likestojump

+1... seriously. Just so I am not misunderstood. I think recommendations are there for a reason, and 200 jumps is not a lot in today's world. It just gets tiring when we are ALL regulated because of a FEW who don't care to listen to people who know better. At 200 jumps EVERY ONE OF US has many things to learn and to get better at - no reason to add more complexities to the mix than needed. Soft reserve handles and cameras (two of my personal pet peeves, as I think majority of the low timers wanting those things, want them for the wrong reason) are those things that may make you look cool, but realistically they are not needed and add nothing useful to the progression.

I would love me some more regulation. wanna jump a poptop ? - please show up your poptop endorsement. wanna jump a camera suit - please show your "flying with wings" proficiency card" wanna psychopack - please show proof of having been instructed properly. Can we just be adults in the adult sport ?

two mistakes : type IIa is gutted 550 cord. The part that needs to be broken is the seal thread - much lower breaking strength (4.75lbs) your reasoning relies on an assumption that the speed the reserve PC neeeds to achieve in order to create enough force to break the sealthread is higher than the speed at which it generates enough drag to start lifting the freebag from the packtray. Considering the reserve canopy + freebag weigh more than 4.75 lbs, I think we can deduce that such scenario is unlikely. the skyhook uses single wrap of thread, page 26 of the manual : http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/PDF/Support/Manual/MAN_004___Vector_3_Manual_07_44_13%5B1%5D.pdf of course if you are in doubt - remove it, and don't worry about. as Jay say - it's a BACKUP to a backup. lastly, if you find yourself under 1K needing to deploy your reserve, you have entered the "oh shit" territory which you were never supposed to be in in the first place. After all, this is skydiving, not basket weaving.

that rig is ridiculously overpriced and will need a few mods to make it acceptable for use. It will still not be good for freeflying, and will have a very crappy resale value.

Even if they did - we all know it would not be the individual skydiver "violating" anyway. Same as per ramp-checks (which have been conducted) for out-of-date reserves - FAA applies their recourse against the certificated pilot of the aircraft being used in the operation, and not the PIC of the skydiving gear itself. awhile ago a user posted a letter from FAA referencing an investigation for cloud busting. It was directed the skydiver(s) involved, not the pilot (i.e. against people holding no (relevant) FAA certificate). I cannot find the link, but I *think* it was airtwardo who posted it.

Ok, that makes sense. Now, whats the point of the servo? here's a fairly informative video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwXZYaJGBE&feature=related keep in mind that they are trying to sell THEIR system, so absorb the information objectively :) and another one on the pulley sizes : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6dx3HXtwOA

it's simple physics. 614 pulley has an outside diameter of 2.175", a 634 (what's considered High Speed for experienced operators) has a diameter of 4.175" by reducing the diameter you reduce the RPMs. It's direct drive (no gears, no step downs, just a belt), so it's pure and simple :)

you can buy a pulley for under $20 shipped. (on ebay :) changing it is just a matter of one screw. 614 made a big difference compared to the 630 that my machine had on it when I bought it.

Any idea if PD are going to change their TSO to their initial 300lb max weight(Prior to that FAA problem) for the Optimums 160 and larger? having never seen the PD label on the 160+ sized Optimums, I can only refer to their website : http://www.performancedesigns.com/products.asp?product=op Of course, my ASSumption is that if the TSO 23d was already granted, the manufacturer will most likely find it not financially viable to do the drop tests to re-certify. But these support@performancedesigns.com folks are probably a much better place to get an answer :)

forgive the skepticism - but WHY do you want to know ? here's some info that can be easily obtained via any search engine : http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090218193913AAzuWnD http://www.skydiveratings.com/tandem.html

the "new style" labels on PD Reserves state: PDR106/113 - 220lbs PDR126 and higher - 254lbs

the only law you can break is not in regards to WL (those are not mandated by FAA), but in regards to maximum suspended weight. we are governed by FAA - and FAA are the ones that issue the TSO which on PD Reserves mandates the max suspended weight. In other words you would be breaking an FAR by violating a TSO.

the Atom manual shows using a double Cypres loop.

I have a PdF Merit which has a logo screen printed on the bottom skin

I believe any canopy opening at freefly speeds is going to be a dangerous event. Even a snivelly Spectre. The slightly slower opening of the Optimum is still going to be very fast compared to a main canopy. It will be brutal to your body and your canopy. Possibly lethal as seen in the past. Reserve opening speed is important because think about AAD fires at 750ft. You'll have a 10sec reserve ride assuming everything opens as planned. If there is a 0.5sec reserve pilot chute hesitation, then there is a 3sec reserve ride. Any thing else goes wrong and you're dead. Having a softer opening reserve is just depleting your margin of safety. Maybe I'm over analyzing this but these are things I think about when I choose my gear. You are definitely over analyzing things. getting into AAD firing altitude while in freefall is not a situation that is standard by no stretch. That's why most of us pull somewhere at or above 2K here, analyst, riddle me this : If two identical reserves are deployed at the same time, will they both open at the same altitude and if so, will the opening feel identical if one had microlines and another had dacron ?

way to open up a can of worms. I cannot find any mention of Smart Reserve life limit on Aerodyne website. can you please validate the info ? and the "most" reserves being life limited to 20 years is bullshit. Unless of course you mean by various countries parachute associations. as far as the Techno - sorry, cannot help.

Definitely mail it. ^^^^^^^^^^^ see, short posts can also be useful

I believe it has to do with the fact that wider (flatter) material is less likely to knot up. I could be wrong :)

Statistics are great. Please also look up the stats for recovery times from major and minor trauma due to impact. Thinking outside the box, your 1.54WL on a 169 puts you exiting at 260lbs. Are tall and fit ? Are you short and fat ? Are you in between ? Those things matter. Big boys just hit harder, there's no way around it.

I have a suggestion, tell me what you think. Each DZ or even the USPA could have guidlines for canopy selection, sort of like Germain's. Any jumper who does not fall with in that chart would have certain restrictions on what kind of jumps they can do with that canopy. From the most basic to advanced. ie. Hop and pops only, normal paterns with normal landings, Straight in double front risers. and so on. It would be sort of a long canopy control class. Each manuver would have to be demonstrated with consistant results. Once an Instructor was satisfied with that manuver they would endorse the logbook. If the jumper is caught going outside of these limitations they could be banned from the DZ or busted back to the first level. A system like this would ensure a progressive canopy progression. While also allowing a higher margin of safety for him or herself and others. This would also place more infaces on the intructors critique, and wether the jumper has the ability to safely fly said canopy. Will the said jumper be willing to pay the amount exuberant amount of money it takes to babysit them ? Will they be willing to place their estate into escrow or carry high enough liability insurance in case their actions cause the skydiving facility to get sued ? If so, then you suggestion sounds reasonable.

at their rate of 75c per $100, it's still $32.25 for insurance which leaves $67.75 for freight charges - and that's about $40 too high :( sorry, I hate when people pay exuberant amount for shipping, especially when it's skydiving gear, when we all bitch and whine about jump ticket money. I bet you wasted close to two good full alti jumptickets worth :(

I recently sold my rig, shipping via UPS was $100-ish and that was just from FL to TX. (27lb, insured for selling price) you overpaid 3x - you probably didn't pay for "shipping" but rather for "packing + shipping" at one of the places like the UPS Store or similar

all things being "average" - that canopy is great as a first canopy. 900 jumps is enough to break the material in and make it easier to pack, while newer lines keep it flying well. of course if it was jumped somewhere extremely sunny or extremely dusty, it may be quite faded or dusty, which in turn will shorten the lifespan. PD says : "the zero-p fabric we use can stay "zero-p" for thousands of jumps. A canopy's lines may be out of trim after several hundred jumps, and need to be replaced, but once this is done a zero-p canopy will perform virtually like it did when new. Zero-p fabric is also more resistant to snags and ultraviolet light. We occasionally see canopies with 3000 to 5000 jumps on them that are still perfectly airworthy, and we have heard reports of our zero-p canopies lasting for 7000 jumps, although these are certainly the exception" re: http://www.performancedesigns.com/faq.asp#15

I have owned, packed, sold and inspected dozens of both. I am certain you will be happy with whichever one you choose.

here's another relevant one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q