jim_32766

Welcome to the community! Yes, we are all addicted to the same amazing experience. You will find that there is a never-ending list of fun new things to do as you continue your learning experience. Let us know how the next jumps go. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

That is great! Enjoy your time off and the new lease on life! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

That doesn't sound like a good start, or a good prospect. You might want to move on to the next opportunity. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I really enjoy learning new things and I like to be challenged. That combination has led me through many exciting adventures, ranging from scuba to becoming a pilot. A friend of mine skydives and kept urging me to try it. I think I was running out of other challenges and it was finally time to try this too. I am very happy I did and am enjoying every minute. There is so much to learn it should be a long time before I tire of this sport.

I was really sorry to hear of your recent loss. This is undoubtedly a difficult time for you. I am glad you are here and joining our extended skydiving family. In response to your question, I think there is great benefit from being around others and enjoying an exciting sport like skydiving. You need to integrate into "normal" life and having new goals, like learning to skydive, is definitely helpful. Should you also seek other help? It's hard to say without knowing you better. Best wishes! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I have a pro-track and run Windows 7. I used the serial cable that was supplied with the jump-track software from L&B, plus a serial to USB converter from TRENDnet, part number TU-S9. That combination works fine. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

You could try requesting a formal quote from a W/Tunnel for a specific amount of time. If you are part of a team and will be training the tunnel operators may create a special pricing package. Perhaps you could include that quote in your visa application, showing you are coming to the US to train, and have the business documentation as proof. Whether or not this would really assist in acquiring a visa I have no clue. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I've got some friends I am hoping to introduce to the tunnel. Too bad I missed the 1-day special. Thanks for posting and let us know if it comes around again. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Your graph should be used as a standard part of ground school training during AFF. It might help newbies to develop a mindset that surviving a few jumps does not an expert make. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

There are many good dropzones in the US. Your choice may depend more on the time of year and whether you prefer warm or cold weather. You could also try a couple of different drop zones. For jumping in the fall and on into the winter you might want to target a southern state, e.g. Florida. That would give you several dropzones to choose from within the state. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I thought daytime swooping was OK before the A license, and just the night swooping required the A license first? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

The OP actually did that prior to posting. The answer was not completely crisp. It went something like, " . . . you don't really need to do that with a new canopy, but any time I jump a new canopy I always do a hop-n-pop." So I really don't have to -- but that's what they do. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the A license! It sounds like you are progressing very quickly. I am sure your acrobatic skills will be showing themselves in your flying. I hope you have an understanding fiance as this will be a real test. It's easy to get completely caught up in skydiving to the detriment of other hobbies and even relationships. I try to keep skydiving in perspective as a new and greatly interesting hobby, but not a replacement for everything else in life. Notice I said "try". The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I can vouch for one of them! Did a 6-point 3-way with skymama for my A license jump, #25, just a couple of months ago. What a great way to enter the licensed skydiver ranks! Thanks skymama!! Got any photos!!?? I believe there are some photos of that jump that include skymama, but I don't have them, normiss does. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the dedication to family and all the hard work you no doubt did in assisting your grandmother. The world could use a few more people like you. Good luck in the Navy or in whatever else you choose to do! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I can vouch for one of them! Did a 6-point 3-way with skymama for my A license jump, #25, just a couple of months ago. What a great way to enter the licensed skydiver ranks! Thanks skymama!! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

It does sound a little like sensory overload but don't worry as that will change very quickly now that you have a jump completed. Just relax and focus on what the instructors are asking you to do. Playing a movie in your head to visualize ahead of time exactly what you are going to do in the jump will help you follow through. Keep at it! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

You are moving right along with the AFF levels. Keep up the good work and you'll be jumping solo before you know it. Good work on the stand-up landing too! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on the jump! Glad to hear all went well. You are on your way now! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Sounds like a reasonable plan. Let us know how it goes. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I only have slightly more experience than you do with canopy flight but am also a private pilot and will share my experience. My piloting skills provided a couple of minor challenges. These were: 1) When I started to fly canopy I had a tendency to fly the pattern too large. My mental imagery was tuned to landing my plane. While the concepts of pattern and landing are the same (except no engine for glide path adjustment or go-around with the canopy), the canopy needs a fraction of the pattern size. It took a while for me to re-train my brain and fly the correct size pattern for the canopy. and, 2) I also had to adjust to the lack of horizontal travel over ground the very large student Nav280 provided. I pictured carrying some distance while I bled the energy prior to landing. The big Navigator really just needed to be shutdown as I approached the ground. I am now flying a Sabre2 210 and find it much easier to land. It does provided some over the ground travel, and has a much stronger flare. As you've indicated in your post, the benefits of the piloting experience and the familiarity of aerodynamics are beneficial to learning canopy flight. As others have suggested you really should get a book like the one from Brian Germain to learn the technical aspect of flight. However, that book learning will only form a foundation and represent the "science" aspect of canopy flight. The "art" aspect of flight requires time and practice. We all need to get up there, open high, and learn to fly the full envelope of our canopies. That experience builds real world skills that become automatic over time. Think about other skills like riding a bike or figure skating. Reading about the mechanics is fine but only practice makes someone good at either of them. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I have heard a couple of differing opinions on how to treat a brand new canopy on first jump. Some have said that a sub-terminal opening is best to "set" the lines. Others have said that is total BS and it's fine to do a normal jump and terminal opening. Which is right? The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

I am not advocating you change your plan and I am not advocating rapid downsizing of canopies; just sharing my experience as another relative newbie. I weigh approximately 5lbs less than you do and only have a handful more jumps than you do at this time. I think my first couple of jumps were on a Nav280. I really felt wingloading that low resulted in anemic flare power. As I've progressed down in size a couple of steps I found the flare power was noticeably better, and much more to my liking. My landings were decent on the Nav280 but improved with each step down in canopy size. The other advantage I found in dropping a few square feet was better forward speed, so I wasn't at risk of flying backwards in relatively low winds. With the Nav280 it didn't take much of breeze for me to see little to no forward progress over the ground. If and when you downsize, and do it in 20sq ft steps to keep it safe and comfortable, you will probably like the additional control. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

Congrats on starting AFF. You sound like you are well prepared and will do very well. Let us know how it goes! The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.

. I love their products! What store did you find it in? I found it in two different Target stores, in two different cities. The meaning of life . . . is to make life have meaning.