SkymonkeyONE

Kay, sorry that you came back after hiatus only to be harrassed by the likes of Clayton Fowler. The boy is a complet menace to society and a hazard to fellow jumpers. I will definitely sic an ugly woman on him next time he comes to Raeford. Clay, You have to be out of your mind to be talking guff to Kay. True, you started posting heavilly about the time she quit, but DAMN BOY, the woman is a complete hottie and was posting here when you were picking your nose and putting in resumes at Ma Bell! Shame on you. LOL! Chuck

Just to add a bit to Dan Preston's description: Gunter Worlein attempted to market them under his "winchester technology" re-labeling business as the "Vortex". There was never so much as even a picture, just a crude drawing showing the "fins" on top and mesh over the end cells. In real life, the fins are pretty unattractive and I seriously doubt that they add to the aerodynamics in a positive manner. I saw the Danish team (is that right, Dan) jumping them at CSS this Easter. They dive steepish and turn fine, but had short surfs. Still, try the thing and see what you think. We all know that everyone has different tastes and what I dislike might really freak you out and make you buy one. Don't even think about it, though, till you try both of the other options you mentioned (Cobalt and Crossfire). Both are superior canopies in my experience. Chuck Competiton Cobalt 65 and H-Mod Cobalt 75 driver

Jess needs to be bent over and broke down like a shotgun! Somebody put the caddywompus on that girl! Chuck

And oh yeah! Who are you wrassling at Chester? I hope Danny Page isn't hanging around there again! LOL! Chuck Blue Skydive Raeford

I don't care if there are rules in place or not, the shit is still going to happen. "Back in the day" I was one SERIOUS DZ whore. As an Instructor I was always on the prowl for fresh meat. As a matter of fact, I met my wife that way, when she was a student 12 years ago. Every DZ has a group of JM's and I's that are "slayers." They are the ones that will beg and whine to get the hottest tandem passengers and students. The happily married guys just don't sweat it. The only time I have ever seen it as a problem is when one guy dumps a chick and she ends up just going to the next guy in the loft. Peyton Place has nothing on some of the dropzones I have jumped and worked at. Chuck

PLENTY! LOL! My typical response when I am feeling sassy is, of course, "that's the green, chunky stuff that comes out of my mouth and nose when I am really fucked up." Chuck

And oh yeah, neither of us will answer to "Charles". He is "Buddy" and I am "Chuck" . Forget that and we will stick your head in the toilet.

That is correct. Those were my Dad's recent accomplishments in this month's mag. I am just shy of 2,800 jumps. Chuck

Chris, thanks for getting the photos on there so quick. I found PLENTY of me and will be sending in my order shortly. Chuck Blue Team Atair

Brian was jumping his Stiletto 97 and yes, it went away on him for a second then reinflated. He still got a nice swoop out of it, but I am sure it alarmed more people than just you. Chuck

Good comeback, Clay. LOL!

It made me physically ill not to be able to make that meet. You know how much I love to compete. Bottom line is that I could just not be there after the outrageous expenditure of cash on recent RV and Harley repairs. That being said, I am glad Big Eric was there holding the torch. Jay? You mean Jay Moledski? He jumps a Velocity 84. Or did you mean Jay Beavis? He jumps a Velocity 96. Both are Canadian, but Jay Moledski is the guy you are probably talking about. He is like me; tries to never miss a meet. Oh yeah, you meant to say AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave). Chuck the swoop lord

You need to decide what form of competitions you plan on hosting. If you ever planned on hosting one of Reggie's events, then you really need a diamond shaped pond, about 190 feet from tip to tip. If you plan on running water-level type of events like they do at The Ranch, then longer, straight ponds will work fine. To host one of Reggie's events, or do one in a similar manner, then you are also going to have to purchase or build a bunch of airblades. The MINIMUM number you will need is as follows: two 17' blades so that intermediate-catagory competitors will be able to practice their entry into what we call the "speed" event. You will also need at least two 14' blades so that people can practice for pro-catagory speed. You will next need at least four five-foot blades so that people can practice for the PPPB distance and accuracy events. All "Reggie type" events begin over water and end over land. This is so that if you pound in, it will be into water. If you or any of your fellow jumpers on the DZ ever hope to compete in a PPPB event, then this is what you need to have set up. Blade swooping with water as a safety stop is very different than pond swooping. The average joe is going to use whatever you put there as a swooping pond. That is to say, he or she is going to be toe-dragging and shooting rooster tails. You can still put up the tall blades out towards the middle of the pond so that PPPB competitors will be able to judge their entrance height, but putting the five footers about 20 feet out from the leading edge of a 200 foot pond will give more than ample safety for people practicing their distance runs. Carving "speed" courses, like at the PPPB do not turn until you are out of the water, so straight ponds work fine for them, assuming you don't have high berms. On the other hand, you have water-level events in which rectangular (or natural) ponds like those at Waller, The Ranch, Elsinore, etc work fine. With those, you can set up entirely different events. The in-lane distance and carve events at The Ranch were run and judged using 300-foot lines of floating pool buoys adjusted in different configurations. The buoys were set up in equal-length strips of different colors. You could start dragging a toe anywhere along the line and people could identify your start and finish point by color, then calculate your longest continuous drag. Other events there included an accuracy event in which you kicked the maximum amount of sponge buoys as you passed by and dragged your toes; very fun. There was also a raft accuracy event in which one had to first contact the water in his surf, then land on a mattress; very difficult to get stopped. Fabricated ponds are generally between 2.5 and three feet deep all the way across. Natural ponds, obviously, vary greatly. a man-made pond that is the depth discussed above will both absorb most impacts without having you "bottom out", plus allow you to quickly stand up if you chow and get your reserve out of the water. As for water level maintenance, the diamond-shaped pond at Perris used 400 gallons per day during the meet in June. I doubt the one at waller does, as it is shaded. Same for the ranch, but I think it is also fed by a spring. I would call Waller or Elsinore if you don't have a ton of room. Hope this helps. Chuck

Not sure if the original poster knows, but a good place to review them would be in the "gear reviews" section of this website (imagine that! LOL!). Anyway, I have a Javelin Odyssey in the very tiniest size (RS). It absolutely kicks ass. The rig just sticks to your back and does not wash around like other small rigs (or very wide rigs) tend to. Bridle protection is great, the riser flaps are very secure, and the fully articulated harness fits like a glove. There are other very nice harness and containers out there, but this is the one I went with after jumping Vectors for ten years. This new cut-in harness is the reason I switched. Chuck

Absolutely. That, or find someone to trade down with. I went through six mains last year and bought/sold about six more for my wife and some friends. I was always able to find ways of making seemingly-tricky three-way trades work. A Howard Mod Cobalt has the forward velocity and dive of a one-size smaller Cobalt, but with increased bottom-end power and float. I don't have any idea what one loaded that lightly would do, but I am assuming that it would react similarly. $150 is a cheap price to end up with a drastically-different handling main. Howard is not in Atlanta anymore. Joe Bennett at Skydive Monroe is the man doing it now. Look him up at their website if you are interested in this. The Competition Cobalt will probably never be made in sizes bigger than 120 (for Eric Butts), but you never know what Dan will do. Right now, these are the only sizes in existence: 65,75,85, and 95. Eric's 120 was not yet shipped as of two weekends ago. Chuck

Just a bunch of non-stop post whores in here! Speaking of which: Clay Fowler was here all weekend boozing it up. Chuck

I put about 15 jumps on the Competiton Cobalt 65 this weekend at Raeford. Very fast, but incredibly manageable is how I rate it at this point. Openings were mostly fast, but not hard by any means. Never had a single off heading opening. The parachute loves to fly straight and is not "twitchy" at all. Toggle range is long, just the way I like it. Turns were not radical and the parachute took long, carving dives afterward which built incredible speed. Front riser pressure it heavy and one-riser dives spin around much faster than a standard Cobalt. I found myself initiating my turn quite a bit lower than I assumed would be neccesary. This after finding I had enough time to throw a 540 from the same altitude I would normally do a 180 with under my pre-Howard-mod 75. It was a blast to fly and just cut through the wind. I came in very fast under the Competition 65 and got lots of usable lift which means I had some very long surfs. I really like the main and I will be competing at Perris in November with this Comp 65 in at least the speed event. Of other interest: I dropped my stock 75 off with Joe Bennett while I was at the Pond Swoop Nationals. He performed the "Howard mod" to it last week and got it back to me before this weekend. This parachute has now been transformed into an absolute rocketship! This is exactly what I was looking for. The parachute now has a greater forward speed, dives steeper and maintains it's speed much better in the dive while not sacrificing anything in the lift department. I am completely stoked. The other change is in the openings. The nose is closed off and crossbraced with triangular pieces on the loaded ribs. This creates a much longer snivel, but has not produced any off-heading openings or spins. Stock Cobalts (as well as Heatwaves, Alphas, and some other mains) that have had more of the cells closed off just would not open. That problem was addressed with the Competition Cobalt by cutting back the bottom skin and moving the A-lines back a bit, creating a sort of zig-zag as Dan described. Both of these parachutes are terribly fun and offer substantial performance benefits in the hands of a seasoned swooper. Someone a few weeks ago even went as far as saying that he didn't think Cobalts should not be made without the mod. I have to disagree. The stock Cobalt is by far the better choice for someone wanting great performance without sacrifing safety. The parachute can be very mild when loaded lightly, and quite competitive when loaded heavily and piloted by the right people. Conversely, I wouldn't consider lending either of the competition mains I currently jump to anyone other than a pro-level swooper with extensive HP canopy experience. Chuck

The REAL deal is that there was a significant push coming right over the trees. Some people got caught downwind due to the way we were forced to stack out of the plane and barely had enough altitude to perform their final turn. To make what we would call a "normal" pass at the pond, we would be flying straight crosswind in final. Below the tree level, the winds were not a significant factor, but at the treetop level there were some pretty strong rotors. Most people that chose Lisa's line, or the opposite one (right hand turn over the trees from the opposite end of the lake), made it through with no problem. We were all shocked to see Lisa's parachute go away after so many others had made similar turns over the same trees. Lisa wasn't doing anything wrong; she got a bad gust and lost her life. She was certainly not the only person there jumping a Crossfire, either. Hans Paulson did very well under one. I don't think I would be going on a witch hunt ala the Nova situation a good while ago. We have a similar set of conditions at Raeford which we refer to as "the Raeford Dragon". Fly near the trees on final when the wind is coming over them and you are just asking for it. It is for that reason that we have our beer line well out from the trees now. Sincerely, Chuck Blue D-12501 Team Atair

Post-whore!

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Pyke

Whichever one of you sees her first, make sure to tell Jeanie Schumacher (Bonehead Composits) that I said hello and that she is a complete monkey lover! Chuck Blue

That's funny. I have two friends with tattoos on their glans meatus: one has a hammerhead shark along the length of it, and the other has two bite marks, with blood dripping down (like a female vampire bit it). Fucking idiots. LOL!

As Chris said, the Nova was the downfall of Glidepath international. It was a rectangular, ZP nine-cell that competed with the Sabre, Monarch, etc. Some people really loved them, and Chris Gay used to jump an 88, which was the smallest main ever for a while. Anyway, the esprit was about the same main and might still be sold under that banner. Also, the PISA pintail, which was used by the SA 4-way team and I believe maybe even the french team for a while was another fucking death rig. They would spin up and bowtie in a half a second if you let your guard down, but were very fast in the right hands. It was quite similar to the Parachutes De France Blue Track. Chuck