rhys

i don't know how you guys work it over there? but here we go on yes experience but skill and currency comes into it also. if someone is to do 250 skydives in their first year then are they not more current than an old time frap hatter who has got thier 1200 jumps over the last 20 years? if they have only ever jumped modern canopies and have a good idea of how they work would applying these rules to a person in this situation not be holding them back somewhat? silly rules. what is more dangerous is people trying to swoop underloaded canopies that is more dangerous. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuotePost: Not a new idea: http://www.dropzone.com/...i?post=382972#382972 wow thanks for that link i wish i read that when it was first published. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuotePost: I'll make a 50 Pound bet that it doesn't happen.... On the other hand do not underestimate the US need for oil to continue being traded in $$$. It has a massive impact on your economy and you would see frightening changes if OPEC suddenly adopted a different currency. yeah a stronger more stable currency. i bet the thought of that puts a sweat on gw's forehead! "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuoteQuote this finland rule is intrigueing. how could you not be able to jump a crossfire untill 250 jumps. Try buying one from Icarus with less than 500 jumps. well i actually will probably never buy a brand new canopy unless i become a millionare. but i have a few friends who have bought crossfires from nz aerosports (the people who designed them) and they have had less than 200 jumps no questions. crossfires are good canopies. there is no reason anyone should not be allowed to jump one? tell me more about this finland rule? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

sounds like a 1 way ticket to a high speed malfunction to me. there has gotta be an old container lying around that you can use? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuoteQuote Compared to basically everything else on the market when the Stiletto was released, it opened really nicely, but by today's standards, it's not that impressive. I much prefer the openings of my Velo to the openings of my Stiletto. And nothing, and I mean nothing, compares to my old Crossfire (1) openings... Canuck it is the dacron lines that make it open slowly not the fact that it is a stilleto, the fact that it is a stilleto is probably the reason why it has dacron lines. norman kent is probably sponsered by p.d. an couldn't jump the crossfife he probably wanted to "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Quote I can't believe no one mentioned the Stiletto. you've gotta be f**king kidding arent ya? spin/spankletto. no way that is a 'soft' opening canopy. you're probably just used to it or pack it a special way? ha ha ha "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

while i was away on holiday in thailand. i had a very interesting conversation with a charechter from argentina. he was a very onto it person who is in his last year of his doctorate. our conversation led on to his belief of why the u.s. attacked iraq (this time) when they did. he believed it was because......... don't all shoot me at the same time. .......... saddam hussain started trading 'oil' in euros. if oil is to be traded in euros then the u.s. fails to be the controller(of the planets most traded commodity) and is on the back foot because the euro is worth more than the u.s. dollar. he then said that venesuela has just started trading oil in euros and will be attacked by the u.s. in three months or less. i guess we'll see what happens. this make a whole lot of sense to me. what do you reckon? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

nice post, you can find followers of all beliefs, but how credible are the reasonings behind them. as far as aliens go there is no reason why they don't exist but no reason why they do either. the big bang is a good theory on how the universe has come to be in its current state.b ut thats way above my head with nebula and black holes etc. but as far as our earth and our solar system is concerned. humans are at a stage now that it is not just a theory, no one thinks the moon is made of cheese, we were made from the sun just like the moon was made from the earth. there is a multitude of evidence for this. you have learned it at school. religon does not take this into consideration. why? how can all these people believe in something that does not have concrete evidence? faith they say? in what. the sun is our creator, we and all of our surroundings and everything that it's made of used to be part of the sun. except for h20 and a few other elements which came 'after' through 'shooting stars' is that hard to fathom? i don't think so and it seem to make much more sense than these religous nuts that are running the show. and while i'm on the subject, i saw aroura australis the night before last(fucking amazing). if you can understand why the aroura occurs then religon seems to seem silly. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

Quote Quote Almost too soft, I'm trying to speed up the openings, since they usually take 7-800 feet+ to complete My omega is like that. If I don't push the nose into the center before wrapping the tail, it tends to open quicker judge a man not by his answers, but by his questions why not allow for the fact your canopy opens slower and dump a little higher. triathilons have caused injury from very hard openings although they seem to open slowly most of the time. trying to speed up the opening could have a disasterous effect. do a searc on hard openings and you will see. crossfires are also a soft opener, i can vouch for that. it seems nz areosports like to suss the openings as well as the flight. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

In Reply To so what if your aorta detahes from your heart on the first jump on it? then you are dead. this has happened more than once. I've never heard of this ever happening. Do you have a link or other verifiable source? It sounds more like something out of Bedtime for Skydivers. Chris Dembowski i know of two people one of them personally who have had detached aorta. one of them died and the other was lucky not to. these were from hard openings.it has happened many times. the girl who died did so in the last 'jump for the cause' womens world record. she is not alone bless their souls. i have also read about hard openings here in the dropzone fourums and 'sabres' and triathalons kept coming up. there were stories of broken fimures and knecks, elongated hip rings and shit. not fun! this finland rule is intrigueing. how could you not be able to jump a crossfire untill 250 jumps. i find my crossfire to be quite docile personally. especially compared to a heatwave or spinletto. the openings are soft and consistant. it flys nice, not too twitchy and they have a long flare similar to a student canopy. define high performance? 250 jumps before you can fly what? a mate of mine had a crossfire 190. o.k. the sabre was the best and heaps of people have them. it is an old design and there is much better products out there now. the paracommander used to be the best as well. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

dunno about the islamic cultures, why does it matter? but i am not into religon either. as far as i'm aware the sun created 'all' in our solar system either through a colision or explosion. and something else created the sun, probably an even larger explosion. the universe is infinate. no religon seems to acknowledge this or can come up with a realistic solution to, how things have came to be? religon seems to be a waste of time, energy and creates conflict due to the contrast of the different beliefs. just my thoughts "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuoteYes.. I know it can open a bit hard but it can also be avoided... Pack it 50 times, see what's going on when it opens.. how long it takes, what shape, what is the slider doing etc etc... explore new ways of packing it... (of course try to follow the manufacturers packing instructions!!!) so what if your aorta detches from your heart on the first jump on it? then you are dead. this has happened more than once. if you have a canopy that opens hard hard then get rid of it. just coz a conopy is new doesn't mean it has to open hard try a crossfire they rule. just don't underload them. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

this is what i thought might be the case. otherwise it would have been an incredible oversight. so they both have similar activation speeds? drop pilots are trained for this out our d.z. and i hope all d.z.'s. our plane(cresco 750) can decend faster than a tandem sweet i still want a vigil now. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

QuoteJust another little question. Your manual recommends to switch off the unit while riding the plane back down. Did you ever try that while doing a tandem that refused to jump (In some airplanes this means I keep my passenger hooked-up) a very good question. i have just read this entire thread because i am in the market for an 'aad'. i am a commercial s/d photographer and have to land in the plane from time to time because of changing wx conditions. it would be a pain in the ass to turn a unit off for me. and if a tandem had a refusal and were the last in the plane then it would be not only unsafe but illegal to get out of the rig to turn the unit off. i was sold on vigil until the last post and i'm suprised there has been no response to the question as it was posted in jan and it is now may. was that symposium so good they forgot about this thread? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

i have co-workers that have hadd upto 5 or 6 in one year! i personally have a blow switch with an eye dropper on the end to control sensitivity. i have used it for over 1500 jumps and never a problem. i got it 2nd hand too and i estimate it had done over 2000 jumps before i got a hold of it. i have not seen a conceptus switch last for more than a year at our d.z. and that woul be around 100 jumps! "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

there are abot 10 of them at our work and 10's of thousands of jumps have been made on them. i am not a t.i. but i am a camera guy so i guess i get to 'see' thier performance alot. they have great openings and terrific landings there is no need for a larger one as they have a very efficient design. the end cells are closed like a paraglider and they look much like a small paraglider. in fact i think the company that makes them makes paragliders. they seem to 'not' collapse but the end cells kinda flip under in turbulance, i have seen this on many occasions but they never seem to 'drop' they just keep on flying. the linesets seem to be different every time though thid doesn't seem to effect the performance too much. they have two brake lines and one is stowed on the risers and one is stowed in the canopy (like a set 400) thery seem to last a long time too because none of them have had to be replaced. some t.i. out surf some of the camera guys on them. they land very well. we have a couple of rigs with E.Z.'s in them and they just stay on the shelf. they 'do' have demo canopy's you have to find you local dealer! hope i was of assistance "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

o.k. you may know this already but here goes, i had a heatwave for over 800 jumps and my camera rig is quite heavy, after the third visit to the physio and not enough money for the crossfire i wanted i learned to slow that mo-fo down. i have tried the same technique on stilettos and the owners have praised the openings and some changed to this technique. so flake 'everything' as usual. then roll the nose into the centre cell, ensuring even tight rolls on both sides and not to roll the centre cell 'AT ALL'(if the centre cell is rolled at all, the opening will erratic and off heading). present the centre cell to ensure an on heading opening. you have probably tried this before but tidy is very important. then, take the first section of stabiliser on either side and tuck these between the slider and the a's and b's and right out into the section of stabiliser between the a's and b's, and b's and c's make sure the stitching on the canopy makes the same pattern on both sides at the front( this is the important part). then, because the nose has been rolled so much you 'must' roll the tail between the b's and c's to ensure symmetry, this also prevents a lineover. make sure the rolls are even and tight. dont roll too much. when wraping the tail great care must be taken to ensure the tail stays between the b's and c's. continue as normal. this will create a little snivel but not too much and inflation from the centre out. my heatwave opens as slow and nice as my crossfire. it takes a little more time than usual but after a while it is as quick as usual. our plane(brand newish cresco 750) has a 20 minute turn around and i am usually waiting for the plane. i hope this saves you kneck a little it definately saved mine. also my physio told me to keep y spine in a strasight line for deployment. look at the hirizon once upright, if you tilt your head forward or back then you can over extend and briuse you bone. this is what happened to me. i was off for a week! "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

i know many may disagree with me but just because you have a p.c. camera doesnt mean you have to go side mount. if you are only fun jumping then yes side mount is better for head level stuff but if you are doing mainly outside video top mount is much SAFER. i have frinds who have lost thier camera/leses/helmets from riser slap. especially in a reserve ride. 1 freind lost her helmet from riser slap on a reserve ride and had she not, she would probably have a broken kneck. look how much wider side monts are some are better than others but they are mostly very 'catchy' in my opinion cookie composites make the best side mount helmets in the world. well made light and not too bulky. just my thoughts.

i could make your stiletto open slower than a crossfire interested? "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

i just went back to c.p.s. to say hi a week or two ago, i was suprised to see that they had many new student rigs, a turbine fletcher, a new instructor(who is the head of a.f.f. in new zealand. the course also now offers a new icarus(n.z. aerosports)canopy and a new talonFS when the 170 course jumps are completed so the rig you get is more suited to an intermediate level. when i was on the course we got 2nd hand gear when we got our a licence. i went on to a commercial camera position within a year of starting skydiving but i ended up doing my first 800 jumps on a shitty old racer and a f111 maveric 200. so i could not learn to freefly until nearly 1000 jumps. no egrets though i have just been to my first boogie. i have two freefly freindly rigs. and i have had a well desearved holiday after 3 years of intense dedication to skydiving. all of this has been paid for by skydiving. although there are not as many camera slots left in new zealand you can now do you work placement anywhere in the world(i think) and if all you want to do is skydive then this course is the one. 3 years ago i had not a clue of skydiving. i enrolled in the course and now i have over 2000 jumps(i got over logging my jumps because it was taking too much time) DO IT. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

sounds like you need to read 'mental training for skydiving and life' you can buy it from para gear. it sounds like you doubt yourself too much (just my opinion from what i have read) at our d.z. we offer just stills, just video or both. when i have a photo only jump from 15000' i take all the shots except the opening sho of course this leaves me about 20 seconds to 'play' this is where i can learn new tricks. although they can be hard, if you have an understanding of what needs to be done and can visualise yourself doing it then there is no reason why you cannot do it. if there is any doubt in your mind then it will become extemely difficult. read this book and it will all become so clear. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

what i do is put my (wide ass) lens in front of them. all our tandem masters do a full body cadance none of this namby pamby waving the hand around. move with the T.I. drop your front shoulder as you leave and aim to be underneath them asap. this put you in the hed down posiion to the relative win so you will keep up with them until they punch the drouge then roll over as normal.the T.I. can do a beginners poised exit or a backloop and you get the face shot every time. i'm heading to a boogie in aus today otherwise i would have linked up a video of the exit. most camera guys use it here and it is encouraged over a poised camera exit. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

you should have used them on iraq, saddam had WMD didn't he he was gonna use them on you wasn't he. lies just like your defence policies. nuclear warfare is stupid. noone wins. everybody loses incuding those not involved. get rid of them you warmongers. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

just the media making a story of it! she's no pussy she's climbed aoraki(mt cook) before have you? and if you were in a plane with turbulance and you rig was not with you you would probably peak as well. i think she would be a good skydiver. she's a damn good P.M. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix