speedy

This is from a real case last weekend: Droprun into the wind. Wind at exit altitude 10kts and opening altitude 20kts and from the same direction. Groundspeed as per GPS 93kts = 157 ft per second. 4 second delay gives 4 x 157 feet = 628 feet. Is this not sufficient for separation between two solo belly fliers? According to the freefall simulation I get even more due to the winds at opening altitude. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Yeah, go for it. Nothing like cutting away with capewell's. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

See what I mean? Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

One advantage to quoting all of the original post is if they delete the post afterwards, at least everyone can see what they deleted. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

I currently jump my velocity at 2.45 to 1 when swooping. To get the same WL without weights I would have to buy a Velocity 69. That in itself is a problem, the smallest they make is a 79. Also an interesting trend is wingloading increasing, line sets getting thinner Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

$120 nz is probaly worth tupence I thought the currency of NZ was sheep anyways. I like lamb curry so I'll swop the helmet for a lamb Sender pays the shipping costs Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

I have a sidewinder that takes a PC8

This sort of thing is highly dependent on who is doing the leading. Yeah, I know, that's why they should go out 1st. If they do what was intended they will land on the DZ. Either way, they will be far enough away from anyone else so as not to cause problems. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

You are right and it gives me no end of problems when someone announces they want to do a tracking dive. It's interesting how most people seem to way over estimate how far they can track. Not only that but most of the jumpers never even know how much wind there is at altitude. A cross wind drop run makes things a little easier. Put the trackers out in the middle and tell em to track to DZ. If they are good trackers they don't have the best spot but it's pretty safe. A little secret, at my DZ, in most cases there is no problems with out landings. So I let the trackers over estimate their tracking abilities. They go out last and if they don't pull very high, they are landing out . If they let me decide what they should do. Then only on a clear day (zero cloud) and I tell what to aim for (i.e. aim for the golf course). They go out first and track 45° to the jump run. There is enough exit separation for it to be safe. If they can't/don't track, again they are probaly landing out. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

If you look at each displine listed on this page http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/page.cgi?g=safety%2FDisciplines%2Findex.shtml you will notice from the ratings, that one discipline is probally in need of a re-write

I voted that I don't know. I do know that it is less than the 500 max over 2 years. Probaly somewhere around 200 - 300 and the batteries are being changed now. It's difficult to keep track when you have 2 or 3 rigs. I did do around 500 jumps on one set of batteries once. I never had problems with cypres failing it's self test's. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Semantics I suppose. If you call the cutaway system a 3-ring system then there is no difference. The 3-rings are just that that, 3 rings , with cutaway cables you can put together a cutaway system. I did not invent it, so I suppose I should really include the cutaway cable within the "3-ring system". A far as cleaning the cables every 30 days, it amazing how often you see canopies that have been hooked up wrong, even cutaways because they were hooked up backwards Lots of people should ask their rigger to clean them. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Bill Booth, inventor of the 3-ring and owner of RWS thinks you should. It is well known that dirty cutaway cables contribute to hard cutaways and risers that have taken a 'set' are slower to release (think bag lock). Derek Bill Booth also thinks that once you cutaway, skyhook will do the rest If dirty cables could cause a hard cutaway, it could also cause a hard reserve pull. I know you can check free movement of a reserve cable a little easier that the cutaway cables, but it is still possible that something has got in there to cause a hard pull. Or do I see that wrong? If you need to clean your cutaway cables, then why not the reserve cable? Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

A wanker is a wanker But rain man is a bit strange. Does he really exist? In England I thought such people were exterminated at birth. Or at least before they boarded the plane. Hey Rain Man, how come when I said on these forums I jumped a Springo 160 at 1.03 : 1 with 50 jumps I got all sorts of agro, then you can jump a VX 89 at 2.4 and everythings OK? Dunno, I find it hard to believe, really 2.4 : 1 Rain man PM me to say it's true ! I can' t believe it Edited to add : because I always have to edit. But at less than 300 jumps Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Bill Booth, inventor of the 3-ring and owner of RWS thinks you should. It is well known that dirty cutaway cables contribute to hard cutaways and risers that have taken a 'set' are slower to release (think bag lock). Derek So what has cleaning cutaway cables got to do with the 3-ring system? I also asked you, not Bill Booth, if you thought I should clean my cables. If I think there is a reason to clean my cutaway cables, I will. I may maintain my 3-ring system with out cleaning the cables, if I think that is needed. Still, I would like to hear why it is deemed necessary to clean cutaway calbes every 30 days, even if my rig has not been used. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Do you think I should? Edited to add : because I certainly don't. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

This body clock stuff is somewhat dodgey if you ask me. Our aircraft will sometimes drop at 12000ft, sometimes at 14000ft. If you are used to 14000ft that 12k jump will catch you out. There are many ways to assess how high you are, I would suggest one uses as many as possible. If you have a protrack use it, but don't rely on it. My batteries are always going flat. Don't assume that the altimeter is always correct. Use your eyes, use clouds as reference points. With experience the "body clock" will also help. But it is probaly the most inaccurate method of all. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Sometimes yes. If you are following a large group for instance. Another case is where the upper winds are very strong and the lower winds very weak. Unfortunately there is no easy rule that fits all situations. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

That was schitt funny Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

The porter I have jumped have had seats for all passengers apart from two that sat on the floor next to the door. The co-pilot seat was of course turned round to face the cabin. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

I personally think we will have to do something about weights in the near future. One aspect is that pretty soon we are going to need forklift trucks to load the jumpers into the aircraft. The twin otter will be limited to just 12 swoopers or 20+ normal jumpers. Somewhere in this thread people have mentioned 40 lbs of weight, I have seen over 60 lbs being used. Is this not getting too much? If you want to discuss drugs and swooping please start your own thread Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

Go to this web page http://www.iit.edu/~kallend/skydive/#resources and click on "Powerpoint presentation on exit safety with freefall sim.(updated 3/2004)" and you find out what you need to know

Do you think that if the use of weights was banned in swoop competitions that the next generation of swoopers would start to look like sumo wrestlers? Just a thought. Should weights be banned? Dave Fallschirmsport Marl

I'll do it for you

I heard that penthouse.com wanted to merge with dz.com. The quantity of boobies in the bonfire is fitting for the soft porn mag. Dave Fallschirmsport Marl