freakflyer9999

First let me say that I haven't jumped any of the canopies on your list other than the Navigator. I am a large guy. About 295 out the door and just recently demoed a Navigator 280, which would put my wing loading at 1.05:1. I found the Navigator to be very responsive at this loading. It had plenty of flare and by using a two stage flare I was able to get a short surf on a straight in approach. I suspect with a little effort that I could get it to surf even more, yet be easily recoverable in the case of a slight pilot error. I would think that the Navigator would make a great transition canopy in smaller sizes. I did find that the Navigator had higher front riser pressure than the various 7 cell canopies (Omega, Triathlon, Spectre) that I've jumped. FYI. The majority of my experience is on either a PD Sabre or an Icarus Omega, though I have also jumped the Triathlon and the Spectre all at wing loadings between 1.10 to 1.30.

Turn it in to your insurance. If they think that they can collect from him, they will pursue. It is their job.

I've bought and sold over $10,000 worth of gear on the internet. As the seller, I've never once required money upfront and as the buyer, I've never hesitated to send money first. So far I haven't been burned. I did return a harness/container once that didn't fit me and since this was just one of two items I purchased for a lump sum, we had a slight disagreement over the value of the item I returned. We settled the problem amiably. Good Luck & Blue Skies

Though I respect fear, I personally enjoy it. I love the taste of adrenaline in my mouth after the car in front of me slams on their brakes. Sometimes I can trigger the adrenaline, just by thinking about a time when I experienced fear. A few weeks ago, while headed to the DZ, I got that queasy, uneasy pit of the stomach feeling about jumping that day. I'm not sure that I would call it fear, but it is certainly similar. I think that there were several things that made this weekend different. I'm just returning to the sport after a 5 year layoff and have around 10 current jumps. The winds were up a little and I was planning on jumping a demo canopy. Before I made it to the DZ I had decided not to jump that day and didn't. Went back this past weekend and didn't hesitate to make a couple of jumps. The only difference being the winds were much calmer. As for how I deal with it. I tend to face it head on. I try to identify the reasons for it and then make logical decisions about the relevant risk of the contributing factors behind those reasons. I was much more comfortable with only one extra risk factor, the demo canopy, instead of multiple. KG

Scumbags that rip off other people's works.

Call 1800SKYRIDE. They'll fix ya up.

Thanks to everyone for the info. I think that I will change the canopy to my risers before jumping it. As I said before this is a demo canopy that came on mini-risers from PD. I would never consider jumping mini-risers routinely. I wish that they had asked me before they shipped it to me on the mini-risers. I clearly stated my weight on the demo request form.

Are there weight limits on mini-risers? I just received a PD Navigator 280 demo canopy on mini-risers with Slinks. I've seen numbers on the Slinks that indicate they are even stronger than standard links, but I've always heard that mini-risers should not be used by large jumpers. My exit weight is around 300 lbs.

I came up with -2.4 also, using the solving function in my pen. 2A/3 = 8 + 4A 3*2A/3 = (3*8) + (3*4A) (Mulitply both sides by 3) 2A = 24 + 12A 2A - 12A = 24 + 12A - 12A (Subtract 12A from both sides) -10A = 24 -10A/-10 = 24/-10 (Divide both sides by -10) A = -2.4 This isn't the only way to solve it, but it gets there. Good luck on the GED and don't stop there. Education is worth it. Blue Skies.

A friend of mine pitched in a full track several years ago while at Quincy. He got a free ride to the hospital when it split his pelvis.

I have a Time-Out Evolution 2000 that can be adjusted to different pitches. I too have hearing loss in the high frequency area, so I adjusted it down some.

Jump 55 and then 2 weeks later on jump 65.

And why don't you get one of your buddies to land a Mr. Bill with you. And Oh, don't forget NAKED too. And try to actually land on stage too.

One year if it is not done under a doctor's supervision. I've been wanting a tatoo, but I've resisted because I feel that it is much more important to donate blood routinely. I've considered getting the tat anyway and not telling the Blood Donor Center, but of course I run a slight risk of passing on an illness to one of the kids who get my platelets. The majority of the platelets donated at my donor center go to a local children's hospital where they treat cancer patients.

Please consider donating again as soon as possible. As you are aware, your blood type is the universal donor. All others regardless of blood type can use your blood type.

This is another reason that I donate platelets instead of whole blood. I receive all of my red blood cells back, therefore preserving my bodies ability to carry oxygen. Of course if I'm injured within a day or two of donating platelets then I would have a slightly more difficult time stopping any bleeding should I be injured.

WHAT? I worked for the Long Island Blood Centers for 6 months back in 1994. I had been a long-time donor, and needed a part-time job, so I telemarketed for them. They put us through two weeks of training about calling, and about the technical aspects of blood donation. Unless things have changed, they took out LESS than a pint of platelets at each donation; one could not donate anything more than one unit; and the period between donations was half that of the normal 56 days for whole blood donations -- 28 days. Where on earth were you donating that they let you give so much so often? -Jeffrey Obviously things have changed. Your body regenerates the platelets within 24 hours. In emergency situations you can actually donate every 24 hours. Two weeks is the standard waiting period as long as they return all of your red blood cells. Your body needs the 8 week cycle to regenerate red blood cells. I've been trying to donate every two weeks for about 4-5 years. Sometimes I've been unable to because of either illness, dental work or just plain laziness. I've averaged between 12 and 15 donations per year though. I just looked at my certificates that they send me annually. In 2000 I made 10 platelet donations and 1 whole blood. The certificate says I was at 3 gallons then. My last donation was 3 weeks ago. I hit 18 gallons with that donation and received my 18 gallon pin. You are right that a unit of platelets is not exactly a pint. They measure platelets by weight and equate each unit to a 1 pint donation. During the process of apherisis they draw significantly more than a pint to extract a unit of platelets, but they return the red blood cells back to you.

I just recently hit 18 gallons of blood donations. I give platelets which you can give much more frequently than whole blood and usually they can take more than one unit at a time. Generally speaking I try to donate 2-3 units every other week or so. Last month, I actually gave a whole gallon in 1 month, 2 triples and a double donation.

Ingenious way to get around the no advertising in the forums rule!

There is a sticky thread at the top of the Gear and Rigging forum that lists manufacturers and their DZ.com contact. Many of the manufacturers have used gear for sale. Give them a try. Also don't rule out having a rig modified to fit you. I recently purchased a used Vector that was the right size to fit my canopies, but I needed the harness replaced. Relative Workshop gave me a really quick turnaround (< 10 days) on replacing the harness. Be sure to send them your measurements just like you were ordering a new container. Blue Skies & Good Luck looking.

You may want to review your packing skills, too. A cutaway every 50 jumps is probably above the norm. Only one was due to my packing. One was due to loaning my rig to a rigger who returned it with a spinning mal. One was due to an FXC (mis-)fire (2300') and the other was due to an FXC fire after I had deployed my main at 1500'. The two FXC fires were due to inadequate experience to properly select a hard deck relative to the rental gear I was jumping.

Today's the day!

OK.....here's an obvious one. By your profile you have 230 jumps in 10 years. I'd be ALOT more current than this. How many of these jumps have you done in the past 6 months? Then once you strap a camera to your head, you -have- to remain very current to be safe (for not only your self, but others as well). ltdiver I am not current, 5 jumps in the last 3 months. I'm returning to the sport after a 5 year layoff. As I stated in the original post, I was thinking I'd make 30-50 jumps just to get current before I even strap a camera on. Then start slow videoing experienced jumpers for another 20-30 jumps before I considered anything more. Someone mentioned that I should find a mentor. This is another excellent suggestion, because I would then have someone to assess when I am ready to move on.

I got to thinking about this some more. Thanks again for this piece of advice. It should have been obvious to me. I know that Falcons do not make the best canopy for video, but I just hadn't thought about my canopy and what the openings might do to my neck. Your advice probably saved me from a sore neck or worse. Are there any other obvious issues that you guys might want to advise me on?

I think Scott is just planning on getting the doors open and playing it by ear. I do know that he was talking about a tandem special to get started with. I don't know whether he will have any other specials or not. I also know that Scott is planning on having a web site in the near future, so specials, etc. will be advertised there.