mattjw916

In addition to what was already said, I like to "pre-tension" my brake lines after the brakes are set and the excess is stowed properly. A quick tug upward tug on the lower control line ensures everything is seated and will reduce the odds of a premature break-fire IMHO (unless the slider knocks one out during deployment obviously). Don't worry if the lines look confusing now, I thought the same thing when I started packing... when looking down into the packjob everything just seemed like chaos to me until a friend showed me a trick: first find out how many brake line attachment points your canopy has on each side buy starting at the center cell (or label if your canopy has one) and follow the trailing edge of the canopy. There are usually 4 and sometimes 5, these attach to the control line that runs to the toggle. With the canopy over your shoulder take the brake lines from one side and lift them up to eye level. The next set of lines (longest) you should see are your D lines and there should be 3-4 of them per side depending on the canopy. You can grab and lift those up and now you are at the C lines, etc... Of course, I have to let you know that flaking your canopy is really over-rated... as long as the lines are in the center, the fabric to the outside, stabilizers are clear, brakes are stowed properly, slider quartered and against the stops, and lines are even it'll open just fine. When I take my time and flake everything all neatly I can't see any difference from when I just shake it out and take 10 seconds to straighten the lines a bit. I have never packed a mal for myself or anyone else. Just some personal insight, take it or leave it. Happy packing! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

you forgot the option for "none" NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Now, if you are ground launching it... I can't see how you know if the "openings" are any good. I guess any canopy that slams open _would_ potentially be better for ground launching. edit: grammar police NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Oh, I see... lol... Well, for $350, you get what you pay for. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

There's no way in hell I would pay $800 for a Sabre with a 1000 jumps. Even with new lines I'd stop short of $600. It's an _old_ canopy and should be priced accordingly. You are better off saving that money and waiting for a better deal on a used semi-elliptical canopy rather than a square. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Um yeah... some Sabres, open _brutally_ hard without warning, a fact that many people like to gloss-over. Do a search here and discover for yourself. I wouldn't buy it without test-jumping it first regardless of what any rigger said about its airworthiness. If it opens at a reasonable speed (or can be fixed to do so) it can be a decent canopy. There's no substitute for modern parachutes though. I'd rather have an old Safire, or any number of other canopies, over a Sabre anyday. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Suuntos work great but have drawbacks like unprotected buttons that others can push in freefall (and change the mode) on accident when they take grips and a tiny display that can be hard to read under some conditions. Stick with a traditional alti until you have a lot more experience or get a Neptune or Viso (when it finally comes out) if you want a digi-alti. P.S. I use a Suunto 95% of the time (and it's perfectly accurate), but I don't really look at it in freefall much anyway since shooting video and freeflying makes using a visual alti as a primary impractical. I wouldn't recommend that strategy for a while though. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

And what would that difference be? NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

NO... since it's complete horseshit!!! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I have a Suunto Vector too and found that the readings are dead on with the Optima. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Sabre2s definately open better than Sabre 1s but not nearly as good as a Safire IMO. You might want to give the Fusion by Precision a try too. It's basically a mellowed out version of the Nitron which is my favorite canopy so far by a long-shot. Their delivery time is about 5 weeks for custom colors and Art from Skydivestore.com is a real pleasure to deal with. Not to mention the fact they are cheaper too... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Actually the "venturi effect" _reduces_ the pressure in the tunnel making the air flow _faster_ through the constricted area (i.e. the flight chamber) reducing the sheer power the motors need to have in order to make the tunnel useable for our purposes. Whether the "venturi effect", or just raw power, is making the air flow at a given speed through the flight chamber doesn't matter in the least to us as flyers. What it really means is that your electric bill will always be higher than a Skyventure-style tunnel (or any other tunnel with a venturi air-inlet for that matter) and consequently you will have a higher operating cost. Now that we've got that out of the way... I totally agree with Ron's assessment of flying in the lower airspeeds of the tunnel. MUCH bigger movements are required at the low-limit of my flying range in order to produce the desired result. And my back-flying is still pretty average in the sky... but in the tunnel, without a rig, I totally rock. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Me too... Rawa and Factory Diver... works perfectly every time!!! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

WHAT!!? You mean you didn't totally nail belly-flying in only 10 whole minutes in the tunnel?!! Seriously though, those people that you see flying in the tunnel who are totally smooth and effortless usually have dozens of _hours_ in the tunnel and typically hundreds to thousands of skydives on top of that! Don't let your expectations get set too high as to what you feel like you "should" have accomplished in the short time you flew. Chances are you did make some progress whether you realize it or not. The best way to tell is to get videos of your flights and review them. I know I am my own harshest critic of how I fly in the sky and in the tunnel. oh yeah... and don't forget to have fun! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Sounds like just about the same experience as most skydivers the first time they try out the tunnel. How much time did you fly? I recently reviewed my first tunnel flights (on VHS ) from a couple years ago when I had about 50 jumps and I didn't do much better than you described... so don't feel bad. Like anything worth doing, practice will increase your proficiency. Relax and arch works in the tunnel too... don't "fight" it. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

_I_ didn't almost hit anything... it was another person that was clearly not looking where they were going. I was just a "bystander" that got it on video. Target fixation is very real and the resulting impact with something you are staring at is a common cause for motorcycle accidents so much so that it is covered in the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Riders Skills Course curriculum for new and experienced riders. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Target fixation can happen to anyone... divers can become transfixed on the formation and not realize the closing speed they are generating. I was almost taken out in a pylon race since someone was staring only at the person with the streamer and not the other skydivers doing laps around the track. You can see them whip by in the corner of the video briefly at very high speed. It happens quite frequently in everything from riding motorcycles to canopy piloting. edit for spelling... NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I have to agree with the DZO to certain extent... Dogs, and unsupervised children for that matter, do not belong at the dropzone. They are a nuisance. While some people's dogs are well-trained enough to hang out and not cause problems, most of the time they are not. Unfortunately the majority of dog owners don't take the time to train their pets properly and ruin it for those that do. Such is life. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Silhouettes are excellent canopies, I know several people that use them and are quite happy with them. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

I've bought/sold a lot of gear online and haven't had any major problems so far. When I sell, I require payment in advance via Paypal or money order and require all funds to clear before I ship anything. I provide extremely detailed descriptions, pictures, sizes, etc and have not had any complaints to-date. When I buy, I believe in caveat emptor (buyer beware). If something doesn't feel right or looks sketchy then I skip it and wait for another deal to pop up. Usually after talking to the person and asking a few questions you can get a feel how truthfully they are representing themselves. I have had some gear show up that needed a minor repair that wasn't "declared" but I don't think the original owner was aware of that particular damage due to the nature of it. Third-party escrow would be nice but generally is a little impractical for most purchases. Paypal does offer fraud protection if both the buyer and seller have gone through the verification process. No matter how hard you try, eventually you will get a pissy buyer that nothing will satisfy. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Why make things more complicated than they need to be? Deploy canopy, clear airspace, check canopy, collapse slider, pull down, open chest-strap, unstow brakes. That should take very little time to do with practice and it will be very apparent whether your canopy is landable or not. Waiting to get lower to do all this stuff does not net you anything and the potential for collisions seems to increase the lower and closer to the landing area you get. Better yet, just mod the chest strap so it won't come open anyway as was suggested earlier. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

There is no correct answer. Do a search there are a hundred threads on this already... pick one method and stick with it. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

If my canopy opened "brutally hard" because the slider crept down from the stops an inch... I'd think about jumping a different canopy! As for the original poster's question... I think darnknit hit the nail on the head. Go jump more. One hard opening isn't a big deal. 10 or so in a row, and I'd have the trim checked and inspect the canopy. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

You could get a brand new Fusion for less than most used Sabre 2s. Stick with the ZP canopies. They last longer, open better (esp as they age), flare better, resell faster hold their value better, etc... The size you are looking for will narrow your search down, esp with regard to used canopies. There are tons of good canopies out there that can be had for less money than a Sabre 2 and will perform just as good, if not better. Don't get sucked in by those PD-only people that have never tried anything else. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080

Ad, endorsement, or whatever you want to call it... dz.com is getting _paid_ for it. Personally I find the ads annoying, esp the ones tacked on to PMs. Then again, I'm not interested in their products anyway. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080