sundevil777

The drag due to air resistance is equal to the Coefficient of drag (a number between 0 and 1) times the frontal area (shadow as you put it). The coefficient of drag for an object very much depends on how the object is shaped along the direction of airflow. This is why a long streamlined shape has less air drag than a blunt object with the same frontal area. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I'd take it down to at least 2,500. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The units affected are listed on SSK's website. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Momentum is mass times velocity, not energy. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

If you are in favor of higher fuel efficiency standards, fine, but don't just pick on SUV's. Many of them are more efficient than many cars. I think greenies pick on the 'evil' SUV because they don't like the fact that people like the ego boost they get from their SUV. At least be fair and pick on all vehicles with much bigger engines than needed. Including trucks, vans, and sports cars. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

There was a post a while back, did a quick search but can't find it now, where a guy checked the current draw for various modes of operation. It was pretty clear that turning it off manually was an advantage over leaving it on to automatically shut off hours later (even if you don't drive home with it left on). I think Airtec does not want you to be concerned about the difference in battery life because they don't want you to turn it off and then forget to turn it back on when you decide to make one more jump late in the day. Like they say in the manual, you will still likely get 2 years from the batteries if your rig is staying at the DZ for the 14 hours, but definitely learn how to turn it off before driving home with your rig. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

When Greg Gasson was first doing base jumps early in his jumping career (~mid '80's) he smacked back into a wall and was slightly injured. Because he had to be 'rescued', there was a newspaper story about it. He made the mistake of mentioning how he was going to be in trouble from his mom! He took a lot of shit from the other guys at the DZ (Larry Hill's Wild Horse West) for that. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I also thought it was an accepted fact that Kittenger broke the sound barrier at that altitude, but then I began to learn that the speed of sound is not as low as you might think at that altitude. He got up to about 600mph, right? Well, it turns out that the speed of sound is actually higher at 400,000 feet than at 40,000 feet! Check it out... http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/q0112.shtml I believe it was Winsor that set this straight in a thread a long time ago. Figures that a jet pilot would be more knowledgeable than an old engineer who thought his intuition was infallible. edit to add-I believe the speed of sound is mostly just proportional to the absolute temperature (above absolute zero) without the need to even bring the pressure or density into consideration. I could not believe it at first either. The other links on the referenced site explain it much more completely. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Actually, of course, you can rotate about something other than your C.G. It just takes more than one type of input in order to do it, that was the point I meant to make. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

There are lots of ways to turn, but I think that the extra 'power' of booties are a good idea for more than just forward drive and extra overall lift. I think they are intended to use like rudders as I described. If you can get your body to rotate about something other than your center of gravity, that really is a trick. Your center of gravity may move around in space as you rotate (translate) People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

The reference is to the Mr. Bill and Sluggo cartoon from the old days of Saturday Night Live. You exit with really good grips/leg locks and one person deploys right out the door with a big old main canopy that you don't mind blowing apart, then you get the thrill of a balloon jump without the expense. Now that I think about it, maybe this is a better idea than a balloon jump... People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

There are so many ways of turning. I believe that many of the previous posts are not so helpful because, in part, many are not particularly aware of how they actually turn. What I think everyone wants is to be able to rotate in place without any translation. Pushing your feet out (fore-aft) asymetrically will cause a rotation, but with a large amount of translation with it. Here is what I do, at least I think I do. I came upon this method after I concluded that I wasn't sure how I did turns during the 'heat' of real RW situations, and by watching video of the world champions of many years ago. Using your lower legs (knee to foot) like a rudder by moving them sideways will cause you to rotate with little translation. The booties on RW suits are particularly effective for pushing against the air in this way. A slight shoulder dip along with the lower leg 'rudder' can make a rotation with little to no translation. If others think I am way off base, let's hear your method. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

MLW = Main lift web = the vertical part of your harness that takes all of the load on each side. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Although more difficult to dislodge (of course a good advantage), isn't it still true that fabric or a line can get under the tuck under flap, but can't on the tuck down style? How much of the spring force (~50-70 pounds?) can be needed to unseat the tuck down flap? All of the other 'impeding' forces are common to other rigs. Do you mean to say that 'pin against the back' style rigs such as the racer and reflex are at a disadvantage in this respect, and the same for rigs that position the Cypres cutter under the freebag instead of on top? The manual for my Infinity doesn't say where it should go, only says to follow procedures from Airtec, and I could not find where they specify the location either. What is the location (under/above freebag) for mine and other rigs? The racer and reflex are inherently resistant to the pin being pushed out, but isn't it true that their closing loops have been cut/broken when snagged on a door frame, etc? I don't see how the V3 is not also more vulnerable in this respect than the tuck down style (as you mentioned, of course that is not the only way a rig can get opened when dragging against the door). Apart from the slight drag to pull out the tuck down flap, isn't it possible and wouldn't it be best to have both the tuck down and tuck under flap (only the tuck down would be visible)? Of course you have a better perspective on the relative risks than I. This is an just one of those 'gear & rigging' topics that really gets me thinking, and wanting to know more. Thanks, Cliff People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I just think the experience, and the feedback would be different for an unplanned malfunction. He aleady has plenty of feedback from test jumpers. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Is there any possibility it will be licensed to other manufacurers? Hook, for the feedback to be useful, the cutaway should not be planned in advance. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

I don't use one. I have pulled my own spare 3 times, high speed, low speed and total mal. However, in my opinion, the choice to not use an RSL for the ordinary (not CRW or camera) jumper is not justified by a logical examination of the risks. Even for those jumping high performance canopies. In my opinion, those of us who choose not to use an RSL should not pretend that our position is totally rational. Even a Cypres, which is a countermeasure for the no reserve pull when a cutaway is high enough, does not help like an RSL for the low cutaway scenario (it doesn't matter why you might cutaway low - it does happen). So, to summarize: some of our decisions are not completely logical (meaning it is somewhat emotional), and we should just accept that people will weigh the relative risks differently. What is really important is not trying too hard to convince new jumpers to come to the same conclusion. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Although not too relevant for the average jumper, isn't it true that serious RW teams do not look at their visual altimeters to determine breakoff? Of course they may be confirming the validity of their audible warning/lack of warning with their experienced sense of altitude from their calibrated eyes. However I think that the best teams stay devoted without distraction until they get their audible warning. If everyone has one set to the same altitudes, the chance of screwing up is pretty low. Then again, remember the 4-way team that were all saved by their Cypres? I wonder if they all used audibles? People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

They are only good for advertisement/decoration. I remember an earlier post from a respected rigger claiming that those type of pull-ups being very bad for the life of your closing loop. I think the description was "cuts like a knife". It is easy for me to accept this assertion. I think that the outer sheath by itself - of old gutted 550 line makes the best pull-up cord, but it is hard to put an ad on it. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

What is the universal signal for "you are f***ed"? People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Are you saying that elastic keepers are bad also? How do you secure the extra length of your chest strap? Tying it in a knot could be advocated as a countermeasure for the accidental misrouted chest strap (it would not matter then), but I don't think it is good for the long term strength of the webbing. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

SAS Because comparisons are more valid. Where did you get the idea that the freefall time would be affected? People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

One more reason that is important for the ego, wallet, and your ability to jump again quickly: Disconnect it anytime you are jumping in high winds and might need to chop to not be dragged across the ground. It is embarrasing enough to need to chop without having it pop your spare. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

Thanks everyone for your input. I now agree that the strength in 'shear' is too great for cutaway pillows, etc. However I think I will try it, it will only take a little, for my toggles and old style velcro slider 'collapsible' wrap-around strap (of course the newer pull-string style is better). The velcro on this strap even snags the fabric on my slider. I'll be careful, thanks again. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

But we should make them get about 20 wraps of duct tape around their ankles Gear is just way too good for students now, we should use things like this to make them suffer. People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am