Geoff

Thanks Dan and Chuck - that clarifies a lot. Blue swoops Geoff

Can't help wondering why you're modifying the Cobalt nose? How will that affect the way it flies? To be honest, I suddenly feel less inclined to order one yet, knowing that it's being re-designed. I'm sure you don't want to damage or even delay your own sales, so more info would be appreciated. Thanks Geoff

A friend of mine bought a used Stiletto real cheap. No idea how many jumps it has, but looks OK - no obvious wear or holes, but it flies and lands like sh#t. My immediate reaction was that he needs a reline. He's not so convinced, and thinks the canopy itself is shot and needs replacing. My understanding is that ZP basically doesn't distort or go porous with age, and as long as you keep patching or re-stitching any wear, and change the lines every few hundred jumps, it will basically last forever. I've certainly heard of ZP canopies with more than 2000 jumps. Any opinions? Do ZP canopies eventually become so old that relining no longer helps? Thanks Geoff

I'm trying to imagine how this could happen - assuming the main is correctly on the risers. You'd couldn't put the risers on facing backwards - that would obviously be wrong because the rings would be on the wrong side. So I guess you'd need to have the canopy facing backwards, but a 180 twist in the riser / lines on each side - is that right? Would the brakes still be free like that? Geoff

BPA rules say 2000ft minimum exit height (I've done it a few times, and it sure looks low when you look out the door), or 1500ft for demos. (Not sure why it should be safer to exit lower on a demo.) Our DZ had an aircraft emergency at 800ft last year - all the jumpers exited. Some used mains, some used reserves. All jumpers and the plane landed OK. Geoff

I'd really like to hear about the 'RSL induced problems'- any chance you could post some details? (no, I don't want to start a pro / anti RSL discussion!) Thanks Geoff

You'd have to kill me to get my rig off, in the back of a small a plane with no door! even if the reserve container's open. Geoff

I can't believe Dan hasn't replied to this yet.....

Para-gear gave me the cheapest price I could find for a complete custom rig, and delivered within the timescales they quoted. I was happy. Geoff

I think you'll find it can't be done. dropzone.com email is webmail only. Geoff

More conservative jumpers seem to shun ringed or articulated harnesses, because of an alleged greater chance of harness failure. As I understand it, a 'traditional' harness is made from a single length of webbing, with no load-bearing joins in it. So - the simple question is - is there any substance in this view? Have ring harnesses ever failed? I've never heard of it. Geoff

Do you (or anyone else) remember which issue? I get both Skydiving and Parachutist, but I don't remember seeing such a table. Thanks Geoff

I can't find anything that detailed on pia.com - could you maybe give me a complete url if you're sure it's there? thanks Geoff

I went from a Spectre 135 (loaded at about 1.4) to a Safire 129 when I had about 380 jumps. It seemed a LOT faster, especially in turns, but also in straight flight. I had to be really careful for the first 50 jumps or so. I think you'd be seriously increasing your chances of injury going to a Safire at 1.2 with your jump numbers. I read (so it must be true!) that Icarus measure the area of their canopies differently to PD, which means that they're actually a bit smaller than a PD canopy with the same placarded size. Used Sabres can be a really good deal, and if you get a large or 'pocket' slider made the openings can be OK. Talk to your rigger or PD before you try anything, though. Just MHO. Hope it helps. Geoff

Is there a web site or other directory which gives comparative info on manufacturers of parachuting equipment? i.e. in terms of annual sales, or number of canopies/containers sold, and maybe how long they've been trading. I thought the PIA web site might help, but it didn't seem to. People are sometimes reluctant to trust smaller manufacturers such as Mirage or Atair. But how much smaller are they than Sunpath and PD? Is there any way to find out, except by contacting each company individually? Could this info be added to the gear pages of dropzone.com ? thanks Geoff

Mirage offer an option to make their containers in a special 'short' version, which is shorter top to bottom, but a bit thicker. It's designed specifically for jumpers under 5'6" tall. Geoff

From memory: Basically, there are 2 buttons with arrows by them - up and down. Press and hold either of them, and the alarm altitude will move up or down in 500ft steps. It will beep once for each 1000 ft, with a gap and another beep for an additional 500 ft. e.g. beep beep beep beep -gap- beep means 4500ft. press either button quickly and it will beep the current set altitude at you. press both to zero it (only needed if you jumping within 20 minutes of arriving at the DZ.) There's something else for a low battery - a long beep or something - I'll try to find the instructions. I think that's right. Hope it helps. Geoff

This is a big subject, but a couple of observations: (1) A 'student rig' normally means a rig for training non-skydivers to skydive. Student rigs are normally bought only by instructors or drop zones. Nobody uses one when they're no longer a student. What you will want is a 'novice rig' or 'beginner's rig'. (2) I hope you don't mean you're going to try to get one rig to share with your wife. As a 200lb beginner, you need a main canopy of at least 200 sq ft or more. That canopy would be underloaded by a 130lb person. Plus the harness won't fit you both! Have a look at the articles at http://www.dropzone.com/gear/articles/ and ask your instructor a lot of questions. Have a great time learning to skydive! It's the world's best sport. Geoff

OK, let me re-phrase - I personally wouldn't want to jump with a round reserve at a tight DZ surrounded by hazards unless the pre-jump plan and the spot made allowance for the round reserve (put me out first or whatever) and I had a lot of confidence in whoever was spotting. Maybe that's just me. If it's a wide-open DZ, surrounded by fields, then no problem. Geoff

Another point - dual-canopy deployment is much less dangerous if one canopy is round, and that means that a canopy transfer rather than freefall cutaway can be used if you find yourself low under a malfunctioning main. However, some modern container systems (certainly my Mirage G3) are no longer suitable for round reserves, though I'm not sure why not. Anybody know? As for the spotting - you're right the spot has to be good, but it also has to be specifically spotted for a round canopy. I mean a deep spot could be a perfectly good spot for a square, but simply too deep for a round. I'm not sure how many people I would trust to spot for rounds nowadays, especially on a large load. Round reserves definitely have some advantages, but I still think we'll see fewer and fewer of them. Geoff

maybe you already know - Adrian Nicholas jumped a parachute made from the Da Vinci sketches a few months ago. He didn't land it, though - chopped and landed a modern canopy, which made it a bit pointless to my mind. Geoff

To my mind the difficulty with static line progression is that the first task (a stable exit) is actually very difficult, especially bearing in mind that the exit is the point on any skydive when the jumper feels most afraid, excited, tense, etc... and you can't progress until you get that exit right. Some people nail it immediately - good for them. They save money compared to AFF, and may become qualified only slightly slower. But there are certainly a lot of people who give up during their first few static line / dummy pull jumps because they can't get the exit consistent. To me this is the big advantage of AFF - you can get a number of jumps under your belt and relax a bit before you try getting your exits perfect. Just my personal view. Geoff

You can be a member of both - I am and lots of people are. Never had a problem due to non-residency (don't think they care as long as you pay the fee), but I get my membership mainly for the magazine, plus then I don't need to take out the temporary membership when visiting the USA. My licences are BPA - I don't even have a USPA A licence, I'm just a USPA member. If you're based in the UK, I suggest you follow the BPA licence route until C licence - that lets you do most things e.g. become an instructor, jump camera, wear a frap hat, do demos, even skysurf (there are extra requirements here, but not a D licence) etc. You only need the D licence if you want to become a CCI (Club Chief Instructor). Once you've got your 200, if you're hungry for a D licence, you could check up on the extra requirements for the USPA D (night jumps, written test etc.), maybe go to the US on vacation and get checked out. You'll need USPA membership to do this. You may be able to find a USPA instructor in the UK to check you out - there are a few around. I know that Chris Allen (BPA chairman) is or was a USPA instructor. Check out http://www.uspa.org/ for the detailed requierements. The FAI does standardise the minimum requirements for the licences, but the precise requirements are up to the national bodies, so they're effectively different everywhere. Hope that helps Geoff

IMHO there's nothing about the Mirage (or any particular container system) which is inherently unsuitable for a novice, as long as it's sized for an appropriate main and reserve. You'll still need to think about some of the options e.g. soft reserve handle, whether you want an RSL, etc. Best talk to your instructor about that. The Mirage is a mighty fine rig (it's what I jump) but so are several others. Geoff

you can be a non-US resident USPA member. I am.