darkwing

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Everything posted by darkwing

  1. darkwing
    Here are our shirts. You might have a contest for the design, and just have the t-shirt people fix up the art a bit if necessary. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  2. darkwing
    See what you can find out about Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick. A pioneer in the sport. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  3. darkwing
    I have generally preferred to remove the main. I have a rigger buddy who prefers that the main is left in. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  4. darkwing
    Living at 5,000 feet gives you an advantage. I hope that sea-level visitors are encouraged to use O2, rather than succumb to the peer pressure of the locals. 17,500 is definitely a problem for many people, certainly me, even young, healthy ones. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  5. darkwing
    Helicopter = the two sides of the canopy flying in opposite directions. i.e., spinning (not turning) around an axis roughly through the canopy center. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  6. darkwing
    Do you mean the face shield only, or also the hinged part that included the chin guard? I am sure the face shield comes off completely (as I have replaced mine). Not sure about removing the rest, although I'm sure you can do it, I'm just not sure that what remains would be useful, comfortable, etc. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  7. darkwing
    As long as you are clear as to when you start the altitude clock ticking I can't complain much, but as stated previously, I think line stretch to open is a better measurement. I think that you are realistically looking at 500-700 feet opening when measured by more conventional means. This does not seem problematic to me. If you want it to open faster you might contact PD and ask what effect altering the brake setting might have. There is no automatic answer to how this will alter openings in general. I love my spectre. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  8. darkwing
    Generally I would only expect (hope?) for one person to come for me. Unless there is a reason to expect that there was a problem we wouldn't mobilize the forces. I'd be interested in hearing from others at the DZ. I'd ask them-- 1) Did you know anyone landed off 2) Did you know that someone went to get them 3) Would you ordinarily send more than one person out to fetch off-landers? 4) what else... I understand you may be irritated, but I'd get the story from others before I condem them. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  9. darkwing
    It is the E thread that pretty much dictates the needle size you need, not the 3 layers. #18-#20 is pretty commonly used for sewing with E. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  10. darkwing
    You can add booties later if you want. I'd say don't get them initially. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  11. darkwing
    I interpreted the question more as USPA being a clearinghouse for waivers, but the other response addressed the difficulty with that issue anyway. Waivers are too "personalized" to each DZ to be subject to the clearinghouse mode. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  12. darkwing
    Winsor, sorry, but v^2/c^2 is not a mismatch of vector and scalar. the v^2 is v.v, the dot product, which is a scalar quantity. Einstein had it under control. Physics guy is out. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  13. darkwing
    on the page that acknowledges a modification to a DZ listing -- "Your modification will be reviewed and your listing updated as soon as possible. This normally happends within 24 hours. Please check back in a day." The word "happens" is misspelled. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  14. darkwing
    My answer is "No". The volume of a canopy depends on more factors than that, as implied by the way it is actually measured (as mentioned above). Different rolls of the "same" fabric can pack differently. Minor tension differences, or seams sewn by different people can result in volume changes. While you could get an answer using your method, it wouldn't be as good as actually measuring it. One thing that most jumpers don't have a grasp of is how much a canopy can deviate from the stated pack volume. This can be due to humidity, packing method, number of jumps on the canopy, and other factors. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  15. darkwing
    I am pretty much just a belly flyer, but I think it is far more more myth than fact that your jumpsuit restricts reasonable activity in a discipline other than its designed discipline. The jumpsuits that were used for RW a few years ago looked pretty much like freefly suits do now. Buy a freefly suit, and don't be afraid to do some RW in it. I'm not afraid to do some freeflying in my RW suit--all I do is rubber-band the booties into a wad at ankle level. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  16. darkwing
    To launch a straight diamond we would have #1 (the person out on the strut) be the point. The guy sitting on the strut would be the left wing. The center guy would be right wing, and the tail of the diamond would be the guy in the door. As always, timing is critical. The point must pick up the count. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  17. darkwing
    try this thread -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  18. darkwing
    A long time ago at the nationals 4-way was out of Cessna 182's. My team pretty much launched each first formation. The general set up is -- 1) point is layed out as far on the strut as he can get. On formations where this person is facing the center he doesn't stretch out, but faces forward or slightly inside. 2) The person who would now be called "inside-center" is sitting on the strut with their back to the wind. Right foot on top of the strut near the base of the strut. 3) center person on step directly in front of and facing #2 4) Right foon on the step, left foot wherever. Facing slightly aft of the wing-line. Of course there are variations dictated by the needs of each formation you are trying to launch. I'd recommend you just pull the same thing off until you get things going well, then you can get tricky and unfold a cat and such. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  19. darkwing
    Talk with your instructors. They will probably be conservative (as they should) initially, and let you progress as fast as the skills you demonstrate on jumps allow. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  20. darkwing
    There is no clear line that defines "current" except the fairly artificial USPA license currency requirements. Too many variables. I'd recommend jumping as much as you can, and if it is 3 a month, try to make them on the same day. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  21. darkwing
    How about mylar? Is it used to make clear parts on sails for boats and boards? -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  22. darkwing
    PD also recommends F-111. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  23. darkwing
    The open space helps keep the formation fall rate up. Also, a hard hit on a whacker is less disruptive to the rest of the formation. I do miss the days of big, solid, pretty formations though. Nothing like an 81-way jewel for esthetic appeal. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  24. darkwing
    The rules are pretty simple--you must jump it and it must open properly. Don't forget the blind part either. -- Jeff My Skydiving History
  25. darkwing
    depending on the nature of the repair I don't see why you should restrict yourself to those with paracommander repair experience. Have you tried your friendly local rigger? Just our of curiousity, what is wrong with it? -- Jeff My Skydiving History