sagan

I thought I saw a bunch of ads that made it look like it was being used in speed flying (skis & canopy & ground launch). Anyone know if that's one of the "designed" uses of it? -Patrick

I think the spirit of the original question is what the hierarchy of canopies tends to be. Just throwing it out there, does the following seem about right? 7 cell: 1) Older Models (accuracy canopies) 2) Spectre Class 3) ? 9 cell: 1) Student (Manta/Navigator) 2) Sabre Class (Pilot, Safire1/2, Sabre1/2) 3) Stilleto / Katana / XFire1/2 / Mamba 4) X-Braced Again, just guessing, but I think the question is, especially in the step of 2 to 3 of the 9 cell category, is there anything in between or is it baptism by fire? This is all assuming starting at one level's min recommended jump#, WL and moving within the same class to the top end of the WL spectrum along with being able to fly the canopy to the limit requiring a new class. That question as was suggested is probably the first to ask. -Patrick

Well i think milestone are great (and I don't want to burst a bubble or anything) the best celebration for your 100th jump is to make sure you do the 101st and the 102nd. I mean that not in a "don't get hurt kinda way" and instead more in a, cool you hit a 100... don't spend all day on it, make sure to keep jumping so you can hit 200! Happy 100th

Back to serious thought... what about an oddball formation similar to the standard lead skyvan + trail otters setup? 1 of something that holds 200ish, then c130's for the rest? That way there's only 200 new slots instead of 500 If everyone was in a completely new plane that had never been used I imagine part of the attempts would be just getting used to the new planes vs. supplementing with C130's where there's actually a known quantity of skydivers that have a number of jumps from it. -Patrick

From what I've seen lately, and this may be coincidence -- the people that do 10-20 jumps a month that live 150+ miles from the DZ seem to be coming less often. Then there's me, I live across the country yet find myself at Perris it seems every other week due to work on the west coast. That said I'm actually considering a house in the area where I'll plan on seeing many "weekend" roommates drop by. To be honest, I think the DZ's are actually doing a great job of managing the situation. I don't know for a fact, but I would think that the DZ threw in some money for us at the American Boogie at Skydance to keep us running with minimal jump ticket increases. -Patrick

I would also comment on also ensuring no pun intended that the package is insured, trackable, and requiring a signature. The only thing that stands out in my mind with the links is that when you inspect the canopy, inspect the LINKS TOO!! Especially if they are slinks! Could someone also comment on best method for exchanging payment. I've done a few different thins myself including, personal check, money order, paypal (costs too much IMO) and in all kinds of order, after receiving, before receiving, etc, etc. I know when I was starting out I would have gladly paid for a "how to buy and sell gear" lesson along with a explanation of the differences in features, etc. -Patrick

To expand on the formula: Current Dealer Price for New Canopy: Find 3 dealers and get quotes. Take an average then take another 10% off from that as most people that buy from dealers will buy a package and get something off the original quote. Years of Service: $100/year from DOM or years of service. Double this if canopy has been jumped in a "harsh" environment -- i.e. desert (even if they land on the grass each time), near salt water, etc Per Jump: $1/jump Lines: You may want to take type of line into consideration as some wear much faster than others. If the lines are near to being toast and slinks come with the canopy take another $25 off to pay for new slinks. DON'T SKIMP ON THE SLINKS!!! Do a search on these forums and you'll understand. Don't forget to consider: Cost of shipping (including insurance/tracking). Cost of rigger inspection. Cost of hooking it up which would include new slinks or quick links if needed. Also any repairs required found by rigger inspection are typically dollar for dollar off from what I've been told is customary. Now put it together. This formula has worked well for me and when you go through it with a seller or buyer it generally makes a lot of sense to them and you can then meaningfully discuss each of the points vs just swinging a price around and feeling like it is going no where. I don't have a ton of experience but having gone through this 3x in a year and change with both dealers and private individuals, I wanted to toss my opinion out there. Feel free to debate! -Patrick

I think by definition of a crwdog vs a crwpup you've had a cutaway right? Someone else can probably comment further... is it cutaway while crew or just canopy wrap that makes you a crwdog? -Patrick

I agree, thanks to Colin and Roger for organizing! The other jumps especially the toy jumps on Sunday were very cool too. Can't wait to see some of the first crazy wheel jumps (Still can't believe that thing was stable at 230mph) Awesome atmosphere! Doc's dinners were great too. -Patrick

Ironic thread, I just finished replacing my visor (right around 300 jumps with that visor). As stated it's cheap plastic and comes straight, no special molding so making own should be possible (haven't tried but good idea). I like the two audible pockets as others have stated as well. The visor can flip open but that can be fixed by adding some additional washers to the medal stud that keeps the visor closed. -Patrick

Is it me or is that rig parapak vs. codura? If so parapak will wear a lot faster than codura according to most manufacturers. -Patrick

"Heard" of this happen during bigger formations when things start funneling in the 5-7K range. People panic and start (often not supposed to) leaving and they pull on the first audible beep they hear (typically this is the break-off altitude). -Patrick

Jumped a Safire2 169 from SQ1 this weekend for 10 jumps. As Bill said, it seems to open like most other canopies. I did have the slider hang up 3/4 the way up on 2 or 3 jumps which required coxing down. So in those cases by Bill's definition it took 900 feet to open. Bill I think I keep running past you here and there in the packing area. I'll say hi next time. Flare was as responsive as I remembered as well. -Patrick

Thanks guys! Will demo and take careful notes this weekend. The last I jumped a Safire 2 was about 2 years ago (with a lot less jumps [not that i have any more significant of a number today]) and looking up during deployment it felt forever before the sniveling stopped and the slider was down (slider was not stuck, I know what that looks like from flying Sabre2 170's) -Patrick

Thanks Wendy! This helps, really! I was worried I'd hear "Don't worry about it". -Patrick

Could someone comment on the snivel time of the safire2? I'm trying to evaluate if the 1K+ snivels are simply too great if you are doing events that require you to pull at 2.5K or 2K. Found some other threads as well but it seemed to not be as specific as this one, hence posting here. Thanks! -Patrick

Is Perris allowed to annex Lake Elsinore for the jump count? Ready, set, discuss! JUST KIDDING!!! (yes I expect to get flames for this one) -Patrick

Finally got the chance to jump the Porter... I've been itching ever since Perris acquired 2 (one for parts?). As many have already stated, yep, it's cramped, especially if you are 6'2, 200 like me. Seemed to climb really well though everything considered. We had a light load of 7. Half the fun was trying to get in and settled. The other half of the fun was trying to figure out how I could fly inside center. Answer, in a catcher's squat. Great acquisition IMO. I've been at Perris plenty of late Sunday afternoons where we could still be jumping for 2 hours but there's only 8 people left jumping. This will mean we can still keep jumping and pestering manifest. -Patrick

I made my first two jumps there, both tandems at Skydive Cape Town. I had a good experience. I'm not sure about if they even offer AFF. They had a cesna (not sure what kind, I was a newbie at the time). It didn't strike me as a big dropzone but as I recall they had a paved runway. They were about 45minutes out of cape town. Absolutely beautiful views of Cape Town, Table Mountain, and Robben Island. http://www.skydivecapetown.za.net/ As for weather I imagine year around operations. -Patrick

oops -- look what I started all by not googling the registration first - doh! Thanks for the replies, so far no one has said anything about the landing on to people's heads. -Patrick

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=512111&in_page_id=1811 It looks like it's got a funky belly. Not to mention, no props on the wing... i'm guessing it's not an otter then. -Patrick

What about swoopers, they "clean" their canopies in the pond quite a bit. The one's here do anyway, and sometimes not by design :) I was actually wondering the same thing. My plan was to fill up a big rubbermaid bin with water, put the canopy in and swoosh around a bit then hang it up to dry. Are lines effected (microline) by water? -Patrick

Yea! At least now on slow Sundays we can actually make it to sunset load -Patrick

I've spent my majority at time at Perris as when I got off student status I went the RW path and there seems to be more of that at Perris. If I was freeflying I'd probably go check out elsinore first. I've had nothing but positive experiences at both places. I've also had good experiences with both the perris school and jim wallace's school. I haven't used the school at elsinore so I can't say. -Patrick

I'll take no wind any day over dust devil spinning up whilst turning on final. I think Bill Von will agree (and know what I mean) -Patrick