tso-d_chris

Uh- yeah- sure. Can I borrow a jumpsuit, Bill? For Great Deals on Gear

I suspect that the force required to shear hook/pile contact would be fairly consistant, wear notwithstanding. Velcro does wear out MUCH faster when seperated in such a manner, though. Remember, forces change with different scenarios. A solution that would work well with a spinning canopy would not necessarily work with a spinning board. A third scenario is likely to be different than either of those two. For Great Deals on Gear

I thought about that after Chris Martin's accident. I don't know if it would withstand opening shock. If it were attached at the lower leg, the G-forces from a spinning canopy would be much higher, and a lighter handle could be used, which would be more likely to make it through opening shock.

Absolutely true. I hope I did not give anyone the impression that only certain jumpers should care for their gear. Certainly not what I was trying to say. For Great Deals on Gear

If the RSL side riser releases, it activates the RSL (assuming it is connected), which initiates reserve deployment. For Great Deals on Gear

I agree, especially with respect to new jumpers. For Great Deals on Gear

Because, as you pointed out, some jumpers go a very long time before their first cutaway. Often those jumpers will expose themselves to situations where connecting an RSL would not be the wisest decision. Yes they can. I agree, but might add skysurfing to the list. In most situations, there is no reason not to use an RSL. My point is that jumpers should know about the RSL, know what it does and how it does it, so that they uderstand why its usually best to have an RSL, but sometimes it isn't. For Great Deals on Gear

True. But there is a school of thought that believes it better to jump without an RSL all the time, instead of constantly connecting and disconnecting on a jump by jump basis. It's not always in a jumpers best interest to have an RSL connected. I'm not sure cutaway experience is the best criteria. Like everything else in skydiving, there are many factors that need to be considered regarding RSL use before an informed decision can be made. For Great Deals on Gear

What caused the line to break? Unless it was cut, or something unusual, you should probably check to make sure your lines are in trim. Just because the other lines don't look worn does not mean they are the correct length. You may want to consider checking the line trim. For Great Deals on Gear

What about for CRW or camera jumps? You're not suggesting RSLs be used ALL the time are you? For Great Deals on Gear

I had a cutaway at Quantum Leap a few years back. Jim Cowan, co-owner, was the first to find my main. It's pretty rare for the DZO of a turbine drop zone to stop working and go look for a fun jumper's lost equipment. I was impressed, and appreciative. For Great Deals on Gear

Practicing your reserve procedures three times prior to every jump is a very good habit to get into. It helps with muscle memory, and keeps you in practice. This is about 1%-2% of the jumps on this canopy as you need to REALLY get a feel for how a specific canopy flies in any condition. (I know, I'm expecting the flames) In my opinion, there are four things about a jumper that give me important information: Number of Jumps: There is nothing like skydiving to help us learn to skydive better. Time in Sport: How long a jumper has been in the sport helps give me an idea of the things (s)he's seen. Wisdom comes only when we've had sufficient time to maximize what we can learn from our own, and others', experience. Currency How often a jumper jumps is a major concern when it comes to choosing proper gear. 1000 jumps isn't so many if it took twenty years to make them. Theory: I believe jumpers are safer, the more they know about their equipment and how it works. Familiarizing ourselves with with our equipment and different flying techniques on the ground can be far more productive than trying to learn everything in the air. As far as instructors go, they new skydivers' best source of information. If what they tell you is SIGNIFICANTLY different from what LOTS of people say in this forum, though, seek a second opinion from a different qualified instructor. The vast majority of the contributors in this forum have the very best intentions. Sometimes some incorrect information does come up, but it is usually quickly corrected. For Great Deals on Gear

Could someone with knowledge in this area please PM me. I have a question. For Great Deals on Gear

I agree its a matter of personal preference. I use a PC at work, and at home have access to a 2 PCs running Windows and Firefox, a PC running Linux, and a Powerbook Mac. The Mac is the most user friendly and most reliable, and is the one I prefer to use, but I am comfortable on all three. Most of my PC issues have gone away since I stopped allowing Internet Explorer access to the internet, and switched to Firefox. For Great Deals on Gear

Velocity is a vector. Speed is the magnitude of the velocity, a scalar. I believe (but I've been wrong before )the Vigil measures (indirectly) rate of change in altitude, which would be the vertical component of the velocity. chris

Thanks Kim, for clearing that up. I stand corrected,Vigil is not (yet) wingsuit compatible (assuming efficient WS flight at low altitude). Sorry for the misunderstanding. For Great Deals on Gear

For Missouri, I recommend Skydive Missouri, in Mount Vernon, home of Feisty and the fastest climbing C182 currently in skydiving. You may only go to ten, but the turnarounds are fast. Quantum Leap is also a niceplace to jump. If I remember correctly, they have an Otter. I've also enjoyed Missouri River Valley Skydivers, on the occasions that I've jumped there. I hear that there is a Skydive Lov opening around Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, owned by Brian Wolford, of Freefall Express (the drop zone, not the jumpship fleet). For Great Deals on Gear

The CYPRES may sense insufficient velocity to fire on a wingsuit jump where the jumper is flying efficiently and loses track of altitude. As it was explained to me, this is not an issue with the Vigil. I don't understand the software differences well enough to understand exactly how the Vigil handles such a situation diferently than does the CPRES. Maybe Kim Griffin would be kind enough to explain why the Vigil can be effective, even on wingsuit jumps. Or correct me, if I have made a mistake. For Great Deals on Gear

Gatorz are VERY popular at Skydive Deland. The (most popular) frames are made from T6 aluminum, and are very durable, with a good warranty. The lenses come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Unless you wear contacts Gatorz should serve your purposes very well. Does anyone out there have experience with skydiving, contacts, and Gatorz? How well do they work in such a scenario? For Great Deals on Gear

Vigil is less expensive than CYPRES2 in the current economy. (The price of CYPRES based on exchange rate) Vigil is wingsuit compatible; CYPRES2 is not. CYPRES2 is water resistant, Vigil is not. Vigil is built to tougher specifications with respect to cable connections, battery housing. By comparison, CYPRES is downright fragile. Vigil cuts the loop twice. Vigil is multimode. The same unit can be used on an expert, student or tandem rig. Vigil offers free cutter replacement after actual save. For Great Deals on Gear

It's only a matter of time-- give it another year or two. Everyone I know who does serious video editing on their computer uses a Mac. They simply do not have time for computer issues. They are skydivers, not computer geeks. Reliability and user friendliness of Macs is unrivalled by PCs. Macs are far less likely to be infected with viruses or have adware installed than (non Mac) Windows machines. I've heard many people complain about their PCs. Mac users tend to love their computers. You rarely hear about people switching from Macs to PCs, but switching from PCs to Macs is not at all uncommon. I know one guy who accepted his job with the condition that he got a Mac to use instead of a PC like everyone else had to use. I've never seen anyone that devoted to their PC. For Great Deals on Gear

A tight closing loop and a well stowed pilot chute (You should not be able to see any pilot chute material when the PC is in the pouch) reduces the probability of a premature deployment on a BOC throwout, especially on newer systems that protect all of the bridle from the relative wind. There are also low profile pullout style handles available for throwout systems that appear to provide less surface area to create drag. If you do not pack for yourself, a pullout is probably not for you. They are not the predominant system out there, and not all packers you might run into will know how to pack them, though many will. For the most part, pullouts eliminate potential throwout problems that can be otherwise mitigated while still utilizing a throwout system. Throwouts tend to have a reputation for being more user friendly than pullouts. For Great Deals on Gear

For large purchases, buying from a reputable dealer located in another state can often save you hundreds of $$$, which would be better spent on altitude! chris For Great Deals on Gear

Unless your profile is out of date, you would be ill advised to increase your wingloading to 1.3-1.4. As long as everything is going right, that wing loading is no big deal. When things are not going well, they get worse much faster at higher wing loadings. Most of the best swoopers I've met learned to swoop at very low wing loadings. It arguably takes more skill to swoop a large canopy than a small one. There is no reason not to put a few hundred jumps on your PD 9 cell. If you just feel a need to get a new canopy, stay closer to 1.1 Lbs. per sq ft. You will get a substantial increase in canopy performance just by changing the planform (switching from a rectangular canopy to an elliptical one). Just my $.02 For Great Deals on Gear

Those are both valuable forums, and we are lucky to have access to them. They are, however, significantly (mostly) less technical than what I had in mind. Math and physics are behind pretty much every aspect of our sport. Of course, not all skydivers are fluent in these two subjects. Furthermore, you can be an excellent skydiver without understanding these subjects. But, for those that understand it, math offers a much more precise way of communicating. I just thought that a forum devoted to the more technical minded among us might be a welcome addition. Then again, I've been wrong before. :-) For Great Deals on Gear