Chris-Ottawa

Hello everyone, I've read many a thred about the VISO and other similar devices. I really wnat to know what makes the VISO $100 less than a neptune or ProTrack. They all do logging. Protrack is not visual (obviously), but the VISO and Neptune are. AS far as I can see, there are only 2 differences between the VISO and Neptune. 1 - Swoop Alarm 2 - Downloadable log Am I correct in this? I want to get something to log my jumps, FF speed, canopy speed etc... I was looking at a protrack, but if I can get a visual as well, why not. Especially since it's cheaper for similar functionality. I'm really only concerned with FF speed, FF Time, and opening altitude, maybe canopy speed, which, as far as I can tell, all 3 deviced do. I know the VISO is not released yet, but it should be very soon. I plan to use this as a secondary device, I want to keep my Galaxy as well. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. If there was a thread I missed, please link it so I can take a gander at it. Thanks! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Ross, How'd you know it's me, haha. I'm not the only Chris out there am I? Damn. I really can't afford to go anywhere as of yet, but just curious as to the "transferability" of a CSPA license. I noticed you also have a USPA license, for what purpose is that? I just see people with CSPA and USPA licenses and it makes me curious. P.S. - Since you left, I got my solo, working on my A, and bought gear. Haven't got it yet but can't wait to jump it. (Gotta get a few more jumps on smaller canopies before Trevor will let me jump it, hehe. Sabre 135). Melissa also got her solo, not sure if you were there when she got it. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I was just wondering where a CSPA is valid. I know it's good in the US and I've heard international as well. I'm also curious about the CoP's. If I were to go to other countries and expect to jump, would I be able to show them my CSPA and CoP and the manifest me? I'm just cruious how "transferrable" the CSPA licenses are. I looked on the forums but found nothing relating directly to this question. Thanks for all the info! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Grumpy, I can't speak on behalf of any other DZ since I haven't ventured there yet...until I get my A anyways. I have such a blast at mile high. I can go there, not end up jumping and go home completely satisfied. Just the atmosphere at the DZ is great. I brought out a friend who wants to jump, but can't afford it yet, and she stayed there all day while I jumped and she came home more excited than me to go jump again. Did you jump here alot, or did you do your training and head off? How did you like the DZ and your instructors? Always nice to meet people who've been to Mile High. I love the sydiving community because it's an incredibly small community, yet it's global which I find awesome! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hahah AggieDave, this brings back a really funny memory that I completely forgot about. I remember my mom yelling at me for taking a sheet off the clothesline and getting it all grass stained from jumping off of a tree stump in our yard. It didn't work too well, but I guess that was my first "jumping" experience. I was very young then, maybe 8 or 9. Thanks s much for reminding me! This is great, I never expected this much activity for a random post, but it's neat to see that everyone had a reason to do it. Thanks again everyone! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone, I'm curious to find out why everyone started skydiving. Can you please post info on when you first jumped, why you decided to jump, did you go alone or with friends, what did your friends/family think and what you remember from your first jump. Also include anything you thing is unique or interestig about your first jump. As for me, and I'm sure this is pretty similar to alot of people, but I was 20 yrs old, jumped for the first time on Oct 22, 2005 and loved it. I wanted to jump since I saw skydiving on TV when I was about 10. So last year, I was living on my own, making decent money and said screw it, I'm going to jump from a plane. I went with a group of 7 and we all did tandems and we all got video. Needless to say, I was immediately hooked and am currently on Lvl 4 PFF and have 9 jumps including 4 IAD's and the tandem. As for my family, they encouraged me, they knew I understood the consequences and accepted that, plus I plan on dragging them up there soon. I'm sure some of you guys and gals out there got into skydiving for interesting reasons, such as dares, bets, bachelor parties etc? Let's hear it! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I was not so much looking for things to try, but more of something that I can suggest to my instructors that can help me. The only thing I have heard was clicking your heels. I did PFF Lvl 2 and 3 today and did good. I still had trouble with my legs, but when my instructors let go, initially I was a bit scared because I didn't know my main instructor let go until I saw him in my peripheral vision. When I noticed this I guess I changed body position and started a turn, I countered it and my reserve instructor held my leg to stop me as well, but after that I fell pretty stable and everything was fine after that. Needless to say, my first solo freefall was wicked! I'm doing all my own canopy control and flares now and I've still stood every landing 'cept my tandem. Anyways, gotta carry some beer to the DZ for this friday. It's the first, but probably not the last! Blue Skies! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone! Just wanted to give everyone an update on my progress and ask for some advice. I currently have 1 tandem, 4 IAD jumps, and 2 PFF Level 1's. In my PFF level 1 first attempt I did great except I didn't touch my hackey on the practice pulls, so my instructor pulled at 4500 for me, I actually grabbed the bridle cord as he was pulling it out and quickly released when I realized what happened. Did PFF Level 1 second attempt today and did amazing, did all my grabs, pulled by myself and did my whole approach on my own, and got a bit of help on the flare. So far I've stood all of my landings and I'm pretty proud of that. On today's jump I did have 1 problem, I seem to stop paying attention to what my legs are doing. When this happens, I seem to induce a slight spin. I was hoping some people had some advice on how I can be more aware of my legs. I've heard of clicking my heels but nothing else. I imagine as the "freefall" rush wears off slightly, I'll be able to concentrate on other things better, but for now any advice would be appreciated. Tomorrow is etup for level 2 so I lose an instructor and stability becomes more important. Thanks ahead everyone!! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Freemis, I had that same question when I did my tandem. It was explained to me like this: The "butterflies" sensation is when your stomach/body changes direction, once it is already travelling another. Example: Driving down the highway, you go over a hump, everything in your body gets pulled down because the vehicle went up, and it brings you up with it, when the vehicle comes down, everything changes direction, your stomach is still travelling up when the vehicle starts to come down. That is what creates the sensation. Now as for skydiving, you do not have that feeling because standing on the strut, you are travelling forward, but everything in your body is at the speed the plane is travelling, so it's just like standing still on the ground, so when you "drop" off the plane, your body only changes one directon. Hope that helps I can imagine jumping from a skyvan or something with a deck where you can hop up, then start falling would give the feeling. The feeling you're probably gonna get is the combat of your stomach saying to your brain: "What the hell are you about to do......." Otherwise know as....FEAR Haha Blue skies "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, i took my first level of AFF and I did not get to go to level 2. During freefall, i was not touching my hackey so when it came to 4500 to pull, i reached back and felt that my instructor had pulled it and I grabbed the bridle for the pilot chute. His reasoning for pulling was that he thought when it came time to pull, I wouldn't pull, similar to my practice pulls. I can't say whether or not I would have, but I gain the experience of the freefall, I know what to expect, and I feel much more comfortable now. Tunnel time is not an option for me as I'm up in the great north (Canada), and it's just not economical for anyone to build one around here since the population density is so low. Either way, I'm happy for the experience and need to get rid of this rain, it's been 2 weeks since my first PFF and I can't jump due to weather. One thing I'd like to say is this: It's a personal choice, if you are will ing to spend more and travel to make sure everything is done right on the first run, do it. If you're looking to keep costs down, weigh your options, and make a choice. But whatever you do...get in the air! Blue Skies! "When once you have tasted flight..."

A few firsts as in landing on an old concrete runway? I am loaded really light;y under that 280. It was pretty windy that day too, hovering around 12-16 km/h. When I saw I was coning down over the concrete I was a bit worried. But needless to say, once my feet touched, that fear turned to relief. Now I just have to get rid of this rain and i can continue jumping! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Greatadvice guys. I now have no intention of going to a 1 30 nor a 150. I imagine I'll work my way down to 190 or 170 ish and probably hold there for a while. Then, when I'm ready for amy gear, I'll probably look at a 150. Only time will tell for now. My biggest problem is canopy progression. I'm currently jumping a Navigator 280 and that is the smallest student canopy my home DZ has. We're a pretty small DZ too. I imagine once I'm solo certified they may be able to work something out for canopy progression, or maybe I can rent gear from another DZ. That leads me to this question, once I'm off student status and solo certified, can I jump at other DZ's? I have a couple other DZ's in the area, some are bigger, but they are no closer than 1.5 hours away. Currently I jump 30 mins from my home. I guess this is what started my current question, I'm not sure at this point what my canopy progression will be after PFF. Back out on Wednesday to continue PFF! Blue Skies! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks guys, From what I'm seeing here, I'm going to leave it up to my JM. I've pretty much decided to avoid looking at gear at this point. I learnt alot that I didn't realize, such as: smaller canopy loaded the same as a bigger canopy will generally be faster due to shorter lines and less drag. Never even considered that. I'm going to get y 30 jumps or so and assess where I am at that point wiht my JM. As I said I really appreciate the advice, I now have a better understanding of what I'm looking at. I simply like to be as informed as possible before doing something, and getting the info from multiple sources gives me a somewhat unbiased and broader opinion base. That being said, my JM has the final word. I'll be in the sky tomorrow, so thanks again everyone! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, You know, that is honestly some of the best advice I've gotten. Usually people take a question like that and wrap it around to say that I'm trying to see how small I can go without killing myself. I definately have intentions to jumps canopies in between the 280 and a 135. This is why I made note to say in 20-30 jumps. I have no intention whatsoever to jump a 135 on my first solo dive after PFF. A guy at our DZ has a 104 and he's about 150lbs. I know that's a bigger wing loading and a high performance canopy but damn that thing moves. I thought the 280 came in pretty quick, but then I think about my flight training and realize forward speed generates lift, and if you came in nice and gently, the canopy would probably stall. SO my frame of reference for speed is vague since I'm so new. My main idea in asking this was to minimize costs, skydiving is not nearly the cheapest sport I've gotten in to, so I don't want to keep swapping mains and containers. I say this now, but I really don't plan to become a speed freak. I just want a rig I can go jump a few times on weekends during the summer, nothing special. This is why I don't want to swap rigs. I also saw that resale values on rigs and chutes are pretty good, but I'm really paranoid of used gear. I see people selling canopies with 1200 jumps and I think, this is a car cover by now, no? I'm sure that is incorrect but that's my mentality. Thankls again for the info Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I know this topic comes up all the time and I've gone through about 30 different threads to get the answer iI'm looking for. First here's some info about me. Done 1 Tandem and 3 IAD's, 3 PFF's. I've stood up all my landings from day 1 on a Navigator 280 (Huge I know). I weigh 115lbs, so when i talk about buying a 130sq/ft canopy, people jump and say too small without first realizing my exit weight (130-135ish). I'm looking to get my own gear to sdave on rental costs. I fully plan on talking to my JM tomorrow, but I wanted some advice, obviously there's a few people here that have had this situation before. From what I'm gathering, a beginner rig, depending on canopy control of the individual would be good around 1:1. I am looking at buying new or possible a very lightly used rig (under 100 jumps). So here are a few questions: 1: Is there a huge difference in a wing loading of 1:1 and 1.1:1? I am loking at an Aerodyne Pilot 124 vs a 135. 2: I am looking at an Aerodyne Pilot, is it a good beginner canopy loaded at 1:1 or no? 3: I'm mostly concerned with being safe and I know this will prompt comments saying go big, but in 100 - 200 jumps or so I don't want to have to downsize already. I want something fun, yet still relatively safety oriented. 4: Harness: I am very small 5'8" and 115 lbs and I'm looking for advice on a rig that is built small. I know they come in sizes, but some seem to lok bigger and bulkier than thers, yet i'm sure this is directly related to canopy size. I don't want a massive rig that's crazy heavy. I like the Icon and Javelin odyssey. I did also see a thread that said under 100 jumps 1:1, 100-200 1.1:1 etc. I just don't want to go too small, but don't want to have a giant rig that looks odd on me. Now just to re-itterate, I'm not trying to find the smallest canopy I can for a beginner. I'm simply asking if a 1:1 ratio is accurate for me to use in 20-30 jumps. It's not something I plan to use during my PFF or before I get my A CoP. Thanks for the advice! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Everyone at Mile High was awesome. We went as a group of 7 and we all had a blast! I am going back in the spring for my A License. Videos were amazing, msg me and I'll share with you. This is where you want to go if you are leery about trying it, they are very comforting, and casual. I'll update my review after my PFF course in the spring. Thanks so much Mile High and Adrenaline Tandem! **Spring Edit** Hey again, Just finished my first 3 IAD jumps this weekend, starting PFF this coming weekend. I had a blast. All I can say is everyone is exceedingly friendly. Everyone is joking around and laughing and just having a great time. I realize now why skydiving is not just jumping from planes, it's a whole new social activity. As for the jumps, I felt completely confident in jumping. I took the course last weekend, and before jumping, they reviewed what I remembered and then we were off. All 3 jumps went great, and the best part...All 3 jumps were stand-ups in no wind conditions. With Mile High, you have nothing to worry about, simple as that! Thanks Mile High!

Everyone at Mile High was awesome. We went as a group of 7 and we all had a blast! I am going back in the spring for my A License. Videos were amazing, msg me and I'll share with you. This is where you want to go if you are leery about trying it, they are very comforting, and casual. I'll update my review after my PFF course in the spring. Thanks so much Mile High and Adrenaline Tandem! **Spring Edit** Hey again, Just finished my first 3 IAD jumps this weekend, starting PFF this coming weekend. I had a blast. All I can say is everyone is exceedingly friendly. Everyone is joking around and laughing and just having a great time. I realize now why skydiving is not just jumping from planes, it's a whole new social activity. As for the jumps, I felt completely confident in jumping. I took the course last weekend, and before jumping, they reviewed what I remembered and then we were off. All 3 jumps went great, and the best part...All 3 jumps were stand-ups in no wind conditions. With Mile High, you have nothing to worry about, simple as that! Thanks Mile High!

Well, just wanted to give everyone a bit of insight as to how my first 3 jumps went. I did 3 IAD's at 3500'. First one was good cept' getting used to the windrush while hlding onto the plane (C-205) was difficult, but I managed ok. Put my hands on the risers shortly after I felt tension. Don't remember my arch, but instructor said it was good. Had 2 line twists, butter... felt good. Next 2 were great pretty much all around. Third jump also had line twists, 3 or 4, but again, no biggie. And the best part which I'm most excited about, 3 Perfect standup landings!!!!! I know what caused the line twists...me. My arch was good, but I kind of slid to the right from pushing off of the plane. The first one wasn't bad, I didn't really notice what happened. I realized it on the 3rd jump, I kind of slid sideways to the right. Next weekend is booked for the PFF course, and I'm off into the world of freefall! Hope to see everyone out there sometime! Chris Blue Skies! *edit - Skies were clear, wind was nearly non-existant (Under 5 km/h). Radio operator was great. Canopy was a Navigator 280, wind loading....ready???? 0.5:1. Yeah, I weight 115 lbs soaking wet, and I estimated gear at 25 lbs. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I had the exact same feeling on my tandem, I've always been around planes, so altitude is no big deal for me. I had 2 moments when I was scared...The second my foot lost contact with the plane but it was still in my peripheral vision, obviously that faded instantly. Then when we were under 1000ft. Right around 200ft or so I got butterflies. I think it's the thought of knowing that if anything goes wrong at this point, there's nothing you can do. But, nonetheless, I'm going back for more, and more, and a little more. Can't wait to tell my grandkids about skydiving (I'm 22 btw). P.S. - I'm 5'8" and 115 Lbs, so I'm in the same boat. Maybe I should check out the women's forums too... Blue Skies! "When once you have tasted flight..."

We're not that bad, are we? We're all just a bunch of crazy people. And we like our alcohol. haha "When once you have tasted flight..."

Eloy is definately somewhere where I plan on ending up this/next summer. Savin up my airmiles...literally. Eloy, Deland, and a few other mentionables seem to be the places to be. I am really interested in trying out a wind tunnel too. I've put so much research into this it's amazing, I got my altimeter in January...Yes I was very excited. I am just really looking forward to this, it makes me happy! Where can I get details on the Canadian Invasion as you call it? **I initially thought this was an event, now that I go back and read this, I imagine you just get to see alot of us since we all want to jump when it's brisk outside. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, Just wanted to say Hi and introduce myself. I did my first tandem in Oct 2005 as a personal life goal with no intention of becoming a skydiver. Yeah, that was a joke. I was hooked instantly, best thing I've ever done. I took my Solo First Jump Course last weekend, and got rained out, so I'm jumping this weekend. Plan on doing 3 solo's then I'm gonna start PFF and hopefully get my A CoP before the end of the season. ( I'm in Canada, it gets pretty cold). Anyways, hope to see you all around. I get the sense that the skydiving community is pretty small and very friendly. It's gonna be a great summer... Chris Blue Skies! "When once you have tasted flight..."