webracer

I have an alti-2 mounted on each rig on r.s. legpad just below the ring. I have made custom pillows to keep it in a direction I can see it. On belly I have to drop my right knee to see it. Sitfly I can see it well at anytime, headdown I cannot see it. I really only want the altimeter for canopy anyway, and possible malfunctions, under canopy it is in a great place. It does not interfere with packing either. I am now considering buying a neptune and putting it in a pocket I will sew on my gloves (which I always wear). If that works out well, that will become my only altimeter. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I feel if you're flying in any airspace where other canopies will/could be, fly the same pattern as they are required to do. At least they can expect you will only turn left. If you're competing or doing a hop&pop, that's a good time to do a right if you like. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

This weekend during swoop club, initiated an accelerated approach from too low (and knew it when I started it). Ended up digging out of the corner on toggles and left a divet the size of my ass infront of the entry gates. I burnt my slicker pants from the brief bounce, bounced about 5' up and 20' forward before I was back on those toggles to stand it up and run it out. A couple inches lower and I'd be at best hospitalized. I thought I'd pull it out, and didn't realize I'd bounced until after it happened. Could have been much worse. I will abort the round next time if my setup is too low. It was a real wakeup call to mortality. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I put money on account, and until that is gone I jump for free! When it is all gone, all I have to do is bolster the account and again I am jumping by just going to manifest and asking to get on the load. Is that what you're talking about? Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I have done Airspeed's camp for the last two years now. I will go again in spring for the third year in a row. I do the basic camp to not only hone my skills, but to get ready for the upcoming season. Airspeed's camp will cater to all skill levels while still maintaining a standard curriculum. I cannot recommend it enough. Usually there are 18 students, in 6 groups of 3 (that means you are sharing your Airspeed instructor with two other skydivers). In my first camp my instructor was Kirk Verner, In the second it was Gary Beyer. I also flew at night (nominal extra charge), with Alan Metni, Jack Jeffries, and Craig Girard. In the last camp we did a three way at night (two airspeed and me), and racked up over 100 points in two minutes. whew! It is great fun!!! Just do it! Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Jimbo, your points are excellent. IMO, airtec is absolved of providing data at this point due to historical evidence. Vigil is trying to break into the market (a great thing), and to get out of the gate fast, it would be best to post data received through beta testing. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Does the vigil have the water resistant features like the cypres 2 (which is the same physical size)? Also, the display unit looks cylindrical, which may not be entirely appropriate for the window system now included with all rigs. I am willing to accept another excellent AAD manufacturer, but they should put up some data about durability and use time (with all the betas they claim to have, there should be lots). Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Try www.para-concepts.com Rigging course 11/1-8/2003 Great course, I did it in Feb. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I've had mine for a month now. Wassup with that shit? Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Jump 689, Switched back to my VX after a demo the night before. The VX was on risers in a d-bag w/ the pilot chute. Apparently I got the risers swapped. After a solid 4-way comp dive, I ended up with 4 revolutions of line twists. Got out of them by 1600', and 'shit!' I was going backwards. Kaching! In the saddle under reserve by 1000', landed on the DZ proper. Lost the freebag, but recovered the main (had to cut down a few trees to get it). I now unpack all mains to check them after hookup. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

This all depends on you. It logs until about the time your canopy is inflating, not until you're fully seated. Maybe you have a slow sitfly, or are kinda on your back, or maybe the protrack is wrong. Mine registers about 55-60 seconds from 13.5 to 2.2 where I am usually open. I do go a bit faster though, about 150. Do a belly jump and see what it reads. I usually get about 70 for the same altitude belly jump. Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Kirk at Skydive Chicago runs one a couple times a year. Better if you get a head start, but even if you don't, in a week you'll probably be done. He is also a DPRE. Write Kirk@para-concepts.com for information. I went through the course, and I feel well trained as a new rigger (I only rig for myself and a few friends). Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

yeah, most serial killers are white too. Think about it. Anyone is generally welcome in this sport, unless you are dangerous or careless toward others. Whites just fit the personality profile of skydivers better. my .03 Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Around here, we are using them atop Hawkeyes or Optiks. Working well. Good luck, Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I personally waited till I crossed 500 (actually almost 600). I also started at a pretty safe location (bridge, 486'), with a lot of landing area. No amount of skydives prepares you for leaving your object, but it is of great consolation landing a canopy where you want it, and being able to manipulate the canopy to avoid objects. These are things you cannot explain well to non canopy pilots. I did meet a guy at the bridge that had never skydived (and you could tell his canopy skills were just developing. He landed everywhere but the clear landing area). I also went supervised by an experienced BASE jumper (700 jumps). I would not have started on my own without guidance. Good luck, its scarier than you think! Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Dytters in each helmet, Alti IIs on each rig at right leg strap. I have made special pillows to angle them the way I want. I got tired of putting it on my wrist. This works for most everything, but if I do AFF I will put a wrist mount on (something I can show to the student if necessary). Lastly, I still have my eyes, which are pretty good altimeters. The internal clock helps too. Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

There are a few factors coming into play here. First and foremost you are jumping student gear. Most student gear (while safe) is worn out and older. The leg pads are narrow and worn out. The gear also does not generally fit properly (for comfort). Another factor is how tight or loose your harness is on you, and where your container sits on your back. If your container is sitting low (the laterals are sagging), then when you deploy it moves up (because now it is suspended under the canopy). This movement is causing most of your discomfort. Wearing the container high on your back (so the laterals are straight), and having the harness quite snug (where it restricts you from dearching alot) will help. Another factor is your experience level, it is unlikely you have the best body position at deployment time. This will get better. If you go head-down at all, you are asking for more opening shock. The packers at your dz also may be packing "brisk" student openings for student gear. This quick/hard opening is generally preferred to a snivel as students can mistakenly identify a snivelling canopy as a malfunction. I am not saying that this will solve all your problems, but this is a good place to start. When you buy your own gear (especially if you get custom), you will be pleasantly surprised with the comfort. Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

And these big sellers had to order the rigs because why? Because the lead time is so long people won't wait (order), and these sellers need stock rigs on their shelves early next year. If they had a 4-6 week lead time, these big sellers would not likely order so many at a time. They may have also stocked up on rigs because of the unreasonable price increase coming up. Sunpath is just trying to cash in, which wouldn't be such a problem if they would get off their asses and make the rigs! I wanted an Odyssey, but I'll buy a Mirage for more money. They odyssey is a great rig, but I am not rewarding Sunpath for their behavior with another order. The comment above about resale is just about right on though, but that is comparing a Javeling with a dolphin, not a Mirage or Vector (or a few other great manufacturers). Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

in regards to the term swoop (in the original context in freefall), think of a bird, "swooping" down to catch some prey. It looks much the same as what we're doing. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I have tenatively bought a new VX 114, this is my first xbrace. I have a Samurai 120 in one rig and a Samurai 105 in the other (althought the VX replaced the 120). I got 4 jumps on it today, and I like everything from opening to flare. It does feel huge though. I am loading it at 1.9. My only complaint is that front riser pressure is very heavy compared to my Samurais. I am using more harness to begin my approach, finishing with a bit of front riser. Is this normal to have such heavy riser pressure? It is really heavy, like pulling down on a tandem. It feels as though I should be jumping a 100 or so, but I think I'll continue with this 114 to finish the season and demo some others to prepare for what I will buy for next season. Input is appreciated. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I would suggest to land the main. Go straight in, find an open area where you are unlikely to run out of space. I too do not agree with cutting away a perfectly good canopy. I feel anyone can land almost any main (with a low level of experience), it is the hazards that will bury you. Avoid traffic areas the best you can, and prepare to slide/plf. The best advice I can give though, is check your rig before you put it on! I always check my throwout and main pin prior to donning the rig, even when I have packed it, and am doing 10 + jumps/day. This isn't all happening at the same DZ is it? Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

That's how I do it. I make my loop size (almost 2x a normal toggle loop), then fingertrap the excess. I then make my knot to the proper size. I feel since the fingertrap is in the knot, it is adequately locked. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I haven't heard stowless d-bags referred to as lazy bags until this time. I feel they will require the same time and attention as a normal d-bag. I have seen them and seen them packed. Also mixing d-bags is generally not recommended, but many folks do (including myself... I have an Odyssey with two mains setup (for that rig) on risers w/ dbags/pilotchutes to switch out easily, both in Mirage d-bags because I like them better than sunpath's bags). Trulok toggles. I have switched all my rigs to RW risers. I like the housings, and the toggles. I am not sure if the metal pin is actually better, but it isn't causing any problems. Closing order, like another person responded, RW does offset the grommets on at least one flap. Unlike most other rigs, I feel it is important to close a RW rig in proper order l-r. I do three ring maint. every repack and everytime I switch canopies (fairly often, at least once/month...sometimes each day). I do not spin the rings individually. Hope this helps (maybe my .02 is worth .03 these days). Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

That's pretty much up to you, but I have decided not to buy a new Odyssey (I have an Odyssey NJ and a Mirage G3 w/ Unisyn) because of the wait times, price increase (that is unreasonable), and Sunpaths general attitude (my opinion obviously), being the biggest seller of sport rigs, and quite full of themselves, I am not ordering a new Odyssey. Don't get me wrong, the Odyssey is a fantastic rig, but Sunpath is acting kinda like Harley Davidson these days. I don't know what I will order, probably a G4. I like both my rigs the same, but size-for-size, the Mirage is heavier (with double wall construction and other extra padding). I would have ordered another Odyssey if I felt Sunpath deserved the business. Troy Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

nice post billvon, right on the mark! Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.