BMAC615

The skydiving world could use more people doing what you are doing. Great work!

For context, SLJM; AFFI; TI; thousands of jumps: cut away and then go to reserve. (I like to think) I would have also kept reserve brakes stowed until finished sorting out the entanglement. Also, how do you fold your PC & bridle? This data point is of great interest to me.

What you’re expressing is sort of like asking how to get more people interested in Style & Accuracy or 10-Way Speed Star or CRW. The culture and interest of drop zones change as new disciplines are introduced. The reason for this is people are always looking for new and fresh things to do as well as people look up to the top of the skill food chain and take cues from them. Whatever they are doing is often what people strive to do. People get interested in skydiving for myriad reasons. Often it is for friendship and connection with like minded people. If the people they are drawn to are focused on a specific discipline, they will want to do that discipline to be a part of that group. What discipline a drop zone focuses on is an issue of drop zone culture. At most drop zones, the cool kids aren’t doing 4-Way. There are some that do have a large contingent of people focused on 4-Way, but, for the most part, the cool kids are “free-flying.” So, how do you get more experienced jumpers interested in 4-Way? Well, that depends on how much energy you want to spend pushing a large rock up a hill. What you could ask is, “what am I trying to accomplish by participating in this hobby?” If you enjoy 4-Way and want to improve in RW, convincing experienced skydivers to get on your 4-way train is probably the most difficult way to accomplish your goal. The good news is there is a way for you to accomplish your goal and that’s to work with new skydivers as they progress to whatever is their ultimate goal. Belly Skydiving skills are a pre-requisite for all other disciplines. I suggest you embrace working with new skydivers and coach them through this Basic Belly Flying Progression. If they spend 30-minutes in the tunnel and go through the Kinesthesia Dive Program in the air with you, they will be very competent skydivers by the time they hit 100 jumps. This will give you the ability to improve your skills, make new friends and give you a new found purpose at the DZ. The other option, if it’s available, is to choose a DZ where the culture embraces 4-Way and FS. Lastly, instead of having a home DZ, you can find other like minded belly flyers and travel and do mini-camps with them. I hope this helps. Good luck!

WOW

“Ideally” and “shouldn’t be a problem” are points on a risk spectrum.

Ideally, for turn rigs, you are best off with identical set ups. If you have multiple rigs for multiple uses like, RW, wingsuit and or CRW, you might not have the option of identical canopies, so, you must be aware of your landing pattern, last turn altitude, sight picture, etc.

Not a lot of traffic on this forum. There’s a skydiving forum on Reddit that may have more people with experience.

The gist of it is Here.

Call John LeBlanc and ask him.

I totally agree about staying within the manufacturer recommended WL range. I’m of the opinion that people should choose equipment primarily based on reserve size - choose a reserve size you can consistently land in a back yard with a chain link fence surrounded by power lines. THEN, choose your main size and THEN choose a container that will fit them both.

You basically take on debt to pay to become a tunnel rat and then work off your debt. You could do the same by just paying $10k. The opportunity cost is high going the instructor route if you have the ability to earn more doing something else. If you’re getting into it to get to fly all the time, that’s the wrong motivation. If you’re getting into it because you like hospitality, customer experience and entertainment, then it might be a good move for you.

Sorry, I meant to link This one.

“Frog Modified”

There’s something similar In this video.

He also made an appearance in “Cutaway.”

Why are you arguing with people who say sliding in is a bad habit? No world-class canopy coach is going to encourage people to slide in their landings in lieu of a proper landing.

It’s a terrible habit. It’s a last resort, like a PLF. Encouraging people to slide in when they should be able to control their canopy to a stand up landing is not world-class coaching.

@nwt Loves to hang his hat on taking a canopy course or two from Curt Bartholomew.

Your math is wrong, but, you’re not out of the realm of safety. Talk to your S&TA.

There are multiple reasons, but, it all revolves around a limited amount of specialized skilled laborers. 1. The industry is fairly cyclical and manufacturers are not keen on hiring and laying off people based on annual demand cycles. Plus, they can’t just hire anyone off the street and teach them how to sew life-saving equipment without a high amount of training and experience. 2. Manufacturers often build specialized equipment for military applications and when a contract is awarded, they have to deliver by specific dates to meet obligations. 3. Materials sometimes come in short supply and all the manufacturers order from many of the same distributors. 4. It was impossible to predict the demand to be as high as it has been this season and all the reasons above (and others) have contributed.

I think the quickest way PD could do it would be to get four groups of five test jumpers (20 total) w/ FlySight and do one load for each canopy type of various sizes with test jumpers within the weight range aligned in their WL recommendations.

I agree. The only online data I’ve found is in this video around the 36 minute mark where John talks about the differences between a Pulse and Katana.

Does a comprehensive table of glide ratios exist for a wide spectrum of canopies? I recognize the typical glide ratio is ~ 3:1 in no wind conditions, but, I’m curious to see how much the glide ratio differs on various aspect ratios and canopy designs. For example, people talk about the Storm being ground hungry compared to the Spectre and the Stiletto being flat compared to the Katana. I can’t find any numbers that show how much the glide ratio differs between them.

Here’s a Video by Squirrel that explains why they design the Snatch the way they do.

Technically correct is the best kind of correct. You’ve been wrong in the past, you’re wrong now and will be wrong in the future, get over yourself.