repcool

My personal choice is to use an altimeter, both a wrist and chest mount (Neptune and alti), and 2 audibles of different make. I switch the batteries out at every repack. I don't expect everyone else to do the same. As a pilot I was taught to trust my instruments. I certainly agree that eyes and internal clocks are all part of the instrument panel we have access to, so I use ALL of them, and it the readings from a couple don't add up I will just go ahead and pull. I wouldn't be comfortable doing anything more than a hop n' pop without an altimeter. I don't need to train my eyes for anything more detailed because they won't ever be my one and only instrument. I do continue to train my eyes for altitude under canopy, which is when they become primary. I recently started to wingsuit and my internal clock instrument started to tell me it was pull time, but both my eyes and altimeter said otherwise, I was at 8k. I can't see what harm having access to that information does. I also did a HALO where I felt the urge to pull at 18k even though the ground still looked like another planet! You can dog on me if you please, but I know my comfort zone and I happen to like gadgets.

It is good to speak up and ask these questions. Now you learned it is a good idea to get a gear\pin check.

what speaks against paying attention to those things while packing and checking again before boarding yourself? i speak to pretty much every new or old face at the dz anyway..

A decent pin check will also review the bridle routing, kill line window and maybe even riser covers! Don't leave home without one! I get mine before boarding and then check the pin myself before exit. Asking for a pin check is a good excuse to meet new folks. I do wish people with faded kill lines would put a sharpie mark or something on them. Back to packing. I used packers for a lot of my jump number 25-100, I wanted to focus on the skills of the jump. Right around 100 (not by design) I switched to mostly packing myself, my packer seems quite disappointed about that. If I go to jump hard I will use a packer and can do 8 jumps in a day, if I go to socialize and pack myself then I get 3-4. Just depends on the mood. I must admit I trust others a lot less now and do prefer to pack myself.

What is the link to vote? I don't have the paper and can't find it on the site!

I have a whopping 10 wingsuit jumps, on 3 suits, a Prodigy, Phantom and Firebird. I am waving off at 6 and pulling at 5. I must say I like the extra time to take care of housekeeping and goof around in the cooler air before getting back into the heat on the ground. To think, open well before 4k and still with 60+ seconds of freefall, I feel like I found a way to get a discount on my lift ticket!

I got a LOT of PM's on this subject, thanks to everyone! I am armed with plenty of info on my options! I will see what mood I wake up in Saturday! I am going to Houston for my wifes 20th School Reunion...so I am just looking to get out of the house!

Nice, my wife was impressed with those moves. Once day soon you can take them to the sky!

I think you're in it for a career, so the time you build now gets you into another position which pays a bit more, then once you get those hours you get to go to another level and earn more. Repeat this process till you retire and you will likely come out on top. I don't know where a TI or Packer can go in a career to continue to earn more? I am not saying either is right or wrong, but some jobs pay more up front and stay about the same, some pay less because they are an investment in the long term. Personally I love aviation, I used to own a decathlon. If I could fly the 206 at our DZ for FREE I would do it right now, then you would have something to complain about!

Welcome Rich, both to the sport and to Mile Hi! I also call Colorado my home, glad to have you in the same game! ps. you weren't break dancing at the DZ were you?

Glad you are feeling better these days. That sounds like an anxiety to me. I don't think these symptoms are associated directly with hypertension. It is called the "silent killer" for a reason.

I will be in Houston this coming weekend (sept 6-7). Any festivities going on at Spaceland or Waller? Thanks, Simon

Whatever you do, if you buy new, don't get your name stitched onto the rig.

I am not so bothered about how many pack jobs a rigger has but more how many saves there have been. Anything more than a couple tells me that some folks owe their life to him and thats enough for me. Another thing, it might not be good logic on my part but someone that repacks tandems is good in my book. I seem to see a lot of tandem chops and whoever is doing the repack is getting decent saves. Of course, that doesn't account for the fact that the same person might be packing the mains!

You will need the IRM, Instructional Rating Manual, the SIM's big brother. Good luck! http://www.uspa.org/USPAShop/tabid/353/pid/89/2008-Instructional-Rating-Manual.aspx

I struggled with my flair for the longest time. It took a solid commitment to hop n' pops for a couple of months to get to where I can fly the canopy into landing instead of just wishing really hard for it to be over.

So what your saying is we shouldn't swoop your jeep??!! Other than involving magnets and metal I really don't see how this is relevant. Well, the point was that given the right (or wrong) combination of magnet strength, reserve pilot chute spring and luck you could be in for a bad scenario. It is unlikely, but if it ever happens I will be trying to dig up this post!

I don't totally agree on the IT issue. A 2 year degree in the UK allowed me to obtain a visa for the US and make a decent life for myself. I guess it depends if you think it will actually teach you something you can apply on day one or get you in the door. However, nobody other than the INS has ever cared about my education.

Rich to me, financially, means you can buy ANYTHING you want without thinking about it, so that us uber-millions. If you have to think about it for a split second before you buy it, you ain't rich. Now, rich in life, thats a different question.

Why would anyone in the BPA jumping in the UK be paying out of pocket for an injury? I am confused!

My advice on Lodi is to go and jump at the mythical beast, it s real and it is worth the airfare to get there.

It also depends on the MSL. Taking off from 150 MSL is different than going from 5000 MSL. The aircraft performance is degraded and getting those last few k of altitude not only takes longer but everyone in the plane starts passing out...

I used to use magnets to hold the license plate onto the front bumper of my jeep. It was an air tank conversion bumper so I couldn't drill into it. That plate never did come off.

A savings bond?