Pancake

Hello! It's great to hear your excitement and that you're doing some research into your first jump. I am an Instructor at Cross Keys, and while I won't promote any one DZ over another, I would simply suggest that you visit any dropzone that you are considering before you make your decision. Meet the people, check out the atmosphere and decide for yourself! I know you'll have a great time wherever you decide to start your training! Blue Skies, Pancake

Given the two scenarios that were presented...IMHO, it IS always better to land on rears in a lighted landing area rather than a dark unknown. You have far more experience than me... and MOST of us...please expound. Okay, here's a similar real life example: Current, experienced jumper who has performed numerous night jumps finds himself stuck downwind with a broken steering line. The last time he had a broken steering line (during the day), he chose to cutaway and land his reserve. Many discussions took place and many said 'why didn't you just land rear risers?' With this in mind on the night jump he chose not to cutaway but to land with rear risers. He did not get much penetration into the wind, and ended up needing to land off doing an excellent job of avoiding obstacles and setting up for landing. However, when he flared wtih the rear risers, it seems that he stalled the canopy which turned hard to one side injuring his leg and shoulder. It will be at least 6 months until he is able to jump again. Fortunately, he landed near a house whose owner called an ambulance, he was found quickly and all will be well. So is being downwind and landing off enough of a reason to cutaway and fly a reserve? Possibly. In this case, the jumper had gotten advice from a prior jump to use rears with a broken steering line, but he still didn't fully understand the difference in the flare (easier to stall with rears) and had not practiced these approaches during the day. The original poster says that he specifically DIDN'T use rear risers because he was aware of the possibility of stalling and had never tried it before. Sounds like a good reason to me. There is no guarantee that even if he stuck with rears that he would have made it back to the 'lighted landing area.' He still may have found himself landing off. I would suggest that both these jumpers practice extensively with rears so they have another tool to be prepared to deal with these situations, but i do not fault the decision to use a reserve in this situation. Question for the original poster: You say you weren't prepared for the wind at 4000-2000 feet since you hadn't jumped during the day. Did you speak with others on the load/the pilot/those who did jump that day to get an idea of what the winds were before you manifested?

Hey Tito, Skydive Cross Keys will be open for students all year round, and coming up November 20-26 we're having our monthly Student Daze, featuring free refresher classes and safety seminars and discounted student jumps. Check our www.skydivecrosskeys.com. Looks like about 70 degrees, light winds and a PAC 750 aircraft today! Hope to see you here, Pancake

Any reputable gear dealer should be able to help you out, but be sure and check with your rigger for compatibility (great time to ask other questions and find out more about your life-saving equipment

Another option would be to order a personalized cutaway pillow. This would give you a spare (just in case ), involve less rigging, and allow you to change it easily at a later date (resale, etc.)

Personally, about five hours for a small (1-3 person) class. This is assuming some background in freefall awareness and canopy control gained during some initial training tandems. First jump AFF course with no prior skydiving experience I wouldn't expect to finish in less than 6 1/2 to 7 hours. Keep in mind these are purely average approximations based on best case scenarios. At the end of the day, it takes what it takes and every student, class, and instructor will absorb or offer the information at their own pace. And btw, we do have a Cessna 206 at our little turbine DZ

I don't use a factor of time for the FJC. We don't move on to the next block of instruction until they ALL get it. IMO, there is no cookie cutter off-the-shelf, three, four or six hour class. But then again, I teach at a Cessna DZ. Exactly what Bigun said, but then again, I teach at a turbine DZ.

Weather's looking awesome this weekend. Blue skies and finally over 80 degrees! Hopefully I can get some tracking jumps in between tandems!!!

Actually, it's F16's you'd be worried about. Happened to a GA flight over Cross Keys on Wed when Bush was around Philly

How about a helicopter tandem onto the beach in Wildwood, NJ? http://www.skydivewildwood.com

Tomorrow's weather looks awesome! People are showing up already keeping the Otter turning! Come on out tonight for dinner at the DZ, or tomorrow for a ton of jumps, and a great Vegas Party tomorrow night!!!!!!!!! Might as well stick around for Sunday too, since it looks like we'll be jumping all weekend... Cya there, Pancake

Congrats on getting back in the air Jess! Fun jump and nice landing... And Missy, come on out and jump! Don't miss our Season Opener Boogie/Party starting Friday and going all weekend!!! Pancake

Congrats on getting back in the air Jess! Fun jump and nice landing... And Missy, come on out and jump! Don't miss our Season Opener Boogie/Party starting Friday and going all weekend!!!

Hey Dottie, Here's your graduation photo! It'll be posted at the DZ as well. Pancake

Welcome to Cross Keys, Dottie, and congratulations for graduating AFP yesterday! (And thanks for the beer ) btw, the weather looks awesome for the next few days, and as for planes, take your pick: Our new Otter flew all day yesterday along with the Skyvan. Plus the King Air and Caravan are still around during the week. Who's jumping today?

Disclaimer: I work at CK... Anyway, as soon as we refill the swimming pool (located right next to the volleyball court) we'll start doing water training if anybody wants to jump in the freezing water with a rig on. Since returning to operating 7 days a week, we've been flying many loads on every weekday when the winds were less than ridiculous! Come on a Wednesday to take advantage of our discounted jump tickets (Wednesday April 12 we'll be organizing night jumps as well if there is enough interest) and the CK1 Freefly School is open every day for FF coaching! CYA there, Pancake

QuoteThe K-line also stretches a bit over the course of numerous jumps and the ink usually fades too, so the marking moves away from the "eye" and is not visible as well anymore. Quote Actually, the kill line shortens over time due to friction (just like brake lines) so periodic checking and remarking is a good idea. Eventually the line may shorten so much that the pilot chute produces less drag, at which point you should replace the kill line. As mentioned above, a functional test of the pilot chute during packing/before boarding is the best way to asssure that it is cocked.

Tomorrow's weather is looking fantastic! The DZ is opening at 8:30 with Safety Day activities starting at 9:00. We'll be running seminars throughout the day and hanging out well into the night! Cya there, Pancake

FYI Cross Keys is holding Safety Day on Saturday. Definitely worth the 2 hour drive. Plus we're planning on a ton of jumping! Here's our weekend weather forecast: Saturday Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Sunday Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers. Highs in the lower 60s. Doesn't mean too much this far out, but it sure looks like we'll be jumping! Our biggest weather problem has been the wind lately btw right now it's 'mostly cloudy' or even 'overcast' but the clouds are at 13,000' so I'm off to the DZ! Oh, and don't worry about The Ranch having a small landing area, you'd have to jump at the original SDLI to know what small really was.

I would take that one step further. Don't use the word 'flare' on the radio close to the ground until you want the student to flare. Too often, the student will ONLY hear the word flare ('prepare to flare', 'get ready to flare', etc.) Our standard is 'feet and knees to together, prepare to LAND', 'Standby', 'Three, Two, One, FLARE' Works like a charm. BTW 'Standby' is said at about 50 feet, when a first jump student often wants to begin their flare. And yes, we train our students to PLF. Some do, some don't. Those who don't receive immediate retraining stressing the importance of the PLF. Pancake

i had placed seventy-five pounds of weight on a speedbag, and after peeling all but the last two stows, none of which were holding lines, the bag remained locked. PJ asked me to post this picture taken today of his experiment. Personally, I will continue to avoid jumping or packing a rig equipped with a speedbag or any freebag incorporating rubber bands. Pancake

Definitely visit all the dropzones you are considering. All the dzs you mentioned will most likely have simlilar winds this time of year (it can get quite gusty in the northeast in the late winter/spring) Be sure to not only check the weather forecasts but also CALL THE DZ directly (a cellphone comes in handy) to find out what the wind conditions are. Winds are typically calmest in the morning and near sunset. Also find out what the specific wind restriction is for students. USPA BSRs state a 14mph maximum ground wind for students with square reserves. Cross Keys has a waiver up to 18mph for students when the conditions aren't gusty. Consider attending safety day. Cross Keys will be hosting Safety Day on Sat. March 11. Many other dropzones coincide with this date, but check the USPA website for a full calendar of participating DZs. http://www.uspa.org/safety/safety_day.htm In the end, choosing which dropzone to complete your training at is a personal choice. You must be comfortable with the people and the environment. You must also be patient as weather restrictions are always made with student safety in mind. Plan on spending all day at the DZ if you can (you learn an amazing amount just by watching others, especially when the winds are deemed inappropriate for students) Take that time to talk to the instructors. Pancake

Did you bother asking anyone at the shop? Any good rigger I've met would be happy to hear your concerns and make any necessary corrections, aesthetic or otherwise. You could also learn more about your gear in the process.

Do you wear another audible (I hope)? Why not just put the Pro track on your helmet?

With the exception of this past weekend (winds/weather) Cross Keys has been flying 12-15 Caravan loads per Sat/Sun. Weekdays completely depends on how many people show up to jump. We prefer to get enough for the Caravan, but we also have a 206 usually available for the slower days. Heated hangar and hot chocolate available As mentioned, Dec 20-Jan 3 most of us will be in Sebastian Florida for our annual Cross Keys Invasion which combines a wind tunnel camp, warm-weather student training, free organizing, and a great holiday boogie for our fun jumpers. Registration info available on the CK website. And in February we have Freeze Fest at Cross Keys. More hot chocolate, frozen pond swooping, and of course the Beer Olympics (Sat night) Hope to see you at any or all of the above! Pancake