HydroGuy

I think the majority of people doing over 500 jumps a year are professional skydivers - coaches, AFFI's, TM's, video - or on a team getting good deals and sponsorships for jump tickets. And don't forget credit has been awfully easy and cheap to come by the last 5-6 years. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Now if we could combine the 5 dollar hop and pops @ Lodi, with the 70 ruble (2.50 USD) pack jobs at that Russian DZ...you could do 133 back to backs for a grand. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

That's what he said about me, not me about him...but it doesn't matter. I've hashed this out over PM's with some involved..some positively, and some only time will tell. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Thank you. If more searches turn up empty, Ill ask. Kurt Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Pontificated implies arrogance. Arrogance implies a feeling of superiority. I've never stated, nor implied, I am better or superior at anything skydiving related to anybody...not even once. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Maybe because I cracked my coccyx under a 1.0 loaded Spectre190 on a buttslide landing I feel they aren't that safe...am I wrong thinking this way? I mean, this whole time I've felt I was lucky not to have been more severely injured or have more lasting consequences from that landing, and have striven to become proficient as a canopy pilot...am I just making to big a deal about nothing? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I only come to this board to learn, hence the reason you don't see me posting in the bonfire. I certainly don't come here for your diatribes. You really know nothing about me...my age, life experiences, education, motivations etc. All you know is I made a post about poor landings (actually I used the word crap) - based towards no particular individual - and it ruffled your, and your buddies, sensitive feathers. Because of that post, I've heard: Sparky - hes a ball of testosterone wanting to run with the big dogs. Stratostar - thinks I don't respect my elders Skybytch - thinks I have something against women Bozo - keeps saying I won't be around, I know it all, and I'm not inquisitive. The common denominator of all of the above is none of you even know who you are talking about...just spouting off shit online because my statement irked you...or hit to close to home about you or one of your buddies. If I was a know it all, I wouldn't get coaching. If I was a know it all, I wouldn't read every single post in the gear and rigging section. If I was a know it all, I wouldn't read every single post in the incidents section, and actually try to find a lesson out of it...and try my best to keep myself off of it. If I wan't inquisitive, I would never have opened the thread "what makes an experienced skydiver" If I wasn't inquisitive, I would never have pondered why so many experienced skydivers land poorly. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I see Clint Clawson giving advice to newer jumpers and fun jumpers all the time. He is the most approachable guy around. I don't see him doing it as much to "experienced" jumpers. Maybe he is afraid of getting a response along the lines of: Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I am interested in the Matter Tracer suit...as an entry to wingsuits and later to use in the BASE environment. I am going to get some lessons and some demos with Cedric from Matter next week. In the skydive world, with a suit such as the Tracer, or the Prodigy, is it necessary to increase the bridle length and pc size? Or is that a larger factor for more traditional wingsuits? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I only say his name because he is the DZ manager, and the most experienced RW guy/organizer/coach I know. I have no doubt Owens knows him better. You guys are really reaching now... And nothing you nor he has said changes the fact that I see lots of what you consider experienced skydivers landing "poorly", or "inefficiently" or whatever more politically correct or coddling term you want to use. I guess it's only politically correct on this board to point out a lack of canopy skills as it relates to higher wingloadings... Maybe some of the older experienced skydivers - with the lack of canopy consideration - are directly responsible for the problems of canopy piloting that exists to this day. After all, it's not the young hot shit skydivers in charge of the USPA or the DZ's etc. It's not the young hot shit skydivers that made the sport what it is today...right? Or do the older experienced skydivers only take credit for the positives? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I've been and am still at where you are. If money is no option, do both. Get a coach jump with video debrief every 3 to 5 jumps...and then do solos or like others have said even better yet two ways on the others. Mix in some 10 to 15 minute tunnel sessions...15 is getting long...I start getting tired and losing focus. If it's one or the other, do a shit pile of jumps. Tunnel flying makes you a better freeflyer, skydives make you a better skydiver. If you are coming to Perris, PM me and I'll give you John Chisholm's number. He's a good coach that works with Mike Swanson etc through the Freefly MegaCenter. He has an in-air communications system, and can set you up with Joao Tambor for tunnel flying. He can be kind of a no nonsense coach though, so don't be surprised if he makes you do some belly work or tracking, etc...depending on what he thinks of your skills. If nothing else, you'll learn some stuff in that five minute phone call. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I jump mid-week, and I only know one so called older jumper. Dennis Saddler (or Sattler?) I believe he has 30 years in the sport and a son closer to my age than I am to him, although I don't really consider him old by any means. I've done 2 way and 3 way feeflys with him and lots of tracking jumps. He has a Matter wingsuit and I can't wait to flock with him someday. And by the way, do you REALLY think that Mike Owens wants to jump with me? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

In my inexperience and short time in the sport, I think that statement is a load of shit. Walking away from an unsafe landing and a safe landing are completely different. Drawing from my extremely limited experience, I will give you an example. A jumper from the Singapore 4 way military team is training at Perris. He hook turns himself into the ground, yet gets up and brushes himself off. You say this is safe. Several days later the same jumper hook turns himself into the ground again, breaking his pelvis and some other stuff. Seems to me both landings were unsafe, one just had a different outcome. If you repeatedly land on your ass, the "chances" of hurting yourself are greater. Not the "odds" but the "chances". If a drunk driver speeds 100mph down the freeway yet doesn't hit anything on his ride home, was that a safe drive? If a house full of children has no smoke detectors yet no one in the house has ever died from smoke inhilation, is that still a safe environment? What if that same household has a pool with no fence around it. Even though there have been no drownings, is that safe? For the record, I ran all of the above scenarios by two of my friends, one of whom is a Captain for the City of Orange FD, the other with is a Paramedic for Long Beach FD. They both agreed those were "unsafe" regardless that no fatalities nor injuries occured. But I have an idea...the next time someone toggles in, or lands opposite of the pattern, or doesn't flare yet walks away, I'll intercept Dan BC before he makes it that the said jumper, and show him your statement first...you know, the We'll see if that influences his subsequent chat with the individual. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Nice ones Mike, keep them coming. So far every post you've made to this thread has been to try and belittle me...not one relating to the thread itself. Since you obviously have tenure and consider yourself experienced, please be the nice knowing mentor to myself and whoever else is reading this and enlighten us as to your views on: A. Time in sport -what it means, signifigance, variations among different individuals, currency during time in sport, variations between seasonal jumpers and year round jumpers etc. B. Experienced - what your definition of an experienced skydiver is. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Icarus canopies do not come with soft links. My rigger used PD SM-1 Slinks. Vectran is standard, but I have jumped a Safire2 149 with an original Spectra lineset. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Jump 32... buttslide landing...cracked my cocyx...hurt like a bitch and kept me from jumping for a month, bothered me several more. Was an awesome learning lesson just my third month into the sport...beat the hell out of breaking a hip or a femur or my spine to get me to respect this sport...(not that any of those things can't happen at any given time on any given jump) For all those people who have your panties in a wringer over my landing comments...figure it out. There are three things every jump consists of...packing, pulling, landing. I can pay a packer, and I can have a Cypress put a canopy over my head, but I have yet to find a way to land a non-tandem skydive other than myself. Do you want to know why I know so many so called "expert" or "experienced" skydivers land like crap? Because my CANOPY COACHES have just had me sit with them on the grass and watch people plow in over and over...and then I debrief them on what the person did wrong. I kind of like the philosophy that it is better to learn from others mistakes than from your own...at least it's less painful. I mean isn't that the whole idea behind coaching? Notice I said canopy COACHES...plural. I have several because different teachers have different EXPERIENCES to offer in their knowledge base. Some skydivers remind me of public employee union members...their time in the sport is like tenure or something. And just like public employee unions, tenure doesn't equal ability or knowledge or anything else for that matter...just time. Ability and knowledge are more individual aspects that will vary from person to person. I am not experienced. And for all of those who personally jumped my ass for my extremely general statement, I don't consider any of you experienced either. None of you are Dan BC's, or Jim Wallace's, or Mike Swanson's. You want to put me in my place, but I'm very well aware of my place, you should figure out yours... Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Age, life experiences, etc have nothing to do with it. If he hits the ground harder than you and/or more often than you, he is going to suffer from the subsequent effects... Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

The tunnel is awesome but it will take some serious time and cash before they have you flying head down in there. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I am talking about international competitors in 4 way/8 way RW...that are exiting at 10.5k passes if we are going to start calling out altitudes. I am talking about big way 100+ camps, JFTC 160+ World Records, the POPS records etc. People who have some time in the sport, jump numbers and currency to boot...yet they do a butt slide or hit their hands and knees 1 out of every 5 to 1 out of every 10 jumps. JFTC could have had their own orthopedic specialist camped out @ the dz for the week last summer. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Hey Hydroguy.....I land like crap. I didnt always. A crushed spine and an artificial hip will do that to you. My friend Jan Davis landed like crap too. She had two artificial hips.....and.....ten times more jumps that you do. Now.....show us some more of your "inexperience" or lack thereof. bozo PM sent Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

I am always amazed at how many experienced people with time in the sport land like absolute crap. Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

This thread should have been locked after the first reply Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

It is my "perception" that Safire2's have a steeper angle of descent than a Pilot. This is based upon comparing a Pilot 168 to a Safire 2 169, and also on a Pilot 150 compared to a Safire 2 149. Maybe someone with 1000x's more experience than me can tell me if my perceptions are correct... Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Tracking derby's with GPS, wingsuits, and maybe (GASP) even freeflying. Try something new in the wide ranging sport that forces you to learn new skillz. Learning is fun. What about ground launching? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary

Damn, what's that law about all long internet discussions eventually turning to Hitler references? Get in - Get off - Get away....repeat as neccessary