Skydiving evolution?

[Mike111 0]

Hey everyone,

having been on here for almost a year ive learnt helluva lot with regard to skydiving and have read widely in the various disciplines about what each has to offer with interest.

It kind of makes "you" (general reader) wonder what is possible in the future and what could be done generally.

Thus i pose the question, how would you like to see skydiving evolve, in the same discliplnes , more work with X or Y?

personally, it would be interesting to see how skydiving carries on as people discover new things all the time.

[daniel_owen_uk 0]

The equipment evolution is incredibly interesting, was listening to skydive radio with bill booth on the other day and it was awesome to learn of how certain things (3 ring for example) came about.

I think with GPS getting cheaper and cheaper, it's only a matter of time before they encoporate that into an alti.

Then who knows guided aad that flies and steers for you? You may laugh but it's possible.

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[Mike111 0]

yup, hopefully new techniques or equipment will add even more layers of safety, that is if course, if they are invented.

[kirrz 0]

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Then who knows guided aad that flies and steers for you? You may laugh but it's possible.

But isn't half the thrill of the sport the challenge to be able to do it yourself perfectly?

[Hawkins121 0]

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Then who knows guided aad that flies and steers for you? You may laugh but it's possible.

But isn't half the thrill of the sport the challenge to be able to do it yourself perfectly?

If you were in a situation where you aad fired; would you really care if the canopy was steered for you?

[daniel_owen_uk 0]

Oh hell I wasn't talking about a autopilot for your main.

If you need your AAD then either you are unconsious or you're a dumbass.

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[MarkM 0]

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I think with GPS getting cheaper and cheaper, it's only a matter of time before they encoporate that into an alti.

http://www.alti-2.com/Titan/titan.htm

[kingbunky 3]

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Then who knows guided aad that flies and steers for you? You may laugh but it's possible.

i was reading somewhere (and i think it's posted here) about a military cargo delivery system that uses a ram air canopy, a gps system and some sort of control mechanism that will deliver cargo to a specific spot on a halo drop. the pilots probably prefer that to a low jumprun in hostile territory.

"Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart."
MB4252 TDS699
killing threads since 2001

[mjosparky 4]

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I think with GPS getting cheaper and cheaper, it's only a matter of time before they encoporate that into an alti.

http://www.alti-2.com/Titan/titan.htm

Just what we need, more electronic gadgets for skydivers to depend on.

Sparky

My idea of a fair fight is clubbing baby seals

[MarkM 0]

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I think with GPS getting cheaper and cheaper, it's only a matter of time before they encoporate that into an alti.

http://www.alti-2.com/Titan/titan.htm

Just what we need, more electronic gadgets for skydivers to depend on.

Sparky

Depend on? I don't know about depend on, but as a wingsuit flyer I know having heads up GPS data would be very nice to have.

Actually, I'd like live GPS, ground speed, altitude and fall rate. They'd all be useful information for training.

[Mike111 0]

Device dependancy is bad but surely these gadets have much greater benefits ot the skydiver?

[billvon 3,078]

>i was reading somewhere (and i think it's posted here)
>about a military cargo delivery system that uses a ram air canopy . . .

Yeah, they had a test of it out at Otay. Thing landed about five miles from its target.

[Kris 0]

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If you were in a situation where you aad fired; would you really care if the canopy was steered for you?

Why, yes. Yes I definitely would.

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[upndownshop 0]

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>i was reading somewhere (and i think it's posted here)
>about a military cargo delivery system that uses a ram air canopy . . .

Yeah, they had a test of it out at Otay. Thing landed about five miles from its target.

was out at Kingman a few years when Strong was dropping 6000# under a 220sf main. He called it the Screamer. At 1000 feet the AAD would fire and 2 G12's would set it down gently. He used GPS, gryo's and an onboard remote control system for guidance. I have heard that it is now a success.

This thing would do like 120 mph forwards and 87 mph decent rate. His goal was to get 9000# under it.

[justinb138 0]

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This thing would do like 120 mph forwards and 87 mph decent rate. His goal was to get 9000# under it.

Nice speed, but that's a pretty shitty glide ratio.

[papax17 0]

I like that path that Bill Booth is taking towards skydiving. There needs to be more individuals in this sport like him. I appreciate everything that he has done to make skydiving safer.

I have nothing but respect and confidence in bill booth and I know when I buy a rig I know it is going to be a vector with a skyhook.

[azureriders 0]

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Then who knows guided aad that flies and steers for you? You may laugh but it's possible.

i was reading somewhere (and i think it's posted here) about a military cargo delivery system that uses a ram air canopy, a gps system and some sort of control mechanism that will deliver cargo to a specific spot on a halo drop. the pilots probably prefer that to a low jumprun in hostile territory.

http://www.pia.com/fxc/apadsovr.htm

[UntamedDOG 0]

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It kind of makes "you" (general reader) wonder what is possible in the future and what could be done generally.

I kinda hate to burst your bubble but skydiving is on the decline. It has been for the last 5 years or so. The “Go-Go 90’s” yielded mass amounts of disposable income. Movies like Point Break promoted this so-called extreme sport of ours.

Right now, we are at the end of a golden age for skydiving. I predict that mega dropzones will go bankrupt in a few years. Places like Perris and Eloy will go the way of the Roman Empire. We will look back and remember how great these facilities used to be. Remember that DC-9 jet that never really happened.

The sport will devolve back to small skydiver clubs who fly small Cessna’s to altitude.
Manufacturers will be few and far between and will be run out of home garages rather than warehouses. The wind tunnels will be used for scrap metal.

Enjoy these amenities while you still can because you will miss them when they are gone.

UntamedDOG

[Silverchic 0]

Well it doesn't look like we're going anywhere! We are a small DZ with a Cessna 182!

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

[pjchis 0]

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I kinda hate to burst your bubble but skydiving is on the decline.

Can you clarify what you mean by on the decline? I always felt the sport is evolving and becoming more accessible due to continual technological and design advancements. So do you mean there are fewer people getting into the sport? And if so, where'd you get those numbers?

Also, it's my belief tandem skydives are the majority of income for DZs but PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong. From my experiences that seems to be the case.

[UntamedDOG 0]

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Can you clarify what you mean by on the decline?

USPA membership has dropped steadily over the past 5 years. That means that there are fewer skydivers each year.

UntamedDOG

[Mike111 0]

fair enough but as the sport is supposedl yin its safest stage it ever has been, wouldn't that increase the number of skydivers?

Won't wind tunnels help recruit skydivers?

[MarkM 0]

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fair enough but as the sport is supposedl yin its safest stage it ever has been, wouldn't that increase the number of skydivers?

I think the biggest barrier to entry is cost. The sport has gotten safer, but a lot of the safety improvements end up costing the new jumper more. AADs, better rigs, coaching, etc.

[EricTheRed 0]

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fair enough but as the sport is supposedl yin its safest stage it ever has been, wouldn't that increase the number of skydivers?

Won't wind tunnels help recruit skydivers?

Safety doesn't necessarily mean more people in the sport.

That aside, the main drawback is money. It's a very expensive sport.

I can't really see Windtunnels drawing people to the sport, just to the tunnels. Maybe we'll just see a bunch of tunnels and fewer DZ's

illegible usually

[Mike111 0]

i hope youre wrong on thephrase that more tunnels will pop up and less DZ's.


Damn fucking things!!!
Although i guess it is also possible that the previous craze is levelling out back to its original number of members - it might decline BUT it might also rise - nothing ever stays the same, it goes in peaks and troughs.