Cloggy

For me it was Point Break that got me started Skydiving was on my bucketlist somewhere, among many other cool things I'd like to try 'someday'. The local skydiving club was handing out flyers at the cinema after the movie, and as they say, the rest is history.

Unfortunately Alti2 doesn't do any repairs on N2 anymore. I asked Alti2 the same question last year: "Unfortunately the Neptune 2 is no longer able to be repaired as has been discontinued for some time. Parts are also not available. " In the end I managed to put a working N2 together from 2 broken units (thanks to Keith!).

Works for royalty too. The Dutch royal family recommends landing in water . Pieter van Vollenhoven opted for a water landing because of "weak ankles". Footage from ancient times: Polygoon newsreel First part of the item is about PA, with legendary Jaap Havekotte: 7 times national champion.

Thanks all for the input. I've done splicing for double braided rope: only for sailin g. With the small size and the loose strands, I thought making a splice in 550 would end in frustration... What I ended up doing was to sew the line with a zig zag (I only have a three step zig zag on my machine) leaving a few inches of loose end. I gutted that end (staggered) as much as possible and fingertrapped the sheath back into the cord. Good enough for me, it's not heavily loaded.

Is there any good way to make a loop with a smooth transition in 550/type III cord? I'd like the loop to have a smooth transition to make it pass through an eyelet easily without catching. I can't see a fingertrap working well with the 7 loose strands inside? And sewing the bitter end to the line will not leave a smooth transition. Any ideas? Bart

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Thanks for sharing Uwe, nice photos. Great to see what people drag from their attics nowadays Your friend is a braver man than me: going old school all the way! I put a PC Mk1 on three ring risers last year, that's where I drew the limit on the vintage experience. If you have any use for a NAA Mini System, let me know, it is just gathering dust. Or turning into dust I like the Paracommander a lot, made many fun jumps with it last year. The landings are a tad harder than on the SF-10a, but nothing bone jarring: PLF not always necessary (I'm ~87kg). Bart

I remember this has been discussed before http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4280100;search_string=Airspeed;#4280100 I think your best bet are sensors for paragliders/hanggliders: they've been using them for decades. I've also seen paraglider pilots with the sensor on a 'vane' (like Lee described) , so it's always oriented correctly into the airstream. It was a commercial product at the time, maybe from Flytec or Bräuniger?

An example of a flag jump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0s6WWl_ij8 And just two loops at the corners should do the trick. Here somebody is jumping with a stick at the bottom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OrmMKXZW94

Considering how cheap digital printing is, wouldn't you be better (and safer) off with a custom flag or banner? Maybe with something like a broomstick sewn into the bottom to keep it straight in freefall? If you happen to drop that, it is just an oversized streamer.

Just guessing here: maybe the powers that be (or were) decided to assign only one category per canopy? And based the classification on the flight characteristics of the sizes that would be most common out in the field? Having a canopy assigned to multiple categories, depending on size or wingload, would become really confusing Could be that the Firebolt is perfectly fine as a beginner's canopy in the larger sizes. Ben, best to talk to your instructors.

1975: that is a while back indeed ;)

I've seen similar spools on a boat in a sail repair kit, but I'm pretty sure that was polyester thread. You could try looking for sail twine, sail thread, whipping twine, awl thread. This type of waxed nylon thread is also used in leather work (eg. shoes). Maybe you can find it at suppliers for leather craft. When you're googling, to find the thickness you want, try adding T-350, Tex 350, 346, V346, ticket 346, Nm8, size 8 or similar to the search: same size as #5-cord in different numbering systems. If all fails, you can probably find unwaxed #5/346/350 cord on Ebay for a few dollars, wax it with a block of beeswax.

I never cared either, Mr Burns' question triggered my curiosity and the PC was unpacked. I'm wondering if the apex hole on the PC was meant as a vent, or if it's just there to make construction easier/better (Otherwise you'd have a lot of tapes, fabric, lines and sewing meeting in a very small area). It's not that the PC is lacking holes

Apex vent size on SF-10a is 15" diameter. On the PC the opening in the apex is approx. 15". I guess the effective opening is a bit smaller in flight, as the apex lines are pulled down in a cone shape.

My helmet is not for skydiving but for landing

As usual, it depends

I have the first version of the Paratec Freezr. It has soft padding, not much for impact protection. I don't know how it is in their current version. The ski helmet should work, as long as it doesn't have any snag points. I'm using my old Alpina skihelmet as open face. Works good for me: my dytter fits nicely in the lining and it has this dial tightening system around the neck. It's lightweight and with EN1077 certification it offers better protection then the usual skydiving helmet, price was only €80/$95.

You could try putting the lens in a zip lock bag with some silica gel packets. When photographing in the winter I put the camera in a plastic bag before going inside, and keep it in there until it's warmed up again. Avoids the warm air condensating immediately on the cold glass.

OK, I admit I didn't really take the lower wingload of ~1.1 into account, I suppose at that wingload the aerodynamics don't play a big role anyway. And you got a point there that many people don't use or explore the full capabilities of a canopy. Still, I'd say they are very different canopies and imo the Sabre-2 is a step up in many ways from the original Sabre re. turning and flaring. But at those prices, a cheap Sabre-1 that's not too ragged out, could be a good way to get back into the sport. Just jump it for a while and rebuild piloting experience and feeling. It would give time to demo other canopies at your own pace and delay a bigger (financial) decision until you got a better idea for what you're looking in a next canopy. It'll probably sell at a similar price to what was paid. Or stick with the Sabre-1 if it ticks all boxes.

I can only give my experiences with Sabre-1. Apparently it can be fixed, but considering the advances made in aerodynamics on more modern canopies, why bother with an old design?

I have about 700 jumps on my Sabre2 170 (WL 1.3~1.4) and I still like this canopy a lot, good fun to fly and with enough margin to keep me from hurting myself too much Heavy on the front risers, for that a 150 would be better for me. I see the usual Sabre-2 characteristics too: slightly off-heading openings (usually within a 90 degree sector, not as much as in the video above). It never opened in line twists, never a hard opening. Sometimes a quick tug on the risers to get the slider down. Snivelly openings, but nothing ridiculous: takes around 600ft. And the end cells: I don't think about them, if they are closed they open as soon as I grab the toggles. On a long spot it takes some work to make it 'float' by pulling rear risers. Sabre-1: I would not even jump it if I got paid . Made 25 jumps and got really whacked two times: one a sore neck, and one sore neck and bruised ribs. As a rigger told me once: don't trust a jumper who says his canopy is the best: as it's probably the only canopy he knows. Definitely try to demo the canopies you're considering. I don't think you can go wrong with either Safire2/3 or Sabre2, I guess they are in the same class and jumpers seem to like both. There are some differences in flaring and flying, which you may make you prefer one or the other.

Thanks Keith, would be great if you could have a look! (Sent you PM) - Bart

Maybe someone has an old N2 gathering dust? The LCD on my Neptune 2 is broken, otherwise it works fine. I'm looking for a units that I can slaughter for the screen.

Hi Drago, if you're thinking about the tinted/mirror goggles as in the video, ask your instructors first. They probably prefer clear goggles for your first jumps, to see your eyes.