mattjw916

Cool man congrats!!! It seems like just yesterday we were all at MH together... *sniffle* NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

ankle weights??? um riiiiiight... Lots of drag on top + shorts is a good way to practice until you get the feel of it. Tunnel makes a huge difference too if it's available. Most common problem I see with new sitflyers is not keeping the torso straight/leaning forward causing a backslide. That, and not getting those lower legs/feet down perpendicular to the relative wind and letting them fold up under their body towards their butt. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just wait until you have the money. Jumpsuits sell very fast and I doubt many people will "hold" it for you. Besides there is always something else on the horizon. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

The letter/number combo, e.g. M5, is the "container" size which determines what size canopies will fit. The "harness" size is on a tag behind the ring cover and will say something like 16.5 17.5 std. That is what determines whether or not a rig will fit your body. Ask the seller what the size on the tag is and then ask a rigger or gear dealer to measure you and see if you are close to fitting it. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Dude, where did I say I hated the V? I will say that the majority of the people I know that jumped one didn't like them. Apparently you failed to grasp the sarcasm of the last line too, even with the smilies. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

No it doesn't. The Vengence has more than a reasonable recovery arc. Blues, Ian Shorter than a Samurai, Katana, Xfire2, etc... that's why I said "relatively". Of the several people I know (knew) that jumped them, that was their impression. Plus at 1.4 it'll be fairly positive and won't stay in a dive by itself for long once you let up. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

A PC1000 will shoot the best quality daylight video by _far_ in that group... if you are going to jump with it, it's the best choice. I've never missed not being able to shoot crummy green video at night... Sunset videos seem to work acceptably for me. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I'd just warn him about Vengeances in general... I don't know more than a couple people that can tolerate that canopy. Probably not a good idea overall. Can it be done? Sure. Is it a particularly good choice... nope. A Veng at 1.4 is pretty sporty, but at least it has a relatively short recovery arc. Better that than a Katana at 1.4 at 200-something jumps. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

That's kinda weak IMO... I did like 7 jumps in one day as a student, I could have done more, but my legs were bruised from the student gear and it was scorching hot outside, so I headed to the bar, lol. If you aren't tired or burned out, jump as much as you feel like/can afford. Sometimes I just do a couple other times I do a half-dozen or so. I think it takes about 2 or 3 before I start to get in a groove anyway. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I call BS on that picture... where's the blood? How did they extricate the bodies and cleanup the wreck enough to put the vehicle on display? It would take a serious cleaning to get all the body parts, brain-matter, organs, combustible fluids, etc out of the vehicle so it didn't smell up the place. Being a long-time rider I've seen a few gruesome impacts and none were as sterile-looking as this one. Cars usually have a lot of spatter and puddles in the driver area after something like this. I doubt the rider and passenger's were "thrown-clear". Ripped to pieces seems more plausible. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Just jump, lol... I used to remind myself that the ground is really far away and no matter how hard I try, it's going to take me about a minute to hit it, so I might as well do something cool on the way down. Being relaxed on exit and not "white-knucking" the airplane is a big part of a clean exit IMO. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

He also wrote: The phrase that comes to mind has something to do with a pot, a kettle, and the shade black...or is it stones and glasshouses? Lighten up, Francis... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I flew so long ago in Perris that I didn't pay attention to power settings back then... I'm pretty sure from what I heard that I could just fly it maxed out now (esp in my fast VRW-style suit), but I guess I'll find out for sure soon. As for "flying in anything" I'm pretty sure I am a _lot_ heavier than you so I'm going to need a bit more power so I don't have to "slow-fall" constantly. Besides, I like the faster air, it feels more like the sky to me. And while I can fly in a slow sit at ~115 in the tunnel, it's just more realistic to me at ~125+ since I learned how to sit-fly in the sky. In the end, it's just personal preference. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

They're gone, but still have lots of fans... you can find them in the classifieds occasionally. In fact, last time I was at Elsinore, they had a brand-new, unused Hawkeye at the gearshop there. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I load at whatever I feel comfortable with... somewhere between "boring" and "holy shit!". I prefer closer to "boring" personally since I travel a lot and don't like jumping uber-fast canopies into unfamiliar DZs. I'd jump pretty much _anything_ in Eloy though... there's not much to run into there on slow days. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Many of my friends would concur that Perris is slow(er) too. Some of them aren't too happy with the speeds in Orlando either though. Apparently it's hard(er) to get lift headdown in a tight suit for the 6ft tall male crowd... For RW though, it's not much of big deal it seems. It's been a couple years since I've been to Perris personally though (but I'll be there in a couple weeks, in theory, so I guess I'll refresh my memory). Based on % power a tunnel has to be run at for me to freefly comfortably, Colorado is the strongest I've flown in. I freefly at about 85% power in Eloy and somewhere in the low-mid 70s in CO. The CO tunnel at 85% (which actually means 85% of 90% total power available since they have it limited) would probably pin me to the turnvanes in anything but the fastest stand I could manage without corking or at least preclude me from flying down into the glass area where the airspeed is highest. edit: too add that the power setting in CO tunnel would be with the louvers closed, or close to it, restricting outside air from entering. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I don't think the Nitron's lines are coated either (that I can tell) but they feel different than the black ones on the Nitro. I haven't had any tension knots or mals on either canopy. I pack pretty neatly though (symmetric, neat, line stows) and I don't wad my lines up when I land. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

It is because of the Nitron's positive recovery arc that I like it. It fills that gap between Sabre2 and Katana performance levels without the drama and oversteer of a Stiletto. The Nitro I jumped definately was easier to hold in a dive than the Nitron though... it was probably trimmed differently since it also had higher toggle pressure and didn't "feel" like the same canopy at all. Sure the Crossfire or a Katana are better swooping canopies but if I wanted that type of performance, I'd probably give the Blade a try. I'm not convinced that HMA is any more prone to tension knots (esp when you take care of the lines and pack correctly) than Vectran for instance. I'll never own a canopy lined with Spectra again though but a M4mba or an HMA-lined Katana sounds pretty sweet. The concept that HMA is only for top-competitors though is silly, it's just another type of line and does not imbue the user with any magical swooping ability. That's akin to saying you can only have Z-rated tires on your car if you drive 155+mph every day and take every corner at the limit of traction. But, to each his/her own... that's why there are so many types of canopies I guess. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Wait, you mean that Brian recommended his own canopy to you, I'm shocked! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

fixed it for you... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

PC1000, Rawa, Finley ringsite w/Schumacher swivel-clamp... someday I'll add a Schumacher quick-release for a top mount digital still camera. Just don't feel like forking out the cash for it right now. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I still think the Nitron is one of the best canopies to practice swooping or just plain have fun with. It's more exciting than a Sabre 2 without being twitchy and having a lot of oversteer, I absolutely _love_ HMA lines, and it opens without any drama. Plus it's cheaper than a Sabre 2. Chris Martin really hit the nail on the head when he recommended it to me a couple years ago. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

2002 M Roadster, S54 motor, w/minor mods NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Around 175mph on my old race-prepped Ninja ZX-7 My record in a car is around 170mphish... Here's a shot from AZ though in my old car just messing around: NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I've had Slocks on my rig since Brian posted the instructions for them and think they work great! Mine stick out slightly as well but I haven't had any problems with them. It seems extremely unlikely that anything could snag on them. Any significant pressure appied to the Slock and they just bend out of the way. Edited by slotperfect to remove the ad reference. No ads in the forums please. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080