TALONSKY

I think Safires are a great canopy. I have a169 wing loaded at 1.5 and love it (yes I am a fat ass). Talking to people at my DZ and seeing responses here, the Safire seems to have a little bit of a bad rap. As far as price goes (not knowing how much you want for it) to me anyway saving a couple hundred off of new would not interest me in a used canopy but saving 400 plus would. Blue Skies Kirk

Well I agree with everything that has been said. I personally had a Falcon 195 and after 150 jumps moved to a Safire 169. I have 300 jumps now and have not even begun to use it to it's full potential. Every jump I truely love flying my canopy. It is better to progress slowly than burn in or hurt yourself on something your not ready for Anyway just thought I would add my .02 cents to this Kirk

I use to do the same thing you do with my glasses. Later I bought a Z1 helmet and my glasses barely fit underneath the visor but they did fit. It was a complete relief never having to screw with the stupid kroop strap and goggles again. Personally, I found that after getting a full faced helmet I truly could enjoy the ride to altitude. Prior I always spent from 10000 to 13000 getting the goggles and kroop strap taken care of . Now I just put my helmet on lift the visor up and shut it just prior to getting out. Kirk

Something that I found interesting is that the pack volume info for Icarus Safires (atleast) are different in the owners manual than at Paragear or Square one. The owner’s manual says a Safire 119 is 255. You can down load the manual yourself at Icarus web site. Also you should be aware that a Safire 119 is atleast 7% smaller than stated. For more info on either subject just contact Icarus, I found them easy to talk to and got great advise from them Blue Skies Kirk

I think the Z1 is a really great helmet. Its visor is more rigid than Oxygen's and can even with stand being open in free fall. I have NEVER had any problems with mine and that includes over 100 RW and 100 free fly jumps. I think with most things in skydiving it is all personal preference so if you can try both and see which you like the best. Kirk

284 Skydives 0 cutaways 2 1/2 years since my first tandem but 1 3/4 of a year since my second tandem. Kirk

I am not sure if they still do but Reflex use to sew the bridal of the pilot chute to the d-bag. If this is still the case you will need to have a rigger change it over to a standard grommet before you can change to a kill line. Kirk

I have not had any experience with them, but a women at my dropzone had a very bad landing and broke her leg and peeled the skin off of both knees. She had to be life flighted out, when the paramedic got there they cut here rig off of her. She sent it to Sunrise to get it fixed and they fixed it for free.

I never have a a complete 3 way. Once my girlfriend and I had another girlfriend of hers that wanted to do a 3 way. We all 3 had talked about it and then when the opportunity came up the 3rd girl freaked out and did not join in. The next day the 3rd girl freaked out and my girlfriend and I had to drop her as a friend. I think for it to work it needs to be with people your not too close with so afterward if it feels weird you do not have to see them again. Anyways, that is my .02 cents Kirk

ProbablyThe most prominent difference between the two is that one (Pro-Track) has a totally incredible customer service verses the other one (Sky tronic pro) does not have good customer service. Look in the gear section under the Pro-track. Kirk

That is a interesting film. The one thing I notice is they set the rig on the ground and pull straight up on the reserve bridle, but the only weight it is lifting is the rig ( about 20 - 25 pounds) not the added weight of a jumper. I could not imagine the reserve not deploying with the drag from the pilot chute against the weight of the jumper. Anyway that is my .02 cents worth Kirk

The last few cd's I have listened to Kittie - Oracle Kid Rock - Devil without a cause Pink - misunderstood Rob Zombie - Hellbillie Deluxe

Talon container: made in 1996 I disliked the bridle showing from the right side flap to BOC. I had a mod done to fix this now I like everything about the container. Safire 169: I do not like that Icarus sized them differently than other canopies i.e. a 169 Safire is comparable to a 150 PD Sabre or so. I called them before I bought one and they did tell me that. Other than that I love the canopy plus I got a great deal $550 with only 150 jumps on it. Z1 helmet: They scratch way to easy or may be I need to stop bumping my head into everything. Other wise love it. Pro-Track: They cost a lot but best skydiving toy made. LOVE IT FireFly freefly jump suit: They took way too long to deliver it 9 weeks. I called every week to try and get it rushed. I love the suit and get complements on it weekly, I also love that it is a 2 piece suit. Tonysuit Pit special RW: The white soaks up stains to easily. I only fell in the mud twice and I can’t get the stain totally out. Otherwise Love it.

The only draw back I have found is that they are a little harder to get your hand in the toggle. It is not a big deal but the material that the velcroless toggles are made of is floppier and less rigid than the velcro toggles. I have talked with 2 other people that went from velcro to velcroless and they all had the same comment. After 5 or 6 jumps you get adjusted like I said it is not a big deal but it is something that is different with them. Blue skies Kirk

I realize this is may not an acurate of comparison, and I also realize what billvon is saying too. There were sevral items I left out when doing this comparison do to the time it would take to get real acurate info such as the arc of each canopy. I also left out that Icuras tappers the height of their cell from center to the end (end being about half the height of the center cell) I feel this atleast show to some degree that Safire's are smaller than their stated size by atleast the 7% if not more. Icuras did tell me that a Safire 169 would be comparible to a Sabre 150. I just wanted to pass on what I found out and how I found it out.( I am sorry if it came across differently) Thanks for the input too Kirk

I know that several times there has been a debate about Safire size being different than a PD of the same size. This weekend I had a chance to measure my Safire 169 against a Sabre 150(did a hop-n-pop in the rain). To measure the canopy here is what I did (I know this may not be extremely accurate but I feel it at least compare the two well):”all measurements were taken with the material pulled tight on flat on the ground” 1) I measured the length at the nose from seam to seam on both canopies ( Sabre 150 was 5” longer than a Safire 169) 2) I measured the center cell on each for width( Sabre was 4” shorter than the Safire) 3) Then because the Safire is lightly elliptical I measured the end cells for width(Safire tapers 13-1/2” center to end) 4) Then I created a 9” thick (flat) solid model of each in Cadkey and got a mass reading. Which stated the Sabre had a bigger mass(not by much) So with this a Safire 169 is just a little smaller than a Sabre 150. Which verifies what Icuras had told me. (both canopies were made in 2000) Blue Skies Kirk

There are a very few frames that will fit under the Z! helmet. I used to wear mine under and they barely fit but did fit, they were a pair for the spring titanium frames. Binyons and many other places carry them. About 6 months after I bought my Z1 I broke my glasses (none skydive related). I took my helmet with me to binyons and tried frames on then put the helmet on( people look at you a little funny but who cares) The spring titanium frames are very expensive and in the end I went to contact just because they were cheaper. Anyways hope that helps. Blues Skies Kirk

Thanks for the input. I just thought it would be a cool factoid to know. Anyways I see the point you all are making so I will just drink it and be happy Thanks Kirk

I need a hand trying to figure out a way to date a bottle of Jack Daniels. I received it 12 years ago from an Uncle who told me he had bought it 9 or 10 years prior and just never had the desire to drink it. I have been saving it for a special occasion and have found one. I just bought my first house (1 mile from my home DZ). Anyway, before I crack it open with my close friends I would love to beable to know how old it really is. Help Please Kirk

Then I have another question....does this seem like too low of a deployment altitude for a jumper with 140 jumps, jumps every weekend (very current!) jumping a lightly loaded Sabre??? (I need help settling an arguement!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I think the most important question is if you are comfortable with being saddled out at the attitude your pro track records. Where I jump most jumpers are in the saddle before 2000 ft AGL. On the first few jumps with my pro track it had me saddling out at 1900 to 2100. I did not like being saddled out that low I now have is set so I am saddled out at 2300-2400 AGL. That is my comfort zone plus I lave playing under canopy ( I have 260 jumps), so I think saddled out alltitude is a personal choice as long as it is not tooo low. Blue Skies Kirk

The best advise I received on how tight or loss to get my freefly suit, was to call and ask the manufacturer about what to get. I bought a FireFly suit and when talking to them on the phone they asked alot of questions about my skills and exit weight and fall rate. In the end they added more fabric in the legs and arms(more than I ever thought I needed), but it was exactly what I needed. Blue Skies Kirk

I agree with everyone about L & B being the best. I also noticed in the latest edition of Parachutist, there is a 2 page add for either para-gear or Square-1 that shows a new Z1 STI which acomidates a PRO-TRACK. Infact the helmet has a PRO-TRACK in it. Blue skies Kirk

I have a Z1 and have done about 60 freefly jumps with it. I have never had any problems in any positions with the visor coming open. My friend left the visor on his Z1 open by accident on one of our jumps, when we got down we found his visor was still attached and worked fine. I think Z1’s are a great helmet. Kirk

Well there is Skydive Oregon in Molalla, Oregon. They are almost the same size of operation or so I am told as Kapowsin. (I have never been up to Kapowsin). Currently Skydive Oregon is shut down till January 11 th , and then they are open Friday till Monday, weekly. I am out there almost every Saturday, along with a lot of others that always welcome other jumpers in to jump Blue Skies Kirk

I have heard from a lot of people down at my DZ about relationships with WHUFFOS not working out. Luckily my relationship do not fit into this category. I had started my training before I met her, 3 tandem jumps. Since that time (1-1/2 years ago) I have made 250 jumps. She is real supportive about skydiving, hell most of her gifts to me have been skydive related. Her and I came to an agreement that I would skydive 1 day a week and would generally come home after jumping (not stay and party). Which works fine for me. She did have a little problem (more like jealousy) when I started buying all my gear. Her and I talked about it and she just was a little jealous that I had enough extra money to buy all the stuff. Currently we are looking really hard at moving 1 mile from the DZ and buying a house there. That actually was her idea. We have talked about it and she has no desire to hang out at the DZ or try jumping. So far I think everything has worked out extremely well. Kirk