johnny1488

About 200 repacks and 2 saves. All last season. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

That psycho packing stuff will be gone soon. Icarus recommends pro packing all its main canopies. That being said the Safire2 is an excellent opening canopy. A simple pro pack will produce amazing results. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

You might have seen last years. It was the first effort and I took over the project this year. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It might not mean much to you but I feel pretty damn good about it. check it out Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The line trim is not the problem with vectran. Vectran holds its trim excellently over the life of the line set. And needing/wanting thinner lines on a Safire2 isn't that realistic. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I've always pulled it away. I make the same kinda triangle fold with the first section of the stabalizer and after that everything else lays flat and square. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Collapsable slider is standard. I would get a set of PD slinks. As far as the line I think Vectran is a much better choice. Talk to riggers in your area and see if they can show you some canopies with Vectran so you can see what it looks like when it wears. The brake lines are the most important thing to look at. I tell people to change their brake lines at 300 jumps regardless of condition. Its an easy way to ensure you wont snap a break line. That being said Vectran is great that if it looks really bad, you replace it. So if it still looks good, you can feel safe jumping it. Learn your gear and enjoy!!! It's a great canopy. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Like someone else here has said, please be carefull in your selection of canopies to fly. No canopy is safe but some are more aggressive than others. Personally I believe the differences between the Katana Crossfire2 mostly boil down to personal preference. I dont think on is "more extreme" than another. It all depends on your flying style and what you want out of the wing. Personally and heavily biased I prefer the Crossfire2. Fly both (if they are both available in sizes you feel comfortable jumping) and see for your self. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I think the genaral concensus with vectran is if the wear is that excessive, it probably looks horrendous. If it looks bad enough to break, replace it. Personally when I change the steering lines on Vectran I like to make them all one line and fingertrap in a catseye instead of 2 seperate lines. You dont get that bump going over the guide ring at the junction. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Thanks for the update, and I think I was far from ranting. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I will for sure be talking to a national director to see his thoughts on USPAs decision. As for the $15 jumps, thats great if thats what it is. I was told in the neighborhood of $550 for the 9 jump comp, which if it is that works out to be over $60 a jump with the regestration ect included. And I dont think swooping is the only thing that can fill a plane with tandems. I am for getting the public interested in jumping. But I dont think it needs to pass higher costs onto people who train and want to compete in what might be their only comp a year. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I dont think USPA is selling us out, I just think without knowing it they are falling in line with the trend of trying to get swooping "big". There is plenty of room for big events, but I feel the USPA nationals should be something a bit more accessable to all. And by accessable I mean run so that as many people as can or would want to will compete. And thanks Mike for the kind words. You keep collecting those checks and I'll keep learning to play poker. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

But I am not talking about PST, I am talking about the USPA nationals. And yes I think there should be money for competitors. We gave a away a good chunk of change at the Ranch in the past 10 years to swoopers without having to go to Mexico or other exotic locations. And we did it all from within skydiving. No Pepsi or Mcdonalds money here. The money that is out there now can not carry a person through their training to get to that point. It eases the pain a bit but thats all. And I know competitors would like more, but are big sponsors going to give it to us? And is it worth alienating people who might otherwise compete or want to in the future? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

While I understand people wanting to get swooping into a bigger market for sponsors and whatnot, I wonder how realistic we are being. I just found out nationals are going to be held in Wildwood NJ Labor day weekend. Jumps are going to be out of a helicopter which will undoubtedly make them more expensive. One hotel called that still had room is charging $175 a night. This is a 3 day event with one weather day. Should swooping be pushed out into the public like this? I understand everyone wants good exposure for our sport but here is an event that should be for pros and up and comers alike. With the cost between 5-600 plus travel and hotels not counting lost wages for a weekend when a lot of jumpers make their money, this is a tough nut to swallow. Could we have had it at a DZ instead? With less cost for jumps and less to stay for the time needed, we could attract a lot more jumpers who might not otherwise do it. I just see vast differences between the skydiving nationals and th CP side of nationals. How do people who already compete feel as opposed to people who might want to compete? First and foremost I thought the uspa nationals were supposed to revolve around the jumpers, not possible sponsors and the public. And how big is swooping going to get in the big picture? Is the olympics ever going to adopt a sport needing our type of air support? What sponsors are going to sink money into a sport that cant be directly marketed to the public? If anything I think groundlaunching has the only shot because we aren't relying on planes. But even then you cant go groundlaunching like you can go buy a snowboard or skis or a skateboard. The dangers in our sports, no matter what people think is possible in training are much more than in other "extreme" sports. And take all my info with a grain of salt cause even though I heard all this from a reliable source, it has not been announced. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Any canopy can get tail flutter, some more than others. When you use the rears, the way you pull on them can cause it. When you push out on the rears as many people do, you are not pulling the back of the canopy down evenly. You are actually pulling down on the center lines more than the outside lines and can get this flutter effect depending on how much you are pushing out. There are many factors that can contribute to flutter, but this can be one of them. I dont know of any Crossfires, 1 or 2 that have consistant tail flutter problems. And I don't have many jumps on first generation Crossfires, I loaded a Xfire2 at 2.0 and loved every minute of it. 2.0 is too high for some nine cells, but not all. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

you know you have to jump to have it even matter! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

If you are more north in NJ the Ranch in gardiner NY could be an option. www.skydivetheranch.com The operation goes back into full swing in march or april, but they will jump with you earlier if you give them a call. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The Safire2 performance is going to start falling off at about 1.5-1.6. I tell people (who have the experience) that this is where the Crossfire2 really starts to outshine the Safire2. Most jumpers who have the experience to jump a canopy at that level will be comfortable with the characteristics of the Crossfire2 (ie longer recovery arc, quicker turns ect.) I have not flown a Safire2 at that wingloading, but flew a Safire1 119 loaded at 2.0 this year and it actually flew better than I thought it would. But the Safire and Safire2 are completely different canopies. If he feels comfortable with the wingloadings, I would suggest he try the canopy first. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The reason he made it on bounce bingo was never his skill, it was his attitude towards listening to others. He never really did anything outwardly dangerous. Just pretty annoying at first. Then one day he decided he knew it all and had nothing to learn from anyone who was trying to converse with him. Now a days its more a social thing than anything else. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm not exactly sure about the Pilot, but the Safire2 definetly has a shorter recovery arc. I am biased but I think th Safire2 is perfectly suitable whether you want to learn to swoop or not. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

My nifty little currency converter tells me (just going from dollars to pounds) that main slinks should be about 14 (funny british pound sign here) and reserve should be about 17 (funny british pound sign here). IN america they are $25 and $30 respectively. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The problem with poor measurements the first time can be more than just the harness sizing. I'm not sure about Mirage, but Sunpath has 4 different size yokes (the part of the rig from behind your neck to the chest rings.) Once that part is wrong for you, no amount of harness resizing will make it perfect. Just work arounds and fixes. Get measures again (maybe by someone Mirage suggested like JP said) and compare those measurements with the originals. If the fault lies with Mirage they should build you another rig. If the fault lies with the person who sold you the rig and measured you, I would discuss this with them. Some dealers will stand behind their work. Others will not. Start with that and go from there. I know it sucks but no one is trying to fuck up your rig. Rig maufacturers make little money on containers as it is. Believe me they want your stuff to fit right the first time. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I've used my VX for birdman and never had a problem. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I got one just now that was 2 days late. It came at the right time 6:59, just 48 hours later than the post was made. I've been getting quite a few missing and displaced notification emails. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Maybe a change in the AFF instructors course. More (or at least some) focus on how and what to teach students about CC. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome