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The manufacturer is now called Flight Concepts. You can download the manual which contains the trim chart you're looking for HERE C ya! Arrive Safely John

Skydive AZ at Eloy . . . my home away from home! Arrive Safely John

I have a convertible which is really nice when it's clean. It's not recommended to take the soft top through a car wash, so I wash it lovingly by hand. Arrive Safely John

It will definitely be a big boost to the sport. My Mom, 74, is choosing to make a tandem with me this year, and I betcha there will be others of her generation that show up at Raeford as a result of the Prez. Heal quickly . . . keep us posted! Arrive Safely John

President Bush, like him or not, made significant contributions to his country and to the sport of skydiving. The death holiday joke was not only in poor taste, but the ensuing discussion effectively hijacked this thread. I have edited out the joke post and the chatter that followed to put the thread back on track. Arrive Safely John

There have been an awful lot of them posted for auction on eBay lately. Do a search for "skydiving pants." I see three pairs there now. Arrive Safely John

I believe the manufacturer has changed names to "Parachute Systems." Here is the website, and the email address is technical@parachutesystems.co.za I don't see any manuals posted on their web page, but maybe they can email it to you?? Arrive Safely John

What JP said. In addition, I know both Strong and RWS will accept the "military equivalent" of an FAA Class III medical. In the Army's case, a DA 4186 ("Up Slip") from your clinic will suffice. Arrive Safely John

If you play golf, Pinehurst is on the Northwest side of Ft. Bragg. Great for golf! Arrive Safely John

PM or email Cliff Schmucker (ssk). He may have an update for us. Arrive Safely John

It debuts tonight at midnight here . . . I'll see it Saturday night with my young ones. We have the others on DVD, along with all of the books in print and on audio. Arrive Safely John

Would it be possible to have a "Saved Searches" feature, so people who have a specific subject they are interested in can routinely search the Forums? An email notification to accompany the feature would be an added benefit. For example, a manufacturer who only visits the forum to read posts about their products could have each of them saved as a search . . . when a post on that subject comes up, and the email reaches the user's inbox, he could link straight to the post in question and provide "horse's mouth" input. Another example: a forum user who would never access one of the topical forums except to read posts about "subject x" could save his search to notify him when "subject x" shows up in that forum. Arrive Safely John

I reckon because it's an aviation organization, containing aviation terms like "pilot in command" and "passenger" already, the FAA was more comfortable with that verbage. I think the FAA and those quoting the regulation are a minority in the use of those terms. Arrive Safely John

Gary, Can you link to the ad so we can better understand the context? Please PM it to me if you're not comfortable sharing details here. Arrive Safely John

I am comfortable with either term, but I think "TI" is a better fit, just like "Tandem Student" is a better fit than Tandem Passenger." On both sides of the coin, I believe that 100% of people making a tandem jump learn at least a little something from their experience, and that 100% of the TIs are able to successfully provide some sort of learning environment. I have learned a lot myself by reading posts here in the forums from more experienced Tandem Instructors that truly see each tandem as an opportunity to create growth in the sport by teaching during every one. Granted, some students will be more receptive than others based on their expectations. Great post. Arrive Safely John

General Skydiving is a forum for skydiving related posts that don't really have a home elsewhere. As a result, it is one of the busiest forums. The challenge for the Mods here, IMHO, is to provide visibility and successful space for posts destined for this forum so they can thrive. Location posts, event posts, posts about gear, and other posts that perfectly fit a more specific forum appear almost every day. Questions about DZs in particular geographic areas have a home in "Events & Places To Jump." Wind tunnels are popping up all over the place - very exciting for the sport. While they are technically not about "jumping," they have a similar flavor to posts about DZs. I will continue to move them to "Events and Places To Jump" to facilitate growth of the dropzone.com forums as a whole. I suggest that if you are interested in breaking news about wind tunnels, you pop in there now and again. Thanks for the feedback. Arrive Safely John

Posts of this nature seem to pop up quite often. It is one of the most frequently asked questions in the forums. Because people phrase it in different ways, it is a little tougher to search for. Also, because our virtual community is growing so fast, there are going to be newer jumpers seeking advice on exactly that subject. Our own skybytch has written a great article on the subject that may get missed by new gear seekers. Check it out You should also seek advice from places such as the Instructors that trained you, highly experienced jumpers that know how you fly your current canopy, a gear dealer that you know and trust, equipment manufacturers, etc. Arrive Safely John

This exit is called a 270 backloop. The preferred tachnique is to get all the way to the edge, agressively walk straight off, and exit almost standing straight up with arms out to the side for stabilization. Once the relative wind hits the legs and starts to flip the pair backwards, the Tandem Instructor goes with the flow, leaning back to continue to backloop, which finishes with the pair in the same orientation on the hill as if they had done a diving exit. The rotation is 270 degrees. The key to this exit is getting way out and not leaning back too soon. Tall Ti's need to have enough room to stand up . . . it's hard to get way out when you're crunched down. I have found the Skyvan to be the easiest aircraft for me to do this exit out of. jdfreefly, thanks for sharing your experience with us! Arrive Safely John

At 30 jumps, with only 5 jumps on his current canopy, he should go back to the Hornet 210 until his rental Spectre 190 comes back. He needs to be patient and learn the 190 well before moving on to something else. Crawl, walk, run. Your friend should read billvon's downsizing checklist, get training from his instructors on each segment, and get good at each segment before moving on. For comparison, I load my own Sabre2 190 at 1.33, and I have over 3000 jumps. I am a bit more conservative than most at my weight and skill level, for these reasons: -much of my jump experience has been on big, non-ZP canopies (military canopies, tandems, etc.) -this Sabre2 is the first all ZP canopy I have ever owned. -my work canopy is a Silhouette 210 (I need to land it at night at a DZ that's 1900 FT). I can fly both canopies nearly the same way and achieve the same very swoopy result. I land both using a 90-100 degree front riser carving turn. When I bought the Sabre2 I intended to move on to a higher performance canopy at some point. I am almost at that point now. I have almost 100 jumps on this Sabre2. My plans? I printed billvon's checklist last weekend . . . even though I have performed each segment but one with this canopy, I'm gonna start from scratch and use it as a training tool, then go to a Stiletto 190 (higher performance, same size). I plan to put 100-150 jumps on it, then consider downsizing to a 170, which would I would load at 1.47. Hopefully that will put your friend's downsizing ideas in perspective. Arrive Safely John

This kind of attitude when replying to a post doesn't contribute to the conversation at all. There are many other ways of conveying a strong opinion (lots of those here in the forums) without being rude. Assuming your profile is up to date, at less than 100 jumps you are likely still learning the canopy you are flying yourself. Also, you are flying a canopy that is the same size as the original poster's friend's current canopy, and missed out on a perfect opportunity to give helpful advice from your own downsizing experience. Arrive Safely John

I find great value in placing myself in the company of those much more experienced than I am. However, I keep open eyes and an open mind to be able to learn from anybody. For example, those who are fresh out of a USPA Instructor Course that I attended years ago may have the details on the latest and greatest teaching techniques. I have learned from people of all skill levels, applied what works for me, and have become a better skydiver as a result. Arrive Safely John

Badlock is correct - contact Airtec or SSK to clarify and be sure. Your situation is not unique - contact the manufacturer of your rig and reserve canopy and ask their recommendation. I'll bet they have already figured out the answer and will have it waiting for you. Arrive Safely John

The thread was moved here because this forum is the best fit. Here it stays. Heated discussions can be healthy and quite productive. They can also turn into self-destructive battles of opposing opinions. So far so good here, although the temperature seems to be rising rapidly. Keep it objective, keep it civil, or please take it to the PMs. Arrive Safely John

It is absolutely up to the couple . . . we have no way of knowing what their personal situation is. Personally, I am married with two kids. I took my wife up on a tandem this past Saturday. Being in the military, I have plans in place for all of the possible death scenarios. The bottom line is: I am comfortable with the level of risk. Some people are not. I respect that. Couples come out to make tandems . . . some jump together, other use the "tactical cross-loading" approach taking separate lifts. I am glad to accomodate either one, but I won't make the decision for them if asked "what do you think?" Good post! Arrive Safely John

There's already a thread going on exactly this subject HERE in the Instructors Forum Arrive Safely John