jumpgod

... thanks everybody! blue ones, jg "dude, where's my main?"

i'm a latecomer to this topic and my opinion may differ as i didn't read the other posts but i wore a weight belt maybe a dozen times and they suck. i've learned to use my body for speed -- i recommend this highly as it will increase your skill and ability. just learn to be very aggressive and you'll learn to use your 'body' for speed. i once hit 155 on my belly and i'm a tall guy and weigh very little. trust me, if i did it, you can too. blue ones, jg "dude, where's my main?"

... been eligible for my 'D' for sometime but I'm waiting on my DZ to schedule night jumps. doesn't matter anyway, i leave for Eloy next month -- WOOHOO! kindof stupid that my previous jumps 'at night' didn't count as 'night jumps' because i didn't have a briefing before hand... go figure but rules are rules. blue ones, jg "dude, where's my main?"

i LOVE my Spectre... won't jump another canopy for a while... enjoy it. blue ones, jg "dude, where's my main?"

i learned that rainy weather sucks for skydiving so i have to wait to learn something next weekend. jg "dude, where's my main?"

grrravy. thanks sunnydee123. blue ones, jg "dude, where's my main?"

ok, rgr. i won't be able to zip-tie my handles because they are pillows (guess i'm concerned about getting them snagged while freeflying) but i will use my Cypress card and try to find that letter here or at USPA. thanks for the help... further comments always welcome. jg "dude, where's my main?"

... it's actually pretty funny. they bought my first jump (AFF) for a gift but never thought I could stomach the program to be licensed. lol. now i have 4 hours of freefall time. their only catch is that they don't want to hear any stories or descriptions, but they like the videos... go figure. it's gotta be tough being a skydiver's parent. it would be tough on me. jg "dude, where's my main?"

i just wouldn't use it dude. i have friends with these old altimasters that pull at 3.5 because they think it's 2.0 based upon their reading. is that worth it when a group is behind you? jg "dude, where's my main?"

Planning on taking a trip shortly for a vacation but I still want to jump. Any advice on airport security? Will they even let me take my rigg as a carry on? I have my CYPRESS card. Anyone who has an opinion or any help or advice please feel free to respond. Thanks. "dude, where's my main?"

anytime bro! HAVE FUN! jg

we use a simple waist mounted inflation device. you clip in around your waist below your harness and if things go bad, you follow the procedures and pop the inflatable. they are relatively cheap and simple. this would be my recommendation.

i work in aviation and we do altitude chamber rides every few years... they warn us repeatedly to see a doctor if any symptoms persist after the 'ride'. you may have some nitrogen stuck in your interstitial spaces of your tissues. it would be better to be safe than sorry and go see a specialist. jg "dude, where's my main?"

CONGRATS Gold Coast 40-way!!! jg

2 areas of advice: 1) for goodness sake TAKE YOUR TIME 2) questions, ask a FAA Certified Parachute Rigger blue ones!!!! jg

CONGRATS TEXXAS POPS!!!!! god bless texas... the home of TSL and rad SCR/SCS ceremonies. can't wait to get back. my official skydiving birthplace. blue ones!!!!!! jg

skydiving to me is sort of a calling. it scares me to no end. but i go anyways. i have nightmares in my sleep all the time of pulling low, having cut-a-ways but i go anyways. i accomplished around 200 jumps and i almost quit... for good. i might still. i might wake up one day and decide, "i'm never going to make another skydive again". and you know, i'm not the only one who feels this way. in truth, i think that most skydivers feel this way. but, we go anyways. how did i combat my fears? i used to shake uncontrollably from the ride on the ground to altitude. so i started taking deep breaths and visualizing my freefall. and once i got out the door... it was this unbelievable release like nothing i've ever felt in my life. it's like this everytime. there's nothing that compares to a skydive. i am very determined to always be as safe as possible. i jump the best equipment i can, i've gotten the best training i could, i've asked the most difficult questions to the most experienced skydivers. i practice my EPs "all the time". i pop my reserve on "all" repacks and oftentimes help repack it as i am a riggers apprentice. basically, i've learned all i can learn to help combat my fear. so, "knowledge" truly is "power". i also find strength in my friends. i meet new skydivers often. some are more reserved and calculating (like myself) and others are a bunch of crazy loonies with no care in the world. meet all of them. jump with all of them. the jumps i never truly enjoy are the ones i spend alone in the air. some weekends i don't jump. i stay at home and philosophize and rest my mind. skydiving takes ALOT out of me. other weekends, i show and only do 1 or 2 jumps and maybe there only hop and pops. but when i really want to get pumped to skydive, i watch videos of the most skilled fliers and kick back with a cold one and dream of what it would be like to be the "best". so, when i leap out of a perfectly good airplane, aspire to be as skilled as they. but, like i've said, skydiving's a calling. my best advice is to "take your time; do it right". you'll find me at a DZ taking the most time to pack the nicest little 7 cell in the world. you'll see me as most likely one of the most nervous people to altitude who leaves his helmet on the entire ride and prays for forgivess every 1000'. but either way, i go anyways. i love skydiving. if you love the sport as much as us, there's no fear you can't overcome. blue ones! jg

i will answer the question directly. at what altitude do i go for "just the silver handle". for me, 1000'. and if it's the case, things have gone unimaginably bad. and i'm not talking chopping and yanking. i'm talking yanking, because, chances are 1) my main isn't out 2) i would have chopped it by now. my regular harddeck is 2000'. if my main isn't square and don't flare, bye-bye. chop and pull reserve. jg "dude, where's my main?"

"fear" is normal poohbeer. i think that my AFF level jumps were the most terrifyingly adventurous experiences of my life. no other jumps are like them. it still scares the livin' shiznit out of me....EVERYTIME. i've seen the best days... i've seen the 'worst' days. the only thing that you can do is follow your dreams, follow your love, and get up and get your 'knees in the breeze'. jump safely, jg "dude, where's my main?"

it's all "you" from here on guy. do a bunch of jumps with a coach and learn fall rate, RW, and tracking. then do a few solos when you are ready and practice PRCPs and tracking and stability. then, when you get your license, start doing 2 and 3 ways with an "experienced jumper". not 30 jumps, not 100 jumps... try like 200 jumps. learn the ropes and then try a few 3 ways and 4 ways with D licensed "veteran" jumpers. my opinions are austere when it comes to skydiving. if your one of those dudes who is insistant on going headdown at 25 jumps, it's your call but it's your @$$. jump safe and blue ones. jg "dude, where's my main?"

wind tunnel time... if your near one. lots of ground prep. i can't count how many AFF studs go months between jumps and don't practice until the last minute. while in AFF, i dirtdove jumps until i was blue in the face. i even put on practice riggs and went over and over and over and over my jumps until i was "ready". jg "dude, where's my main?"

it kinda goes 2 ways. and i've heard it from people 2 ways. 1) you are responsible for "yourself". it's "your" skydive. 2) watch out for others in your group. now, how many times do people look out for me. i say this as kindly as possible, usually, NONE. typically, i have to ask for a pin check (which i prefer) and ask for an equipment double check (risers, et. al.). now, that's bold but it's the way it is. do i look out for others, YES. i'll do a visual check of others around me before exit but when things get busy on jump run, do i forget, sometimes. this is because it is "MY" skydive and i'm looking out for "myself". jg

in an earlier post, someone brought up a valid point saying that you can do just about anything with any canopy....within reason. and that the best canopy pilots can make an old 7 cell swoop like a high performance....just a thought. 1) skydiving's dangerous....take your time and do it right....learn the moves....be patient....'rome wasn't built in a day' 2) experience is the only true ally....along with education and safety 3) downsize only when you have absolutely mastered all you can do with your current canopy. land it, safely, in all conditions....all types of maneuvers....and when you are absolutely certain that you have mastered it....then move on to the next canopy. someother thoughts. high performance: malfunction -- cut-a-away more likely e.g. 1) spectre et. al. main canopy....line twists....stable flight....kick out....no chop 2) diablo et. al. high performance...line twists....spiral out of control....cut-a-way high performance: low turn = ouch conservative 7-cell: low turn = shit that was close jg

lol. pretty freakin' close dude....except the lower jumper pulled at 6,000' -- alittle high don't you think....and we were probably 500' above him and had just enough room to track away.... where did i @#$% up....i didn't warn the other jumpers around me that a jumper was below us.... where did the other jumper @#$% up....he didn't pull at 4,000' like he said he was, he pulled at 6,000' because of a cloud deck.... reminds you to keep your head on a swivel not just under canopy. blue ones!!!! jg

i would try another instructor....one of my first AFF instructors stayed in the plane (he lost his grip i guess) while my other one exited with me.....but anyhow....on the debrief he was a real assclown so i asked for another AFF instructor and i jumped with him for the remainder of my training....get another instructor if you don't like the one you got. jg "dude, where's my main?"