bwilling

629:5 (I know, not a good ratio!) (1978-1983) 1 total on a belly band mounted hand deploy I couldn't get out of the pouch... 1 on a brake line I couldn't release on one side (not my pack job!) 1 premature main container opening and subsequent out of sequence deployment... 1 broken brake lines that were kinda 'involved' with some of the C and D lines... (2000) 1 line twists out the wazoo caused by the bag catching on container and spinning like mad during deployment... prolly body position, not many jumps on BOC at the time... "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Think silver solder... that would work, and could be done without a lot of specialized equipment, because it doesn't take a lot of heat... I want to learn to weld too! The cool thing is, I can take some very affordable classe at the local community college in the fall, and actually do it! I'd sign up in heartbeat if there were hot skydiving chicks in the class! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

So how safe is that, as he's way outside of TSO'd weight limits for anything shy of a tandem rig... the Infinity's only TSO'd to 254lbs and 150 knots, per the owners manual... What's he jumping for a reserve? Is he way outside the TSO'd limits for that too? I do understand that most equipment is tested beyond the TSO limits, but he's pretty far beyond them, which is kinda scary! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

dude! That should be your answer right there! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Yeah, but I have to keep my software legal at work, it's part of my job... that's why we're running old MS software, and looking to follow Munich's lead! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Actually, I thought their products took a huge leap in reliability with the release of Win2K... I personally don't like all the fluffy stuff they put in XP, thank God most of it can be turned off. Their new "ET phone home and register" licensing stuff is the freaking pits though, and reason enough to stay away from any of their current product offerings. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I love UPS. NOT! As an addendum to that post, I'll tell you that I did finally get an indemnified copy of the MO... which they had to send in lieu of the original, because they lost the original! It took one day shy of a month (after delivery!) to get a (copy of) that check, after they delivered the original package in 4 days!!! And everybody I talked to at UPS had a different story, every time I talked to them (which was often!!!). and I'm not the only one. I'll personally never use them again! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

That's how long it's been since I jumped, too!!! In fact, you were on my last jump! The helicopter jump we made at Skyfest two years ago was the last time I jumped! That sucks! I'll look forward to seeing you again! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I'll be out... and I might even jump! It's been so f'ing long again now, that I need to make a jump with an instructor and get signed off again! I'm hoping to get my gear put back together before the weekend (Cypres is out for 4 year and batteries), but if I don't, can I borrow your 170??? j/k!!! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

vibes vibes ibes bes es s greatly diminishing vibes! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Having done this several times now, I can tell you that unless the delivery guy is someone you know and can pull some strings with, they're not supposed to hand over package until they receive the check. Which means you won't have a chance to inspect it before handing the money over. It does protect the seller sending COD, but does the buyer little to no good at all. And if you do COD, whatever you do, don't use UPS... Fedex is the only way to send COD! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

That's a good point that I never would have thought about, and it makes sense to me too... Thanks for the replies guys (you and sducoach)! I may experiment, and jump the thing with the non-collapsible for a while, then change it out and see if I notice a difference between the two... both in opening and canopy flight. I'll report back if I do! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

First off, thanks for the great tips! It's input like this, from folks like you, that make this site such a valuble resource! I do wonder about this kill line pilot chute thing though... I was jumping a Sabre 210 when I bought my rig, and elected to go NON kill line pilot chute, thinking it wasn't going to make much difference in how the canopy flies, and thinking it was one less thing to go wrong... the keep it simple stupid plan. I've since upsized to a Spectre 230 (I'm old, I just wanna land soft!), so I'm thinking it will have even less affect on how this canopy flies... But is there some other benefit to using a collapsible pilot chute that I'm missing, other than how it affects the canopies airfoil and or flight characteristics? Again, thanks for helping us all become safer, better aware skydivers! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Well, the whole point behind the use of the pea gravel is to provide a softer landing point... something with a little give. Traditional accuracy approaches are made in fairly deep brakes, and landed without flairing! It's the only way that someone like Cheryl Stearns can dead center out at a meet like the recent Lew Sanborn meet, because it gives you the greatest range of control... see you're a little short, let the canopy fly more... see you're a little long, hang deeper in brakes for a while. Of course they're jumping BIG canopies, and landing on a padded tuffet! But if you're trying to land within two meters for D requirements, you might consider a few hop and pops (to minimize other canopy traffic), and using the peas to shoot a more 'classic' approach... But you haven't really lived until you've shot downwind accuracy approaches on a round canopy though! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

No. I can't. I love the Omar story too! You go girl! From looking that scared on a first tandem, to jumping with the 'prince of the sky'... what a great story! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Seven cell canopies typically exhibit a steeper angle of decent, which is a desirable trait in an accuracy canopy. A normal accuracy approach is very steep, often made in deep brakes, and landed with no flare, hence the decision to jump very large canopies... even though the tuffet is cushioned, if you're gonna land without flaring, you want some nylon above you! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Cool videos, and it looks like you're taking a nice safe approach to learning a technique that's maiming and killing quite a lot of folks these days... But I have a question for you... did you start to learn these techniques while on your larger canopies (I know you went from a Tri-220, to Sabre2 190, to the 170, right?), or did you wait until you were on the 170 before you started to apply the carving turns? "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Well, it sounds like you've already identified the problem as no spark, but for future reference, you can easily check the fuel system by buying a can of spray starter fluid, removing an air intake hose leading to the injectors, shooting some starter fluid in there, and trying to start it. If it's a fuel delivery problem, the car should start right up, then die when all the starter fluid is expended... a couple of seconds max. Good luck!!! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Well, he would do well to contact Sunpath, but it may not be as bad as it sounds... I have a Dolphin D4, which 'lists' the reserve size as a 200, and I had a PD193R in there, that wasn't tight at all. So I emailed Mike Furry (the designer of the Dolphin) and asked him point blank about putting a PD218R in that same sized container. His reply... "The D-4 was sized for a 200 sq ft reserve with micro-line, and that's a fairly comfortable fit. I would say that a skillful rigger could probably get a 220 sq ft canopy into a D-4 reserve container if it was rigged with micro-line." I ended up purchasing a Smart 220 (smaller pack volume than the PD218R), and plan on having my 'skillful' rigger put it in that D4. In addition, if you go to say, Sunrise Riggings web site, and look at sizing they list for their containers, they list a range of reserves that will fit, and actually list the bigger ones as 'tight'. Taken directly from their site... "W-13 17 x 11 x 6 PD 160R, Tempo 170, Raven-M 181, PD 176R (tight)" Bottom line, he should check with the mfg of his H&C, and follow their recommendations. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

You can call me darlin', darlin'. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

Cool! I'm not so much looking for an argument, as I am an education! I'll PM you, because I have some more questions... thanks for your reply! "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I do agree that zero is not achievable, and wouldn't have suggested that. Skydiving was in the past, is now, and will probably always be, a dangerous sport. Let me do some research, and I'll get back to you. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

I'm certainly not arguing that the current crop of tuck tab configurations available on H&C systems is a better alternative than velcro, because it is... tuck tabs degrade at a much slower rate than velcro, providing better protection over a much larger number of jumps, and a greatly reduced maintenance overhead... but you didn't answer my question about how many jumps he had on the velcro on that racer... "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

And the velcro had how many jumps on it? Spandex BOC's fail too, when they're not properly maintained, yet they're used on the majority of rigs these days, including the ones that bill themselves as the most FF friendly... How so? Hook on one side, pile on the other, push together to hold. Wind forces at any given speed acting with equal forces on any surface presented to the wind. The reason it holds on the handles is that it's almost always working at full strength, because the handles are removed much less frequently than other components that are velcro'd closed, and velcro degrades with each use. "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

This brings up an interesting point... I had a rigger I've known and trusted forever assemble my rig and pack my reserve... well, as fate would have it, I ended up airing it out the 1st jump I put on it. I then had a staff rigger at the DZ repack it for me, so I could continue to jump the rest of the weekend... Months later I showed up at the same DZ with a reserve that was 2 days out of date... wanting to do the 'right thing', I had a different staff rigger repack the thing for me, and he told me that the reserve didn't have slider bumpers on it, and that since it was TSO'd with them, he wasn't going to repack it without them, and promptly built me a set out of webbing... Does the TSO process really cover this? I realize that the function of the bumbers is to protect the grommets on the slider from damage, and as such don't affect the reserve opening per se, but I'm curious as to whether the TSO really mandates that they're included... "If all you ever do is all you ever did, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."