Deimian

I have no idea about speedflying (even though I'd like to get at it one day), but isn't paragliding the most natural starting point for speedflyers? I always saw that if you wanted to speedfly you had to paraglide first, not skydive.

[...]often someone says, "You didn't fail, you learned something didn't you." Well the reality of the world is that we do fail and very often. Failure demands change, before success to happen. [...] If the OP thinks he failed, I will say, "Okay what can we do to succeed the next time?" Completely agree. Failure, n.: Lack of success. You can bend over backwards trying to avoid a certain word because you don't like the sound of it[...] I guess it all depends the timeframe you consider. Riding the plane down might be considered a failure, if you think about that single occasion. For me, skydiving is a long term commitment, not a one off thing. Failing to do one skydive is not the same as failing to skydive. That's why I said "you didn't fail, you just delayed it". Conquering fears is cool, but dying is not. I don't like it when people use that rhetoric. We can all die doing this, and being aware of it is a good thing, it keep us alert. But pushing it beyond your limits and keep trying when you shouldn't is not. Too many people died in this sport trying something that they shouldn't. Don't push your luck more than necessary. No jump and no attempt is worth dying for. Learn to discern where are your limits. That's probably the most difficult (and the most important) thing in skydiving.

If people are laughing at Mike for trying hard to accomplish something (and failing), then maybe they are part of the problem. What they are not for sure is part of the solution.

No, you didn't. You just delayed your jump. Don't sweat it, being afraid is normal. I know people that from time to time still ride the plane down, after some dozens of jumps. However, in my opinion, you have to evaluate what kind of person you are. Do you freeze in high stress situations, or are you reactive and keep being functional? What you experienced is more or less normal, sensory overload is a real thing and watching the ground from an open door scares everyone the first times. But once you get over that initial feeling you should be functional. If not, one day you might have a malfunction and react poorly to it.

If the story is as you told it, I wouldn't be so sure about that. If what is in the small print contradicts what is advertised it could easily be considered as purposely deceiving its costumers, which I doubt it would be defendable in court. But I am not a lawyer.....

Thanks. I am not particularly keen on moving to KA right now. They are more aggressive than what I am looking for. Moreover, it won't fit in my container. What I might do is SA2-120->SA2-107->KA-120, if I ever consider the KA. To be honest I am thinking more in transitioning to XF2 and later on, maybe in 500 jumps or so, move to a JFX. I am under the impression that the JFX, even though it is cross-braced, is less aggressive than the KA. I might be wrong though. What I meant about the "safe" route, was "safeish" . As safe as possible without giving up on the fun that jumping and swooping is.

Depends on how you look at it. They were very brave IMO to put out there such a massive recall. I like that from a manufacturer. But I understand your frustration.

Thanks for the input. I totally understand your hesitation to give specific advice about turns and canopy choices. I want to keep doing this for many years, so it is very likely that I'll choose a pretty conservative approach, but still increasing the speed of my landings. Regarding this comment: "Asking people on the intertubez isn't a good sign". I understand that as well, and normally I would agree with you. In this case I wasn't fishing for opinions to validate my point and contradict conservative advice from somebody in real life, which is normally the case. I simply wanted to have more reach and get more opinions, either conservative or aggressive. I tend to dismiss the aggressive opinions anyway, so if somebody would go like "na man, get a katana 107 and then a velo, you'll be ok" or "when you go cross-braced take always one size smaller, they fly better so you don't need the extra surface of non cross-braced canopies", I'd ignore that right away.

Thanks for the input! But that is just a partial answer . You'd go XF2, but keeping the same size (SA2-120 -> XF2-119), or downsizing at the same time (SA2-120 -> XF2-109)? I guess you meant keeping the same size, but I don't like to assume too much, assuming stuff is a big source of problems . And that change, whatever you meant, before or after starting with 270s? Talking about Katanas, would you give the same advice for KA than for XF2? Is a WL1.5 appropriate for a canopy like KA? I always see them kind of highly loaded.

I am looking for some opinions on what should I do next. A bit of background: -I have 510 jumps. -I have 4 jumps on my new canopy. -My progression is Student gear -> Sabre 2 170 -> Sabre 1 150 -> Lotus Max 136 -> Sabre 2 120. -I make 150-200 jumps a year. -I load my canopy at 1.5. -I have landed using 90 degrees front-riser turns for the last 400 jumps or so. -I have trusted my rears for levelling out for the last 60 jumps or so (finishing on toggles). -I have 5 canopy courses (2 local ones, and flight-1 101, 102 and 201). I still have to complete all the jumps of the 102 and 201, there were weather holds when I did them, but we went through the whole theory. -I don't aim to become a world-class swooping competitor, just to be a weekend warrior getting decent and fun swoops whenever they are safe to do. -I want to improve my swoops in a fun, safe way and at a slow but steady pace. I have no need to bite more than what I can chew or look like the coolest guy on the DZ. -I want to sketch my immediate progression for the next 200-300 jumps. Being said that, I have 1 question: -Comparing Crossfire 2 and Sabre 2: Which canopy has the longest recovery arc of these two? The answer will dictate the options below. I'd prefer to have a long recovery arc to avoid getting used to lower turns and get used to the longer recovery arc of higher performance canopies. And I have a few options to keep building up my skill-set. They are basically a combination of canopy choice (Sabre 2 or Crossfire 2), size (120-107), degrees for landing (90-270) and relative order of these things (one change after the other or multiple changes at once -such as Sabre 2 120 -> Crossfire 2 109-, and which changes). My current ideas: If Crossfire 2 has a longer recovery arc: -Stay on my Sabre 2 120 for a short time, get to know it and keep on 90s, and then switch to a Crossfire 2 119. Later on get comfortable with 270s and downsize to a Crossfire 2 109 afterwards. -OR- -Stay on my Sabre 2 120 for a short time, get to know it and keep on 90s, and then switch to a Crossfire 2 119. Later on downsize to a Crossfire 2 109 and afterwards get comfortable with 270s. If Sabre 2 has a longer recovery arc: -Stay on my Sabre 2 120 for a long time, get to know it and keep on 90s and then on 270s. Later on downsize to a Sabre 2 107. -OR- -Stay on my Sabre 2 120 for a medium time, get to know it and keep on 90s. Later on downsize to a Sabre 2 107, get to know it and keep on 90s and then on 270s. Let's classify short time as 50-100 jumps, medium time as 100-150 jumps, and long time as 150-200 jumps. In the longer term I'd like to switch to a relatively tame cross-braced canopy (JFX). At this moment more aggressive canopies are too far away in the future to even consider them (Velocity, JVX). I might consider a Katana as well, but I am not sure I want to mess with a canopy so aggressive without the added efficiency of cross-braces. Any input is much appreciated. I am asking here because this forum has more reach than the few experienced swoopers I can talk to in my DZ, but I'll also ask for their thoughts, with an special emphasis on one flight-1 instructor in a close DZ.

I think what the OP meant was how you can tell if a line you are holding is vectran, or HMA, or whatever, not what are the differences in terms of elasticity, strength, etc. The best way is to take a look at the different lines side by side and remember which is which. Vectran tends to be a bit thicker than HMA, more "hairy", at least when worn out, and more abrasive when sliding your fingers on it. Dyneema is just a different name for spectra, it is very slick and slippery, way more than the other two lines. I hope that helps.

Isn't it also because slow-falling groups stay more time in the air, and drift a bit further with it? That was my understanding at least, even though I always wondered how big of a difference it makes.

Can't say old fashioned to that, I bet old school guys realize that material makes a difference. Perhaps something was lost in translation but surely you know that materials aren't all the same, I hope. Padding/liner materials do make a difference, but the material of the outer shell is irrelevant, it doesn't absorb any energy on an impact. That was my point, carbon fiber or plastic on the outer shell doesn't matter if there is no shock absorption padding.

Call me old fashioned, but if a bowl is containing my brain I don't give a shit about its material. And it is not as if carbon fiber protects any better than any plastic shell.

Did you try to quarter properly the slider, and pull its front edge a bit over the nose? That makes a big difference in my Lotus Max.

These two quotes seem contradictory. One off or overenthusiastic marketing? We need more input to know for sure. That's why "ask the manufacturer" is not that helpful in these kind of questions.

Now I'd have landed in rears and slide it (I can't really slow down horizontal speed on rears). With 50 jumps I didn't have the skills for it, so I think the right decision for me would be to chop it. This is very clear and unambiguous. As stated, it also applies to someone who just survived a round of Russian roulette, but I find it hard to believe you would actually suggest they made a good decision. Completely agree on that. Surviving a bad decision doesn't make it a good decision. That leads many times to complacency, which in turn leads some times to accidents. Being said that, I think that this line of thinking comes from not second guessing the decision to chop, and to encourage people to don't hesitate and follow their training. Which generally speaking, is a good thing to do.

I find the Basik solution a good compromise between both things. Take a look at the cutaway handle: http://para-leasing-nord.de/Adv2.jpg Pity that they are not in the market anymore.

I would think that too, but it is unclear then how it communicates, how does it affect the battery life, and which potential new failure modes this introduces.

What I find interesting is how the unit communicates with the audible component. That is not stated. Which wireless technology is used? How reliable it is? How does it affect the battery of both the audible and the AAD? It could even be that they do not communicate at all, and the audible simply have the same settings as the AAD. It might communicate when the requirements for the switching between modes are met, without any confirmation from the AAD.

Regardless of how well this might or might not work, giving this advice on Internet doesn't seem to be a good idea. Image a newbie sees it and goes like "Last opening hurt, I am gonna move forward my knees now during opening to minimize that". They do, and got a slammer on their fast-opening student canopy, while jumping their non-freefly friendly rental rig, which doesn't fit them properly. Now, all the force of the slam goes downward, with their butt at the same height as their knees, and as a result they partially (or totally) slide off of their harness. All because of a misunderstood advice on Internet.

I have had a sonic (aerial), intrudair (tunnel and RW-comp) and jedi (shorty) suits. Commenting just on how well they fit: -The sonic fit as it was supposed to, I ordered it baggy and it came baggy -The intrudair RW-comp came just fine -The intrudair tunnel came super baggy in legs and arms (I ordered it normal). Nothing too difficult to fit at your local tailor/seamstress, but annoying nonetheless. -The Jedi came mega-baggy in the torso, and too short on the legs (the knees on the suit are on my lower thighs with the rig on, and fine without it.) Quality wise (materials and finishing/seams) all of them are good. I don't like the lining of the intrudair tunnel suit, but it is still like new after around 60 jumps and 2 hours of tunnel.

That's an awful video, they'd be better off without it

I completely disagree. I like more skydiving than tunnel, but IMO tunnel flying is a sport on its own and lots of fun. Sure, if you are going to belly fly it is not that exciting, or if you are into swooping or CReW you can't do shit in the tunnel, but if you are into free and dynamic flying the tunnel is heaps of fun. Just because it is indoor and the chances or injury are lower it doesn't mean it is any worse than "real" skydiving.