GravityGirl

My Mom was an RN and she used to go to a second hand uniform store. Or you can try eBay. Yup $75 bucks sucks. But skydivers pay $200 for a pair of pants! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Why not. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Wow! That's pretty good. The inserts don't show from the outside though.... well... unless you get clear lenses. I have pretty bad eyesight too. But fortunately, I can wear contacts. Top that off with Flex-Z goggles, and I'm set. I can't wear those cool sunglasses or goggles though. My freakish head is too small!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Wow. I'm surprized. I have filled a few scripts. Some were pretty hefty. For stronger perscriptions, I was told they use inserts. They didn't give me a limit. Did you ask about that? Is asking your perscription anything like asking a woman her weight? If so, I'll refrain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Okay. I still wouldn't use the term slower. If by slower, you mean a two stage flare then there are a couple of things to consider. The original poster has a very light wing loading. A smooth even flare should do her well. As for the two stage flare, you should perform it at the same speed, but there is a hesitation point. Open up with an extra 1,000 to play. Do some practice flares. Find the point that you start to get lift. Note where your hands are. Chest level? Assuming you have a least a 1:1 loading, when you come in for landing, hesitate at that point for half a beat. When you feel the canopy begin to sink and you feel you have to put your feet down, go ahead and finish the full flare. IMHO, it's best to sort out your flare altitude before you put yourself on a wing loading/canopy that requires a two stage flare. My reasoning is this. When you flare too high on a lightly loaded, you hold your flare and put your feet and knees together. You come straight down. With a more loaded canopy, you'll still have forward speed in the same scenario, and the landing will be less comfortable. So take a few jumps on a light load to sort out flare altitude. Oh. And sorry for the jab about the knee pads. I was being a smarty pants. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Very nice. I like it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

There are several solutions with many of their models. For the thickest perscriptions, you can get inserts like was posted above. What style were you looking at? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Even though you can do it, it's not always the best choice. It can be a bit of a pain when it comes to reline time. And the custom sizes don't always have a perfect trim. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Just switched from Nav 220 to Spectre 210 two weeks before. Spectre seems to have higher forward and descend speed comparing to Navigator. The same flare speed at the same altitude as with Navigator led to nice PLF landing (but it was fine then). Basically for me I needed to start flaring higher, and you should flare slower than with Navigator. Also I would suggest you wear knee pads at least on first jump with new canopy. Perhaps your perception of speed seems faster. The Spectre is a 7 cell vs. the 9 cell Navigator. I think you are incorrect in saying that you should flare slower with the Navigator. And I would suggest not to take advise from someone who needs to wear knee pads to land. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

The PD230 is an F111 canopy. The Navigator is a Hybrid of F111 and ZP. The Spectre is fully ZP. Going from the PD to the Spectre, you will notice a much stronger flare. Do some practice flares up high and take time to feel how much lift you are getting. What is your wing loading on the PD 230? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

That does sound good for you! And... .....um..... BEER! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Honestly, with those sizes and your exit weight, you may not notice a difference at all. Just fly like you know how. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I stand corrected. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

What size Navigator? What size Spectre? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I consider the Lotus suitable for a novice jumper. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

We have been having tremendous sucess with Wiley-X in our store. And the price point is a bit more affordable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I know plenty of full time packers. Most live in trailers in a sunny climate. When you get good enough to pack fast and efficiently you can do okay. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Looks like they verticaled. Is that an official verb now? Like femor? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

But as happens far too often, some people get smacked down and they end up dead. I don't mean smacked down like that. I meant by my peirs. Continue to educate and teach other without using the blanket, "Don't do that! It will kill you." More like, "If you want to do that, here is the proper path to take to become a better pilot and develope skills to do that properly." I feel fortunate to jump/work at a DZ that nurtures continuous education. We encourage goals and support the path to attaining those goals. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

You say ego like it's a bad thing. There is a fine line between ego and confidence. Confidence is rather necessary in our sport. That's part of it. But that's part of being competative and wanting to progress too. Nothing wrong with a little ego. Just keep each other in check. I have to be smacked down every now and again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Sure a world class canopy pilot can swoop anything. But a beginner or novice pilot can't swoop anything... yet. It's important to get the right combination of riser pressure, recovery arch and such. Start off conservative for sure. But use the right tools for the job. I used to try to hook my Sabre 135. I weighed in at 125 by the way. My turn was very inconsistant because the front riser pressure was very high. Combine that with the fact that I had not developed the technique yet. So I workd on technique, but didn't do turns anymore until I got on a Stiletto 120. Then I began to get conisistant with 45, then 90s. There is a lot to learn on a conservative wing. That step should never be skipped. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Place an absorbent cloth over it and iron the cloth on a medium setting. It should soften and absorb into the cloth. Try to spot check the heat setting on a spare piece of webbing first so you don't damage it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Results? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

I jump and instruct at a high wind drop zone. The three major points I like to drill for high winds: 1. Don't put your back to the wind under 500 feet. Instead crab your downwind leg. Position yourself into the wind on final upwind of your target. You can always ease back with a slight crabbing technique. 2. Keep the area behind you clear. You can always use the wind to go back to a clean landing area. But again. NEVER put your back to the wind. Ease back with a crab. 3. Stop. Drop. Reel. As soon as you touch down. Drop a toggle and reel the other in hand over hand quickly while running behind your canopy. Again. I can't emphisize enough to not put your back to the wind. You are moving across the ground so fast, that by the time you think about turning you are past the point you want to turn and on top of that, during the turn you are still getting pushed further downwind. So always keep it clear behind you. And don't put your back to the wind. Things just happen too fast and make it difficult to make good decisions. Good job not getting broken. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

Then what would you say would be the most likely reason. In my experience, I would say about 90% of my customers that go to that high of a performance parachute do so for high performance landings. The other 10% perhaps for openings and maneuverability in the air. For example AFF or Video jumpers that get out last, but want to maneuver around other jumpers and get on the ground quickly to make that back-to-back. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!