faulknerwn

Many people own rigs without RSLs. Many of our rookie jumpers buy used gear which don't have RSLs. I like the 2 hands on each handle only if you have an RSL. If you have a violent spinning malfunction, it is EXTREMELY hard to keep an eye on the reserve handle while not looking at the cutaway and you are spinning and tumbling. I've had 18 chops over the years, 7 or so from CRW. There have been 3 I think of those, where for one reason or another (spinning mal which took 2 hands to cutaway, and some CRW jumps where I needed to freefall clear before pulling reserve) where I had to work to find the reserve handle. I.e it wasn't visible because the harness shifted and I had to start my hand on the 3 rings and worked my way down the liftweb until I found the handle. One of those I was probably at 6k after a CRW chop and all I remember thinking was that I was going to look like an idiot in Parachutist for chopping and never pulling my reserve :-) When rigs move around during malfunctions - especially rigs with hip/chest rings - it can be hard to find handles. And reserve handles can be even harder to find after a chop if they're soft rather than hard. One of my CRW jobs when I went tumbling off after a cutaway it took a thousand feet of diligently working my harness till I found the reserve handle. Luckily I was at 6k rather than 2k.. Since most freefall mals happen far closer to 2k, I would be afraid to chop that low without a hand on the reserve handle unless I had an RSL. Especially if the mal is violent and tumbling, it is next to impossible to keep your eyes on that handle as you're rolling. My dz teaches 1 hand on each handle. If students come from other places, I keep with whatever they were originally taught. I can say though that I have never seen even one person who was taught 2 hands on the cutaway actually look at their reserve handle the first time I put them in the practice harness. Your natural instinct is to look at what you're pulling. I've got 7000 jumps. I don't think I could keep my eyes on my reserve handle in a tumbling unstable mal. I think the 2 hands on each handle works great for students and anyone with an RSL. If you're jumping a rig without an RSL, I'm not so sure about it.. I think it will take you at least 500-1000 feet longer to get a reserve out than the 1 hand per handle method. Oh - and the one hand on each handle method should NEVER involve pulling the reserve handle out of the pocket until after the cutaway is achieved. That avoids the floating ripcord situations...

That's an extremely high wing-loading. From what I've seen landings noticably start deteriorating at 1.6-1.7 ish.. I don't weigh enough to ever load the 99's that high but I suspect that landings are gonna be tough...

And age in itself means nothing. I recently have bought 2 brand new rigs off these forums that were 16-17 years old. One had 0 jumps and the other 7 and then sat in a closet for years. They're in immaculate condition.

Ditto. I had a Triathlon 99 relined with Dacron and it still fit into my Power Racer just fine. It packs a tad bigger, but not much..

Can someone post a picture of him? I think I might have been on his first CRW jump...

Me too! Quincy in its heyday was the best party on earth. It was like Mecca. I also fought back tears as I had to leave and go back to real life...

The Storm and the Spectre are completely different categories with very different flying characteristics. People who like one may not like the other... The Pulse is also a more aggressive canopy than the Silhouette. There is a market for them all..

We're trying to fill up slots for a coach course at Skydive Temple July 2-4. Rob Laidlaw will be doing the course, and the cost is $299 plus the candidates split the cost of his airfare.. If you ever wanted to get your rating, now is the time! A $100 deposit is needed by Monday June 14 to hold your slot. 5-6 candidates are needed to hold the course.

Ask your fellow jumpers! Probably depends on your local scenery - ask your friends you jump with how easy it is to spot your canopy...

I hate Perris for that reason! I've only ever done CRW there, but its always interesting because practically every time I've come into land there, every windsock points a different direction! Every major downwind landing I've ever done (i.e. not 1/2 mile an hour) was at Perris Valley landing off the airport.. I swear the winds just swirl in circles there.. I don't know regulars deal with it constantly!

I always tell my students to smile. Even if you have to force it. You can't be too tense if you're smiling :-) It does sound like stress/tension to me.. I once had a student (who has 200 skydives now) who had a similar spinning problem. I gave him the same advice and on the next jump he started to spin. He forced a smile and it stopped. He was afraid to stop smiling. He did and he started spinning and he forced another smile on his face. He stopped spinning completely and then pulled.. It was hilarious to watch. I swear you just can't be too tense if you're smiling - even if you have to force it...

It can be hard to spot everyone at times. A couple weeks ago I was doing video of a tandem out of a 182 with one fun jumper on the load. The tandem was way high, and I spotted the fun jumper right after opening and he was a long way away. I undid my wings, stowed my slider and such, and went to look for him again. Couldn't find him anywhere. I spent the next thousand feet looking for him. Finally found him - far closer than I would have liked (though not scary close by any means) after over a thousand feet of actively searching. And this was out of a C182 looking for only one other jumper. Last summer, our other full-time AFF JM had a brown and yellow canopy. That thing was practically invisible if she was below me in the Texas summer. I spent at least half of every canopy ride searching for her every jump before I could spot that canopy.. That's a large portion of the reason I like bright colored canopies.. Blue ones can be invisible above, brown/green/black ones invisible below... We never had any issues, but the possibility is always there..

I learned at 2 different dzs in Florida back in 1993, both used radios. Moved to TX in 1994, and every dz I've ever been to in this state (Cessna ones included) used them as well.

That reminds me of the classic line I've been waiting for years to be able to use - 2 CRWdogs in a wrap talking to each other - "You wait here - I'll go for help!"

Having done lots of CRW, I'd definitely say that in a strong headwind you can increase penetration on front risers. The key is how much you pull. If you've ever watched hard-core down the back CRW rotations, those guys are yanking on their front risers hard, and go straight down. Pulling down just a tad on the risers will make you drive forward, and is the option of choice if you get behind the formation. I use my front risers to shoot accuracy - if I'm going to overshoot, I pull hard on them to make my approach steeper. If I'm coming in a tad short, I just pull a tiny bit and it increase the forward speed and glide. The above works on "traditionally-trimmed" canopies - one in the middle of the range. On canopies that are extremely steeply trimmed already, you're already past the angle where front risers help. I remember one big-way CRW event at Zhills a few years back. Only 3 of us made the airport, and every one of us who did were on our front risers. Heck, I was on a CRW jump last weekend and after we broke our 5-stack, I flew my 2-way back to the airport on front-risers because we were downwind. The other 2-stack who was outrunning us during the earlier part of the jump was left in the dust and landed off. The key is just doing a touch - too much you cause more sinking than drive. Same with rear risers on an upwind spot - the best glide is just the tiniest bit of rear risers on most canopies..

We use them for our student canopies. They seem to pack about the same as any other 230 - nothing crazy.. They seem to open pretty soft for our students - generally loaded somewhere between .7-1.0

I don't know what personality traits caused it, but I sucked as a student.. Had 48 jumps on student status! Have 6500 jumps these days, a few world records, and an AFF rating.

That was what I was supposed to do in 1993! Course I sucked and did 20 instead ;-)

Correct. The lines are not covered - its just a piece of fabric which you rubber band lines on to. I have one canopy which I personally did 500+ jumps on like that and is still in use in the CRW community with the same tailpocket.. The covered tailpocket is really nice, and I highly recommend getting it when buying new, but this is WAY WAY WAY easier to add on in the field, and seems to work great, and I've never seen any issues with it. The canopy I jumped in all the world records had this kind of tail pocket on it.

What we've done for aftermarket tail pockets - and which is WAY easier than the ones done at the factory - is just sew a piece of cloth onto the trailing edge of the canopy. Then just throw some binding tape onto it to hold rubber bands, and voila tail pocket. Its a lot easier than having to unstitch seams and all of that to sew it onto the actual cell - just sew the fabric onto the current seam on the tail and have it hang off the back.

I've done sunglasses and contacts for years. Assuming the sunglasses wrap tight to your face, I have actually had less issues than with goggles.

My cat (Mouse) has been known to bring live mice in for my dog (Kat) to chase around the house. I think she finds it amusing...

#1 with a metal handle.. Numbers 2 and 3 just look like everyone else's rigs - blah. Would be easier for someone to pick up by accident too since they are such common colors...

People won't admit it even anonymously? That surprises me. I can understand not wanting your name posted but anonymously? I wonder if we had a way that people could email a moderator info and just say "someone in TX or someone in AZ" did this ... Would they be more willing to fess up if if it was both anonymous and the dz wasn't posted?

If you want your Masters you might try doing seat packs. We get those coming in pretty regularly to our loft from pilots. Do them a few times each one comes in and you will have your packs..