UDSkyJunkie

Agreed that F-111 for ribs isn't going to affect flight performance, and the extra porosity may be part of why it opens cleaner, but... why would it have superior strength to ZP? I could see a possible reduction in rib/seam stress, but that's not quite the same. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Everyone goes through this... psycho packing, ect can help, but the only real answer is "ask for tips, and practice, practice, practice." If my little sister could figure it out when whe was 14 and about 90 lbs, you can too. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Do you know if any of those (other than Sunpath) are commercially available yet? I'm sure you're right about ensuring correct installation. Bill indicated that the tolerances on the system are very tight... after taking a good look at my vector after the retrofit, I believe him. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

$250 if you already have an RSL on your vector, $350 if you don't (they have to replace the reserve handle & install the lanyard). Mine ran higher still... another $150 for new risers because old ones didn't have the RSL ring. (not too big of a loss, I wanted new risers anyway) Still worth it, but a little more than I was hoping to spend. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Here are a couple of my favorites... there were a lot of teams at nationals that were clearly better than us at the bottom of the dive, but exits like this helped us pick up a lot of points on the hill! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Easy, Turbo! A few days ago you were jumping a borrowed Sabre 210, so... "intermediate" step 1: Buy gear On a more serious note... LOTS of crosswind landings, all the way up to 90 degrees in mild to moderate (but not ridiculous) winds. After that, maybe some downwind on very light (0-5) wind days. Make sure you can still be accurate even if you're cross/downwind. Flat turns, up high first, then lower, while maintaining accuracy. Half-brake approaches, while maintaining accuracy. "flare turns" (approach strait-in, but try to turn at least 45 deg during flare). Rear-riser flare (can drop and switch to brakes at the end so you dont' have to PLF). After all that stuff (that's a long list... should take many dozens of jumps to do right) maybe some double-front-riser approaches, after you've tried it up high to understand it's effect and the resulting flare. Take your time, and when you think you're ready, wait another 100 jumps. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Yep. But I'm still glad for the invention. I got the skyhook retrofit over winter... I've had a violent spinning malfunction w/o an RSL & did everything right. I know I can handle it, and I still practice EP's exactly the same as I did before. But it's nice to know the skyhook is there. Same reason I have an AAD that I never intend to need.... I have a visual and audible altimeter and use them, and I've never dumped below 2200', but it's nice to know the cypres is there. why? because I know an older, smart, current, conservative jumper who got on a 30-way at nationals in Perris a few years back... every single person on that dive had thousands of jumps, and were accomplished skydivers, including some champions and legends. Somehow, breakoff didn't happen until 2,000', and there were 4 cypres fires, including the guy I know. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

My opinion (lots of jumps on Sabre2, minimal on Pilot). Sabre2 advantages: - More lift = MUCH better glide in brakes, slower stall speed, can really "float" it to stay up high and out of traffic - Longer control range (possibly more forgiving of uneven toggles on landing, harder to stall) - Lighter front riser pressure (if you like big, diving turns up high or want to swoop later) - Longer recovery arc (really only an advantage if you want to learn to swoop later) Pilot advantages: - Cleaner openings - short control range (fast and crisp response to toggle input if you want to whip the canopy around up high). - shorter recovery arc (could save your ass if you do something stupid near the ground) - loses less altitude in turns They are both great canopies... which you pick depends more on what kind of flying you want to do than which is "better" overall. You might check out a Safire2 as well. Spectre & equivalents are good too. You sacrifice some performance (speed, glide ratio, and swoop ability), but gain the ability to land it on a dime. Also openings are amazing and turn rate is faster than any 9-cell, while losing less altitude. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Javelins can be purchased with the Skyhook as an option, but cannot be retrofitted (my understanding is that the retrofit would be too invasive to be affordable). Several other manufacturers are in the process of getting the Skyhook as an option on new rigs... I haven't heard anything about allowing retrofits on rigs other than Vectors, though. Time will tell. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

If I was looking to buy a used Tri, I'd be looking to pay $500 or less. Maybe a bit more if it's pretty new and in good shape (which it sounds like yours is). Not saying that should be your asking price, just that that's what I would be looking for as a buyer. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I agree 100% with this... a skydiver exposes himself to the full extent of both "skydiving risk" and "general aviation" risk every time he gets in a plane. this is especially true considering that most fatal aircraft crashes happen on takeoff, and jumpers are seated in a less safe manner than other seated passengers (seatbelts are good and all, but how much is that loose seatbelt that's threaded through your cheststrap and the main lift web of the jumper in front of you really going to do?) Also, plane crashes are one of the few ways that a jumper can die in this sport without making a single "mistake". Harness training, canopy piloting courses, good equipment, a conservative wingloading, and safe canopy piloting practices won't help. That said, I still call it a general aviation accident, because the line has to go somwhere. And because I dislike the headline "10 skydivers killed in tragic plane crash" being used to sell newspapers... you'd never see the headline "10 tundra researchers killed in tragic arctic plane crash" "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I personally LOVE 2-ways w/ another experienced jumper... it allows me to somewhat keep up my 4-way skills without having a team this year. Anyway, some 2-way moves that I really like: - cat-270-compressed - rotate opposite directions, back person will always have a "blind" 270. - Sidebody-360-sidebody (basically 1/2 of block 7). Another variation is sidebody-270-opposite sidebody. - Verticals... compressed-compressed, cat-cat, stairstep-stairstep, sidebody-sidebody are all good. - Pure sideslide or forward/backward movements you would never get to practice in a "normal" dive, like stairstep-stairstep, but going forward and backward instead of turning. - long sequences up to 8 points, or slot-switch/mirror 2-ways where you end up in reversed slots at the top of the page My recent favorite: Launch cat, 270 (back goes left, front right) to left-hand compressed. Stairstep (front person takes right leg w/ left hand), stairstep (back person takes right leg w/ left hand). Cat (back person facing out), 270 (back goes right, front left) to left-hand compressed. 2-way-360-2-way. Then back to the top. 8 points, lots of physical and mental challenge, and none of that "drill" feel that a lot of 2-ways tend to have. After 4 pages from 12,000', my brain was SHOT! For jumps with newer people, I'll usually do similar moves, just shorter sequences... 4 points instead of 6-8. And use more 90-180 turns instead of 270-360. If you want to spice it up for yourself, you can do uneven turns... (2-way to cat, one person does 180, the other 360, or one does 360, the other 540). "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I agree with several of the above posts... Sabre2 is a great canopy to learn to swoop with. I also agree that your current W/L of 1.2ish is high enough to start learning. I jump a Sabre2, and without weights I'm about 1.3:1. PLENTY of swoop; even at that relatively light loading I can hit 200' on a good day. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

2200 Euros might be a rip-off in the US, but that's mostly because the US dollar sucks right now. I wouldn't take price advice from anyone outside the EU. Javelin is fine... a little outdated vs. the containers cited (vector, voodoo, mirage, ect), but completely safe & airworthy. Would actually be one of my first choices for a 2nd rig because so many people are (IMO) being irrational about them, so they're selling for cheap

What he said... If the chute gets tangled in the tail, it's a skydiving accident (skydiving was the cause). If the plane loses an engine on takeoff, it's a general aviation accident (skydiving had nothing to do with it). Otherwise we could call the recent cessna crash in manhattan a "baseball accident". "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Nice... I'm glad you didn't buy into this! As said, loosening will allow it to open wider, which slightly increases lift due to the flatter canopy. Also as said, unless you pull the slider past the toggles, which can't be done on a lot of rental rigs anyway, there will be no effect. Plus, the effect is less on a 220 Nav or similar vs. say, an 84 Velo. On top of that, I'd put $100 on anyone with 30 jumps even being able to detect that small difference in performance in the first place. This is truly genious advice! It's up there with my current downsizing advice: "You'll be ready to downsize when people stop giving you shit about your landings." "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I, like the others, don't think you're experiencing anything that unusual, just to a greater degree than most. I never had it as bad as you, but I was pretty nervous my first 10 or so on the way up... Even when I had a few hundred jumps, if we had a long jumprun or go-around and I was stuck back at the tailgate (we had a CASA at the time) for a few minutes with nothing to do but look out, I would start getting nervous and thinking "WTF am I doing?!?!" Eventually, even that part dissipated. It'll get better, sooner or later. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I see the "what if you are unconcious under your reserve?" argument used alot on DZ.com... personally, I don't think it's a very good one. Why? because in 8 years of jumping and 25 years on dropzones, and a father with 34 years of jumping, I have heard of EXACTLY ONE incidence of someone landing unconcious under canopy (AAD fired, she survived). There are plenty of other, much better reasons to keep your reserve on the larger size: - You're probably low - You may have to land it in an unfamiliar area - You may have never landed that canopy - Reserve fabric is F-111, and doesn't provide as much lift as ZP - You're probably not calm unless you've had a few reserve rides before - ect, ect, ect.... Bottom line: For most newer jumpers, your reserve should be at minimum the size of your main. One size larger would be even better. Larger than that is ok too, but on most containers you can't have too much difference between main and reserve size anyway. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Good to hear, I wish there were more out there like you. Congrats, you're officially smarter than 99% of the skydiving community. (ok, I exaggerated... maybe it's more like 95% of the skydiving community). Have fun out there! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I missed that part, and have to agree 100% with the above comment. 2 jumps a month (maybe 16-20 a year?) isn't enough to improve skills. Even 2 a week (50-75 a year) isn't much, and downsizing would need to be considered very carefully, and done after several years. I'm not saying that jumping twice a month is necessarily bad, and I realize sometimes that's all you can afford or have time for (I know... I've been there). But it has to be recogized that such occasional jumping comes with limitations. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

While a 150 at 1.14 W/L doesn't sound too outlandish to me (I jumped similar gear at 100 jumps), if you're having doubts, why jump it? Even more importantly, please follow the "one new thing at a time" rule. New canopy = more risk, new DZ = more risk... New canopy * new DZ = more risk^2. This is further compounded by the fact that I'm guessing prior to your 10 jumps on 170's, you probably were jumping something even larger... 10 jumps isn't much, so that's adding even more risk. Please stay with the 170 at least until you get back to your home DZ. At that point, if you're comfortable with it, break out the 150 for a few test-jumps, and ask some people to watch how you do. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I agree that the loop itself is unlikely to cause a brake fire, although I can imagine a couple of scenarios where it might: say you have a hard opening and the slider comes slamming down the lines, snags the loop, and pops the toggle. Unlikley? yeah, if the keeper is in good shape... if it's not in good shape, maybe not that unlikley. A lot of people grab their risers (intentionally or not) during opening. You could easily be grabbing the loop, and an unexpected tug during opening could pop a toggle. Or, you could be doing a rear-riser collision avoidance turn right after opening and do the same thing. Or, as you said, you could reach through the loop. Dumb? yeah, but smart people do dumb shit sometimes. Then you could have the brakeline tied in a knot, making it hard to flare properly, or tied in a knot around the guide ring (I've seen it!), forcing a cutaway or some "creative" flying. or, you could get the loop wrapped around your wrist. Are these out-there possibilities? might seem like it, but you'd be surprised. But here's the bottom line: Give me even one valid reason NOT to stow the brake line. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Sabre2 has a long control range compared to some similar canopies, which might be what makes it feel "huge". I have found though that if you combine the toggle turn with some harness input you can really whip it around. I found the Pilot to have a tighter, faster toggle response, and it otherwise performs similarly to a Sabre2 (not quite as much low-speed lift, though). Nothing 9-celled is going to have nearly the turn rate of the Diablo... it's just wicked-fast! It's one of the things the diablo owners I've known really liked about it. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I know an instructor whose life was saved by wearing a helmet on a tandem. He was exiting a Casa using the "walk forward, then big step out" technique, and the big step didn't work so well... insead of leaning him forward, they got leaned backward. The TM's head hit the tailgate HARD. The helmet was cracked in half, and he almost lost conciousness in freefall. Without a helmet, he'd probably have had his skull crushed. That exit technique has since not been used at that DZ, but it just goes to show that you never know what can happen. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

If there's no good way to store it, you should get new risers. Or have a velcro tab sewn on to allow you to stow the line. Depending on how long the loop is, you can fold it up (back and forth maybe 2 inches long) and tuck it under the tip of the toggle where it inserts into the keeper, and above the guide ring. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."