance of tripping on the exit). But as others said, as long as you got a good color that's what matters most.

I dont know that this forum will get you the best average as most people post on social media, not here. Based on all the discussion I've seen, most skydivers would jump in a heartbeat if they had the chance. Some DZs already started reopening and in the coming few weeks I suspect most DZs will be open if the government allows them to.

In general, yes. The LPV versions of reserves typically pack around one size smaller. The Smart LPV is intended for you to upside by one size relative to a standard Smart.

For an equivalent size, the Optimum and Smart LPV are pretty similar. Being that you're comparing a 143 to a 150, the 150 will be slightly larger of course.

That extensions should not be granted. The reason for currency requirements is related to safety which is not positively influenced just because it happens to not be your fault you're uncurrent. A licensed skydiver going off and doing an uncurrent jump is one thing but when an instructor literally has the life of another person in his or her hands, there should be firmly no exceptions. I could argue that I got hit by a drunk driver while sitting in a park and so I couldn’t jump for six months, but the USPA is not going to grant me an extension. Why? Because cause of fault is not a relevant factor in currency. The outcomes of a risk do not change just because the circumstances leading to it do.

What you said is accurate, but at this point people are starting to not care. I've seen so many people complain about how the shutdown is worse than the virus and reopening worth the risk (which I'd disagree with). We havent even really been at this shutdown that long and people are getting tired of it. I suspect once DZs start to reopen people will be jumping at them even if it's not smart to do so.

It's actually both. The correct method is to route it through the leg loop and the MLW so it captures both points. But almost no one does that because either most people dont know better or those who do are just lazy. https://uspa.org/Information/News/seatbelt-usage

Are you talking a Strix 1 or 2? The Strix 2 is a solid improvement over the Strix 1. The Strix 1 is similar to an ATC 1 performance wise although it has more surface area. The ATC2 will outperform a Strix 1, but a Strix 2 will outperform an ATC 2. Basically my experience with them is Strix 1 = Similar to ATC 1. Strix 2 = Similar to Freak 2. I am a Squirrel fan so I'll almost always recommend them over PF because I think they make better products, but if you went the PF route I'd agree that going to a Strix 2 after some more time in the current suit would be better than going with a Carve unless acro is his main goal.

It's a canopy collapse caused by turbulence or a dust devil. They are quite rare, but they do happen. In 1300 jumps (at mostly windy DZs), I have seen exactly one canopy collapse, and it happened because someone landed just downwind of some very large trees on a very windy day. They are mostly avoidable by not landing downwind of objects that create turbulence and staying away of dust devils in areas where they form. They are 99% avoidable by just not jumping when it's too windy or there are lot of dust devils forming.

That's an absurd price to charge someone who just bought a brand new suit. Many companies would not charge anything or they would charge only the actual cost in labor to do the work.

There was a live Q&A with the president of the USPA today. His answer was no, there will not be any modifications to currency requirements for licensed jumpers or rating holders at present. The manufacturers will have their own guidance, but that's the USPA's.

I guess it depends on if you're a local and they know you or not. I have never heard of a DZ asking to see a logbook of someone they know, but if you've never jumped there they for sure will ask to see that you are current. I've jumped at around 40 DZs and every single one of them asked to see my logbook, even Lodi required it. I've actually been to a few DZs that never checked my reserve packing card or asked to see my rig and I jumped at one DZ that let people jump without any form of DZ brief, but every DZ has still asked to see my logbook.

Actually it says to make a jump under the supervision of an 'instructional rating holder,' which is USPA terms for anyone with a Coach or above rating. Unless something has changed in the IRM in the last two years, Coaches are authorized to do recurrency jumps which means your Coach could be someone with 150ish jumps and a B license doing your reccurency jump. As such to pay $120 for that would be insane.