Aviatrr

You need to be proficient at sit/stand before you try skysurfing. From what I understand, most places want 200 jumps minimum. For a list of some schools, check out the link below. http://homepage.mac.com/ssiprotour/learn.html Mike

And then, if you are still somewhat drunk or just seriously hungover, some additional thoughts come in.. Climbing through 6,000ft: "WTF? This rig is way too small...it's not mine! Shit, wonder what size canopies this thing has? Aw, screw it, it'll be ok.." Climbing through 7,000ft: "Did I turn the Cypres on? Does this rig HAVE a Cypres?" Climbing through 8,000ft: "Who wants to jump with me?" Climbing through 10,000ft: "Hey, why are the 3 rings on my legstraps? Why is the chest strap at my waist? WTF? Oh, the rig is upside down.." Climbing through 12,000ft: "Ok, rig is on right now.....so who's jumping with me?" Then you realize that you had WAAAAAAAAY too much to drink last night, and that you are sitting in an empty Otter, on the ground, with one of those little rig looking backpacks on, and everybody staring at you.. DOH! Mike HEY! It's just a story......not based on any factual occurences..

What exactly are your specs to disconnect an RSL? I, personally, don't have one on either of my rigs, and if I jump a rig WITH an RSL, I disconnect it. I don't loan my rigs to anybody that I feel should be jumping with an RSL - but, then again, I don't really know anybody that I feel should definitely be jumping with an RSL. Students, yes - but my canopies are not suitable for them anyways, so it's a moot point. I do not like RSL's, but I feel they DO have their uses - albeit very limited. I do believe that students should be using an RSL - but beyond that, it is the individual's choice. There are situations where an RSL should be disconnected prior to cutting away, if time permits. Two out comes to mind. Mike

] Damn....you stick around long enough for the second thought to form? About the time you're thinking "who is this", I'm jumping on the plane for the first load.....if the night was that good, you'll remember who she is sooner or later.. Mike

Ahh, I must've gone the wrong way with the conversion......I never was any good at that.. Makes me wonder how many times I've been screwed on conversion rates in other countries... Mike

Can't you just order a Cobalt from a US dealer, such as Skykat? They sell 'em for, I think, $1600US, which would be around E1500 I think....plus a little more for shipping.. Will the US dealers not sell them to you overseas? Mike

This is one of those things that could go either way - land it or chop it.. Different people feel differently about it, and in my opinion, nobody is really wrong.. It's YOUR ass up there - YOU make the decision.. Whether I would have landed that canopy or chopped it I can't say.. There are other things that I would need to know/see, and it would depend on how the canopy is flying.. My current canopy I would have no problem landing with the brakes still set assuming favorable conditions(wind mainly)...but I wouldn't be comfortable doing so on some canopies.. I have made rear riser landings before - but have never tried to do it with the brakes still set.....maybe I'll have to try that sometime.. Bottom line - IMHO, you made the right choice for you.. Mike

Yet another company has began marketing a "building escape system".. At least this one is a round.. http://Executivechute.com/index.html Mike

Doesn't work that way when you quit voluntarily.. Mike

A new bulletin regarding the Crossfire was issued today. The URL is http://www.icaruscanopies.com/bulletin2.htm. Below is the bulletin in full. Mike

Will they catch air when you fly head down if you don't? That could be helpful in slowing my ass down.. Mike

I wanted to hang upside down from the risers of my canopy and dock on somebody's canopy, and climb down the lines head first.....or let them dock on me, slide down my lines, lock legs, and do a downplane.. Mike

I have a Merlin freefly suit that has, so far, lasted me almost 200 jumps - and I don't see it quitting anytime soon.. The only problem with it is that it is not quite baggy enough in the legs - I have to really work to fly slow head down.. I live 15 minutes from Merlin Suits, so I went over there and had her measure me, and then picked the suit up, and I had it in 5 days - but, of course, that will depend on how busy they are at the moment.. Mike

So do I....but that didn't keep that one from coming off.. I always thought they were joking about openings so hard they'll knock your socks off.....ok, well, I didn't lose my sock until landing.. Mike

According to Simon at Icarus, during test jumps the problem manifested itself primarily during long front riser carves(roughly 270+ degrees), and not during abrupt maneuvers.. The bad characteristics of this canopy seem to show up either during radical front riser turns (wrong line set) or flying in or near dense clouds (possibly due to a down draft??). All bets are off when you're flying in, or very close to, clouds.. All kinds of things can happen there - updrafts, downdrafts, rotors, etc.. It seems that the email is not check very often, or there is just such a massive volume that they can't reply very quickly.. If you think your experience would benefit their testing, call Simon at the number listed on their website in Sebastian, FL.. Mike

As I said in the original post, I did not actually see what the canopy did - looking up at the canopy was the last thing on my mind - this is what I was told by witnesses.. Falling pretty well explains what I felt, but I don't know if the canopy was completely stalled or not.. On the video from my POV, after I hit the ground(at a 45degree angle to the left), there are a few frames on the video that we were able to catch the canopy.. It appeared to be inflated, but to me looked like there were a couple parts of the canopy(part of the left 2 outer cells and the front half of the 4th cell in from the left) that were not very well pressurized.. This could have been because the majority of the load had just been removed from the canopy when I hit the ground, and the right side was not visible for a couple seconds - and by then the lines were slack.. Hopefully Icarus gets some conclusive data from the tests on my canopy.. Mike

Ben, remind us closer to the time you're going to be in Sebastian, we should be able to get several of us down there for a weekend or two.. Where'd you order your gear from? Roy? Well, that is a low wingloading for a Heatwave, but I have no idea what your experience level is, so I'm sure not going to say much....but just remember, if it's your first elliptical, it will turn much faster and build speed faster in a turn/dive.. But, hey, maybe I'll borrow it from ya for a jump or two down there.. Mike

At least I'm not the only one to lose a shoe on an opening.. I lost one on an extremely hard opening on a Sabre.. I was in serious pain, but all I remember thinking is....dammit, I lost my shoe! Mike

That's not really true?! Shit...maybe that's why she said no.. Ah, well, at least I've still got the foam hand.. Mike

Prior to the field replacable cutters, they could keep close track of how many Cypres fires there were....but now don't they rely on riggers to report such things to them? I'm sure most don't, though....hell, I know of a rigger that had a Cypres fire, resulting in two out, not long ago at a boogie.. he landed way off field, took his rig straight to his motorhome, grabbed a new cutter, installed it, and repacked his reserve right there.. The only ones that knew about it were those of us that landed with him.....think that one was reported by the rigger?

Damn, dude, I've tried to get myself hanging upside down under canopy and haven't been able to....of course, I'm not trying to get there until AFTER I'm under a good canopy...but I haven't been able to do it.. Mike

I, personally, don't think airlocks are a big deal.. If I like a canopy, and it has airlocks, fine...but I won't buy a canopy just because it has airlocks.. I don't feel there are really any major benefits, but there is one major drawback...packing.. Pack volume is higher and squeezing the air out can be a real bitch.. Here's how I feel about airlocks.. If the weather is bad enough that you feel you need airlocks to be jumping.....DON'T JUMP! If conditions are bad enough to collapse a canopy, chances are they will do some really funky things with an airlocked canopy.. If a canopy collapses, it stops producing lift.....if an airlocked canopy is distorted(because it won't collapse), you could have some unusual angles there causing one side of the canopy to do one thing, the other side do another.....and who knows what the results could do? This is purely theoretical on my part, but I do have a bit of an aerodynamics background, and seems quite feasible.. I can't say anything about the Lotus or Samurai, but I can say this....the Jedei ROCKS! After jumping that thing, I can't imagine that Brian could make a bad canopy.. I've heard nothing but good things about the Lotus and Samurai, and I've jumped the Jedei and sweptwing Jedei - both were awesome.. Mike

You going to Atlanta FreeFlight the first weekend of Nov? If so, you're welcome to jump my Sabre2 150....or if you end up coming down to Deland.. Mike

Shit...does this mean we're gonna get hassled by security over our Cypres when we put our rigs through the x-ray just prior to boarding?! Mike

There were not any aircraft anywhere in sight from the time I got under canopy until about a minute after I landed - and that was the Twin Otter we had exited. It's also very rare to see something at Deland that could produce enough wake turbulence to collapse a plastic bag....the majority of the aircraft are light singles and twins. Mike