Chris-Ottawa

Hey A hack circle...I assume that means a gathering that i might otherwise feel awkward jumping into? Just kidding, I'll try to be pretty social, and I'll see if I can bring some good/real beer down for you guys at the campfire. And as for the helicopter, I also thought it was an Aerostar but was proven wrong when the website called it a Bell. Thhat's why I'm very curious. I also read in another thread that it was "reconditioned" and is bigger than a 212. I'm not sure what other medium lift helicopters Bell made that was bigger than a 212. I can only think of a 412 but that has 4 blades... Thanks "When once you have tasted flight..."

out of curiosity...does anyone know what the model of the helicopter is the Billy flies? It looks like a jet ranger but the picture also shows what looks like 3 blades? This is throwing me off... Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Here's a copy of the email from today: ________ Hi Chris, I can't promise the helicopter for the 25th. We have a Porter, Otter and Cessna that will be available. If we have enough interest, we could possibly talk the owner, Bill Richards, in flying the helicopter. We have been charging about $30 to 3,000 feet. Hope to see you over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Kay Hoiby Blue Sky Ranch ________ Good enough? Like I said, not confirmed, but possible with enough interest. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Well I'm not sure the USPA guidelines but i Know in Canada it goes like this: Solo License: 2500ft min altitude A: 2200ft Min There is another factor too, you have zero airspeed so to get to 2500 or 2200 you can still do a good 7-10 second delay if you want. Deploying at 2500 would be close to deploying at 3k from terminal. Either way...check your PIM. And on another note, I got a PM stating that I may need a B license or at least 100 jumps to jump a heli. I checked into this and I you do not need any other qualifications if you have a license. Bring on the heli. "When once you have tasted flight..."

They told me roughly $30 US for 3000ft. Personally I don't care, it's a HELI Jump!!! Helicopters are WAAAAY more costly to run than a Cessna. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Guys, I'm going for a road trip to the Ranch this weekend. I was really excited to jump the helicopter, but I called and was told that it was busy building a new hanger? I sent an email a day before I called and just got a response back. I was told that they could possibly bring the helicopter in if there was enough interest. This is where you guys come in.... I need anyone interested in jumping the helicopter to call or email the ranch so they know there is interest. I'm coming from Canada so I'm not sure which day is your holiday but I think it's a long weekend for you which means lots of jumping! Please feel free to post here as well if you're interested. Thanks everyone! Chris See you this weekend! "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hahah, I'm just reading through a few of these and am laughing my ass off. Everyone seems so enthusiastic about their job. The ones I really liked: "I lay on my stomach and pass gas for a living" and "That's why I manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination." Thanks for all the input everyone, this was very amusing. It's gonna be a long off season. I'm heading to The Ranch this weekend and that'll probably be the las jumps I do until I get a few winter jumps in. Later everyone Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

That is so true. I have never been to a DZ that wasn't friendly and excited to have me there. I just love it. I think it has to do alot with trust. You have to learn about these people very quickly and build trust, and that's what makes it so friendly. You are literally trusting these other people with your life. You trust the pilot, you trust the rigger, you trust the DZ owner, you trust your fellow jumpers. There is alot of maturity in the sport when it comes down to business, but when it's not business, it can be pretty immature as we all know. One thing I do find weird about most of the jobs listed is that not alot of us are affiliated with the aviation industry. I half expected most of the people to be Aircraft maintenance, or pilots, or something to do with aviation. I have been obsessed with flying since I understood what it was, and skydiving was just along the path. I'm looking into paragliding now and maybe building my own parachute some day. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

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Weird, alot of carpenters. One of my instructors is also a carpenter. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey everyone, When I first started skydiving I found many things amazing...obviously. But one that really shocked me was the diversity of the people who jumped. I always try to find out what people do in their day to day lives, and what motivated them to skydive etc... My question is very simple, "What do you do as your day to day job?" I know lawyers, doctors, airline pilots, engineers, and riggers etc. Personally, I'm an "IT Infrastructure Support Analyst" or more simply, I do tech support for the government of Canada. Thanks! Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

I have a very similar problem with my Spectre. I'll pay attention to see if the back is getting pulled when I do a front riser turn. I have no intentions of doing this low, but I love doing it up high. The more spins I can do the better. Usually toggles are enough fo me though since I'm still pretty amateur under my 135. Thanks I was going to start my own post, but I wasn't sure what it was realy called. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey, I don't doubt that it was my thread from a bit ago that you read. If it was, thats fine, if not this post is still relevant. This is what I found out after a lot of opinions, theory's and whatnot stemming from my post. Remember, this is my understanding and not facts. If you dump and your PC is at "FULL EXTENSION" and nothing is happening, it is towing. I personally don't care about semantics, the PC is not working as intended and I am towing if it is not extracting the main. A PCIT is a PCIT to me as long as it is at full extension. The main factor is the amount of time it tows for. Mine towed anywhere from 1-6 seconds roughly. If you make a shitty pull and your PC is sitting in your burble, that's not a PCIT, or a PC hesitation. Period. The difference in a PCIT is knowing what is happening and what your course of action is along with how much time you have. The first time it happened I was at 3500 ft doing a H+P. I got very scared, but kept my cool. It towed for about 3 seconds. I immediately figured what I was going to do. If at 2700ft it wasn't cleared, I was to chop and deploy my reserve. I did another H+P from 10k and knowing that I had time I rode it out. This time it towed for 6 seconds. As soon as it happened, I knew what was going on and instantly figured my plan. I was going to ride it to about 5 k and dump my reserve. Point is that you have to be aware and be prepared to react. Anyways, I hope it was my post and it helped someone, but whether anyone though it was a PCIT or not is their own opinion. I KNOW it was towing and that's that. I didn't reply here to prove anything, I'm simply stating that maybe we shouldn't judge what people think so suddenly. If this person chopped and dumped their reserve in the first second, well that's a different story, but it doesn't matter, it was rational to them to follow that process. Would we prefer to have them do nothing and go in, thinking it would clear? I doubt it. Please don't take this as a slam or me being arrogant or anything, I simply wanted to post "my" opinion. Thanks Chris EDIT: I just read the post that I think this is referring to. Still applies, I just think it needs to happen, so you know what is going on and how to react. "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Trevor, I'm not sure if I met you when I was in gan, but I likely saw you if you were there on the long weekend in Aug-Sept. Anyways, the town is in Northern Ontario, it's called Geraldton, about 3 hours north east of Thunder Bay. As for the consequences, probably nothing, even if the cops watched me come in, I think they would be amazed. I would be shocked if anyone actually knew what was happening. Odds are, maybe 20 people would see it and would be so excited that none would think there was any danger at all. Maybe I'll get a base rig and just get out at 1000 feet or something, minimal exposure. hahah. I honestly think it would be such a small deal it wouldn't be a concern, but I don't want to risk anything. I guarantee people would want me to do it again and again until I was blue in the face, but.....I want to do it right. Out at my parent's camp, I highly doubt that anyone would see me at all. I don't know, maybe I'll just get my EJR as soon as I can and do it right. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Well, I don't think the "Bad spot" would work so well. I'm not sure if you guys really understoon what I meant by "remote". The nearest DZ is about a 1.5 to 2 hour flight via a 737 (Air Canada or Westjet). Bad spot may be hard to pull off. I'd surprised if TC knows about the airport outside the town...really. The town is a hub to support all the northern communities in Ontario that you can't drive to. So Cessna Caravan's, Otters, Beavers are all common place. Many Helicopters too for the fire season. Jet Rangers, Huey's, griffons, Bell 212's etc... Waterbombers and Cessna 337's as well. It's a jumpers dream town. I know for a fact, I could do it at my parents camp and never be seen by anyone. In the town, it would be the biggest thing that happened since....EVER. Illegally, not an issue, but I don't want to go that way and risk everything. Thanks Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Looks like this might take more time than I though...Damn. Step 1....Get EJR! Step 2....Get EJR first! I'll be back..... Thanks everyone Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hey Guys, I'm hoping someone will have this knowledge. I have a question about regulations in Canada, or maybe processes to follow in Canada. I want to know what I would need to do to jump at a non DZ. I thought it would be really cool to surprise my parents by "dropping" in to see them. They live in a small town of 2600 people, no skyscrapers (obviously), lots of room to land. They own a small convenience store and have a spare lot beside them, plus a huge parking lot beside that. I'm not terribly concerned about the landing area, if all else fails, I could just do it at the cabin where there is no power lines etc... My question to the masses is this. What is involved to plan an event like this LEGALLY? Is is possible to do legally? What type of permits, paperwork etc do I require (links if possible)? What must the pilot have for certs, what does the plane have to be qualified for. Basically I'm looking for any information to do this legally. I know it can be done illegally, but I'm not up for that and don't want to risk the pilot's license either. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thank you Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Guess you didn't notice the sarcasm...I was being a dumbass. Oh well. EDIT to fix my spelling handicap "When once you have tasted flight..."

Thanks! This is really good to know. If it's not easy to extend mine, I'm just gonna buy a new Cazer for half of what Sunpath wants. I have nothing against Sunpath, but charging nearly double for an almost identical product that has proved fully functional.... Thank for the help guys and gals! "When once you have tasted flight..."

I think you're right. Maybe it has to do with an "Angry Farmer Joe" who doesn't like them jumping near his house. I highly dount that if he brought it to a DZ that they would say it's a student canopy? BS. I knew right away when I saw the drogue and the fact that it has double brakes and the label says "Tandem" Either way, I hope they get it back. "When once you have tasted flight..."

That's what I'll likely do. I may just speak to gravitygirl as she has Cazers of the appropriate length for 92 bucks. Thanks for thie info, never thought it could have been a pull out, but that's a possibility. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I once didn't jump for 3 weeks. Thankfully I kept my gear. Getting current again was a B*tch. The real challenge was actually staying away. Rememer to ask your instructors for help to get your currency back. Take your time. Hehehe, sorry, I had to.... Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Hi Wendy, I am actually having issues. On sub-terminal jumps, I am towing my PC for up to 6 seconds. Everyone thought It was just my mind playing tricks until I got video of it. The PC launches, pulls the pin, causes the bag to shift, then it sits there with the D-Bag half way out. I have no issue on terminal jumps, but I'm scared that if it's on the verge of towing, and I pack a bit big, a PCIT is not something I want come time to deploy. The PC is on with a metal O ring type clamp so it is not original, I know that 100%. My local rigger and DZ friends confirmed it, as well as Sunpath. In response to Phreezone, my PC is collapsible so I know extending it may be difficult. Maybe Ill look in the classifieds for something new. I'm about 98% sure that extending my bridle about a foot and a half or so should do the trick. I may just end up buying the same PC, with a longer bridle, or maybe I can buy one direct from Jim Cazer. I don't know. I'll be talking to my rigger saturday. Thanks Chris Edit: To change how my wording sounded, seemed a bit rude. "When once you have tasted flight..."

I know it's not original because Sunpath does not sell or authorize the use of ZP PC's on their gear. By the sounds of what Dave said, they never plan to either. I know Cazers are good as well, but maybe this one that was installed was slightly too short r something. I don't think 1" and a different material will make that much of a difference, but the bridle length....that could be an issue. If it was 6 inches, I'd be skeptical, but 3 FEET? Honestly, is anyone's bridle actually 8 and a half feet? I've never seen one much longer than 6 - 6.5 feet. Unless it's for a Wingsuit rig. Chris "When once you have tasted flight..."

Mine is 68" or 5'8". It should be 103" or 8'7" give or take 3 inches. plus the fact that mine is 27" ZP, and it should be 28" F111. I'm talking to my rigger to check things out. The main thing I'm concerned about is if I spend $225 (cdn) to get a new PC that's bigger and more powerful, is it going to mess up my openings. I mean, on my Spectre I've never had any problems at all. No slammers, no tension knots, no line twists etc... I'll be royally pissed if that changes. Does anyone have an OJK that they can compare length or bridle and PC size/material? I think if I just lengthened my bridle it would be fine, just enought to get it farther from my burble. I called and spoke directly to Dave, Sunpath's master rigger, and I wasn't sure if he was concerned about my safety or making a sale, but he was very adamant about me having a "Sunpath" PC. I'm a bit skeptical because no one local thought it was that big of a deal. I mean they were concerned, but I have put 30 jumps on the gear in this config. To answer Sundevil's question, I bought the rig used, it was manu'd in 2003, it's an OJK. I bought it in it's current configuration as an entire kit. The PC is definitely "not" original. It's a Jim Cazer 27" ZP. Suggestions? "When once you have tasted flight..."