kwmontreal

I usually throw around 3500 so i can be in the saddle at 2900. On larger jumps I try to track hard and flat and usually dump just above 2000. I really like Amazon's idea of the barrel roll ...... its not tough to do , and it really clears the air above!! That will be a new addition for me this year!! thanks Jeanne. Jump Safe. Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

There have been many other threads on this. Bill and Brian (germain) have some really sound advise (read: a good place to start!). It has been said that its ok to down size after standing up 100 .... PLEASE don't!! At 100 jumps I tried a stilleto (150) (at 1.4) and I could stand up fairly comfortably with straight in approaches..... but ... I sure would not have wanted to be in trouble with that canopy. In short ... learn to fly the piss out of your canopy. Be able to park it anywhere and know its limits (and yours!). Being able to land it 10 meters from a target 10 times is great ... can you do it under the stress of and "emergency". I consider myself middle of the road conservative type. My canopy progression is as follows (288, 240, 190, 170). The last 2 yrs on my Saber 170 ... I may consider downsizing next year. I am going to take a conopy coarse (Brian Germain) in April!! Jump Safe Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

See if you can the DZ/JM to have you exit last prior to the tamdems, and your friend the first T out!! It will be a kick for your friend! Jump Safe Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

Ira, I like you, am ferociously protective of my home DZ. Most of us are. Anyone who has been around for a while has seen and done (guilty) things that even moments after, seem crazy. We can make thoes decisions for ourselves and pay to play. However, we (instructors, DZOs ....) must be conservative when it comes to students. They have enough tasks to concentrate on without the distraction of knowing that they will be landing while backing-up. Your DZ is far from the only place that this has happened, and , it will happen again somewhere else at another time. You did however key on a good point. THINK. Learning from mistakes is what makes good DZs better. It increases student returns and creates a solid growing body of "regulars". If indeed the situation was what dkf1979 described (I have no reason to doubt him), there was a breakdown in the decision making process. No one was hurt (great!), and you could probably put out more loads of students in those winds, and maybe nothing adverse would happen.....BUT .....BUT....... thats rolling the dice for someone else who is depending on your (JM, instructors ....) expertise and sound judgment as they have not the knowledge, nor experience to make that decision for themselves. We all have made mistakes. Its what we do with the knowledge learned is what really counts. Putting those students out in those winds was a bad call. Period. Jump Safe. Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

I would say you were in P**P territory. There is enought stress when students and much info to remember. Throw in 20 mph winds and we looking at (in my ever not so humble opinion) rolling the dice. At our DZ we start scratching our heads and evaluate each individual student when the winds hit 10mph. When the winds hit 14 mph we ground all student gear and any nonlicenced jumpers. Its just not worth it. Walk away and jump another day! Jump safe. Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

My wind limit is about 20mph with max gusts to 27mph. High winds are challenging enough without strong gusts. Your landing area must also be wide open and clear. Roters off near by buildings, trees .... ect can make the whole experence er..... unplesent!! Jump Safe and know YOUR limits!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

Thanks to all who posted. In did 1 RW jump and 2 FF jumps yesterday with my new Havoc!! This is an awesome helmet!! "Luke .... I am your father" slipped out a few times!! LMAO Jump Safe!! Kent (My thoughts and prayers to Rook, Missy , Family and friends) RIP Roger. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

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OUR DEEPEST SYMPAHTHIES GO OUT TO ROOK, MISSY, FAMILY, AND FRIENDS. WE HAVE LOST A FANTASTIC EMBASSADOR AND LEADER. YOU WILL MOST CERTAINLY BE MISSED!!! GOD SPEED. Kent Wood on behalf of the Malone Parachute Club. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

MrHixxx, You better tell who did that or I know 3 people who will begin to hunt you down!!! To cool!! I want one...PM me if he is still working ... I'll give him a winter project!! Thanks .. Jump Safe! Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

I tried an Oxygen and there was no way I would want to wear it for the 3-5min it takes for a jump. I should say that my question is due to the lack (read: non existance) of full face helmets at the DZ. If they see my ulgy mug coming at them in Freefall and it scares them, then they probably shouldn't be there anyway!! I consider that a big plus!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

I tried the Oxygen and almost went from wearing glasses to contacts, and I don't have thick glasses. I hadn't heard anything about noise in freefall yet. Thanks for the input. Jump Safe. Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

I am tired of wearing my sport Rx perscription goggles (perscriptions in plastic are never quite right, The foam sucks and they always want to change the frame. i have all but decided to buy a Bonehead havoc. If you have one I would like to hear any positive or negative feedback that you have. I know about flipping up the visor in the plane and under canopy (ie: the care and visability restrictions under canopy). Thanks and Jump Safe!! Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

At repack time I like to suspend my own rig via the risers, and go through reserve procedures and some different scenairoes with individuals (riggers, st&a, inst.,... anyone who wants to play!!) throwing different hypothetical situations at me. This can be fun for everyone ... not to mention educational for the group as a whole. As per you cypress questions. Ask your rigger. If he doesn't know I am sure he will find out and inform you about the new cypress 2. If he doesn't do this ... find another more professional rigger to deal with. As mentioned above, there is always the manufactures website. Jump Safe Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

I like the whole liveliness of the DaKine line. It lives and breaths in comparison to other manufactures. No loose threads, unfinished seams, or anything else I could find. I went over it 3 times inside and out. Not a missed stitch. When I decided I wantedanother DaKine product (I have a freefly suit that has stood the test of time), I emailed Chuck and gave him a general idea of color and pattern and then he took it two steps further!! Wow these pants are just ......SEXY!! I really wanted to give them a 4/5 for a rating, only because I had to wait 10 days longer than I should have .... but.... (it is said that patience is a virtue ... I'm learning!). They are just so damm nice I couldn't give them anything less than a 5!! Contrary to some other reviews, I had fun dealing with Chuck. No BS and a great sense of humor. My advise ...... if you want a really nice well made pair of freefly pants, order from DaKine and be patient ...... its well worth the wait!!

I just PM'd the head honcho and offered to do the leg work. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

Hi All, I think it would be great if the canadian DZ's (Dee-Zeds!!) could be grouped by provences. the same way the American DZ's are grouped by states. I realize that we don't have nearly as many DZ's as the USA, but .... Canada covers a huge chunk of realestate. Since nearly all of the DZ names do not reflect any regionality, it would make it much easier for visitors to locate and visit a DZ in the area they will be visiting. I say this because I was going to Ottawa to visit for a weekend, and thought it would be nice to see if there was a DZ close to Ottawa. I had to go through the entire list of Canadian DZs ...... what a pain. Thanks and Jump Safe!! Kent

I had the same concern last April. I was jumping new gear (Mirage G3, Saber 170, a tight combo when new) and the closing loop was real tight. I had planned on doing a hop and pop from 6000. I threw my pilot chute almost right off the step and low and behold .... no main. I looked down and grabbed both my handles and then paused ....... thought I'd give myself another 10 sec since I was still fairly high. After another 6 long sec. my main deployed. I really got teased when I got down, "I have never seen a regular sport rig with a drogue!!". My old equipment was so loose I could depoly after leaving the step. The new gear required much more snatch force to remove the pin. Just something to keep in mind. Hop and pops are great but give yourself some altitude ..... you never know when you may need a few more seconds, especially with new gear! Kent ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

Hey, First off let me chime in with Tamy .......... are some of you people just way out there!! 25 jumps and flying a zero-p 170 at a loading of approx. 1.25. On top of that poor canopy skills. Things that make you go Hmmmmm??? Hey Slink, You need to find some more instruction from your local "concerned/professional" JM/Inst.. More over I would highly recommend you get the aformentioned instruction after finding yourself a larger canopy. There is far to much to learn and "LOTS" of time!! Front and rear riser work, stalls, flat turns,...........flairing. You want to know your canopy REALLY WELL!! You want to know what your canopy can do, and what you can do with your canopy. You want to be able to get yourself down safely in any situation (ie: bad spot with very few/tiny "outs") I transitioned from a Manta (288sq/ft), to a Sharp Shooter (240sq/ft), to a PD190, and this year to a Saber 170!! I didn't hit the Saber until approx. 160+ jumps. Even then I have had some advise/instruction on landing a zero-p canopy. It really is much different. Hope everything works out for you. My 0.02 Remember in this sport.........."Slow is Fast"!! Jump Safe!! Kent

Hi Steve, Some good advise here in these posts. I regularly "chase " at our DZ as it really adds some fun for the jump. Above all you must consult the TM and he needs to feel safe with you. I have always done this from cessna aircraft (182 & 206), and always dive the door. I usually have my hand out on the TM's shoulder and leave immediately after I loose touch with him so I am out of his vertical airspace. Depending on how quick he deploys the drogue I usually have to do some quick head down flying to chtch up. Most of the time I wear my FreeFly suit usless the passenger is 200lbs.or more, in which case I opt for the RW suit. This really takes practice and I don't take it lightly. I even set my Protrack for 7000ft. so i make sure I am well away for thier deployment. Here is something few people think of .....many people chasing just jall away and deploy at a lower altitude!! Don't do this .... what happens if the TM has a mal. and needs to chop it?? You don't want to be playing under him in this situation!! TRACK AWAY as in any other jump!! You can even take this a sept further and be of assistance to the TM. For two or three of the TM's I check their gear (pud, reserve pins ....ect) prior to climbout. I also watch closely on the climbout. It wouldn't be a first for a reserve pin to be dislodged on the door while climbing out. We would want them off real fast!! There are many things that need to be considered. What you have started to do is not just a fun jump (yes ......it is fun). Its a responsibility, and if done incorrectly, can be a big liability. Its awful to think of ones self "burning in", but for me it would be perferable to causing others to do so, or taking others out with me. I don't mean to be all doom and gloom. I just want to be sure you realize what your getting into when you chase. It is a big responsibility. JUMP SAFE !! Kent

By definition of approved components, the handel would have to be TSO'd. Jump Safe Kent

My last tires old rig had narrow leg pads without any foam. Man are they painfull compaired to my new Mirage rig. Stick with the wide pads and live with the minor discomfort of the wider pads while on the ground. Its really a very small percentage of time when you look at it. Jump Safe Kent

For me it comes down to I like the people I jump with. I always ask for a gear check from someone. If there is someone I don't know on the load I ask them. Its is a good way to start a conversation and involve someone who is visiting or perhaps looking for a new DZ to call home. Nobody likes to be told (regulated) to do anything, and, in this case, we should not need to have this kind of rule. I'd like to think that we are a careing community, and we look out for our own. There is no room for complacency in this sport, and there is no sound reason for refusing a simple gear check. Make it a habit. Gear check before boarding the aircraft. Pin check just prior to jumprun!! Jump Safe Kent

Glad you made it Per!!! But that was a "little close". I understand the mechanics of this jump........... but we can all take this as a little reminder about pull altitude...... and altitude awareness!!! Thanks for posting this as I just keep watching this over and over!!! Jump Safe Kent