Sometimes… I pack parachutes in my living room.

Sorry it’s been so long! My life has gone from crazy to insane in the last few weeks, but here’s where I’m at…
When we left off, I had just purchased my first rig. Since then, my sabre 150 main has arrived and been patched. I’ve made 3 jumps on it, all hop-n-pops, and I’m still a little nervous about pulling at terminal. I’ve read and heard a lot about people being “spanked” by sabre’s, and I’m not too keen on the idea of being knocked around a lot on opening. I suppose I’ll just man up and do it – and I’ll be sure to keep you all posted on how that goes.
As far as canopy control? All I can say is wow. Cutting 70 square feet off of my usual 220 sq ft student rig was a little scary but as soon as I played with the risers, it was all worth it. The Sabre responds very well, and still flies conservatively. It’s nice to have a square canopy with a little more wingloading, rather than a fully elliptical canopy loaded at around .75 – it seems to be more stable and more responsive at the same time. Landings pretty smooth, it has a lot more flare than the 220 I am used to jumping, but I need to apply it a little lower. The ground speed is still just a twinge unsettling for me, but it’s something I’m sure I’ll get used to.
In other news, school has started again. For those of you who don’t know, I’m currently a sophomore struggling through the mechanical engineering program at the University of Minnesota. It’s going to be another tough semester, but there are a few redeeming qualities. For instance, I am now an officer of the University of Minnesota Skydiving Club. We got the opportunity to paint the Washington Ave. Bridge last Friday afternoon as a part of the U’s “Paint the Bridge” project. Every year student groups get the opportunity to paint a section of the bridge that spans the east and west banks of the U. This year, we opted for some fluorescent paint to help make it stand out – and it works. We handed out over 15 invitations for our first tandem weekend, October 16th and 17th at Skydive Twin Cities in Baldwin, WI. This event is open for all, and I would love to see some of you guys there, if you’re in the area. This year is also exciting, because in a few weeks two of my new friends (also student athletes) will have their A-licenses. This means we’ll have 5 or 6 licensed jumpers on campus (4 of which with their own rigs.) Can anyone say Collegiate Nationals 4-way team?

As far as my skydiving goals, I’d like to continue to fly on my belly (ok, I have to. My rig isn’t freefly friendly. But it gives me a good reason to work on my RW.) I’d like to venture into the world of 4-way RW and maybe even some big ways eventually. But most of all, I’d like to jump everywhere. From now on travelling will involve me packing my rig, and making at least a few jumps at any DZ I can come across. I hope one day I can roll into your guys’ DZ and make some fun jumps with you all.