darkwing

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Everything posted by darkwing

  1. darkwing
    I'm hard pressed to think that you should do anything other than what the manufacturer says. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  2. darkwing
    I jump a Pilot 168 that I load significantly higher than you. I think it likely that there is some relatively minor problem with your flare technique that can be fixed. The first thing that comes to mind is that you are letting yourself touch down before you have completed your flare stroke, and you think you are done flying the canopy. The real answer is to have an instructor, watch, and hopefully video your landings. In my view, one of the most common errors among low timers is an incomplete flare stroke, or letting up on the toggles before you and the canopy are stopped. Keep us posted. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  3. darkwing
    I don't know how Neptunes calculate, but ProTracks allow you to select either true air speed (TAS) or skydiver air speed (SAS). SAS is always slower than TAS, and it can be much slower. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  4. darkwing
    Just curious why you refer to it as a "nightmare"? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  5. darkwing
    The beer rules evolved some time well after I started jumping, which was 1973. It wasn't until I started jumping in 2001 after a long layoff that I ever encountered them. I'm sure it grew from a local, to a regional, to a national phenomenon, but I don't have a sense of the time or place of origin or the rate of spread. I don't drink at all, but would be willing to buy a case if I did some types of infractions. I also wouldn't be apologetic about buying a case of soft drinks. I really like the root beer float idea above too. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  6. darkwing
    It is usually called a no-sew fingertrap. It is easy to do, and pretty handy. Instructions are here -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  7. darkwing
    Your note is somewhat unclear to me, but giving two weeks notice can result in dismissal at the convenience of the employer, for example if they find a replacement quickly, or for other reasons. The real question is did you actually do work that last week? Two weeks notice is not a guarantee of two weeks of work. It is relatively common in some industries for a person to be dismissed immediately upon giving notice. It is actually a protective mechanism for the company. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  8. darkwing
    Just out of curiousity, why don't you want a belly band? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there isn't another fix, but I am curious. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  9. darkwing
    I prefer to maintain some history. I wouldn't update as you suggest, but I'd consider going to a logo that included daVinci's parachute. My real sense is to just stay with what we have though. Think of it as retro-chic. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  10. darkwing
    I'm not up on the state of the art for $20 accelerometers, but there is a butt-load of stuff you have to do with the accelerometer data before it tells you how high you are. You have to integrate a noisy vector function twice, which is even worse than what the air pressure based instruments have to do. I really, really doubt it would work any better, or cheaper. Butg hey, lots of people have been told something wouldn't work, so go ahead and give it a try. At the very least, you would learn a lot, and that is valuable. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  11. darkwing
    I suspect the accuracy limitations for the ProTrack (and similar devices) are related to the pressure fluctuations right next to the falling object, not due to limitations of the device itself. That is why pitot tubes on aircraft extend into clean air to make their measurements. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  12. darkwing
    rather that worry about small number statistics, I concentrate on a simple issue -- breaking strength. There is a clearly definable failure mode, that of linesfrom adjacent stows looping one another, resulting in a bag lock IF the retaining bands don't break. So having a rubber band with significantly lower breaking strength than a tube stoe is a plus here. I believe this line of logic is what would be referred to as "the conventional thought." I am curious though if ANY manufacturers recommend tube stoes over rubber bands. I am often surprised (well, not any more really) when people chime in with "I have done such-and-such for 300 jumps without a problem" when the manufacturer clearly recommends otherwise. One example is what to use to clean and lube cutaway cables. Individual success stories are the same thing that sell penis enlargement products on TV, and they don't work (OK wise guys, I can't say they don't work based on personal experience). -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  13. darkwing
    It is interesting to me that this quite realistic situation is subject to several different interpretations/consequences. I'm surprised that it isn't specifically clear in the rules. It should be. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  14. darkwing
    Pro-dytter has product and customer support second to none. I jump both a ProTrack and a ProDytter. While some Time Out jumpers I know are reasonably pleased with their TimeOuts, those who have transitioned to ProDytter or Track, are happy they did so. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  15. darkwing
    I do it, for the same reason I log all my jumps. It gives me continuity, and milestones to pass. I don't know of anyone who regrets logging too much information. I know many people who wish they had logged more. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  16. darkwing
    Punching someone only results in very transitory satisfaction at best. I'd engage him in conversation to get the story. I wonder if he has ever lost anyone he loves? His comment is kind of like telling a dead baby joke in front of someone who has lost a child. At the very least he needs some sensitivity training. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  17. darkwing
    wait until you get older and lose your flexibility. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  18. darkwing
    I have a Havok, for about 500 jumps now. Previously I had a Z!. My teammate has a FreeZR, which I have tried on. He loves the freeZR, and I would too, if I didn't wear glasses. I have tried many helmets, but with glasses, the havok is better than anything I have tried. If I didn't wear glasses, I'd get a FreeZR. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  19. darkwing
    Here are a couple that came up this past weekend... -- It is warmer up there because warm air rises. -- If jumping at high altitude, just fill a garbage bag with air on the ground and breathe out of the bag at altitude. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  20. darkwing
    Lose some weight you fat bastard! (I can talk to him like that since he is my teammate). Consider getting doubled fabric in the arms, more rigid fabric has more drag. Get a cordura butt, too. It won't make you fall slower, but it will help address the wear problem there. I like a lot about the Michigan suits, but we have had several recent cases of customer dissatisfaction with them. I have a bodysport suit, but have never been happy with it either. Is Wendy going to build suits again, ever? Large (often called competition size) grippers will add drag also. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  21. darkwing
    I think it is a huge mistake to use the "someone on the ground said they heard the airplane overhead" spotting method. It might not have been your airplane they heard. I would not have jumped. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  22. darkwing
    For at least the first decade of my jumping career I was the only person I knew who didn't smoke dope (or drink). I'm not a mormon, just an aberration. I would have had to quit jumping. Even though I don't partake, I am with the posters who lumped it together with drinking beer. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  23. darkwing
    Whatever "other people" say, why not just use what the manufacturer recommends, which is usually the Ace Pure Silicone spray. Just because somebody has "used X for years" doesn't mean it is a good choice. There is absolutely no reason to deviate from the manufacturers recommendations. There are many reasons not to deviate from them. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  24. darkwing
    There is a guy at my DZ who said he'd pay for the base station, and those wanting the individual canopy units could pay for them, and give him a few dollars, say $20-$25 for rescuse involving his base station. Edit: I seem to recall that these devices already exist, but I searched a few months ago and couldn't find them. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  25. darkwing
    Talk to the rigger who packed it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History