pilotdave

http://www.skydivingmovies.com/ver2/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=3591 Dave

Pelican cases use foam that's scored so little blocks of it can be removed in whatever shape you want. They seem to sell replacement foam, but it's not cheap and they dont describe what you get on the site. Dave

http://www.pro-tec.net/skate/fullcut/index.html "Not Certified: (These helmets use 2-stage foam that does not meet certification standards and should only be used for skating)" Apparently the "standard" protec isn't certified at all. Maybe it used to be and the standards have been upped? Protec makes a LOT of types of helmets. Some are certified (for bicycle use or water sports use, etc) and others are not certified at all (for sports that don't require certified helmets like skateboarding and skydiving). Personally, certification doesn't matter to me. I don't know what the requirements are. Anybody have a copy of ASTM 2040, CE EN 1077, CPSC 1203, ASTM 1447, or CE 1078? Those are some of the standards that various protec helmets are certified to. I would love to see some testing of skydiving helmets. But before you can test a helmet, you need to decide what impacts you're testing it to handle. Would be nice to see how skydiving helmets compare. It's easy to say that a carbon fiber helmet is better than a plastic helmet, but without testing, it's only a guess. The exact design of the helmet plays a huge role in the protection a helmet offers. It's more than just materials. Bolts, rivets, hinges, etc can concentrate impacts and might make a helmet worse than nothing at all if the wearer gets hit in just the right spot. Dave

I've jumped my Sabre2 from 2000' before. It's not a problem. It takes a long time to open, but at subterminal speeds you're not descending very quickly while it snivels so it doesn't take 800 feet. Dave

Skydiving will take all your time and money and cause you a lot of frustration. I guess you should know that before you start. But it won't help save you time, money, or frustration. Oh, it's fun too! Dave

Aresye, it's been discussed many times before. The general consensus from freeflyers is that barrel rolls before pulling is a good idea and the general consensus from bigway RW flyers is that it's a horrible idea. You can do a search to read the why's and why nots. Dave

Me? Not usually... except my 4-way team. I started dropping down next to them just before breakoff to get good shots of them tracking by me. It gets a little ridiculous when they stop their jump at 7000 feet (to get used to the time of 10.5k jumps for nationals). That gave em time make multiple passes at me.

Sorry, I just don't agree. The vigil has a nearly useless feature. That doesn't make it a better AAD and that doesn't make the cypres the AAD for children. It makes it a better AAD than a cypres for users that might want to change modes on a regular basis. Airtec will convert cypreses from one mode to another for free (if i remember correctly). In the very unusual event that someone wants to change modes of their AAD, it can be done. I agree that skydivers should be able to handle checking their AAD, but didn't a very experienced jumper have it in the wrong mode and have it fire? If it can happen, it will happen... and it already has, even in the short lifespan of the vigil so far. Having a vigil in student mode inadvertently might be much worse due to the lower fallrate required to set it off. Under canopy, I mean. There is a reason why experienced jumpers shouldnt use student AADs.. something vigil users might be tempted to try. Dave

I see the requirement to seal a rig after it gets packed. I'll even assume they mean RIGHT after it gets packed. I don't see any other requirements for sealing a rig or not sealing a rig. Where does it say that a rig cannot be sealed at other times? Where does it say that a rig is not airworthy without a seal? You aren't reading the FARs literally. You are interpreting them to the best of your ability (and you may be correct). But the USPA and PIA apparently disagree with your interpretation after speaking with the FAA. Don't say you're reading the FARs literally and everybody else is making things up. You're jumping to as many conclusions about the FARs as anybody else. Dave

Fact is that there have been vigil fires caused by the unit being set to the wrong mode. How that happened, I don't know. Seems crazy. But it simply can't happen with a cypres. And being able to switch modes just isn't an advantage to a regular jumper. It's functionality they will never use. It might make some sense for a DZ, which might have to move AADs between tandem and student rigs, etc. I'm not saying the vigil has no advantages, I'm just suggesting that multiple modes is not a valuable advantage, and has been a disadvantage where it was misused. Dave

I had a little over 200 when I did my first couple jumps on a classic2 ... 220-250 or so I think. Then a few jumps here and there on borrowed/demo suits. Finally bought my own wingsuit after I had over 1000 jumps. There's a lot to do in skydiving and I haven't tried anything I didn't like (except tandems, but I didn't expect to like that very much)... I honestly don't understand the single-discipline skydivers. Try everything you can before ya choose what you like. Even classic accuracy is fun! And way more dangerous than wingsuits. XTREME! Dave

I totally disagree. The FARs are poorly written. They must be interpreted, not taken literally. Only the FAA gets the final say in the interpretation. Sometimes they use ACs to interpret FARs, sometimes they publish letters of interpretation. If you take that FAR literally, there is no requirement to reseal a rig after maintenance has been done or if the seal breaks. A seal is only required after the rig is packed. Nothing stops a jumper from breaking the seal off and continuing to jump the rig legally. Right? Dave

Some more accuracy... Dave

Now thats what I call prepared! For flaming I mean. You definitely know this site well if you feel you need to caveat that video with its own FAQ.

They teach what to do in the tandem course. And it doesn't involve a camera flyer.

When I was a student, we were charged $20 for lost ripcords (which were probably $5 to replace). I never lost one! And that was when fun jumps were $14. So I guess that doesn't help since it still requires a pile of spare ripcords. Dave

Absolutely true. Especially during side-by-side gainer exits. It's just not possible due to... oh, never mind. Dave

Partially true... http://www.snopes.com/military/unknown.asp. (But none of the stuff about not drinking and not talking for 6 months or watching tv is true). Dave

Well actually I have no idea... never found out who that one belonged to. It was found after being run over by farm equipment I think.

She has a lens.... it's just clean.

Yeah, it will impair communication, but expressions usually come through too... Imagine what the face in the helmet in the 4th pic would look like if it had been an open face. Broken nose or black eye and some serious road rash from the non-skid on a CASA tailgate (although they were two separate incidents). Bigger concern to me is difficulty seeing handles. See if you can borrow one for a jump and decide if you like it. But you can't beat a protec for expressing yourself... Dave

My personal experience has been that good deals don't come from online gear stores, they come from little dealers that aren't trying to make a profit (such as skydiving clubs). Manufacturers don't like dealers like that and many are cutting back on the small dealers. Last time I was shopping, prices were pretty much the same everywhere I looked. I went by service and chose TSO-D at Deland... and did everything by email/PM on here. Got measured by another dealer that was at my DZ for a boogie (I've spent plenty of money there too

You can read about them on PD's website... they have in-depth articles about flight characteristics and comparisons. But you won't know which flight characteristics YOU like until you've tried them. Demo, demo, demo. Dave

You're right, it's very hard to have a hard landing and run it out. You'll learn the right way to land and roll to absorb a big impact if necessary. You could come down as fast as if you jumped from 10 feet but impact in a way that spreads the force out and absorbs it so you don't take all that impact through your feet, ankles, knees, etc. Learning to land is the hard part... when you make mistakes, you land harder and have to react correctly to avoid injury. Once you learn how to land correctly, normal landings aren't hard at all. You'll normally just stop your descent completely and put your feet down. Might still have some forward speed and need to run a few steps. But it's not as if we're pounding into the ground jump after jump, like they did in the 1960s. Dave

When it's done right, it's not like jumping off of anything. When done REALLY wrong, it's like jumping from a plane at 14,000 feet. And it's like jumping from various heights between those when it's done different degrees of wrong.