mdrejhon

Hey, Thanks for chiming in. I just noticed you posted the new pictures today (in the facebook group). It appears that the fans have arrived. They look beautiful!

Got a PM, did some more reading. I know they shouldn't be done to correct fallrate issues, just need that little extra edge as an outer on a bigway, and to help stop me quicker during an approach to a bigway, allowing me confidence to dive to the formation on schedule before braking... Either way, seems like swoop is a useful one - supposedly helps stop right before the formation, and many World Team members have used swoop cords in past records especially on the outers.

Hello, Finally back from a wonderful 17-jump weekend that is helping ready me for the upcoming Perris Bigway camp. The story: My last jumpsuit went MIA, I was in the process of getting a second jumpsuit ordered. Fortunately, I found the MIA -- it was wet and hung to dry at a DZ where I forgot it, it's currently in the mail. ... However, this is a competition suit (with booties), polycotton torso with spandex forearms. Ever since I gained a little weight, fallrate is a bit difficult at the outer of a 49-way, I barely didn't make it in (but I did in May). Everytime I go low which I seem to do more frequently than I did before my slight weight gain, I'm always spooked and I then dive less aggressively on the next jump or don't bother to arch as hard as I usually do. All this means I'm slower to my slot than I usually am (though my 17 jump weekend helped a huge amount). This is a bad habit to have. I'm not a big person by any means, but I did gain a few pounds since 2005, without noticeable bulge - meaning that I'm literally at the bottom end of my best webbed-out slowfall (fingers apart, booties in airstream, and stretching my underarm jumpsuit fabric out as two-inch wings, legs apart, in a mostly-mantis position -- I look like a frog). Originally I was going to wear a sweatshirt to help (I'll bring both jumpsuits), but I think I'd like to go ahead and order a 'slow' jumpsuit. Now: ordering a "Slow Jumpsuit" for the outers of a bigway, I have the opportunity to rush order a second jumpsuit, designed to help me succeed for the outers of a formation. I'm thinking of getting exactly the same jumpsuit, but with polycotton sleeves, afterburners and swoop cords. (I still have the original order form from the same manufacturer, just will make minor edits). As people say... "Better safe than sorry". And need opinions from those knowledgeable... I've sent out some emails, but due to the MIA jumpsuit, this has been last minute research. Is the described jumpsuit, with the suggested changes, reasonable or a little too excessive? Just a simple loose cotton jumpsuit, or should I just get the same jumpsuit, but with afterburners and swoop cords for helping me recover quicker from a "get-too-low" threat? I have 10 min of tunnel time scheduled specifically to practice more slowfall, but I think I should get a second jumpsuit for slowfall. (PS, the order form has to be sent in by the end of today...)

Well, I did it! It was easy -- probably a side effect of not trying any swooping until jump #299 and having jumped this same canopy for roughly 250 jumps. From jump 290 thru 298, I did some trials at increasingly lower altitudes and to test the ground rush and recovery arc... Then finally I went for it at 299 through 302, for four seemingly successful standup swoops in light winds (then 302 was a zero wind). I must admit I talked only to two mentors, and one of watched only a couple of them. As I expected - light brakes, then release, take double fronts (it definitely made it easier to do a bit of brakes at first), graceful release (it feels as if it self flares, a little) and transition to brakes, and a much slower-than-usual dynamic flare as I wait for it to finish an exciting surf. Not too much double fronts, not a chinup, and Much longer surfs I ever had under my Sabre 170. Even longer than non-swoops under my demo jumps under Sabre 150. The 170 is a whole new parachute now, that's worthwhile to keep jumping. Lest I be tempted to try front riser turns, I'll get canopy coaching for that -- Even at altitude,I can see a canopy suddenly drops in a turn, and is much more risky than just simply double fronts. I don't want to break my legs though, so not in a rush to go into that just yet... With this extra flare power, it's exciting (and a little scary sometimes) to land again. All standups so far, even in zero wind, I just haven't seen this much speed before (even though it's tame to a lot of long-time swoopers).

Anyone else for the Perris shuttle? Keep us updated!

Hey, I jump a Vector2... If you're doing solos or with an instructor floating at some distance away from you, I think basic barrel rolls and flips are okay to get through AFF. In these, the risk is mostly to yourself rather than others -- i.e. risks to yourself in a preemie but if you pay lots of attention to the upkeep of your rig, I think it's very unlikely if you're just merely doing AFF-qualifying rolls, rather than high-speed stuff such as freefly. May be worth verifying with an on-dropzone rigger to see if the pin covers are secure enough, and the bridle secure enough, the PC secure enough in the pouch, and the velcro's good. I got my rig checked at the factory and velcro replaced. I got a pin cover flap lengthened slightly for better security, since one of them was way too loose. A low-jump Vector2 is pretty safe overall, especially if a little attention is paid to it...

Ask him if he meant a 25 square-foot square canopy.... or.... a good old 25 foot round canopy.

Hello, Just want to give everyone a heads up that Skydive Gananoque is holding a Twin Otter boogie, August 30 through September 1st during the Labour Day long holiday weekend! And EXCELLENT WEATHER IS FORECAST .... Sunny and no rain on all 3 days! Just 0% POP, 0% POP and 10% POP. (Forecast as of August 27th) (Sequental RW practice too for those like me who's interested in that stuff. Yay!) Yes, you Torontoians, Montreallers, Ottawans, and even those of you south of the border (Watertown, Syracuse, and elsewhere). Come on over...

#1 and #2 sounds terrible. #3 sounds like my counsellor. The counsellor's approach makes a massive difference.

A busy cessna dropzone (3 Cessnas and 3 pilots) can give you more jumps in one day than a single Twin Otter going up only when the loads fill up. I squeezed in 8 jumps in one day at a Cessna dropzone once and could have easily done 10 if I skipped more rest breaks.

billvon, always enjoy reading your posts - very interesting to know the lack of correlation, especially if I find myself under spinning linetwists I can no longer recover from. Even though I'm not sure I'll eventually be flying canopies aggressive enough to pin my neck (er, chin) against my chest in severe linetwists, I know "never say never"...

Thanks for the tips! So far I have these summarizations: - Canopy coach, canopy coach, canopy coach.

Here's another one, what it will look like when complete: Skyventure Montreal Artist's Impression Also uploaded all of my photos to the Skyventure Montreal Facebook group.

Normally I don't reply in instructors forum but I'm a bit confused: Is this a 1990 video or a 2007 video? The uploader, wrote 9 months ago that he wants to jump again when he is healed up. This suggests this is a 2007 video, not a 1990 video. Can someone clear this up? From YouTube comments:

That brings me to a question -- I'll have to trial Sabre versus Sabre2 front riser pressure next time I demo a Sabre2. (I jump a Sabre original) I'm on it rightaway, sir, to endeavour to gain more tips to help handle the front riser pressure. Thanks!

That's why I use double fronts sometimes -- such as get across the runway faster before I'm below 1000 feet. Thanks -- I have gotten this good tip from two others recently too, and I'll be definitely doing some high-altitude trials on that.

Should your canopy hit the ground before you do, you'll be in a world of hurt, if you live. I've seen this before, it's ugly. Obviously, Landing with a double front approach Even with a chinup, and snapping back and fourth, the canopy isn't getting ahead of me enough to hit the ground before I... Not at this size and squareness anyway, unless I do something crazy like a full chinup with both hands on a single front riser -- or do a sudden recovery from a near-bowtie deep stall, something I'm not planning on doing at near ground level... (unless it's some unfortunate mal I hope to never get into that low!) Why do you think this is? It's just a strap, not stiff dive loops. Have you ever tried to do chinups with several fingers in a flexible strap? The fingers compress together quite hard -- ouch. I'd rather grab the whole front risers at the S-links on this particular canopy, unless I got some stiffer dive loops... (There is enough slack in the brakes that it's not an issue) To get the speed % increase that some of you swoopers can do with relatively light pressure on some small canopies, I have to actually lift my entire body on the straps to only barely double the speed of the canopy... Books are allright, but some books, and a couple of canopy courses is one better. Agree... I very much intend to get some coaching from somebody before I do any turns (15's, 30's, 45's, 90's, whatever progression that may ensue) My priority is RW bigways after all, so I am likely not doing any front riser turns (except at altitude during solos) this year anyway...

Nylon typically loses about 12% of it's strength when wet but regains it when it dries again. You're right for the nylon portion of the rig, especially after jumping through the rain, but what about these considerations: - The container itself, the stitching on the harness, etc? Although cordura is nylon, it might not be 100% nylon everywhere. Even containers/stitching do get damaged during hard opening too (seen other dropzone.com threads, including a riser partially ripping itself from container, etc) - Potentially days or weeks of exposure to wetness, especially when there are chemicals potentially present? (Existence rust and mold indicates there was plenty of time of wetness, which changes the ballgame) I've seen cotton clothing easily rip after they've been wet for many days with a slight mold, then dried. Is the container 100% guaranteed nylon? Were there any chemicals (even residual) that weakens nylon over time? Is it guaranteed that none of the fabric/threads anywhere in the container, isn't going to exhibit at least minorly weakened behaviour? Especially if maybe some of the dust/dirt/salt&sweat/rust residue ended up having some chemical that accelerated the weakening of at least one of the fabrics/threads typically found in a whole rig... Also if there's repeated drying-and-wetting cycles (if the water in the closet was intermittent), that can damage faster than just staying wet. (i.e. repeated crystallization damage, i.e. salt and rust chemicals), it's the unknowns like these that start to bother me... I'm happy jumping a washed rig, but I think one that's been wet for weeks probably needs to go straight back to the factory or factory-recommended rigger, for the most complete inspection they possibly can offer... Including strength tests.

RIP OFF!!! I'm going to cross the border and pay US $16.95, not CDN $23.95 for that book Also, Argus uses the Tandem Skydiving for Dummies book in his videos now too! It is a real For Dummies book, physically modified to look like it's Tandem Skydiving for Dummies.

Probably water -- i.e. rain. Especially if there's plenty of dry minterals (salt, etc) in the fabric that helps water be more conductive, when it becomes wet... Then there's a ground path from the powerlines to the ground. One can hang from a live powerline and not get shocked, but as soon as there's a path from the ground to the powerline through your body -- zap! Or the canopy lines/fabric short-circuiting across two power lines, when getting wet...

If I ever do get brainlock and do such a dumbass thing, at least I'm not flying under a JVX-37 I didn't say that. It's not worn out, lands beautifully and softly for my needs, just the glide is about 30% less than what it used to be. You're familiar with the fact that brand new slippery ZP is hard to deflate air out of at 100 jumps (Especially bigger ZP canopies), but easy to pack at 500 jumps. It's lost some of its original "zero porosity". That's well known, nothing new. The porosity that makes it easier to pack (this fact is well known...) also means the glide will be a little bit shorter, that's all... But for me, I don't have that much surf to begin with

Also, prolonged wetness also makes fabric weaker too -- especially if mold has had time to chew it down. Easier rips during a hard opening.

From reading parachute history, it was not until 1880's when they used collapsible silk parachutes. Before then, there was a rigid frame in all the early parachutes. So my assumption is that it was a parachute with a rigid frame hanging from underneath the hot-air balloon, or even integrated somehow (theoretically)

Sure! The time is a little bit flexible (especially for you as one of the six Perris P3 organizers) but would prefer to be at Perris early enough to make a few jumps at least

True -- even if more work is needed by one or the other, you both still need to breathe the fresh air of it being "us", "both", "teamwork" -- makes both parties feel better. No finger pointing, no blaming, just "us", "both", "teamwork" and mutually inclusive stuff. One technique of many, that works well with the right objective/balanced minded consellor is alternating seeing counsellor alone and together. Four sessions in one month: together, then you alone, then her alone, then together. Repeat every month. It's possible both may be equally balanced in issues, however this even works even if only one of you need the counsellor more than the other: The one who has less difficulties still has to be able to vent and discuss about coping with the other persons' difficulties. It also, in a way, gives a morale boost to the more depressed person that you're also seeing a counsellor too (even if for different reasons). So no matter which one of you has more problems than the other, such balanced methods is a classic wifesaver for some -- it may not work for everyone, but you should be aware that this kind of approach has the potential to work wonderfully in some cases. During "together" sessions, mostly talk about the "us", "both", "teamwork" issues with some fair balanced talk on individual issues. The "me", 'you" or "the other" issues can be mostly talked about during the individual solo sessions, gives the opportunity to privately vent without inflaming the other and come up with constructive solutions too. This is especially helpful if you have stuff you are too ashamed/afraid/private/nervous to talk to anybody about, or have built-up stuff to vent that you want to vent more bluntly alone to make it later easier to express the same thing with genuine sensitively to wife/hubby in front of counsellor...