EvilGenius

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    103

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by EvilGenius

  1. EvilGenius
    The SIFE folks haven't got their X-fires yet so I only managed to test a crossfire 3, they say they will have them by the Flanders Boogie.
  2. EvilGenius
    That is an excellent point, I just checked and SIFE will be bringing the X-Fire with them. This means I can check out both the X-Fire and the Crossfire 3 at the Adventure Boogie next week....result! Suppose I'd better check out one of those bargain basement Katana's sometime soon as well. ;-)
  3. EvilGenius
    Got to admit that looks like a lot of fun....I've asked Icarus if they do demos!
  4. EvilGenius
    Recommended wing-loading 1.4-2.4! http://www.icaruscanopies.aero/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=131&Itemid=675
  5. EvilGenius
    So a couple of year pass and we now have two Schuemanny planform non-crossbraced canopies with inflatable stabilizers, the Tesla (Fluid Wings) and the X-Fire (Icarus). Seems odd that neither PD or NZ aerosports seem to be in a hurry to start down this path, any ideas what's going on? Has anybody out there flow one of these and a Katana, I'd love to know how they stack up? p.s. Pretty sure the crossfire 3 doesn't have these characteristics
  6. EvilGenius
    Wait, what?! You mean that wasn't a rhetorical question....seriously?
  7. EvilGenius
    I've started to see SIFE rigs turning up at my local DZ's, they're an Austrian company and the price seems competitive. I'm no rigger so can't comment on any technical aspects but they look good. Still, I couldn't trade my Vector for anything! ;-)
  8. EvilGenius
    Slightly more on topic! I've have about 100 jumps with Vectran lines on my Sabre 2 and a few 100 with Spectra before that. Excluding the weird stuff that happens towards the end of the Spectra line-sets lifetime I haven't really noticed a massive difference in terms of opening. I chose Vectran simply because it was in stock!
  9. EvilGenius
    Hi MEL, Thanks for posting it's really interesting, I hadn't though about lines from a chemistry POV before. Since HMA rather than being a specific material can be any of a class of materials "para-aramids" with brand names such as Kevlar®, Twaron®, and Technora®. I wonder if manufacturers are using the same fibers e.g. Technora and just naming things different or if they are using structurally different materials e.g. Kevlar? Maybe it's neither and they are using generic equivalents, if such a thing exists? Thanks! Stuff about rope/line materials http://www.animatedknots.com/rope2.php#lcap
  10. EvilGenius
    Or you could learn to sit-fly! More seriously, time and practice will make all things possible.
  11. EvilGenius
    I think the category of wings goes more like this... Category 5 PD: Velocity, Comp Velocity NZ Aerosports: JVX, JFX Fluid Wings: Helix, Airwolf Category 6 PD: Peregrine, Valkyrie NZ Aerosports: Petra, Leia, Sofia Fluid Wings: HK, HK Terminal, HS Fluid wings also have this nice chart http://www.fluidwings.com/wings
  12. EvilGenius
    Going to get even worse if NZ Aerosports release the Crossfire-X they've been teasing us about! Still want to try the X-fire and the Tesla though! :-)
  13. EvilGenius
    Hey, If you're allowed to, stand in the tunnel door, stick one leg in at a time and try to feel the wind. My instructor gave me this tip when I was learning to sit-fly and it really drove home the importance of 'pushing heels down'/'pulling toes up. Seriously without this tension your leg is just plain floppy and pretty useless. As a bonus this is also free! ;-)
  14. EvilGenius
    There are some impressions here... http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4832464;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread
  15. EvilGenius
    Thank you sir, very interesting!
  16. EvilGenius
    Forgive my ignorance but can anyone explain the purpose of the pause before the 180 snap? I see a (well two!) pause(s), albeit slightly shorter in this video, so it seems to be a desirable component of a swoop? https://www.facebook.com/Voldhooker/videos/10211344267065683/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE Glad to say the vid is on topic being a 630 right handed approach! ;-)
  17. EvilGenius
    Yeah, I've been checking out their write ups and vids and it sounds great. As nice as the fluid wings guys seem it would be good to have an independent take on things. I'm hoping for Katana like performance without the exciting openings!
  18. EvilGenius
    Kinda interested to hear about this wing?
  19. EvilGenius
    Jumpsuits are overrated! Take a look at this video a cheap, stylish solution with zero risk of getting your handles covered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q_FNoRsdoQ Of course the most important point is to rock some funky socks for extra style points.
  20. EvilGenius
    The Crossfire 3 has its own page now http://www.nzaerosports.com/canopies/icarus-crossfire3/
  21. EvilGenius
    I don't study aerodynamics but as a Chemical Engineer I study heat transfer which is similar. This wind velocity gradient caused by friction/drag between the air and the ground is called a Prandtl or boundary layer. The wind speed varies logarithmically (which solves the cyclic issue of a sine wave) with height, stationary at the ground and reaching a maximum velocity (fully wind speed?) at the upper limit of the boundary layer, this layer can be anywhere between 50-300m thick (150-1000 ft). Since wind shear is change in wind speed/height the wind shear gets bigger the closer you get to the ground where the rate at which the velocity drops off quickest. So yeah it seems reasonable that as you're diving through increasing slower air your canopy will be decelerated by that slower air and generate lift. Above the boundary layer as long as there are no other weird atmospheric wind gradients then the canopy shouldn't care what the ground speed is.
  22. EvilGenius
    Great drawings, to me that sums up the wind shear effect perfectly!
  23. EvilGenius
    Get the magnet strength wrong and you'll either get bag-lock or bag-strip, then again you can say the same things about elastic bands. Fully stowless bag are very convenient and the one I use has a decade of usage and many happy customers. Now just for fun here is a video of mega powerful magnets destroying stuff......the sausage crushing really makes me squirm! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHhk8Atatp0
  24. EvilGenius
    Wind resistance, drag, affects the canopy cycle but it does so irrespective of your heading relative to the ground. The canopy is trimmed to a certain equilibrium (glide ratio), any input will disturb that equilibrium and depending on the specifics of the system (including drag on it's different components) the response can be a smooth return to the normal or a series of overshoots. This pendulum effect doesn't explain the fact you're coming out high (which I've noticed too btw) but I don't buy into your hypothesis of "turning into the headwind", the canopy "doesn't care about groundspeed". Explanations such as a different sight picture and slower windspeeds at low vs. high altitudes (wind shear) seem correct but I wonder if it's more to do with your setup.....if you're crabbing at 45 degrees on your base-leg and doing a 90 relative to the ground then aren't you actually doing a 45 and that's why we're coming out high? [Edit: we're coming out high not you are!]
  25. EvilGenius
    It's true, at the Belgium dropzones the fully magnetic mPOD is one of, if not the most, popular bag being jumped. I even tried to replicate the hand-shock test in the video and in my case at least it was super solid.