johnny1488

And that is very true. If the plan falls to shit, get ready to think on your feet (or off them, as the case may be) and do your best to make the situation as safe as it can be. There is no reason we cant survive every jump. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Not that this is bad but I found this is flawed too. We are jumpers and we should be able to take care of ourselves. If the winds are l/v then landing into them probably doesnt matter. Answer- set a direction. If the winds are stiff they probably wont change that much. Answer -set a direction If they do shift who doesnt like a good down winder? Let me rephrase that. Who cant survive a good down winder. Answer - set a direction I think it is easy and gives the jumpers a free second to think about the 1000 other things that can and will go wrong with the next 180 seconds. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

The ground works great! j/k I have seen the digitude and it seems pretty easy to see. Maybe see if you can get and alti w/o a detailed face? You know so the needle stands out more? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

It probably is but I have been dealing with the reality that it does happen. I have found(and this is only after working with other jumpers at one particular dz) that the jumpers on our load decide. If they want to follow the first person than we all agree on it. If we sat a pattern than we follow it. Not everyone is as concerned with safety as they should be. If I need to shove it down someones throat so they dont kill me or my friends than I will. I am not trying to argue with you either, but shit hits the fan sometimes. Landing off isnt an option when you are commited and it seems everyone is trying to kill you. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Not that it doesnt work but I have seen someone set the direction. Then have the second person not take notice ( or land at almost the same time with the direction they thought was right) land in another direction, then have ten people follow the first person, and ten follow the second (the first one they saw.) And if you look down and see 2 canopies going in 2 different directions, which way do you land? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

There is no real correct action. The only right thing to do is discuss the situation before every load takes off. If it's first person then its first person(I personally hate this one, it never really works). If its a direction and someone lands in a different one, its up to the jumper to decide whats right. Do whatever doesnt kill people. There is no reason to change the direction 10 degrees one way or the other for the wind, 95% of the reasons jumpers need to land into the wind is in their heads. Be the vocal person in the loading area. People might think you're a dick for a bit, but you will show yourself as a leader and a safe jumper. Others will take notice. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Yeah with no help from Mr fuckin mosquitos, wow its hot, my arm hurts, 4 cutaway grouper! Where's my pictures and LAY OFF MY KOOL-AID! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

My buddy Dave lost a shoe on a hopnpop we did one winter day. A local neighbor brought it to the dz 2 days later. He figured it was ours with his 6 foot fences and all. Dave acted like he had gotten a canopy back or something!' Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

hehe, further deep! Day 2, what can you ecpect!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

So wow did you pry it from drew's hands then? I'd say he got the short end of the stick. What did you guys do, hijack an airspeed garage sale or something? Almost as bad as Scot's Max impression! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Ok here I go with the abridged version. Regular jump using my xfire2 169 loaded just under 1.4. After I deploy at 3.5 it snivels, snivels, and starts to look like it might go off heading to the right. I try to stay level, then the canopy goes to the right and I dont. I have I think 1.5 twists. I reach up to help twist out of it, Im not sure if I popped a toggle or twisted the harness, but it started to spin and dive till I was on my back, then belly going real fast. I went to check my altitude and before my brain could register what my eyes saw, I said fuck that and grabbed my handles. ON pull sent my flying into freefall. With handle firmly in my right I got stable and dumped my reserve, all before my hard deck warning went off. Protrack says I was open by 1600. I heard the warning alarm just as I saw my reserve. Got my canopy, sacrificed a tree, jiggled my freebag down and was on sunset load the next day after doing a few jumps on borrowed gear. Bought my beer during a killer blackout and suprised myself with how well I handled myself. Overall a good addition to my week of being a makeshift DZ bum! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Bud at the ranch packs my stuff. Sonic is set up at the pro shop. Plenty of riggers jump at the ranch. I have bought stuff from Ed Cummings and he set up my first rig. He is maniacly thorough. He is an extremely expierienced rigger and has some of the best follow up service I have ever seen. He is in Rosyln? Just east of queens off shelter rock road. I can drive there but not sure what town it is. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

So is that why Thereza is flying that one now? Bad juju or something? haha Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I did 5 on saturday and I got there ay 3:30 SUCKER!!!!!!! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

My safire2 169 was awesome. If you have a problem with the canopy's performance (if you have a problem with the canopy at all) contact Icarus immediatly. If it doesnt open right then something is wrong. Dont let it slide because you will only dissappoint yourself. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Unless you have large breasts (which I hope you dont have) Get the chest rings. They are good. Dont bother searching anymore. Come to me with all life's questions from now on! They make the rig fit better and probably help resale. I just ordered my new odyssey last week! Getting the new backpad too! Tried on an airspeed rig in zhills and its pretty sweet. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I just got back from florida this weekend and tsa looked at my shoes more than they did me and my gf's rigs and cypres'. I flew delta on friday night and sunday morning, no problems at all. I was a little surprised. BUt hopefully this is the norm. By the way, I had the rigs in a carrying case. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

There is a ton of posts on here about the safire flare. It is usually technique that messes people up. There is also a brake line mod that can increase the flare power. PM hooknswoop or skycat for info. I had a safire 209 for 300 jumps and I couldnt understand what people would complain about. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Buy the one you are guaranteed to like or your money back. In case your not sure, thats the safire 2. They are both great canopies. People who fly Icarus will say get the safire2 (like I just did!) People who fly pd will say get the sabre2. All things being equal, you can't argue with a money back satisfaction guarantee! I would bank on the safire2 149 (or whatever size you could possibly want, for that matter!) Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Start on page 25 of this forum and work your way up to 1. There is a ton of great information on all sorts of canopy control. Also I think skydive arizona has an excellent bunch of articles on canopy control. Ohh yeah here it is http://skydiveaz.com/resources/book_canopy.htm Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Kind of a reply to everyone: One reason I went to trying the deep brakes thing is Im not on a canopy that I can do a long carving turn or keep in a dive as long as I want to. Im on a xfire2 169 loaded just under 1.4 so my range is somewhat limited. I liked the amout of altitude this added to my dive. I also set up on the far end of the dropzone, past where anyone goes on their downwind as to not cause havok. I'd hate for someone to do what Im doing in the pattern, so I dont do it. Obviusly canopy pressure, ect is campromised. Im not doing it to be in the most efficent flight mode. Thereza: I havent done anything with rear risers yet. Im not out for pure distance yet. I can tell a lot more about my approach and plane out by how slow my canopy lets me go. On less than perfect approached I am running at the bottom end but on a nice one (like the one with the girly yelp that I got chastized for, thanks by the way!) I can fly it till there is nothing left, so for now, rear risers arent my concern. Its all floating around in my head though. A few more landings like sundays and Ill be tempted to take my chances with the Princess! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Just started working with staying in deep brakes before my 180 and holy cow does it want to dive more! Its tough to say when I started the turn but up high my canopy seemed like it would kill between 200-300 feet in a long 180. Going from deep brakes first, up high I'd swear I killed 500 everytime. And I set up a good deal higher before going into it and it felt like I could dive a lot longer. I hate setting up low and this made me feel like I had a lot more control over how much altitude I could kill in my turn. It made the speed a lot more "in your face" too. I was also complomented by the one and only Kaz Sheeky on a nice swoop. Now that made my weekend. Am I just discovering what was already the norm? Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

I enjoy Icarus' products (damn is that an understatement) and I would like to see them be able to grow and do well. Simon often asks me what I hear about them so he knows were to focus his energy. He's a busy guy but has always cared about the customer over all other things. And I can tell you Mel just took care of some work for my girlfriend in excellent fashion also. They're trying to do their best. It's stupid to think a company would invest so much just to let it go to crap. Things are only looking up. One more step ahead, coming soon! Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome

Never say never. I wish I had a dollar for every g3 and g4 i've seen open in freefall. I could almost buy another odyssey. It can happen to any rig. Johnny --"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!" Mike Rome