Treejumps

I've put a bunch of jumps on my VX with a new pocket on the slider. In conjunction with this I now leave the nose completely exposed (thanks to Sherry for this hot tip) and its like owning a new canopy. Fairly consistent length of snivel and much less dancing around. I am shooting lots of video with this thing and feel comfortable that even the occaisional rogue opening will be acceptable, and most of the openings are excellent. SOmetimes I forget which canopy I have over me because it is opening so well. Tame your canopy, pitch with confidence! Tree

Hi all, I will be shooting tons of video this summer, partly for $$, and partly for swooping practice. Since the swooping is a big part of the equation, I will be using my VX (and crossfire). I sewed a pocket on the slider and it seems to be helping to tame the openings. They were never really hard, more like snivel, snivel, POP to one side. Comments, suggestions, ideas? Thanks, Tree

1. Not very cool jumping that in the daytime. (but who hasn't) 2. Even less cool bragging about publically. 3. Stay at the dropzone. It would be hard to imagine anything dumber to do than to jump that in the daytime and then brag about it. Who exactly are you tring to impress? Base jumpers? Not likley with this stunt. Why don't you just invite the local press and the NPS? They might actually think its cool, but the average base jumper does not. Use your brain. Tree

Yes, at 45 degrees, but where a fingertrap is rubbed back in forth through the ring it tends to "poke out the sides". This problem is with the factory set. I replaced the lowers on the VX last year and bartacked over the end of the fingertrap and did not have the problem. I had heard that there was somehting to treat the cut end to help prevent this without having to bartack so far from the loop. Thanks, Tree

Yes, we are all nuts, present company included. There is however a big difference between a new base jumper trying to use a wonderhog and a Unit, and a very experienced base jumper doing something off the crazy scale. (fx at BD, 170' freefall over dirt, McConkey from buildings) One knows exactly what he is getting involved in and accepts the risks while the other jumps in ingnorance without the benefit of the historical perspective of base gear advancements. And what the fuck is hooty hoo? Woodsey the Owl? Relax, Tree

Hi all, What do you do to treat the cut end of vectran? It can't be hot knifed, but I heard that there is a chemical solution that is used to treat the cut ends to keep them from "fraying" inside of the fingertrap. I'm replacing the control lines on a vx and crossfire and could use a suggestion. Thanks, Tree

Hey Chuck, That guy is a friend of mine and he is no moron. Just because you can't conceive of the sack it takes to do a certain jump, don't go bad mouting it. Nothing is "illegal at bridge day" if you know and are known. I didn't know that you even based, and if not, why put someone down over somethig you know nothing about, and don't even get involved in. Wuffo- what for they skydivin Swoop wuffo- What for them guys gotta do hooks base wuffo (skydiver)- what for them guys gotta base jump Insanity wuffo - what for you gotta do a jump that is so far off the scale I can't even carry your rig? By the way, the way things are going there will be swoop contest at the bridge in the next year or two. Maybe in ten more it will be a "tour stop". When that happens (I know, you just can't concieve of it, sorry) "That guy" will be called what he is, a pioneer. See you on the bridge with my VX! Tree

Well, it was a decent swoop. The 540 looked like a waste of time since you had to do nearly a 90 to get going the direction you wanted. I noticed you had to run off a lot of speed at the end. This would indicated taht somhting is not as it should be. You should be able to bring a VX in to complete shutdown (skid to a stop). It looked to me as if you lost a bunch of speed with the major correction, and that is probably why you had to run it out. A well timed 270 or 360 would go twice as far. You asked. Tree

The way I see it, the only possible reason to use f-111 is to make it easier to pack. I know of no swooper who is worried about packing issues. ZP isn't hard to pack once you are used to it, or once the canopy has 100 jumps on it. Yes, brand new f-111 is nearly zero perosity (0 to 3 cfm to be precise) but it degrades with use, top or bottom skin. Not to mention I can't imagine that old canopies have nearly the pressurization of a cross braced canopy. F-111 is to canopies what velcro is to rigs. Sure it might work, but do you really want to fly it?

The way I see it, the only possible reason to use f-111 is to make it easier to pack. I know of no swooper who is worried about packing issues. ZP isn't hard to pack once you are used to it, or once the canopy has 100 jumps on it. Yes, brand new f-111 is nearly zero perosity (0 to 3 cfm to be precise) but it degrades with use, top or bottom skin. Not to mention I can't imagine that old canopies have nearly the pressurization of a cross braced canopy. F-111 is to canopies what velcro is to rigs. Sure it might work, but do you really want to fly it?

I was wondering if anyone actually bought one of Jumpshack's "new" canopies. The Firebolt was introduced at PSN 2002 to the giggles of many. It seems to be designed based on the wildly successful Turbo Z with f-11 bottom skin. Anyone even seen one of these instant relics? I just had to ask. Tree

Yo, If you can't already do maxed out mac daddy hook turns on you current canopy, why exactly wold you downsize? A V-lo at 2.1 is simply NOT the canopy to learn to do hook turns on. It is a better than average chance that you will dig a hole with yourself by using a v-lo to learn to hook turn. Go back to about 1.5 and when you can land your canopy on a front riser 90 without using your toggles to bail out, and have a great surf each time, and you can do this 9 out of 10 times, then start going past 90 degrees progressively, and slowly work yourelf up to 180. After you can land that canopy on a 180 10 out of 10 times without diggling out on toggles, you may be ready for something past 180. Same progression. When you can wring every once out of that canopy on perfectly executed 270s without using hardly any input for corrections, and setting it down right where you planned to, then a smaller canopy would make sense. Do it the way your doing it now and the odds are way against you. Its all good until it isn't, like when someone cuts you off at 100' and you have to make a big, quick correction. I'm not slamming you, I just don't understand how people can think that they should downsize when by definition (can't hook it but want to), the can't fly their current canopy to even half of its potential. Learn before you burn. Tree BASE 610 AD-A 219

Gabo, When I first got my VX i didn't think I would ever be able to fly the thing because of riser pressure. With time you will just get more used to higher pressure, but there are things to make it easier. 1. Make sure your chest strap is as wide as you can get it. This lowered the riser pressure considerably. 2. Use the longest risers that you can comfortably fly .This also lowered the riser pressure and made the dives longer (yet). Also, if the risers are the optimum length you can carve by pulling down with you lats/whole side of your body. Much easier. 3. Always use half brkes approach. Makes accuracy easier and very light riser pressure. If you do these things I think you will find carving 270s or 360s no problem. I can even pull the riser back down to make small corrections. If this doesn't work, maybe hit the gym a little.

I did my first cliff bumpy-jumpy. What a rush, but nearly gave me heart failure on the hike. Jumpy-bumpy seems to work better.

Lisa is quite right, My first rig was a new Reflex built for a PD230. I still jump it regularly for as a secnd rig for shooting video with a Crossfire 149 in it. I have even jumped my VX120 in it, and it is fine if you know how to change closing loop lengths. It also makes a nice cushy pillow if you need to crash out. Tree

Hey Tom, Isn't a TARD a WAD jump by another name? I figure I'll call my jump a WAD. People have been doing WADs for years, and Marvin even WADed his FX at BD00'. With the years of research already put into WADs, I feel much safer blowing a WAD instead of becoming a TARD. All kidding aside, there isn't that much difference. What would you estimate opening distance (to inflated, flying canopy) to be with a TARD? Thanks, Tree

More helpful advice, An interesting concept indeed. I may just give that a whirl but I'll go flat and stable first. (whatever the flat and stable equivalent of a tard is). Thanks, Tree

Hey Tom, Remember when this forum started, and I said that someone will do somthing stupid because of it? Its going to happen next tuesday. I'm getting a rig back (still only 1 of two) and will be near a nice 240' XXXXXX. I was going to freefall it for the first time (maybe), but now I am definitely doing a TARD. What was I thinking. This will provide all the rush of a low freefall, and all of the entertainment value of a, well, a TARD. Best of all, I dont' have to waste time packing!!! I can do two TARDs in 15 minutes. You made my day. Now I have something really interesting to look forward to. Tree Please note, this is not a sarcastic post. I really would have never thought of doing one this Tueday(maybe I thought about it just a little bit), but that desription was just what I needed to set wheels in motion. cya

You should pack neat enough so that you are comfortable standing on the edge, ready to jump, knowing that this jump like any other jump has the potential to kill you. Your comfort level will depend on your level of knowledge of gear, techniques, conditions, etc. Note: Too little experience can cause poor judgement as to what is "acceptable". Early on in my base career (1 -15 jumps) I never got scared because I had to little knowledge of what was going on. I just jumped and had fun. Once everything started to settle in about what I was doing I started to get nervous at the edge. Sometimes I'm more nervous now and I attribute this to a full understanding of the risks involved. I would always say that I wanted to make my own decisions on whether to jump, but that I would rather base the decision on all the relevant data, not just the data that I was currently familiar with. It pays to have someone with lots of experience looking over your shoulder to help you build up your knowledge. Tree

I use the pro-trash method for slider up, and pro-trash-make it neater on the gorund method for slider down. When the job is done it looks like any other pack job. They all pretty much open the same. I used to use clamps, then I didn't, then I did but didn't think that they made the job any neater, and certainly slower, so now I have some used clamps for sale on e-bay. Cya, Tree

This steel guy sounds like this idiot (moron) from SD Dallas I'll just metaphorically refer to as Bruno. He is the poster child for why people should use birth control, and for why young canopy pilots should listen to those with more experience. Bruno had maybe 100 jumps when he started trying to buy a crossbrace canopy. Unlike now, canopy manufacturerers a few years ago tried to keep Darwin at bay by not selling the Brunos of the world canopys they have no business trying to fly. Bruno still walks with a limp from his many burn ins. THere was a reason why virtually every single experienced HP pilot on the DZ, including absolute top level folks like TJ, told this Bruno to slow down. He didn't listen. He would only Hop and pop for a several hundred jumps because if there was anyone else in the sky that he had to manuever around he would surely die. At least he was scared enough to only try these hijinks when he had the sky to himself. Bruno didn't hook before he got his cross brace, and then was afraid to even touch his toggles other than to flare. He was quite entertaining though when he would come screaming in, just holding on for dear life, stall out and slide in. Time after time after time. So what did he do then? Got a smaller canopy so he could tell ever single person he met that he was at 3.1. Even when presented with articles by Jim Slaton saying that flying at 3.1 made no sense since it is outside of the canopy's performance envelope, Bruno would just shrug it off and say that they way HE did things made it OK. In his first attempt to show the world what he knew he pretty much hooked it in at a PPB meet. Now don't ever try to tell Bruno anything. He knows eveything there is to know about canopy flight, and what he dosent' know he makes up. It doesn't matter to Bruno. He lives in his own world where rational though, common sense, and wisdom simply do not exist. Admittedly, Bruno is the absolute worst example of the 100 jump wonder "Know It All" who won't take advice. But many people are on the continum at lower levels. Yes, some people advance faster than others, but too many people think they advance faster but don't, and they have just been lucky so far. If one person is telling you stuff you don't want to hear, maybe they are just a dick. But if everyone is telling you the same thing you can be sure who then who is the dick. Don't be a dick, Tree

Sinker, You can e-mail me at markkissner@comcast.net. I tried your e-mail but it bounced. Cya, Tree

Snip- It is the same thing I heard at jump #120 when I went to a Viper 120 @1.7. I was smart enough to handle it and was told that I wouldn't die. I started hooking it and 36 jumps later I was in the hospital for a week with a shattered femur, broken hip and broken back. Clearly you were not ready for the 120. The comments about the sport teaching you are harsh and rightfully so. Hyper down sizing is a new phenomenon. Five years ago it just wasn't happening the way it is today. We are just getting started with people flyng themselves into the ground with 1.8 wingloadings at 200 jumps. The high profile of swooping contests are making newbies seek out a discipline that requires more experience than can be gained in 100 jumps, or 500 jumps for that matter. I guess everyone will learn; some will learn to swoop well quickly and some will learn that they did not have the requisite skills (and won't be able to walk again. Have fun, but be careful. Tree

It is perfectly legal to jump off of anything that you own or anything that you can get an owner's permission to jump. The only charge a jumper typically gets hit with is trespassing or the random public endangerment. As far as legal A's, I've heard of a few but since there are an abundence of As all over the place not many folks go to the trouble of getting permission. Plus As are nearly always out in the sticks so the bust factor tends to be lower than say a B or high traffic S. Tree

A VX. I've had it a year and really love flying it at the ground. Swooping it is close to the rush of a low pressure base jump. Cya