darkwing

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Everything posted by darkwing

  1. darkwing
    The quick answer is that it avoids the RSL stuff entangling with the reserve as the main leaves. But yes, searching is good. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  2. darkwing
    Just like you should keep your eye on the gear of others when boarding and on the plane, you should keep your eye on the gear of others on the ground too. I especially considered my teammates' gear worth keeping an eye on. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  3. darkwing
    In the old days it wasn't uncommon to just go "looking for a hole" figuring we could find our way back. We ended up some interesting places, as far as 20 miles from the DZ, and nobody died (or even got hurt that I recall). Mostly this was on mid-winter twin-beech loads, so we had 8 or 10 jumpers. I wouldn't recommend it these days. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  4. darkwing
    To paraphrase a famous person "it depends on the definition of "True"" Measuring the area of a modern canopy isn't as straightforward as you think it is. It would be nice if all the manufacturers would agree on a method, but even then it wouldn't solve many problems, since there can be vast differences between two canopies of the same size, due to airfoil, planform, and trim differences. As it is now, people put way to much stock in the published square footage numbers, which are only useful as a very crude first approximation. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  5. darkwing
    The quick, and not useful answer, is that it depends on the jumpers weight, and the specific canopy, among other things. I strongly recommend your friend work out some biomechanical strategies to help with her flare. Anxiety doesn't help, but ground practice does. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  6. darkwing
    I built quite a few starting in the late 1970s, up until about 1982. A wide variety of canopies, from 5 - 8 cells. The first was a pretty much direct copy of a 189 sqft foil, which was, to my mind, the best flying canopy of its time for several years. (for general skydiving, not accuracy). It is quite a rush jumping your own product for the first time. I recommend copying for your first try, it minimizes the risks. I built a couple very experimental canopies, but I didn't kill myself. I'd sure like to find the first one I built. I keep thinking I need to track the guy down that had it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  7. darkwing
    I can't imagine anyone here giving you better advice than your instructors and Scott Miller. Certainly not me, which is why I'm not giving any. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  8. darkwing
    I haven't done it, but I've seen it a few times over the years. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  9. darkwing
    Excellent! I owned four of them, an SST, Guardian, Crossbow, and a Wonderhog. I probably jumped a couple of others. Does that make me old? I wonder where my old Top Secret is now? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  10. darkwing
    Be advised that there is a wide variation in rules applied for flying with a tandem. Some places won't let you do it period, others will, with varying restrictions on contact, jump numbers, certifications, etc. It can even vary considerably between individual Tandem Instructors at the same DZ. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  11. darkwing
    get pied in freefall, and get it on video. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  12. darkwing
    Ahhhh, the memories. God, I loved Pope Valley. I went there a few times, and maybe even was there for your first jump. I was an Idaho jumper at that time, in the full glory of my jumping, alas, long gone. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  13. darkwing
    Another phrase for "radar trailer" is "femur magnet". Sad but true. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  14. darkwing
    My bonehead Havok sure seemed to go big. It is a great helmet too. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  15. darkwing
    I don't understand what you are asking. I am also not stricken by the "stunning" silence. Of course insurance companies in general aren't "keen" on paying out for anything, although they do so. Certainly people have been injured (and killed) by hard openings. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  16. darkwing
    In most cases for a guy with your experience the answer is no. In many cases the answer is no regardless of your experience level. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  17. darkwing
    I find it difficult to believe that this is pilot chute related. The snivel is too far into the opening sequence. What kind of suspension lines does this canopy have? You might check with the mfr and consider a smaller slider, or putting a hole in the existing slider. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  18. darkwing
    600 jumps on a spectre 190. No spinners (except one due to a mis-stowed brake, but that doesn't count). End cell closures were not common, and never resulted in spins. Have a rigger look at the bag/grommet/bridle... Unless the pilot chute was transiently around some lines, I can't believe the tear there has anything to do with the spin. And if it did I wouldn't expect the damage to be where I understand it is. In my experience, such damage is usually a gradual thing that just doesn't get noticed for a while, as it progresses. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  19. darkwing
    Also interchangeable in the pacific northwest in the 70's. "Rag" was probably more common, especially later. Lots of us jumped "gutted rags" because they were cheap, and low bulk. A gutted rag is a standard 28 foot surplus canopy from which the suspension lines in the radial seams were removed. I am uniquely qualified to comment on use of the term "rag" -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  20. darkwing
    What kind of airplane? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  21. darkwing
    Between a full moon and a thorough control check you shouldn't miss a canopy problem. While I have had flashlights with me, I have never used one for canopy check (in 17 night jumps). I'd rather preserve my night vision. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  22. darkwing
    My advice as a vasectomy recipient and skydiver. Don't jump this weekend. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  23. darkwing
    go to a dz and watch. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  24. darkwing
    I wouldn't attempt any erasing until you contact the mfr. It may or may not be faked. It is possible that the original fading numbers were "reinforced" by someone. Contact the mfr and give them all the details, the apparent DOM and S/N and the color scheme. It would be very tricky, perhaps impossible, to remove the added ink. I'm assuming soap/water won't, but it is worth a try. Ask the mfr what you might try that wouldn't damage the original ink. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  25. darkwing
    Yes, Gus does top notch work. I'd let him rig for me any time. (I'm a master rigger) Maybe they are on vacation, or sick, or something. -- Jeff My Skydiving History