BlindBrick

That would be mine. Cocheese made it in response to a thread about the man-who'ing I did to get my Vigil. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Nope, because with a little bit of experience, you'll know when you're almost through the last layer of rubber. A quick tug at that point and the offending band comes apart without any hassel. Since I have my Pull up cord in my hand to tie my risers, it's just a quick trip to the canopy to grabt he bag and remove any offending bands. It's a real lifesaver when you're trying to get rigs ready for impatient JM. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Ya know, I always thought it would be cool as hell to load a couple 55 gallosn drums of water, a pump, and a slip and slide into the back of a Casa. I figured that would really let you exit in style. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

We jump at the airport where Bobby was based out of. They redesignated the FBO as a terminal and are naming it in his honor. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I've jumped a Sabre II and a Safire II under identical moderate wingloadings. Contratry to a lot of peopel who say that are essentiallyt he same, both canopies have distinctly different personalities. IMO, the Safire II is significantly more agile and responsive(both on toggles and risers), though the Sabre II had a slightly longer recovery arc. Packing and openings, the Safire II won hands down. Landing was where the Sabre II stood out. In my mind, the flare isnt' stronger than the Safire II, but with the flare coming much earlier in the toggle stroke, you see results a lot quicker. Seems like that would make it just a little more friendly as a transitional or student canopy. So overall, two good canopies. To me the difference is between choosign a Sabre II if you want a solid depndable "no frills" canopy where as the Safire II is for those willing to fly a little more technicallyy in exchange for better performance. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I remember the first day I met Piers, he terrified me. It was my first day on an internship with RWS, and he threw anything and everything at me to stress me out. It was his version of the crucible and the next morning when I showed back up, he patted me on the back and gave me the first of many pieces of advice(always start a new job on Friday instead of Monday). I was by far the junior member in the loft that summer, but Piers never talked down to me. He always took the time(something that always seemed in short supply at RWS) to explain advanced concpets in a way that made sense and it seemed that no matter what job I was doing, Piers would magically appear and show me a trick that made it so much easier. And I think that's what makes this one really hard. I've lost a friend and a mentor. I wish him eternally blue skies. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Airwalks are like that. I had a good little surf today until I hit a patch of dirt that they could grip on then. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Heh, I was a non-traditional colelge student who spent the last two years in on-campus housing. Fortunately, Student Life equated being non-tradtional with being more mature and I ended up running my building as an As. Residnece Director. So I had a full apartment to myself and all the toys acquired from when I dropped out of school to play in the real world, 60" big screen, humongous rack system, ect. Life was good. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Don't feel bad Sid. Last Sunday I was closing my reserve and was using my fist to punch the sidewalls(It's a Mirage thing for those who don't know). Of course I wasn't paying attention to any area but the side wall and mangaged to drive my temp pin into the middle knuckle on my right pinkie. I've got about 80% of the range of motion back so I think it's going to be ok, but damn that hurt. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I was the a geek, but that movie was horrible. If they'd just condensed the good bits down to a 1/2 hour short, then it would have been a great movie. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

is it wrong that the paraody is more enjoyable than the original? -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Oh, definitely not. I've seen too many people use a diet soda to wash down a candy bar to think it's a free ride. Too many people use diet soda as a crutch thinking it makes their over-indulgence ok. Alot of people say moderation is the key, but I think listening to your body is just as helpful. After some experimenting, I realized that I wasn't usually craving the sweet but the flavor. I started trying some of the new flavored waters that are out and it pretty much took care of soda for me. Now I tend to only drink a few bottles a week and only then when I have an overwhelming craving for something sweet. I figure this is as much a result of my body's response to my bad eating habits(1 - 2 meals a day at irregular intervals) as anything. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Just guesstimating by weight and jump numbers, I'm thinking you would probably be suited well by something in the 260+ range. In that range, there's the Triathalon, Sabre 2, Navigator, and Manata ZP to name a few. You mentioned used, but it's also worth noting that Icarus and Precision Aerodynamics(and a few others) can also "upsize" a canopy to meet the needs of larger jumpers. Personally, I'd encourage you to sit down with your S&TA or canopy coach and discuss your skill level and what direction you want to move in this sport, in regards to canopy flight. That will give you a good idea of what you are looking for in a canopy, which will make you selection process a little easier. Also, while it's harder for larger jumpers, you can occasionally find demo canopies in larger sizes. This will give you a chance to try before you buy. Good luck, -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I disagree that juice is less healthy than soda, based entirely on caloric content, or even on carbohydrate content. Keeping weight off can't be compared to ingesting known carcinogens. Sure it can. It as easy as comparing the health risk from adding several hundred calories a day to your diet to the infintesstimal increase to a single percentage point in regards to your cancer risk. True, I can marginally elevate my risk for cancer if I drink enoguh soda for 20 people every single day for the next ten years, but if I try the same thing with juice, I'll probably be dead from morbid obesity or or some other illness long before that. You can make a lot of good cases against soda, but playing the cancer card really amounts to little more than psuedo/uneducation or baseless fearmongering. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Actually, in large quantities, juice is less healthy than soda. It is after all pretty much just sugar and water. I put on thirty pounds when I switched from soda to oj. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

As a jumper and a rigger, I hear a lot of the bias agaisnt Ravens(particuarly -M's), and some of that seems to have transfered onto the R-Max just by the fact that both are PA products. I tend to trust the word of those with more experience than me, but this is a poitn where I must disagree. I've got two reserve rides on a R-Max and wouldn't change reserves if given a free one. One my rides, the R-Max flew rock solid and had excellent flare at a 1.1 WL. As a rigger, I've had a chance to become familiar with the construction of the canopy. The best way to desribe it would be that PA looked at the excellent reenforcement on the PD-R's and then took it a step farther. Don't get me wrong, PD-R's are excellent reserves. It is just that, contrary to popular bias, the R-Max line is as good if not better. I feel that the canopies are equal enough that the buying decision should come down to three factors: cost, delivery time and container size(R-Max's pack just a hair bulkier than PD-R's, which can make a difference in tight containers). -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

You know if they just let the hunters hunt animal rights activist the world would be a better place. The hunter would be happy because they got to bag something The activists would die happy knowing they saved an animal And I would be very happy as then I owuldn't have to listen to either side bitch whenever the other side does something. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

A couple of weeks back, I had a cutaway while wearing a baggy red jumpsuit. Luckily, I had no issues, but now that I've become aware of the issue, I see no point in creating a situation where I have to rely on luck for the successful execution of my emergency procedures. My next paycheck, I will be ordering a pillow that's a contrasting color. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I talked with the Icarus service center this afternoon and they said it will stay slippery for about 100 jumps. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Hey, there is a nice angry statement with no reason to back it up. Might be because he's an A&P. SouthWest is not cancer but evolution in an industry that direly needed. True, it left the other competitors with some brusies, but to quote the old addage "You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs". Of course, the part left unsaid is that it really sucks to be one of the eggs. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

My RTS has a canopy rated as a very tight fit, which is Mirage's very polite way of saying "Rigger, I hope you know your shit, cause this ones gonna be a bitch." Despite that, with the propery packing techniques and closing loop length, you can not tell the mod was done. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

I really think it depends on the situation. People who've bought common sized, new gear seem to have no trouble. OTOH, if you are looking for an odd size, or specific used gear, it gets dicey. I've heard rumors that Ralph will tell you he has something in stock when he doesn't, then scramble like crazy to locate it. Don't know if that's true or not What I can tell you is that Ralph effectively runied a Spring Break for me. I was planning on spending it jumping at Eloy once I had gear. I called Ralph and asked if he had a container in my size(rare, because I am so big). After getting my measurements, Ralph told me he did and quoted me a price. I told him I was very interested in the container and asked for him to email me some photos. He said "no problem" and promised to have them to me the next day. They never came. I called every few days for the next six weeks. It was always extremely difficult to get ahold of Ralph and when I did get him he always assured me he had the rig and promised to get me the photos really soon. Because he assured me that he did have the rig, I passed on the only other oppertunitty that came up. By the time I realized that Ralph was not going to deliver, it was too late to salvage my spring break plans. So, I will NEVER CALL RALPH again, but YMMV. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

Like people have said, it's all about the suit. I went from a belly fly range of 155-207 mph to ~115-135 mph with the proper suit. "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

There is danger here, but not as much as you might think. Ignoring the legal isuses, let's look at the three systems. TSO 23D harness are rated to a certain weight because there's an intersection where cost to test at a certain max weight becomes higher than the profit made from the number of jumpers, that weigh that much or above, purchasing the rig. As good rule of thumb is that with a properly maintained harness, the jumper's body is going to fail way before the harness does. Main max weight. Main maxs are more a measure of the skill level required to fly a canopy than canopy structural intergrity limits. Theya re also somewhat arbitary. Frex, the Safire II max weight caps at 300 lbs regardless of size past a 169. I've actually seen several manufacteurs that will not sell hi-per canopies unless you've logged a very significant number of jumps over the max weight of your canopy. Reserve: Again, like the harness, a TSO-23D reserve is going to be tested to the point that it's not cost effective to keep upping the mex weight. Different situation than harness though because the reserse could very well fail before the human body does. OTOH, virtually all of the 23D reserves are reenforced and overbuilt and pretty much have a 20% fudge factor built into the max weight. Ideally, you will not reside in the fudge factor, but it is there. Issues that do concern me: Obviously the TSO on both the harness and reserve is being violated. That will make many pilots and DZO's very nervous. A large jumper can bypass this by getting a TSO 23B harness(unlimited weight) and a 23D reserve that is large enough(I know that there are D's rated to at least 317). Which leads to my next point, Wingloading: AB's profile says he has ~100 jumps but it jumping a 1.42 WL on his main and a 1.3 WL on his reserve. Now to be fair to AB, I haven't seen his skills under canopy, but on paper, the primary danger would appear to be skill(ie not enough for the winglaoding on either canopy) failure, not gear failure. Not saying he's a bad pilot mind you, just saying the numbers aren't looking good. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."

The only death due do harness failure in recent memory is the student who died after a Student Javelin's adjustable MLW opened all the way up, snapping their neck with the chest strap(IIRC). The only failure I've seen was video of a friend's rig after of the stitching failed while jumping at Quincy. This was back before I was a rigger so I couldn't say what caused it, or what rig type. I never saw the rig in person because since it was at the WFFC, the jumper just left it with the manufactuer. While he was a large jumper who had a Sabre opening on an old rig, I suspect there was some substance that got on the stitching thus weakening it to the point of failure. -Blind "If you end up in an alligator's jaws, naked, you probably did something to deserve it."