Deimian

It is worth mentioning that the MSW approved by the manufacturer in this case has nothing to do the certification weight. The Speed can handle significantly more than what the MSW states, but paratec advices against that. An excerpt from their manual: I believe (I am not completely sure though) that other manufacturers just list the maximum tested weight and are not that (overly?) cautious

A ground school refresher and 1 check jump is not a full AFF...... I wouldn't jump in a place where they let jump somebody with less than 35 jumps done more than 2 years ago, without any kind of refreshment or check.

If she is going to be living in Germany for more than 6 months she needs to get her German license. That requires: -At least 12 jumps in the last 12 months. -If the previous requirement is not meet, she needs to make the remaining jumps (until 12 in 12 months) with a coach/instructor -Additionally, and regardless of how many jumps she made in the last 12 months, she needs to pass a small test on Air Law. Where is she going to be living? I live in Germany but I jump in Belgium (so I have a Belgian license, not German). Different rules apply there, particularly for non-residents as she would be. I believe that there it is enough to have a FAI license and third-party liability insurance.

The other user said Belgium. Teuge is in Netherlands. In Belgium we have PCV, a club with 3 DZs in Flanders. Strictly speaking it is a club of volunteers, not really a business, which helps to keep the prices low. The DZs open just in the weekend for that reason. A block of 100 tickets is 1490€ ($1694). A block of 11 jumps (10+1 free) is 175€ ($198) A single jump is 17.5€ ($20) Jump including rental gear is 25€ ($28) Altitude is 13000ft. No special prices for hop'n'pop The eastern DZs (Zwartberg and Schaffen) have people from Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and individuals from Spain, Italy, Greece, UK, US and probably some places more. Hope that helps to clarify.

So everyone is a suspect. I certainly disagree with that. And that's coming from somebody with a girlfriend that weights 110lbs and that has guys all over her all every time she is in a DZ party. I understand your concerns, but IMO you are taking the wrong approach.

If you do that you'll be spinning unless you are perfectly symmetrical (not gonna happen). My only advise is to keep at it until you become aware of your legs movements. Visualize it. Close your eyes and visualize yourself in the tunnel or sky nailing it, moving your legs slowly to move at your will. Welcome to the sport, you are going to have a blast!

POV with a narrow[ish] angle camera can also be more helpful than a regular gopro. The sight picture with a gopro is heavily distorted.

How does "separately but equally" work here? If you trim both fronts and backs "separately but equally" that's the same as having shorter lines. The canopy might be a bit more responsive, but the trim won't change a bit. And why are the cascades important? You are trimming at the risers, you can't adjust individual lines. Am I missing something?

Well, I just noticed that all the no-sew fingertraps that I know of require to either have the opposite end free, or to pass the whole loop through a second hole in the line (like Paul V. Fries described). To attach the lines to the swivel I need to make the loop with the swivel already inside. Does somebody know any technique for it, or do I have to visit my rigger to get a few bartacks done?

Could you post a link to that video?

Clicky

I'd rather avoid cutting the lines at that point and reuse the finger trapped loop. That can safe me some work. Regarding the net: It is definitely not a must. It simply helps to keep the material neatly inside the tube on the ride up and avoid the rare inversion. A friend of mine made a couple of tubes with a net, that's where I took the idea from. BTW: he had an inverted tube once (before adding nets to his tubes). It wasn't a big deal, it just stay there streaming uninflated.

So I have this old Stiletto worn to shit that will never be in the sky again. And I have a freefly tube that can have a better handle and attachment lines. I am planing to: -Remove the lines from the canopy -Reuse the lines creating 4 attachment lines using non-sew fingertraps (I have no sewing machine) -The lines will be attached to a swivel in the bottom and to the tube ring in the top -The swivel will have an extra line attached to the bottom of it. That line will be a loop, passing through itself and through the handle twice (one long pass to reach the swivel, one short to lock the handle in place, going through itself in the edges of the handle). That will allow to remove the handle on the field and: -in the more distant future: replace the handle for an ankle brace with a cutaway. My questions: -How do people remove lines from canopies minimizing the amount of damage to the lines? Simply cutting one of the lines after the cascade? Ripping the fingertrap bartack and undoing the fingertrap? Cutting the line attachment points of the canopy (since it is not airworthy)? -Any idea on how to create/connect a net to the bottom of the tube, so the fabric doesn't come out from the bottom? I was thinking in using more lines between the 4 attachment lines (like a spider web), but this seems like quite a bit of work, not very neat, and an extra risk to snag something on this homemade net. Maybe using 2 extra lines making a tight cross in the bottom of the tube, right inside the ring? Remember that I don't have a sewing machine. -Any known issue with any part of my plan? -Any other idea? (eg: using 8 lines instead of 4)

Hi, Does somebody here have experience with packing medium-small sized canopies in a Wings W11? I have right now a Lotus Max 136 on it and it fits just fine (the airlocks help). I am considering either a Sabre 2 120 (with a logo, so it packs a tiny bit larger than normal 120's) or a Crossfire 2 129 as a next canopy, and I'd like to gather opinions on whether this fits "soft but safe" or "way too soft for comfort". I have no rush to jump those canopies, but if I need to order a new container I need to know soonish (let's say in the next 4 months). I jump in Belgium, where the humidity is way more than in AZ, but way less than Florida, if that helps somebody to figure out how those canopies will pack in my area.

An update on this: after the fix I was still having some problems. Turns out that the problem was not the canopy, it was how it fitted in my magnetic POD. The magnets had a hard time to keep the bag closed if I didn't squeeze out all the air. I think I was having bag strips, and that caused the twists. I noticed in a couple of jumps where my packing had been rushed and where I had a hard time closing the bag, that the openings were kind of shitty. I changed back to a normal deployment bag and the openings have been awesome. Even with a tube and a less than optimal deployment. So if somebody is planing on using a magnetic POD, be aware of the fact that this bags are less tolerant in tight fits.

I haven't draw that, reactor did

Sure, but the slider is significantly wider than the distance between left and right riser groups, so it should have enough slack to avoid pushing your head forward too hard. I haven' test it though.

A riser cover lock-up in an Icon almost get a friend of mine killed (before I met him, but that doesn't matter). The risers were placed on top of the reserve risers, under the secondary flap. Check that, I'd bet that this was the problem. What I don't understand is how the slider pinned your head against your chest. That's really weird.

Nobody gave you swooping advice. They gave you surviving advice. 100-jumps wonder or not, he is right, and despising his advice just because he has a handful jumps is the second mistake you've made with regards this particular landing. "Canopy over your head" refers to the shortest line made between the ground and your head, not relative to your feet. That should be obvious. You were asking for similar experiences. For everyone's sake I hope you won't find them. I certainly haven't seen anybody accidentally cranking an extra 180°. But maybe my 400-jumps wonder experience can be also despised.

Right, but "lot's to do" is meaningless of the whole point of your trip is going there for finishing your AFF in a week. I think it is a great place if you have some experience, but IMO there are better options for what OP wants to do.

You've got to be careful with Empuria. It is a great DZ, but tramontana winds can be quite strong and have students and low time jumpers grounded while everyone else is enjoying.

http://skydivewings.com/order/faq/ http://skydivewings.com/contact-us/

Things to keep in mind: -The factory diver has a fixed visor. That would be enough for me to discard it. Opening the visor under canopy is a must for me. -The Phantom X is a supernice helmet but it has a couple of problems: The lining is not removable, it has a single pocket for audible and fitting a cutaway system is difficult (but possible).

Well, the downside I see to that is durability and snapping risk if you are not diligent with the maintenance of your canopy. I'd prefer to have thicker lines that I can use for 100-200 jumps more.

I have ~25 jumps in my Lotus Max 136. My thoughts: -It flights awesome. A bit more steep and tapered than Sabre 2, but better flare, shutdown and range in rears. A bit more responsive to harness input, but of course on this size, at this wingload (~1.4) it is not super-responsive. I think it is probably the best canopy in its category, but with 400 jumps my opinion might not be the more reliable. -It came with a new lineset. Black HMA 400. It looks great, but in my opinion there is no reason to use such thin lines in this canopy. I would be happier with something thicker, but the reline was fairly cheap, so I can't really complain. Brian wanted to upgrade it from Lotus to Lotux Max, so he made me a discount on the reline when we sent it for an inspection before buying it. -The openings have been quite unpredictable, with frequent line twists. I made a video of the openings and showed it to Brian. He said those openings were not normal, and I sent it in for a check. He added crossports on the center cells and a lip to the slider (the openings were quick but not hard, but he said that quick openings might contribute to the issue, so...). I have yet to try the fix, so I don't know if it was really effective. Bottom line, if you can get your hands on a Lotus that opens fine you won't be disappointed, it is second to none, and probably outperforms some better known models from other manufacturers.