peckerhead

I think if you deploy in a stable position the potential is very low. I do have a cutaway on the helmet just in case but I don't know what good that would do you in the base environment.

A very long time ago at an unamed dropzone I was jumping student gear as my brand new Unit had a broken steering line. As luck would have it the XL30 main exploded on opening......tore the lateral band in two. I popped the capewells and cutaway, did my best to stable out and dumped the belly reserve. When I got back to the dz...it was a long walk....one of the pseudo rigger/instructors told me the DZO was gonna be pissed.....that particular reserve had been one of his display rigs and had been packed for like 5 years. I asked the dumbass why they had given it to me. All I got was a blank stare. Boy I fucked em though....I didnt pay the 5 dollar gear rental. I had a similar experience a long time ago at a dropzone far, far away..... After a malfunction and reserve ride on a borrowed rig I checked the card and discovered it had not been re-packed in over 4 years. But, it opened just fine anyway.

This shot was published in the Nov. 06 issue of Skydiving magazine. The tandem pair is father-son and it was taken on fathers day. It was a currency jump for the TM and his son is also an experienced jumper. Not my best shot but the only one I have ever had published.

Here are some pictures of my new cookie box. I think they did an outstanding job. The switches are protected but still accessable. It fits very snug and you don't have to remove the wrist strap. Big thumbs up to Cookie!

I remember....My first 5 SL jumps were from 2800 ft. and my 1st freefall on jump # 6 was from 3200. #7 was 5 seconds from 3500 and #8 was 10 seconds from 4000. On jump #9 I went all the way up to 5000 I did a 15 second delay.

I totally disagree with that. The Silhouette is half f-111 and the Pilot is all Z-P. I used to own a Silhouette and it lost it's flare after just a few hundred jumps. They are easy to pack but I would never buy another one. Having jumped both the Pilot and Sabre 2 I thought they were very similar but I prefered the openings with the Pilot. I would hardly consider them to have "extremely different characteristics" I think it is fair to compare the Pilot to a Hornet because they are identical Too bad they don't make the Hornet anymore, the fabric was way better than that new slick crap.

I love my Eclipse, the most comfortable rig I have owned. They are not in production anymore but you can still get parts and service from most master riggers. Ralph Hatley can get you just about anything you need. I am very familiar with these rigs, send me a PM if you need more info.

I applied for it a year ago and submitted all the paperwork to Aerodyne. I had two AR dealers willing to sponsor me and a letter from my DZ. I Did a follow up phone call to AR to make sure they had everything and I was told everything was in order and they would get back to me. I made a second call a month later and I was told the person in charge of the ASI program no longer worked there but that they would forward the info to the new guy. I made a third call a month later and was told they were working on it. A month after that I gave up and bought a PD canopy instead. I never heard another word from AR. Too bad really, with the discount I was going to buy a complete rig. Icon + main + reserve. Nobody at my DZ jumps Icons and I likely could have sent them some referals.

I have not seen one in a long time and I have never experienced one myself. The ones I have seen did stand the jumper up vertical just like a streamer would. These were on student gear with large spring-loaded pilot chutes. Hot-dogs I think, or something similar. So I think the answer is that they CAN but not everytime on every rig. smaller pilot chutes or uncocked pilot chutes may not have enough drag. Bag/canopy size and bridle/line lengths may also be a contributing factor.

There is film of him after landing and the first thing he does is smoke a cigarette. Can you imagine an astronaut smoking now a days?

If you count demos I jumped at 5 different places in one day on the 4th of July back in the 80's Last year I went on a trip down under and jumped at 5 different DZ's in NZ and OZ in a two week period. 35 jumps total in two different countries and on both islands in NZ.

Nerd on nerd violence at its worst!

Thanks to the folks at Elsinore and the nice person who turned in my helmet that I left behind. It was nice to come back a week later and find it still there with my gloves, altimeter, protrack, and goggles. You guys are the best!

A cut and paste from private emails proves nothing. I have done business with the guy and he was totally up front and professional. There are two sides to every story. Jay may not have agreed to cover shipping. In fact he may have not been paid at all.

I bought a reserve from Jay a few months ago and we settled on a price + shipping. I sent him the money and he sent me the reserve no problems. It was a sweet deal on a PD reserve and he shipped immediately. It is in my container right now. Sounds like you need to pay for the shipping and stop bitching.

I would vote for cordura. I have had both over the years and the parapack rigs ugly-out much faster. A cordura rig will look new for a long time if you take care of it, keep it out of the sun, store in a gear bag, etc. Parapack is OK for the backpad for comfort and that part of the rig does'nt show and is not exposed to sunlight, scuffs, etc. I would not recomend parapack for the legstraps because it is slick and will shift and slide around much easier. Cordura tends to stay in place better.

That would be cool if someone would start a little people jump club. Just think....10 ways out of a 182!

Monday maybe? How much mid-week jumping is going on at Elsinore this time of year? I am going to be in San Diego- Anaheim the next three weeks but will likely be busy on the weekends. How long of a drive is it to Elsinore from Anaheim or SD? Any mid-week loads in San Diego? Any info would be appreciated

I was in NZ and OZ a year ago. I jumped at Aukland, Lake Taupo, and Abel Tasman. Aukland has a Porter and there is fun jumping there. Taupo is a tandem factory but the scenery is nice and they fly Pac 750's. Abel Tasman was my favorite, spectacular scenery and great people. They have a fletcher turbine AKA cresco which is kinda like a smaller version of the Pac. (See pic) In Oz I jumped at Nagambie and Picton (Sydney Skydivers) Nagambie is nice they have a Pac 750, I was only there 1 day. It is about an hour north of Melborne. Sydney is way cool. They have a variety of turbines. When I was there it was a bit slow during the week but lots of loads on the weekend. Great party and barbeque Saturday nights. You have to join the NZPF to jump in New Zealand. In Australia you can get a temp 3 month membership with APF You'll have a great time.

Other---> Discount membership for instructors. Since we are the ones who bring new people into the sport why are we charged more than the average Joe who just shows up and jumps when he feels like it? Why should I get fined each year for having a rating? Another point: Almost all regional directors are running un-opposed. Only two regions have more than one candidate. Two regions have nobody running at all.

Call Ralph at Western Parachute Sales 503-630-jump (5867)

Far out man! Do you have a low pull area too?

You should listen to Ron, as usual he is right on. Everytime one of these threads pop up the low number jumpers with limited experience will almost always say one is better than the other. I am one of those crusty "old" guys who learned SL. I made my first jump when I was 18 and had a C license and two night jumps when I was 21. (nobody bothered to get an A or B license back then we went straight to C) When I was 25 I had a D license and 1000 jumps. My observations: AFF grads tend to have better freefall skills, not always but usually this is true. They almost always have a bigger ego and think 100 jumps is a lot. SL students know how to spot, pack, and fuel the airplane. They will jump with a 2000 ft. ceiling (because they thought they could get 3000 and don't want anyone to think they are wimpy) AFF grads are more affluent and drive nice cars. They usually don't hang out and party because they have better things to do, they have a girlfriend who is calling them on their cell phone. SL students sleep in their car because they are too drunk to drive home and they wish they had a girlfriend. AFF grads want to know when they can jump because they are in a hurry and have a date. SL students ask if they can empty the trash or help out in some way while they are waiting to get on a load. AFF grads never bring food or beer. (they will make up some bullshit excuse and promise to do it next time) SL students are embarassed if they don't bring food or beer and are forced to do so RIGHT NOW DAMMIT! AFF grads will pay someone with 100 jumps to do a two way with them SL students get to do four ways with jumpers that have thousands of jumps for NO EXTRA CHARGE!

I just prefer to jump at non-swoop dropzones and when I do I stay away from the zoomies and land out if necesary. Not my thing and I don't need to see the carnage.

WTF is a kit?