darkwing
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Everything posted by darkwing
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I wasn't aware that polarizing lenses were ever yellow. Are there any? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I will concede that my extreme view is just that. I think Kallend's method, which I have seen applied in other sports, is a suitable alternative. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I forget the details, as it was a long time ago. I do remember that it was a surplus 26-foot Navy conical, which was a very popular reserve. I think that it convincingly failed a standard thumb test (i.e. you can push your thumb through the fabric). Anyway, it blew up when he used it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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From my perspective it is extremely unprofessional to leave a student in the plane for a ride down. Your instructor should never have left you alone. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Let me express my fairly extreme view-- There should only be one class. I have never liked giving gold medals to people in second, third, fourth... tiers of competitions. The class breakdown at nationals and other venues is absurd and fosters false senses of accomplishment. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I jumped a Strato Star in 1975 fairly shortly after they came out. Ropes and Rings didn'g last long. I'm guessing less than a year. I did a lot of slider conversions on Strato Stars for a couple of years. I put nearly 500 jumps on my Strato Star, but I'm sure the large majority were slider equipped. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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also ask what price break they will give you if they don't deliver when promised -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Here's my photo contribution... Boise, Idaho, late 1970's. Notice the door of the plane. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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One of the standard guesses for strange damage to the top of a canopy is when some fabric gets pinched between the ring at the base of the bridle and the grommet on the bag. Or it gets snarled up in the loop of bridle created when the pilot chute gets cocked. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Responding to the originally posted question.... The "actual" size of a canopy depends on what rules you use to measure it. It would be a mistake to assume that one person's "actual" measurement would be the same as anothers. On a related note - two copies of the same canopy, from the same manufacturer, built the same day can have significantly different pack volumes. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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2 two-inch tears is very atypical. Definitely get them repaired prior to jumping it again, unless you want 2 ten-foot tears. I am curious about where the tears are? Anywhere near the bridle attachment? Climbed any barbed-wire fences lately? How many jumps on this canopy? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I'd be very concerned about a pack job that resulted in a damaged powertool and pullup cords. I think it very bad advice indeed to suggest that being able to close it makes it OK. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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It sounds like maybe your rig isn't snug against your back. But, as above, I'm a bit unsure on the symptoms you are trying to describe. Perhaps the harness is too big for you. Depending on the details there may be an easy fix, or a hard one. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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You can have the kill line sewn down, so that it isn't collapsable, then it can easily become collapsable if you sell it, or change your mind. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I'm with sparky. I'd add that if I tested the porosity and it came out unaccaptable I would have made a big note on the canopy saying "Not Airworthy for Reserve Use". Ordinarily I wouldn't expect a canopy from 1990 to have porosity problems, unless it had quite a few deployments and/or pack jobs on it. The last time I told a reserve owner that his reserve wasn't airworthy he packed it himself anyway. After he got out of the hospital his lawyer called me. No problem. He wanted to sue the manufacturer of a canopy that two riggers said was worn out, then packed by a non-rigger. Ha Ha. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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sooner or later EVERYONE lands off. There is always an excuse, reason, plenty of blame, etc. Just get comfortable with the notion that IT WILL HAPPEN. Be ready for it. Glad you didn't mess up -- Other than the spot. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Sabre2 openings, which mighty warrior has tamed them
darkwing replied to friflaj's topic in Gear and Rigging
I suspect the opening problems are primarily canopy related, rather than packing related. So people without the problem can't generally claim credit for fixing it. Even if a specific canopy used to have the problem, and doesn't anymore, it can easily be attributed to subtle issues of line trim, etc., rather than packing technique. Note that I said in the first line "primarily" not "exclusively." -- Jeff My Skydiving History -
I used two approaches, either put the slider stop directly on the outboard suspension line, or add a "flare" to the stabilizer, so it becomes long enough to attach a stop. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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History - this is a very old notion. I believe one of the very first squares had this, the para-sled, circa 1970. I know I built a canopy in 1979 that had this feature, and I never believed that I thought of it first. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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Shortly after landing on a 4-way practice jump out of a C-182 I was packing on the lawn in front of the restaurant. Suddenly a big airplane noise, and a second later a thud. The pilot did a low-pass with a hard pull-up as he approached the flagpoles. The step on the pilot's side of the cabin hit the ball on top of the flagpole and knocked it off. It landed about 10 feet from me. The airport owner was really, really mad. We had the ball mounted on a walnut base, with a brass plaque on it. I think we named him "Pilot Error" after that. He was a great guy. I think also he was a bit embarrassed by the misjudgment. This was at Henley Aerodrome, in Athol, Idaho. I'll say circa 1978. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I also prefer the lite version. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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there was a thread about this a few months ago, but I'm too lazy to look. I recall that several people attached their checklists. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I build a very weird canopy called a Stealth. I jumped it once, on 18 May 1980, the day mount St. Helens blew up, but that's another story. 5-cells, 160 sqft, double-humped airfoil. Flew very well. Only made one. sold it to my team-mate for $150 and he put quite a few jumps on it. It may still exist. I hope it does. I should try to find it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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how tall are you and how much do you weigh? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
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I can't imagine that the Shrike used 550. There were plenty of alternatives available even then. Assorted braided dacron was widely available. -- Jeff My Skydiving History