darkwing

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Everything posted by darkwing

  1. darkwing
    I'm very skeptical of the Baby Wipes suggestion. They contain substances that can't be desirable to have on your rig, if for no other reason than that they will collect dirt, dry out, etc. I'm pretty sure my rig doesn't need any aloe, for example. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  2. darkwing
    Holding a control line at shoulder level is a major turn. Assuming the lines are OK this could be a symptom of a torn rib, which often is not otherwise evident. Definitely have this canopy checked out. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  3. darkwing
    There is no useful rule here, it varies a lot from person to person, and even varies for a single individual. Certainly being a smoker is a significant negative factor though. I am pretty attuned to my own symptoms, and will d a go- around at altitute (14,000) here at sea level, but at a higher DZ, Lost Prairie for example, I would ride the plane down probably. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  4. darkwing
    I agree with the poster who said that playing the "hope my canopy opens fast" game is a bad choice. I believe you should have bailed out 90 degrees to the tracking direction for a couple of seconds, then pulled. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  5. darkwing
    Actually DZ.com is also a good place to find oldsters. Often those who have fallen off of the USPA radar screen are still known by others here. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  6. darkwing
    maybe a weather balloon. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  7. darkwing
    The generic advice to this is to pop it, store it in a clean, loose fitting bag, in a climate controlled place. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  8. darkwing
    I suspect the reason is partly historical and partly engineering. Polyester has superior UV resistance, but the UV resistance of the thread is not the limiting factor on the overall UV degradation of the canopy. The fabric is the weak link there. Polyester also has different elongation parameters than nylon, and the relative stretchiness of the thread and fabric is an important part of the overall strength of a seam. I don't recall the relative breaking strength of same-sized nylon and polyester, but that may be another factor. Economics may also play a role--I don't know the cost of polyester compared to nylon. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  9. darkwing
    If I recall correctly I was able to re-do the suspension lines and finger trap them, without replacing the entire line set--just remove the shrink-wrap, and sewing. I also recall that I made an educated guess about the size of the slider and it seemed to be OK. If I was to do it again, I'd probably make the slider width consistent with modern canopies of the same span, and I'd make the chord a bit bigger. You might also consider a domed or pocket slider. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  10. darkwing
    I would add that if you know of someone who did that, you should tell them that several very knowledgeable riggers said it is a very bad idea. I can just hear Bill Booth's response to this, ringing in my head right now... -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  11. darkwing
    have you tried their web site, which has email and phone numbers? here -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  12. darkwing
    Be careful everyone. Fox Force Four are the love slaves of team Critical Mass. Just ask the Foxes. They'll admit it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  13. darkwing
    If you want it to stay original equipment condition that is fine, but if you want to jump it, I'd put a slider on it. It might require some reworking of the lines to fingertrap them if they have those little half-knots on them at the junctions. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  14. darkwing
    There is something to be said for the placebo effect. I'm also sure you will agree that they make a difference, the only question you ask is how much of a difference. I think it would be pretty easy to make drag measurements in the back of a pickup truck. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  15. darkwing
    I suspect that many local riggers make them. No real tricks are required. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  16. darkwing
    All other issues notwithstanding, I believe that skydiving would die a bureaucratic death at the hands of the FAA if USPA did not exist. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  17. darkwing
    Fewer syllables. Also, earlier ram-airs tended to be much closer to square in shape than current models. That is, the earlier ones had a lower aspect ratio. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  18. darkwing
    Actually I think you might find that many old timers (including me) often remark on missing belly bands. I just preferred the way it held the rig in place. Even in cases where the rig fits well it was a nice thing. I'm fairly sure a retrofitted belly band would be cheaper than the modification to the harness required to fix the problem in the ad photo. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  19. darkwing
    I still say that the following quotes from FAR part 105 make it clearly illegal... "Reserve parachute means an approved parachute worn for emergency use to be activated only upon failure of the main parachute or in any other emergency where use of the main parachute is impractical or use of the main parachute would increase risk." "Use of single-harness, dual-parachute systems. No person may conduct a parachute operation using a single-harness, dual-parachute system, and no pilot in command of an aircraft may allow any person to conduct a parachute operation from that aircraft using a single-harness, dual-parachute system, unless that system has at least one main parachute, one approved reserve parachute, and one approved single person harness and container that are packed as follows..." -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  20. darkwing
    The FAA regulations clearly prohibit it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  21. darkwing
    I used two or three logbooks that were just bound, small size plain notebooks. They are very nice for accommodating for lots or little commentary. I used them to write notes about boogie happenings, road trips related to jumping, in addition to logging the jumps themselves. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  22. darkwing
    Not to mention the legalities (it is not legal to do it). I wouldn't do it without a back-up. Probably related to why I don't BASE jump. Sure I trust my reserve, but I don't think it is perfect. I don't ever WANT to be down to 1 canopy, but I am willing to assume the risk of my current method. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  23. darkwing
    I too am very enthusiastic about the Pilot. I demoed a Sabre2 170, and ended up buying a Pilot 168. It is better in every respect so far-- openings, landings, and in between. If my next 4 jumps are malfunctions I may change my tune. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  24. darkwing
    Hey, A couple of us are driving from South Carolina. Anyone interested in a ride? We just need one rider to share gas and driving. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  25. darkwing
    It wasn't asked for. And it is overkill for a rigger to repack a main. When I was a more active rigger, my time was better spent on things that required my training, skill, and judgement. Packing mains is none of those. -- Jeff My Skydiving History