tso-d_chris

1 to 1 on a resrve is generally okay. I think I misunderstood your original point. I did not realize you would be downsizing to a 1:1 WL. What I was trying to point out is that jumpers hould not downsize their reserves like they downsize their mains. Some reserves may fly well at higher WL, but that does not mean the jumper will be able to fly well when the time comes to need the reserve. Most times, a reserve ride will be uneventful, but not always. Occasionally, jumpers will find themselves injured under their reserves, and are not flying at 100%. It is for times like these, that it is better to go bigger than smaller with reserves. For Great Deals on Gear

Many would argue that some illegal drugs offer heightened, sharpened senses and awareness.

MS Office started out on a Mac. Mac still has the later version, compared to the PC. I would recommend a Mac, since it offers you the chance to try out OS X. If you don't like it, you can sell it on eBay for close to purchase price, and you can switch back to XP in the interim. My guess is that if you give OS X an honest chance, you will prefer it over Windows. If you really like computers, an IBM brand machine running the latest version of Slackware Linux would be a fun toy to play with.

Then use command/A. For Great Deals on Gear

Because I am skinney and will downsize as soon as I have the skills needed to land the 143 in any condition I may find myself under it in. The only reserve ride I had was on a tempo 150. Going to a 143 when I have much more experience will not I assume make a huge difference from the 150. IIRC the PR 143 is as big or bigger than a Tempo 150. What I was getting at was that if a reserve is too small for you now, it will still be too small later, IMO. One shouldn't choose a reserve based on their canopy skills, but rather the suitability for your exit weight. If you are incapacitated, it won't matter how much experience you have. For Great Deals on Gear

Why would a smaller reserve be suitable when you have more experience? For Great Deals on Gear

I don't gamble much myself, but lately I've met several Texas Hold 'em players that will step up to the table with anywhere from 2 figures to six figures or more. It boggles my mind how much some of these guys are willing to risk on a card game. OTOH, it has to be an incredible adrenalin rush. For Great Deals on Gear

You heard no such thing, because as a rule I don't discuss skydiving gear when I'm not at work, and I don't work on a DZ. Care to share which DZ you heard this at and when you heard it? Your claim is 100% untrue.

Not according to the video on your site.

You're right. I've eliminated the incorrect calculation. Bear in mind that the 1.5 seconds represents the freebag separating from the canopy, not reserve inflation. In other words, the 100 feet reserve deployment is still not an accurate claim. For Great Deals on Gear

Let's try some more realistic numbers. I isn't realistic to use the low descent rates of a properly functioning ram air canopy as an initial speed. Most people don't cut away from properly functioning canopies. A student CYPRES fires at 1000 feet if it detects a descent rate greater than 29 m/s, sensing a malfunctioning canopy. Let's use that number, since it is more realistic, even if it is still rather arbitrary. 29 m/s = ~95 ft/s. 95 ft/s X 1.5 s = ~140 feet So we have 140 feet before we even consider the acceleration due to gravity. Vf = Vi + a*t where Vf = final velocity (unknown at this time), Vi = initial velocity (95 ft/s), a = 32 ft/s^2, and t = time (1.5 s) Vf works out to be 143 ft/s d = .5 * (Vi + Vf) * t where d = distance, which works out to be about 180 feet. Granted, I have disregarded the wind resistance, but I have also disregarded the fact that the jettisoned canopy starts out with the same descent rate as the jumper underneath, and I have modeled it as a fixed point. One assumption causes an error in one direction. The other assumption causes an error in the other direction. The 100 feet deployment distance claim is off by about 40% or more. Claiming under 75 feet is laughable at best. For Great Deals on Gear

I am well aware of the major and minor contributions this manufacturer has made to skydiving. Were you aware that the 100 foot cutaways that were made used slider down/off reserves? There was no altitude to spare on those deployments. That is not a realistic deployment scenario by any stretch of the imagination. I didn't just make the claim with no evidence to support it. I challenge you to find a single video of a Skyhook deployment with a reserve packed to manufacturers specifications (slider up) that can be reliably measured and shown to occur in less than 100 feet. As for what I have, I can only rely on Newtonian Physics, and his kinematic equations, and the knowledge of the slider down deployments. Are you saying that the force of gravity changes during a Skyhook reserve deployment? BTW, slander is spoken, not written. The word you are looking for is libel. However, the statements must be false to be libel (and against an individual, not a group of people according to my handy dictionary). A good example of libel would be you accusing me of slander. While a few people have argued passionately about the perceived greatness of the Skyhook, I have yet to see ANY evidence supporting the manufacturer's marketing claims of < 100ft deployments. If you know where such evidence can be obtained, feel free to post a link. For Great Deals on Gear

Good for you, Rob.

My mistake. Sorry.

I didn't bash the poster at all. For Great Deals on Gear

I wasn't referring to the claims made by the original poster. I was referring to claims made by the manufacturer's advertisements. For Great Deals on Gear

so what....do you think you could beat the system to a fully opened reserve? 50ft....100ft...200ft...400ft. can you beat it or are you just trying to be technically correct? ??? It is not a matter of being technically correct. I have a problem passing on untruths to my customers. When skydivers are lied to by marketing teams, skydivers are not benefited. You are comparing a Skyhook deployment to a manual deployment. A more realistic comparison would be to compare a Skyhook reserve deployment to a standard RSL reserve deployment. You will find very little difference. It is highly unlikely a jumper could beat either one manually. For Great Deals on Gear

If you are not flying horizontally, you are just falling down! For Great Deals on Gear

I've yet to see any realistic evidence of deployment distances. Mr. Booth has previously acknowledged that the numbers were only rough estimates. Newton tells us that 100 ft is an unrealistic estimate, even for a Skyhook reserve deployment. For Great Deals on Gear

Well put. Untruthful marketing (

I know of at least one DZ where the DZO requires all tandem students to take a FJC in accordance with the (then) IAF student progression program. He said that the jumpers that are most likely to stay in the sport tend to be people who figured they would try it only once. For Great Deals on Gear

CRW jumpers often open their riser covers prior to exit. It helps decrease off heading openings on low speed deployments. One off heading opening on an eight way speed CRW team can blow the time it takes to build the formation. CRW risers are bulky. CRW dogs tend to use dive blocks instead of dive loops, since they work better with less hand fatigue when used for extended periods of time. For Great Deals on Gear

It's not a hop n pop if you take it to near terminal. A hop n pop is exit and deployment within about ~3 seconds, often faster.

No, that is not an unreasonable fear, although it is highly unlikely you will have an AAD misfire close to the ground on student, novice or rookie (< 1500 jumps) equipment. Until you complete the requirements for your USPA A license (assuming you are jumping in US), you can opt to jump without an AAD. There are pros and cons to using any piece of safety equipment. They can save your life if used within operating parameters, or they can take your life if operated outside operating parameters. Remember, this is a sport where on any given jump you can do everything right and still die. For Great Deals on Gear

Yes, if you are going to freefly, you must have a camera. USPA made that a BSR back in 98 or 99, IIRC. For Great Deals on Gear