gowlerk

Very British, very nanny state. Guilty until proven innocent. The head bureaucrat at any DZ can suspend you at his discretion. You must appeal to the Star Chamber if you disagree. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

It would seem the quality of training standards in South America may be somewhat lacking. But at least they have a lot of cameras to show us the mayhem. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

This is just a heads up for anyone shopping for a sewing machine. Singer did make a line called "Fashion Mate" in the seventies. The very first one was the 237 model. It is a class 15 oscillating shuttle zigzag machine with all metal gears and it's a very good sewing machine. As good as it gets for domestic machines doing rigging work. If you find one get it. But be aware that it's the last good machine Singer made. The "Fashion Mate" name went on for a few more years with plastic gears that are now failing, and different bobbin/hook systems that are not nearly as good. Except for the 237, "Fashion Mates" have a very poor reputation. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Lots of questions. I have one for you. Who are you and do you have any marketing or other financial interest in altimeter design, past present or future? Not that I have a problem if you do. I just appreciate disclosure when replying to surveys which you series of polls appears to be. Leaving your profile blank gives me the impression that you are only here for this survey. Ken Gowler Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You`ve got it partly. There is blame for both parties. The TI for the obvious reason. The student, (if he was), for not following the pattern. But as several people have pointed out, it`s not an exercise in finding blame. That`s for lawyers, judges and such. We are here to figure out how to avoid things like this happening to us. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Isn't saving money the same no matter how it's done? I got 50% off the base price on my container from Wings which knocked a good 1k off the price. Got 1K knocked off then loaded it up with 1K worth of options. I see that as a huge savings because without it I wouldn't of been able to get the type of container I did with the options. I'm pretty sure the OP won't have a problem getting some sort of discount with whoever the OP goes with being in the military. To be exact... I saved 1,075 off the base price. My final price came to 2,045.95 which would of been 3,045.95. I consider that a hell of a savings whether it was on the base price or not. The point is that a loaded V3, Talon, Javelin, Icon ect with go for a list price of around $3000. No one pays that much for a Wings. Almost no one pays list for any container, but available discounts aren`t usually that high. In the end you got a $2400 container for $2045. It`s still a good deal, but not as good as you think. No one should buy a container without checking out what is available and seeing the products up close with someone who know all the features and drawbacks. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Wings discount applies only to the base price and not the options, you don`t end up saving that much cash. Most containers can be had for somewhat less than list price if you talk to a dealer. Wings are ok, but you get what you pay for. There are better built and better designed products available. (I`m not slamming Sunrise, if you end up choosing Wings that`s fine too.) At your level of experience a Sabre 2, Pilot, Safire2, or similar type canopy is the obvious choice. A 170 would likely be a reasonable place to start. You reserve needs to be at least this size as well. Your best bet is to start hanging around a friendly civilian DZ and start talking to people about canopies and gear. It sounds like your gear knowledge needs to catch up with your jump experience. Uncle Sam taught you what he needed you to know for him, now you have to go out and fill in the gaps. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Or this. http://www.flycookie.com/shop/Accessories/32/index.htm Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

So you avoid what is basically the most tried and true reserve on the market because the manufacturer is trying their best to save you from yourself? Brilliant! PD is the market leader, but there are others out there that are just as good, slightly cheaper, and don't have that restriction. I respect your choice, but it's not the only good choice. Being the biggest does not make them the best. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

After reading a current thread where it was mentioned that a number of reserve canopy manufactures require tracking of pack jobs, deployments, and testing I decided to look and see if I could find more than PD having these sort of requirements. After checking the Smart manual I found this gem: 3.1.12 POROSITY Check the porosity in the following cases: - After 10 uses - After immersion in water - when the canopy is dry - After 20 repacks (Based on 6 month repack cycle) - After any use in abnormal conditions. I'm just wondering now. How does Aerodyne propose that riggers do this porosity check? Maybe by putting my lips on the material and trying to blow through it? What kind of cover your ass requirement is this without clearly indicating how to accomplish this "check"? Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

As far as I know the number of manufacturers with any such requirement is one. Do you know of more than one? I'm just curious because if there are more than one I can avoid them as well. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Traditionally in North America, the data card went with the reserve canopy. That way you would have a record of service bulletins compliance, modifications, strength testing and such. These are all no longer much of a factor, and most people will leave the card with the container if they are separated. (Data cards are supplied with new containers, and containers are now far more likely to need compliance with SBs.) Some countries require separate cards for container, reserve, and AAD. Meaning there is no clear answer to your question. Sorry. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

DON'T DO THAT! The links and any slider bumpers are supplied with the canopy and should remain with the canopy. Along with the slider and nothing else. Same rules apply to main canopies. Slider, links, canopy. Nothing else. Simple. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

+1 Forums aren't for advertising. One post in one forum is more than enough. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

A local low timer here got distracted while landing his Specter 210 loaded about 1:1 and failed to flare at all. The main result was fractures of the tib/fib in two places each. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Why would you care? No one will like you or think you are cool if you land without flaring. Go with the smallest reserve you can land. Take chances, live life, and learn proxy. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

The manual? The manual says Sigma canopies only. Icarus 330s are not part of the program. They are too small to land a heavy load without doing a turn to speed them up. That is outside of the program, your mad skillz aside. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

Well he didn't have to do it just to satisfy our curiosity! Interesting results though. Good that he's ok. He doesn't even know about this thread. His last previous reserve ride was in the '90s, under a round. He says the round landed better. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

My friend with the 145 National Phantom had a ride on it yesterday. He remembered my warning and did practice flares up high. He thought he had it figured out. But he did stall it about 3 feet off the ground. He said it was very sudden and unexpected. He walked away unhurt, and is looking for a cheap Tempo 150 or PDR143 to replace it. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

My thought is that the pilot is making the job into all about him and the other pilot. I would never get on an airplane if this was the plan. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

$100 is pretty good for a machine that's "serviced" considering that most places charge $70 for a basic service. But keep in mind that it's just a cleaning and oiling and that you could learn to do it yourself. One year of warranty is great, because if you have trouble figuring it out they will be more or less obligated to take the time to explain to you what you are doing wrong. This is a fifty year old sewing machine, it's tough and well built and not prone to breaking down. But somewhat prone to getting sticky internally from disuse and improper lubricants. (use only light sewing machine oil that leaves no residue when dried out). They are also prone to having both the top cover and the left door hinges break. It is a slant needle machine, which has it's own set of pros and cons. But just get a machine and learn to sew. After you begin to learn you will figure out more about what you want in a machine. (basically you will want several machines) A 503 is as good a place to start learning as any, and since it is a "Rocketeer" it's stylin' as well! Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

On a related note, I may have the chance to do tandems from a C-130 in the near future. Anyone have any input on what to watch out for on them? Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

On a related note. I have a friend who weighs about 170 lbs naked who brings me his rig with a 145 National Phantom to repack. I keep telling him that if he ever needs to use it he will probably have trouble landing it safely for the same reasons as the Micro-Raven. However, I have no real experience with these. Anyone out there with real jumps on one of these care to comment? Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You were misinformed. The fact that you believed the misinformation you were given is irrelevant. The hypothetical court case you are spreading fear about is also irrelevant, except in your mind. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

You would think that tandems should be statistically MUCH safer than solo jumps. At least if comparing the fatality rate. They are conducted only by proven jumpers, they eliminate the low turn/hook risk, the AAD fires higher, low cutaways are not eliminated, but very rare, in short most of the things that cause fatalities in the sport today are very unlikely. This is somewhat balanced by the possibly higher main malfunction rate, and the overall higher complexity of the EPs. But these factors can't come close to matching the many inventive ways that solo jumpers have found to kill themselves. Just spend some time in the incidents forum. Tandem fatalities are not very common. Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.