indyz

I'd go with my main from 1800', no worries. Even my snivelly Velocity is open in a few hundred feet on a hop 'n pop. Below 1500' I would probably go with the reserve. If I was using my CRW rig I would go with the main 100% of the time, regardless of altitude.

I'm interpreting the logic of those rules the same as SivaGanesha. I see the intent, but I think that as you quoted them any full-time student 25 or older would be eligible to compete. if ( (age < 25) && (yearsSinceFirstJump > 5) && (skydives > 1000) ) ineligible; else eligible;

I've used Curv Z in the past and they worked fine except for freeflying. In a sit or stand that leaked enough air to cause problems with my contacts. The real problem is that the plastic stems eventually break when worn under a helmet. I was going through 1-2 pairs a season.

It doesn't help that the CX100 is a lot lighter than MiniDV cameras. That extra inertia probably helped smooth out the video somewhat.

Media mail is cheap, but it is also by far the slowest way to send something via USPS (they used to call it "4th class special"). When I was in college I worked for a company that shipped a lot of books. We offered every shipping option imaginable, but we eventually had to drop media mail. Very few people used it even though it was half the cost. From those that did use it there was a huge number of complaints about delivery time, despite us quoting up to 14 days! Anyway, shipping is a fairly high-overhead operation if you don't do a lot of it. $9 for FedEx doesn't seem out of line. USPA might be able to get the shipping costs down by offering USPS, but there is no guarantee that with the added overhead of offering more options it won't end up being a wash.

I'm not sure about the timelines or anything, but I played with it for a bit this weekend and it definitely has the bungee with the tab on it, which I haven't seen on any of the other boxes.

It was definitely a Cookie box, unless somebody out there made an exact copy of the one on the Cookie Composites website, and tricked Jeff into thinking he was talking to Cookie when he ordered it.

1. Is that because you are a girl or because you are ignorant? A little bit of both, I'm sure. I jump a Lightning with a tail pocket, so I'm not afraid of them or unfamiliar with the concept. And I am aware that tail pocket conversions have been done to various canopies. I'm just not convinced that the possibility of better heading performance and the surety of harder openings are worth being a test jumper. Same goes for using a mesh slider. 2. Dacron & Retractable pilot chute is a given. That's another thing. If you talk somebody other than the factory into adding retract rings, make sure that they copy a real CRW canopy. Just sewing some rings to the top skin isn't a good idea. But you already knew that. 3. Its not that I'm not that hard up, but I just don't like being considered an idiot. When I asked the "Rusty" what the Spectre/Storm difference was - he said it was too hard to explain. I’ll post the original email if you like? Given that the tech specs are virtually identical and there is nothing published to discriminate between the two canopies, I find that hard to believe. I can't answer to that one. I have a couple hundred jumps on a Spectre 170 and two on a Storm 170 (set up for CF, with a bag and mesh slider). The problem is there are about 6 years and 1500 jumps between the Spectre and Storm, so any comparison I make would be rough at best. PPPs. Who said I didn't want to get competitive? I never said that. Even so, these days, with the 30 second rule, crazy tight exists aren't so necessary.

You can jump them with a bag or a tail pocket. Personally, I wouldn't take any free packed Storm or a bagged Storm with a mesh slider to terminal. You and the equipment would probably be ok, but the opening would probably be pretty unpleasant. Long term, it might not be good for you or the gear.

I would not attempt to freepack any canopy that wasn't designed for it, and Spectres certainly aren't. Why are you so hard up to free pack? It is absolutely not a requirement for doing CRW. Many recreational CRW jumpers use a bag. Especially on fun jumps, you can just adjust your exit spacing and delays to give yourself time to handle off-heading openings. If you are going to modify your canopy, you'd be better off spending your time and money on dacron lines and a retractable pilot chute.

The data card will list the date of manufacture of the container, reserve, and AAD (if installed). Much more important than the age of the rig is how it was treated. My CRW rig is an 18 year old Vector II that is in better shape than a lot of 5 year old rigs I see. If you trust your rigger and he says it is in good shape, then go ahead and jump it. Make sure he explains to you the limitations of gear that old (freeflying and whatnot).

Depends on the canopy. Older, rectangular canopies tended to have the same length lines across the span.

I'm a tandem instructor and I have serious nausea issues riding on the front of tandems, to the point that I avoid doing it if at all possible. I have never had a problem in the instructor position or jumping solo.

As far as Jump Shack is concerned, you shouldn't be making your own Racer quick loops either. Most riggers I know make their own safety stows and quick loops.

The problem is "green" is such a broad term it is essentially useless. If by green you mean energy efficiency, then it is important to me. If you mean the carpet is made out of renewable hemp or whatever instead of synthetics, I don't really care.

Ah, Nipple Boy. It's been a long time.

I grabbed the tabs with hemostats and pulled/wiggled firmly until they came out. They came out in one piece, but the plastic was deformed significantly. It is not a reversible operation. Your mileage may vary.

I bought a linear foot (12"x51") of 3mm neoprene from foamorder.com for $14. I think I made 4 or 5 condoms while I was tweaking the size and I still have a lot left over.

Here's my setup. The bolt pattern is not what I would use if the L bracket was permanent, but I'm planning on switching to the Cookie box when it is available, so I wanted to reuse the existing holes from my last camera. I drilled the Hypeye hole with a largish bit, then reamed it out with a round file to get the size and position just right. The strap is there for a little extra security and to keep the screen closed when I'm not using the camera condom (I haven't made up my mind if I want to use it day-to-day yet). The skidpad is an old Para-Gear mousepad turned upside down and stuck on with spray adhesive.

No you don't. You can change a setting so the camera will stay on with the LCD closed.

I'll take some when I get home, but I'm not sure if I understand your concern. The Hypeye is between the camera and the helmet, just like any left-side mount would have to be.

What has THAT got to do with a lawsuit on the sport side of the shop? Are you saying, justified or not...that YOU shouldn't be sued because you have a job? Think B4 U post?

FWIW, since the camera is so short I built my bracket "upside down". It lets me shave a few precious millimeters off the total width.

It sticks out quite a bit, unfortunately. I use my CX100 with an aluminum bracket on my old Bonehead Optik, and I actually put the plug inside the helmet. It's wide enough that the camera doesn't even have to be flush to the helmet for the connector to reach, even with a 3mm neoprene camera condom.

IEEE Spectrum has also had a couple of pretty good articles on prosthetics in the last few issues. Here and here.