CanuckInUSA

Sorry Kris, but the turn rate is controlled by the pilot not the canopy. A faster turn rate loses less altitude while a slower turn rate loses more. It's all in the pilot's hands. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It may never happen, but I recently set a goal for myself to qualify as a PST swooper before my alzeimers (sp?) and/or arthritis sets in. I figure it's nothing that 10,000 jumps can't fix and I'm working on my 1k jump milestone to happen before my 3rd sky-birthday. By the way, FlyAngel2 once made a comment to me about her watching me grow up in the sport and now we get to watch you grow up as well. Good Luck with your goals ... have fun ... be smart ... take risks that are within your risk tolerance levels, as well as your skill and experience levels.

I don't want to discourage you from Ground Launching. But I do want to ensure that you're aware of the risks of the sport. To a lot of people in skydiving, they have trouble flying their canopy at the safer confines of the drop zone let alone in the back country environment. This is an activity where you will (depending on the site) likely need to be landing on a sloped hill, with rocks and other bone breaking obstacles. At 300 jumps, I'm not sure I would want to be Ground Launching. But I don't want to judge you as I've never seen you fly your canopy and who knows maybe you actually do it very well (I see that you have some CReW experience and that is a step in the right direction). I just want you to know that Ground Launching (while ever so fun), is not a safe activity and can sort of be compared to a wingsuit BASE jump (also not a safe activity). You are basically launching into the unknown when you launch off of a site which you've never launched off before and WX changes have a way of adding to the spice in all of this. As far as which canopy works best, well Jim and Dwain out in CA have engineered a new GLX canopy geared towards Ground Launching and this currently is the best tool for the job. But it is not cheap and it can not be used in the skydiving environment. Different canopies will perform differently depending upon the slope you are launching from and the type of winds you are experiencing (plus the wing loading will also effect your success and/or failure). I've launched a Spectre 150 (loaded about 1.3:1) and a Crossfire2 139 and currently own a Samurai 136 which was purchased as my interim GL canopy until I could justify buying a GLX. I've only done some practice launches with my Samurai, but all indications are that it is an awesome canopy for the job. Plus there is no reason why a Saffire2 couldn't be a good GL canopy for you. Also, it is possible to launch in zero wind conditions, but it is not easy and you've got to do more running (or have a steep slope). 8-12 mph winds are likely the best winds to launch in, but a lot has to do with the slope of the site as well as which canopy you use (not only wing loading, but open nose good for zero wind launches versus close nose good for higher wind launches). Plus, when the winds start getting up there, you really need to attempt to kite your canopy out of your harness first. If you can't kite it out of the harness, then you have no business being in the harness. Finally if you really are serious about getting into this sport. I would consult the more knowledgeable people out there (Jim and Dwain come to mind, but there are others) and get some one on one coaching in this area. There is no way in hell that we can properly teach you launch techniques on the internet and you surely don't want to do the old "trial by error" route in the sport of Ground Launching. Plus while I can't speak for anyone other than myself, I would take baby steps in this sport instead of looking for the biggest bad ass hill you can find. All it takes is one moment of lapse judgment to end it all. Ground Launching is a lot of fun. But it sure isn't safe. PS: http://www.canopypiloting.com has a forum similar to DZ.COM and in there guys like Jim and Steve (aka Lightfoot who used to be ManBird) can often be seen there and these guys are a lot more active in the sport than I am right now. Good luck ... have fun ... but be smart. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

My brother lives very close to downtown and as a former resident of Calgary myself (I still own a home in that city even though I don't live there), I too know what sort of wind conditions which can prevail there. Now if you thinking jumping Bs in wind isn't a bad idea? Hmmm ... well ... I have nothing further to say. By the way Michael, we've met each other and I like you and your bro. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I originally wasn't interested in participating in this thread other than reading it and following it. But my brother lives in Calgary and he's let me in on some extra information (and my brother is aware of my BASE jumping activities). It turns out that the winds were 20-30kts with unpredictable gusts that night. Now I'm pretty new to BASE myself and agree with Ray Losli that sometimes shit just happens. But this fellow was "not too smart" in my brothers words for jumping in these WX conditions and I think I might just have to agree with my whuffo brother here. It's one thing to have an off heading opening on a B during no-wind conditions (the shit happens part of BASE), but any one of us who were taught by knowledgeable people (and paid attention to the instruction) knows that jumping Bs in wind is a no-no. Anyway, I'm done here. I don't want to bash the injured person any more because one day you guys could be bashing me from an accident I get involved in. I hope the injured jumper heals so that he can resume his jumping career (using better judgement this time). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

When the time is right for you, some of us would be happy to share an exit point with you. Just don't rush into it because it's a lot more involved than skydiving. But it can be a lot of fun if approached the right way. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

:14:0 Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm not Catholic, hell I'm not even religious. But ... RIP for one of the best Popes to ever walk this earth. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

He tried to get us to believe that Kelel01 was actually a guy. Maybe Remi's a girl? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Oooo ... those are fighting word. Your poll still sucks. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Middle girl I believe and yes I agree with Kelly. The options for your poll suck. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

It's bad enough that you cloned yourself last year. Now you're cloning your hubby? Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Nope ... there are conflicting reports on his true condition. But it does sound like the ones circulating (about 1 hour ago) that he died are false. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Weather is looking very jumpable today and this weekend here in CO. Sorry. No you're not. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Toes ... I wasn't looking for toes, I was distracted by your big boobies.

Not so sure about that. What if there is no heaven? But I would like to extend an "RIP" to the man. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I don't know enough about the case to comment here. So he's the one responsible for making the family think Terri was fine and would recover? Hmmm ... This is one of the sad parts of this story (I actually hope he doesn't shut the family out of some sort of memorial/funneral). But obliously the Shiavos and Schindlers did not get along and having people fighting with each other while someone is dying doesn't seem right either. You're allowed to have this opinion and well many lawyers are just scrum to begin with (Sorry Lawrocket ... I just call them as I see them). And I do argee that staving the poor woman is bordering on barbaric. I believe that she was a veggie, but why couldn't they have simply put her to sleep instead of starving her? Her family loved her that's for sure. But this case was more about the religious people trying to impose their values on the rest of society than anything else (and this battle is only beginning). Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Damn skippy ... as it should be. I would much rather trust my fellow humans that trust some mythical make believe (the bible is fiction) God which can not be proved. Plus who's God should we be following? Your God? What about the God(s) from the other religions? Oh yes I forgot. It is the duty of every Christian to convert all fellow humans into Christianity. Please ... Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Hmmm ... April 1st ... coincidence? News at 11.

Hmmm ... April 1st ... or a coincidence ... news at eleven. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Speed skiers have some mighty big ones boys. The groundrush those guys must get is likely like a fast sport bike, but no bike, flying down the mountain. Tell me that's not pretty cool. Of course we jump instead. But as a skier, I think speed skiers are pretty cool. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I'm surprised that nobody replied to your picture (in a negative way), but I got a good laugh out of it. Of course I'm not Catholic. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I could be wrong saying this, but I would guess that most of our esteemed "Pro-Lifer" posters here are religious people. And I find it very humorous that on most days these religious people will defend marriage with tooth and nails. Yet when things don't go their way, they resort to other tactics like saying that parents rights should trump the rights of a spouse. Can you say "hypocrites"? I knew you could. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I have a Spectre 150 which is my wingsuit canopy, but I haven't been doing a whole lot of wingsuit jumps lately. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

I haven't seen this CBC show (yet). But Fox News does border on Springer style of reporting. Try not to worry about the things you have no control over