LawnDart21

The equation is Exit weight (you, and all yoru gear, including your container) divided by the square footage of your canopy. If I step on a scale with all my gear, the scale reads 225lbs (no fat jokes please......ha ha ha), my canopy is a 120 squ ft, so by that 225/120=1.875. Now that said, that calc is just the basic equation, some canopy manufacturer use a different method to calculate loading based on the canopy's size or shape, (Safire's for instance). Plus, if you look at a PD 126 reserve, it's listed as 126 sq ft, but when inflated, it's 137 sq ft. Hope that helps/ "I live to EFS" Tom

Re: "A guy asks a serious question that could save his life and you respond with that!" Jeez, where's your sense of humor? LOL Just kidding. In all serious though, I know this is a safet and training board, but really, a question like that should only be answered by newbie's aff instructor. For any of us to cloud the answer with our opinions, fact or not, will inevitably lead to confusion should a real crisis situation ever actually occur to this jumper. Newbie's aff instructor should be the only one answering this question for him or her. That's my view. My answer, while not accurate, most certainly will not be interpretted as fact and subsequently confuse newbie in an emergency. "I live to EFS" Tom

Re: "I don't think this is the forum for an answer like this, funny though it is. Put that sort of thing in Skydiving Talkback and leave this forum for serious discussion, lest HH have your head." Hey, I take offense to that......alot of time and effort went into my reply....LOL "I live to EFS" Tom

It's magic.

I had a similar problem last year, and called Bill at Mirage to ask his opinion. he said that yes it could be done in theory, but that he highly recommended against doing that. he said all rigs in general are designed in a way to gove the dbag the best chance of leaving the container cleanly and hence safely. By inserting a pillow you are altering the way the bag leaves the container and it could also affect the geometry of the rig. I would recommend against it. "It's not always whether we could do it, rather whether we "should" do it." "I live to EFS" Tom

Wait till your leg straps come loose on a dive, you'll pitch and as your canopy inflates, you'll feel this tapping on your neck.....which is your chest strap. Toggles are really really hard to reach too......It happened to me only once, my first thought was "what the fuck is that on my neck?" Then when I realized it my chest strap, I did my best Homer Simpson impression...... DOH!!!!! "I live to EFS" Tom

Downplaning occurs when you fart under canopy. The burble that your fart creates tricks the cypres into thinking that your in trouble and it fires your reserve. Now you have two canopies out above you in a biplane, while behind you the "fart wash" creates turbulance under the canopies, thus causing them to dive away from each other, creating a down plane. To get them back into a biplane, you have to reverse the problem by burping, which creates a "belch wash" in front of you, which creates a low pressure zone above you, which sucks the canopies back up over your head in a biplane. Just take "Gas-X" before you jump and you should be okay. "I live to EFS" Tom

Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold, Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour, As leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank in grief, As dawn goes down to day, Nothing gold can stay. - Robert Frost

My practicality .02 on a leather jumpsuit.....I'm sure the visual will be way cool.....just makesure you have full range of motion in your arms before you jump. I had the bright/dumb idea of jumping with my "Vanson Leathers" motorcyle jacket last winter. (It's the low profile, snug fit type jacket that AMA Super Bike riders wear), I put the jacket on uner my rig, and it fit great, I was aerodynamic and warm, but when I tried to lift my arms up (as in to reach the risers, the stitching on the jacket wouldn't let my arms go above my head. Had I jumped it, I wouldn't have been able to reach my toggles. Justa thought. Have fun and post pics!!! "I live to EFS" Tom

Thanks everyone! I haven't been on crutches in 18 years......it sucks having to hobble around today, but I can feel my foot getting better, I iced it all day and night and I think I'll pull through this.....LOL......I'm jumping again this weekend pain or no pain...........I wont be running any marathons in the near future though.............

1st load, 66mph winds at 12,000ft................I open at 3,500ft......look around...........where the fuck am I?.....is that the airport in the distance?.........yup, it is, how the hell did that happen?.....oh well, another off field landing..........no biggie, I land off like it's my job.....there's the horse farm, nice big open field.........and apparently not as flat as it looks from 1500ft...... as I was surfing across the ground, I hear this nasty sound, but keep surfing, then flare (stood the fucker up perfectly)....as I am standing there looking around, I start thinking, hey, my left foot really fucking hurts.....I look down and notice my left foot is pointing west, while the rest of me is facing south...........apparently I caught my trailing foot in a ditch on the field as I surfed over it......long story short, Doctor Nikki thinks I have strained some ligaments (nothing broken thank God), now I'm home icing my ankle while everyoone else is jumping this gorgeous day away......oh well, today was my day I guess.......... "I live to EFS" Tom

Okay, here is the straight info about all the Boston DZs.... Skydive New England in Lebanon, Maine: Is like 90 mnutes to 2 hours north of Boston. PRO: they have a Super Otter, and the night life is the best in New England, really good scenery too under canopy, alot of freeflyers and rw flyers. Great vibe at the DZ too. CON: Landing area can be tight/tricky with a runway intersecting the landing area/not alot of outs. If your smart under canopy, you'll be fine. Skydive Pepperell: 45 minutes from Boston, PRO: Great staff, (I work there...LOL), we have an Otter, great group of fun jumpers, plenty of room to pack, huge landing area, alot of outs and a pretty decent bonfire on the weekends. Always a good time on the DZ. CON: Most RW fliers than freefliers, although there is some freeflying gong on, but not as much as RW. (Its catching on though....LOL) Jumptown (Orange, MA) About 90 minutes/2hours west of Boston. PRO: Another friendly drop zone, everybody helps out new comers, great vibe, good mix of rw and freefliers, I believe they have an Otter there this year, alot of packing areas. CON: The beginner landing area (The Bowl) is about an 1/8 of a mile from manifest/packing area, it's HUGE and its SAFE, but it take a few minutes to get back to pack. The experienced landing area is tighter (next to the buiding) and is a sand/dirt landing area. Another great DZ Boston Providence: About 45 minutes to an hour south of Boston. PRO: Great people there, the staff and the fun jumpers are all way cool. I think they jump a Cessna Caravan, plenty of room to land, nice shaded out door area to hang out between loads too. CON: Not as much room for packing as the others, but in their defense they are pressed for space and make the best use of the area. In conclusion, all 4 DZs are great, you can't pick a bad one, they all have pros and cons, but with all of them, the PROS definitely outway the CONS. You can't go wrong where ever you pick. If your ever at Skydive Pepperell, look me up. Peace! "I live to EFS" Tom

Re: Otherwise, I am interested in why Angel Falls is one of the most dangerous BASE jumps?? Hmm, let's see, it's in a foreign country, your trecking basically into the middle of nowhere in a jungle, and jumping off a 3200ft ledge over a water fall that is spraying mist everywhere, with wierd winds from the updrafts and water fall, and then you have to land in a living room size patch of grass.........peice of cake......NOT....LOL Hey, to each their own bro, I ain't trying to disuade you from doing it. Everyone has their own safety tolerance, if you think its not dangerous, I applaud you, I'm just very cautious when it comes to stuff like this. Alls I'm saying is to talk to people and investigate it thuroughly before you go. I shared a flight back from Quincy 2001 with Tom Sanders, and I tell ya, I got more respect for him than anyone in our sport, the guy knows this sport, inside and out. If he says 500 jumps, then cool, I agree he knows what he's saying. Just keep in mind, as far as if someone qualifies to jump, lets say a jumper has a 1000 skydives and wants to do this jump, technicqally the person qualifies, but a dumbass with 1000 jumps is still a dumbass, right? Not saying your a dumbass....LOL......just saying there are people with thousands of jumps who have no business base jumping and there are people with only 200 jumps that were born to base jump, it;'s all relative, just make sure you know what your getting into. Thats all. "Stay High, pull low, and sleep with your riggers girlfriend!". "I live to EFS" Tom

While I see your point, I disagree. It is the resistance of the canopy due to horizontal movement (speed) that increases riser pressure, and the horizonal speed loss you mentioned as negative result (due to a brake before hooking) is more than regained in vertical speed during the riser dive and plane out. Alls I'm saying is that a riser has pressure (high or low) on a hook turn, becuase your fighting the force of the canopy's forward flight when making a hook turn. If you lower the forward speed, by 1/4 or even up to a quick half brake flare, you are slowing the forward speed of the canopy, hence making the riser hook and subsequent dive easier (riser pressure) and faster, you can get a steeper dive, which will build up more speed. I'm sure there are pros and cons to doing this, and I'll be the first to say, I only 470 jumps, I'm not an authority, but I got this info/input originally from a top swooper who flies a 68 sq ft VX loaded at 2.5, and that is the technique he uses. I'm only loading my canopy 1.92, so I'll concede he probably gets better performance with that type of dive, but it does work pretty darn well, and has some amazing results when done correctly. Okay, that's my story! Safe swoops! "I live to EFS" Tom

My .02, (disclaimer, only try this up high at first....LOL) anyways, if your having a tough time with riser pressure, it is because your canopy is trying to fly forward, while you are trying to make it dive with riser input. The easiest thing to do is to decrease the forward movement by giving the canopy quarter or up to half brakes before hooking it. If you slow the forward sleep by going into quarter or half brakes, then hooking it, the riser pressure will be lower and the canopy will dive harder and faster because it will have less forward movement resistance. Try it out, you'll totally dig it, just do it way high at first. Good luck, stay safe. "I live to EFS" Tom

we call that rocking back and forth "potato chipping", and it happens to just about everyone in the beginning. The reason for it (in addition to being a bit tense/nervous) is that your fighting the relative wind when you leave the door. When I have students with "potato chipping" problems, I tell them the easiest way to cure the problem is to watch the plane fly away on exit. If you force yourself to look up at the plane, it will present your chest to the relative wind, and if you have a good stable arch out the door, your exits will be stable. It may take a couple of tries, but force yourslef to watch the plane for the first 5 seconds of yoru jump (from 12000ft) and your instability problem will go away. Good luck. "I live to EFS" Tom

Re: "Angel Falls would be my one and only" Something tells me that making Angel Falls, arguably one of the most dangerous base jumps you could make, as your first base jump, isn't exactly the best of ideas. Now I've never made the jump, but I do plan on doing it for my 30th b-day (2 years from now). I'm gonna spend the next two years practicing for it. I've read that the landing area is about the size of a living room, so canopy control is essential too. Just my .02 cents. See ya up there!! "I live to EFS" Tom

Well, I already jump Bolle glasses without croakies, and havent lost them in about 150 jumps, they are just getting beat up being plastic and all, I just want to get metal framed sunglasses so they will last longer. $90? C'mon, that's less than 5 jumps............. 'I live to EFS" Tom

Gatorz sunglasses. www.gatorz.com

I'm looking for new sunglasses to jump with and I thought I'd go with gatorz, but I'm on their website and cant decide which model to get. Any suggestions? "I live to EFS" Tom

"What would cause a toggle to become stuck?" - You've obviously never packed after drinking a 6 pack of Corona........LOL In all seriousness though, the excess brake line that is "usually" neatly stowed with velcro can work its way out from time to time, "looping" around the toggle. If you pull out the toggle after its looped, you get a knot, and a stuck toggle sometimes........ "I live to EFS" Tom

It depends on the size of the canopy and the wingloading. If I were jumping my old Sabre 170 loaded at 1.35, I'd just ride it in brakes and flare with rear risers. If it happened on my Vengeance 120 loaded 1.91, I wouldn't be as apt to risk it, it would depend on the wind and the landing pattern. There really isn't any reason you can't safely land a lightly to moderately loadedcanopy with rear risers safely (preparingto plf of course), so the question is, if you chop, your out $48 for a repack and you might lose or damage your $1500 main canopy. On the other hand, if you mis-time your flare, you could sprain or break an ankle. It's really a situational decision. If it's arizona and you can see the ground for miles, you less apt to lose your main than if you chop over a forrest like skydive new england. to each their own i guess, just be safe!! "I live to EFS" Tom

I've only made two balloon jumps to date, both were a blast, but here's my safety input. The first jumper on one of my jumps got edgy and basically pitched his pilot chute right as he stepped off, like a hop n pop. That works great in a plane because you have the relative wind from th eplanes forward speed to take the pc out and open your main, but out of a balloon with no relative wind.....LOL....let's just say he had a hell of a snivel and a way funky opening. Just give yourself enough time to reach terminal before pitching. Second thing, try to go at the end of your group. As each person gets out, the balloon gets higher, ie, more altitude for you! My first jump I was out at 2600ft, the last person on that same load got 4600ft. I got hosed!! Ha ha ha. And last, but not least,for reasons that escape me, alot of jumpers get nervous/scared about jumping out of a balloon. Remember your wearing a parachute, you have nothing to be afraid of!!! HA HA HA HA HA Good luck! "I live to EFS" Tom

I haven't been to it yet, but I hear the Richmond boogie is a way good time. I saw an Air Rage video of the Richmond boogie and it looks like a great groupof jumpers and cool dives. "I live to EFS" Tom

95 days X $4 a pack = $380 I've saved so far, that 17 jmps!