Jeth

Ok. Ya, I admit that my pressing them together every time is just a paranoid habit. I will try to think of that next time and just verify that they are there and seated instead of sqeezing them down harder. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Oops. I am one of those people who always press the velcro together during my gear check. So you're saying I should undo, then redo the velcro each time? Won't that wear down the velcro? On the topic at hand -- I just had a cutway 3 weeks ago and I had no trouble doing it. (And thats even with me pressing the velcro every day! ) Trust me, the adreneline will be flowing, you will get it.

Ok, I have a dolphin. But I don't have the PD 9-cell anymore. Thats the problem, I don't know what main I'm gonna get, so I need a generic pc that will work with most canopies. A zp pc will cause a faster opening than F111, right? So, like, if I get a Sabre, then maybe I want F111? But if I get a Spectre, I would be better with ZP? I did have a ZP one in my rig at first, but I was getting slammed so I bought a F111 one. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Ok, due to my chop, I need to get a new pc. But I'm not sure which kind to get. I need to get one now so I can use a demo canopy in my rig, but I haven't picked a new main yet. I've heard I should get F111. But doesn't it depend on what main I end up getting? Also, what size to get? Thanks for any advice!

Dude, I don't know much more than you, but it sounds like you learned from your mistakes, so thats great.

0:1:0 1 jump yesterday. On rental gear due to the fact that my rig wasn't ready and I don't have a replacement main yet. Rental gear was too big and harness fell off my shouder in freefall, didn't like that much. Then I had 5 twists on opening - nice. Oh well, had fun chatting with lotsa peeps in the hangar.

I had my PD 9-cell for 6 months. I was going to wait longer to review it, but I recently had to cut it away. Since I lost it, I won't be putting any more jumps on it, so I figured I'd give my impressions from the jumps I did put on it. This was a great canopy for a first canopy. It was very easy to fly and land. The toggle turns and rear riser turns were responsive and the flare was good for not being ZP. (You do need to complete the flare, though. It will not give you the lift like a ZP canopy does.) I had some fast no-wind landings, and I had a soft slide-in landing on those. It was soooo easy to pack, everyone with ZP was jealous! The thing I didn't like was that I didn't get very good drive into the wind. I think this may be because I was too lightly loaded under it (~.8:1). I would suggest not going lighter than 1:1 if you want to be able to fly this thing on a windy day. Even with just a 10mph wind, trying to get upwind was a battle. I would basically just sink down and get very little horizontal movement. Overall this was a great canopy for a beginner. I'm sorry I lost it so soon, I know I could've enjoyed it for a few hundred more jumps.

First off, that is awesome that you landed safely!!

I am a low-timer, and I always land with my feet and knees together. Like Mark said, when my feet touch the ground I know if I'm gonna stand this one up, PLF or slide. I can do any of those at that moment. I have PLF'd some off-landings where I definitely would've been hurt if I tried to slide or stand up. Just like they tell you in the beginning -- prepare to PLF on every landing. If you don't need to, then great.

What about delaying the reserve to get the speed back down to [normal] terminal? A sustained baglock at high altitude would be moving pretty fast. 180? Though in this case, sounded like she was still on the hill when it occurred? I'm not sure how fast I was going. I think by the time I pulled I was probably off the hill at that point. I'd have to watch the video again to see. But I also wasn't vertical when I chopped, I was on my back. And if I recall correctly, a couple people in my group were pretty much on-level with me so I must've not been going that much faster than them. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I did complete my EP's. I had my hands on the silver handle, the RSL just beat me to it. (I think. Maybe I got it first. All I know is my reserve was open fast and both my handles were gone. (I was trained to throw them away so thats what I did)) Oh ya, I'm not planning on getting rid of my RSL or disconnecting it. It was just in hindsight that I thought it would've been nicer to not have such a long reserve ride. But if I had a mal at normal pull altitude I'm sure I would appreciate the speed at which the RSL gets the reserve over my head. (But I will still complete my EP's.) "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I don't know squat, but I just wanted to tell you I was as overwhelmed with it all as you are when I was just off student status. With time you'll figure out your comfort zone. I still don't know how to spot based on uppers and ground speed (was never really taught much), but I do know if I am comfortable getting out or not. A couple things from my measy experience: For me, clouds are not a big deal unless they are a thick layer all the way across the sky. I have jumped through thin or puffy clouds several times, and its not a big deal. But they have to be up high enough so that I'm through them before I open. I also need to be able to see the ground when I exit. (Our pilots are great about finding holes for us.) One time when we were at about 12 grand I looked out and couldn't see anything but white. I told myself I was not going to go with it like that. But the pilot circled around, climbed a little higher, and when we hit 14 grand the clouds had parted and I could see the dz below, so we went. You mentioned you were worried about being out last. At my dz, they do jump run into the wind. So I would probably be better off if I'm out last rather than first. I am very lightly loaded under my canopy, so if I am downwind at all, it can be hard for me to get back. If I am upwind, I can just ride it in. Also when you're a rookie you are pulling higher so U have more time to get back. Of course, the jump run could be too long. But I've been out last on some jumps when the airport looked so far away, and I still made it back. But when I'm doing RW, I'm usually first out. If I am the one by the door, I look out when the door light comes on, and make sure we are near the airport. My lame/newbie rule for myself is if I can see the airport in the vicinity, I'll go. But we have great pilots and usually we're right on top of it. Anyway, that is just how another rookie at a turbine/gps dz does it. If you can learn better than the rest of us how to truly spot, I'm sure you'd be better off!

Congrats, Dude! Now the real learning begins!

Thanks.

Thanks Jimmy.

I'm glad you mentioned this, Doug. I was gonna mention that you had a chop due to this packing method so people should make sure they are doing it right. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I was referring to the fact that someone could've done a rushed pack job and forgotten to cock their pc or mis-routed their bridle. (I know someone who did.) If you are confident that you will never do this, then it doesn't apply to you. But I think, especially for rookies, a visual pin check by another jumper will reaffirm that your pin is secure, your pc is cocked and your bridle is good. That can never be a bad thing, for anybody.

That is pretty good that U can reach both. Not that I know anything, but I think an argument could be made that by having another jumper check your pin they can also see if your pc is cocked and your bridle is not mis-routed. You can't do that just by feeling for the loop. (You did say you do get at least one visual inspection so it sounds like you've got that part covered.

Thanks. I did already! The rig I rented from ParaConcepts had a Safire2 168 in it. I liked it!! I also got to try a Spectre 170 in Sunny's rig. But before I buy anything I gotta try a 150 to see how that is. There are so many canopies out there... "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

I knew I could count on you to rub it in, Doug! Yep, could've been a lot worse. Lesson definitely learned!! And I will hopefully NOT follow in your footsteps and have a few more cutaways next week. (Sorry, couldn't resist.... ) "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site

Congrats and welcome back!!

Welcome back!!

Close the main flaps with the right side, then left side. Then route the bridle on top of the top flap and under the right flap. It won't touch the Velcro then. Derek Ok, I get it. I'll try that next time. Thanks.

I am a newbie myself, but I can tell you it makes such a difference to jump with other people! I have only done a few solo's, I don't like them except to practice with my canopy up high. It is soooooo much more fun to jump with people!

Route the bridle between the side flaps, leaving all the velcro exposed to mate with the main pin cover flap. Derek I think it already is under the side flap. Maybe I don't understand what you mean. I wish I had my rig in front of me to look at. Next time I have it I'll take a closer look to see if I can route it a different way to keep it away from the velcro. Thanks. "At 13,000 feet nothing else matters." PFRX!!!!! Team Funnel #174, Sunshine kisspass #109 My Jump Site