Chris-Ottawa

What difference in canopy coaching would you expect a 100 jump wonder to have at a dropzone like Deland versus a small, single plane DZ? Do you think one would potentially get more personal attention? Would more people critique the smaller DZ jumper because they can watch the 5 canopies land while they pack? How much more can this jumper focus on their approach when they know the 4 other canopies are landed, above them, landing out etc… Anyways, that's just something to ponder. I do have to say that I find it a bit odd that I'm getting 2 VERY different outcomes. Anyone who has seen me jump the canopy says that I seem to be doing well under it, where everyone on here seems to think it's a matter of time before I go in. It really makes me wonder. I now have 4 of my landings on the 105 filmed and have received comments on each one. I have taken these comments into consideration. I'm also going to answer a few questions that people keep bringing up. Why do I "need" to be under this parachute? Well, I don't need to be, I want to be. I chose the Cobalt because it had a lot of the characteristics I was used to under my Spectre as well as a couple others. Nice on heading openings and a powerful flare. Extra speed for a swoopier landing, without having to swoop. Not saying the Spectre 135 was slow, but the Cobalt has a "better" flare, ie, more progressive, easier to judge, more speed to hold the toggles and let the canopy plane out. The Spectre has a very good, but quick flare; the Cobalt has a long, deep flare. The Cobalt is also sold to beginners, and I know there are people that disagree with this, but I am not representing the company. By searching the forums, you can see that this has been beaten to death over and over and over again. I do understand that 1:1 is not the same at various sizes, and I understand why this is. I understand about elliptical and HP canopies. Why do I need a better flaring parachute if I can't land the previous larger one? Well, in this case, I never once said I couldn't land the previous one. In actuality, I landed it great. I loved the Spectre and would recommend it to anyone. Here is a great case of words being put in my mouth. I said "better flaring", not "something that will help me flare better". Why do I think I'm a "natural"? Interestingly enough, another point I never said. I said there "are" naturals, I don't think I'm one, but I do have a good understanding and it just seems to work for me. I don't have to struggle to fly a parachute. I believe I said something along the lines of "There are naturals/prodigys, and I am not those, but I have no problems landing/flaring/accuracy etc. It is not difficult for me. Just as a point of interest to everyone out there who thinks I have no business on this canopy, which seems to be the overwhelming majority, here’s something that occurred this weekend. I did a H+P on the canopy this weekend, 3rd jump of the weekend, and I had something scary happen. My last 85 jumps have been on the Spectre 135, and I not once had line twists. Last time I had line twists was when I was a student. So I did this jump, delayed maybe 3-5 seconds and deployed. I looked up and saw, a Cobalt with 3 open cells, sniveling, with 2 line twists. Immediately, I checked my Alti (2900ft) and decided to ride it out before resorting to a chop. Canopy inflated, dove to the right and after a 270 it recovered itself and flew flat and level while I gently spun out of the twists. After landing, I really took a long time to think about what I'm actually doing. I was scared. #1, first line twists in over 100 jumps, #2 first line twists on elliptical canopy. I expected the worst, but I was prepared to chop it. After thinking about it, I decided to jump again. All went well. I believe that the Cobalt doesn't care a whole lot for H+P's from nowhere near terminal. I've have absolutely dead on heading openings from terminal, minus one, but each H+P was cranking a 270ish turn, and one had line twists. These line twists could also be linked in part to a hesitation issue I have. Now I know everyone is going to say this is all the more reason for me to stop jumping the canopy, but keep in mind I have no problems with terminal openings. The jump with the line twists was likely due to body position and a problem I have on H+P's. When I do a H+P and delay less than a couple seconds...I get PC hesitation. Check back in my old threads, it was discussed before. If I dump out the door at 4 grand...it's a good 3 seconds or more before the bag extracts. I believe it's because I don't build up enough speed to allow the PC to extract everything. Works fine on terminal openings. Just for everyone’s info, don’t think that I haven’t taken any of the advice in all these threads to heart. I haven’t excluded upsizing, nor have I excluded going back to a “square” planform. I don’t feel uncomfortable under the canopy, I realize the added risk I’m accepting, and I am taking the time to seriously weigh my choice. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I figured I'd throw in some info at this point. The thread is coming up with some good info now, and not always just anal comments, but still a fair bit. People wonder why I get defensive when there's no productive/helpful info being given. Whether any of you choose to believe it or not, I am not at all as defensive in real life as my posts come of in here. There are users posting on here that know me in person and they know that I'm the first person to ask for advice, opinions, what should I do, when, how many etc... These same people have seen my landings and mentality and seem to have no issues with me jumping the canopy. They recommend I be careful, but don't think I'm retarded or anything like that. If you were to talk to my instructors, they would be able to tell you that I do a lot of H+P's to play with my canopy, I don't swoop or ever attempt any sort of maneuvers on landing, I always listen to information that someone is willing to share etc. When I bought this canopy, the instructor I was talking to about it BEFORE I bought it, I'm sure I pissed him off with all my questions/concerns. I'm getting the feeling that people suspect I'm doing riser turns or hook turns for my landings. If you look at the video of me jumping the Comp Cobalt....those are my approaches 100% of the time. I understand everyone's concern, and realize that if I get into a corner, it can go bad, but just as bad on the 135. The best I can do is do everything in my power to reduce the risk and not get into that corner. Anyways, just wanted to share that, but I'm not posting anymore about my canopy, jumps, etc. Thanks for the advice that has been brought up so far. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Gábor, As much as I'd like to say you're right...I just don't ever think it would happen. You say being safe after 300 jumps would gain me somecredibility? I say 2000 on this ame canopy would gain me nothing on DZ.com. I could burn in on jump 3562 and have never changed off of this 105, and good ol' DZ.com would still say it was due to my rapid downsizing and I didn't gain the skills early on to save my ass. There is no possible way, EVER that I could EVER consider that I've won and was safe on the canopy. I can never "prove" to DZ.com that I am/will be safe. It is simply a lose-lose situation. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Chris, You know, when I saw this thread, I thought it was just hilarious and made me think of the exact same thing as you. What exactly is this going to prove? Could the wasted time be better served working towards a plan to prevent new jumpers from wanting to downsize/swoop. Could it maybe be used to educate in a less agressive manner? I'd love to see what the purpose/end result of this thread is. And as we all know, jump numbers aren't the be all say all... 127 jumps jumping a canopy that may be too agressive, or 5000+ jumps and in the same boat. Mistakes happen. I hate to say it, but I could start jumping a Manta 288 again, and femur due to whatever reason, and the trusty DZ.com people would still blame it on my "rapid downsizing", and say something stupid like I didn't get the skills to properly land the 288 because I was busy trying out an elliptical 105. I've already lost in all of your minds...I could upsize to a PERFECTLY safe Sabre2 150 and still femur or kill myself, and all you guys would say...."See, we told you so". Anyways....I'm going jumping this weekend...so...place your bets!! Hahah "When once you have tasted flight..."

Afternoon, Guys, the posts that are coming are more helpful than you think. I'm getting good information now, not just being told I'm doing X or Y and need to stop. I started out jumping a Spectre 135 loaded at 1:1 on my 32nd jump. I've done the last 95ish jumps on that Spectre. I am now on the Cobalt. There...you now have my jump number. I do only have a few jumps on the Cobalt up to this point. For the people who have jumped a Cobalt, they may understand my next comments better, but for all the others, please consider before flipping out and saying I'm a moron etc... The Cobalt 105, truly does not seem to be much faster than the Spectre 135. This could be partly because the Spectre is sinking more than the Cobalt, but it may also have to do with trim. The Cobalt is definitely more divey on the front risers, but not by tonnes. Toggles...I'm not too sure yet, I know it dives more on a toggle turn, but as far as cranking around hard....not really. The flare is more pronounced...the Spectre is a fairly quick "to the shoulders" then immediately start finishing. That is my personal feelings on the Cobalt. I will admit that I jumped an Jedei 120 a few jumps before the 105, and it was WAY faster, way divier, and way more responsive to toggles/risers/harness. I did one jump on it and had no "want" to do another, I was happy on my Spectre. I WAS SCARED jumping the 120. Then I jumped the Cobalt, and as posted above, didn't feel like huge change from the Spectre. The Cobalt is truly more docile than some other canopies. I still agree though, it is small and it is elliptical. I wanted to get a 9 cell simply for the flare. Yes I'm coming back to this. The Spectre was fantastic, flare was great, always stood it up, nice landings, etc etc. I wasn't having trouble, but the day I jumped a Stiletto 135....I knew there was canopies out there with "longer" flares. Since that day, I was on the hunt.... As far as what I plan on doing, assuming I decide to keep jumping the canopy is as follows: -Continue jumping at my 2 Cessna DZ where traffic is rarely ever an issue. -Continue doing at least half of my jumps as hop and pops. I love going to 10K and dumping out the door of the plane. I love flying -Try "again" to take a Scott Miller course (Last one was cancelled) -Continue to have my landings filmed and learn from them, critique them -Listen to the advice of my instructors, and ask them for advice. -Continue to practice what is on Bollvon's down sizing checklist. (Yep, this has been in my gear bag since May of this year and I do use it) There's a lot of things that I have been doing, and will continue to do. I have no want to swoop, or do high performance landings of any sort. I'm happy with the flight of the canopy. I just like flying! Edit: frazeebd - I'm not sure what you want me to answer from your post. There's no questions other than canopy control course and reading the book. I haven't read the book, but I've read other books, including flight manuals for airplanes and a lot on aerodynamics etc... Canopy course is answered above. Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Skinny, Based on your comment: It seems to me that you think I'm loading it more than that? I weigh 115 lbs, about 135 EXIT weight. That gives me a loading of 1.28ish, say 1.3. I;m not at all saying this makes it any better, but I know guys with sub-200 jumps loading canopies at 1.6-1.8 elliptical and non-elliptical. I don't jump it because it's cooler, I jump it because it was my conscious decision to do so. I know a bunch of people have made comments about me wanting a "better" flare. They assumed I was having trouble landing the 135, which I was not. I just wanted a better flare than a 7 cell provided. After alot of research and asking around the DZ, the Cobalt was delivered to me. Oh, and seriously, thank you for the calm, accurate response. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Clarification: The Comp Cobalt was jumped once...I bought a standard Cobalt "When once you have tasted flight..."

Ok, I've admitted this in the last thread and also this one, but I know I am increasing my risk. Has anyone ever considered that I posted on here because I think my downsize is TOO aggressive? Not just aggressive, but TOO aggressive? Maybe I'm looking for advice to see if it really is TOO aggressive vs aggressive? I admit, I feel confident under the canopy, I'm not scared of it, but maybe I really don't understand the true risk category that I've put myself in. What if I'm asking for help and all I'm getting, is shit on? Everyone knows that it's human nature to be defiant. And by having a whole bunch of people tell me that I can't jump it, and I will die under it, it makes me feel as though I'm out to prove something and want to jump it to prove that. I have and am still considering upsizing, but don't know yet. I agree I am defensive, and probably as with about 99% of all of you, I am pretty quiet in real life. The internet and keyboard give us all an escape to be whoever the hell we want. I know that I am not the first person to do this, and I know I will not be the last. I have a sister that just started jumping and I'm trying to tell her not to do what I did? How do you think that's going? On another note, consider what we as "younger' jumpers have beyond our instructors for info/advice. The gear manufactures making recommendations. Here's some examples: Take a look at what a 100 lb novice "should" be jumping for a Spectre http://performancedesigns.com/products.asp?product=sp So for me, I "should" have started on a 150. I know this will be controversial, but see my point: http://atairaerodynamics.com/FAQ.html#one So me having an EXIT weight of 135 lbs, puts me at 1.3 on a 105. That's mid range for a beginner. How about a Nitro: Check what the W/L on a 108 is for a person weighing 135 lbs and 100-199 jumps? http://hiperusa.com/files/wingloading.pdf So, as you can clearly see, "WE" are being told by the gear manufactures that this is ok. I would be happy to get more examples, but the first 2 apply DIRECTLY to me, and the third was just another example to throw in. So, if you consider that my instructors, S&TA, and DZO approve, as well as the manufacture? What would that say to you? I fully expected flak for posting the videos of my terrible landings, but I'm not sure everyone understand why I post for info. As far as jump numbers, I avoided saying it simply because it would take the thread completely off topic and that's not what I wanted. So for everyone who's curious, 130 jumps is the magic number. DSE was dead on with his numbers above, minus the jumps. (Wonder if he talked to my buddy Micheal from the other post?) Anyways, maybe take a second to consider a new person's point of view without just snapping back with a response. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Reposted in appropriate thread...sorry... "When once you have tasted flight..."

Peter: I agree mostly with your post. We do have less to think/worry about at smaller dz's where there might be up to 5 canopies in the air with you. I've jumped from an Otter about 20-25 times and there is much more traffic and much more to be attentive of. As far as the risk of me getting cut off and having to do an avoidance maneuver, well, it's difficult to prepare yourself for the real thing. It's happened to me. I got cut off on final when I jumped from the otter. Another jumper landed 90 degrees to the line of final and cut of about 5 people. I had to take evasive measures to avoid a colloision at 60 feet, it worked ok. I know I'm putting myself in more risk if I jump a smaller canopy and have to do this. davelepka: So you mean I should hide and just not tell anyone I'm doing it? Why not be open? Why should I be afraid to be honest? Are you saying that you would just hide if you did something risky? So, the landings were not good...ok, so be it. Care to elaborate? This goes all the way back to my first post. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Ok, looks like the thread is turning around to be more constructive. Thank you! I seriously do appreciate it. Skybytch had it dialed in when she said people downsize to go faster. That's me 100% But...I don't want to go faster so I can learn to swoop or anything like that. Swooping interests me as much as Base jumping. I am scared shitless to basejump. Lots of my friends with many less jumps are looking to Base jumping...I'm not. Same for swooping. I don't want to swoop. The risks are too high for me. Having been there when someone botched a swoop was a big eye opener for me. I don't want to swoop, but am I not allowed to go faster without having to swoop? I wanted to downsize so I can go faster, which in turn gives me a better flare without "needing" to swoop. I think that the flare is the #1 selling point on a canopy, right on line with openings. That's why I chose the canopy I did. Cobalts have great openings as far as I've read and experienced, they fly very nice, and have a great flare. So, I've done it partially for my own safety (nice openings and powerful flare), with the understanding that I've increased my risk in another area. DSE: Most of the numbers you posted are accurate. You are correct, I went through this with the 135 as well. My S&TA has seen me jump the canopy and if you listen carefully in one of the videos, you can hear the DZO saying "good job" after I landed. I didn't just run out buy the canopy and expect to jump it. I put a lot of research into the type of canopy I was looking for, characteristics, opening, flare etc... I passed everything by my instructors before I did anything. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Haha, this is awesome! Step 1: Post in thread to clear things up from an inaccurate post about yourself. Step 2: Ask for questions about that post to be taken into PM Step 3: Have DZ.com users keep pissing on me in that same thread Step 4: Get blamed for hijacking (Hmm...guess I had my PM setting turned off) Step 5: Create separate thread to prevent further hijacking Step 6: Get pissed on for creating redundant thread? Hmm, now I'm confused. From these 2 threads I've learnt this so far: -Don't post in another thread and don't create a new one. Ok...but how do these forum thingys work again? -Stand up landings are NOT good landings. I'll have to go and set my instructors straight...telling me all the wrong info.... Why can't the people on DZ.com have a normal conversation. Everyone resorts to shitting on someone. Sure hope you feel good about yourself after a long hard night on DZ.com. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, If it's ok, I want to leave jump numbers out of this...for now. I will post it later, but for now, I'm curious about the horrible landings. I want it to be a bit general. "Jumper X with 50 jumps shows up at the DZ with a canopy you feel is a bit too aggressive for his/her experience". As for the knee slide, guilty as charged. I was sliding on my feet and dropped a knee for balance at the end. Nonetheless, I have admitted to my "first" jump on a 105 being less than "perfect". In the other thread, I explained everything I though was wrong about the landings. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone! When you see someone downsizing agressively, do you consider what that person's mentality for doing so is? Do you care, do you coach them??? In the other thread that shares a similar title, people are ragging me for jumping a 105. Nearly none of them/you know how many jumps I have. Does this makes any sense? I agree it is an aggressive canopy for my skill level, but so was the Spectre 135 on my 32nd and beyond jumps. I'm getting ragged about the 2 links I posted to my first 3 landings on a newly downsized canopy. No one will give details, but apparently the 3 stand up landings were just atrocious according to them/you. I have admitted what I feel was wrong with the landings, but I find it funny that the same people who will tell someone else who landed their 280 sliding in on their 50th jump, that they made a better landing than me standing a 105 on my first few jumps on it. I'm just confused.... Anyone? "When once you have tasted flight..."

HA HA HA...you thought I was serious....that is great! Anyways, since apparently it was only me who hijacked the thread, and no one, I mean no one else is continuing it other than me, I might as well just continue. So....enjoy! Just kidding....I just made a new thread, feel free to continue there! Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hahah...oooh...I HAVE to bite on this... Please, share your criticism, here's mine: Jump on the Comp Cobalt 105: -1st jump on a 105 -No wind day -semi-stood the landing (more importantly, didn't bomb it) -Partially stalled the canopy because I flared a bit low and it was a no wind day or maybe because I hadn't fully figured out the toggle stroke on it in that 1 jump yet. -All in all, I think it was a pretty decent landing Jumps on the Cobalt 105 *Jump 3 on a 105. -Varying wind directions, as you can see by the flag changing wind direction up to 90 degrees. -Nicely stood the landing *Jump 4 on the 105 -Still windy -Stood the landing -flared a bit uneven -Successful landing Please, feel free to tell me how those were fatally bad landings. Last time I checked, a landing on target, standing and walking away from, was a good landing...guess I'll have to get out that pesky manual again to check on that. I seriously do appreciate constructive criticism. If you're just going to bash me, then save your time...and mine! Give me 5 more jumps on it and I'll be pulling HUGE 720's for you. We'll get those on video too...hopefully I can pull of a "good" landing for you. What's your definition of a "good" landing? Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Stephen, I just bought a Kurupee suit this summer. Have about 20 jumps on it and I love it so far. Kurupee was originally having alot of problems with quality in their suits. Things like using thin stitching and not double stitching. The suits were falling apart. Everyone who knows this has looked at my suit and said the quality is MUCH better. I have had no problems with it and LOVE the suit. The best part about Kurupee...similar quality for half the price. I love the suit and will be buying a pair of FF pants in the spring or over the winter. I paid $202 shipped to my door for this suit. Hope that helps! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I guess my post came off a bit as "I'm better than everyone else and I will not get hurt". Unfortunately, this is not the case. I was just trying to say that there are people who just naturally have more skill towards a certain area. Same as driving, some people pick it up well, some people don't, but that doesn't mean that one is better than the other. It simply says that some people have to put much more effort into trying to accomplish X task versus another. Then, you have the people who are just naturals. I don't think I am a "natural". I just wanted to state that when I setup for my pattern, or when I flare/land, it just sort of happens. I don't look at the aerial map and say, at 974 feet, I must be over here, by 493 feet, I must be here and at 368 feet I must be here and on final. At 13.7 feet I will flare. I see people at the dz do that and I can't understand how they can plan it out like that. Landing is progressive, flaring is progressive, skydiving is progressive. This sport is so dynamic, you can't assume because X canopy loses X amount of feet every X seconds in X amount of wind, I will land on X spot. That's all I was trying to get across. The only canopy in my progression that I outright skipped was a 190. I admit that I didn't do thousands of jumps on each size, but I did not jump a smaller canopy if I wasn't comfortable and had jumped the size larger. As far as jump numbers, I don't think it's important as it will bring this thread off topic. If anyone wants to know more about "me" and "my" progression, please take it to PM's. I don't want to hijack the thread. Honestly, I hope I will be ok under the canopy too. I don't want to get hurt, I want to skydive for a long time etc... I accept the risk of my decision, same as any swooper accepts the risk of what they do. We all know that experience isn't the be all say all, things change, things happen, we all accept the risk the second we set foot in the plane. Some have more acceptance than others. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, "That guy" would be me. But I'll give a little backstory to it first. My first rig had the 135 in it, and I started jumping that on my 32nd jump and beyond. I weigh 115 lbs w/o gear. That puts me at 1:1 on the 135, just under 1.3 on the 105. The purchase was a conscious decision of my own. The girl was fully willing to sell it to me until I asked her to hold off before I just up and buy it, because I want to do a couple jumps on another 105 that was available for me to jump. I did this to be sure I felt ok on it. I did the jumps and really found the canopy slower than the 120 I jumped. She felt uncomfortable selling it to me based on my experience and the downsize I would be making. Do I think she made a bad decision? Absolutely not! Do I think "buddy" made a mistake buying it for me? Not at all, he knew my skill level and sees me land etc... Oh, and "buddy" makes it sound like I got some random guy to lie to this girl and tell her he had X number of jumps and wanted the canopy. "Buddy" happens to be one of my instructors and has almost 2k jumps. He also happens to jump the same canopy at a pretty different wingloading. I'm not trying to justify what "I" did, I'm simply filling in some details. I don't want this to turn into another thread about "my" downsizing. I do know that the downsize was agressive, I do know that I've increased my risk of injury. I know I'm intelligent, and I also think I'm a fairly good pilot. There are people I know who jump huge canopies and can't land anywhere near the "short grass". Our landing area is about 200ft x 200 ft, maybe less, and I can't remember the last time I didn't land on the short grass.....Unless it was due to a bad spot and 55 knot uppers... The point is, I think it has a lot to do with skill and experience and people around the DZ see these things. I admit, I got a bit of flak for buying/jumping the 105, but no one felt un-confident enough to tell me that it is unsafe and I am not allowed to jump it. Here's 2 videos to share...I realize it means nothing to anyone, but at least they can see that I can land it properly. This is my first jump on a borrowed 105: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CKMPcXAPym0 These are my 3rd and 4th jumps on my 105: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nbPOWRR-HkE As far as rapid downsizing goes as a whole....yeah, I think it's a problem. I don't think everyone is capable of downsizing quickly. Some people "get it" more than others. The poster above mentioned about learning from your parents...yeah, I think that's the problem. When you see your instructor, jumping a 60 sq ft beach towel, it expresses every reason why most like skydiving to begin with. Speed, Freedom, adrenaline/excitement, the list goes on. I'm willing to bet, I could pick 5 random swoopers on these forums and and go through their posts from when they were new to the sport and find posts saying "I will never go smaller than my Sabre 170, why would I need to etc..." I could probably do the same for swooping, "Oh I will never swoop, that's stupid etc etc..." I know I said it before I had 100 jumps, I said I would probably do 400 jumps on the Spectre 135....that didn't happen. We see, we like, we do. It's the type of people that the sport attracts, plain and simple. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I bought my Neptune about 2 years ago. From day 1, it was simple to use, kept very detailed info and it worked great. I used the original battery for all of last year, and about 3/4 of this current season (it's now end of october). Battery life was a bit interesting though. I bought it with the 2.6.2 software and the battery sometimes would show very little, 3/4, 1/2, empty. This occurred between jumps. I just kept using it until it died, I wanted to see how long it would last. Turned out it must have been a small software issue, it wasn't reading the voltage correctly or something. Nonetheless, the battery lasted almost 2 full seasons and 130 jumps. I am only a weekend jumper. Now, introduce software v3.0.0....WAHOOOO! It is now easier to use, menus contain more info, logbook logs differently, with a few extra features, and the battery seems to read great now. I REEEEEELY love the canopy flight time it records. I do alot of cross countries, high alti H&P's and I just love to know how long I was up there. I want to get the software for it but don't really want to drop another $90 or so...jumps are more important! Either way, I HIGHLY recommend the Neptune to anyone who wants a digital alti that is very accurate, reliable etc etc.. It's worth every penny.

Troll or not....I took a few seconds and enlisted the power of google. http://www.fsatoronto.com/programs/lgbt/LGBTnewsJuly07.html#slice Do a search for "Rennata Lopez" on these pages: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484016/combined http://swedish.imdb.com/title/tt0889206/combined http://imdb.com/title/tt0841170/fullcredits You're all so damned worried about your negative press....guess what you just caused. More reason for the media to report "NEGATIVE SKYDIVING PRESS" Oh, and based on the PM's I'm getting, it seems as though I've hurt some people's precious feelings....whoops! How does it feel? Hahah. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey guys, All I have to say is WOW! Why is everyone being such pricks to this person, I mean, I know it's the DZ.com way, but seriously. We can all get our point across without bashing this person who may or may not be doing his/her job. I don't really think the idea is that great because as someone above posted, it will likely end up turning into more negative press for a sport that deserves none of it. However, consider this person's position. I have a sister in Toronto, I live in Ottawa, we both skydive. Skydiving has done nothing but bring us closer, it is common ground between us. We used to be somewhat distant and I've never been closer to her and to my parents, I associate it solely to skydiving. For any Canadians...the most recent Canpara had an article about a girl who saw her brother jump, got a packing job and has now decided to start jumping. That is my sister! (See page 24 of Oct/Nov 07 issue). And wouldn't you look at that, I'm in the picture....FAMILY, on my sisters first jump! Who would have though? So seriously, if you're just going to bitch, keep your mouth shut, I don't want to hear it and I'm sure others don't either. Can you only imagine the outlook that this person now has of skydivers? Talk about bad press, read the headline " Skydivers are a bunch of pricks". I honestly have never met such a bunch of hostile people in my life. I think you guys should all consider an apology to this person. Good god! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, I just thought I'd post an update to my dilemma. I have good news! After calling Sunpath, I had the feeling that it was going to be WAY too small. So, this weekend, I put the 105 in there and to my surprise, it fits FANTASTIC. I was jumping a Spectre 135 in the OJK and it was pretty tight but not impossible to get in. When I put the 105 in, it was barely smaller. After packing it up and closing the container, it worked great. Didn't even have to shorten the closing loop. I didn't purposely pack it big and don't think I can get it much tighter/smaller. The container is all filled out and doesn't look like I have a micro canopy in there. I'm so happy I don't have to buy a new container/reserve. To get an idea of the canopies I had in there, the Spectre 135 ha2 120 jumps on it, and the Cobalt has 700. So, if anyone wants to know, a Cobalt 105 fits great in an OJK. My rigger even looked at it and asked me if I shortened the closing loop (which I didn't), and the pin is as tight as the Spectre. SWEET! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, Thanks for the info. I am probably getting rid of my Spectre, I really want to make the move to a 9 cell. Any ideas on a 9 cell, like Sabre2, Cobalt, Safire? I think I read somewhere that the Cobalt packs small, and I'm not really sure about the Safire's or Sabre2's. Thanks! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Everyone, I'm looking for some info on the OJK. Sunpath says it is made for a pd143 and 135 main. It doesn't say how small though. I called Sunpath and spoke to a rigger and they said a 105 should be "ok" but they cannot recommend jumping it. I know I can get a smaller crossbraced canopy in there, but I'm not interested in a crossbraced canopy at this point. Has anyone "safely" put a canopy smaller than a 120 in there? Is a pillow a "safe/acceptable" option for the dbag? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."