Gandhi

yeh, the sabre2 is SHIT HOT, in my rig, the 170@1.3(ish) is a great all round canopy where i am not really limited on what i can learn on it... i love it to bits, just be aware that all of a sudden, the 150 and below turn into fast, agressive canopies. i know several people who's sabre 2 swoops make katana pilots look like flids.. 135 will be a big change, I'm sure you've got the brains and the skill to handle it, just keep your flying conservative to start with, or it WILL come back and bite you in your arse... quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

There's no set point whereby you can start packing, in fact you can become a packer all the way up to becoming a master rigger (top 'rank' in rigging) which allows you to pack reserves, and carry out some pretty major work on equipment, without even doing a single jump.. in the UK, unless you're a British Parachute Association member, you cant pack student canopies on your own (they have to be checked).. typically i think most people tend to learn during their consolidation jumps or shortly afterwards.. that said, it took me over 100 jumps before i got round to it! i'd bought a brand new canopy and they're a bit tougher to pack, so i left it to the pros! enjoy you're AFF, you'll be skint forever, but you'll be loving every minute of it! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

i fall pretty quick on my belly anyway, anything from 125 up to 155mph... when learning to sitfly, i've been taught to fly on my back rather than belly when i loose the sit, the reason being that we fall much faster that way (the natural monumental arch that your arse creates! is this not an issue when transitioning onto your backs that you will just sink out before revers-arching? i'll check out what my protrack says on saturday to confirm if im talking rubbish! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

thanks, thats much appreciated blue skies quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

hey dave.. its ram um... no idea what your talking about... ...is this the right place to order a pizza? quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

that sounds pretty convincing... i'll have a gander around the website, but yeh, so far so good. unfortunately i dont know ginge moore, ive only been at P lee for a few months intermittantly.. it looks like rainbow may have clinched it then, price wise they make very good sense also. I'll see if i get any issues ordering, if I do, thanks very much in advance for the offer to help out.. by the way, can you send me some details on RAPA, im interested in heading out there this summer.. just about prices accom.. all the usual stuff.. blue skies Gandhi quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

thanks very much for your opinions MrBester.. yeh as i said, those who i have spoken to who own rainbow stuff are all very happy with what they have ended up with, i was just curious to know because i'd never encountered them before.. i'll consider that along with matter then! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

im in the market for a freefly suit.. looked at matter/firefly etc, but has anyone come across rainbow design? i jumped a demo suit which i personally liked, and the people who owned their stuff were generally pretty happy with them.. just wanted to open this one up to the floor.. any recommendations would be ideal... cheers folks... Gandhi quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

at the dropzone in spain (Lillo) where i visit when i can, the AFF school has introduced pilot chute pouches on belts that students wear on the creeper.. the pilot chutes are sewn into a roll so not to open, thus checking the student can throw it a suitable distance.. i'd never thought of it... so simple... Genius!! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

I agree entirely youth you dave if i clearly understand your post.. which i think I do! I know that in the UK the BPA are shit scared of swooping, and despite the efforts of the UKs best swoopers, they are reluctant to host a UK swooping tour. I think thats what has brought about the new CH (canopy handling) rating.. in the same way as we need to get FS, FF or CRW ratings to partake in our given disciplines.. if we wish to persue HP landings then CH ratings are going to be required. If im not mistake there is more than one level. I'm gonna assume that coaching and some sort of test will be the format of the course.. I agree that its a great shame that beyond AFF/Student status, there is bugger all organic coaching at DZ's.. which is scary to think that in say 5 years, I could have gone from a NAV 260 to a Katana withought any coaching, and left to fend for myself.. all I will say though is that the coaching courses offered in the uk by a couple of pro swoopers are fantastic regardless of the student's needs.. ideally it shouldnt be necessary because i'd have hoped that we would be coached/nurtured throughout our careers, but that said, i dont have any regrets at all about forking out a few notes because its completely changed the way i view canopy flight, and also included some life-saving skills. anyway, im gonna stop talking now... probably gonna get some coco-pops... cheers!! Blue Skies Gandhi . quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

back to what Aggiedave was saying.. I've just for an illusion from BH with a new Dbox and im using a pc350 side mounted... its a superb basic setup.. once baked it fits like a glove, and who knows... later down the line, theres a nice flat surface on top to attatch a stills camera.. i can recomend it, plus delivery time was about 1 week! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

to be honest, if you wish to make it obvious - suck his willy. quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

hey dude, Im a pilot in the royal navy, and have a couple of pals who are ATC in the forces, so i can tell you what i know... in the uk its a reasonably well payed job, again as im sure you know its fairly stressful, so my pals joined the forces to do it, for more than one reason.. a) the forces pay their training b) its much more relaxed, far cheaper living and gnerally more fun c) when they come out, with the combo of being military and experience in ATC they can go to the US in a fairly senior ATC position, and yep, you can earn very well.. so it may be worth looking into the military to get you started. if not, I think the training costs around 60-70k (£) over here, i imagine its a little cheaper in the US and doesnt take long at all.. hope this helps keep up the curry Gandhi quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

mine was a touch over 1.2 on a sabre2 150 at 80 jumps, that said, I had done about 40 jumps at about 1.0 on a 190 and down a little on a 170. I love the canopy, but it gave me a bit of stick to start with. in my opinion there is no requirement to downsize unless you can rag the living shit out of the canopy you jump now, and that certainly wasnt the case with me jumping 190's. you'll be surpised at how much fun you can get from a larger canopy but still maintaining the safety margin required at lower experience levels, im lucky i didnt injur myself during the first 20 jumps or so on my new rig! quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'

Hi dude, Yeah I did my AFF with Freefall University in feb of this year after a couple of static lines in the UK. They come highly recommended in my opinion, its quite a small close-knit school with a few very talented instructors... so whoever you get, you've dipped in!! ive been back a couple of times since AFF to do FS courses and fun jumping (excellent weather year round), and I intend to be back again soon.. there's experts in every aspect of skydiving who are all keen to help and share advice, a very good school to sit back and learn without actually being in a formal de-brief, although on that note you get very comprehensive coaching through video debriefs which you also get to keep.. Other than the school itself, the DZ is great, very big, and if you do manage to miss the fucking thing, you've got flat land from horizon to horizon. Speak to Dave Cowman who is the manager of the school, he'll tell you everything you need to know.. he's always usually responded within minutes!! Tell him i said hi and inform him that he's gotta teach me to fly camera! Blue Skies, Gandhi quote 'you are to go around... next time extend your landing gear'