GroundZero

Yes Birdman will be heavily represented at Rantoul... but don't do it... worse than CRACK... nylon crack it is... Just say no! (or try it once, it'll be okay.... sure it will...) Chris

This weekend I got to meet one in freefall... Great looking plane and has a descent and turn rate almost identical to my S-3 wingsuit (and the Cessna 208 I had exited from...). Beautiful airplane, wish I had never seen it so close. Less than 100' away at my same altitude, about 20-30 seconds after exit. How do ya spell "holy f^@&%n' sh^t!"? Chris

Did you guys know that song was written by a real skydiver? Jimmy Olander wrote the song and it sounds pretty much like his real life experiences... by the way, Jimmy is a country music guy himself... Shit hot very technical guitar player for some lil band called Diamond Rio. If you hear Jimmy play, you'll probably agree... could be one of the top ten guitar players ever, worldwide... Huge talent and he's been writing a lil bit... I daresay you'll see alot more of his writing in the future, but his playing is incredible... (from a not far from Nashville DZO...) Chris

We build crossed braced canopies... We build BASE canopies.... I work with both alot in manufacturing and jumping... Two different animals, two different venues. Please report your experiences... I dare not try it myself. Good luck, Chris Precision

exactly.... packing...oy!

Eloy... Only logical choice.... Chris

Ed, Great shots and great flights! Thanks for letting me play with you guys. That diamond flight was one of the coolest flights I've ever been part of... keeping that mutha that tight as we did the whole pattern... each turn on the pattern had the formation banking ever so slightly as we were one unit... Great flights and great boogie... Chris (left wing, diamond)

Ohhh...so many... I jump with flip flops and they always ask..."Do those ever come off?" To which I reply, "Why yes, every night." I always get asked by the quiet type at some point. "Have you ever lost anyone here?" To which I respond, "Nope, we've found them all." Just a few weeks ago, as I was hooking up, the guy asked me... "Have you ever made any mistakes since you started skydiving?" I explained that I had thousands of jumps and had never been hurt seriously, then admitted that Friday nite I made the first serious mistake of my skydiving career. He asked with great concern and sincerity, "What happened?"... I explained that I switched my prescription from Viagra to Cialas and IT REALLY IS THE WEEKEND PILL, then torqued the sides tighter than usual. I thought that was great, did the same on my next passenger (girl) and found myself feeling very unprofessional. Some work and some are just wrong timing. I'm proud to have over a thousand tandems with excellent professionalism. Remember that many times we're simply entertaining ourselves with these jokes. When I turn someone onto skydiving through Tandem and they stick around, it's far more fun than my little giggles with these half assed jokes. (But I did pick out a few I'll throw into my joke book.) Chris

I always carry the radio and use it under canopy... (I think I can talk and avoid other canopies, AFF is near last out, meaning sometimes long... away from most other traffic and usually open a bit higher.) I've seen winds pick up to make that seemed to be perfect spot suck and I could start driving the student to the best out instantly. Too many reasons not to have one... Cypres fire for me... I'll deal with it and talk to Helmut. Students use receivers only, should not be a problem. Just makes more sense to have a radio (or another radio) closer to the student. Chris

Rob, The 520 original was called the 519... I had one of those that was cutaway more times than I could count... I don't think we ever got to 200 jumps on it before a tree recovery (chainsaw involved) sent it to nylon heaven. Thank gawd that thing's gone! Chris

Dave's reply is right on the money... if you have s/l and/or iad at your dz, by all means get your ratings. As a DZO I have a real problem with staff... never enuf and I blame it on the fact that I quit doing SL at my dz a number of years ago. With Static Line, I could introduce people to real hands on instruction of REAL students at 100 jumps with a SL JM rating. Those people got very good at working with real students and wanted AFF and Tandem ratings as additional ways to work with students. It kept the growth of the DZ going. If you do not have places nearby that you can and will use the ratings, don't waste your time on what will be simply a merit badge. I find working with students more challenging and rewarding (regardless of the venue) than any other skydiving I do. Go for it! You'll be glad you did. And, yes, it will make acheiving the other ratings an easier task. Chris

At your size... for forgiving, I'd stick with the XX... The 330 is a bit sporty on both flight, landings and occasionally openings, too. What is your experience? The canopy is also designed to open with the snatch force of a drogue, so the 30" pilot chute may not be ...perfect for the job. Pack volume for your container will be about correct. Chris

My Pleasure! Really! if if's not personal growth, what would you call it? (Poster child for Cialis...)

Dan, I came across this older post, but would love to see the video you got... (I continue to jump an unmodified container and this has concerned me for some time...) Chris

Great insights for a young Bird... I spent so much time chasing the "longest times" and when I got my Skyflyer (1, not 3), I became more depressed as I chased time I was getting further away from flight. Once I gave up the time chase and enjoyed the flight more I was surprised to see my times increase. Vy is what you're looking for ... best glide. Then you can fine tune. Trying to drive slowest descent (hanging on a stall) is more work and the flight is not as much fun. I've spent (well) over half my flights as solo flights. Find some clouds (or open tandems to swoop...-sorry I didn't say that...) With visual reference, you'll get a much better idea of what's happening. I used to tune my flight purely by audible reference-quieter = better flight... works well in the beginning, then you keep driving for the stall. Each suit has better performance envelopes, sometimes quieter, sometimes not, as forward speed means better lift and flatter glide. I only have about 3 or 4 jumps on the Gti, so I may not have the right answer for your suit. Keep at it, sounds like you're kicking ass for your numbers! Chris

Shhhhhhhh! She doesn't know... It's a surprise! (and she asked why we're having her out to fix Crack Margaritas Saturday nite... (June 19th) Weather's looking great and she's even been talking about her new birthday suit. Musta been shopping or something. Chris

Let us all know about it... I've researched its big brother the 750... Is the 570 a lower cost model? Chris (sorry couldn't resist!)

Well... I'm www.tennskydive.com ...actually in Tennessee, I called again just to spend some of their 800 money (If ya wanna get even just call and talk and talk and talk.... hell they're paying for the call and ya keep 'em from talking to someone else...) Passed pissed... we've been dealing with them for years... if ya wanna have fun, block your number, they use caller id to price your jump, then talk for hours... consider it a reverse 900 number if you want! They pay for the call, enjoy it! Spread the word, perhaps we can flood their lines with calls at their expense for our pleasure! Chris (the real) Tennessee Skydiving Center

My Gawd, I think I've even seen it... Does that make me "Parasexual?" Chris

Many canopies have exceeded the 1000 jump mark without a broken line. Does anyone know of a single Vectran lined canopy to reach 1000 jumps without a broken line? Yes true, we did considerable R&D for the canopies we built and marketed under the "Icarus" name. Not to be confused with Jyro's company at the time, New Zealand Aerosports. Many people forget that Precision started a marketing company we named and incorporated in Tennessee as "Icarus Canopies". Jyro began using Vectran after he saw our experience with it. Vectran lines have their place, with careful monitoring they can be safely used, we find that HMA does outlast the Vectran in all skydiving environments and with the most significant advantage of less drag. Chris

"Will they be required to do a tandem first?" (Sorry, inside joke!!) Chris

Nice.... That perfect english should be entered into Webster's Dictionary as the definition for "Summer". I get the feeling exactly, It's not the language, it's the emotion. Not nice... Very Nice! Chris

(shameless plug...) Hey, I understand that TJ will have some Precision Demo canopies with him. I think he said something about Fusion, Nitron and even Xaos canopies! I need to get up to Tecumseh! TJ and Sporto, This could be tooooo much fun! Chris (how ya been Sporto?)

Neither Chemist nor Nuke Physicist am I... only a skydiver, sorry to say. (But I do have technical training in many after hour activities!) In the use of suspension lines (even those used during Daylight jumping where UV is plentiful), combined with other, perhaps more important wear elements such as sand and dirt... Our experience with HMA shows that it will outlast Vectran. How many Vectran lined canopies are in Eloy or Perris with 1000 jumps on the lineset? Remember people, it was our (also non-chemist/physicist) Beezy Shaw that worked with Frank Bradley at CSR to develop the Vectran for Skydiving use originally. We were the first to use Vectran and had a few years experience before anyone else dared to try. We can't claim to be the first to use the HMA however, as Klaus from Germany was using it for a few years before we discovered his canopies. Oh by the way, my big brother can beat up your little sister. (hehehe I just had to get in on some kinda fight!) Chris

They replaced the HMA 430 kg lower control lines at about 600 jumps... We now use 400 lb. Dacron and it has been lasting as long as the entire lineset...(1000+ jumps) Chris