darkwing
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Everything posted by darkwing
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looking for a dropzone souh carolina
darkwing replied to gerardo_grau's topic in Events & Places to Jump
Gerardo, There are two turbine DZ's in South carolina, both the same distance from Columbia, which is the state capitol and where Ft. Jackson is. My home DZ is Blue Sky Adventures, in St. George, about an hour south east of Columbia, via interstate-26. These days we are flying a Grand Caravan. The other DZ is Skydive Carolina , near the town of Chester, about an hour north of Columbia, via I-77. They fly a Twin Otter. There are good people at both DZs, but of course I'd prefer you came to visit us. Both have a mix of freeflyers and belly flyers. Heck, maybe you can visit both. There is also Skydive Walterboro, a C-182 DZ which has quality people also. It is somewhat further away than the other two DZs I mentioned. Hope to see you, jeff -- Jeff My Skydiving History -
I am not aware of any engineering-type test, for which a numerical result would give you a pass/fail, like, for example, a fabric tensile test does. I recommend you inspect other pouches, and ask how many jumps on them. Also, ask local riggers to show you some pouches to you and discuss the wear issues on each. I replaced mine at 700 jumps, and it still had plenty of service left in it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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It won't measure the horizontal component of your speed. Only the vertical component alters the air pressure, which is what the unit measures, so that is what gets dealt with. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Dude, you can pack my reserve any time. Jeff (master rigger) -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Yes, in the movies, ALL bombs beep and have flashing red countdown lights. Remember to cut the blue wire, not the green one. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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You start FS (formation skydiving) and accuracy (canopy control) during your initial training jumps. After that, you just keep going, until you master them all (never). -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I am a former spectre owner (600 jumps on it), and have seen many triathlons in action, but not jumped one. It seems to me that a spectre is clearly superior to a triathlon. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Altimeters: Difference in readings due to position
darkwing replied to brewman's topic in Gear and Rigging
There are significant pressure differences around your body. Everyone seems comfortable with the idea of a partial vacuum behind you. This partial vacuum means the pressure there is lower than the pressure characteristic at that actual altitude. The pressure below you (all of this assumes belly to earth position) is similarly higher than the true pressure at your actual altitude. This is largely true in smaller scale situations, such as above and below your hand. The net result is that you need to put it where there is neither higher nor lower pressure, which translates to an airflow on the side. Hard to see on your leg though, so the hand is an OK compromise. -- Jeff My Skydiving History -
The 3 cells folding under can, and has, happened on any canopy. Also, many people, including me, had bad openings on a Sabre2. You should contact PD about that. Do not let people convince you that it is your fault, which may be the case for some, but is certainly not the case for many. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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it depends on the conditions the canopy has been exposed to. Dusty, sandy, desert, ocean shore, are bad, green, grassy, is good. Too much sun is bad. Generally speaking a couple of thousand shouldn't be a problem, with occasional new lines. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I have built a few dozen canopies. My STRONG recommendation is that you first make sure you have some sewing skills. Second, you want a double needle machine. Third, and this is the most important one - COPY a canopy that you know works. You can become a designer after you become a builder, not before. You can make the seams differently, since you will likely use a hot knife to cut out the pieces. I'll gladly give you construction tips when you get far enough to need them. Your first canopy should be a mellow one, nothing more than a Spectre-class canopy. Preferable to that would be a rectangular canopy, i.e., nothing tapered or elliptical, but the real choice is yours. It is "interesting" to jump the first canopy that you built. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Also, some of us non-drinkers are completely comfortable buying a case of some other beverage if we get beered. The beer line is almost always a safety related line, which you are not supposed to land across. At our DZ is is next to the ditches, close to the taxiway and tarmac. It delineates jumper places from airplane places. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I have a few hundred PC jumps, and yes, it was common to "flare" them using rear risers. It was also common to get stand up landings. I am pretty confident that you at 145 lbs could stand up a PC. I'm not sure what kind of round you jumped, but there is a vast difference between a 28-foot surplus canopy (which I started on, and have about 100 jumps on), and a ParaCommander. I have certainly seen more "brutal" landings on ram air canopies than I ever saw on round canopies. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I think it is EXTREMELY URGENT to contact the rigger, in case E-thread has been used on other rigs. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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It is explained by known science. It is called turbulent flow. Don't confuse the science you know with the science others know. You can experience similar behavior in freefall. Give it a try... -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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If you jump from REALLY high, say, a million miles up, you will hit about 17,000 miles per hour. Watch out for the atmosphere though. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Grounding a person is also a tool that serves as a reminder/lesson for jumpers other than the one grounded. That MAY be its most useful function. I have grounded people in the past, and I pretty much viewed it as useful for both the offender and potential offenders. I think most old timers who have been grounded would agree. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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That was my sense too, except PD Vladi shot that down. He specifically said raising the tail would make it worse. I didn't try it though to see if he was right. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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The factory emailed me and stated that silicone would comply with the SB, so I figure that covers things. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I have 600 spectre 190 jumps, and a teammate has nearly as many on a spectre 170. We both have had this. In discussions with PD at a boogie, they instantly knew what I was describing. They called it a "bottom skin inflation" and attributed it to pulling the slider out too far in front when packing. It didn't happen too often, I'd say very roughly 1 in 30 jumps for me. I think less often for my teammate. After a while it quit bothering me. I just considered it a "different" opening, as it never showed a tendency to be a problem. Not to worry... Edit to add: This behavior was independent of canopy/line age. It happened when new, and just before the lines were replaced at 400 jumps, and kept happening after the new lines. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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A pillowcase works well too. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Aubrey, Thanks for the clarification. Silicone it is... I will add that the problem of a hard pulls on a cutaway handle is, although not widespread, essentially just as possible on any other rig, since they all use pretty much the same technology. It is seen in the field occasionally. I certainly recall Bill Booth discussing it with me as a situation he had seen and attributed to dirt, just as in this case. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I'm interested in the Aerodyne definition of "paraffin" To an American this is usually interpreted as paraffin wax, which is surely not the case. I have encountered a wide variety of paraffin oils, but am not clear on what Aerodyne wants. What product available here in the US is suitable? The standard for this maintenance is pure silicone spray lube, although often WD-40 is also used. I have emailed Aerodyne and asked for a clarification. I'll post what I hear. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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First Rig container: Mirage, Icon or Infinity
darkwing replied to Commanderfish's topic in Gear and Rigging
They are all fine rigs. The manufacturers support their gear, and the people you buy it from will likely be fine too. I love my Infinity. -- Jeff My Skydiving History -
I can't help you out, but I wonder, after seeing many of these types of posts, why nobody ever asks for a mediocre rigger? Surely their prices would be better? -- Jeff My Skydiving History