Hawkins121

sweet man! I had line twists on all of my military jumps. It was weird having a canopy open without them when i started fun jumping.

They were dead when I got here.

I'm really new to the sport and I have heard nothing but "Dude, I want to learn head down"

Were both leg straps even?

Go to SDAZ and knock it out in less than a day. Might sound rediculous but I am serious. If I am from DC and I know what a pain in the ass it is to get off student status around here.

Not much really. Just that he was glad I didnt burn in and to really pump those toggles to get the slider down.

Fuck yeah, best compliment i have received all day long. My day is now complete. Fucker lmao

I'll be doing that also... I know you are proud for posting that but what was the point bro? Trolls rock.

Needed more legs out. I went from box to mantis and kept my legs in the same position I did for the box.. causing me to backslide a bit. It wasnt much but its enough to notice in that tunnel!

No sir. No forums.

Does anyone know of any skydiving clubs or forums dedicated to dc area skydivers? I am new to the sport and would like to meet some people that are into it. I know where the DZ's are. I'm more interested in an email group or message board.

I live in the DC area. I started at Skydivedelmarva for my first 3 AFF jumps. The instructors there are pretty good and there isnt alot of the "Skygod" mentality there. There is also Skydive orange which will be a little closer for you. They are busier and have a talented group of free flyers.

In eloy it seems that every skydiver wants in that tunnel. I dont see it being different anywhere else. There will be more and more tunnels popping up around the country.

thanks bro.. I appreciate the advice. I will try it when it happens again.

But isn't half the thrill of the sport the challenge to be able to do it yourself perfectly? If you were in a situation where you aad fired; would you really care if the canopy was steered for you?

lol i use "Pretty Decent" loosely You wont see me winning any medals thats for damn sure.

What were you taught as a student about the minimum distance the slider needs to be down? Did you follow that information or deviate from it? And more importantly why? I watched my altimeter and counted from 3500-2500 ft. It was only 4 seconds faster than the 2 times I had done that earlier in the day. Basically I thought the canopy was acceptable to land. I do not have much experience (65 jumps total) but i didnt seem to be decending faster than what a PLF wouldnt fix. If this happened again I would chop it.

pulled at 4k. Slider got stuck 3/4 of the way UP. Was jumping a 220. Flared a bunch of times trying to get it down. No dice. My decent rate seemed pretty much the same as the T-10's i jumped in the army. I could turn the canopy just fine. About 15 feet from the ground the slider snapped all the way down. Stand up landing. Should I have chopped this? Was I just extremely lucky that the slider came down?

Just got back from Eloy. Went from AFF level 3 to finishing my A license in 4 days! Thanks to my coach Dusty Smith I was able to go from Potato chipping around in the sky like a jackass to doing cool 2 way exits, and basically become a pretty decent belly flyer in a very short period of time. I went from a 280sf canopy to a 220 which is around a 1.2 wingload for me. I know it doesnt seem like a big thing but I'm really happy with being able to land a wing loaded canopy like that so soon. On my last day Dusty had a hard cutaway and a riser hit him in the eye. Even though his eye started to swell shut he stuck the rest of the day out and helped me finish my jumps! If you guys get a chance to go out there try and get a few coach jumps with him. The tunnel is sweet. I had no idea how much I was backsliding in free fall until I got in there. I was able to fix that really quick. Now its on to working on the B license. Next trip out there in Feb for more coach jumps before the season on the east coast starts!

lmfao

It was not my intention to attack the convention. I think the convention is a great idea. I am planning to be there next year. I was only wondering if there is a higher risk of injury at boogies etc. You cleared that up for me. Thanks for the info.

According to the Fatality database 2 people were killed during the WFFC in august 2005. Is it normal for boogies of that size? I dont mean to hijack the thread but I am curious because I have never been to a boogie or convention and this type of thing would definetly affect my decision to attend one.

I know I'm a little late here but... A pilot nailed a guy under canopy. I dont see how anything else would matter in an FAA investigation. Im sure the pilot is an alright guy but holy freaking god! An otter.. Chopped a guys legs off while the guy was under canopy!!!Sorry pilot. No matter what the circumstances you should have your wings pulled. That being said... I still wouldnt land on an active runway. There are some situations that do not warrant an explanation to determine punishment. I think this is one of those situations.

This may be a stupid question but.. What makes the pilot open so much smoother than a sabre2? Arent there several factors that go into that? Packing etc... If the sabre2 has violent offheading openings why is it so popular?

When is a good time to buy your first main? How many jumps etc. I am 6' 215lbs. What canopy and container would you recommend? I would like to get into RW and maybe FF as I get more experience.