
tso-d_chris
Members-
Content
1,835 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never -
Feedback
0%
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Calendar
Dropzones
Gear
Articles
Fatalities
Stolen
Indoor
Help
Downloads
Gallery
Blogs
Store
Videos
Classifieds
Everything posted by tso-d_chris
-
And, spotting is a prerequisite skill US jumpers are supposed to learn before obtaining their A license. It is not unreasonable to teach this skill to student/novice jumpers. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I made a premature assumption, also. For Great Deals on Gear
-
You are assuming that the conditions measured by the AADs reflected a situation that required them to fire. We dont know if the variation of pressure was within what can be encountered while in freefall or not. The fact is, the AADs didnt need to fire in that particular situation. Some did, some didnt. You're right, I made that assumption when I shouldn't have. Assuming "the variation of pressure was within what would be encountered while in freefall," I would want the AAD to function as designed for freefall in simulated conditions. You're right, though. There is not enough information available yet, so we shouldn't make assumptions. For Great Deals on Gear
-
IMO, if an AAD is in a situation where it should fire, and it doesn't, that AAD failed, whether that situation was simulated or real. For Great Deals on Gear
-
"By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. No, this is not a joke: kill yourself . . . I know what the marketing people are thinking now too: 'Oh. He's going for that anti-marketing dollar. That's a good market.' Oh man, I am not doing that, you fucking evil scumbags." "Yeah, you really got my act down good, guys. That'll be great. You know, when I'm done ranting about elite power that rules the planet under a totalitarian government that uses the media in order to keep people stupid, my throat gets parched. That's why I drink orange drink." (After being asked to do an advertisement for orange drink)
-
The Vigil is as more rugged than an Astra. While moving the switch is a quick way to turn the Astra off, turning it on requires about the same time as a CYPRES. It is very unlikely it would turn on in a climbing plane. The switch is well protected, and not prone to being accidentally switched on or off. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I've seen a few people use them and dropzone's that have them on their rental gear. Depending on where the control unit is mounted, it shouldn't be too difficult to slide open the plastic cover and turn the switch to off. I've even seen some people that have the control unit mounted on the front of their rig, attached to a lift web or something, to make this even easier. That is the recommended location for the Astra. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I just read the press release on the http://www.cypres2.com/cypres_news_letter_feb_2006_c.pdf site. If you read the whole release, the Cypres 1 did exactly what they were supposed to do when they measured unrealistic pressurization - they locked out and said, "send me home to get checked out, I am confused, I just saw something weird." The Cypres 2 have more advanced brains, apparently, and knew they did not have to see the doctor. However, the Vigils fired. Both the Cypres 1 and 2 did exactly what they were programmed to do... The Vigils? Is there any proof to show that the pressurization would mimic a skydiver in freefall at firing altitude? If the pressurization was within the parameters of AAD fire - all the AADs (Cypres 1, Cypres 2, Vigils) should have ALL fired, unless there is some documentation to show that the Vigils have different firing parameters and the exposure was within the Vigil parameters and not within the Cypres... So, I don't believe the Vigils did what it was supposed to do... I believe Vigils are great products, and some day I might own one... But, clearly there is something wrong with the code. To err is human, humans wrote the code - so now I just want to see them fix it quickly or announce why they fired... Sure, they don't have to - but I don't have to buy one either. Scenario: Simulated rapid descent apparently close to ground level. CYPRES: Locked up. CYPRES2: Failed to fire. Vigil: Fired. It appears the Vigil was designed and worked properly. The CYPRES units appear to need an improved algorithm. For Great Deals on Gear
-
http://tso-d.com/ For Great Deals on Gear
-
Actually, riggermick's BOC routing system on the Reflex is perfectly suited for good bridle protection with open corners. I don't know that that design has any cons. For Great Deals on Gear
-
While the L/D may decrease above a certain wingloading, it is not due to drag increasing with the square of the velocity. Lift increases with the square of the velocity as well. In other words, velocity does not affect L/D. Of course, that assumes the suspended masses (jumpers) have the same area. Usually, heavier jumpers also have more surface area, which applies a torque on the canopy, decreasing its angle of attack, decreasing its angle of attack, decreasing it's L/D. A lighter suspended weight with an increased jumper surface area (think wingsuit with wings still configured for flight) will also result in a decreased L/D. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I'm interested to hear how he got around Physics, as well. By doing the math, one can determine that from a cutaway with a vertical descent rate of 29 mph (used arbitrarily, as the student CYPRES malfunction activation speed), it will take about 30 feet (assumes main canopy completely ceases descent at cutaway) to reach line stretch. A 70 ft deployment from cutaway would imply 40 feet for the canopy to leave the free bag, open and inflate. As you pointed out, BASE equipment does not open that quickly. It is unreasonable to expect a slider up reserve canopy to open more quickly. This assumes the 1/2 second elapsed time until canopy leaves freebag, as advertised by RWS. It also assumes the canopy leaves the freebag at approximately the same moment as line stretch occurs. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I'm interested to hear how he got around Physics, as well. By doing the math, one can determine that from a cutaway with a vertical descent rate of 29 mph (used arbitrarily, as the student CYPRES malfunction activation speed), it will take about 30 feet (assumes main canopy completely ceases descent at cutaway) to reach line stretch. A 70 ft deployment from cutaway would imply 40 feet for the canopy to leave the free bag, open and inflate. As you pointed out, BASE equipment does not open that quickly. It is unreasonable to expect a slider up reserve canopy to open more quickly. For Great Deals on Gear
-
Excellent post.
-
Good question. That is exactly why Ron and others have suggested always using an RSL until you have actually been faced with a malfunction, and handle it properly, pulling both handles yourself. For Great Deals on Gear
-
Skydivermom: Learn to spot. It is a skill that could save your life one day. Bad spots have been known to start fatal chains of events. For Great Deals on Gear
-
It is unfortunate so much gear is not marketed with this philosophy. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I'm having trouble understanding what might cause the cutaway pillow to end up under a jumpers left armpit on a properly adjusted (presumable properly designed) harness. I've had plenty of mals, most of which were spinning, on second hand gear that did not fit perfectly, and the cutaway pillow has always been where it belongs. I've never even needed to get a visual to find it. Aside from harness adjustment, two other mistakes were choosing a pillow reserve handle, and pulling so low. A camera jump is not just another skydive. The intelligent choice is to pull a little higher than normal, since there is potential for more going wrong on deployment. For Great Deals on Gear
-
I've had a number of conventional RSL reserve deployments on a Reflex. The deployment took much less than 500 feet, closer to 200 or 300. For Great Deals on Gear
-
Get the winds aloft and determine the spot. The method does not change depending on wind direction. I will trust a visual verification of the plane's location for jump run long before I trust a green light turned on by a pilot who has engines to get him back to the airport. There is no substitute for a visual of the landing area. >But what will? WDI For Great Deals on Gear
-
If you are considering purchasing a canopy, demo first. The first three you mentioned will be similar. The Stiletto will be quite different. New, and even most used canopies are an expensive investment. You don't want to drop that much cash without knowing exactly what you are going to get. I also recommend leaving price out of the equation until you choose a dealer. It shouldn't be a factor between two different models, but rather a factor in choosing a dealer. For Great Deals on Gear
-
what do you mean by that? A GPS unit will tell you where you are, but it has no way of telling you what the optimum spot is, or how close to that optimum spot you are. GPS does not replace spotting. For Great Deals on Gear
-
Good point. Altitude is a factor on all skydives. My point was that in most cutaway scenarios, the altitude the RSL saves is not going to be the difference between life and death. For Great Deals on Gear
-
How often is altitude not a factor in a cutaway situation? Sadly, as seen in the fatalities last year, it quite often is. So it can be qualified, but the speed has to have some utility. I believe altitude is not a major factor on the majority of malfunctions. For example, I have had eight cutaways, some with RSL, some without, and altitude has yet to be a factor. I have found one hand on each handle to be beneficial, however. For Great Deals on Gear
-
That speed is exactly what causes problems with RSLs. In some situations, it can save lives. However, when altitude is not a factor, a stable reserve deployment is preferable to an immediate one. The energy of a spinning malfunction has to dissipate, this process will begin immediately following the cutaway, exactly the same time an RSL pulls the reserve ripcord pin. For Great Deals on Gear