dmbale

I experienced this on Sunday. I jump a lightly loaded Spectre and had my left end cells collapse for a second and then snap and reinflate, I was on my downwind leg. Density altitude was above 8K, I was near a taxi way and winds were around 18. Scared the crap out of me. I decided to maintain a light wingloading because I was a slow learner on canopy control and I jump at a DZ with a field elevation of 5,500 MSL. I am going to be more careful when it comes to turbulence and thermals. I am thinking of downsizing a little sooner than I had previously thought. I was going to go to a 170 in Sept/Oct because of the altitude issues.

My instructors were Tony R, Bob, and Rusty for AFF. Grant has coached me on canopy. Adriaan did the photos for my tandem. When Adriaan and Andre left last year, I had three jumps. I am there every weekend, hope to see you!

I would have the student talk with his/her doctor. Some anti-depressants cause dizziness to the point of vertigo, drowsiness, and insomnia. All could potentially effect a person's safety in the air.

Currently I jump a 190 main and have a 175 reserve. I think that my next set up will be a 170 main with a 160 reserve.

Did my 100th jump yesterday. Not bad for starting AFF October 10th at Skydive the Rockies. It is great that Bob has the DZ run year round and that most of my jumps have been from the Caravan....okay so I am a little spoiled. I have done all but two of my jumps at SDTR.

Everyone has opinions. I alone am responsible for what my decisions are and what advice I choose to take. I have had younger instructors tell me that I am downsizing too slow (I jump a Spectre 190 loaded at about .76) and that I will regret it. I have had older instructors tell me to stick to F111 chutes for my first 100 jumps and I have had up jumpers try to talk me into jumping a 135 cross-braced canopy. I took all of the advice, did my own research and decided that I am a)going to downsize as slow or as fast as I am comfortable with (I am a bit older, have already been broken and don't need to prove anything to anyone but myself). b)I wanted a Spectre and decided to ignore the advice of staying on F111 (I just wish that I had jumped a hybrid 210 sometime before going to the Spectre) It took 30 jumps on the Spectre but I stand up 99% of my landings now...even in no wind. c) I have no business at my jump numbers and my difficulty with canopy control jumping a cross braced 135 Not all advice given is good advice and all advice is colored by our own experiences. I have instructors who are ultra conservative (the F111 advice) and others, usually younger that push the limits a bit more (but the one that said that I would regret downsizing slowly, had a line twist that he had to cut away from.....can't remember how small his canopy is).

I jump a 190 Spectre at a very conservative wingloading. .76 to 1 This was my initial ZP canopy. I knew that I preferred seven cell F111 canopies over 9 cells. It took me a long time to have consistent stand-up landings but now I do 98% of the time. I can land it in no winds, low winds, and high winds. I have even safely downwinded it. I now love my Spectre and will probably get another Spectre when downsize. They are ground hungry compared to nine cells (I have jumped a Hornet to compare).

bump

I technically started AFF at the end of the "season" in Colorado but I have gotten 82 jumps in the past six months. (only two were not at my home DZ). Not bad for Colorado. I also know that I am new enough to the sport that I jump when it is cold out (silk long underwear, polartec with neoprene and a balacava)...there have only been a handful of times I have been really cold and only a handful of times where we didn't have enough people for a Caravan load. I guess I don't see any reason not to keep current over the "off" season.

I know how to pack but feel better if I have some supervision. It takes me a long time to pack. I know flat packing, pro-packing just hasn't clicked for me yet. If I want to make more than two jumps in a day, I pay a packer.

My first four way with Amazon. Even though the exit got funneled.

Another great day at Skydive the Rockies. Yesterday my husband and myself got in six jumps each. The views were great!

Not sure where you got the weather info from. I call AWOS and they had 12K ceiling at 9:00 a.m.

The rig is great. I am loving the Spectre. I can't wait until Kitty and yourself can come jump with us.

I do believe that in some instances the disciplinary action was too harsh. I am new to skydiving (just hit 75 jumps yesterday) but I know that I alone am responsible for my own safety. That includes what rig I jump, if my reserve is in date, checking the spot, and what altitude I pull at. If we are going to hold pilots responsible for our actions, then the pilot should start checking packing data cards and refuse to fly anyone pulling below their license BSRs. I understand why, in the specific case of the BASE rig incident that there was some disciplinary action, but I believe in that particular case it was too extreme. There are some that will look at my profile and say that I am prejudice. The ironic thing is that this DZO has told me things that I didn't want to hear on occasion and there have been times where I didn't like him. First and foremost though, he has always had mine and my husband's safety in mind. I have witnessed him chew out one of our instructors for even having a BASE rig at the dropzone. My other question is why no one else was punished for this incident? There were others that participated but only this DZO has had action taken against him. Considering the grave outcome of that jump, shouldn't everyone who was involved have been held accountable?

Tony because it is all his fault that I am hooked and he still worries about me. (He was my tandem and ground school instructor and a dear friend). Rusty because he makes it fun. Bob because he can fix headstrong students, still asks me if I have gotten a gear check, and has made sure that I didn't downsize too quickly. Plus my favorite AFF jump was my "get Bob" jump that made everything click. Grant because I have learned more about how a canopy works from him than I could have without him.

Yesterday with most of Colorado socked in with fog, my husband and I got in four jumps each, we would have done more but we pack slow. The Caravan was toasty, freefall was great, and the views of Pikes Peak were amazing.

Caravan available full time. Up jumpers who like to do Freeflying, RW, and even canopy/swoop work. The instructors are safe and very knowledgeable. They even are able to put up with hard headed students (thanks Bob, Rusty and Tony). Thank you to Grant for the canopy coaching (warm weather is coming so pull out your Spectre for some high hop and pops). Even though almost all of the instructors come from a military background, they use positive reinforcement to teach. A great place to jump and call your home DZ.

My father-in-law is a retired attorney. I have friends who are attorneys. The only one I tend to have problems with is my father-in-law. He argues semantics at family dinners.

I married my best friend. He is the first person I want to call when something good happens and the first person I want to call when something bad happens. Sometimes it is easier to forgive your best friend than your lover. We would rather spend time together than apart. He is my favorite person to jump with.

QuoteHow did you meet the first love of your life ? He worked for me. > Has there ever been a moment when you have felt truly alone ? Yes, after being broadsided in a car and then thrown into the path of a semi. My fourth month of chemo also. > Which moment of your life would you like to replay, at your discretion, over and over again ? My first solo jump. > Which moment of your life would you like to erase from existence ? Getting the phone call that my father died. > What, in your experience, is the best characteristic trait of a human being ? > compassion What, in your experience, is the worst characteristic trait of a human being ? intolerance

There are two statements that I tell newer jumpers and they were told to me by my instructors. If you screw up your dive flow but pull, at the right altitude and stable. Then you land well enough and make it back to the hangar. The worst thing that happened is that you have to do that jump again. Remember that this is pure decadence, have fun. On the C license skygod.....I have gotten to the point where I don't want to talk about skydiving to my brother-in-law. If I try to talk through something that happens at the DZ to him, I end up getting lectured. I have instructors who don't even do that to me. He also doesn't understand that I jump at a high altitude DZ which makes a few things a bit different from his experiences.

The crowd at Snohomish is a great bunch of people. The DZO is safety focused but also wants everyone to have a good time. Tyson, thanks for letting me jump your rig. Thanks again to the crew I did my first four way with.

I own one and have since I started ground school. Jump numbers: 35 Purchased it to pursue my "A"

I have to make a decision on a rig by Saturday and I feel stuck. I have test jumped the rig and it fits much better than the rental gear I had available to me but it is used student gear (in amazing condition though) a Telesis 2 shortie. The rig is available right now and would save me a fortune in rental gear since my hubby and I jump every weekend. Here are my concerns: It is student gear. It is the only gear that I have jumped that fit. I really don't have anything else to compare it to except rental/student gear that I swim in. It currently has a PD 218 in it (puts me at .66 wingloading). I would like to move towards jumping a 190. (Current DZ doesn't have rental gear smaller than a PD218). I have sent an email to the rigger to see if I can get safely put something smaller in it. The price quoted is about what I would pay for regular used sport rig. Do the Telesis 2 containers have a decent resale value? I am assuming that only another DZ would buy the rig (let me know if I am wrong on that). I am torn on either renting gear (that I am miserable in) and waiting for either the money to order custom (something I would rather not do until I have 200 or so jumps) or waiting until a small rig with the ability to hold large mains comes available used.