Ron

I don't agree...I fly the mantis at all times with our without booties. The mantis makes your booties much more responsive, but you can use it without. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Tim....They need it, trust me. They will never not look at my grips on Hamer-Hamer again! "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

All but 6 of them For those that have not had a mal....Don't be afraid of them...As long as you get all your gear back they are kinda fun. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

This I agree with . Your opinion is yours. This I don't agree with...You have any PROOF? Or is it just the OPINION of a guy with 110 jumps? I think SL are just as safe as AFF...Its my opinion, but since I have been jumping 10 years this Sept, and have 2,984 jumps, a SL I and a Tandem I...And have been working with students for 8 of my 9 years....I'll stick to my opinon unless you can PROVE me wrong. Again show me PROOF...My SL students spent 1015.00 for 20 jumps with gear rental. AFF at the same DZ just 1-7 was 955.00. So 20 jumps for 1015.00 Or just 7 jumps 955.00 Looks to me like SL is cheaper. And I would put any of my SL students up against any AFF grad when they both have 20 jumps. Again your OPINION...I liked SL since it was all on ME to do it...No one held my hand...No one was there to pull for me once I was on freefall. Much more fun for me. Just because your experince sucked, and just because you can't see the advantages...does not mean that there are not any. Is this the voice of a DZO sugesting the more profitable training program? Or the voice of a guy with experience with different methods of instruction telling a person the best way FOR THEM. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Can our girlfriend come out and play before then? "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Ah now I feel all warm and fuzzy! But I don't Jump with any extra or unsafe piece of equipment. I do have a CYPRES I don't NEED it, but I have yet to hear ONE incident where a properly used CYPRES caused an accident. My Container is a Micron...Never heard a unsafe thing about them.... My reserve is also a something that I have never heard a bad thing about. A PD113. I had a Micro Raven, and as soon as the little "issue" they had, I got rid of it. My Stiletto....Well its a main, I can and have cut it away. But I have also cutaway other mains. I have more Mals on a Stiletto, but I also have more Stiletto jumps. My Jumpsuit is not unsafe, and I don't jump boards or tubes. I wear a full face helmet with a flip up visor so I can lift it up if it fogs...But I don't lift it up all the time so it does not wear out the ratchets and have it open in freefall. Every piece of equipment I have I look at the good and the bad and make a choice...I started doing this when I heard about a guy that got killed jumping his sons GI Joe. Who would of thought that a GI Joe could kill you? All I want people to do is look at each piece of gear and THINK a little before they just strap it on and go. If I ask them about it and they can give me a good reason for OR against it...I figure they thought about it and leave them alone about it. I personally think that a person should wear an RSL till they have proven that they will pull both handles....After that I leave it to them. You are a smart guy....I just don't think that there is any "correct" gear. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I would start to cry and tell you to quit picking on me BECAUSE I suffer from Dyslexia.... Of course its not true, I just type fast and don't proof read. 5 out of 4 people suffer from dyslexia ya know. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Lets say the canopy needs 15 MPH to fly. On a no wind day thats 15 MPH across the ground. On a 10 MPH day its only 5 MPH across the ground. When you go into brakes you are increasing the bow in the top skin of the canopy....This increases the lift of the canopy. With a higher windspeed, you can slow the canopy across the ground a great deal more. In a 15 MPH wind I can bring my Stiletto straight down...I could never do that in a zero wind day. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I had over 2,000 jumps on my 107...PD said it was trash. It ripped at 12 pounds in three places. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

On high wind days set up steep...And you can use a lot of brakes since you have airflow over the wing from the wind. On low wind days set up lean. You have to let the canopy fly to get the same amount of wind to get the same amount of lift. I use no more than 1/4 brakes on no wind days, and a lean approach "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

All it is is a massive carve. You have to flare and pull the wing back level. Learning it is hard...doing it once you know how is not. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

sorry I missed those...I saw the headline and it read " Two Point...." something else followed, but I only saw the Two points and fiqured whats the big deal and looked for 4way scores. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

If you are not willing to listen to the coaches you are paying? Why go? Why pay that much money to ingnore them? Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

And all I every asked of you was to admit that an RSL CAN cause a problem...Which you have yet to admit...Other than your comment about your test jumping. Why would it be less hectic without one...It s a back up that only works when you need it right? I don't jump an RSL because it takes my options away...And lack of options has contributed to accidents. I PREFER not to risk the possible bad things that can happen to make up for my stupidity for putting myself into a situation that I would need an RSL to save me. Im an adult...It is my choice based on 6 cutaways, CRW wraps, and a review of accident reports where RSL's were both contributed to a save, and contributed to the accident. In the saves...People could have saved themselves...In the accidents, they were screwed even if they did nothing wrong. Now will you admit that an RSL can cause a problem? Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

John...Thats becasue thats were you WANTED to look. I agree with this. I want to see your eyes, not just your face, when I look at you in freefall. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I agree, but it could have been staged...It probley was not, but the Bomb one...WOW!!! Shutter at just the right moment. The one with the lady in the boat with the flower was very nice also...But I still vote Bomb...I mean WOW! "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Right..Pull all your handles...And if your buddy is near you, pull HIS handles too...If that does not work....Untie your shoes....Then when the guys come running up on you after you hit...Make the last thing you do in this life to pull their handles.. Pull all the handles till ya run out. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I'll be there coaching the Zhills Girls team...They call themselves something else...But I lovingly call them "Hot Lesbo Action" I am interested in jumping a wingsuit...never done it. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

No, I had doubts as well. The "fix" they wanted done didn't sound like a very good one. However, when it comes to rigging stuff...I trust a person with a riggers ticket...In this case a master ticket who has over 5,000 reserve packs, over 6,000 jumps and has been in the sport longer. Than little 'Ol me when it comes to gear. I balance it out against common sense, but I listen to those I know have the knowledge. I never listen to sponsored people....Duh, what are they gonna tell you? BTW jump a Micron Sorry it was a sponsored rig... I'll try ANY main....But I listen a lot when it comes to reserves....I have NEVER heard a bad thing about a PD. If ya got a story let me know... "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Wow you learned quick...I didn't really get this till 1,000 jumps! I guess skydivers are advancing faster today than back then. (Well some) Almost 3,000 and I still don't know anything! If I start to think I do...I just go do a freefly jump. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I disagree. She is one of the best in the buisness. And I had serious doubt about it as well...As did friends of mine that worked for RW and Sunpath. If a canopy has a problem, and the "fix" does NOTHING....And they wanted to charge for it? It's problem with the product. My Raven II had a left turn in it. I will not say that PD is the only canopy...But I will not put a Raven in anything I own. I vote with my feet. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I personally don't think its the best pic. The one with the bomb shows a split second in time that most will not see. The others show the political unrest of the world. All of the others show more color and composition that the Almost Black and White skydiver one. The sight of a guy under canopy can be seen at any DZ on a weekend. But I would not vote on it just because its skydiving..The others are better photos. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Uh got to disagree here buddy. SL is cheaper than AFF...And if you don't have the money to go AFF it is much better to do 3 or 4 SL or hop n pops insted of one AFF a mth. Every SL student I have ever taken up has been told how to spot....By the time they are on the hop n pops they are spotting with my help. By the time they are doing the RW part of the program they are spotting for the both of us....Before I sign anything off for the "A" they can spot from 10,000 feet without me looking at them. I take AFF grads to Cessna DZ's and teach them how to spot....Most AFF Grads don't know anything about spotting. Most SL grads have MUCH better Canopy control than AFF grads. And my SL grads I would put up against ANY AFF grad when they both have 20 jumps. The SL program works fine...most DZO's don't like it since there is not as much money in it. And AFF's fill the planes to altitude, not 4 grand. And I have had to push an AFF Grad out of an airplane at 4 grand when the pilot had an emergency and told us to get out...She was in the door and screaming...She would not come back in, and would not go out..she just stood in the door. She had 60 jumps. She was in the rest of the planes way out. The SL grads ran out smiling. So to say SL is unsafe is nuts.....And just wrong. You need to spend more time being around SL and AFF before you start saying which is better. Its not really your fault...I have been hearing that AFF is better for years. I had a guy tell me I would never be as good as him since he learned AFF and I learned SL. What a load of crap! Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

Depends on the canopy. And how much brakes you use, how long you hold it. The longer you hold a canopy in deep brakes you will speed up your decent. But when you first hit the brakes you kill forward speed and GAIN lift. Then you will slowly loose the lift from the forward speed. Some accuracy canopies have vents that allow the canopy to get air preasure from the air comming in from the bottom skin. Different types..And even brands of the same type of canopy will react different to the use of brakes to sink the canopy..So practice up high BEFORE you need to use it to land in a bad place. Ron "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

I ment RATE not Angle sinking a canopy in is really just using the brakes to slow your forward speed while maintaining the same RATE of decent. "No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334