UDSkyJunkie

Actually, I think the Oxygn may come in more than one shell size... I forgot my helmet last weekend and had to borrow. The first guy lent me a gigantic oxygn. It was so huge that the air screamed right through it, blew open the face shield,and ripped it right off; it also made my head look enormous. A 2nd guy then lent me another oxygn that fit very well. The padding was a bit thicker, but it didn't seem to be enough to make THAT much difference, and it didn't look like I was wearing a football helmet either. I could be wrong, or it could be a new thing. The Z1 fits my tiny head very well, though, even though it only comes in one shell size. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

There you go clouding the issue with facts again. How about this? "Three dimentional finite element modeling of low-cycle fatigue mode crack propogation through shot-peen induced residual stress fields in nickel-based superalloy materials." No, I didn't make that up. I had THAT JOB for 2 1/2 years. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Flux Capacitor? Tachyon particles? Word? no... string of legit words that could have been said much more simply? yes! I remember my sister's massage therapy instructor at her graduation ceremony: "Greetings all soft-tissue constriction removal technicians!" "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

If you get unto a malfunction where you become entangled in the lines and you have a skyhook is it going to affect your reserve deployment at all? Tough question... I think the root of your question though is "will the skyhook improve the odds of survival, reduce them, or have no effect?" Unfortunately, in this case the answer is "Nobody knows!" One could imagine a situation where the main, which is still entagled with you but has been cut away helps the reserve get out more quickly and in the "right direction" and therefore helps you. One could also imagine a situation where the direct physical connection actually makes things worse by causing or exacerbating a partial main-reserve entanglement. Each such event is unique, and you would never know which one you were in. Even were one to have this occur, a survivor would have no way to know if the skyhook actually helped, and a fatality would offer no clue as to wether the skyhook made things worse. Bottom line: entaglements with your main are BAD SHIT! Don't get into one! But if you're in one, the presence or lack of a skyhook (or standard RSL, for that matter) is irrelevant. Your priorities are 1) get dientangled FAST and 2) get your reserve out above your hard deck no matter what. P.S. with properly packed, modern gear and a stable deployment, entanglement with the main is almost unheard-of. The exception is cameramen, and even then it's pretty damn uncommon. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Props to you for that, I was thinking something similar except all the gigantic, meaningless words that I can string together are engineering words, not psychology words (or made-up words). Anyway, while I'm sure the paper made a great grad-school psych essay, and I think the author made some correct observations, I really just found it a case of using big, confusing words to hide the fact that he was describing the intuitively obvious. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

That's pretty common actually, and around your jump numbers I felt similarly... the first jump of the day was a bit of a craps shoot if I would hit my target, and then I'd get more consistant. Of course, if the weather changed significantly, the consistancy would suffer. Not to worry, where you're at is all part of the learning process and it will improve. It's a bit like learning to catch a frisbee... they fake a lot of people out at first, especially in weird/strong wind conditions, but eventually it's very natural and you'll go to the right spot without having to think quite so much. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Land on my feet? Actually, I had that dialed in by jump 7... Standing up came naturally to me, but it helps to be a light guy (125ish at the time). Where I wanted? Different story... I'd say somewhere around 300 before I was really confident I could put my canopy into a tight spot. Then when I switched canopies, it took several dozen before I really got the new one dialed in again. All that said, there is truth in the complacency comment... around jump 600ish I have a pretty good story about getting a bit foolish and arrogant and pulling a last-minute toggle whip in severe winds to avoid some hangers, a couple fences, a party tent, a van, and a parking lot so i could hit the only open 100x100' grass spot in the middle of Rantoul. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

HA! I saw a very similar logo for Microsoft... it was for .Net or Vista or some other Microborg horseshit. I laughed my ass off and thought, "so THAT's why windows keeps locking up on me!" "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

hehe... damn engineers pointing out reality again... I have to agree that there isn't a fabric wing on earth with laminar flow to speak of. Hell, it took until the P-51 to figure out how to make a full-laminar airfoil out of metal. That said, I think his point is accurate, but would be better worded "... as it forms a cleaner leading edge, and reduces turbulence over and around the wing." "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

ehn... I spent a summer in Townsville (northeastern Australia) with no A/C. No, it's not as hot as Tucson, but it was exactly 93 deg every single day, and humid like the midwest. Sleeping without A/C when it's 85 outside sucks... I'll deal. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Let's see, I just moved from Ohio to Arizona, primarily for the weather and the skydiving... "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Kind of already been addressed, but I see so many people say exactly what you have here that I want to point out: If you go to the PD website, they specifically say that the Katana is NOT a "Stiletto 2" and is NOT intended to replace the stiletto or be an updated design... it's a completely new and different canopy with a different target market. The Katana is inteded as a stepping stone toward a velocity or a very high-performance wing for people who want to swoop but don't want to go to a X-brace, whereas the stiletto is a more "all-around" canopy for the experienced canopy pilot. The niche of the Stiletto has changed, but a lot of people still think of it as what it was in the mid-90's. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I'm a self-declared "PD snob", but you're not ruffling my feathers, actually you ask a valid question. I have jumped good canopies made by other companies. Why am I personally stuck on PD? - It would be hard to argue that PD competitors are making canopies that are substantially better in an all-around sense (though they may be better at something specific). - Other manufacturer's canopies fly differently... I started on PD's, and I find they all "feel" similar, while other canopies "feel" different. It's an ambiguous comfort factor. - I have more confidence in PD's longevity and resale value. I could still sell my Sabre1, or get it re-lined without having to jump through hoops. Other canopies dating back to 1989... not so much. - I feel PD is pushing the envelope in terms of R&D, and wish to support that effort. Other mfg's do somewhat, but I feel it is less proven and more frequently results in "flash-in-the-pan" ideas that disappear quickly. - Reserves are a no-brainer... NOBODY makes a reserve that flies like a PDR or an Optimum. - Easy to find others who fly those canopies and gain opinions. It's a long list I guess... A lot like the reason I buy Honda. I know them and they're always good. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

I wouldn't! But I've seen people who are too scared of somehow damaging their rig to wash it themselves, so they send it to the factory.... or they have it done there because they're sending it in for maintenance anyway. The car wash is also cheaper than having your rigger clean it, which I have also seen people do. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Another option is to go to a self-serve car wash. I've seen my dad do it a few times with different rigs... it got his *twitch* bright yellow racer back to it's shiny new state. Just don't use the hot wax option. More expensive than at home, but faster and still much cheaper than sending to the factory. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Some people don't, and it's good to hear every side of anything. I hope he gave you good, specific reasons why he dislikes the skyhook. You should take those reasons to other local riggers/instructors who have the opposite opinion and see what they say. THIS rigger (and AFF instructor) is very fond of the skyhook, and I've had my Vector retrofitted with it. In general I recommend them. For the record, I am less fond of the standard RSL, but far from opposed to it... I've done most of my jumps without RSL or skyhook. Having a skyhook, but jumping with it disconnected makes no sense execpt in specific situations... it's like having airbags but turning them off. Why pay for them in the first place if you're not going to use 'em? The exception to prove the rule would be if you are jumping with a camera or doing CrEW, where the much greater possibility of an entaglment can cause the RSL/skyhook to be a hazard. In that situation you could disconnect it for those jumps and reconnect it for "normal" jumps. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Also a good point. And yeah, the language came off a little harsh... wasn't really out there to project anger but I guess it came off that way. In the words of my little sister, "Alright, calm down people, let's all make a snowman." Phree, I'm racking my brain trying to remember a time that insurance was needed out there and I can't, but I believe you. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Thanks for the info. I did some looking, and found that you are quite right... there is no statement about requiring a USPA member dropzone, only that the jump was done conforming to the BSR's and FAR's and is not a demo as defined by the SIM. This information directly contradicts what I have been told by many members of a certain non-member DZ for many years, who I ASSumed knew what they were talking about. The statement always made was that paying our $50 a year was even more pointless there because the only benefit (the insurance) wouldn't even cover us. I'm betting many of the people who told me this made the same assumption about someone else, and like me didn't check the fine print. Seems I've been caught up in a bit of anti-USPA propoganda, and I am a pro-USPA guy. Those people with 100 jumps who are ranting up a storm about USPA ought to check their info. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Now that's a bit surprising, and to me that is more of a bad review of the Fusion vs. a good review of the Sabre... although if the Fusion was very worn, out of trim, or if the brakelines were set too short or too long it could cause a perfectly good canopy to perform poorly. The old Sabre1's do have plenty of lift regardless of what others may say... if someone feels otherwise they likely jumped one with one of the above problems or have skewed opinions because they are accustomed to the even greater lift of more modern airfoils. Those people should try jumping a cruiselite. That said, if you think the Sabre has a lot of lift, wait till ya jump a Sabre2... the amount of lift generated by that canopy continually blows my mind, even after 500 jumps on it. I could EASILY out-float my Sabre1 135 flying my Sabre2 120, regardless of the higher W/L. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

*BEGIN RANT* please people... if you've never really jumped one, it's before you're time, and you're going off 2nd, 3rd, 4th hand info, ect... please refrain from trying to help. Not directed at this poster specifically, just a pet peeve of mine. Flame me if you want, I really don't care. *END OF RANT* Now, for useful information: Yes, Sabre1's tend to open harder than many more modern canopies. In my EXPERIENCE, 170's and 150's specifically seem to have an even greater tendancy to do this. Is it a concern? Yes, but not a huge one. The advice to have a rigger install a larger slider is good advice. Advice to learn to pack, ask for tricks, not to dump unstable/in a track/ect is also good. If you do these things, you'll be fine. Other canopies may allow you to get away with lazy packing and sloppy dumping, but that doesn't make it ok, it only teaches bad habits. In my 500+ jumps on a Sabre1 135, I was smacked only occasionally (less than 1 out of 100 openings) and at least two of them I can attribute directly to dumping in a track. The rest of the openings ranged from soft to "brisk" (hard, but not painful). In my experience, I have seen people get smacked HARD by Sabre's, Sabre2's, stiletto's, spectre's, velocities, crossfire's, diablo's, batwings, jedei's, Xaos's, FX/VX's, triathalons, sharpchuters, mantas, tandem 384's... well, you get the picture. Sabre1's are not top of the line by far, however neither are they "so old" or necessarily have "lots of jumps". Mine was mfr'd in 1997, has less than 1000 jumps on it, and is in EXCELLENT condition. As soon as I get a 2nd container, I will use it for my 2nd rig. It will never be for sale, as I believe it is worth more than then $400-$500 I would probably get for it. Bottom line: IMO, Sabre1's are easily one of the best canopies you can buy for the money. There are hundreds of them in great shape available for under $500... try finding a spectre/Sabre2/safire/Pilot/ect with 500 jumps and a fresh reline for under $800 - $1000. To those who hate Sabre's or refuse to jump them, thank you! I love to see new jumpers get them for a steal! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

If I remember correctly, USPA's insurance will protect you ONLY if you are involved in an incident while jumping at a USPA member DZ. Ergo, requiring USPA membership for insurance purposes is pointless for a non-member DZ. Not saying your statement is false, just that if it's true someone's not paying attention. If I am incorrect, please let me know, but also point me in the direction of your source. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Assorted student, borrowed, and rental gear ranging from Mantas to Sabre 170: ~40 jumps First canopy, PD 9-Cell 170: ~40 - 100 jumps2nd canopy, Sabre1 135: ~100 - 650 jumps, with a 50 jump stint on a Diablo 120 somewhere around 500 jumps.3rd and current canopy, Sabre2 120: ~650 to present, 1,100 jumps.No intention of downsizing for another season or two at least. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Tough call... I've landed in 10-foot corn and it wasn't that bad, but then I was under PD 9-cell at a 0.8:1 loading. I've landed in beans at every height from ankle to waist height and never had problems, but I've always had enough wind to shut the canopy down 100%. I think I'd take beans... if you flare at their level you can take the PLF and it probably won't hurt. If I jumped a widowmaker 37, it might be a different story. Also, landing in dead corn SUCKS! It'll impale you if you trip! "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

Lots of good info already presented, and it looks like you've got the message, so I'll just put in my vote for Sabre2 as a great all-around canopy with tons of flare power. Similar designs like pilot and safire2 are also excellent. If you really like playing up high, the pilot seemed easier to "whip around" with toggles due to short control range... the tradeoff is high front riser pressure, but if you don't use them it doesn't matter. Felt the Sabre2 had a larger flight envelope. Don't have anything to say about the safire2. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."

My first RW suit in 2000 was a competition flight suit, cost me about $280. My most recent RW suit in 2006 was a competition Bev suit with exactly the same options as my first, and it cost me $255. (note this was at a discount team rate, would have been closer to $300 otherwise). Meanwhile, if you assume a fairly conservative 3% inflation, my flight suit cost me $334 in 2006 dollars. I really don't see the big issue here. Your 300 way suit was cheap largely because it was a bulk order. very unfair to make that comparison, even moreso if it has fewer options. "Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."