Harksaw

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    436

  • Joined

  • Last visited

    Never

  • Feedback

    0%

Everything posted by Harksaw

  1. Harksaw
    A huge air conditioned hanger. The biggest engines available on my Casa. Every load would go to 19000 feet with oxygen in the plane for everyone. A real motel right next to the hanger. Purpose-built BASE antenna. Monkeys trained to pack parachutes for banannas. What would you have? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  2. Harksaw
    Well, it just seems that the drogue's duty life is shorter than it could be. Just about every drogue I've seen has rips and sewing all over it, mostly on the mesh. Why not make one that lasts longer? I know that the Strong manual lists both the canopy and the drogue at lasting somewehre around 600 jumps, and from what I see, the drogue usually gets replaced long before the canopy. What my idea was is using a design more similar to the Vector reserve pilot chute, without the spring. Have it shaped similarly to the drogue as is, but with the mesh replaced with zero-P with a hole in the bottom for air to come in. Now that I think about this some more, maybe the vents on the top of the droge (and airflow through the drogue in general) are more critical than I thought in keeping the drogue from wobbling back and forth in freefall. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  3. Harksaw
    It seems that the drogue is the most fragile part of a tandem system, and this seems to me to be due to all the mesh. Why don't they make drogues that are made out of all zero-P with a hole at the bottom (like some reserve pilot chutes) ? Would this be legal (for a rigger to make and add on) and/or feasible? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  4. Harksaw
    Does anybody do ground launches anywhere near the Carolinas? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  5. Harksaw
    Be sure to let us know how the jump goes. I've wanted to jump a PC, and have been given the opportunity, but the little voice inside me kept saying "You know, there's a reason they don't make them like that any more! " I'd probably do it if I had modern 3-rings and a rectangular reserve. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  6. Harksaw
    Was it those double-wide Vector tandem bands they double stowed and didn't break? I could imagine that happening. I couldn't imagine a three foot wide drouge not breaking a regular rubber band at terminal. I've also had several tandem instructors, including a Strong examiner, tell me I needed to double wrap the stows to keep from getting line dump. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  7. Harksaw
    In the US, you need to have a rigger on the dropzone "supervising" you. So, get good at packing, make friends with the DZ rigger, and tell him you want to start packing. In my experience, if you're good at packing sport rigs, dropzones are more than happy to help you learn packing tandems since they always need tandem packers. If you're in the UK, I believe there's a packing certification you have to get from the government, but I'm not sure. Edit: 15 GBP for packing a tandem? I gotta move there! __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  8. Harksaw
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a rigger not be responsible for anything if someone forged their signature, because to prove it was forged you could just look at the signing on the tail tag on the reserve canopy? Or do all reserves not have you sign the tag on the tail? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  9. Harksaw
    I *always* kept my rig in a gear bag, and just to be doubly sure, I tied the zipper shut with a pull-up cord. Yes, your rig is designed to not deploy prematurely, but: a. A premature going 60 horizontally on the ground will be much more deadly b. Your rig could get knocked by something - when sitting in the plane, pins can and do get pushed out. Same goes for a motorcycle. In addition to prematures, you could get all kinds of crap on it, say, if a truck passed you and splashed mud on it or kicked up dirt or gravel. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  10. Harksaw
    Are these available commercially anywhere? Or are they all homemade? Apologies if this is the wrong forum. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  11. Harksaw
    I haven't seen this at a dropzone yet, but I know my friend that went to Bridge Day had to do it. They require you to read off the entire waiver in front of a video camera. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  12. Harksaw
    To do this, I believe the FARs would have to change. You would essentially be changing the reserve system without getting it recertified by a rigger. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  13. Harksaw
    This is also probably off-topic, but here goes: What would be so bad about having mismatched main and reserve canopies in a two-out? In my line of thinking, it would give you a better chance of being able to cut away the main, since they would be flying at different speeds and wouldn't be in a biplane. Would you end up with the smaller parachute under you, potentially falling inside it on cutaway? Or is it the danger of a downplane? which you could cut away, but I guess is more dangerous if you don't. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  14. Harksaw
    Correct me if I'm wrong: Aren't harness/containers generally made in the US? and canopies are sewn together outside the US? This may have a lot to do with the price differences. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  15. Harksaw
    In addition to what has already been said, it is also possible to give yourself a step-through when you've got the canopy in the bag, and the bag (and pilot chute) passes through the lines. This could happen if you lay the bag down before and walk away for a minute before putting the bag in the container. It's far rarer an occurance, but possible. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  16. Harksaw
    Clemson University is the same way.. our skydiving club gets t a good amount of funding for gear, upkeep, and repacks, but not for anything else. I can't complain, though, they take care of us well in this area. I pay for my jumps through packing mostly. Unless your college is near a big dropzone, I can't see being able to do this enough to pay for all your team jumps. My perception is that most collegiate skydiving teams are spending their independent wealth. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  17. Harksaw
    That boogie was so much fun. Highlights included lots of decent FF jumps, the helicopter jump, and rolling Bolas' car over. I'm still pissed that I couldn't rip that damn door off! Does anyone know who got freaky (and left evidence) on Clemson's packing tarp? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  18. Harksaw
    I'm so excited now I'm about to explode. These last 15 minutes of work are torture. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  19. Harksaw
    I'm going to be heading from Clemson, SC to Dublin later tonight. If anyone is on the way and wants a ride, I'd pick you up. I'm coming back late Sunday night. Also, does anyone know if there are any packing tents still up for rent? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  20. Harksaw
    So that's what now, 115 theoretically possible jumpers in the air simultaneously with all these planes? I'm really excited. This is going to be awesome. Are there going to be a lot of people getting there tomorrow night? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  21. Harksaw
    Has anyone else noticed that at dropzones, people have a tendancy to look (and act, of course) 10 years younger than they really are? It can be very confusing at times. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  22. Harksaw
    Its not really the same thing. While they might have issues with refunds, its not outright stealing from people by tricking them into giving their bank information. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  23. Harksaw
    We have a test at my DZ: When the plastic chairs blow over, it is too windy to jump. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  24. Harksaw
    So if the manufacturers think so highly of them, why don't they put them on other canopies? __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.
  25. Harksaw
    I'm not sure how much of an issue it would be, but from a physics standpoint, the change in performance won't be linear. A change from 0 MSL to 1000' MSL should, from a physics standpoint, be less of an air density (performance) difference than a change from 5000 to 6000 MSL. __________________________________________________ I started skydiving for the money and the chicks. Oh, wait.