darkwing

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Everything posted by darkwing

  1. darkwing
    It depends on how you define "all other things being equal." One test is to take a jumper with their canopy, and just keep loading lead weights onto the jumper. The problem with this is that it increases their speed at terminal, which would almost always result in a higher opening shock. If you deploy at equal speed, with more weights, then the opening should would also be higher, since the canopy opening time would presumably be the same, but more force would be required to decellerate the now more massive load. Your question is actually fairly complex, but I've given a simple approach to answering it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  2. darkwing
    Maybe you could ask them to build you the lineset and ship it to you. That way you can have your rigger reline it during the week and not miss any jumping. I can't see why they wouldn't just sell you the set for local installation. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  3. darkwing
    I also agree that a spectre is something to consider. I have 600 spectre 190 jumps, and now jump a pilot 168. I think the Spectre would be a fine transitional canopy. I also agree with the idea of a mix of sizes. It gives you more wing loading possibilities to play with during a students progression. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  4. darkwing
    It depends on too many variables in subtle ways to give a useful answer. I jumped a watermelon in 1973 and it was very fast. I held it all the way to opening, otherwise we never would have gotten close to it. A photo is on my page linked below. Look for watermelon in the photo album. I think pumpkins are less dense than watermelons, so I'm thinking that a pumpkin the size of a persons head might have an acceptable fall rate, but still, it is all educated guesswork until you do it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  5. darkwing
    Yes, it happened. I was lighter then too. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  6. darkwing
    I'm pretty sure there is at least one twin beech flying these days. There was a very nice one at Lost Prairie a couple of years ago. I think it came out of Oregon. I've been in a stalling Beech, it was seriously not fun. Plenty of injuries, but we all lived. I think I was the only person not bleeding. In the old days we were pretty accustomed to the near-stall signs on jumprun... The tail would start oscillating. That meant time to go. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  7. darkwing
    It can be done by starting with a spool of line, and making the lines yourself (which I have done many times), but most riggers would say it isn't worth the hassle compared to buying a pre-made set from the manufacturer. It only takes a couple of hours to install a pre-made set. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  8. darkwing
    It is pretty common at my DZ. It is a good visual effect for the video, and is fun! -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  9. darkwing
    the link seems to be non functional. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  10. darkwing
    If your heart is set on a Sabre 2, then I think there is relatively little variation in price. You could save more by considering a different canopy, e.g. an Aerodyne Pilot, which is somewhat cheaper, about $1350. There are other canopies in the same class too. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  11. darkwing
    Surely your credit card company gives you some options doesn't it? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  12. darkwing
    I'm pretty sure I heard of it a long time ago, 25 years or more.... -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  13. darkwing
    I have about 600 jumps on a spectre, and recently moved up to a Pilot. I can't say anything about a Safire 2, since I haven't jumped one, and there aren't any at my DZ. I am very pleased with the Pilot though. The Pilot is a first class intermediate category canopy. I am very happy with the openings and the flying. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  14. darkwing
    Is this the standard advice to give if someone finds themselves in a cloud? It is contrary to my views and practice. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  15. darkwing
    I don't think there is a "usual" time. It depends on so many factors. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  16. darkwing
    You have a lot of possibilities. I recommend just copying a fairly simple jumpsuit that you borrow from a friend. There are many fabrics you can use. Look at several jumpsuits and you will see cordura, heavy cotton, polycotton (a blend of polyester and cotton), and supplex (nylon with a feel like cotton), to name just a few. They all have their respective advantages. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  17. darkwing
    That sucks. I'll keep my eyes open for it. ANy chance it could be in South Carolina? It looks like something different than a plain old line twist. What was the deal with it? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  18. darkwing
    Thanks. I remember the '88 dive pool from some time ago, but it wasn't me that had it. Some of the dives in the '79 pool are very fun to do. Round 7, the compressed accordian to a cat is lots of fun. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  19. darkwing
    I have scanned jpeg's of the 1979 dive pool. There are some sweet dives in there. Anyone want them just emai me. They are about 1 MB each, three pages total. Edit to say - I've added them to my "been there" page. Look in the Photo Album section for Divepool. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  20. darkwing

    Skydiver IQ

    darkwing replied to teason's topic in The Bonfire

    I'm a physicist, which means I'm really smart, but I can't get my shoes on the correct foot. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  21. darkwing
    Thanks for the tip. I work for UK customs. I'll be contacting you shortly. (not really, but public declarations of lawbreaking aren't a good practice) -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  22. darkwing
    There are several possible solutions. Bulk and expense enter into the solution though. The best solution so far is cross bracing, which is still not cheap. Another solution would be to make every rib a load bearing rib, which would add a lot of line bulk (and drag), so it isn't done. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  23. darkwing
    Anyone who jumped a lot in the 1970's was effectively jumping under the situation you describe -- no TSO'd gear. It was an interesting time for gear. While in principle the TSO system was essentially the same as it is now, it was essentially never enforced, and there were many manufacturers who produced and sold gear that wasn't TSO'd. I didn't have a TSO'd rig until the 5th rig I bought, and that was late 1970's. While it isn't perfect, I'm not seriously down on the current system. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  24. darkwing
    I don't see the ambiguity in FeFe's rules quote that allows for contact. Could someone please fill me in. It is clear to me that contact is common in competition, I just don't see the slack in the rules. Has everyone, including the judges decided to ignore it? Or is the rule quoted by FeFe no longer in force? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  25. darkwing
    I have about 600 jumps on a spectre 190. I demoed a sabre2-170 and now own a Pilot-168. The sabre2 and the pilot pack a little bit smaller than the larger spectre, but not a lot. It is certainly true that a spectre 170 will pack smaller than a sabre2-170. Generally speaking, a 9-cell will pack bigger than the same square footage of 7-cell canopy. -- Jeff My Skydiving History