TALONSKY

Call them: Icarus Canopies Inc. 1627 US 1 Sebastian, Florida Phone: (561) 581-8131 Fax: (561) 581-8132 I talked to them about a Safire 169, they told me it would be comparable to a 150 Sabre. They were very cooperative and helpfull on the phone.I held my Safire 169 up to a Hornet 170 and it is smaller I would question the 150 but to me it looked more like a 160 in size: Blue Skies Kirk

Add mine to the list of FireFly are the best. I have a 2 piece freefly suit and love it. They really put sometime into figuring out what I would need (as far as flare and lengths). They are only company I know of that makes a 2 piece suit. I have had a ton of compliments on the suit. Only one problem with FireFly if you order one don't be in a big hurry most of the people @ my dz that have FireFly took 8-9 weeks to get. Mine took 6 weeks and that was calling each week to see if they could rush it. Other than that I think they are great !!!! Blue skies Kirk

You said your jumpsuit is really tight, how much room do you have in the crotch standing straight up and down. Standing straight I was told your jumpsuit should be about 2-3 inches below your crotch so when you arch the suit is up tight in the crotch which allows a good none restricted arch. My first jumpsuit was too small and standing straight it was tight up against my crotch. When I arched I could really feel that I was pulling against the fabric. At a semiar on 8 way an exprieanced diver noticed and told me what I should get. Hope that helps Kirk

Well the most unexpected and coolest gift I got was from Drop Zone owner Joe Webber of Skydive Oregon. The only jumpers on Saturday were 3 of us kind of newbies ( all around 200 -250 jumps each), Joe flew us in the Cessna 182 since the Otter was gone. At the end of the day we got our jump tickets back ( 3 of them) as a Christmas present. Other than that I got a couple of DVD’s, and some cloths Oh and since I asked for it and did not receive it I bought myself Good Stuff on DVD this morning Kirk

As stated above it is NEVER too cold to jump. The coldest temp I have jumped in was –8 degrees at altitude. Once last winter we flew around at 13000 for 20 minutes with the door open and the cockpit vent open trying to find a hole to jump though. That one was the coldest if you can imagine being in 15-degree weather with the door open and one hell of a draft we were all huddled together by the door looking for a hole. For jumping in cold weather I wear thermal underware and a turtle neck under my jump suit. Also a absolute must a full faced helmet. Blue skies Kirk

This year has far exceeded any expectations I have had. TOTAL JUMPS THIS YEAR: 210 Most memorable Jump: Doing an 8 way speed star that made 3 points then doing another 8 way that made 3 points the next day. This year I bought my own rig, helmet, freefly suit, RW suit, Pro Track all with cash. I am finishing up this year with the real hope of buying a house 1 mile from the dropzone! So to sum it up year has been a complete fairy tail dream for me ! and I can not wait for next ye

There are only 3 movies I have seen in the theater that I almost left because they could not have been much worse 1) Hardware 2) Blair Witch Project 3) Battlefield Earth

Well I, back in 1990 I saw the movie “ Point Break”. I thought that the skydiving looked incredible . I had set up with my friends to do it back then, and damn if a girl didn’t come in and take all my extra money. Well 6 years later and a lot of money later I left her (NEVER DATE A STRIPPER THEY ARE JUST BAD NEWS) and a couple of years to get dept free enough to think about skydiving. I started out doing a tandem with video. When we got under canopy I was screaming to my instructor how much fun it was. He just smiled and said,” I know and I get paid to do it”. Well that has been my goal ever since that day, to be a tandem instructor along with just skydiving every chance I can Blue skies Kirk

Well I have flown a Hornet 170 and I own a Safire 169 loaded 1.42 to 1. I a personally feel that the Safire is a far supperior canopy( I also had a friend try both out and she agreed with me about the Safie). I think that you should consider the size you want than kind and see what kind of a deal you can get used. I bought my Safire off of Dropzone.com with 150 jumps on it for $550. Blue Skies

Water fall 30 feet from the top and about 80 feet to the bottom on a small ledge 2 feet wide :

The best item I hae ever bought for skydiving outside of my canopy is my Pro-Track. I know they are more money but the information is really valuable. Beyond being a audible it give you your fall rate and openning allitude. Not to say that skytroncs is bad but why settle for second best, when there is nothing but great things being said about L & B and the Pro-Track. Anyway blue skies Kirk

I'll ad a fourth on that, Tony Suit was extremely great to deal with not only does my nw pit special fit like a glove but on a rush they delivered it in less than to weeks.

Well you don't need to move south to jump in winter. I live in Oregon and jumped all but two weekends of last winter. It's damn cold and there are alot of hop-n-pops but it can be done!

I may be totally wrong on this, but I had heard from someone at my dropzone that it will record a Hop-n-pop if your exit altitude is higher than your lowest preset altitude on the audio part. I have had mine record all but one of my hop-n-pops, my lowest audio altitude is set for 2000 AGL. The one it did not record is one that I exited at 2000 AGL. Hope that helps Kirk

Well one thing to keep in mind is that Icarus measures the Safire & Omega differently than most other companies do. Their Safire 169 is more like a 160 comparing it to a PD Sabre. I have a Safire 169 and have laid it out on the ground next to a 170 Hornet (PIS version of a Sabre) and mine was smaller. I figure about the 160 . Talking to a Icarus Rep. they told me the 169 was closer to a PD Sabre 150. I would not venture to give you advise on what size to get but I found there was a wealth of information from my instructors and the local S& TA. These people have seen you fly and know your skill level Also you can call Icarus themselves and ask their advise. What ever you get definitely try a few sizes and kinds before buying.

Well I do not want to bash another company so that is why I did not give their name, so I am sorry but I think that would be tacky to give their name. Plus, I do hear their quility is good just not their service. Kirk

I currently fly a Safire 169. I was also told the same thing from Icarus rep. I did compare my canopy to a 170 Hornet laying the canopies out on the ground. There was a definite differents in size. I think mine is closer to a 160 to the way the rest of the industry stanards are. I also have flown that Hornet and I feel that the Safire is superier to the Hornet. Blue Skies Kirk

Hey everyone: I just wanted to quickly give my review on Tony suits. Less than two weeks ago I order a custom PIT suit from them to replace the one I had from them that I had bought used. I had asked them to rush it and one day shy of two weeks I received it. The fit is totally superb, I had even call them a week after I ordered it to change the size of the grippers and they were great to work with. All in all it is by far the best customer service I have seen yet. ( OH I also have a free fly suit getting made at another company and their service, well has not been note worthy its now been over 5 weeks and I had asked them to rush it also) Blue skies Kirk

I just received this from my dropzone As of 9/17/01 at 11:45 EDT: Part 91 VFR flights are still grounded. USPA staff spoke this morning with Steve Brown, FAA's Associate Administrator for Air Traffic, who will be meeting with the National Security Council again today on the aviation situation. Brown, who had received a briefing paper about skydive operations last week from USPA, thanked us for the talking points that he said he will use in the upcoming meeting. He indicated it may be another day or two before the NSC will authorize VFR flight. Despite the FAA's indication last Friday that the restriction on Part 91 VFR operations would be lifted over the weekend, that did not happen. The most recent Notam (below) continues to ban all Part 91 VFR operations until further notice. Some DZs accomplished a few jumps on IFR flight plans, but were soon shut down by a directive from FAA's Command Center. Skydiving is not the only segment affected, of course. Hundreds of thousands of pilots and aircraft owners are also grounded, with hundreds, if not thousands of general aviation pilots still stranded away from their home airports and unable to fly. Banner towers, balloon businesses, flight schools, ultralight schools, aerial photographers, and others are down. Agricultural operators (spray planes) were released on Saturday, but restricted again by Sunday. It is clear that our segment of aviation is bearing the brunt of this national emergency. Top federal officials have been quoted expressing concern with the "uncontrolled nature" of general aviation, which before last Tuesday allowed pilots virtually unlimited flight without a flight plan and without radio communication with air traffic control. USPA continues to work with AOPA and several other aviation organizations to address this concern in a way that will allow our operators to return to the skies.

You know, one would have to live a pretty pathetic life to have to lie about who they are in this forum

From what I have seen my mod on my Talon is very similar to the bridal flap cover on Reflex containers. Hope that helps Kirk

The mod I had done, is actually part of my BOC. I had the BOC replaced with a none spandex one, and at the mouth where you handle would be is an extra piece of material running up the bottom flap to where you would normally route the bridle. This flap has an additiional flap that folds under the bridle to keep it secure. I am not sure if that helps but without a picture a discription is kind of hard Kirk

I had a bridle cover mod done to my Talon by a master rigger. It only cost $55 and that was with replacing the BOC ( the spandex was shot). The guy I bought my Talon from had made about 800 freefly jumps on it with the little bit of bridle being exposed and did not have any problems. I personally feel more secure now with the mod done and now there is no bridle exposure. Blue Skies Kirk

Hi Justin; I have used a Z1 for my last 180 skydives. I personally think that they are great. I have never had any problems with the visor coming open at all. That also includes about 20 freefly jumps doing sits and stands. I also have a protrac that fits snug in the inside pocket of the helmet. The one advantage I feel that Z1 has over Oxygen's is it's sturdy visor. My friend left the visor on his Z1 open by accindent on one of our jumps, when we got down we found his visor was still attached and worked fine. I do not feel many other visors would still be there if left open on a jump. Blue Skies Kirk

Well I thought I would add my .02 in on this one. I had read many posts where older jumpers are trying to tell younger jumpers to be very conservative on wing loading and type of canopy. I have also watch the newbie’s shun this advice saying they know what they are doing and can handle it. I read a post by Merrick with these same comments, I am not sure what he was flying when he broke his leg but it make me wonder if there is real wisdom in being conservative (I am very sorry to hear he broke his leg). A guy at my DZ was wing loading a Triathlon 1.6 to 1 with only 80 jumps total. He has hurt his knee about 6 times now and has had to take a month plus off of jumping. I have only been in this sport less than a year so I also am a newbie, but I can see the wisdom of being conservative. This sport is not very forgiving and to take it slow on down sizing canopies and to stay away from full elliptical canopies until you have 400 plus jumps I believe is not only smart but the only way to go. Sorry if this offends anyone and being a newbie I realize my opinion is not worth a whole lot. For myself I have 200 jumps and have been off of student statues since last October, I put 150 jumps on a Flacon loaded 1.1 to 1. I now jump a Safire loaded at 1.4 to 1, I know that this may not be that conservative but I would never consider a full elliptical canopy until I have done 400 plus jumps, nor am I gong to down size any further until 400 plus jumps. Kirk