gowlerk

The battery life is something I've wondered about. 15 years, or 15,000 jumps is a lot of time, 50% more than the Vigil. There would seem to be some conservation of energy in the control unit. It has no flashing lights and a much smaller display. The method of turning it on is the same as the others, and you can get similar information from it, but it is less easy to do so because of the smaller display only reading one digit at a time. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Clothing/Mens-Casual-Clothing/Mens-Casual-Gloves/Mens-Fishing-Gloves|/pc/104797080/c/104746680/sc/105547680/i/104005080/Cabelas-Guidewearreg-Full-Finger-Fishing-Gloves/1615619.uts?destination=%2Fcategory%2FMens-Fishing-Gloves%2F104005080.uts&WTz_l=Unknown%3Bcat104005080 I haven't tried them yet, but I've heard good things. Windproof and warm. But flexible with pre-curved fingers. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Paul, your point was lost because you chose a very obtuse way of expressing it. But I would argue that Airtec IS overpricing their product. Their development costs were paid back long ago and they are coasting on their (deserved) reputation trying to keep the profit margin high for as long as possible. They even tried briefly to charge $200 for the software upgrade that allows mode switching. They dropped that, I assume in response to market objections. Your point about the failure of the Argus is well noted. My feeling is that MarS, being a larger, more integrated company with a much larger line of products, would have the resources to weather the kind of storm that caused Karel to give up. But the risk of something similar happening can not be completely discounted. The M2 has a little more than 3 years in the field now. The Vigil has established itself completely in my opinion, a fine company with a fine track record. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Thanks for opening up this controversy again. Now I can enjoy watching all the posts from electronics "experts" and people trying to remember anecdotes and vague reports of incidents to justify their unshakable faith in their favorite brand of magic box that will save them from an unfortunate end. Since you asked, I recommend you consider how long you will need this product for, and what your level of comfort is regarding the length of the track record of each product. As far as I'm concerned there are no AADs currently being marketed that I would have any concern at all about choosing for myself, or installing for a customer. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

It appears the excess lanyard has been tucked behind the #6 flap. It should be tucked under the reserve riser according to page 16 if the G4 manual. I don't think it will matter, but that's beside the point. If you don't have a copy of the manual, go to the Mirage website and get it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

People who do this never do it to just one person. If you can, do the world a favor and name him. But it's hard to do that, and I understand your reluctance. Only you can decide. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Really? I hope you are kidding. I would not fly with that pilot ever again. Seriously. No matter how skilled and even respected he may be, he clearly lacks the judgement needed to be a professional pilot for hire. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I like it. The need for hand tacking it means that someone will do it wrong before long. But it will not interfere with normal deployment. Unless someone tacks down the bridle itself. I'm not going to pretend that I'm even near smart enough to figure out if this can go wrong somehow, but I really like the concept. It seems to follow the idea of "first, do no harm" better than any other system. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

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Nothing much! But you are right it was better. The hammer falling so slowly was cool. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I would be concerned. It's not that they are doomed or anything. But they are definitely at increased risk for making a mistake that could cause injury. Low experience is a risk factor, not being current is another risk factor, and a less forgiving canopy is another risk factor. These all add up, most jumps they will be fine. It's an adult sport, and Stilettos are a lot of fun. I got mine at about 225 jumps, loaded about the same as your friends. I wasn't ready for it, and I jumped a lot back then. Tell them I said good luck, and be careful. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

This is just fabulous to see. http://www.iflscience.com/physics/dropping-bowling-ball-and-feather-vacuum Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Unless they can remember what they had before Sabres became available. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

When the loop goes around the smallest ring then through the grommet to the other side of the riser, the loop and ring become a simple pulley system with a 2:1 mechanical advantage. This in theory reduces the force on the cable by half, therefore giving an easier cutaway. Reverse risers eliminate this pulley system. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Lee, what is the story there? I still see some swift+ reserve canopies floating around. If you are inspecting a Swift plus and you checked for SBs, you would find this: http://hq.apf.asn.au/images/e/e5/329A.pdf Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The main force is not acceleration at all, but rather deceleration. The p/c leaves the mass of the falling jumper. Without that mass resistance of the air causes it to rapidly decelerate. The difference in the fall rate of the jumper and the p/c causes the bridle to stretch out. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Al McDonald of Flying High made it and still makes them. He can supply any parts or service you require. The RPC is a UPT made item, all other parts are Flying High. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

............................................................................... That is the smoothest jump-step we have seen so far. The (inboard end) filler block eliminates a couple of snag points. Wrapping the step down beside the wheel eliminates a couple more snag points. Some might criticism that step for limiting leg strut flex, but I would need to take a close look at how much rubber is in the upper attachment clamp. As for the step limiting leg strut flex ... I have seen many with hinges at the inboard and outboard edges, but most of those hinges include snag points. I had a closer look at it today. The white piece sandwiched in that upper attachment clamp is two pieces of nylon that act as bushings. The whole clamp is allowed to slide on the wheel strut/spring. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Yes, an engineer and the son of an engineer. Truly a science guy. Not a marketer or a hypster, but the real deal. Paying the bills yourself does not take away from the deed. Kittenger and Baumgartner did not do it on their own, and neither did Eustace. In the end it matters little who financed it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

A little trivia quiz for you: What type of back pack rig is Col. Joe using? It is ( IMO ) a predecessor to all modern rigs. Jerry Baumchen Sorry, I don't know. Maybe you could tell me? Also, I'm wondering about what kind of AOD saved his life on November 16, 1959 when he lost consciousness on the first high altitude attempt because of a spin with no drogue? Must be one of the first saves of it's kind. Edit: Or rather, there was a drogue, but before it could deploy cleanly he became entangled (around the neck) with it's P/C bridle. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Kittenger's jump was also drogue assisted. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121008-joseph-kittinger-felix-baumgartner-skydive-science/ [inline Kittenger_exit.jpg] Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Love it. Kittenger's record stands for decades. He then helps Baumgartner break it with years of planning, hype, and hoopla. The next thing we know. an Internet billionaire quietly spends enough money to break it two years later. Money can't buy me love. But it can sure buy lots of joy! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

I like ours in Gimli. But it's not perfect. [inline step.jpg] Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

There are few if any good prime lens options for DX sized sensors other than fisheyes. No use paying good money and carrying the weight of full frame glass. The Nikon 10-24 will give you the widest FOV (Sigma makes a lower quality version) and is lighter, and a little better than the older 12-24. Nikon just released a new FX 20mm 1.8 prime that is great, but not really needed in daylight shooting. 18 to 24 mm is usually plenty wide enough for tandems, but not enough to get close to larger groups. The Tokina 11-16 has a great reputation, but I've not used it. I do have a Tokina 10-17 fisheye and software to flatten out the images, but I'm still waiting to try it out. If you just play with an 18-55 kit zoom, you will soon find out just how wide you need to go for your work. Not the nicest toy, but light and cheap to learn from. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.