johnny1488

First off, I have 1000 jumps and am in no way offering instruction online or pretending to know how to swoop 480 feet. Now, Talking with sonic who is a professor in the "fat is fast" school of swooping, he talks about the slingshot power of getting on rears and helping the canopy around the corner (just a bit) and keeping that inertia through most of the swoop. I have felt it myself now and again when I get one just right. I dont know if its the most efficient way to swoop, but I definetly feel the power of getting it just right. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I would contact mirage with a new set of measurements done by someone else, the serial numbers of your rig and the rig you think is comfortable. Everyone is different and even though the rigs people get fit most people, some people have different body shapes. I think mirage will take care of this problem. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I saw that on an Icon recently. I thought it was a decent idea without adding too much bulk and not really having a downside. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

They did a pretty good job, though! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Hey Kolla I was at Sonic and Donna's last night while she had Bobo on spaeker phone and he definetly said 2.5. He said they hav been messing with some really high wingloadings. They werent the only ones beefing up. I believe JC and a few others went way up in loading this meet. He said it has to do with the slingshot power aroundthe corner that was doing it, but who knows. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Honestly, you think that girl still has a cherry for you? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Well then the fucked up on these ones too! Again, NSFW Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

NSFW Got forwarded to me and here it is. Headline was she got paid $40 million by Playboy bla bla bla. But, is it her? NSFW Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I took a quick look at the numbers last night, and there are a lot of jumpers who are breaking the previous record! Like the 4 minute mile, once someone did it, it wasnt a barrier anymore and everyone beating it became the standard. Cool stuff. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Just started jumping a VX 114, think I will get something in the 106-111 range. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I guess I am not a good packer. I need a certain amount of time to give a person the pack job I am comfortable with. If I cant give them the pack job I want in the time I am allotted I do not take the job. If I am not a good packer than I can live with that. But almost everyone I turned away stayed and waited or payed more. I will not trash pack. Maybe you are faster. I am not as fast as some of the other packers on my DZ, and i dont care. I still charge more for larger canopies and will continue to do so. My customers are happy to deal with me. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I take a bit of offense for this one! I charged 6$ for 170 and over this year (I think there might be an increase this year.) I definetly charge more for larger canopies. I can do 4 smaller canopies in a 20 minute call. I can not do 4 larger canopies in that time. I turn big canopies away a lot, but then they decide thay want to pay more. I make time for people who pay me. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Yes the right attitude matters a lot, but there is no replacement for expierence. Someone can train all they want on the ground and read books, but until you get in the air, you dont know how you will react to any given situation. That being said I am a huge fan of books and additional training regarding canopy flight. I think if you are already seeking training and reading you are on the right path. Just be careful cause the ground doesnt care how many books you've read. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

They did have a few mods to the odyssey like internal riser covers similar to the infinity and "swoop risers" with padded dive loops and stay open toggles for freestyle. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

As I was looking at it Kolla said "Its nice but its gonna be pricey, but if you need it..." Definetly a sight seeing the freebags side by side. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Icarus had a prototype of their reserve. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The only thing I can add is to be sure to try out the glide with the rear risers as well as the brakes. Safire's as well as all Icarus canopies tend to do better with glide when you give a little input on the rear risers. I like to push them apart a few inches, easier on the arms. Good luck and be safe. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The Safire2' should be an excellent opening canopy. If you want to persue it, have someone else (reasonably expierienced) pack and jump the canopy, maybe with video. I would recommend making absolutely sure the slider is against the stops. I would also say to try to leave the canopy alone on opening, unless you see a immediate need to grab the risers and steer. If you have a continued problem with the openings dont hesitate to contact Icarus to have them take action on the problem. That said, it sounds to me this is a packing/deployment issue rather than a canopy issue. Good luck, these things usually have a way of sorting themselves out. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I'm about 240 out the door. I put about 400 jumps on a safire 209 before I downsized to a safire2 169. I put a little over 100 jumps on that before I moved to a crossfire2 169. I would have liked to go straight to the xfire but felt I wanted to only change one thing at a time. I dont know you or how you fly, but often we are not the best judges of our own performance. I would suggest demoing if not buying something in the 169 range (if you want to go that small yet) like a safire2 before you go elliptical with the xfire2. It can be flown perfectly safely, but that doesnt mean you can't kill yourself real easy. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Canopy manufacturers aren't doing testing to appease the desire of jumpers for knowledge. They do it to build better parachutes. I think we take ourselves a bit too seriously sometimes. We are skydivers, not astronauts. But our sport is very important to us. As far as if there testing is bs or not, the proof is in the pudding. The real results are in whether or not a product does well in the marketplace, because we are pretty critical of our gear, and the claims manufacturers make about that gear. As far as Icarus goes, the best opening/flare power that is talked about in their advertisements are just that, advertisements. It is followed by the statement, guaranteed or your money back. This does not imply that it is backed by some study somewhere, but that the consumer will think so when they fly the canopy. And the wind tunnel testing is far from a gimic or a lie as has been stated here. Here is one article about the testing done on inflatable parafoils (like the ones we jump) in a wind tunnel to gain information on flight characteristics. Now if you want to see the results of a test like that, go get an internship with Icarus or CIMSA, cause I doubt they do these test so other manufacturers can reap the rewards. "Yeah capitalism!" - Austin Powers SUCCESSFUL TESTS WITH A SCALED PARAFOIL WIND TUNNEL MODEL By National Aerospace Laboratory Press Office NOORDOOSTPOLDER, NETHERLANDS—NLR Wind Tunnel Engineering recently developed and produced a Remotely Controlled Manipulator and an instrumentation package for parafoil low speed wind tunnel tests. The tests were performed early this year as part of the European 5th Framework program FASTWing, acronym for Foldable Adaptive Steerable Textile Wing. The program is led by Autoflug of Germany and further consisting of CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas (Spain), CESA (Spain), EADS-ST (Germany), NLR (Netherlands) and DLR (Germany). FASTWing aims, among other things, for the development of a new parafoil design for Aircraft Emergency Recovery and Heavy Load Delivery. The new full scale parafoil will allow carrying payloads up to 3200 kg. Wind tunnel tests were required to validate the predicted real size parafoil performance. The scaled parafoil (scale of approx. 1:4) had a span of 6 m, could carry payloads up to 450 kg and was supplied by the manufacturer of the real size parafoil, CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas. The FASTWing parafoil was tested in various configurations, in the 9.5 x 9.5 m test section of DNW-LLF in the North East Polder, under supervision of NLR. The Remotely Controlled Manipulator and associated instrumentation performed their tasks well and allowed the test program to be executed successfully. The manipulator is located below the wind tunnel turntable, on the external balance of the wind tunnel. The external balance measures all forces and moments acting on the scaled parafoil The scaled parafoil consists of a canopy and about 192 lines: 172 Suspension lines plus 20 Control and Flare lines. The suspension lines are grouped at the left and right hand sides, joined together at each side in two so called suspension group points just above the floor. From both group points a suspension group line passes, through the wind tunnel floor, to the swivel table, part of the Remotely Controlled Manipulator. On top of that, left and right hand Control and Flare lines are remotely controlled by their own dedicated winches. The highly loaded control lines are driven independently of each other; the flare lines are driven synchronously with preset speeds and strokes. The manipulator can change the angle of attack of the entire parafoil in order to determine the angle of attack for best performance of the parafoil. For measurement of angle of attack, roll angle and location of the parafoil, NLR Wind Tunnel Engineering developed an instrumentation platform fixed in the center section of the parafoil. Angle of attack and angle of roll are measured by Q-flexes, location of the parafoil by the infrared Optotrak system of the LLF. The forces in the suspension lines (10), and flare (1)- and control lines (1) are measured with load cells, statically as well dynamically. The total loads on the parafoil are measured by the six component external balance of the wind tunnel. Based on the results of the model-scale wind tunnel tests a full-scale flight test program will follow. An avionics system will be developed as part of the same program for full-scale tests that will allow autonomous flight to a preprogrammed target point. Flight test with the real size parafoil will include a number of deployment tests and drop tests. These (autonomous) flight tests are scheduled for later this year. The entire article with picture as well as other articles can be found here Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Here's a pic of one of my Xfire2's that has a formed leading edge (similar to the FC Rage, I believe.) I have never felt any more susceptablility to turbulence than any other canopy I have jumped. I have never jumped the Rage. I contacted FC early this year for a demo but the never followed up on it. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The price range of that canopy (I think) would be about 500-700. Even after you jump it you could still sell it at a decent price 'cause someone else (or you) could reline it and it will fly liek new again. I dont think I've seen an airworthy (current or recent model) canopy sell for less than 350 bucks, so it sounds like a good deal. (Assuming it checks out good with a rigger.) Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The psycho-pack was invented as a way of handling slippery ZP material. Nothing is wrong with doing a standard pro pack. I have propacked all my canopies including a safire 209 and a safire2 169 and 139. As long as you keep the lines clear and the slider against the stops, you will get nothing but the greatest openings from that canopy. If you feel the need, get the help of a qualified packer/rigger to give you some tips on the handling and packing of new ZP. You might like the idea of psychopacking. Just make sure whichever way you pack, you pay close attention to keeping the slider against the stops. Its the single biggest problem I see with new packers and new canopies. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

There is also a lateral measurement and a split measurement that arent often given. YOur best bet is to contact Sunpath (or whatever other rigs you are looking at) with you measurements and the serial number of the rig you are looking for. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

is that your normal recovery on your xfire, I mean coming on heading right at the end of the turn, or is it how it worked out on that swoop? I ask because I am always looking to improve my setup and wonder what works for other people. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome