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Been trying to find a ready-to-jump Cypres 2 and it seems like everyone sells their used ones when they need service. How long does this take? Sort of surprised it's not on the SSK site from what I can see. cavete terrae.

I'd like to jump at a DZ _like_ Dubai, but I'm not willing to set foot in Dubai to do it. Perhaps this will end up being the next best thing. cavete terrae.

Even though I don't have that point of view I can respect it, as long as you're not the sort of person who thinks they should be forced on EVERYONE. cavete terrae.

Nah just GruesomeJewsomes who dont have one I've got two, they're both just too old to be allowed to use! Those aren't AADs, they're paperweights. They are trade-ins if they expired not more than a year ago. Quite a bit older, and when I buy a brand spankin' new one it'll be a Vigil anyway cavete terrae.

Every time I see that pic I imagine all the oil being sprayed on their gear cavete terrae.

that's a good point, I'll grant that. Hell, I credit my time as a static line baby under a giant fucking Raven IV with my ability to put the canopy down where I damned well please. Nonetheless I still maintain that if they want to use a system where someone has to demonstrate ABILITY before downsizing I am fine with that. Arbitrary pointless numbers of jumps or time in sport or whatever, on the other hand, is stupid. cavete terrae.

I'll always offer any of my friends (or honestly, strangers) help getting them into the air, but I'll never press someone who says they're not interested. Don't need it on my conscience if they did it only because I pushed and then they burned in. cavete terrae.

Well THAT story coulda gone a couple of different ways... cavete terrae.

As far as I'm aware, Australia only "advises" that people stick to a chart roughly like Germain's. DZOs can of course do whatever they want. cavete terrae.

My girlfriend used the flag at perris as her accuracy target once. Mission accomplished, she hit the fucking thing and broke her hand cavete terrae.

The guy's apparently out for the rest of the season with a concussion. In my day if you got a concussion you took a couple of games off and get back on the ice. cavete terrae.

"What's the big deal? Boners are just compliments made of meat!" cavete terrae.

It'll be like being back in school, where the faster kids don't get anywhere near their full potential because they're being held back by a broken system. We should learn from that lesson and not make another broken system. cavete terrae.

I don't believe that is a valid reason to abandon the cause of making skydiving safer. Paraplegia punishes jumpers pretty badly - both financially and in numerous other ways. Do you honestly think people won't pad their liebook to save hundreds of dollars? Education is the answer, as usual, not regulation. cavete terrae.

Nah just GruesomeJewsomes who dont have one I've got two, they're both just too old to be allowed to use! cavete terrae.

Mandatory AADs make baby jesus cry. cavete terrae.

Redline says we have to tie down the truck before the beer front moves in. cavete terrae.

"Arch. Get on your BELLY! NOW!!!" cavete terrae.

Here's a fun thing to consider: It potentially punishes heavier jumpers financially. The used market for larger rigs and canopies isn't nearly as competitive as for the midsized stuff, and the prices often reflect that, or at least used to. I haven't looked in a while, but I can tell you that the groups on fbook for buying and selling used gear are populated with gear for 5'6" 130lbers cavete terrae.

I think this is ridiculously conservative. I'm gonna list out my canopy progression here, so y'all can scream at me or whatever, but so you can also see where I'm coming from: Jump 1: 310sqft Mighty Mak. Wingload: .84 Jump 2: 282sqft Raven IV. Wingload: .94 Jump 3: 230sqft Skymaster. Wingload: 1.15 Jumps 4-44 bounced around between those canopies as a student and renter. Jump 45: Fusion 210. Wingload: 1.26 Following jump numbers are ±5 jumps, it's from memory because I don't have my logbook here: Jump ~85 I started doing the "downsize checklist". Jump ~96 I had a brake line snap during opening, so I did the final item on the checklist: A rear riser landing, and damned near landed in the peas to boot. Jump ~98 I had a hard opening and blew up the canopy. Thanks to Stump from Skydive Radio for grabbing it and my freebag! Jump ~99-104: Sabre 2 190 demo Wingload: 1.4. Disclosure: The last of these jumps ended in a dislocated toe because the brake line snapped (yes, again. I don't like brake lines!) at the toggle during my flare. Canopy dove hard, I PLFed. Other line looked fine after the jump, so who knows… Jump ~105: Fusion 190. Wingload: 1.4 I put on some weight, and next thing you know I'm jumping a 1.5 wingload on the Fusion 190 by 150 jumps. By 180 jumps I'd done the whole downsize checklist including getting to downwind the fucker after a 6 month layoff because some asshole (THANKS SUDSY) set the pattern downwind Jump ~185 I will admit I didn't stand up because it was a no-wing off landing from a balloon onto terrain that could have easily ended in a broken ankle, so I put my safety ahead of my dislike of having to clean things and PLFed it. According to every chart and regulation proposal I've seen, I should have been dead several times over, but I was never uncomfortable under canopy. Now I'll be the first to admit, my progression was damned aggressive, and I wouldn't probably recommend that. I'm also sure I'll take some fire for that progression in the terms of comments in this thread. But the fact of the matter is that some people DO progress faster than others. I'm not out to be some rad swooper, and until I lost 50 pounds and sent my wingloading back below 1.3 I'd have said I can't picture myself downsizing again. I still don't necessarily think I will, but it's possible (though I don't like the idea of having a reserve 50sqft bigger than my main and I don't want to downsize my reserve). I'd rather spend the money on jumps. I'd love to take a canopy course, and probably will this summer if one is held nearby. The problem is that hard rules create walls that people will run into, even if those rules aren't right for everyone. If these proposals take into account that bigger canopies at a higher wingload are _NOT REMOTELY_ the same as smaller canopies at the same wingload, I'm willing to listen. But as long as bullshit like "no wingload over until jumps" or "you must have jumps before you may downsize" is floated as a hard and fast rule, I'm going to be 100% against the idea. cavete terrae.

This might come off as a stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway: Have you tried the canopy in a different container to make sure the harness isn't the issue? I thought I had a built in turn on my first canopy years ago and we eventually worked out that my kicking leg (soccer player) was bigger around so the way I was doing up the leg straps was actually causing a built-in harness turn because I was loading it unevenly. Not saying that's the specific issue here, but just that it mightn't be the canopy at fault. cavete terrae.

Is that actually enforced, ever? cavete terrae.

A girl can wear make-up at the dz and still be serious about skydiving. Have you ever met Jeannie Anderson? Surely you know me well enough by now to know that I very rarely post anything to be taken seriously cavete terrae.

atta boy cavete terrae.

Can't take her seriously as a jumper until she starts showing up to the DZ without makeup on. Oh, you guys are so lovely to me. Some of what you said is true. The first part. But FYI, I don't wear make up to the dz (tried once and the helmet and goggles smudge it anyway ). And my canopy is pink, which doesn't match my eyes, but is my favourite colour I skydive because I truly love it, which I have a right to do. Not because I want to "pick up guys" or "look cool". I'm (mostly) teasing, because I date a jumper. If we broke up she'd be deported so I'm not too concerned about sharing a DZ, but even if that weren't the case I file it under "whatever". Anyway, jump for whatever reason(s) you want - if you've got the right attitude, people will jump with you. If you've got the wrong attitude but you're attractive, some (desperate) people will still jump with you. cavete terrae.