Chris-Ottawa

Saturday https://www.facebook.com/events/180298982181161/ "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks everyone, it looks like we're going to make the 7 hour drive to Crosskeys for "FreezeFest". That gives us the best chance of jumping, with an Otter and a boogie going on at the same time so there will be people there to fill the plane. Plus, 7 hours drive gets us into t-shirt weather, only +7c! Woo Hoo! Thanks so much! "When once you have tasted flight..."

PST does, and that was our plan for this weekend until we got hammered with snow and the snowblower for the runway broke. That's why we're looking for an alternative. Thanks for all the info so far everyone, I'm checking it all out! "When once you have tasted flight..."

So, a local business contacted me as they are looking to sell a machine. UNfortunately, I can't find any info on it whatsoever, so...I turn to DZ.com Anyone have an idea on what this is, would it be useful in skydive rigging, is there a market for these? The only think I could find was a Pfaff 545 (not 454) which is a huge industrial walking foot. Thank you! "When once you have tasted flight..."

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Hey everyone, I'm itching to make a jump with a couple friends and we're trying to find the most northern, north-east DZ in the US that is jumping when the weather permits. We'd be leaving from Ottawa, Ontario and driving to wherever... We know the easy answer is Z-Hills, but that's not possible right now. Anyone? Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Now you're putting words in my mouth. I'm not up in a bunch, you're saying I am. I asked question to see how many other people would do similar to me. I even contexted it to say that people can do whatever they want. I'm guessing you're probably the guy selling one in the classifieds and this is killing your business. Sorry bud, no harm intended. If you read nothing but this, here it is: winning something for FREE and turning it for a profit...I personally consider lame/cheap. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Who said we're giving away hundreds of dollars, no one pays for these certificates directly? You didn't pay anything to win the prize (except maybe a boogie fee which you certainly didn't pay only to have a chance at winning), but you're profiting off of it? It was intended as a gift to someone, but the winner then turns around and profits from someone else's generosity. That's my point. All the power to anyone who chooses to sell these, but I guees it just shows the various character traits in the world. Not that any one way is bad, it's just un-heard of for me to sell a gift that I was given for free. "When once you have tasted flight..."

And that's part of my issue too. I'm 100% certain that more than one person has been intentionally screwed by this. "When once you have tasted flight..."

These are the people you'd probably want to call. http://www.skydivetoronto.com/ They are a local dropzone with people experienced in flag/demo jumps. There are a few guys on here that will probably see this, but I'm pretty sure they'll hook you up with a guy named Peter. On a sidenote, I sent you an email with a direct contact for Peter. "When once you have tasted flight..."

That's actually an interesting idea, but taking a bit more risk. For whatever reason, I have less issue with that, then selling the certificate, but it's basically the same thing. I dunno, it's a weird situation, but I still believe it's awesome to pay it forward. "When once you have tasted flight..."

So, I see these gift certificates people win at boogies for sale all the time. Every time I see one, I get this same thought. We all know skydivers are cheap bastards, but if you won something you didn't want/need, why would you try to turn a profit on it when you have the ability to help someone out in the sport. We all know those people that would be forever greatful to have 50% off a custom container, or canopy or whatever. Yes, they're still saving money, but in reality you could help them so much more by allowing them that extra cash in jump money making them better jumpers. I realize that it is the people's right to sell it, but in a sport as small as this, if it was free to you...why not pay it forward? I'm not saying that you shouldn't be able to, it just shocks me when I see it, especially when people say "Rig X is $10,000 new, so this certificate is worth $5000, and I'm only asking $4,675. What a steal" Does anyone else feel the same? How awesome would it have been to be an up and coming jumper and have someone hand you a 50% off certificate? I'm certain it happens, but probably not that often. *Disclaimer: I don't consider myself a skydiver in need incase anyone is thinking I'm jealous. I have 2 sets of gear, one being custom ordered, and I just recieved a brand new custom Squirrel Aura (which I'm eager to jump). If I won a certificate, it is without question that I'd give it to an up and coming jumper who was prepared to buy gear, but didn't have the full amount. I'm posting because I'm purely curious how many people would do the same. "When once you have tasted flight..."

The sound was probably just the lines of the canopy cutting through the wind at high speed. Small canopy + good swooper = MUCH louder than anyone else. Was the sound different from a normal swoop, or was this the first time you've seen a swoop that sounded like this? "When once you have tasted flight..."

COstco makes custom ear plugs for $50. I had them done for shooting and they work incredibly well and are perfectly comfortable. HIGHLY recommended. Quick and cheap. Never thought of using them for jumping though, never had a reason to. It's not a dumb idea though... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Are you in a rush to get your gear? Are you jumping in the next few months (ie: winter). I'd say, if you plan on doing at least 20 jumps in the next couple months, start looking really hard. If you don't plan on doing that many jumps over the next couple months, then hold off and wait for something better to come up. Also, forget the age of the gear. Set a budget and work with that. In my honest opinion, you "can" get gear for less than $2000, but you may be sacrificing something (which could be your safety). There are cases where you luck out on someone getting out of the sport, or just chance on a sweet deal, but most of the time, it's people selling junk to noobs. Anyone that asks me, I say that you should be able to get a VERY reasonable, fairly current set of gear for about $2500. Honestly...I'd hang on for a bit. You're excited, but you don't want to get a set of shitty gear that you'll have trouble offloading. Since you're considering the more expensive set of gear, I assume cost isn't you're #1 limiting factor. Again, like I said...set a budget and work from there. You'll also likely get a much better deal buying the pieces individually rather than buying a complete set. It's not hard, but I'd recommend making friends with a rigger or someone knowledgeable around your DZ. Be patient... Now, for everyone that is about to flip out and say you can get it for less, go back and read what I just wrote above. I agree with you. As an example, I setup a full set of gear, with 3 yr old AAD and a main with only 50 jumps on it for $1700. The reason I got it so cheap? Some luck, but mostly being an odd size. I needed gear for wingsuiting and I'm a really small guy (120lbs). Just so happened that someone was selling a Triathlon 99 with 50 jumps on it for real cheap because hardly anyone can, and/or wants to jump a Triathlon, let alone a 99. So, that's the "chance" component along with right place right time. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Yeah man, you've got cool stories. I bet your friend thinks you're awesome. Not that your compensating for anything, right? Hey, if you are interested in jumping, you don't have to make shit up, all you've gotta do is show up at a dz. No need for any pre existing status to join the cool club. Unfortunately, you can't jump until you're 16, so you've got a while to wait. Maybe try lawn darts...hehe, get it? Lawn darts? Never mind, you probably won't. I was making a funny that if you actually did what you've dreamt up here, that's what would happen, you'd be like a human lawn dart. Get it now? Anyways, don't try too hard ok, bud? You might get yourself a bad rap and then when you're old enough to actually jump, people won't want to help you out because you're acting like a giant douchebag.It's cool though, we don't hold grudges. Night night little guy! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Don't hold your breath...it could be a while. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Cool story bro! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Cool story bro! "When once you have tasted flight..."

-No ability to form proper sentences -Doesn't know what punctuation is -Hiding behind an imaginary cloak of secrecy -Clearly not older that 6 or 7 years old (hence the imagination) -Plays too many video games -Takes too many drugs Yep...a real winner here. Watch out Travis Pastrana, Jeb and Jokke...this guy's about to turn your world upside down! It's probably better that the imaginary cloak exists anyways. We wouldn't want your stupidity to be displayed anywhere prominent. You know, fatalities in the sport are typically bad press so we try to avoid publicizing them as much as we can. Maybe when you turn 12, your mommy can even bring you to a dropzone someday! Wouldn't that be exciting? "When once you have tasted flight..."

In all honesty, it's unfortunate that he chose to let it anger him. I would like to believe that had I been the chair and received that much feedback, I would have taken it as a positive and indication that change needed to happen. It's not what you "want" to hear, but it's what you "should" be hearing. Again, I'm glad it invoked change, regardless of whom I upset. Certifying under-qualified riggers isn't something to be taken lightly. Sorry for hijacking your thread Kiethor. Hopefully you'll enjoy the course and go on to become a well respected rigger. Tonroto has some fantastic riggers, and many of them are at your same home DZ. Spend lots of time there befriending these people...they're you're mentors. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks for the additional info Rob, I actually never knew a couple of the things you posted. I wasn't going to identify the instructor, but since you've claimed the title... As far as going through the exam, regardless of the students comprehension or ability to spell, I don't think anyone should have gone through the exam question by question. Many people wrote that exam before those students and as far as I know, weren't walked through the exam. I'm just going to leave this one alone now. I've made my peace. I will say that I am ultra happy that CSPA modified how the course works, updated some of the material, the exam etc. I was actually a bit surprised that no one from CSPA contacted me for additional details, told me that changes would be made, thanked me for letting them know, asked me to participate.contribute etc. I'm certain I pissed a few people off, but a rigger rating shouldn't be like you A or B license exam. It should closely mirror the rigor of going for your PFF rating and have similar pre-requisites. It was all done for the greater good of our jumping community and will hopefully prevent a fatality some day. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Wasn't directed at you at all. REALLY long story short, when I took my rigger A course, there were people who didn't speak english (and the course was only taught in english), those same 3 people all had less than 20 jumps, the least being 7 I think (This means that none had their B's, let alone their A's. Most of the students hadn't the slightest clue about gear/rigging as they had zero experience in the sport. The course material was WAY outdated, and it was all open book. I finished my exam in around 2 hours, and we were supposed to have a max of 4 (I believe), so I went jumping to let everyone else finish. Went and did a few jumps, came back, no one was out yet (and this was 4-5 hours later). Sat in the exam room for a while (it was warmer than outside) and was shocked that the instructor was going through the exam question by question with most of the students. During the practical portion the instructor wasn't in the room, and when he came back in hours later, he asked the Rigger B candidate (who was assisting the course) how they did. They exchanged a single sentence and the instructor walked over to the student and congratulated them for passing the course. I wasn't even asked to do a practical, they looked at my container that I had packed earlier in the week and congratulated me. (There much more that happened, but that's what I recall and the bigger things). Basically, the course was a COMPLETE SHIT SHOW and I felt cheated that I actually put effort into it as it is a very important role in the sport and cost me a decent amount of coin, 7 days off work, plus meals out for 8 days. Had nothing changed, you would be able to still just pay your monies, fake your logbook, don't bother taking the week off work and then collect your rigger rating at the end of the week and call yourself a Rigger A. Just like a vending machine! Needless to say, I wrote a MASSIVE (probably 30 page email) to CSPA, the instructor and a few others and lo and behold...a new rigger program came to be. So, in a way, you can thank me (I know...what an ass&ole) for the extra work you've had to put into getting a rigger rating, but I'm confident that the nonsense that occurred on my course (and probably many others before it), will not occur again (I hope). The side effect being that "hopefully" CSPA is outputting better riggers since we already have a pretty shitty rap against the FAA rating. So, nothing to do with you man...promise. I couldn't make this shit up if I tried. FWIW: I entered the rigger course with 14 packjobs over the course of 2 years working with a local VERY experienced rigger. I studied my ass off for months before the course and tried to learn everything I could before the course. I also had 400ish jumps before I took the course. Not mocking anyone for taking it earlier, but there is a benefit to having some experience and I think there should be a time in sport requirement too. Maybe at least a year or 2. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I had a similar progression to you, but skipped a step in between the P2 and V4. First jumps: Tony Intro (10 jumps) First suit: Tony Raptor (30 jumps) Second Suit: Phantom 2 (200ish jumps) Third suit: Vampire 4: (50ish jumps) + several jumps on random suits along the way, all the way up to an Apache prototype a few weeks ago. This week....I bought an Aura. My first new suit! Expected delivery date is Jan 20th, 2014. Not making any recommendations on your progression, but I honestly don't believe you'll find a HUGE difference between an X1, X2, X3... One thing I will mention is that I find PF suits fly like they're on rails. It's easy to rip a solid turn etc. Very confidence inspiring. When I jumped the Apache, I felt like I was on a float tube being pulled behid a boat. It flew straight, but it seemed to be a bit looser, ie: it would slide around and it was a COMEPLETELY different flying style than PF suits. PF, drop a shoulder, turn your head and you're gone. In the Apache, I did that and I had to counter the turn with my legs to avoid "spinning out" and going into a flatspin. It was actually a bit scary, and the suit deserves a lot of respect and patience to learn it. NOTE: I'm comparing 2 VERY different suits (V4 and Apache), and I've only done 2 jumps on an Apache, but I can assure you, it is a WORLD of difference in technology. I'm sure the Aura will be similar, but from what I've heard, it flies somewhere in between a PF suit and a Tony. My opinion is that if you're going to an X class suit...it won't really matter if you go for an X1,2,or 3, so you might as well get the latest, safest, best design you can (especially if you're buying new). "When once you have tasted flight..."

Rob, You and I have some history, and I believe I (amongst many of the other course participants on my rigger course) were the reason CSPA rewrote the CSPA course recently. I'm not about to rehash all of that again, but: Are you telling me that AFTER the fiasco that we all called a rigger course happened, and AFTER the course was re-written as a result, CSPA is still allowing people on the course without the proper time/skills/pre-reqs (or language requirements)? All I can say is "WOW". I'm terribly sorry for the people out there getting reserve repacks from these potentially unqualified riggers. This scares the hell out of me and makes me incredibly glad that I am able to do my own repacks. If the candidate: -Does not speak the language of the course -Does not have a B License -Does not have the required pre-reqs -Does not exhibit the skills/maturity THEY SHOULD NOT BE PERMITTED TO TAKE THE COURSE...PERIOD "When once you have tasted flight..."