Aviatrr

I hope you didn't go wash the blood off right away.. Ya know, you can get lots of sympathy - and hopefully at least a couple phone numbers - from skydive chicks and whuffo chicks out there alike.. Hey - worked for me when I got my hand sliced up on the rope during a raft dive..

Or so the manual says.. Are you willing to risk an entanglement? What if the plane gets to 1400ft, the pilot says everybody out, and by the time you get to the door to exit your at 1,000ft? The Safire seems to be harder to land for most people.. I never had a problem landing the Safire at a slightly higher loading than the Sabre2 I jumped - but I did notice that the Safire took a little more work to make a nice surf.. The sweet spot on the Safire was quite a bit lower - which, to me, translates into less overall flare power.. I had to run like hell on the Safire loaded at 1.6 on a no wind day.. Both have soft openings, but the Safire ate up more altitude.. Overall, I'd say the Sabre2 and the Safire fly about the same, with the main difference being during landing.. Also, I would not deploy a Safire below 1500ft on a low exit.. I feel that the Safire lands well, but it's not as easy to land as the Sabre2....which makes a big difference for somebody with low experience.. Mike

Square 1 is selling 'em for $1350 right now.. Well, that's for the 150 at least.. Retail is something like $1700.. I would definitely recommend the Sabre2 over the Spectre.. Of course, there will be people that say the opposite, but it's pretty much dependent on whether you prefer a 7 cell or 9 cell.. The Sabre2 glides much better than the Spectre, but the Spectre seems a bit more capable of higher speeds on approach.. Notice I said capable - not that it normally flies faster.. I would say the speeds are close to the same, but the Spectre has a much steeper descent.. If I have to sink the canopy into a very tight area, the Spectre would have the advantage.. Any other time I can think of, the Sabre2 would take the prize.. Mike

Ok, for those of you that are having problems getting to the pics, try this... http://www.geocities.com/aviatrr I just created a very basic index.. If there are any problems with this one, let me know.. Mike

I don't use Netscape, so I can't commend on that.....but Internet Explorer seems to get all the pics just fine for me.. I right click on the link, and select 'Open in New Window'.. I never knew people had problems with Geocities - I would've posted 'em elsewhere had I known.. Mike

I know that many of you have been asking questions regarding the new PD Sabre 2 canopy, and I can finally answer some of 'em with first hand info.. I was out at Deland today, and talked to Scott Miller(one of PD's canopy guru's) about the new Sabre2.. He told me he had one there, and asked if I wanted to jump it.. DAMN RIGHT I DO!

Are you asking what doesn't look right about the canopy, or WHY did it look that way? Well, either way, I guess I can answer.. First of all, it's a Spectre 150 that I load at over 1.4:1 - probably almost 1.5 with all the camera stuff.. As you can see, the back side of the canopy is bowed quite a bit....the WRONG WAY.. A Spectre is a "slightly tapered" canopy, but the taper makes it look like more of an elongated oval(best way I can explain it).. In this particular case, there was something going on that kept me from pulling at my pre-planned altitude.. I was in a full flat track....hauling ass.. I hit 2 grand, and I dumped immediately.. Didn't matter that I was in a track - I was at my hard deck.. It was either pull in the track or flare out, slow down, and go silver.. Spectre's normally open slow, even in a slow track.. Never dumped one in a full track.. Lemme tell ya....it hurt.. Then the canopy did this funky little dance for about 30 seconds after opening, and I was damn close to chopping it.. As it did this dance, the ride got interesting.. Dive left, dive right, rock back, etc.. It straightened out with some serious riser input.. Mike

Hmm.. Worked for me, and obviously for Anne.. I'm no techie, so I can't really help ya man.. All I can say is that you have to go to each link individually - I didn't make any kind of index page to link to each pic.. Mike

I don't have any idea how ya missed me....I stood there and talked to ya for a while..

Hey Pammi...If the rig doesn't show up in time for Quincy, just remember this.. There are lots of people that don't take gear to Quincy.. They just demo LOTS AND LOTS of rigs and canopies.. Of course, I'm not suggesting this........just remember that SOME people do it..

UPDATE: Since there seemed to be problems with the individual links below, I created a basic index with each pic on it.. Try this site.. http://www.geocities.com/aviatrr Here are some pics from Deland this past weekend.....I'm not exactly what you would call a computer guru, so let's hope this works..

Hey.. I haven't checked my DZ.com email, but I will.. I'm not sure where I'll be flying into if I make it - I'll have to figure that out closer to the boogie.. When jumpseating on the airlines, I have to take the flights that have some seat availabilty.. Riding free is great - but I have to make sure there are gonna be empty seats beforehand, which I can't really be sure of until a few days before the flight.. I'll drop ya a line when I finger it out.. Mike

It was definitely a good time at Deland this weekend.. It was really cool meeting everybody.. Unfortunately, one person - who shall remain namless - flaked on us on Sunday.....what's up with that?! I'll be posting some pics either tonight or tomorrow from the weekend.. The airplanes rock(but the Skyvan will be down for a while getting a new engine starting sometime next week I hear), the people are cool, and the weather usually allows for AT LEAST several hours of jumping.....and all day, every day jumping most of the winter when the rest of you are freezing your ass off..

There was an even better commercial that never made it to TV, but floated around the internet for a while.. It shows a guy exiting a plane on a skysurf board.. He's going through his routine, and all of a sudden, he just explodes.. Next scene cuts to a few guys in a field(think duck hunters, in camo, sitting in tall brush), one lowering a shotgun from his shoulder.. Another guy says "Good shot", then raises his shotgun.. He yells, "PULL!".. A third guy says "pull" into a handheld radio.. Next scene, back to the airplane.. Another skysurfer is ready in the door.. Pilot turns around, and says.. "Next jumper!" Mike

Hey, can I get in on this bet? I'd like to see somebody exit after me then catch me while on their belly.. I'd be damn impressed, to say the least..

My thoughts exactly! Hell, I work every other weekend.. That means I only get 2 weekends off per month.. If somebody wants to spend time with me on those weekends, they better be at the DZ or plan something at night! When there are no night jumps, that is..

Should be a great time - I've heard from many reliable sources that Richmond rocks.. I'll be flying up on an airline.. I don't know which yet, probably won't figure that out until the day before I go.. I'll just have to check and see which flights are gonna be easiest for me to jumpseat on(free travel is great).. Mike

I'll probably be there.. I'm off work from the 31st to the 7th, so I'll probably get there the evening of the 31st, and stay for a few days.. I'm planning on going mainly to demo a bunch of canopies and some Birdman suits.. Of course, I'll have to work in some fun jumps..

That's the standard 30 minute block rate...don't they give you a discount if you're buying many hours? How much time have you guys already committed to? Mike

Been there....but with 30kt winds, gusting to about 45kts....down the runway...on a 4'x6' piece of plywood with wheels on it....and 4 people(at first, anyways).. We ended up with one broken bone, one seriously busted video camera, lots of road(runway?) rash, and a really pissed off DZO.. Mike

I do recall somebody asking you about some sex on the beach....? Mike

Talon 2, Hornet 190, Tempo 210, CYPRES.. Sometimes Spectre 150, Spinneto 150, or Crossfire 155.. I'll probably have a Cobalt soon, just waiting for my demo canopy to finalize my decision.. I haven't decided whether I should get a 150 or 135 Cobalt.. I'll demo the 150 then decide.. Mike

COOL! Where are you going to do your training? Glad to hear you got your priorities straight.. If ya need any help, don't hesitate to ask.. Mike

It'd be nice if he could knock out the ATP right now, but alas, they have that pesky 1500 hour requirement.. Hell, I didn't get my ATP until about 2500 hours(did it along with my first type rating).. LTA may be fun, but kinda useless....plus, I don't like getting up early enough to fly those things..

Ok, fine....but I'm gonna pee in it before I get out! Mike