GroundZero

(cough,... bullshit....Cough) I challenge anyone to show me one of these canopies that will measure to those given pack volumes. Chris

I build my own pistols so barrels are many (and quite often trash...) The only thing i shoot is 185 swc or 230 hardballs... no reason to ever load another bullet in my 1911's. Anything else is unmatched... (185swc for accuracy/plinking or 230 hb for stopping -and nice ramp feeding). and autos malfunction more than wheel guns, that's why i carry this size... and shoot often... I've never had a function on the first chambered round, and always strive to make that first round count. Chris

.45 acp did ya think i'd say anything different... Look at the teams that have returned to that caliber (or never left it...) Chris

yea what she said... I'm with her... (great scotch tho duece!)

Of course I am, if the weather clears, Saturday looks better in the morning, doh! that kinda rules you out I guess... hehehe

heheheheheh

watch out she's a texan, now a nashvillian... (and my sister... easy there timmy)

I'll show you that ... Ya big tall... texan. Chris... Grew up in Nashville, ya... oh what ever....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think these numbers are optimistic given muscle fatigue -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yea they are realistic...(for a trained killer like Scott and others... but for an outa shape middle (old) aged guy like me... plan on this... Take off the O2 mask, finish your cigerette...(gonna be a long time til the next...) Exit the airplane... fly like a real M...er fu..er... your atli 3 will start turning again at about 17,000... You won't believe it anyway... been about a minute already... see the others open at 3-4000' agl... keep your eyes on them... by now (if you're a girly guy like me (that's why Scott pays so much attention!)) it's now time for a rest.... close your wings and let the 140-160 mph wind beat your body for another 30 seconds... catch your breath (wish I could make my zippo work, I need another smoke...) Start flying again... you now see the tandem open... Great, use them for altitude reference... fly another minute or two and notice the tandem is now landing.... check altitude... approaching 7000' (or is that my watch? (7:00 pm, I thought the sun set at 5:30?) the tandem lands... and Mike is taking off with another load... wait... i'm still flying... time to pull? alti says 4000'... let's hum it and see what the protrack will say... throw at about 2500'.... land... fun... gotta do it... the borrowed protrack said something like 57 seconds from 23,800agl... the lender asked if i made 3 jumps with it... He downloaded and found two others... one was 119 seconds...(L&B... fix that!) then one with about 30 seconds... then the last with 57 or whatever... It's fun, but enjoy as much O2 as you can, tell the a/c operator your birdmanning and see if you can pre-breath a bit longer than the others... Take it from me... I'm a smoker, so you know i don't require much oxygen... Chris Go for it...

hehehehe... go for it girl!

remember... it's YOUR jump... the pilot will fly home... can you? If not, remember he is working to serve you, you are the customer. Don't ever let the pilot think he out ranks you (the customer). He is an employee of the company there to serve you. The jumper is what the DZ is all about.... never the other way around! Spot every load you are on... NEVER exit blindly... Chris

No... don't ever think that way... I'm a skydiver and a jump pilot... I use GPS, I fly perfect jump runs based on what i have seen the winds to be... With over 5000 jumps and twice as many jump runs flown, I know that the jumper exiting has more (current) knowledge and concern than I have. Feel free to take corrections/go-arounds... even with 30 something jumps. You know where you want to exit... if you don't... get with a more senior jumper (not the pilot) and determine where the correct exit point is... Chris

I've never seen bag dump/bag strip that wasn't caused by assymetrical line dump... chicken vs. egg kinda thing. I have seen line dump... a spaghetti mess just one foot outa the container, then the canopy gets dragged outa the bag by just a few, (not all) lines. One side gets loaded fully while the other side of the canopy is still slack. Some would call that bag strip, but it was caused by the initial line dump... I have been using a "Berger" bag for the last...almost 400 jumps. no stows..., before that i did "coils of death" in the bottom of the container. nice openings.. the lines fed out smoothly. With the coils of death method... the pilot chute lifts the bag and canopy only... lines feed smoothly from the container tray. Even deployment of the canopy and equal line stretch across the canopy. Line dump (uneven exposure of lines at canopy exposure) is the root problem. Not bag strip, that is a function of line tension. Chris

JP, I've still got a bunch... I'll send you a bag of the black bands... love 'em, used them for as long as they existed. Still have a bunch... never had a problem. Chris

in the early 80's it was also 100...

with plenty of prebreathing, 22k with suits is very doable... i've made a couple... You will find that muscles tire more quickly... on each one I had to take a break midway and rest. Chris

Problem is, we hope that by the time the schedule is published... both these girls are working for PRECISION! Two great people, know the product, friendly and concerned about their customers. Kolla and Gillian, you girls are great! Keep up the great work... (tell Bill , Gary and John, you have jobs waiting for you elsewhere if you're ever feeling the need......!) In the mean time, I'll try to work as hard as these girls, Hoy! Chris Martin Precision Aero p.s. I may be older and a bit slower, but I will (try) deliver service like these two!

(...get ready for flames... nomex suit on...) I have never seen a stow too tight that caused a problem what so ever. Locking stows included... on the other hand, i've seen line dump and bag strip that have caused many problems, including canopy damage and cutaways. Now here's the weird part... I no longer stow any lines with bungies, rubber bands, tube stows, etc... and my openings are better than ever. 5644 jumps, guessing over 8000 pack jobs... zero malfunctions... (ok, maybe one, but she was a cutie!) Chris All stows should be very tight ...on non-existent.

wow... it's fun working with George... here's what he sent to Betsy last nite... Chris

On one intended cutaway, I released one capewell (riser attachment) and was surprised to see one riser attached to half the canopy.... flying almost straight ahead... shit i wanted to see it spin and be a radical ride... No such luck... after riding it for a minute...i finally induced the requested spin with lots of riser input... Intentional cutaways almost always disappoint me for thrill factor. Packing Mals? We do it with every new canopy... (I'm a pretty lazy packer... ) I've not been successful yet packing a normal speed (intentional) malfunction. High Speed is another story... everything will fail at high enuf speed... doesn't take much effort. Chris

Sure it's possible to modify anything out there... But you wanna save $85 bucks, on a new pilotchute that will do the job intended... I thought i was cheap! Buy the equipment required. Or modify it as neccessary... changing the bridal on that set-up can probably be done for about $90.... don't save money, buy gear that you need... Am I missing something here? Come on here people... I'm exiting airplanes, what are you doing that 85 or 90 bucks makes that much difference? My skateboard wheels cost more than that! Chris

but I never will Steve.... hehehe and I'll bet you try not to also...

in safer... I mean canopies that are more intuitive to fly... Meaning better landings... I mean canopies that can glide further Meaning get you home from a ...not so good spot... I mean canopies that open far more comfortably Meaning fewer injuries from deceleration... Yes the new canopies are safer than older designs, without question. The lawyer in the house would want me to add a disclaimer here, but you know us... we don't play that game. Although anyone can get hurt under any canopy, the newer designs, when flown with good judgement, give you a better chance for success... (not to mention more fun too!) Chris

Material makes a huge difference... Zero Perosity (should be zero Permeability) will last longer than the design... many have over 4000+ jumps... I have some old Falcon canopies (0-3cfm material... F-111 type) in for reline with as many as 2000 jumps. (We make stuff that lasts too long!!!) But with all of the canopies that old, while they may be very "functional" canopies, you're really cheating yourself by utilizing the older designs. Parachute design has progressed as fast as computers in the last few years. The newer designs fly better, easier, and open sooo much better, but most importantly, more safely deliver you to the ground. Budget is always a consideration. But take the time to try new before you buy old. Demos are cheap, spend a tiny amount of cash (demo fee, shipping, etc.) and see what's out there before you commit to an older design parachute purchase... You'll be surprised. Chris

yea what he said!