mx19

I've never personally jumped the 71 comp velo but i know a lot of people who have and say the performance really drops off on it and they end up going back to the 75/79. I don't think theres many people out there that compete on a 71 due to this fact so i don't think theres any need for anything smaller as the performance would just drop further?

I don't think thats high at all, I have done 1100 High performance landings in the last 8 months, not even a year yet so thats only another 454 people to go to make those numbers which isn't unreasonable as there are others out there doing more than me. Edit to add unless you are just talking about the states then that may be slightly high, but still possible as the people doing hp landings should be current so likely doing upwards of 1000 jumps each anyway... Granted i have absolutely no idea how many people jump in the states...

What canopy do you jump? have you thought about a removeable slider? I have done my last 2000 jumps with one and can't imagine using a normal slider again! Otherwise on my wings and infinity i used to use a home made one using bungee cord, rubber bands and bottle tops: they don't look gucci by any stretch or the imagination but they work and in my eyes are just as safe if not safer in some aspects than a skytie. It might be quite hard to see from my awful paint drawing but it has multiple fail points incase of a cutaway after its attached.

I believe our new rule is indeed 300 jumps minimum if you have completed flight 101 and 102 and have proof of it, you also need to be current etc and like anyone who jumps here you have to do a hop and pop for your first jump here and you will be assessed on your behavior under canopy with landing patterns etc. If you don't satisfy the ground control on the day you may have to do another hop and pop until you do...

Maybe but we all know sarcasm doesn't come across as well in text, also there are unfortunately more and more people out there that think this is a conservative progression...

Honestly not trying to be an ass: Is a 1.5 wing loading on a Katana at 400 jumps really what people are considering conservative these days? While it certainly isn't the most aggressive downsizing I've ever seen, I wouldn't call it conservative by any stretch. You are right in my opinion... even the move before it, wingloading is ok but canopy choice is most definitely not!

So I got the opportunity to put 9 jumps on an 86 Leia (slightly too big for me i think) the other day, and filled out an order form for a 76 that evening! Arguably THE best opening canopy out there, we packed various different ways (using packers aswell) and every jump was as soft as another. I honestly have never felt a canopy open that soft, it is a god send for any camera flyer that values their neck and wants to be able to jump full time for a while! She fly's amazingly as well especially with a bit more loading on her! Im planning on competing with her exclusively until my name comes up in the list for a Petra after which i will still have the best camera canopy available and a great wing for accuracy. Just my 0.2c

Orange- Slightly more solid flight characteristics/ faster openings HMA- Slightly softer flight characteristics / much nicer openings Comp velo 84 at 2.6 used everyday for camera.

Cookie G3, No more snot in your face/mouth, less illnesses, protect you slightly from the smelly ones but still has great visibility and can talk with the visor up under canopy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45VtzmtA_C0 This is due to excess getting caught round the closing loop attachment...

Yes, on tandem video jumps around 7/8 times every day, with full camera setup.

I don't have any videos to hand but for what its worth, I Jumped a VC90 with Orange vectran for half a season then HMA for half a season and now I jump 2 VC84's one with Vectran and one with HMA, I have also used various sliders on these. The VC90 HMA with a UPT removable slider was hands down the nicest opening canopy i have ever jumped! With the standard removable slider It was also lovely. With the orange Vectran they do open quicker and from time to time firm especially with the standard rds slider from PD. I think you are going to have a fantastic opening canopy there!

On the sliders that come with the comp velo they say not to use at terminal, But i know plenty of camera flyers that use them terminal... Look at the UPT removable slider, I have done about 800 terminal jumps with this with no issue whatsoever. It is very easy to remove the lanyard and just use the slider part.

Dual toggle system is mainly for TI comfort, the toggles on a tandem rig are a lot heavier than on a sport canopy... Using just the steering toggles takes a lot less effort and can save some fatigue when doing lots of jumps in a day, then use both when you really need the power, on landing.

Fify - not a packers responsibility. Depends on the arrangement. I always preferred to pack tandems and student gear (less so) when I was actively packing. That being said I always packed a sport rig exactly the way I wanted to jump it, because I held myself to standards. If it was someone that wanted to get pack jobs all day on quick turns I would give them two prices, the base pack job if they gave it back pack ready with brakes stowed, excess stowed, slider set, and not in a mess. The next price was if I was doing everything. I see what you are saying here, and i agree, it depends on the agreement. As a full time jumper I have an agreement on tandems with packers here that they stow the brakes but I get the rest ready for jumping like uncollapse slider and release ring locks etc. On the other hand I never lay my camera rig down without everything ready to jump including excess stowed, rds attached etc. If i was to lay my gear down without the excess stowed i would fully expect to have it open without the excess stowed... Some people, silly as it may seem, have their own reasons for not stowing it. (note i do not agree with it at all) Just to clarify, I am not a packer, I was a packer at one stage and most people brought their rigs ready to pack. There were a few that never brought it with the excess stowed and when asked about it they didn't want the excess stowed... when i come across this situation i usually like to educate on how dangerous it is and ask again. If they were low time jumpers that didn't know better i would stow the excess or refuse to pack for them if the wouldn't let me. IMHO you sir are out of line for assuming that i take no pride in my work and lazy for expecting a packer to do it for you. All i was saying is if you want your excess stowed, you have to do it yourself, you cannot rely on a packer to do it for you when they are rushed and racing to keep up with demand. How hard is it to do for yourself? I do over 1200 jumps a year and do it on every one. It takes a few seconds.

Fify - not a packers responsibility.

Yes really. There are much better options out there for not much more money. The op wanted peoples opinions, i gave mine, sabre 1's open like crap, have very average to less than average flight characteristics by today's standards and with all the other options out there there there is no need to buy them anymore. I can understand for a backup rig that you won't use very often but if its a backup rig chances are you will be using a packer.... Its your neck at the end of the day.

Here is my honest opinion, i have never jumped a zpo so won't comment on that but, why not save a couple of hundred extra bucks and get something more modern... There is absolutely no need to buy a sabre 1 any more, they open like shit unless you do some mods, even then there are still much nicer opening, much nicer flying canopies out there... Too many people buy sabre 1's because they are cheap then post up on forums like this asking for help with their openings... they are cheap for a reason. Save your back and neck. Wait a little bit to save some more money then Look for a safire 1 or 2 or a sabre 2 etc!!!

none the less don't do only hop n pops because you will want freefall skills to help you fly that 200lb weight on your front that has no real idea about skydiving, especially on the exit, where tunnel may not help either...

Ok, here's the situation: I had a friend move in with me into a 2 bedroom apartment beginning of June, i was back and forth most of the summer but when i got back end of august he had got a new mrs who has since spent every night here. She doesn't make a lot of money from what i gather and sends a lot home. Apparently she has her own room in another rented apartment but she has never stayed anywhere but here in the last few months. Am I out of order if i ask her to help out with bills and/or rent? I just wanted to get a general consensus before bringing it up! Cheers

Fair point

Do you not think that brakelines being untwisted is the jumpers problem? The packer does not have time to fix that! Same way the rig should be given to them ready to pack, brakes and excess stowed and slider uncollapsed/reattached etc.

Good choice! I bought a brand new wings for my first rig with a 175 reserve and 170 safire main and i used that container all the way down to jumping a crossfire2 119 and over 1000 jumps with absolutely no safety issues, then sold it when i got company gear and didn't lose much at all....

Thank god for that! Max

If it does happen on a reserve then the best way to get rid of tension knots, as well as stalling, is to pull the riser that has the line groups on and instead of slowly releasing the riser, once it is pulled down all the way you need to let go completely which will cause the lines to go slack momentarily and allow the knot to undo. I have done this on a few tandems which seem to be slightly more common and a sport jump or two.