johnny1488

Like was said here, keep an eye out for good packers and ask them to show you tips. And PRACTICE. I have given some people lessons 2 and 3 times over because they refuse to try. I make my living from packing so I won't argue that much but I tell them over and ever if you get your technique right, you can pack anything. I have packed rigs that have sent other packers and riggers away cursing. It's all about practice. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would never tell (or make) anyone get out if they were spotting. Thats a ground rule. But i have torn peoples heads off while staring at cloud cover when they knew damn well we went through a layer at 5k. "The light ain't gonna get any greener!!!" If you know you can't spot and aren't prepared for that when the door opens, get the fuck out of the way. Personally for me it is usually RW groups. Or when they can they want to get out over the peas. Bullshit. But if its a safety issue, I would never pressure anyone to get out. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

He's my hero. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The maunfacturer who told me this was not Wings and I dont know if they use the same hardware. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I have been told by a manufacturer who does it this way that folding over type 17 webbing does not fit through their current chest strap hardware well. And I have seen a folded over single layer chest strap come undone in freefall while properly routed and stowed. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I've been on loads where I wanted a low pass, had to go all the way up, and got a pass on the way down. Paid hopnpop price. Any reason the plane comes down and we couldnt jump I have never paid. My DZ is very cool about that stuff. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

This weekend looks good and its a great time to fly a canopy before the otters come back. DZ is forced to be a bit slower. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I am also a packer and I let my GF pack for me but thats all. It might be wrong but I feel I can do it best and probably faster than anyone else would (or would want them to). Before I was a rigger I never liked the way my rig looked when someone else packed it. (the few times someone else did) Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

If you get up to the Ranch I'll work with you also and jump that canopy if you want. But as an answer, you dont really want to stall the canopy on landing, you want to get all the lift out of the canopy before you stop flying it. So with a canopy that has an abrupt stall point that might be tough. Hope to see you up at the Ranch. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

We still have one year round, but I think it's just a left over from the days when the owners had 9 of them! It's great for iffy weather days when we dont have enough for the otter. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It was spectra. That's why I never thought it was an acceptable line for canopies. No one I know follows the manufacturers tolerances. You would need a line set every few weekends. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm not so sure about that. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I know of one manufacturer that said any line one inch out of spec called for a line set. On some line sets I have seen this happen in 100 jumps. Most would jump them for about 5-600. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Do you give the student the toggles? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It would seem to me that this line mod is pulling too much of the tail down and is stalling the canopy too early. I would talk to the person you bought it from and see if there is a way to put the original line configuration back on the canopy. Like I said I don't have any experience with this mod, but it sounds like it's not working well for your canopy. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would try to stick to where you started or pick one and stick there. There is plenty of time to visit all the cold DZs in your area. I trained and jump at The Ranch. Our season is just getting underway. We have excellent instructors (as does most DZs in the area) so pick a name out of a hat!! For reference, The Ranch is probably 40 minutes from the 87/287 split in Mahwah(sp?). Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would also go with toggles instead of risers here. After a turn with the risers the canopy will dive and the control range on rears is short enough that you will be hard pressed to avoid a stall and try to minimize decent rate at the same time. Toggles are there to save your ass, so practice on them. The toggles should never leave your hands so I doubt much time would be lost in starting a braked turn as soon as you see trouble. Try it for yourself up high, but my vote is definetly for toggles. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

You told me that you have a line mod for the control lines and I have no experience with that, but here goes. First check the length of the brake lines. You should have about 2 -3 inches of freeplay in the brakes for front riser use/whatever. Any longer and the brakes will be very unresponsive. Any shorter and you run the risk of deflecting the tail. Up high do a very hard flare all the way down and you will feel yourself pop up higher in the air. Then do a very slow flare and you wont feel mich change at all. Somewhere in between those 2 is the amount of flare to just level off. Too much and you pop up, too little and nothing. Practice that until it is muscle memory (the first half of the flare.) Then work on keeping the canopy level by slowly adding input until the canopy is going as slow as it can. Do that on landing and almost any canopy will land you pretty well. Like I said I don't know about that mod because the original Safires I jumped never had any problems with flaring. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

You're pretty funny! Icarus Omni, Safire2 shut-down power Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Its more a reflexion of the two 7 cells Icarus offers, the Omni and the Omega. The Omega is more of a canopy for someone off student status, where the Omni is more responsive and more fun to fly. It is not in a catagory of a Crossfire2 (ie HP elliptical) but it is more high performance than the Omega. If someone was confident in jumping a Safire2, I would have no prolem giving them an Omni. If someone was leary of jumping a Safire2, I would lean more towards giving them an Omega. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would never tell anyone to delay their EPs if they think they need to cutaway, but a quick pop of the toggles on an elliptical will stop most turns. Make some wicked turns up high with the barkes set and then just grab the toggles, pop'em and let them go. It's usually worth a shot if you pull at a reasonable altitude. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

If its fraying, it might need to be raplaced (ie brake lines). The rest of the line set probably won't fray that much. It will just turn grey. That's when you look inside for the tan/wheat color. If its there and the line looks structurally good, I would say its good. If it looks structural but is no longer tan on the inside, I would think about replacing it. I myself will continue to jump a line set a long time, as long as the brake lines are good, go to town. But if you want to know when you should get a line set, this method works pretty well. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That is gonna hold true for pretty much any elliptical canopy. With the brakes set, that is. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Its tough to say, one is a 7 cell and one a nine. The Safire2 has a lot of shut down power. But because it is a 9 cell it is going to have more glide both in flight and during the flare. The flare is a little more technique orientated. So an inexperienced pilot might get the Omni to land a bit easier, I think the Safire2 actually has more flare power. They both have excellent openings, flight and landing characteristics. Contact the Chicago Service Center for a demo http://www.para-concepts.com/ I dont think you would be dissapointed in either canopy. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It wasn't warning you, it was preparing you for taking $500 hits to your wallet in stride! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome