johnny1488

Im not sure if the triatholon is the same, but I have found the new aerodyne canopies to pack up very large compared to canopies of the same "size" fro Icarus and PD. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I dont have a d-ring handle so I couldn't comment on this one. No more so than on other rigs. If you grab your chest ring instead of your reserve handle, you really need to practice yous EP's. Mine never does. The people that have issues either have older worn out/earlier design flaps or have packing issues. My main flap is more than secure when I pack my rigs, but I have seen some really crappy stuff being jumped also. Thats a personal choice. I believe if you want mini risers, you have to get mini rings, they arent made any other way. The advantage of larger rings is lower cutaway forces. More of an issue with highly loaded spinning malfunctions. Do some research on here about cutaway forces and Im sure you will find more than enough info. Read up and make an educated decision. All that being said I am very happy with my Odysseys. There are a few things I would like to see Sun Path change, but they said they have no intrest in changing them. Even still, I will continue buying Javelin's until I find a rig I like better. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

From what I was told at my riggers course, thats not entirely true. You can make whatever the hell you want. You as a non-rigger can not alter/repair the canopy once it is made BUT, you as a manufacturer can. Also you as a non-rigger can not repair any canopy (like an Icarus/PD/Aerodyne) but there are no records required to be kept for main canopy repairs. Its pretty weird, but we pretty much came to the conclusion that it wasntnecassary to understand the ins and outs of conflicting rules like this since they very rarely come into play. I would think you're best bet would be to try and build a conventional 7 cell canopy of decent size (around 170-210) to keep the risk factors lower. Good luck, sounds like fun (if your into that sort of thing!) Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It takes more than a SB to make any rig look like crap! I have packed g3's and g4's both before and after the mods. You should not be able to tell if the rig has had a mod with all the flaps closed. You can tell by opening up the reserve tuck flap (like you would when you give a pin check) and look for the stiching and a small gap between the 2 side flaps and the flap underneath them. If a rig looks like crap, the jumper should not except it. There is no reason a rigger should finish a rig if it "looks like crap". Personally I think it is very easy to get mirages to look good. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would say there is definetly no reason to call the previous rigger, its your name on that packjob. You are taking the "risk", not him/her. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Or before you got Kirk's reply, you could have tried www.sunpath.com Click on buy an odyssey, then on container sizing chart. Not to hard to find, but now you have your choice of two! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I just emailed strong to see if the serial numbers 001 and 002 are pink and white se 140 reserves. This guy is full of shit. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Unethical or not, if the customer doesnt like it... There's the door! Walk into any automotive garage in the country and you are likely to see a sign that says "labor rate computed by flat hourly rate or clocked hours". "Yeah capitalism" Charge what you want, and so will everyone else. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I asked him the same thing and got the same bullshit. For some reason, I really want to know the real story behind this. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Which line broke and how many jumps did the set have on it? Where was the canopy packed and jumped (conditions). Even though my brake lines still looked jumpable, I always changed them at 300 jumps. My concern has always been a brake line breaking on flare. A broken line on opening has never been a concern for me. And whether or no vectran can brake was not what I was relying to. It was the fact that vectran shows more wear than spectre or HMA. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Thats why it's good to jump different canopies. I havent heard from one person yet that has jumped both that thought the safire1 had a stronger flare than the safire2. I'm glad you are happy!

The only thing I've heard against that is that as long as you are using the old cutter location, you aren't packing a TSO'd rig in accordance with the manufacturers instructions. I dont know if it amounts to the same thing or not. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

You are right. At the gear store here at the Ranch Sonic is doing them all, cypres or not. I "think" Mirage's plan would be to have them all changed over during the next repack cycle so there are no un-altered rigs floating around. I also know a rigger would not assamble a cypres in an unaltered rig, but poor rigging is how this whole thing began. I think it is a good idea to get it out of the way. Sorry for my mis-information. p.s. Sonic is doing it for free if he sold the person the rig, so up here, its a non issue. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Just as a note, the service bulliten applies to all Mirages, not just ones with AADs installed. So even if you arent getting a cypres2 put in, you need to have the service bulletin done at the next repack. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I have heard it with more that just Icarus, (the velo being one of them). My suggestion would be to make sure you dont accumulate a lot of bulk near the toggles, (ie stowed brake line/keeper). Try to keep the stowed brake line flat. I have found that after a few jumps, the toggles start to find a "shape" that alows the slider to pass a bit easier. I have a couple hundred jumps on xfire2's and have never gave it much thought. Just dont pop a toggle as you are doing it!!!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I have to say that is wrong. Vectran shows a lot of wear before it breaks. In fact it looks like shit. Spectre doesnt show much wear, but its major fault has been shrinkage, not breakage. HMA on the other hand, shows very little wear prior to breaking. One of the reasons, I'm sure, that the manufacturers that use it, have since stopped putting it on brake lines and used dacron instead. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I've had absolutly no problem getting my money back when I've sold my crossfires in the past (albeit the were all "2s") Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Its funny you take the logo panels off. When I look at a canopy, its not the logo panel that tells me what it is. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Icarus is no longer using the older labels. They are now using a dyed label that does not fade. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Do what everyone else said, read get coaching, blah blah blah Are you pulling your slider down and letting out your chest strap? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would first seek the guidance of an experienced swooper or coach before you start high performance landings as a beginner. I have never had a problem with riser pressure on any of my canopies, but I have also never jumped a 269sf one! I would experiment with using front risers (up high, of course) after applying some brakes. Go into half brakes then let up fairly quickly and feel the canopy start to surge. Practice helping the canopy surge and then dive by applying front risers while it is diving. The more you practice, you will develop a feel for using the front risers and wont need to use as much brakes. I cant guess what the sesponsiveness of that canopy will be. Thats a lot of canopy you are pulling down with one riser. Mess around a lot up high and keep your progression slow! Be safe. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The Safire2 does have a shorter recovery arc than the original Safire, but it is also a completely different wing. Give it a decent number of jumps before you decide if it is a good or bad thing. When I started swooping (Safire1 209) and was ready to downsize I wondered if I should go to a xfire2 or a Safire2. I chose the Safire2 and was not dissappointed. It didnt have the longer recovery arc that the Xfire2 has, but it was an excelent transitional canopy at that loading (1.4:1). Also, concerning the sizing, all parties involved felt it was better to keep the sizing the same across the board for the canopies (safire1 and omega) until a new canopy was released to keep the confusion to a minimum. Give the Safire2 a shot and I believe you will be very happy with it. If you have any questions, give me a shout. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Having just obtained my senior ticket, I am wondering what the previous interpetation or rule was. I was under the impression that a reline was a major repair, therefore under the realm of the master rigger. I also thought that assembly fell under the realm of maintenance. Is this correct? Ass for the AAD, putting one in an existing pocket was an assembly, while putting in the pocket was an alteration. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

And I am one of them! Having the chance to jump the Katana 120 at eloy I can say that I thought the xfire outperforms the Katana in every aspect. I think its the pilots flying style that will determine which canopy they prefer. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I used a "pack boy" packing tool all last year when I was packing full time. It was faster than anything else I could find and easier on my hands. The line is 550 I believe but it has fingertrapped loops on it. I pull the loop under the pin just like any other closing device. But I dont wear it around my neck and I dont find it hard to use at all. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome