skytribe

Talk to your Doctor - rather than strangers online who have no medical knowledge of your specific medical conditions. Well said, Sam. If your that concerned with your current medical condition then discuss with your doctor and then make the decision. Then discuss with your instructors. Don't keep asking the same question expecting a different answer. The type of stupidity that is coming out of me is telling you to get proper landing instruction from your instructors. That sounds like a really stupid answer. Get a grip and read what is being said and not only reading what you want to hear. In the present, discuss your medical conditions with your Doctor / PT for rehabbing back to correct levels of strength and fitness. In the future, landing technique is the only correct answer to avoid future injury. No special shoes or braces are going to change that answer and if you don't address that problem then the chances of re-injuring yourself are high. And if that doesn't work a good PLF may help. As you said, "you wont be able to jump for 8 months" - you may want to consider the PT route, then the training route before you start asking for magic shoes/braces as a fix for problem. You obviously have time. And the answer will still be the same - there are no magic personal equipment fixes to make landings softer. And when you do start jumping discuss with your local instructors who will be able to assess your abilities/limitations by seeing your training/jumping rather than putting something out there to the world to comment on who have never seen anything you have done. You'll probably have more success that way. Local instructors tend to be invested in their students.

In the event of a ramp check or incident - I guess the FAA/Lawyers might care. That being said - my personal opinion is that if it is an issue with a single day being the issue then they are being rather critical and the regulations need to be more specific on start date. That being said, I would consider the next day from the repack to be day 1.

How about these Soft Landing Shoes or these Spongy soled shoes Go have fun trying these. These should soften your landings up and if they don't then

Lets clear this up very simply. There is not a magic orthopedic device or pair of shoes that will make up for crappy landing technique. The best action is to learn proper landing technique and learn to do a really good PLF for a plan B. Any device/shoes have minimal benefit and can be of detriment as they can distribute a impact to another location and break/stress that. You can keep asking the same question and the answer will be the same irrespective of how many times you ask.

I think the one true answer is to spend time learning to land correctly period. PLF is something that can help in early jumping if you are not able to execute a correct landing. Great skill to have but not something I tend to use regularly. Boots, braces etc. Are all avoiding the problem on bad or incorrect technique. Address the real issue rather than looking for short term fixes. If you have genuine concerns then address them to instructors at you dz who know you and have an idea of your abilities and problems rather than a group of well meaning anonymous individuals who don't know anything about your jumping abilities.

Tandems do it almost all the time, ever tried running with someone strapped to the front of you.

Don't go wasting money/time looking shoes/equipment that don't solve the problem when that money is better spent on training to the original problem. There is no simple shoes/braces that are going to make for a softer landing. After coaching has been received, have the coach video your landings and give a thorough debrief on landing technique. That way you can see any mistakes from another viewpoint. We all make mistakes and that's part of the natural learning technique.

Proper landing technique works best.

I agree with the riggers only group - too many jumpers who seem to know everything but in reality know nothing that want to simply troll for comments than actually learn and discuss issues.

I agree, I had someone drop a rig off for repack. She was a small girl and a newly licensed skydiver that had not jumped over the winter. Needed a repack and thought I'd let her pull ripcord to practice emergency procedures. She struggled and couldn't pull it. I could see the problem that she was trying to pull upward and not peeling the velcro. I stopped her struggles and spoke about peeling the velcro first and pulling down on reserve handle. The 2nd time she pulled it no problem. I suggested that she go to DZ and speak with instructor and practice in hanging harness. Good thing she did as during the refresher training she only really remembered her single handle gear emergency procedures, but her licensed gear is a two handle system. After a bit of retraining she was good to go.

Similar question about washing canopy came up on a facebook group. Manley C. Butler Jr. "Daisy chain the lines and put them inside a long gym sock then zip tie top and bottom to hold the sock in place. A big tub is a far better method than a machine. In fact, if I were faced with that task today (learned a lot in the 30 years) I'd put the canopy in an "overpack" barrel with about 50 gallons of water and the minimal amount of Woolite. Seal it up, lay on its side, then roll it around the parking lot 20-30 minutes; drain the water then rinse and repeat rinse till the water comes out clean and clear. Then carefully hang it on the tail rack and then raise the tail a foot or so per hour to allow the water to run out the nose." Seems like pretty good advise. Also thinking about things that happen these days - swoopers landing in the pond. I don't think water is a big issue, as with any washing of skydiving equipment. Rinsing until all detergents have gone, using a mild detergent without bleach and hanging up to air dry rather than forcing drying using artificial heat. All bits of useful info.

Clearly - tandem canopies can be anywhere between 330 - 520 sq feet. They have been jumped by individual jumpers before being used by tandem, Student canopies and classic accuracy canopies are also rather large - all work just fine. There are instances of larger jumpers using tandem rigs reconfigured for single jumper - ie. without a drogue.

If that is what you or your dropzone are comfortable teaching that is good. I've worked at DZ that teach 1st jump students to pull and ones that don't teach them until 2nd tandem. I don't mind either way. That being said, I dislike it when tandem students tell other students what they need to do ? I'm the instructor, I determine what happens on my jump and provide the training necessary. If they have ANY questions - ask me and i'll answer them.

Flight Concepts Don't like clamps at all. However I havent seen one of their reserves for years. Guess they aren't as popular as they once were.

So since the mid 90's this customs thing has been happening. But 20 years later when competition is gaining ground this becomes the reason for change. How very convenient. If that was the real reason, then its taken them 20 years to come to a conclusion that 4/8 year service wasn't required and have been using this as a convenient revenue stream for decades. And why does this apply to the new units only ? Airtech's reasoning doesn't extend to their existing customers who may benefit from this servicing requirement. Only to new customers who have a choice of which units to buy.

I've been working with Acho on his tracker unit and I’ve got to say I’m impressed The unit is small and easy to install on the main deployment bag and should be within the capabilities of a senior rigger with a sewing machine. Testing was done in April in Snohomish, Washington including two intentional cutaways using the tracking device. The results proved very positive. The first test involved just ensuring that we could locate a bag/pilot chute combination (no canopy) deployed on a windy, grey overcast day. This meant that the material visible on the ground would be minimal and difficult to follow in the sky as no brightly-colored canopy was involved. It drifted further than anticipated, just under a mile, but we received a strong signal and had recovered the items within fifteen minutes. Most of that time was spent just traveling to the location. The subsequent tests were two intentional cutaways initiated at 4000 ft. With both, we located the gear within five minutes. The first cutaway we had recovered the canopy and freebag immediately. On the second test we located the equipment again within five minutes, but it landed in the tall trees and took most of the day to get it down. It was a successful test as we still received good reception even when the canopy was in the foilage. On both cutaways the freebag was found within 20 yards of the canopy. For these tests, we planned on the canopies landing on airport property which is relatively open. In real life circumstances and usage, equipment could drift to surrounding properties close by and having accurate location would be helpful in quick recovery, especially when if the canopy goes into a corn field/trees. Further extensive testing for distance revealed positive signal reception between .4 - 1.2 miles from receiver and accuracy down to around 8 feet. Range may increase or decrease with terrain but will almost certainly increase if receiver is taken aloft. Also knowing a vague direction where the cutaway occurred allows simply moving closer to get better reception for positioning. We also did tests with multiple receivers by simulating two cutaways on same jump and we were able to locate both items just a quick. The unit is active as soon as the main canopy is deployment (not just on a cutaway) and should last for an entire weekend of jumping without need to recharge. I am using a prototype device but the new design will include simple USB charging port and visible indicators of locator state. All in all, the tracking device has been a really positive experience. Results are of good performance with no on-going subscription costs and can be easily retrofitted onto most deployment bags/containers.

Finding suitable gear depends upon a number of things and all coming together in the perfect storm. Finding individual suitable components is one approach as you may find people parting out or selling components when changing gear or downsizing. Canopies are standard items which are generally not customized to the individual jumper. Containers on the other sizes have harnesses sized to the jumper. So if you have strange measurements ie. You are really tall or wide then finding suitable containers may be an issue. Also as you are new finding larger containers/canopies can sometimes be a bit tricky as they are always in demand and often go quickly. The advice about buying a new container and used canopies may be applicable if your wanting to find something that fits you perfectly. Often larger canopies suitable for new jumpers can be sold without much of a price loss when your ready to downsize a bit. I would also say try on some other new jumpers gear that is suitable for you to get and idea of what container sizes work on you. The final point is now we are coming into jumping season - available gear sometimes diminishes as people are jumping it. What is available goes quick.

Perhaps its a translation like a "That is absolute reliability. Something many people believe is impossible. ". Except for the misfires due to radio interference on Cypres 1 or the misfires due to exceeding the parameters resulting in updates or Speed model or perhaps the sensors that caused the units to become inactive but give the appearance that it was functioning. Suddenly units made in Jan are ok but those made in Dec are not - did they physically change components or hardware during that time that made this servicing optional. I'm not writing the press release, but I'm not making claims of perfection which are clearly being economical with the truth. The units are OK, just like vigil or M2's. They are not perfection and all have had issues. Using customs and shipping as an argument is rather disingenuous - they haven't cared for 27 years and probably wouldn't if their sales hadn't taken a dip due to competition. How about an honest - "we have reevaluated the servicing requirements based based upon data from servicing and market competition" I would believe that.

From Airtec press release Nice to write down but reality is that its not technically like new. Bring in a 8.5 year old cypres and after service its still an 8.5 year old Cypres with latest software on and that has been tested. If it was like new it would be just like a new one with a 12.5 year lifespan.

http://www.flyaerodyne.com/download/IconSizingChart.pdf Or perhaps just email and ask the manufacturer. That way you get a definative answer.

keep asking the same question until you get the answer you want to hear. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4789667;page=unread#unread

I've had a 160 lightning in a J1 but a J2/J3 would probably be better fit.

So you really believe that a perfectly good ripcord - someone unknown just decided for no real reason to start digging at the ripcord. That seems a little far fetched. I'm not doubting it had been poked at when a problem was identified but rather than replacing it no question. You want to make this a chargeable part. I guess that's the difference between great customer service and so so.

Exactly.

Best course of action is rather than home made fixes - take it to a rigger and have them make a more permanent fix. There are numerous ways to resolve this - you are not the first so don't try re-inventing the wheel. A couple of dollars to you rigger should provide you with a more permanent fix. Blocks, Stiffeners, extra channel with cable or tubing inside are 3 that spring to mind.