murrays

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Everything posted by murrays

  1. Glad to hear from someone with firsthand knowledge of 10.3. I already placed my order but it's good to hear that you like it. In your experience, what are the major improvements? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  2. Chuck, Amazon.com is where I got mine. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  3. Thanks to all the help and advice I got from so many of you in my various threads I made my first Bird-Man flight earlier this evening. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. We are having some absolutely glorious fall weather. Today was about 21 celsius or 70 fahrenheit and the temperature at altitude was 10 degs celsius. All week long I couldn't get out to jump in the late afternoon/early evenings while everybody else was out leaping. Today was finally my day to skydive. During the week our club uses a little grass strip close to the city. It is skydiving at its most basic....an airplane, a tarp to pack on and some skydivers. As I had loaned my suit to a club member to jump on Wednesday I had to wait for it to arrive and made a jump before it arrived. Finally, it was time to get the wingsuit on and skydive. My friend with the previous BirdSuit jumps helped me get the rig on, checked my gear over, related the instruction that he received at Lost Prairie...and I got into the aircraft. It was funny, I had been very nervous during the day but I was very calm in the aircraft. The first two people left, I got out on the wheel in a poised exit, geeked the pilot and another jumper who was going to follow me out, and stepped off with my leg wing closed and my arm wings closed. Nice and stable, opened the leg wing first, then the arm wings, and then started to get flying! I watched as the jumper who had followed me out fell away...it was like he was falling and I wasn't. Tracked ahead for a while, listened to the changes in sound as I tried different things. Did one practice pull. That went so well I didn't bother with any more. Started flying again, turned to the right and tried to get it on! Too soon I looked over to see the needle getting close to 5,000'. I closed my leg wing, brought in my arms, arched for a couple of seconds, threw the p/c, and was greeted with a brisk opening under my trusty old PD150. No line twists. Undid my arm zippers, turned the canopy back towards the strip, unsnapped and unzipped my leg zippers, and then had a bit of a struggle getting my booties off. Flew around, enjoying the cool, wonderful fall air, landed beside the tarp and shook hands with everybody as they related their beer preferences to me Unfortunately, I had to head for home right away, but the beer will be purchased sometime this weekend. My fallrate, according to my Protrack, was in the high 50's and low 60's when I wasn't practicing pulling or getting ready to pull. I had 45 seconds of freefall from 9,300' and being in the saddle at 4800', a distance fallen of 4,500'. Once again, thanks to everybody for all the help and advice. It's not easy doing something like this up here in the sticks and your help is very much appreciated. Now, if the other guys suits would just arrive so that we can start Flatland Flocking together Blue skies everybody, -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  4. Thanks Wags. That makes sense. I understand the reason for the conversion factor,,,just didn't expect the view to be so small. This was the first time I've looked through a digital SLR viewfinder. I think that I'll sit on the sidelines until the conversion factor is 1....and the price is $999 US. I don't think I'll have to wait too much longer...maybe 2 years at the outside. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  5. So, we have been jumping everyday after work here in Saskatoon.....well, we meaning the club, I haven't been able to get out.....and I loaned my Birdsuit (that I haven't jumped yet) to a fellow club member to jump. He is waiting for his GTI to arrive and has done some previous flights at Lost Prairie so I wasn't worried about loaning it to him. (I also figured I'd let him be the_First_ to jump a wingsuit in Saskatchewan and buy beer.) The attached files are video captures of his climbout and exit. He said it was no problem at all to get out on the step. I think he was rock solid throughout the exit and seeing these is very helpful to me. I can hardly wait!!!! Tomorrow should be my day if our glorious fall weather holds up. Will let you know how it goes. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  6. I stopped in to look at a 300D today while on my lunchbreak. It seems like a pretty solid camera to me. The lens flange looks good and solid and the polycarbonate body would be very tough....imo. It's a larger camera than I expected. The 18-55 lens is larger than I thought it would be but overall it isn't terribly heavy. I think it would be a very good freefall camera. I find the image in the viewfinder seems small compared to a film slr which might bother my 51 year old eyes when using it on the ground but a viewfinder is way better than trying to take pictures in bright daylight using the lcd screen. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  7. It was a great day...the Braves and Yankees BOTH lost. Hopefully this trend continues and they are both gone in the first round. Kerry Wood was outstanding tonight. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  8. Triathlons have a pretty good reputation...read the gear reviews. I've put a few jumps on a 175 and 160 that our club bought for students to use transitioning to smaller canopies and quite liked them. They can be purchased for somewhat less than a comparable PD canopy. If you watch the classifieds you'll see Tris without a lot of jumps for $500-700. You can get them serviced by Aerodyne International...the new name after the merger. The contact person that our club had inspect the triathlons we bought is Cliff Dobson - who has been around nearly forever and gave us excellent service. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  9. POwermac G5 with a 23" Apple Cinema Display....and a 17" Powerbook for roadtrips. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  10. Definitely...hate both of them. Red Sox - Cubs World Series? The sad thing would be that one would lose and continue their streak. Pedro Martinez vs Kerry Wood...that I'd like to see. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  11. Andy, Is there somebody else with a Cameye around so that you could try their Cameye with your camera and determine if it is the Cameye for sure? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  12. Not me. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  13. Two guys from our club up here in Saskatoon are competing...Jay Beavis and Collin SInclair...any word on how they are doing would be much appreciated. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  14. After realizing my mistake I called my rigger and he built me a new p/c with the longer bridle and I'm sending him back the one he made me. It was a standard one so he will just sell it or put it in a rig he builds. I just feel that I will put everything in my favour as much as I can. I just got back from another rigger friend's house and we converted my Racer to BOC from pull-out. So, equipment-wise I'm good to go when the new p/c arrives. Thanks for the advice on the legs Kim. I've read the manual and will do so again a couple more times before making a jump. Two of the guys at our dz did birdman jumps at Lost Prairie (and promptly ordered GTIs which still haven't arrived) and they have passed on the instructions that they got at LP. So, i don't feel like I'm doing this completely on my own. I'm really looking forward to making my first flight...but am also a bit puckered about it...but that's ok, it shows I'm approaching this with the respect it deserves. The suit arrived today from Skydive Deland. It fits like a glove...a pretty tight glove! I definitely won't be doing any cold weather jumping in it as there's no room for any extra clothes. I'm good to go if we get some jumpable weather up here...will let you all know how it goes. Thanks again everybody for all the advice and help.
  15. This will be my first wingsuit jump. I plan on arching with legs together for a while to bleed off some forward speed, then pulling and bringing both arms back in to reduce the burble. The bridle that was made for me is 80" p/c to pin. Doesn't seem like much but I think I will get the recommended length just to ensure a safe skydive. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  16. Sure wish I had asked this earlier, I'll have to send it back and get a longer one. Thanks, -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  17. I just received my new kill line throwout bridle that I bought to convert my old Racer to BOC for wingsuit jumps. Is the recommended bridle length 100 inches from pilot chute base to pin or 100 inches overall? Thanks, -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  18. Grab, pull, toss. I just pull and throw as hard as I can. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  19. Al MacDonald, the owner of Flying High Manufacturing Inc., the builder of the Sidewinder TSO'd container did this for us after I explained the problem and asked him if he could come up with a way to put a practice pull holder closer to the backpad where it wouldn't move as much as the BOC pouch. It should be easy to do on nearly any student rig. Will let everyone know how it works. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  20. This has been a topic of much discussion in our little club. We just ordered a new rig and it has a small pocket for the practice pull material (we use rolled up newspapers) right next to the back pad. We are hoping that this will make it easier for people to locate by not moving around as much. Murray -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  21. Nice looking kitty Michele.....and a lucky kitty to find the right person. We have two calicos that we found in my dad's garage when they were about 10 days old. Tiny little things. They are great cats now. Did you know that calicos are almost always female? If you find a male calico it will likely be sterile...if it isn't they are quite valuable....according to our vet. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  22. I'm interested in why you and Ray are not jumping camera, even a sidemount with the Bird suits.....my guess is that the large burble makes a pilot chute/helmet interaction just a little too likely. Is that it? -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  23. But, he said he wanted a computer! No, He said he wanted a Dell. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  24. The 1983 World Cup Meet was held in Claresholm, Alberta and, this will likely surprise you, the Canadian Team won both 4 and 8 way. Here's a link to the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association's website page listing Canadian medal winners at World Competitions. Interesting items for note...one of the 1985 4 and 8 way Canadian Team members that won Silver and Bronze respectively is Neal Houston...most recently seen with Airspeed. Ah yes, the days when our teams received a ton of government funding and Canada was a powerhouse in the RW world. Those days are long gone and the people representing Canada basically pay for everything out of their own pockets. Unfortunately...nobody with pockets deep enough to compete at the world level. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey
  25. I would like to add that those of us on the ground when Jeff opened thought it was a very loud opening. Short and abrupt. Unfortunately, I didn't take a very close look at the lines on his main after it was recovered. -- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey