ficus

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Everything posted by ficus

  1. ficus
    Yes, one of my coworkers has done that. Had a biplane or downplane, I can't remember. I think not...
  2. ficus
    It is? Have you tried it? Try it up high sometime. You might be surprised.
  3. ficus
    Would like to see a writeup or link here... (not questioning the statement, simply would like to read about it to understand what went wrong past the swapping of canopies.) JW This is probably the referenced incident: http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/12.shtml The short version is that the jumper had attached reverse/integrity risers to a rig that was not designed for them (a Javelin, if I remember correctly.) The risers did not leave cleanly and she went in under a main/reserve entanglement.
  4. ficus
    USAA's customer service is so good, I would gladly pay a premium for it. But the last time I comparison shopped, no one could come close to their rates.
  5. ficus
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Your_Luck
  6. ficus
    I put an audible in my Pro-tec by just larksheading a rubber band around one of the bars of the "grill" on the ear hole and putting the dytter in the loop. Warning: if you're used to hearing the beep through a layer of foam in your helmet liner, it's really loud!
  7. ficus
    Just for H&Ps? Get a Pro-tec. Cheap and more crash protection than any skydiving-specific helmet you are going to find.
  8. ficus
    I have found that major problems getting the canopy in the bag can often be traced back to a series of smaller things earlier in the pack job. Until you have the skills to wrestle an S-fold into a canopy that you got most of the air out of, be very thorough about getting as much air out as you possibly can before starting to make folds. Then make your reduction fold very tight and neat. You will have an easier time controlling the stack. The better a job you do earlier, the easier a job you will have later.
  9. ficus
    Everyone is in agreement that either choice you make can be fatal, as both have unfortunately proven so. The strongest argument I have heard for cutting away in the event of a PCIT is rooted in this. If it's a 50/50 shot, why complicate your emergency procedures? Go ahead and do what you have practiced, as there is little time to think during a high speed malfunction. Another argument in favor of cutting away: the pressure exerted on your main is definitely going to drop once your reserve container empties, and that might be enough to free it. Personally, I would make one try to grab my bridle and pull the pin myself. This would likely not result in a landable main, but it would at least mean clean air for my reserve PC.
  10. ficus
    The book is called The Parachute and its Pilot, by Brian Germain. I agree on all other counts. I've reread it every 100-200 jumps and gotten something new out of it.
  11. ficus
    Donate it for use in ground school. Practice throws, pilot chute out in the airplane emergency scenarios, demonstration of opening sequence, horseshoe, etc, etc.
  12. ficus
    Happy birthday to the original Very Cunning Linguist. See you this weekend!
  13. ficus
    In my limited experience with the Katana (~50 jumps), it really doesn't want to be pulled out of its dive. If you are a little low and give it a little input to trim it out, it kinda craps out in the way you describe. I got some pretty good swoops out of it though if I let it do its thing and applied input later in the recovery arc. Be patient, but not too patient :)
  14. ficus
    Was this, perchance, a Wings? I ran into this a couple months ago assembling two new Wings rigs. With each riser, there had been a hole poked in the tape covering the opening of the hard housing, but it was very small and required some enlarging before the cutaway cable would get in. I saw the rig Marcel is talking about and there didn't appear to be even a small hole, but that is really no excuse for just stuffing the cable wherever it can fit. It's too bad not everyone uses the amp fittings like those cool VSE/Infinity risers.
  15. ficus
    What was he supposed to do? Open his reserve container and do a gear check? The first realistic opportunity he had to do so was at the time of his first repack, when the error was discovered.
  16. ficus
    This seems like a simple variation on "the Cypres times out in a month, should I pack it?" What are you going to write on the packing data card if you put a 3 years + 1 day battery in Cypres and close it up?
  17. ficus
    But while the AFF instructor is prepping that level 3 and the office worker is dubbing the video, the camera flyer is ready to get on a load before his rig can be packed. You can't (or maybe it should be shouldn't) do back-to-backs as an AFFI, but it is a fairly common thing for a camera flyer.
  18. ficus
    If you show up to your practical with 20 repacks on the same Javelin, I can all but guarantee the DPRE is going to take you on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Spending the $20 on Poynter and Schlatter's home study course might help you decide what you want to do. (Note: I actually mean $120 because you are going to need Poynter 1 & 2, but you are going to have to get those anyway.) The home study course: http://www.para-gear.com/templates/base_template.asp?group=23#B1875
  19. ficus
    Fair enough. We can revisit this when I am ready for the 104 :) I jumped Sabre2s until I tried the Mamba. Once I had experienced that long dive, I didn't want to go back. Even the XF2 seemed too shallow to me. I just feel a lot safer with that long dive, time to take a breath, put my hands on my rears, and weigh my options.
  20. ficus
    OK, OK :) I have 300+ jumps on two Mamba 132s, and a little over 50 KA-135 jumps. And a couple on a XF2 139 (summary above in the post). No disagreement here. To each his own. But I found the recovery arc of the Mamba and the Katana to be almost identical in altitude, if not in "shape", so it's hard for me to explain that away as just opinion. FWIW, I also have 20-30 Stiletto 150 landings.
  21. ficus
    I gave my thoughts on Katana vs. Mamba in that thread: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3119097;#3119097 I have maybe 5 jumps on a XF2. The recovery arc was too short for my taste, but I plan on trying it again when I am ready to load it at 1.6 or higher. I was loading the one I jumped at 1.3-ish, which is below recommended, so I don't really count it as a strike against the canopy. My opening speed problems with the Mamba disappeared when I stopped touching my risers on opening.
  22. ficus
    I must be out of my mind. I do a 180 on my Mamba from between 400-450 feet. It's a slow turn, but still. Was there a massive trim rev to the canopy??
  23. ficus
    Are you sure you're talking about the Mamba? In the other Katana vs. Mamba post, you called the Mamba "a Stiletto that opens better". This leads me to believe you actually jumped a Vision. The Mamba is a very steeply trimmed canopy. I don't see how you could confuse it for a Stiletto.
  24. ficus
    Count me in for the pups...
  25. ficus
    Yeah, but I don't want anyone hating me for it. Everyone already hates the FAA. I don't think it's that the online one is less up to date. I think the downloadable one has been purged of inactive airmen. I found my grandfather in the online one, and he died over 20 years ago.