riddler

Or your rigger. I've inspected a few different reserves and I won't buy anything except PD. A main might be fun to fly, but a reserve should be very high quality and be built to withstand just about anything. Flying a reserve for fun is not a consideration.

Definitely true. I had a friend who's canopy went "Mae West" because one rapide link was not properly tightened. The rapide bent almost in reverse, but did not break, or release the suspension lines. Just that much bending was enough to really deform the canopy. Jumper chopped and lived, but now he's anal about checking those rapides

I've often wondered why canopy manufacturers don't reinforce crossports. I know it would increase pack volume. I also know that the ribs don't normally bear a lot of load. But every time I inspect a canopy, I see the crossports as just holes cut into the fabric, and I think about how easy it would be to tear open. Seems like some support tape might be a good idea?? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I often hear that skydivers are like family. I totally agree. Families fight as much or more than skydivers, and there's always that cousin or aunt that you absolutely can't stand, or is causing trouble for everyone. But you probably have a good relationship with most of your family. Same with skydivers. My advice - just like your family - hang out with the ones you get along with, try to resolve differences peaceably with the ones you care about, and ignore the freaks you can't stand. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Now that is a great idea. Thanks, Tim! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Exactly! Don't worry about what your average rate is - worry about what your range is. If you can get as slow as 130 and as fast as 160, you can keep up with pretty much anyone. Spend several jumps getting your legs wide and your arms way out, and see what your slowest speed is. Then get your legs together and see how much you can bring your arms in for several jumps to see what your fastest rate is. Then when someone asks you what your sit speed is, you can say anywhere from this speed to that speed. If you have any overlap, you know you can fly together. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Last jump at the Eloy holiday boogie. Solo head-down out of the otter, with both the moon and the diving otter illuminated orange by the setting sun. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

At my DZ, gear rental is $25 per jump. In the long run, you will go broke renting, and have nothing to show for it. I agree with AggieDave. My first two rigs were used - the first one more than 15 years old. Now, I'm finally ready to think about buying new, and I think I know enough about gear to know what I want and what is a fair price for it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

USPA cites the reason as the drop from a ten-year average of 17% to the 4% last year as primarily due to the use of AADs and RSLs. AADs are required for students. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I think you are spot on. When I go to other DZs, I see other gear. When I started at Mile Hi a few years ago, everyone wanted Javelins - now it seems, everyone has Mirages. When I go to Eloy, I see a lot of Voodoos, but I've only seen two here (and one of them is mine

Why not get canopy coaching? I know on my 100th that's what I needed a LOT more than any freefall coaching. Heck, I still need canopy coaching Find a good canopy pilot or CReW dog at the DZ and pay their slot to do a high hop-n-pop with you and play with your canopy. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Very good idea! How much do they charge for the training? Is it held any time you call him and make an appointment, or do they have regularly scheduled classes? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I've heard a number of explanations. I've heard that they have more steps and takes longer. I've heard they are harder to repack. I've heard them say they don't feel that they pack enough of them to do it well. I've heard that they just plain don't like them. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I stalled my Triathalon 190 (1:1) a few times, but I could never get it to completely collapse into a ball. I could get it to deform quite a bit, but that was about all. My Lotus (1.3:1) stalls easier, but doesn't collapse (airlocks). I fall backwards under it. I've done this about half a dozen times. I flew my PD143 reserve as a main. Now that sucker stalls! Scary. I always do this from over 2000 feet (I prefer over 3,000, but that's not always where I am when I start). And I get more aggressive with my canopy experiments as I get to the end of my reserve repack cycle But I'm still pretty much a coward under canopy. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Riggers only, please. I've talked to a number of riggers lately, and it seems like most of the ones I've spoken with won't repack them, or only under special circumstances. I would really like to repack one or two just to see what the fuss is about. Are they really that bad? Or is there a bag of tricks for an easy repack? Feel free to chime in with your opinions. I would love to hear from someone that's packed a tandem Racer, and other variations of Jump Shack products. Edit - sorry, I just learned you can't put markup in a poll option, and you can't edit it either! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Think of dz.com just like the rest of the Internet - a place for ideas. You'll hear stuff here that you won't hear from your instructors. Do a little research on an idea, if it sounds interesting, then ask your instructor at the DZ. Take into account who is making the statement. Do they have 50 jumps? Or 5,000 jumps? I've heard bad advice from people with 5,000 jumps, too, but most of the time, they have good ideas. An keep in mind that something that is right for a very experienced jumper may not be right for you. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

A tad bigger than that, I hope? 800 sq. ft. is 40 feet by 20 feet - my living room is bigger. Richmond web site says 40 acres of airport and 800 acres of property. Steering with rear risers of the dominant canopy should give you the opportunity to avoid obstacles, as long as it's not at the last second. I've never had two canopies out, but I steer with rear risers of my main on every jump (for a bit). It doesn't take much of an angle change to avoid something on the ground, as long as you see it before you're on top of it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

So I have a friends rig that I'm repacking (under supervision). It was assembled brand new (all parts new) in November of last year. Today, I opened the reserve, and I've never seen more dirt on the inside of a reserve container. The freebag and the container were pretty dirty. The cutaway cable also had more grime than I've ever seen (it's nice and clean now ). I've got to talk to this guy about his landings Anyway, there was so much dirt that I didn't want to dump it out on my floor. Can anyone see any harm in vacuuming the inside of the reserve container? I guess the other option is to take it outside and shake it over the ground. Obviously, I would remove the CYPRES first - I'm a little sensitive to static electricity and AADs right now Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Yep - you are right. So if you guys wouldn't mind humoring a relatively inexperienced jumper for a moment, and I hope I'm not diverting the point of the thread too much.: Ideally, on my track away, I would be looking forward most of the time (to see what I'm flying at), with an occasional glance at the ground (to check how high I am), and toward the end of the track, barrel-roll to check above me, then slow down a bit and dump. Does that sound like a better plan than just staring at an alitimeter? It's what I do now. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Another option is to tie pull-up cords on the plastic attachment points on the outside of the raft. Do not ever tie loops - too much risk of getting hands caught in them. Pull-up cords should be gripped freely by the loose end and if you can't hang on, you can't hang on - no big deal. Wait 'till it floats down and take it up again

I also made a post about this eight months ago, but no one really came up with a reason for it. In FJC, I still teach rear risers of dominant canopy.. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Hmm - if it is a static e problem, I doubt it has anything to do with the display unit. The units are boxes with two lines - one to the display/control unit and one to the cutter unit. I don't think that enough static would build on just the display window to travel through the entire unit and activate the cutter. It seems more likely that a static charge is building over the entire rig (dragging cordura and nylon on carpet), and transmitting through the nearest path to the cutter, which could be on the cutter unit itself, considering the metal cutter is right next to a metal grommet on the rig. That part should be well shielded, but enough static e can get through a lot of shielding. Ed to add - maybe the next must-have skydiving gizmo will be a drag chain that hangs from your hip-ring and drags on the ground, like the ones that drag underneath semi trailers. That way you don't build up a charge that would fry all these nifty electronic devices (AADs, audibles, cameras) that skydivers are becoming so fond of. Maybe even a little alligator clip so you can clip onto the airframe while riding to altitude. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Having chased a few cutaways on the ground, I wouldn't think twice about chopping a rental. Most of the time, it floats down over the landing area, you find the canopy and it's in good condition. If you jump at a DZ with less land area, you might have to ask someone to go on their property and get your canopy, but even then, you still usually get it. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

My brother is just finishing up his PhD in cell biology at Albert Einstein in New York (and supposedly I was the smart one ). His student loans are into six digits, but he's pretty much guaranteed a teaching position, at about that same amount each year. Depending on what you do, it can pay off. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You are too nice. My last employer got a 25 minute notice. I figured 15 minutes to type up and print out my letter of resignation (on their computers), and I gave myself 10 minutes to clean out my desk. I probably could've done it in 20 minutes, but then again, my boss just finished telling me how slow I was to complete tasks. Maybe he was right? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD