riddler

And from the inventor of the hand deploy PC: Bill Booth Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Wow - I never thought I would hear an argument that F-111 outlasts ZP, but I'm sure I have less understanding of it than anyone that's posted so far. I would like to make sure I understand the different technologies. Please correct if anything I say below in wrong. I thought that F-111 is the older of the two types. The fabric has a weave that allows some air through. As the canopy ages, the threads of the weave separate and the canopy loses lift because air flows through it. All but (I believe) one modern reserve canopy is made from F-111. ZP is pretty much the same fabric as F-111, but with a coating applied that keeps air from coming through the weave, and helps hold the threads together to prevent degradation of the material. ZP is more susceptible to "catastrophic failure", because they far outlast F-111. Take two canopies, one F-111 and one ZP - the ZP will go for hundreds or thousands more jumps before a cell(s) finally rip open. An F-111 will never make it that far because by that many jumps, it has lost too much lift to be useful. A "hybrid" is a ZP topskin and an F-111 bottom skin (or vice-versa), which is what this canopy sounds like. The topskin takes more of the force of lift, while the bottom skin is required more for cell pressurization. Without both the topskin and the bottomskin, the cell will not inflate and you have a canopy that doesn't fly. I always thought the point of a hybrid was to make canopies easier to pack. Now, can anyone confirm the rumor that this canopy is named after Harry Potter's broomstick?

No worries mate - I land on my face every once in a while. That's not a technique they teach you in AFF - you have to learn it from experience. The trick is to take it on the "meaty" portions of your face - the cheeks and lips. If you keep your eyes and mouth closed, it will prevent dirt from piling up in those areas, but unfortunately, it will always go up your nose - nothing you can do about that, except take it like a man and try to make it back to the packing area before snorting the dirt out on those miserable packers. If you're lucky, you'll only have the non-pointy weeds and they may even slow you down faster. If pulled off successfully, you will look like a complete stud for the spectators in the landing area. If you thought that swooping made the chicks wet, you should see how they go wild for a guy that has turf sticking out of his helmet. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Sure - I won't charge ya that much Seriously, I am looking for reserves to pack, so if you got any coming up after WFFC, I will be glad to help.

Sorry Mar - my sister is getting married today and I have family in from all over the world, so no jumping until we make it to Rantoul on Wed or Thur. See ya then! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You won't even try my Lotus - why should I try your Diablo? C'mon Bob, it's only a 150 Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

That's the whole reason I do it - for the babes Plus I'm getting tired of being compared to Tim - "Tim did this, Tim says that, blah, blah"

Everybody knows you're supposed to freeze kittens after you fluff-dry them. They last longer that way. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Now that my coach rating is complete, my next goal is the rigger's ticket. And I just happened to have a rig that expires tomorrow and was needin' a repack for WFFC. Our very own Gear Greenie, hooknswoop, was kind enough to sit with me for five hours(!) and laugh at my attempts to cram a springloaded pilot chute down to the freebag, whilst simultaneously jamming the skirt and mesh between the springs and pulling the pullupcord up with my teeth and trying to contain the whole things with my knees. The nice thing about packing this particular reserve is that I will be jumping it, so I'm sure that thought will be going through my mind if I'm ever spinning madly on my back with my hand on the cutaway cable. Cheers to Hooknswoop. It's cool that some people really care about the sport and try to make it better by giving up their time and energy. Now, only 19 more repacks ... Also, of my two rigs, one pin bent, so if you're going to WFFC, get your pin checked beforehand. And if you're a rigger, you might suddenly make some new best friends if you bring spare ripcords. My guess is at least a few pins will be bent during the tests there, but it's just a guess. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Two rigs tested with Test 2. One passed, one bent. Fortunately, my rigger had a spare ripcord he lent me for WFFC. Speaking of WFFC, word is there's gonna be a line for those that have pins in the bad batch. If you have a pin in the bad batch, you will be tested there. My guess it that there will be few if any that break, but I'll bet some are bent. Now, if you're at WFFC, and you get a bent pin, then I doubt you'll find a lot of spare ripcords lying around to replace it. I hope a few riggers bring some spares, but I will hate to see people sitting around doing nothing because their rig is grounded. Please, please get your pins checked prior to WFFC.

Honduras website will be up soon! Some great underwater footage to share. Err - about the harness and rope. mmm - well see it's like this ... We'll talk when I see you. And I will see you! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

What?!? That was most of the reason I was going. Now I'm going to have to reconsider the whole thing. ... mmm - beer .... mmm - skydiving .... at least a few other naked people. ... OK - I'm still going. But I'm not happy about this! Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I guess I have to do this manually. ... Rhino Sarge ... rub, rub, rub, scratch, scratch, scratch, crank, crank, sounds of jackhammer, then vacuum cleaner ... Rhino Riddler Sarge ... Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I guess they went on vacation after they finished your rig. I've been trying to get a low-profile metal reserve handle, and Paragear and Square1 don't have those for Voodoo - they are saying call the manufacturer, so I called them and they are gone until Friday. Maybe they went to Lost Prairie? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Well, if having fun on a tandem means you are an accomplished skydiver, then I must be really accomplished, since I had fun on all of my 180 jumps, even though they almost never go like I want them to Hmm - I wonder what a celebrity PR firm could do for my resume? I'm thinking something like world's greatest lover, 'cause I've been known to watch a porn video once in a while. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

K - if she's a jumper, my g/f needs to know where. She's a big, BIG fan I have a feeling that she jumps at that same DZ where Ricky Martin and all those other skydiving celebrities jump. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

You used the washing machine and RIT to dye your hair? You fluff dried a kitten? You starched Cajones' rig so that he'll get a body rash next time he jumps? Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

I would do that - I love my Lotus, and if you're buying new, they're about the same price. The only question is do you want airlocks? Personally, I like airlocks, but that is a personal preference. I'm also happy to hear about the Shogun - I always feel uncomfortable recommending the Lotus to first-time buyers with few jumps. I don't know why, because it opens and lands better than the tris and specters I've flown, but I think there's a concern about recommending 9-cell canopies to newer jumpers. It will be nice to have an air-locked 7-cell on the market for new jumpers that want that technology. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

OK - let's be clear on this. Some people are calling for all reserve pins to be checked, regardless of the time frame and regardless of the manufacturer. When I hear 100%, this is what I think. As far as I know, Capewell is requiring all pins manufactured in the timeframe of the recall to be tested. However, pins manufactured outside that time frame and pins manufactured by other companies are not subject to the test. Yet. So, are there any entites (organizations, dropzones, boogies, et al) outside of Capewell that are requiring pin tests? And if so, are they requiring all pins to be tested, or just the ones that Capewell is recalling? The one I'm concerned with now, is what, exactly, will be required at the freefall convention?

Is exactly what who is requiring?

Except for Keith - he's kinda ugly. But at least he gets points for being persistent I think I can speak for every man in Colorado when I say we hope you come back!! You are one gorgeous skychick. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Holy Cow! I missed the nipple piercing!! Damn. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

Jeez, Michael - you had Pintamo do her tandem? I thought you liked her Mike's the greatest, and he almost has his B license in cutaways, so you know you're in good hands

I'll be there middle of next week and staying the duration. Will they check for a pin inspection during the reserve card check?

Stand behind the plane on the taxiway and inhale deeply. It's almost the same toxicity as cigarettes. Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD