Kris

Never been involved in testing electronics before, have ya'? You can test & test all day long in an environment, but you won't know what you're really looking for until a product makes it out to the field. Users will do things and use products in environments that you simply cannot plan test scenarios for. I still give kudo's to Alti-2 because they're fixing the issues as fast as we're reporting them. Try getting that level of support for any other company. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Zen answer: Because that's simply what it is. If any of you are close enough to her to have her private e-mail, I'm sure she'll tell you what's up. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

She's okay. Not sure if she is ever coming back though. Long story. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

YAY!!!!!! Okay, now that that's out of that way....umm....what's up with the trees? Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

2.13 - Road to Rhode Island "Nothing says "Obey me" like a bloody head on a post!" - Stewie Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

That's probably your problem. Your NetAdmin probably has the IRC ports blocked on the firewall. The system can't be changed. It's a Java front-end IRC client that runs on the DZ.com chat page. You'll simply have to make your NetAdmin disappear or get some really good blackmail on him. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Damn....beat me to it, Bo. The landing gear is okay, the missing wingtip is most definitely not! Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Sky...you're my hero. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Natch! Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

HOLY SCHMOLY! Noice buzz-job, Kev!!! Is there any video from the formation side? Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

*settles down with a big bowl of popcorn and a bottle of Shiner because this is about to get good* Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Okay, so I was going through some pics in my skydiving folder and ran across these outstanding Photoshop jobs. Does anyone know if there's a series of these or if there are anymore? ps. Definitely safe for work. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

You may not need to, but someday you might have to...and a whole lot lower than that. At 2K? I'd have them use their reserve. They may fumble or lock for a bit and, by that altitude, their Cypres has already armed. 3K & above go for their main. For experienced, that's their own call. I'll get out on my main from around 1500 & above (depending on the circumstances), below that and and I'm going out on my reserve. Especially if we'd already climbed above 1500' and then went back down because now my Cypres is armed and I don't want to tempt a 2 canopy-out situation. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

I have it handy, it's a great recipe. I love pesto! Holly's Organic Cilantro Basil Garlic Pesto (From "Raw, The Uncook Book"). 2 cups cilantro 2/3 cup walnuts 2/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice 1 1/2 teaspoons Celtic sea salt 1/2 cup spinach 1 tablespoon garlic (I recommend a whole bulb) 1 tablespoon minced ginger 1/4 teaspoon habanero chili 1/2 cup olive oil Add fresh basil as well Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Family Guy rocks! But, the song snippet was "Lost in love and I don't know much..." Yeah, I know my Family Guy. It was episode 3.11, "Emission Impossible".

It may not seem like a lot but it certainly is. Don't forget, you've also got the forward throw of the airplane to work with as well (the transition off of the relative-wind "hill"). S/L and IAD students go from 3500' all the time. When I take a student for their first clear & pull, I only give them an extra 500' or so. I don't have to, it's just a buffer, but it is their first time pulling on their own. By the time AFF students get to that point, they've already had several successful self seployments. The only difference is the altitude. 3500 isn't low. Even 3K isn't low. My Stiletto snivels forever at times, but if I do a HnP from a fast airplane (KingAir, CASA) I'm usually open about 200' below my exit altitude. In a piston Cessna, about 250'-300'. Personally, I think the HnP should stay in the curriculum. If there's an A/C emergency and the pilot orders everyone to bail at 2K, I'd hate to be behind someone who freezes in the door. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Keep in mind, I only got to fly the Crossfire2 3 times at Rantoul, I was in the saddle right under 3K each time. I have over 200 jumps on a Stiletto 190 (loaded 1.35:1), the Crossfire2 was a 169 (loaded 1.53:1). They didn't have a 189 for me to try for an honest size-size comparison. All openings were fantastic. It didn't snivel as much as my Stiletto, but it was more stable and I didn't have to give it near as much harness input during the snivel to maintain heading. The openings, while not as long, were not hard at all, to quote Skycat, "It's like falling into warm ice cream".

Tonto....sheesh! Have the boy start with something a bit simpler to digest. Clicky Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

"An armed society is a polite society" -- Robert A. Heinlein One of my favorite quotes actually. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

A fully elliptical wing is a pretty busy canopy to be under to begin with, but I found the Crossfire2 demo that I tried at Rantoul to be a lot less busy than my Stiletto. Didn't hunt as much during the openings, almost zero oversteer on both toggles and risers...the thing flew like it was on thought-guided rails. But you raise a great point. That having been said though, when flying any decently wing-loaded canopy (or any canopy for that matter) like that, never let your body get somewhere that your mind wasn't at at least 5 minutes before. FreakFlyer: The best thing you can do is to demo both of them. If you're going to try a Crossfire2, I would demo one close to the same size (a 149) Stiletto you are flying now so that you will have a good comparison to work from. You may find that you like the 149 or you may decide that you may want to go a bit smaller. Great thing with Icarus, if you don't want a 119, they'll build you a 135...or 136, or 134, or even a 132.7 for no extra charge. Also, as others have said, make sure you are wringing the piss out of the canopy you have now. You should be able to do BillVon's list on your current canopy before moving on to the next one: Can you: -flat turn 90 degrees at 50 feet? -flare turn at least 45 degrees? -land crosswind and in no wind? -land reliably within a 10 meter circle? -initiate a high performance landing with double front risers and front riser turn to landing? -land on slight uphills and downhills? -land with rear risers? Personally, I've done all of those (including a few intentional downwinders) on my Stiletto except for the flare-turn which I am still working on. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

This one? Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

It's the American pilots with guns everyone has to watch out for. http://humor.gryphontech.com/pilots/ Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

An AAD misfire is bad enough, but it'll usually just leave you with two out in most cases. Now, imagine you had a unit that also cut away your main, how does a misfire below 300' sound to you now? Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

I feel your pain, Bo. But, I do the same thing and I've never had a problem. It felt really weird the first few times I went up without my legstraps as tight as I usually set them, but it's no problem at all, even with boxer shorts. Very comfy under canopy, too. Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

Get yourself to any electronics store. All you need is a 1/4" to RCA adapter cable. It's what we use at my DZ to run the audio channels for movies from my laptop to the TV.