zyzko

Just spotted the bulletin on the Finnish aviation association's parachuting safety & training group's webpage - it basicly grounds all Ninja canopies because there has been reported collapses. The manufacturer blames turbulent conditions at this point when full investigation has not been made, but they have decided to ground the canopies just to be sure. I could not find anything on the manufacturer's website, but the the bulletin can be found here . You need the Acrobat Reader to read the bulletin. -Kari

Hello Tomppa, I am the very pleased owner of a (AFAIK the only one in Finland) Cobalt 95. If you have any questions about the Cobalt I am happy to answer - drop me an email if you wish to try my canopy, I can probably arrange a trip to Malmi or come visit us at Jyväskylä - hopefully we have a new shining jumpship within a week or two :) -Kari A.

The words (expect "kieltä") are not textbook-Finnish - not exactly slang words either but more like spoken language written down. tommosta: That kind of, textbook form would be "tuonlaista, tuonlainen" kieltä: language, tongue - base form (is this the right term, my vocalbulary is rather limited about grammar-terms) is "kieli". käytäkään: does not use, textbook form would be "ei käytä". as Jussi mentioned in previous posts, the sentence you are looking at probably goes something like (if the words are from the same sentence at all) "Eihän tommosta kieltä käytäkään kukaan" which is "No one uses that kind of language". Clearly those are take from some kind of message board, because eihän tommosta kieltä käytäkään kukaan in "official" text. :) -Kari, Finn.

I'm not Chuck, but Dan has answered me on this same question personally and on these forums multiple times and the answer is that the Cobalt packs a little bit bigger than a Stiletto of the same size. My Wings W3 fits a Cobalt 95 "very loose". The loop can be still made very tight and safety is not compromised in any way, but it looks not-so-good and clearly has "extra space" in the corners. A lot depends also on how I pack the canopy. By trash-packing it it is very loose and fills more available space, but doing tight and nice Wolmari-pack or psycho-packing it makes it so small and compact it is too loose to my taste. The difference to Stiletto is also that Cobalt can be packed much more neatly more easily when new due the non-slippery fabric. -Kari A.

Yes, OH-JLK won't fly in Jyväskylä anymore - it will be flown to Germany next week and from there to Switzerland - 2 bad we had to sell her. If anyone has a 206 or 182 for sale, email me :) But back to wingsuit-jumping - I have to keep in mind those 30 jumps - staying current if we won't have a working airplane will be a little more difficult, but 30 jumps can be jumped easily elsewhere also ;-) BTW, Jussi has seen my Wings - they have the "low profile" PUD-handle on the BOC - not the hackey one - will this be a problem on wingsuit-jumps? I would imagine that a "regular" handle would be easier to pull w/wings attached - normally when I pull I first pull backwards towards my legs to get the handle out and the throw the PC out in the airstream. I know that wingsuit-mod for the container is highly recommended, but I think I have to try the damn thing first befor letting my rig get cut in pieces ;) -Kari

Thanks Jussi, if there's room for one "outsider" from central Finland I'll be there :) Too bad the weather looks pretty bad for this Saturday, OH-JLK is now sold and while we are looking for a new plane I have accept being a refugee at other dropzones... :(

In http://www.vapaapudotus.net/album/index.php?album=JLK-2000&image=IcarusFX70CRW.jpg you can see two fellows from our dz in a 2-stack, the cameraman is flying an Icarus Extreme FX70, the top man (too bad his canopy can't be seen) is flying a PD Velocity 96. These same two guys did a 2-stack with Icarus VX65 and the Velocity last summer in Estonia at Parasummer 2001.

AFAIK the need to roll the nose is very canopy-specific and it varies even on different canopies of same make and size, and there are many contributing factors to how quickly the canopy will open - if your canopy slams you you'll be discovering ways to slow it down quickly, but if your openings are ok without rolling the nose why bother - it is true that heavy rolling of the nose and tail can cause off-headings. So do what is best for you and your canopy and what makes you feel comfortable. As for the "wierd" openings - every canopy has it's own characteristics - trash-packing the canopy can make the openings softer and nicer, because it takes longer for the fabric to unfold, but it is nicer to your canopy if you fold it nice and clean - no fabric between the lines and the tail nicely folded doesn't wear it so much. (At least that's what I've been told by my rigger, I don't know if it is of any real importance or just "fine-tuning"). Grabbing the risers and watching the canopy while it inflates is in my opinion generally a bad idea, you'll get nicer opening by staying in as stable position as long as possible (stare at the horizon and try to keep it in level with your body), and when the opening force snaps you to vertical position keep your hands on your sides and correct any possible turn by shifting your weight in the harness, and "steer" the canopy during it's inflation. If you grab your risers right away your canopy will open faster (by pulling the risers you make slider come down faster) and there is greater possibility that you'll be uneven on your harness, causing off-headings. Be prepared to grab the risers fast in case you have to avoid collision quickly, though. I don't really see any reason to watch the canopy inflate (maybe a few times just to see how it looks like), when you get to know your canopy you can tell from the forces what part of the opening is going on and when it is fully inflated.