faulknerwn

I think line twists are still only a problem on an elliptical. I've taught a BUNCH of people to pack over the years on my Triathalon 99's and I've had a fair share of line twists from beginners - its small but since its square - line twists are no more of a big deal than on my PD 150...

That reminds me of my first jump 13 years ago. I was a 110 lb girl jumping a "small" 250 main, and was told to PLF my first jump. I actually just kinda landed on my ass, and after landing, I remembered I was supposed to have PLF'ed so I rolled :-) My instructor gave me (funny) shit over the radio after that! I just had completely forgot until I was already down! It was actually pretty cuz i was well-landed before I remembered to roll :-)

I haven't done much with Spectres with Dacron, but "stock" Spectres at similar wing-loadings fly as well with Lightnings as Triathalons if not better. The landings really shouldn't change much dacron/microline. I know lots of camera guys out there jump Spectres with dacron... W

Its safe enough for casual CRW for sure. But definitely go dacron lines.. If you go to a CRW camp, they'll put you on a Lightning, but if you have a local experienced CRWdog, Spectres work great for doing CRW. W

That's a good point as well - I've been cocooned so tightly by Ken Oka that all I could do was wiggle my toes and hope he understood that meant cutaway! As far as snagging - I've had lines wrapped around my hands/wrists which I cleared and having an altimeter in the way to try to peel the lines around would have been just another obstacle to work around...

That's strange - I'd mount one ANYWHERE but my hands.. I've known multiple people who have lost altimeters by wearing them on my wrist, and when all is going to hell in a handbasket, the last thing I want is any chance of my anything on my hands being snagged - my 2 hands are my safety - nothing goes on them...

Exactly. And I'm completely befuddled as to how someone _could_ grab a handle when fruit-looping someone. I've always just seen someone grab the hands and toss em - I've NEVER seen anyone grab the harness in a fruit-loop. I'm completely baffled as to how the cutaway handle got pulled.

I own 2 pair! Been wearing nothing else for CRW for years!! They're great.. W

Our wonderfuly sweet dz (Skydive Temple) dog was hit by a car last night and killled :-( We're all very sad - he was a great dog even if he did like to chase airplanes on occasion... I just feel the need to post to his own thread even though it wasn't a skydiving-related accident. We're all going to miss him terribly... I know I'm going to be doomed to gaining 10 lbs since I won't be suckered into sharing half of every meal to a dog drooling on my leg :-) W

Had the same thing happen to me once. Had forgotten to route the white loop through the grommit and the riser fell off after landing. Twas a definite scary awakening...

The one time I fixed one (and I had opened at 12k so I had plenty of time) I noticed the one slack line (like you have in your photo). I reached above my connector link and pulled on the slack line and the tension knot went away... Whether or not you would have time to do this at 3k is a different story. W

I loved Tokyo! There's a cool section of town out by the water which has its own Statue of Liberty. (I could find em on a map but I forget the names). There's one section of town where there's a lot of English speakers - called Rokoko or something like that. Shingasin or something like is another really cool part of town which has tons of shops and bars and such. Electric City is a section of town which is world-famous for all of its electronic shops.. And the last section I remember (starts with an R) is a section heavily populated by young kids - its worth going just to look - Japanese teenagers make American teenagers look like they dress great! And of course, you could take the train out to Tokyo Skydiving Center. Make sure you talk to them beforehand cuz you have to get some special insurance and such, but they're a great bunch of folks to hang out with... W

I can't comment on the more extreme canopies, but I experimented with this on my Lightning a couple years back. I'd heard that canopies deploy softer without the brakes stowed. It did open softer, but my Lightning opened considerably more inconsistent - always off-heading (normally it never is) and often had line twists which is really abnormal. After a dozen or so experimental jumps I went back to stowing my brakes... W

Woo hoo! Thats' what's great about CRW - you've got friends around to discuss with what you should do about your canopy! I did that last fall - a buddy of mine on a Lightning had a really nice rip down his end cell. We chatted for a while, I told him the size of the rip etc and he considered the problem :-) So much more fun than freefall cutaways!!!! W

I'm always there! Its gonna be a spectacular time.. Aggieland is bringing their Caravan over so there will be lots of planes.. And do CRW with me :-) Its lots of fun!!!! We actually have bands both Saturday and Sunday night as well as kegs both nights.. We're jumping Friday through Sunday! Yahoo... W

If there was one emergency thing I would first take in CRW that I currently don't, I think a tertiary is a WAY better choice than a Cypres. I think its more likely to be useful! W

I agree. A Cypres is specifically designed not to fire if you have any parachute out at all. So the odd of it ever helping you in a low wrap are slim to none. But they have been known to misfire from time to time. I take newbies on CRW jumps regularly where they have turned-on AADs and that's fine because the risk is low. But to me $1300 is not worth the .0000000000000000001% chance that it'll save me versus the .0000000000000000001% chance it'll hurt me..

I'm 5'1 and during my student days pro-packed 250's.. You can do it :-) W

I own 6 rigs. Definitely don't have the money to put AADs in em all. (All are older rigs). 2 are only CRW rigs which I definitely won't put an AAD in.. 1 rig is a tiny Power Racer in which one won't fit. The other 3 I just have never gotten around to bothering with... W

How much slack was in the reserve cable? I.e. I've seen ones where the little ball is right next to the handle, and others where there is 6+ inches free...

I have 4000+ jumps, packed for myself the vast majority of em, but also pack for others on a regular basis. For most people - put in 50-100 jumps packing for yourself, and it becomes quite easy. 95% of rigs out there are easy for me to pack. I understand rookies stuggling with new zero-p, but when I see someone with a thousand jumps who can barely pack, it worries me.. I seem to help someone hook up gear - to risers or 3-rings or whatever - every weekend. I respect the ones who sit there with me and learn and actively want to learn to do it themselves. Quite a few are happy to watch from a distance and don't care. I can name people with 1000+ jumps who don't feel comfortable hooking up their own parachute - that worries me. You need to know how your gear works. Packing - I've caught quite a few minor things that people who don't pack for themselves might never notice. Its dangerous to rely on other people. My personal favorite are those folks who stow their own brakes, but they have so many twists in the brake lines that I unstow them and untwist them before I'll pack it.. I have no problem with people using packers - I hate the fact that a lot of people who do don't understand their gear and how it works. Basic stuff like untwisting brake lines comes as new knowledge to people who have enough jumps that they should know better.. EVERYONE - whether they use packers or not - should be inspecting their gear regularly. Its easier if you pack for yourself because you'll notice if something changes. If you never pack for yourself, I wouldn't go more than a week or two without inspecting my gear well because if you're not looking at it, you won't notice...

I know someone who bought a PD 260ish of the same ilk off of ebay. He put on new lines himself and has been quite happy with it... W

No picture right offhand. Its basically the same material the riser is made of folder over a couple of times and stitched to the riser. It just creates a lump which is easy to grab a hold of.. I used to always have those, but in recent years have always just had 18 inch risers where I can reach up and grab the slider bumper as a good grip.. W

A lot of CRWdogs have blocks on their rear risers - easier to grab than toggles and less of an annoyance..

It affects any canopy's flight. For years now on CRW big-ways, we've had most of the formation in a hard arch the entire skydive - it really helps keep the base moving. Only the outside's aren't. It works well - anytime a big CRW formation starts to cup or get iffy, you'll hear a large chorus of catcalls to "ARCH!" W