jacketsdb23

Quite the opposite for me. One of the best DZ's i've ever jumped at was a club. Malone Parachute Club was one of the most enjoyable places i've been. Looking back knowing what I know now - it makes that place even better. I think they have moved to Vermont now and don't know if they still operate as Malone Parachute Club. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I partially disagree with you. Packing can and does affect how your canopy opens. However, packed Identically - a crossfire will open signficantly better (read slower, better is an opinion) than a Katana. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

ha! Glad to see you checked it out and aren't interested in the Mamba - maybe another couple hundred and you'll be set to try it out. I know alot of people don't like the slow openings of the safire but personally I LOVED it. I think my body appreciated it over the course of the couple hundred jumps. It certainly made the choice between the crossfire and katana easier for me. Personally, the openings are a huge factor when buying a new canopy. After the safire - I couldn't get used to the sabre openings. Its definately a personal choice! Check out the Pilot! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I thought the mamba was fast. but everything is fast compared to the safire and crossfire that I have jumped. The sabres that I have jumped have been fast too. But the Mamba takes the cake. YMMV Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Besides the option of all-sail material and the option of HMA lines is there a difference between the two canopies? Is there a line trim change for the "extreme crossfire special" from Daedalus? Thanks for your help! Has anyone jumped the XFS?

Pond season at Byron. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we all had a lot of fun. I finally got my shot at swooping the pond. Picture was taken by Angel. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

We did the first two loads Saturday morning from the King Air. Its not completely retired. Love that air speed! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

If you live in Montana - go to LP. Seriously, i'm sure Summerfest is a blast but save that plane ticket $$ you would spend flying out of the state and spend it on Lang Ale and jump tickets. then again...the weather is terrible, the skydives suck, the beer is warm and there are too many damn Canadians. Maybe go to Summerfest Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Haha! Guess we'll have to make the best of it. My guess is they will have a hard time controlling it. No doubt there will be more arrests though. I think the days of ridiculous floats are gone though. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?blogid=55&entry_id=35704 I fear the minority has ruined it for the majority. This has always been one hell of a party! Lets see how much they really enforce the new rules. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I'm currently jumping a Voodoo 2.0 V4 and will be needing a new rig this summer. I love the Voodoo but was curious to the actual differences between the FX and Voodoo. Basically i'm just wondering if the FX is an "upgrade" to the Voodoo 2.0. Does anyone have an FX that can talk about their experience with it? Thanks! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I'm glad you asked for opinions because thats all we can really offer. But the opinion that matters most is yours! I put about 250 jumps on a safire 2 159 and LOVED it. The openings are what I liked the most and the powerful flare - especially bottom end. I could never get used to the sabre openings but that was after jumping the safire for 200+. As people have mentioned they are both great canopies. Jump both and decide which one you like best. Blue Skies! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Damn....that is some fantastic piloting. There has to be a tremendous amount of skill to put that thing down so nicely. With 150+ on board...that pilot is a hero. I know reality is different than simulators..but is this sort of scenario practiced in a simulator during training? Can any pilots comment? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Only thing I worry about is that I don't worry enough Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

First Jump: Static Line in 1996. I was 16. Where: Malone Parachute Club, Malone NY. My dad was my jump master and I believe Dick Swanson was the pilot and I forget who taught the first jump class. Lots of good folks over there at Malone. They've since moved to Plattsburgh. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

It was about jump #320. I had just downsized to my current canopy a xf2 139 from a safire2 159. It was my second jump on it and I forgot to stow one brake. During opening I got a bunch of line twist - kicked out of them and was still spinning (what at the time i thought was really fast). Tried to get my toggles out but the slider had come down and locked them in. I hit 1800 ft and said goodbye. Almost 300 jumps later on the same canopy I can tell you that I don't think I would have the same issue. Details here http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2981890;search_string=jacketsdb23;#2981890 Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I've always said I would cut a line on my main with a line over before cutting away - if it was easily identifiable. That being said, if I had a line over on my current canopy - I probably wouldn't be able to cut a line spinning that fast Heck I couldn't even clear line twists and a brake fire before 1800ft. So cutting that line would probably be even tougher. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I've had three non-standup landings. Two were in 30+ winds where I shouldn't have been jumping anyway (around 450 jumps). On the other I was exhausted from a long spot and riding my rear risers in. I went to flare and had nothing. Did a nice superman slide into second base and proceeded to laugh at myself. You'll get the landings. Try not to look at the ground directly when landing. Keep your eyes on the horizon, or at least out in front of you. Its nothing 1000 jumps won't cure.

Thinking of you Tom. I can't believe its been almost two years. I will be toasting to you this holiday season. Miss you. Eternal Blue Skies - Marcel Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

That sir, is awesome! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Honestly I thought the course in general was good. The basic course in Elsinore taught braked turns, stalls, landing approach & flare techniques, and basic general canopy flight (i.e. smooth turns, don't be a toggle monkey, traffic, patterns, etc.). It was excellent to practice all of these things again. A few people in the course had NEVER done any of these. The ideas presented in the course were not new to me. They were obviously new to a few people in the class, especially the braked turns. I think its a good idea to take the basic course before the advanced course. However, what was presented in the basic course had been presented to me previously in my first jump course. In my opinion one of the advantages of static line training (there are disadvantages, this is a different subject) is the focus is on canopy flight. I hope I never stop learning. When I stop learning I'll take up bowling. My point was that canopy course are great and should be taken if jumpers are able to devote the resources to it. I don't believe a significant part of canopy collisions and landing fatalities would be removed with mandatory basic canopy courses. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I would argue that the canopy skills taught in most general courses (not the advanced type) should already be included in the ISP. Making a requirement out of a requirement is like telling the government now that they should be regulating wall st. That was already supposed to be happening. I took a course with just under 200 jumps in SoCal at Elsinore. It was nice to take the course in a organized manner that it was , but I didn't learn anything new. I had learned it all in my Static Line course in Malone - and practiced it! I would also argue that most serious accidents and deaths that are canopy related are occurring with canopy pilots that have either: A) Become good enough to kill themselves or B) Lack quality judgment Maybe a combination of the two. In general, you aren't seeing "A" licensed 100 jump guys killing themselves under canopy. What we need is for quality instructors, S&TA's, and DZO's to band together and enforce the rules and requirements that are already on the books. Don't sign off a canopy requirement unless it has been clearly witnessed. This includes accuracy requirements. We need instructors, S&TA's, and DZO's to exemplify the rules of canopy piloting and not be exceptions to the rule. In short, the requirements are in the books. Lets follow them

The best thing to do with major elevation changes is to start all over. Doing 270's on the first jump with a new canopy or at a new DZ is a bad idea at best. I would start all over with 90's. Do some 270's high and check your altitude loss just like you did when you started doing 270's at your home DZ. Be safe! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

No excuses...but it happens. To very experienced jumpers too. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

As of the beginning of November Bay Area Skydiving lowered ticket prices $2.00. Its back down to $23. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.