frost

Thats right! there is no such secret society (AKA The Secret Society of Swoopers over 1000 AKA SSS+1000)!! SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Excellent point - i can totally relate to that. Currency and number of (many) jumps per month are KEY to good flight techniques... take a break and you;re at risk then, unless i am totally missing your point, arent we being a little hypocritical? ;) SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

quick question - did you yourself heed the warnings? Or are you one of those "got titanium" people that say "dont do as I did"? :) Edited to add: I think there is a tendency of some "older" jumpers to hold back the novices. I think it comes from a certain level "I was here before you, so what the fuck can you possibly know?" attitude. No matter how much they try to seem "cool" or "ego-less", these attitudes ARE alive and well. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Do too SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Mark, hopefully the weather will be better around my parts and I will get to jump my new lines this weekend and let you know what i thought They sure do look pretty, i can tell you that much right now!

The traditions of rec.skydiving live on... SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

That is EXACTLY right SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Does the X-fire not benefit from the sling shot effect created by forced rear riser recovery from the dive? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Replace steering lines - $20 Hospital stay if a steering line snaps - $20,000 you do the math SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

If swooping gets exploited for capitalistic venture - GREAT!! But i dont think it will. Although swooping IS the most wuffo friendly event in skydiving, unfortunately, the market is just not big enough for someone like Coke or Chase to get interested in sponsoring the athletes... AFAIK - Go Fast is the ONLY MAJOR sponsor of "extreme" athletes of all types. Other businesses in skydiving sponsor skydivers too, of course. But how much can a new olympic athlete or a tennis player sponsored by Coke make a year? I dont know, but i'd guess it's in the 6 figures or more. How much does a PD Factory or Icarus Canopies sponsored skydiver make? If i had to guess, i'd say nothing... or close to it. The companies in skydiving business are just not in the most profitable business... We all know how hard it is to make a living skydiving. As someone has said it here before - swooping is expensive. Even more so then regular skydiving - and we all know the costs associated with getting into the sport. There are those who can afford to buy two-three matching rigs as soon as they start jumping and make 500-700 jumps a year. And there are those that make their living off the DZ who cant. But it seems that most people find a way to keep jumping. (and then there is ME - someone who made 500 jumps last season while laid off and on unemployment, right Johnny?) Sarge, I agree that Jim Slaton has done a LOT for promoting and developing swooping into what it is today. He was there at the right time, in the right place and had the right mindset to get things rolling. But i dont at all think that his way is the only way. Does there have to be a monopoly in the swoop events? Cant we have TWO independent events/swooping authorities? Not only can we - there SHOULD be. If swooping competitions are to become a business, then like in any business there have to be alternatives for people to chose from. All it takes is a will to do it. I know someone who organized a DAMN good swooping event last year, with not much (if any) prior organizing experience. The event was as good as any of the last years, the prize money was great and it was FUN. That man had a will to do it, wasnt afraid of failing and he did it. A thousand mile journey starts with the first step. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

really? Is that "maximum" recommended? I thought most 9-cells were in the 1.6-1.8 "optimal" loading range, after that they start losing in performance... SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

i just read your thoughts... yeah, i agree. Also recall how he was turning really close to the slope? May be it just looked that way, but seems to me that there is a VERY small margin for an error there. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Did anyone have any concerns about the way those canopies were oscillating and breathing? Seemed like cross bracing would be benefitial there. Also curious why whould (3 year old?) daedalus line of canopies be 3 steps ahead of an established paragliding canopy manufacturer? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

You know about the issues they had with some of the original crossfires, right? Make sure yours is not on the recall list. Isnt 2.0 a bit too much of a wingloading for a x-fire? Or any 9 cell for that matter? SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

no. Then again i wouldnt relocate period. :) isnt swooping that high ASL like an engine with nitrous oxide? Once you off the juice - you're on your own power. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Perhaps you're right... But consider this: You remember when Roger Nelson put his students under Safires like 6-7 years ago? Everyone thought it was a huge mistake, SEMI ELIPTICAL FOR STUDENTS??! They will surely kill themselves... Or when some DZ put thier students on "hot" square canopies many years ago? That was before my time, but i heard everyone thought it was going to kill them too. Seems that every progressive step forward meets some type of opposition from the more inert or perhaps "more" safety oriented population. You chose how you want to look at it. Of course, no student should EVER be on a canopy he cant handle! I agree with you. But if a man with 400 jumps is "surviving" his landings, may be he should consider another activity? Edited to add that i am not referring to the originator of the post when i say it SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

DID NOT SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Agreed! I upsized to a XF2-129 for a few dozen jumps and that thing is a machine. Not a VX, but you can make it go the distance. Then again, look at the guys swooping their asses off under Saber2's, doing better then some under x-braced canopies. You'll see that it's not the canopy... it's the pilot. Needless to say that he could have been under a PD190 and have the same results, right? can happen under ANY canopy... SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

Well... i do OCCASIONALLY post here too. SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

10 to go... you guys wanna do a big way for my 400th post? Dress as you like SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

noo... DID TOO! ... 11 to go SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

wait.... Richard Simmons is gay??! NNNNOOOOOO!!!! SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

DID TOO! Lets see if i can earn my 400 by the end of the day :)) SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

No. He started it! SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.

congrats on making you 1111 post SoFPiDaRF - School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying. Because nobody knows your skills better than you.