ntacfreefly

the shirt, as promised. I'll edit the post and attach the pic of the 3 of us when I get it from Katie To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Here's the whole series of that landing then To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Hell yeah - I was showing them how to runs the 10's.....yep....that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. 2x Team Phuckit shirts worn this weekend. Bring on Colorado

Here are some from a CPC camp we did at Jumptown in New England this weekend to start generating interest in the region. Soon as the photographer sends me the other attendees stuff I'll post it too

Coolio - I've never seen a SOS system

I'm curious - on the 2nd pic (the tube one) is there something misrouted with the reserve cable? I can't really tell but I figured I'd ask cause it seems 'odd' And yep - excited new jumpers is a wonderful thing

Why you little..... That helmet has been retired since right after Dublin To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Good times

Happy B-day dude

Well I'm on my 3rd consecutive listen. Each time the album gets more gripping, deeper and immersive. My opinion, at this point, is that it's their best work to date. I haven't wanted to skip 1 track (that's rare for me to say the least) although I do feel that the album is meant to be listened to in it's entirety - there aren't many tracks I'd just 'skip to' to listen but the experience as a collective is stunning. When they come to ATL we'll be seeing them (again - Lateralus was a great tour too!!) edit: And while I was initally annoyed I couldn't get the CD from ITunes I am now glad because the artwork and packaging is awesome. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

No it doesn't. The Vengence has more than a reasonable recovery arc. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

20 or 21" risers won't make this a conservative canopy. The difference will be negligible. Personally I prefer longer risers though. To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Absolute nonsense. I'm currently coaching a 747 pilot at the dz. Nice guy - tons of hrs and about 300 jumps. He hasn't nearly got it all figured out yet. He's doing well but he's 'not above the curve' like you THINK you are just because he pilots large passenger aircraft for a living. I doubt you are too. If anything I'd bet money that you're BEHIND the curve because of your thought process. Just like the smudge waiting to happen at our DZ who used to race motorcycles. I don't doubt for one second that flying an aircraft is a complex skill set - just don't kid yourself into thinking flying a canopy well (and safely) isn't complex. If you believe that it is, then you really are WAY behind the curve. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Pffft. That must have been nice *grumble*can't believe she blew us all off in LW*grumble* To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Yep Vegas is the only show that's different too. Caught them in Beantown and Vegas. Vegas one was seriously kick ass. Beantown was awesome too, but after Vegas it was very apparent how much better the Vegas one was. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Go read the last 5 years statistics. at least HALF of the landing accidents were people like you. "I'll be conservative". "Don't bury a toggle". The very problem with your attitude is that it reeks of "it'll never happen to me". It can happen to ANYONE. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I'll be hitting up Neighbors as well 2night. Who else is coming? To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

The thinner stuff seems more prone to tension knots but it could also be attributed to the coating a lot of us have. I don't know enough about it to comment with any sort of engineering backing. That said I agree that HMA isn't some sort of magical line. There are varying degrees of HMA (1000, 750, 500, 300, etc) and I believe that choice of HMA strength/thickness is dictated by the goal. For all but the top people 500 or above should be fine and last a decent amount of time. The thinner stuff has a much shorter lifespan. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Honestly I believe in a combination of both. There are too many variables in every single approach to simply use one or the other. Jeffro had a real low turn on a practice run @ lake wales because he didn't believe the audible and visual altimeters because his eyes were telling him he was way high. On the flip side of that coin depending on the audible and visual altimeters is no better. My personal feeling is to pay more attention to whichever tells me is lower. My eyes, or the device. Generally I find myself using my visual alti for beginning my downwind (1800), running my base (1200) and when I'm in my turn area (750'ish). For the actual turn the audible is there to give me an idea of when I should be expecting to go. I dont believe in 'going on the beep' but instead it's an indicator that, based on where I am an how my turn will be, will give me an idea of my recovery. There's definitely a combination of the two. Relying solely on either one is a mistake IMO. There are people out there who use the neptune as some sort of religous guide - not good IMO. But as demonstrated at the PST this past weekend - eyeballs alone can trick you too. edited to add: At a jumpers home dz they are far less likely to 'eyeball it' incorrectly. Its when we move around to unfamiliar places that it becomes more of an issue. I guess in the end it's whatever works best for the pilot

It happens. We've all had those kinds of meets. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I haven't jumped a Sam, BUT if your comparision to the KA is accurate then it is not the canopy to start to LEARN to swoop on. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

Nice Jeff, Thinking about getting one?

I've never had the chance to jump a nitron so I can't really comment but Yardhippie jumps one at our DZ and seems to do well on it. The recovery arc reminds me of a Sabre2. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

The Sabre 2 is perfect for just that. Longer dive than a Stiletto and it's 'feel' is similar to the Katana and Velo. By 'feel' I mean the common characteristics that manufacturers tend to have such as toggle stroke, etc. IMO it is the perfect 'learn to swoop' canopy, as well as the perfect 'getting more hardcore' swoop canopy at higher loadings. I've said it a lot but I think it's one of the most underated swoop canopies out there. recovery arc comparisons: Stiletto - Quick Sabre 2 - Long, but not excessive. Begins to recover quickly after a riser is released, but not excessively so. Katana - Very long - long recovery time - similar to velo. Velo - Ultra long arc. IMO the longest 'diver' out there. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer

I'd listen to your friends. I've only got about 1500 velo jumps (over 1000 on the same size) and I absolutely, positively love them. If performance, reliability and customer service are your main criteria they are the only one's I'd consider. That said there's nothing 'wrong' with the other choices out there, but there's only one other one I'd consider buying. I'm 182 out the door. I jumped a velo 96 for the first time in a LONG time this weekend for shits and giggles. It was a blast to fly and swoop. I was wearing 16 pounds of lead (nothing excessive). I think if you can demo similar sized canopies you'll get a feel for what you like/don't like - regardless of the 1.9 or so loading. Blues, Ian To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders. ~ Lao-Tzu It's all good, they're my brothers ~ Mariann Kramer