LukeOliver

I don't know Robin, but I'm sure I know why Robin wrote what he wrote. Robin is hurting, after the demise of someone he knew. He has focussed on providing a framework for preventing a repetition of the same. This action fits a pattern, and he has chosen to use the energy produced by his grief in a constructive method. Regardless of his motive, we gain little by marginalising his skills and diminishing his strategy - which, whether you respect him personally or not, offers one more piece of the puzzle and some answers to go with it. Remster opened this thread with a specific request to discuss the strategy. Robin's strategy is constructive. More listening. Less personal criticism. Please. L.

Have to bite on this one. I do a lot of naked jumps, not necessarily for the joke value... Tracking is one thing that feels unnatural when you jump naked - but if you practice it, find that position where the air pressure is evently distributed over your body, making subtle changes to arms, legs, hips etc... my tracking improved as a direct result of the practice I put in whilst not wearing a jumpsuit. YMMV. L.

Same as 2004 for me. Find no compelling reason to attend any funerals :-) Everyone can help me out here. L.

Eclipse container, Jryo 360 main, Vector 360 reserve. System works, hey! L.

Well, seeing as how you asked... Tandem, with Peter - He's a pilot who jumped with us on Tuesday, enjoyed it so much he decided to go again. His grand-daughter and another relative on the load with us. Uneventful until drogue release, then a fairly funky opening - one of those ones that reminds you how much you depend on a good wing over your heed. After a brief sensation of being in a washing machine, check the canopy - we've got inflation on the right hand side, but the slider hasn't slid, lines loose at the top and flapping around, left hand side is the wrong size and shape altogether. Reminded me of a malfunction photo I use to show students. Very consious of thinking "Doubt it'll fix it, but I should pop a brake and have a go at that" and realising my hands have already located cutaway and reserve. Time's on our side, but I don't want to complicate the situation... Meanwhile, we're being flung backwards and sideways around the sky still. Peter was great - we got his legs back, arms crossed, head back again quickly, peel/punch, immediately belly to earth again, pull, and a dainty orange reserve floats into view quickly. I don't particularly like the way they're set at the stall point for the reserve, it's a rocky ride until you pop the brakes. Peter generously agreed to hold the handles for a bit, and we followed the mess around for a bit, rates of descent were reasonably compatible. It wound up landing in the middle of the North bound lane of Highway one, two cars swerving to miss it and one not quite, tearing a decent sized hole in the tail. The Freebag was later found halfway up a tree and recovered easily. Meanwhile, Peter and I landed nicely in the usual spot (to the "oohs" and "aahs" of his family, who saw the whole thing from the ground). There wasn't video, but we did spend enough time under the main for the GCO to draw attention to it and ensure the crowd saw the cutaway. A good team, too - the recovery crew were off after the components well before we landed. I did my incident report, and was up again two loads later - cracking the usual jokes in the plane about how I really hoped this one would open, and so on. I love the tandem training and regime - I've probably located my handles a million times for every use, and I know why. Peter enjoyed his day out - two skydives and three parachute rides in two days. And in two statistics that simply won't be possible to maintain, I'm still yet to pack a malfunction (this one wasn't packed by me), and I'm yet to cutaway a sports main (all three chops since I got my tandem ticket). At the close of play, we drank Crown Lagers in celebration. Mmm... Crown Lagers... Greetings from sunny Byron Bay to all! L.

Sorry to take up a slot in :general:. But I had to tell someone!!! (OK, everyone...)

Hiya, I've just finished the second draft of a document reviewing T&LCC; the processes we use in Australia, the contributing skills, the direction to head for UHP canopies etc. If you're actively involved in T&LCC and happy to provide feedback: I'd love your feedback now. Please PM me with "I'm teaching now", and I'll send you a 70page doc for review (PDF, 800k). If you're learning, and want to see the finished outcomes of the project a bit later, please PM me with "I'm learning now". Thanks in advance, L.

I agree wholeheartedly - but not to the point of donating gear which the manufacturer deems unserviceable. L.

Well i don´t agree. These units have been manufactured to last and have been trough extensive test´s trough it´s lifetime. The only reason why Airtech will not support them any more is because. Perhaps a good rule of thumb might be to understand the equipment you're jumping, and follow the manufacturer's recommendations. This avoids the potentially thorny issue of you being technically a test jumper. Maybe someone could let us know whether a rigger can repack a reserve into a container that contains an out-of-date CYPRES, given that it's (imho) unserviceable? Does it have to be like that, or can we keep moving forward? L.

I'll ask again, how do you NOT notice? If it's the same one I'm aware of: The borrower did an excellent job of getting the 97 open without line twists, flying it to the ground safely and flaring it (with a tidy face plant at the end of the swoop). This person is currently being counselled about their future in the sport. Doesn't seem to have gotten the "responsibility" part of the package yet. The rigs concerned were of the same design and similar colours. However: - The borrowed rig had no AAD, and - The borrowed rig had a different deployment system You can't notice if you don't look. L.

Don't see myself touching it. Had a nasty (read: expensive) experience with the Canon MV20i, which quacked like a PC1 - but only produced jittery images when in freefall, probably because of the "Optical Image Stabiliser" feature. Worked great on the ground. Not in the air.

So, we've got the "breathe" signal - Point to mouth, breath, execute manouevre. What other signals exist for Head up and head down tuition? Is anyone aware of any moves towards standardising them? Who's using what and for what? L.

1) There was a bloke in Queensland (Australia) who had a stack of nude jumps. Peter Nobbs the name. Any idea what the world record for nude jumps is? 2) There's a Swedish 21 way on record, and a photo of 24 nude skydivers at Batchelor (NT, Australia) that dates back to maybe the 70's. What's the biggest (successful) nude formation seen in the skies?

It's all OK, until you have to land downwind in a city street at night.

How's this for a plan: Ask the folks you'll be jumping with and around if they think you 49kg on a 135 canopy is a good place for you to be at the moment. It may well be a good place to stay for a while - smaller canopies will always be there waiting, and a 135 won't be a problem to resell. Then, buy a canopy in that size that the folks around you understand so you can more easily continue your education. Buy the best condition ZeroP canopy you can, paying particular attention to the lineset. Then, go learn some craft with it

Yep; constructed in a similar fashion What is it about their shape, line lengths, angle of attack, etc that makes a Stiletto less forgiving? The PD Education document on the Stiletto says: It's probably /all/ in here - but I'm curious to hear what people have to say without quoting from the book. Your perspective has already helped

(ahem) Dynamic flare, Progressive flare, two segment flare. As you note, two stage does not accurately reflect the process.

I think it's a legitimate question. Both canopies are constructed in a similar fashion from similar materials; at similar sizes, they both require a two stage flare and both will hurt you bad if you give them a heap of toggle close to the ground. And so on... What I'm looking for is "Stiletto's elliptical shape makes it more prone to line twists on opening" or other evidence. Question is asked because I'm not sure the current wisdom is accurate! L. PS Scott, I'm not that old!!!

Why is a Stiletto allegedly "less forgiving" than a Sabre of the same size?