LawnDart21

I have a guilty pleasure.............my 51" High Def TV Watching skydiving videos on it in the winter rocks. I'd call myself a minimalist that has adiction to big screen tv and harleys, other than that, pass the ramen! -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

No, I was saying that if someone wanted to know the canopy (manufacturer & model) of the "bricked" canopy, I would tell them via pm, I dont want to throw the name out here, because it does seem to be an anomoly and I dont want to sully their name in public. Nope, no Winnie the pooh on my canopy, although I wouldn't mind an Eeyore canopy though.........lol later -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I don't see the need to pull out an f-111 reserve if its less than six months. (totally arbitrary choice on my part) I leave my reserve packed & out of date during the winter (its about a 6 month stretch from last pack job of a season to 1st pack job of next season after winter. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I pulled a relatively new main canopy out of a d-bag during a reserve repack, and it had become a solid brick. The jumper stated it was in a cool/room temperature dark closet for about 6 weeks. If that was/is an anomoly, I will take your word on it. I still like the pillow case storage though, I use a winnie the pooh pillow case from when I was 5 yrs old..........it cracks me up every time I see it.....lol I won't mention the canopy on the board (its not appropriate) but if you'd like to know, PM me. Blue ones, Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Amen Dave, its not swooping that kills its "Gotta Go Big" mentalities exibited by over zealous short time jumpers who believe that "no one understands my skills" and that they are "different". As I've said before, (don't want to rehash it all), only the ground can stop these people, and generally it does. Thats life on DZs these days. Can't change it. So be it. Personally at this point in my career, (tandems aside), I only skydive so I can swoop. Early on, canopy flight was the "bonus" of my skydive. Now a days, the skydive is the "bonus" of my swoop. But thats just me. And as anyone that has ever dragged a foot across the water and emerged dry on the shore line can agree, swooping is a very rewarding/exciting aspect of our sport. Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

As a rule, if I am not jumping for more than a month or so, I unpack my main and stick it in a pillow case. Newer zero-p canopies can "gel together" if/when left in a main d-bag too long. The "goop" that they coat the fabirc with to make it zero-p can harden/stick to itself if left in the bag for an extended period of time. I figure with the $$ I spent on my main, better err on the side of caution when storing it. Hope that helps. Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

A spin on the question: My dream is to get my wife rated as a tandem instructor. I would LOVE to do her recurrency jumps as the passenger. What do you think about them apples?

No kids yet, but we are planning on it within 2 years or so. Iknow a few couples with children who won't fly on the same load due to the "what if something happens to us scenario" which I have absolutely the utmost respect for. For me personally, I hope that we will always continue to jump together for my tandem recurrencies, even after we have kids. Here are my five reasons: 1) I trust myself, my wife and my gear. 2) I trust in God's will 3) She and I met on the DZ, skydiving connects us. 4) In the unlikely even something happens to both of us, our family and friends are so close knit, intertwined with each other, that our future children would be very much loved and very well taken care of. 5) Lastly, I hope to impart on my future children the idea that every single day we are alive is a gift. And its our responsibility to make the most of every day we are given. Follow your heart and live true to yourself. (If I didnt continue to jump with my wife, I would be less "me", yah know what I mean? I look forward to it too darn much). -Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Every spring my wife does my recurrency jumps with me. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

PM me, I don't want to post the locations (that I know of) publicly as they are (at the moment) still in need of preservation from public exposure. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I love my wallpaper of me just "hanging around" at Quincy 2003, I just wish it was a better quality pic, instead of just a screen capture......... -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Good story. Skydiving rocks. Sidenote, I recently pulled a relatively new main canopy out of a d-bag (as part of my reserve repack I always take the main canopy out & off the container to inspect it) before I packed the jumpers reserve, only to see (in complete disbelief) that the main canopy was a solid block of fabric. We pulled the bridle (on one side) and the lines coming out of the s-fold (on the otherside) taught, and nothing happened, the block did not unfold. We let the canopy sit for awhile and then gently unfolded it, it took about an hour to unfold it. Had the jumper jumped it and deployed it, it would have been a "bag-less bag lock" and would have been cut away. I keep all my mains (3) unpacked and in pillow cases in my closet during the winter when not jumping for long periods. If you are on a break from jumping, its a good idea to pull the canopy out of the bag. Blue skies, Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I only have 700 tandem jumps in the last 2&1/2 years, so please take my opinion as the "newbie" opinion that it is, I haven't been doing this that long. That said: Flips needlessly increase the danger during a tandme jump by: 1) exposing the container to different orienations of relative wind flow which can increase the possibility of an accidental drogue deployment or open container during the flip. 2) I'm not sure of your source on this one, but returning to a stable posture (arching out of a flip) definitely can induce a side spin if the student does something funky. Knowing that, do I still do flips? Yup. No amount of skill in the world can prevent going unstable periodically on exit. I choose to flip perodically as a means of staying current with unstable recovery procedures. I have spoken to my manufacture and they concur it is acceptable to do so. I would be interested to hear more about the "basic lack of understanding of flips and ignorance breeding fear". -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Max Cohn has a great quote on the back page ad of Parachutist for Mirage: "The last thing I want on my mind during a jump is my rig" (paraphrased") -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I conclude that younger skydivers (under 40) are more apt to hook themselves in. Older jumpers (over 40) "typically" don't have any desire to swoop, so are therefore less likely to hook themselves in. (You can attribute many reasonable reasons for this). Most jumpers with under 250 jumps arent on highly loaded elliptical canopies. The trend is simple and easily identifiable. At this point in our sport, someone is most apt to kill themselves swooping. Younger jumpers still believe they are immortal (not a diss, just an agreed upon psychological mentality of youth), so they take on higher risks than older, more prudent skydivers. Secondly, the speed and force that the smaller HP canopies generate is enough to kill when handled incorrectly. One poin I wish every swooper would instill in every aspiring swooper is that no matter how good you are, how good you get, every single swooper out there hooks themselves in at some point in their career. Some walk away with dirt stains, others bruises, ohers with injuries and still others are buried. It is a not so recognized fact with many aspiring swoopers that regardless of how good they perceive themselves to be, they cannot escape the inevitable, we all pound in at some point, and its only a swoopers' respect for that danger and the inevitability of the outcome that lead most swoopers to take "baby steps" and proper training to lessen the blow when it happens, so that we increase our chances of walking away from it. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

What kind of canopy was it? What year was it made? How many jumps total on the canopy? How many jumps on current line set? -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Thanks! -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Whats the name of the hotel across from the tunnel in orlando on the cul de sac? I need to book a night there and can't remember the name, or find it on yahoo. Thanks, Tom -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Yeah, I figured there is zero chance of bringing it as a carry on given its size, so I am going to pack it in a suitcase, I am just nervous about the TSA people poking around it after I've checked it. I'm going to get to the airport super early and find a supervisor to do the inspection with me present before it's checked.

I am heading to Orlando in two weeks and am bringing a tandem container, which I am sure I will not be able to carry on. I'm just wondering if anyone has checked one into baggage and had any trouble with TSA or tampering by baggage handlers? -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Me thinks what chrisgr is asking is whether or not you think you can land your reserve loaded 1.6:1 in a back yard full of obstacles if you have to? Alot of reserve rides (especially in the wooded northeast and I presume wooded nortwest don't always leave the pilot much, if any options). I would jump a 113 reserve loaded 1.85 if I was jumping in AZ, up here though where houses and trees are a plenty, we don't consider highly loading reserves to be a builing block for a long healthy career. Houses just don't move out of the way...............lol. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

I had a really good conversation with Omar a few months ago about what to expect as an instructor, and he really spoke openly about the risk versus reward of working in the tunnel. Honestly, money shouldn't be a priority, it's all about wanting to be part of a great team of people and making the tunnel successful. "I ask not what the tunnel can do for me, but what I can do for the tunnel."

Okay, I have some questions. 1) While the Nitro isn't in the same class as a VX or Xaos, it is still considered to be a relatively HP canopy when highly loaded. What purpose is served by jumping a highly loaded HP canopy if you don't swoop? 2) HIPERUSA's website says quite clearly that one should only jump a Nitro loaded above 1.4 if the jumper has over 500 jumps. They go on to say that 1.7 is the max wing loading on it. (Your at 1.75)? 3)You state "In reality I know I can be hurt or killed very easily under the canopy I'm jumping", then why do it? oh yeah, because your different. In just under 2000 jumps (I havent updated my profile), I can say with confidence that I never put myself under a canopy that I felt could "very easily hurt or kill me". Growing old with my wife, my family and paying off my mortgage were more important to me than knowingly putting myself in such a position that you advocate very freely. Today I can (SAFELY)swoop from one end of a football field the other. Could I do it at 400 jumps? Nope. Did I need to do it at 400 jumps? Nope. tfelber, this next point isnt directed at you persay, but its something I've heard/read alot lately. The attitude of "I understand the risks, accept the risks, yada yada yada." These posts/comments are retarded in my mind. Seriously, ask the wives, children, family and friends if they understand the risks of you being on such a highly loaded canopy with such little experience. They are the ones that may have to bury you if you hook it in, they are the ones that may have to grow up without you. They are the ones that would miss you. Do you (the jumper) accept the risk? Who cares. Your not the one left behind or left with the medical bills, or left pushing the wheelchair around. Well, I've about said all i can say on this thread. Good luck to you all. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

Angelia Jolie. -- My other ride is a RESERVE.

And to think, Mary wanted to throw away my "plays well with others" t-shirt. Lucky for me, I hid it from her.