tso-d_chris

That number is for a fax machine, but thanks anyway. Jeremy Try 1.386.738.2224 That should get you a real live person at PD. For Great Deals on Gear

When I was in, it was pretty rare for non-smokers to be asked to pick up cigarette butts. I usually got out of it as well, since I could usually pull a dozen or more butts from my pocket at any given time. It was generally pretty easy to convince the NCOIC that I wasn't one of the bastards leaving the damn things on the ground everywhere I went.

I like that. Can I use it?

Gear suitable for newer jumpers holds its resale value pretty well, even if purchased new. It's the small stuff that depreciates quickly. For Great Deals on Gear

New gear sized in common sizes suitable for first or second canopies hold their resale value very well. It wouldn't take many days of jumping rental gear to spend the money you would lose by buying new and reselling later. If I sell a used, well maintained Sabre2 170 or similar canopy, it usually sells pretty easily for about $1 per jump less than my new price, and that is often selling at the lower end of market value. The demand is high. Demand is much lower for small canopies, so they don't hold their resale value as well. For Great Deals on Gear

Check out this thread. For Great Deals on Gear

You shouldn't get intimidated by spotting. Determining the proper spot is a ground skill. You need an aerial photo of the drop zone and surrounding area, and a winds aloft report. It is also a very good idea to know the scale of the photo. For example, if you know the runway is 1/2 mile long, then one "runway length" equals 1/2 mile anywhere in your aerial photo. If you know what the winds aloft are, your freefall/wingsuit descent rate, and your descent rate under canopy, you can fairly easily estimate the freefall drift the winds will cause as you pass through the various altitudes. You also need to have a general idea of what kind of glide ratio to expect from your canopy and/or wingsuit. These will have an effect on optimum deployment location. Let's say I am doing a solo belly fly jump. I plan on deploying at 4K feet, expecting to be open by about 3500 feet. I want to enter the landing pattern at 1000 feet. That means I will be under canopy for about 2500 feet, or about 2.5 minutes. I determine how much horizontal distance my canopy will cover in 2500 feet, with no winds. Then I determine how much wind drift I will experience in 2.5 minutes. I use either the 3000 ft. winds aloft, the ground winds, or a combination if they are significantly different. I add the "gliding distance" of my canopy to the drift from the winds, and that gives me the desirable distance upwind from the traffic pattern I would like to deploy at. I make note of that location. Then I determine how much drift I am going to experience in freefall. The winds aloft report comes in 3000 ft increments. Let's assume a 12K ft exit. I multiply the wind speed at 12000 ft by 17 seconds, to which I add the wind speed at 9000 ft multiplied by 17, to which I add the wind speed at 6000 ft multiplied by 17 seconds. This tells me how far upwind of my optimum deployment location I want exit the plane. If you were flying a wingsuit instead of belly flying, you would simply add the expected horizontal distance covered by your wingsuit (in zero winds) to the amount of distance you expect to cover do to freefall drift. Once you know where the spot is, you just have to communicate this to the pilot, and wait for it at exit time. This is where GPS is handy. If you know where the spot is, you can program this point into the GPS unit. Unfortunately, without knowing where the spot is, GPS is next to worthless. It tells you where you are, and even where you are headed, but it doesn't know where you need to be unless you give it this information. Please take the time to learn to spot, and practice this skill on the ground. It is not at all unheard of in this sport for a bad spot to set off a chain of events which ultimately results in injury or death. Blue skies, and welcome to the wonderful world of Narcotic Nylon.

I would not consider an audible an essential for your first hundred jumps. Nice if you can find a good deal on one, but it's not really necessary. They can even be counterproductive when trying to train your eyes as your primary altimeter.

I agree that the Skyhook gets the canopy out of the bag a little bit quicker, but you seem to underestimate the speed of the average non skyhook RSL deployments. They are very fast as well, even if not quite so in comparison with the Skyhook. I guess it depend on what you think makes a safe rig. Some might argue that the bullet proof reserve pin protection makes the Racer the safest rig on the market. Others might argue that the Skyhook RSL makes the Vector3 the safest rig on the market. Both are overstatements of valid arguments. The unsurpassed reserve pin protection of the Racer adds to its level of safety. The unsurpassed reserve deployment speeds of the Skyhook add to the safety level of a Vector3. Neither feature makes either rig the safest rig on the market.

Why would it include reaction time? If I were trying to demonstrate how quickly a reserve could open, I would have no delay at all between cutting away and pulling reserve - pull the handles simultaneously. I didn't think it did include reaction time. The post I responded to implied such. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

It's only a decent deal if: 1. It fits you very well. 2. It fits your canopies well (sized for them, not just close) 3. You are in the market for a 12 year old container. 4. It is very inexpensive. Don't be in a rush to buy used gear. If you are patient, the right gear will come along. Don't buy the wrong gear just because it is available at an affordable price.

So the 150 foot deployment included reaction time? That is very impressive.

Some videoed Skyhook deployments took almost every bit of 100ft, with canopies packed slider down (or possibly slider off). Based on this, I would be reluctant to believe the Skyhook can deploy a reserve in 75 feet or less when packed properly. Maybe it is that fast, but I have not seen supporting evidence.

Contrary to popular belief, you cannot merely scale up a KA97 by ~35% to get a KA-135. There is no reason to expect the larger canopy to have the same flight characteristics as the 97. The Reynolds numbers are different, thus the flight characteristics can be expected to be different as well. That is why PD doesn't merely scale identical designs to the proper size. They want to sell a Katana 135 or 150 that flies the same as smaller Katanas at the same wing loadings. PD is catching a lot of slack for simply having excellent R&D and quality control.

If that 150 ft. deployment time is accurate, that means the Racer deploys the reserve with RSL in about the same distance as the Skyhook. Interesting.

Good luck finding a test jumper willing to work for free. Also, I think you might be minimizing the importance of a laser cutting table for precise cuts in the fabric, and other Super Secret Trade Stuff done with the lasers to ensure a high quality end product. No matter how good your design is, if you can't reproduce it exactly, every time, you won't be able to compete with companies that can, such as PD.

If you are flying at full flight, and the tail of the canopy is deflected, your steering lines are too short. The downside to this is that the canopy cannot produce lift as efficiently as it can with proper length steering lines. A more common modification is to lengthen steering lines so that the tail is not deflected when the front risers are pulled with toggles in hand. Flaring a canopy is not the best time to rely on muscle memory or arm position. It is more important that you be able to see your descent arrested as you look towards the horizon, as well as feel the proper pressure pushing up against your legs from the harness. Similar canopies can have your arms in significantly different positions at the same point in your landing. For Great Deals on Gear

The Skyhook deployment is going to happen faster. Riggers familiar with either should be fairly easy to find. The Vector and the Racer have both been around for quite some time. I don't recommend using a rigger that charges more to repack a Racer. That is often a sign that they are unfamiliar with the rig. A properly packed Racer is snag resistant. Racers also have "dynamic" corners, which is a favorite feature among wingsuit flyers. This means the corners of the main container are not sewn together, and lay flat when the pack tray is open. If your priority is a high speed RSL, a Vector3 is your best choice. If your priority is comfort or reserve pin protection, the Racer is your best choice. Everything else is personal preference. Both are great rigs, as is the Odyssey.

You're welcome. For Great Deals on Gear

If you're lucky.

It depends on who you ask. According to this article from PD's website, a Velocity 111 packs like a Stiletto one size larger, in your case, like a Stiletto 120. A Stiletto 120 is an optimum canopy size for both the V306 and V316. According to RWS the largest that fits well in a V306 or V316 is a 103. I did notice RWS does not really offer a range of canopies that will fit, although one might reasonably expect a little bit of tolerance up and down. However, it is generally accepted that the container manufacturer's instructions take precedent over the canopy manufacturer's instruction, should they conflict. RWS does not actually advertise a container for that canopy combination. They recommend a Velocity be packed into a V319, but with a PR-126, not a PR-113. Again, they don't advertise a range, but an optimum size. You are currently loading a 143 at almost 1.6:1 (according to your profile), which is already high for a reserve, even one built by PD. Increasing that loading to 2:1 by downsizing to a 113 seems a bit aggressive, especially for someone with so few jumps. (Yeah, I said it! 900 jumps isn't that many.) A V319 is very similar in dimensions to the V306 and V316, and would allow you to jump a 126 at "only" 1.8:1. Unfortunately, RWS does not build containers suitable for both highly loaded mains, and safely loaded reserves. Regarding the line size, since it will likely be a tight fit if you squeeze the 111 in either the V306 or the V316, the smaller lines may make packing slightly easier. They shouldn't make much difference in a V319. chris@tso-d.com

Quote FX=35 chamber 21 cell canopy VX=45 chamber 27 cell canopy Velocity =35 chamber 21 cell canopy. I counted.

Not in criminal law.

I'd recommend against Western Union. Its the tool of choice for scammers, and I would never ever sell anything if the buyer suggested using it, no would I buy something from a guy who suggested it. To me, WU sends up huge red flags. Can you elaborate? I'm having trouble understanding how Western Union Money Transfer (not Money Order) can be used in a scam. the money is deposited by the buyer, and only cash is accepted. The seller cannot pick up the money until about fifteen minutes after the cash is deposited. I can see how a seller could run a scam with it, I just don't see the buyer scam. For Great Deals on Gear

eeeeeeeeeer a vx is as much a 27 cell as a sabre is an 18 cell. a vx is a crossbraced 9 cell a velocity is a cross braced 7 cell. If you look at an inflated Sabre from above, you see 9 distinctly different cells. If you look at a Velo from above, you 21 distinctly different cells. PIA defines a cell as: Calling a Velo a 21 cell canopy and a VX a 27 cell canopy is consistent with PIA's definition. For Great Deals on Gear