Designer

That will put a smile on any mans face.Thanks!

Agree with your logic totally on this 1!90 degrees will certainly be safer and just as wonderful to watch.Could take several jumps with not so thrilling outcomes do get a 180 on tape.Anybody brave out there?

Some people just like to swoop a little vs alot with riser input.I,ve noticed the #,s at 50-50.We don,t all need to be shit hot canopy pilots!

After a quick read these people are right!Staying away from obstacles that can cause turbulence is a good Idea.We could debate 1/4 to 1/2 brakes all day on older/larger canopies!A swirlling wind can be very dangerous and has slammed me into the ground with no recovery time in 1/2 brakes.So there ya go.Something faster will eat through most turbulence,(beware)speed kills and the newer canopies are much less forgiving.Later,rob

When the trees are blowing sideways nobody should jump.High steady winds aren,t the problem they used to be.It,s the turbulent High Wind(off and on gusty)(quick wind direction & Speed changes)that really get my attention and will park my ass firmly on the ground.Usually it only takes 1 lucky good landing in those type of bad conditions to make an intelligent choice not to jump that DAY again.

Different as many DZ,s.I love the left hand pattern as my standard! I always ask first when filling out a new waiver at a new DZ.It,s nice to be on the same page with everybody else.Sometimes wind conditions require a diff pattern from the norm.Best to always watch for somebody not landing by the normal rules just to be safe.LOOK first!(Stay ahead of the game)no surprises I say!Rob.

Sign of the times.Off student status,new gear(probably a parachute they are not ready for)and a shit load of money burning a hole in their pockets.Way back when(those of us who have never broken anything jumping)(knock on wood)would get to the D.Z.FIRST, get on the first load knowing the "winds were Honkin" and jump anyway.Several times we would land and go check or underwear!(seriously) and then not jump again.Better parachutes make it look real easy,when the winds are still capable of killing you!It,s their funeral.

Watching the best do rear riser carves/swoops suggests that anybody can do it!Wrong!Learning a step at a time, without short cuts, is going to save you down the road.Take a High Performance canopy class and ask those who do this stuff everyday what is the right way to approach trying rear riser swoops.Please do not experiment on your own without asking the right questions to the right people.Learning the hard way puts too many people out to recover or six feet under.

By all means read Brian Germains stuff.I wish he had had the time to right a seperate owners manual for the "Jedei Sweptwing".That parachute(my parachute)flew quite different that the standard "Jedei".I learned alot in College by actually studying the Mathematics of the "Pendulum".It might be too much for some people?But,knowing the math,physics along with actual swoop experience will most certainly help.Hope this Helps.Rob.

Hey,It happens,I leant my "test" rig out once when I was trying to figure a way to stow excess brake line.Needless to say the test pilot was a little upset when he relaeased the brakes and pulled the toggle through the looped excess line.O.K. my fault!Don,t try to stow the excess line!

Just by pure Accident I found something that works well.I,m sold on "Bike" gloves.They must have rough surface on palm and be second nuckle and above free of material.This grip just can,t be beat.I have several pair,one you can,t buy anymore that I keep sewing together.Fingertips can get cold!When it gets really cold you must wear full fingertip gloves and "Beware" that you are losing feel.Hope this helps,Rob.

Who is the most aware and who is at fault?A mistake in awareness up high(possibly?)can have the horrible results.Ultimately it,s the DZ management ST&A and instructors that need to work together on this one.Several forms of differing Landing pattens exist for your safety.Personally,I prefer the "L" left patten.Not always usuable because of different wind condition.Here, it is when in doubt land north.Sometimes it,s just good common sense to stay out of the "Hot Pilot Zone".This seems to work pretty well.

I just got my first look at the Vengeance.The only real difference between my jedei swept-wing and the vengeance was how the "Airlocks" were attached(sewn) to the end cell.(Quick Look)The other change was that the top of the "Airlock" was angled more horizontal to the top skin(Underside) probably to Direct more air over more surface area.Which makes good sense now that I think about it.Now,more to the orginal choice you made.From what I,ve heard & Know about R&D, there seems to have been testing left undone on the Crossfire.Not that I know for sure or am I slamming anybody who would Know(cover my ass).First, R&D is "Expensive" and second, "Time Consuming".Trying to cheat around those 2 facts invites disaster!You can accelerate the process by doing as much or more testing than other companies in the same relative time frame(OR Faster)but,must be carefull to not let the basic goals or procedure suffer by not crossing all the T,s and dotting all the I,s.Most of the changes made in testing a parachute are extremely subtle and would go unnoticed by the casual pilot.What is enough testing?I heard a casual pilot saying that he would need to make a 100 jumps on a canopy to make a proper evaluation.(In most cases he is right!)When time and lots of money are involved I,ve learned that you aren,t going to learn that much more than you already Know after just 25 jumps!(Must make the best use of those 25 jumps)Guess,that,s why professional test pilots exsist.Besides,those other 75 jumps can be used to test 3 other small changes.Rob.

Custom colors are O.K. if you can pic the fabric that "Lays" the best when cut.Being at the mercy of whats available sucks sometimes.Material that lays well,flys well.

Airlocked Canopies were designed to deal with light to moderate Turbulence AND high steady winds.To be able to safely jump when you really could not without Airlocks.This is were very sound,good judgment takes over!Like the man said,ANY NON-RIGID wing can collapse!(Brian,carries the reminder for the rest of his days on this earth!)There have been times and sure there will be in the future that I will not get on the plane no matter what parachute is strapped to my back.Think.

Get Good Advice!Ask Intelligent Questions and by all means go slow.Learn as much about how the parachute flys in all conditions as you can.A mistake now while you are still learning is EXPENSIVE!Be carefull and fly safe above all.

Laying all top & bottom skins next to each other paints the pic.A true Elliptical would be TOO FAST!Think about a new shape for END-CELLS and How could U fly it?Triangles Maybe?How many Line Attachments do u really need?

Laying all top & bottom skins next to each other paints the pic.A true Elliptical would be TOO FAST!Think about a new shape for END-CELLS and How could U fly it?