teason

First of all, I agree that negative comments are a pissoff! "they suck", "no one likes them" and "they're crappy" is not an arguement. I have heard barely any valid arguements against the Racer. Right , yeah this friend of theirs who knows all about them confirms what they can't back up with facts. I love that friend.lol I know that guy, he was the one who bought the chuahua in Mexico and it was really a giant rat! You must know him, his buddy ate pop rocks and drank a Pepsi and his stomache exploded! oooh the urban myths that start with "I knew this guy who has a buddy who...[insert myth here]..." Secondly, I jump the Racer Tandem with a Firebolt 396 in it and it flys awsome. It has great toggle pressure and is very responsive for such a huge canopy. The openings are soft and on heading and the landings are excellent. Pack volume is also nice becuase it is a hybrid canopy. My next canopy will be a Firebolt 146 or 128 I think you'll find it a great canopy to learn on.

There are pros and cons to all styles of jumps. Tandem can be a good introduction to Skydiving. It allows you to experience freefall and get over the initial sensory overload that swallows up part of a staticline/IAD jump. It is, however an extra cost if you choose to do static line as you really don't learn, you mainly experience. AFF is an excellent way to learn as you get more freefall working time to iron out bodyposition and pull. It is more intensive and progression can take less jumps than static line.It is, however, cost prohibitive and students are sometimes overloaded and become discouraged when too many levels are repeated. Static line is perfect for a jumper on a budget. Each jump is more affordable, progression is slower but less demanding for the student. That can mean more sucesses. However, the deployment speed of the canopy does make it difficult to work on form and early jumps are often repeated. So all have pros and cons. As you are younger and therefore probably don't have a 9-5 job pulling in big cash, I would recommend static line/IAD. Skip the tandem if cash is really tight and go straight to the first jump course. A friend of mine went down south an asked how much to complete an AFF course. Comparing the cost without repeating levels, we figured that the same amount would buy an IAD firstjumpcourse, 4 IADs and 20 freefalls from 5 sec. delays up to full delays. That a lot more jumping! Most of us will try to tell you that the best method is the one we chose. In the end, you know your own situation. Pick what's best for you. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

First, wear soft shoes. If seen big dents in the leading edge from this. Second, clear it with the owner of the plane. I've seen pissed off aircraft owners fuming over dents in the leading edge. Third, tell the pilot not to help you with a negative "G". I've seen people get their bell rung smacking the underside of the wing. Finally, get more experience. There are a ton of ways to go from a cessna and they're all fun, toe hangs are a little advanced at 14 jumps.

I hope we're talking about spot cleaning here! Your reserve is made either from f-111 or a similar fabric. This fabric goes through a process called calendaring (Ihope that the right spelling). This is where the canopy is put through 2 hot rollers and the nylon fibers are heated and mushed together. This decreases the porosity of the fabric and we all know that porosity plays a big roll in performance. The thread is also bonded. Water will reverse the calandering process! That, in turn, will make your canopy more porous and decrease the performance of your reserve. Some manufacturers even mandate a porosity test after X many packs or uses, so maintaining your reserve is obviously important. The only time it's OK to soak a canopy is when you're trying to get something worse out, like salt water. The canopy is already wet and letting it dry will cause salt cystals to form like little knives. In that case rinse the canopy is clean fresh water. Hope that helps

OK I think I can see it now, sounds like good PC placement. Thanks

OK ... DUH! My question was about what you do on the release. I'm trying to picture a clean throw but I'm having trouble. Can you tell me where you release the pilotchute in relation to the student? What is your timing? What is your body orientation? Have you seen your deployments on video? I've watched probably about 7000 or 8000 IAD students (most of which I dispatched) on video in slow mo and with 4-5 still pictures taken in a 1.5 sec window. I've seen all types of releases and timings as well as pilotchute inflations. It doesn't matter how you follow your student out as long as you can 1.) control the student 2.) protect the gear 3.) deal with emergencies 4.) ensure a proper deployment I have no idea about the first 3, I assume you do it well, but I'm trying to visualize the 4th. Please elaborate, I'm having trouble picturing your technique during the student's release. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I go out the exhaust but only when I feel gassy. Well ... I thought it was funny ... I ... Er ... fine. screw you I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Hmm... you know ... I think I dated her .... Glad she shaved the nipple hair! OMG I think I just made myself sick .... HRGHGHRKJ I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

It was a perfect analogy unless of course the person asking the question doesn't understand the difference between a 7 cell and a 9 cell! Anyone have an aerodynamic answer? Full of words such as parasitic drag and such mumbo jumbo? I'm too much of a layman. Learned that on a previous thread! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

The regular pull force check tool works fine. I check every time the quick loops are adjusted. I have, however, had a racer in that bottomed out my 50lbs scale when I tested it. I talked to a guy who was with the rigger when he packed it. He had him put his weight on the container while he reefed it with all his might. That was one of the first repacks I ever di and I learned a valuble lesson that day. Not all rigger are created equal! p.s. no more than 22lbs I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

ARRRGGHH! I know the DZ and the video! Gawd! It drives me freakin' nuts everytimr I see it!!!!!!!!!!!! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

How do you kepp the PC out of the burble? When the student releases, the JM should bring the pilotchute down and off to the side, about arms length from the burble. The way you're describing would seem to require alot of twisting. The only other way to pitch the PC that way is to bring it up, releasing it above the head. That method is potentially dangerous as it increases the risk of the student entangling with the PC! I think I must be missing something. Could you elaborate? I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

My cable had lots of excess too. I don't think it was a factor. For me, it was the demands of being in that position, climbing in and out of the 182 3 times(5 to 6 if it's a 206) per load for for a couple of hours. I understand that I was in an extreme situation. The first time it popped on me, I 5 hours into a day where I did 85 IADs. But the observation still stands. Throw a loose reserve pack job in with some humid weather and I think it could happen on any load! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Make sure your rigger knows how to pack it. As long as you have a good hollow in the freebag (John S. called it a catchers mit) the pilot chute should seat fine. This brings up one valid point. After seeing bent pins, broken quick loops and pull forces that only Frank Zane could pull, I've learnt that a racer in the hands of a bad rigger is a scary thing ... although the same can be said of any rig! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

****Warning speculation only! not a proven theory**** I think that sitting in the plane bending forward may be moving the pin. If you take a vector II and bendit forward, you can see the reserve flap start to crack open. The same thing that causes the flap to crack open may also be moving the pin. I think of it like a race track. the out side is longer than the inside track. bending forward stretches the outside of the pack, that's why I prefer to dispatch with a racer as oppossed to a 1 pin system. And yes, I still check my pins in the plane and yes, you CAN do it with a Racer. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Or 3 the toggles are pulled too far creating a dynamic stall on landing or positive lift that dumps you too high. But this is all academic. The question isn't "why are the landings bad" the question is "is this the wrong canopy for me" I have a jumper that went from a manta at .6 to a Vengence at 1.0. Watching his performance compared to others at the same expereience I can clearly see that he hasn't been able to improve his canopy skills. He basically got a canopy that is hard to learn on. I've met a ton of yahoos who tell people that their first canopy should be small and fast so that they don't get board. That is poor advice. The right advice is that you're first canopy should be one that is easy to learn on. When you have acheived your full potetial on that canopy, that's when you move on. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Had the exact same thing happen to me while doing IADs with my vector II! After about 3 or 4 loads the plane was refueling and I had to go to the can can. When I came out, I put my gear back on and then thought "well I haven't had a pin check in a while", took the gear off and saw my reserve pin in the exact same position. When we do IAD hanging exits, we climb completely out of the plane. We are a lettle further out than the crotch position. This incident scared the living SHIT out of me 'cause I was probably out of the plane with my pin like that! I've also had that reserve pop on me climbing into the plane. It also popped on another instructor. After that, I taught myself to feel both pins before climb out by reaching back. I then bought the first Racer that came up for sale at my DZ! The guy who bought my old vector is and IAD JM now and he also feels for the pin AND he gets the pilot to pin check him before he starts dispatching. ******** I have to comment, however, that part of my problem can be attributted to doing back to back loads without proper pin checks. We would put the gear on, get a pin check and then do as many as 30 182 loads before jumping********** I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Well, while I believe the design remains the same, the lines on newer PD canopies are not coated (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Coated lines tended to have a memory. Also, a PD canopy must be returned to the factory for a porosity test after 40 packs or 25 rides. The warning lable on the canopy has boxes that are marked at each repack. Although I have seen some that have been in service for years and only marked a couple of times, contradicting the data card! Either they were pencilpack, or the rigger wasn't do his job. Hope this helps

I was tightening up my student(big burly guy) when he asks "uh you're not gay are you?" I shouted back " ... uh ... I swear to GOD that's a pack of certs!" He laughed, we left, it was a fun jump. I love it when they're firing on all cylinders.

I like frap hats 'cause of the wind noise. 12 yrs of not wearing a helmet has destroyed my hearing! (...well that and 12yrs of being a nightclub DJ) I wore a frap hat until some whuffo at a satelite school thought it made a better souvener than a piece of safety equipment.Bastard! Had my head pinched in a line twist last weekend, didn't like it. Frap hat would of protected me from the scrapes. I don't even want to think what a protec would have done, but I think it would have been harder to get my head out! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Had my knee rebuilt during our typical 6 month layoff. I was 10 months between jumps so the DZO at the time made me borrowed big. Made sense 'cause I hadn't totally healed and had a problem with my landing gear! I think I did two before going back to my canopy. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

I think if a rigger tightened a po top, he would have to do a pull test on it. To not pull test a pop top after closure is irresponsible. I've seen Racers with 40lbs+ pull force. I had a Racer Tandem that bottomed out my 50lbs fish scale! Imagine pulling that with one hand! When I tighten a pop top, I have to remove the seal to do the pull test and then I reseal it. Haven't tightened anyone else's work 'cause I'm the only game in town at my DZ. If I took my rig to someone else to retighten I think I'd want a pull test, comments on the data card and a new seal. ****Would that be in line with the FARs?**** I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

Hard to tell but looking at your three rings and estimaing where you hip is, it looks like it could be a shade shorter on the MLW but not by that much (only an inch or so). It doesn't look too bad, I saw much worse just today. Had to hold up an entire load of FJCs just to redo their MLW. I don't think the MLW is the only problem. It's really not that far off the mark.The laterals look short as well. I don't think that gear is suited for you. If you have other options on containers, I say take 'em! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

1.) My tandem master hates the heavy/problem students 2.) My tandem master went fishing 3.)I'm still paying off my tandem gear. Sorry, I'm a downer. Actually I love tandems, nothing like having a human cheststrap! I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

... crap ... I was going on what pilotdave said Thanks for the link. If I could figure out a rubics cube when I was 10, then I should figure this out! 54 secs, best time! (he says embarressed yet scraping up his last shreds of dignity and defending his intelligence) I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.