|
Thrasophius posted:How often are you able to land in the designated field? It's all well and good saying here is where you should land, but with unpredictable factors like the wind I imagine it's easier said than done. Barring mistakes or terrible luck? You should be able to land in the planned LZ every time. Before you even step on the plane, you should have a wind forecast for several different altitudes above the DZ, and you should know where your exit point, your holding area, and the turning points for your landing pattern are based on landmarks on the ground. The direction of the wind shouldn't change dramatically in the time you're up, unless the wind itself is pretty weak to begin with ("light and variable" winds). You will be hanging out in the holding area, turning circles, until you're low enough to enter the landing pattern. If you enter the pattern at the right point, and turn into your base and final legs at the right points, you're going to land right where you want to. Even if you're off by a hundred feet or so, you should land within your target field. You must always plan your jump. And then you must always jump your plan.
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2014 16:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 15:11 |
|
|
Well poo poo, after Monday I won't be current anymore. I have to move on Saturday, and they just updated the weather to say it will be cloudy and possibly raining on Sunday. I'd go tomorrow but it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. Which I guess brings up the question, once I am not current, do I just have to do a jump with a USPA instructor and they can clear me? Is there anything else I'd need to do? I assume this will cost me a bit of money, too. :/
|
|
#
?
Apr 24, 2014 21:45
|
|
|
Thanks for the replies guys. Seems much easier to stay on course than I anticipated.mitztronic posted:Well poo poo, after Monday I won't be current anymore. I have to move on Saturday, and they just updated the weather to say it will be cloudy and possibly raining on Sunday. I'd go tomorrow but it's supposed to be raining tomorrow. Still look on the bright side, at least you'll still be able to jump, just a little less often from the sounds of it. Better some than none at all.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 11:30
|
|
|
Thrasophius posted:How often are you able to land in the designated field? It's all well and good saying here is where you should land, but with unpredictable factors like the wind I imagine it's easier said than done. To echo Q, on a jump that doesn't involve emergency/malfunction situations there is no reason you should be landing anywhere but the designated area. Errors in judgement, piss poor planning, and lack of awareness are the prime reason folks land out. Also echoing talk to locals and understand the area. There are a lot of hazards that you can't see till you are too low/already committed. Gear choice is also a factor, I jump 5 different main canopies. Each has their own quirks and limits. I can put my Lighting 160 down in a parking space if I have to. If I tried that with my Sabre 2 120 I'd be a broken rear end dude. To clarify, the 120 has a MUCH higher air speed. You need to plane out for a longer period of time (depending on prevailing winds) to get your ground speed to a low enough figure that "touching down" doesn't break you.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 17:30
|
|
|
I cant even imagine jumping a 120, I have only jumped 240 and 230 (which are both really slow and I'd like to downgrade soon). I've had 3 standup landings on 11 solo jumps jumps
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 18:09
|
|
|
Thrasophius posted:How often are you able to land in the designated field? It's all well and good saying here is where you should land, but with unpredictable factors like the wind I imagine it's easier said than done. I landed outside the DZ once and, although the winds were pretty bad, it was my fault. It was a few jumps after my AFF graduation jump and the first time I was the last one out of the aircraft. As such, I hesitated about 5 seconds and jumped late so I pulled my chute just downwind of the DZ on a heavy winds day. I tried to get upwind, but the winds were ~20kts and I was coming down on the DZ hangars. I ended up having to turn downwind and land at the far end of the runway. The point is though, I landed safe despite not being able to drop in the planned location. When in doubt, choose the safest option and figure out the rest later.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 19:50
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:once I am not current, do I just have to do a jump with a USPA instructor and they can clear me? Is there anything else I'd need to do? It should only cost you the price of two lift tickets if you have an available coach or instructor on the DZ with the time to do it. You will have to do a check-out jump, essentially a repeat of AFF level 7, but without the formal instruction portion since you've already passed level 7. How much more it costs I guess depends on your instructor/coach availability, but it won't be terribly expensive. Unless they're really swamped and you're costing them another job, I can't imagine that it would cost anything more than their lift ticket. There are usually guys on the DZ whose job is specifically to do check-out jumps. Talk to your DZO/S&TA next time you go. mitztronic posted:I cant even imagine jumping a 120, I have only jumped 240 and 230 (which are both really slow and I'd like to downgrade soon). I've had 3 standup landings on 11 solo jumps jumps You're actually doing pretty average for your level. Some people take to landing right away, and some people don't. It's actually better that you don't, because at the early stages, stand-up landings are about 90% luck anyway, unless you had a really good canopy coach during AFF/pursuing your license who also happened to film your approach, go over how to set and adjust your traffic pattern, and how to fly in variable wind conditions, something most AFF instructors skip because most students aren't ready for that yet. People who "naturally" get stand-up landings early on tend to overlook the need to get additional training. They think they know everything they need just because they've gotten semi-consistent stand-up landings in good to moderate conditions. But you throw a few unexpected variables at them and they'll quickly learn that luck is not a method. Youtube and DZs around the world are full of those kinds of jumpers. You'll find them blaming the wind for why they crashed into the only hard object in a huge open landing area. I would recommend getting a good flight-1 canopy piloting/handling course as soon as possible, like as SOON as you can after getting your license, before you even consider buying a rig or downsizing to that 1.0-1.1 WL. I did my canopy course after 95 jumps and it was eye-opening. I really wish I had taken it sooner. The other guy in the course with me had I think 27 Jumps when we started. He had literally just done his AFF earlier that month before and had gotten his license maybe two days before we started. (He'd basically taken a month of vacation to learn and get licensed in Spain and had enough left over to get in a canopy course). Before taking the course, I was still counting stand-up landings as anything where I didn't end up on my hands and knees or otherwise with my feet in the air. Hard arch-aching stomp? "Stand-up" Having to run it out fifty feet after touch-down "Stand-up", flaring too high and sinking to the ground, "stand-up", going down to one knee for half-a-second and then coming back up? "Stand-up". Not kidding, by 95 jumps even with that kind of loose criteria, I still only had about 50% stand-up landings. While taking the course, I learned what a stand-up landing actually is, how to always get it and how to set up your pattern in any wind conditions to always land where you want. Before taking it, anywhere on the field (the greater orange box on my home DZ sat picture) was an "on target" landing for me. Now, 65 jumps after I finished the course, I'm picking out 2-3m wide circles in the grass and putting down within 5 meters of them. I've had 3 not-stand-up landings and I can explain in detail exactly what I did wrong in each of them to fail (And none of those 3 were hard landings either) If you can get a good canopy coach to sit down with you, give you exercises to work on, film and review video of your traffic pattern, approach and landing, you will find the whole world of being under canopy changes. If you don't have any dedicated canopy instructors on your DZ, or they only teach one or two classes per year, have a look and see if The Icarus Canopy School or Brian Germaine might be teaching a course near you. The instruction costs about $200, plus the cost of 8 solo jumps, but it is TOTALLY worth it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De_zXrhF4dc&t=36s http://www.thecanopyschool.com/ http://www.bigairsportz.com/canopy-course.php I did mine with one of the instructors from The Canopy School and it was fantastic. I'm not kidding, my skill shot up exponentially. It was like night and day over the course of 8 dedicated canopy handling jumps. I'm actually looking at taking at least one more canopy handling/piloting course this year and thinking about doing one at least every 100 jumps or approximately every downsize/planform change, because I literally only just scratched the surface. DreadNite posted:I ended up having to turn downwind and land at the far end of the runway. Amen. There are three priorities when landing your canopy, in order: 1. Land under a flat and level canopy 2. Land Into a hazard free area 3. Land facing into wind If you can't get all of them, the first one is the most important, followed by the second. Never sacrifice the first one for the second or third. Never turn low just so that you can face into the wind. When I have time, I can prepare a brief overview of basic canopy handling with graphics, pictures and video, but when I do, I will reiterate: I'm just some guy on the Internet who is happy to share and talk about what I know; IANAP. In the meantime, the BPA's manual for their Canopy Handling 1 and Canopy Handling 2 courses can be found here: http://www.bpa.org.uk/assets/Training/Canopy-handling/chmanual.pdf I highly recommend reading this. This is not a replacement for taking a course, and just reading about -for example- a two-stage flare in a cross-wind situation may not be sufficient to prepare you to do it it, but it will help. My Q-Face fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Apr 25, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 22:00
|
|
|
mitztronic posted:I cant even imagine jumping a 120, I have only jumped 240 and 230 (which are both really slow and I'd like to downgrade soon). I've had 3 standup landings on 11 solo jumps jumps Nothing wrong with that at all. Best advice I can give anyone is to take your time. There is no reason to rush in any aspect of the sport. For me, canopy flight is the best part of any jump and that's what I've spent a lot of time doing. For "normal" free fall I use the Sabre 2 120. For wingsuiting I use a Sabre 2 135 (to be replaced with Storm 135). For CF or CRW Lighting 160, or 143 depending on the needs of the formation. Lighting 126 for competition (4way rotations). My exit weight is about 210 all geared up. A lot of it is right tool for the job. I don't think I'll ever use a Velocity as my go to normal free fall canopy. Side note if you have CRW dogs in your area I highly recommend you make friends with them once you are lic jumper. You'll learn a poo poo ton about canopy flight. Last year at Project Orange (boogie put on by PD). My buddy beat out all the swoopers and their hot rods, by landing a Lightning on a raft in the middle of the swoop pond.  To add to the above once you get more comfortable do hop and pops on light wind days and practice cross wind and down wind. I'll repeat LIGHT wind days to start. Also when you add a new piece of kit, I'm of the mindset that EVERYTHING is new again. I get a new canopy, my first 10 jumps I'm getting out at 5 or 12k and pulling immediately and then seeing what it can do (including stalls). The parachute saves your life, your ability to fly it is the single most important skill in this sport. Too many people think they are awesome because they can fly a basic pattern and stand up a landing in perfect conditions. Don't be that guy (or girl). Tremblay fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Apr 25, 2014 |
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2014 22:05
|
|
|
Thanks to both of you so much for your replies. I really love this sport and my life is just so crazy lately that I haven't been able to take trips to the dz as much as I'd like. I am realllly looking forward to a canopy course. Being under canopy is one of my favorite parts of the dive and I still don't feel comfortable enough under it to really do crazy stuff, but I'm okay with taking my progression slow. I had to move out of my apartment yesterday and I minorly injured my back so I'm going to pass on the skydiving today, although it's mostly cloudy so I might have not been able to jump anyways. Super excited for the next time I get to head out to Hollister, and maybe I'll be finally able to meet Mux
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2014 18:44
|
|
|
I've done a few tandems, and now I'm ready to go all in and get my license. Any Chicagoland goons have comments on CSC vs. Skydive Chicago?
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2014 03:54
|
|
|
Minus Pants posted:I've done a few tandems, and now I'm ready to go all in and get my license. Any Chicagoland goons have comments on CSC vs. Skydive Chicago? I've jumped at SDC but I'm not familiar with their student program. Nice DZ though.
|
|
#
?
May 10, 2014 04:10
|
|
|
Minus Pants posted:I've done a few tandems, and now I'm ready to go all in and get my license. Any Chicagoland goons have comments on CSC vs. Skydive Chicago? I've heard a lot of good things about Skydive Chicago, and it's certainly the world-famous one, but I've never heard of CSC except that there was "another DZ in Chicago". Having said that, It might be worth it to go just to get the Freefall University swag and walk around with "FU" t-shirts.  Then again, looking at their prices, $60 per pre-license solo jump after AFF? That's about what I paid in Germany, but only because I was paying for Packing tickets. Considering you have to learn to pack to get your license, I'm curious what that covers? And $60 for your mandatory hop-and-pop? Then again, their package deal includes three tandems and the cost is spread over their AFF jumps. (In my case, it was something like $250-$300 for level 1-3, and then <$200 for level 4-7). It looks like it balances out in the end, because it would cost ~3000.00 USD to get your A-license and that's what they're offering. Maybe it's so they can offer than 10% off on the license package deal?
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2014 13:35
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:It looks like it balances out in the end, because it would cost ~3000.00 USD to get your A-license and that's what they're offering. Maybe it's so they can offer than 10% off on the license package deal? Yeah, CSC does seem to play some pricing games. I also found in the small print all those prices are cash-only. +3% with a credit card. It doesn't make a huge difference, but why hide that? It makes me wonder what else will pop up in the fine print. One of my tandems was at SDC and I like the AFP-in-a-week program, so I'm leaning that way.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2014 21:15
|
|
|
Cool, a skydiving thread again Ive been knocking around jumping for 15+ years and its pretty much what I do for a living. This year Im looking after the AFF school at my dropzone but I also do tandem, camera, rigging etc so any questions fire away. (Great 1st post by the way)
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2014 22:23
|
|
|
grunthaas posted:Cool, a skydiving thread again Thanks! I know I'm still a hundred-jump-wonder (closing in on 200) and still trying to learn, so it's great to have a veteran and a pro join in too. crowtribe posted:Is anyone able to give any insight into the licensing system used in Australia? I'm struggling to find information on the Australian Parachute Federation website that outlines it clearly. I'm still looking around a bit. The BPA site was great, everything you wanted to know was right there with graphics and all, but the APF site is a little more pdf heavy. For what it's worth, I just met my first APF skydiver Saturday, but he was doing camera for a competition so he was doing back to back jumps all day and I didn't get a lot of time to talk to him. Don't quote me on this, but I think the BPA is the only one that does proper certifications for the sub-disciplines, others require the courses but don't have certification requirements (check for the required jump numbers though, I think Wingsuiting is 200 jumps no matter what country you're in). Oh, and personal news. As I close in on 200 jumps, I've just gotten a new Parasport jumpsuit, which fits better, looks nicer, is more colorful, and is of better quality than my Pittz stock special. I've also just purchased my first non-student downsize canopy. I'm having it relined now, as it's close to 550 jumps on the first set of lines, but in a couple of weeks I will have a clean crispy Safire 2 169 with shiny new lines. Fun thing about buying a new (to me) canopy, is I got a great deal on it, and already have a buyer lined up to take my old one for about the same price (although I just relined my old one, so he gets the better deal). And having missed my Undie-hundie (because I opted for a six-way jump with friends instead), I've ordered one of these for my 200th jump. Pictures may or may not follow in a couple of weeks. My Q-Face fucked around with this message at 13:37 on May 13, 2014 |
|
#
?
May 13, 2014 13:29
|
|
|
I am so loving not current  as long as the weather doesn't go to poo poo, refresher and coaching jump on Thursday to fix that.My Q-Face posted:And having missed my Undie-hundie (because I opted for a six-way jump with friends instead), I've ordered one of these for my 200th jump. Pictures may or may not follow in a couple of weeks. I have one of these and it is so terribly loose (for reference: 6'2, 170lb).
|
|
#
?
May 19, 2014 23:05
|
|
|
Iseeyouseemeseeyou posted:I am so loving not current Managed to have work pull me away from Skydiving for a couple of weeks, so I spent last weekend catching up, then with weather this weekend, I managed no jumps. I'm sitting at 195 now. Might get a new plan for #200, as my banana-hammock arrived and even at 6' 190lbs, the one I ordered is a horrible fit.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2014 22:11
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:Managed to have work pull me away from Skydiving for a couple of weeks, so I spent last weekend catching up, then with weather this weekend, I managed no jumps. I'm sitting at 195 now. Might get a new plan for #200, as my banana-hammock arrived and even at 6' 190lbs, the one I ordered is a horrible fit. Any thoughts for ever getting a wing suit, or no? Not sure what the requirements are exactly, but was always told 200 minimum jumps is recommended.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 01:30
|
|
|
troubled teen posted:Awesome. My avatar is actually me in muppet form skydiving. Submitted a picture of me from the first time I went into a thread here a while back and that's what came back. Skydive Jurien Bay? That's where I went last week!! It was my first jump, and it was loving awesome. I just did it cos I was bored and wanted something to wake me up, completely on a whim. Now I'm thinking of going for my licence. Thst was an awesome OP, op. Thanks so much for putting the time and effort into writing it. It was extremely informative. I'm still on the first page, can't wait to read the rest of it. 5'd
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 12:15
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:Don't look down, and trust your training. That was exactly what I was thinking. "who cares if I fall out or the plane crashes or whatever, I have a parachute". It took me three hours to drive to where I was going to jump, and I was trying not to throw up the whole way there. I was so nervous. But once I was there, signing in, watching the instructional video and getting strapped up, I was OK. Even in the plane on the way up, and sitting in the doorway looking down at the ground, I was OK. It was an awesome rush.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 12:32
|
|
|
DreadNite posted:Any thoughts for ever getting a wing suit, or no? Not sure what the requirements are exactly, but was always told 200 minimum jumps is recommended. I did my 200th Jump on Sunday, so I'm now qualified to do that if I choose. In order to, I would need to take a wing-suit course. I don't know about everywhere, but the WS instructor at my dropzone has those things for rent for students. It wouldn't make sense to buy one until you know both how to use it and what kind of flying you want to do with one. The minimum recommended is not a rule, but a strong recommendation. In order to do it, you need an instructor, and I can't imagine an instructor allowing somebody with fewer than 200 jumps going unless they had specific training leading up to it. In Germany the rule was changed recently from 200 jumps to 200 jumps or 50 dedicated tracking jumps. Personally, I'm not sure about wingsuiting. I'm sure I'd like to try it at least, but at least half the appeal of jumping for me is flying the chute, which is complicated by wingsuiting. I'd much rather work on freeflying, CRW and eventually high performance landings. On the subject of CRW, I recently took another canopy course, 11 jumps this time, to work on fundamentals of slow flight, working up to formation flight (as well as cross-wind and down-wind landings). It was awesome and made my 200th jump even more exciting.   (The yellow and blue is my new canopy, I went from a Pulse to a Safire 2 and downsized a step, and it is  )Automatic Retard posted:It was an awesome rush. Nice! Welcome to your new addiction and kiss your money goodbye!
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2014 14:19
|
|
|
Current again
Iseeyouseemeseeyou fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jul 22, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2014 23:08
|
|
|
Vigil or Cypres ? I see most of the people at the jump zone using Cypres. What bothered me was when an instructor started talking about how Cypres 'cover up' all their misfire and malfunctions, while Vigil as a producer doesn't. Is this true? I'm at that point where I'm thinking about getting my own gear, hence the ADD question.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2014 19:18
|
|
|
From what I know, both have their problems and I agree that cypres is better at PR on smoothing over their issues than vigil. I don't like the fact that there's a 12 year life on the cypres 2, understandable on the 1 as it was a new design but on the 2 it shouldn't be necessary. I think of them both as very expensive boxes with flashy lights on that may or may not help - probably will do but it's not like you have a choice about using them at 99% of dropzones.
|
|
#
?
Jul 29, 2014 21:40
|
|
|
The APF: http://vimeo.com/96571020 I use Cypres, in part because all of my student gear ever used it, and in part because I was able to get it inexpensively. I think Cypres used to be the best, but Vigil is almost as good. One problem with Vigil is that its modes can be set by the user - it's one more thing to complicate the jump if you switch back and forth between dives, although if you just set it and leave it alone, it's fine. With Cypres you have to send it in to get the mode changed. If you're looking to buy one, I would base it on the price you can get for it rather than the brand. Cypres has a better record of saves (due primarily to its popularity/ubiquity), and it definitely has better PR. Airtec's claim is that "the unit functioned as designed" or "as intended", which is a nice way of writing off the times it failed to function as "not the way it was designed".
|
|
#
?
Jul 30, 2014 22:35
|
|
|
Rock the boat posted:Vigil or Cypres ? Both work. If you go Vigil for the love of god either get a Vigil 2 or send the one you buy in for calibration and a SW update. READ THE MANUAL. If you don't understand how the device works you are setting yourself up for a real nasty situation. I personally have Cypres 2 in my rigs and will probably continue with them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 31, 2014 15:57
|
|
|
Was reading a discussion on Facebook recently, Vigil vs. Cypres. A few years ago, there was an incident where the pilot apparently pressurized the plane on the ride to altitude and opened the tailgate, resulting in a rapid depressurization of the passenger compartment. Everybody who didn't have a Cypres 2 had their AAD activate (Including Vigils and even Cypres 1s). So points in its favor?
|
|
#
?
Aug 3, 2014 23:36
|
|
|
Went skydiving in the Czech Republic recently, four Skyvans! Something about the Skyvan is really unsettling to me, I wonder if I'm the only one. From the moment I stand up at altitude until I'm clear of the plane I feel queasy. I don't know if it's the vibration, the slight pitch to the floor, the way the plane shakes when the 20 person formation in front of you jumps out at once, or the fact that as you walk to the door with nothing to hold on to and so much space around you, that this is the view that greets you:  I've flown on Otters, Caravans, Dorniers, 206s, 182s, 172s, Porters, and I don't get that feeling in any of them. (Well, maybe just in the door of the 172 because there's no handle or step and it's going so freaking fast) But once you clear the door, it's just freaking awesome! 
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2014 14:24
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:Was reading a discussion on Facebook recently, Vigil vs. Cypres. A few years ago, there was an incident where the pilot apparently pressurized the plane on the ride to altitude and opened the tailgate, resulting in a rapid depressurization of the passenger compartment. Everybody who didn't have a Cypres 2 had their AAD activate (Including Vigils and even Cypres 1s). So points in its favor? Eh Vigil 2 is out and they've done a lot to clean up the firing parameters. They also got rid of the stays on if not at calibrated 0 thing. Which is good, since i know someone with a broken back due to it and another guy that died. One was the fault of the gear vendor (demo at a boogie, the other was user error). CYPRES or Vigil you'll be fine. I'd argue that both should be sent in for service (optional for Vigil), and that you need to understand how the drat thing works. Then set your procedures accordingly. My Q-Face posted:Went skydiving in the Czech Republic recently, four Skyvans! They are unbelievably loud. It might be the noise/pitch is loving with your ears and causing this.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2014 18:43
|
|
|
I think it's the noise combined with actually standing up. I noticed a similar ear-loving the other day when I went to a tunnel. I was in the locker room next to the pipe and had a similar queasy feeling when I didn't have ear plugs in. Weird. Does anybody else train in a tunnel? I prefer jumping directly, but I found after one hour of training with a coach that I have a much much better feel for the wind now, especially on my back. I was able to backfly stable enough to lead a track dive and actually got a grip during one, not to mention slow my fall rate to a sustained <90 mph on a non-track jump. Something just clicked with it. I don't want to become a tunnel rat or anything, but I'm doing another tunnel camp next month. I recently put in my paperwork for my B-License and talked to one of my instructors about doing the C license test soon. After a recent scramble event at my DZ, I'm thinking about doing some flat jumps with some low timers and maybe even pursuing my coach rating. On the one hand, I can't believe how much money I'm sinking into this sport, but on the other, I can't think of anything I'd rather do! In other news, I will be leaving Europe soon and moving to Southern California. I'm a bit nervous and leery about jumping in the states after hearing how "relaxed" Europe is in comparison.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2014 08:06
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:I think it's the noise combined with actually standing up. I noticed a similar ear-loving the other day when I went to a tunnel. I was in the locker room next to the pipe and had a similar queasy feeling when I didn't have ear plugs in. Weird. Drop me a PM with where you end up. A bunch of great DZs there. Taft is north of LA and is super chill, two of my friends bought it last year. Oceanside is awesome, also very chill. Perris is a bit more on the serious side, however they always have planes running and the calls are consistent. Elsinore isn't what it used to be, but still a lot of cool folks around. Tunnel is a good time, just remember it's the canopy that saves your life.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2014 03:48
|
|
|
Tremblay posted:Drop me a PM with where you end up. Back in the states now, getting my reserve repacked on the east coast, I'll be out in San Bernadino county in a week or two. Thought I'd do some DZ hopping along the way. The tunnel was definitely helpful and a lot of fun, but the canopy is still my favorite part. I've done two canopy courses now (20 jumps total) and loads of hop and pops. I plan to keep going with that because it's just so much fun. In other news I've done a wing suit course now too and feel a phantom 3 tugging at the hole in my pocket. It never ever ends!
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 16:44
|
|
|
Oh good. Two hours on a North Carolina DZ before I hear somebody arguing racial inferiority. Stay classy America. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2014 17:36
|
|
|
Just did my first jump yesterday on a bit of a lark. It was fantastic and I am considering my AFF but I had a question about free fall. I was really surprised at how painfully cold my face felt during free fall. The ambient temperature on the ground was about 63F(~17C) but during free fall my face hurt so much from the cold that it was hard to enjoy it. I really much preferred my time under canopy. Do people wear masks or helmets to help protect their face? That said, probably going to wait until spring before I consider getting my AFF for financial and weather related reasons. Also, for those in the Austin area, the Salado drop zone was pretty good from a newbie standpoint. They made my first experience very memorable and I would recommend them in a heartbeat.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2014 21:07
|
|
|
Hey, the Salado DZ is the last place I jumped! Good people there. Some jumpers get helmets with a clear face mask. I am seriously considering one if I manage to get back up there.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2014 22:24
|
|
|
My Q-Face posted:Back in the states now, getting my reserve repacked on the east coast, I'll be out in San Bernadino county in a week or two. Thought I'd do some DZ hopping along the way. Hey Sorry just saw your PM. I'll be at Oceanside this Sunday if you're still around. I love my P3. Probably ordering a Funk or Havok Carve. But the P3 is sticking around for sure.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 00:55
|
|
|
spoon daddy posted:Just did my first jump yesterday on a bit of a lark. It was fantastic and I am considering my AFF but I had a question about free fall. I was really surprised at how painfully cold my face felt during free fall. The ambient temperature on the ground was about 63F(~17C) but during free fall my face hurt so much from the cold that it was hard to enjoy it. I really much preferred my time under canopy. Do people wear masks or helmets to help protect their face? That said, probably going to wait until spring before I consider getting my AFF for financial and weather related reasons. I prefer to jump with a full face helmet when doing free fall jumps. Others don't like them at all and use an open face with goggles or sunglasses. No right answer. For AFF you'll need to speak with the instructors. I know at Elsinore you are not allowed to use a full face helmet until you are licensed. Being able to fully see a students face is important for us to figure out what the hell is going on (or not) upstairs. Other DZs may not care.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 00:57
|
|
|
Tremblay posted:I prefer to jump with a full face helmet when doing free fall jumps. Others don't like them at all and use an open face with goggles or sunglasses. No right answer. For AFF you'll need to speak with the instructors. I know at Elsinore you are not allowed to use a full face helmet until you are licensed. Being able to fully see a students face is important for us to figure out what the hell is going on (or not) upstairs. Other DZs may not care. This is why I was told to get non-tinted goggles. Your instructors need to see your eyes.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 01:06
|
|
|
IMJack posted:This is why I was told to get non-tinted goggles. Your instructors need to see your eyes. Sounds reasonable. I'll ask if one of those half ski masks which leaves the top half of face exposed is acceptable. It really made the free fall less fun than I hoped. Thanks for the feedback spoon daddy fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Nov 27, 2014 |
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 01:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 15:11 |
|
|
spoon daddy posted:Sounds reasonable. I'll ask if one of those half ski masks which leaves the top half of face exposed is acceptable. It really made the free fall less fun than I hoped. Thanks for the feedback First of all, congrats on your jump! Sorry the cold spoiled it a bit for you, But that begs the question. What were you wearing? Most tandem places don't let the passengers use helmets. If they do, they're usually the soft bullet ones and not a hardshell with foam padding and insulation. Hardshell helmets definitely retain more heat and might make it more enjoyable for you. And there will probably be another difference between doing it tandem and doing it AFF besides the helmet. Your mind will probably be too absorbed in what you're doing to notice the cold when you're not strapped to somebody else. 63 isn't terrible to jump in as long as the plane is warm before you open the door. Keeping in mind you lose about 3.5F per thousand feet, so it's about 20 outside of the plane at 12,500, but you're falling into warmer air the whole way. That's about standard for April-May and September-October in Germany. I wouldn't expect them to let you use your own gear on AFF, but it doesn't hurt to ask. A neck gaiter might be okay, but they might want to see your whole face. They won't let you use your own helmet until you finish level 7 at least though. Most places have specific helmets with a radio pouch for students. Personally I wouldn't recommend a full face early on, but that's because every FF helmet I've jumped has fogged up when my parachute opened and one time I fogged up right at exit. Bad news if you're still a student or novice. Tremblay posted:Hey Sorry just saw your PM. I'll be at Oceanside this Sunday if you're still around. I love my P3. Probably ordering a Funk or Havok Carve. But the P3 is sticking around for sure. I will be around the area for a while now. I managed to get to Oceanside for one jump last weekend after the winds got really bad at Perris Sunday. Got in one jump but I bought ten tickets so I will definitely go back. It was amazing. So far I've jumped at Perris and Taft as well. Oceanside was definitely the most gorgeous! I'll PM you if I end up swinging that way this weekend. My P3 arrives in January, I'm renting one in the meantime, though I don't have enough experience on one to jump at Oceanside yet.
|
|
#
?
Nov 27, 2014 20:59
|
|