JJohnson

Congratulations!!!!! You are either gonna be a daddy or its a new test called EPT that stands for Early Premenstral Tantrum. The red indicator means WARNING EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE. So be ready to run just in case. Like the Black Widow spider, most wives like to mate before they kill. :) JJ

According to my Finnish friends it means: " Very well said, but I wouldn't use such words (or language) Kittos, JJ

I work for a Finnish company and the girl who is my right hand is Finnish. Email me the words and I'll have them translated for you by tomorrow. jjohnson@finnpower.com JJ

I got through to Skydive Illinois. The story is good. The Otter was damaged, apparently not seriously. It is in Denver, being held up for weather in Nebraska but should be here for the weekend. $13 jumps are on. So just to be sure: This weekend of April 12th-14th is at Morris...correct? Which day are we shooting for Saturday or Sunday? Then the following weekend is Hinckley? JJ

That is a very sterotypical observation on cops in general. Rather in bad taste. Most cops I have had the opportunity to meet and have given me bad attitude...well I probably had it coming. And were is it written that all of these SNR people are cops? Perhaps some are volunteers? Cut them some slack. When was the last time you stayed out all night crawling through the brush looking for a needle in haystack? Ever look for a lost main in cornfield during the daytime? Not easy. Give the people involved a chance to do their jobs. I'm sure the jumpers in Deland would be raising all sorts of shit if they thought the situation was being handled incorrectly. Even if it is being handled wrong, don't apply that to every cop or ex-military.

I'm the dude sleeping in the dream sequence!! JJ

I too had some interesting openings on a Crossfire 119, loaded at about 1.55. I do not care for the sniveling opening, but that could be rectlified by a smaller slider. Which may also solve your problem. Demo canopies are sent with large sliders on them, slowing the opening down. If you speed it up the canopy may inflate faster and not get the chance to dive or turn so much. (which mine did as well. Normal of 90 degrees or more off-heading) Another thing to check might be the brake line length. Too short and the canopy will open slow, almost in a stall. As it fights to open, it is bound to search and open off heading. Check how much bow is in your steering lines at full flight. Your flare point on a Safire for Crossfire should be pretty deep. MHO. JJ

I'm in for the record at Hinckley. I'll be out there regardless, so I might as well have a purpose. JJ

You might want to call Skydive Illinois and check on that $13 jump weekend. I think that was to celebrate the return of their Otter and rumor has it that the plane was damaged last weekend. So those plans might be put on hold.

LOST PRAIRIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year will be my 4th year there. Everybody I know is under the full understanding that they do not die or get married during this time period....cause I ain't attending the service. No place like it on or above Earth. JJ

When I decided to become a fledging freeflopper and give in to the dark side, I looked at nearly every rig out there. Javelin Odessey, Mirage, VooDoo, Reflex, Wings....all were good choices. Price was NOT a determining factor in my search. I choose the VooDoo and I will admit that part of that choice was because less people were using them than Javelins or Mirages. I think the VooDoo is the best damn looking rig on the planet and when I stacked the features up it was price competitive. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. I would also spend the money on the Javelin or Mirage. Not being an expert on the construction and technology of skydiving equipment, I depend on other peoples opinions.....mostly that of several riggers around the country whose brains I pick. A few manufacturers that are willing to give unbias opinions, and finally my own perverse logic. Price however is not a prime consideration. When looking at gear that is going to save my life......that is not the time to cut costs. A sale is one thing, but I am a bit leary of gear that is supposed to be of comparable material, construction and quality yet somehow costs considerably less. Please do not misconstrue me, I am not bashing any rig that I do not have first hand knowledge of. But I normally expect to pay a premium for quality merchandise. JJ

Your Cypress will not fire premature due to the burble caused by the raft. However should you be in the burble at Cypress firing altitude, it will not fire at the correct save your ass altitude. As the Cypress should have been set at your field elevation, as soon as you get back into clean air, it will track altitude correctly again. As it was explained to me, the Cypress is designed to be tracking altitude in your own burble, while you are belly to Earth. It is mounted on your back, so it is in a burble normally. Conversely, if you are in a head down or standing position, it will fire slightly higher. This is my understanding based on a conversation I had with SSK after having my Cypress fire while fighting a sniveling main canopy. Result was two canopies out. JJ

While I can certainly agree that a helmet adds some measure of safety, I cannot agree that it should be a required piece of equipment. I ride a motocycle and in Illinois it is not required to where a helmet. I make this choice because the helmet limits my field of vision, making me feel less aware. It is my awareness that allows me to react to situations properly. I feel the same way when jumping. Given most situations I prefer to not wear a helmet and I have been kicked and knocked witless. Each time I saw the foot or limb coming and braced for it, ducked it or blocked it. Had I had a full face helmet on I might not have seen the blow coming at all. Quite possible the result might have been worse. I will wear a helmet when freeflying, but thats due to my own lack of skills in that discipline. So while I do repect your choice to wear a helmet, I do not think it should be required. RSL's and Cypress would then also need to be required safety items as well. After that, you might as well make all reserve sizes be of a "safe" size.....where do you stop required safety? JJ

So you got a small suit????? JJ

5 years, 500 jumps. 2 cutaways, one on my first Tandem the other on my first unsupervised packjob. (shoulda paid attention in those packing classes and not the moron in the background yelling, "Just ball it up and stick it in the bag, it'll probably open. And you got a friggin reserve!" Lost Prairie boogie 3 times JJ

I gotta disagree on the service issue. Just this week I called a few canopy mfgs. Cobalt (Dan) called me back within 2 hours. PD has yet to call me back. I've gotten great service from Icarus as well. As for Icarus recall on the Crossfire....I don't see how they screwed up. They stood behind the canopy. The admitted the mistake and corrected it to the best of their ability. I had one for a few months and really enjoyed it. Nice wing. JJ

I still own my first rig, which is a used older racer. I used it for my begining FF rig when I came over to th dark side and started my colorful freeflopping career. If I did not pack it correctly and carefully I could get a toggle to come up prior to deployment. However with the new features on the Racer I cannot see that they would be unsafe. Damn comfortable rig. I like my VooDoo more, but I would buy a Racer for FF. JJ

I never claimed to be a rocket scientist, however I am judging the speed of opening from the time I throw until I am in saddle. Comparing the Crossfire to the Safire the difference is huge. I would not consider dumping the Crossfire at 2000 AGL. I know that my perception could be off, but my perdception is what I base my safety on. So all the cool numbers and calculation don't get me anywhere. With the Safire I am at a count of 5 from throw out to having an inflated canopy over my head. With the Crossfire the best I got was a 6 count, normally more ( like 7 or 8) and the canopy sniveled longer, slowing me down less. Exact footage burned....I don't know. I'll take your word for it. I still did not like it. So as to not cause any further discussion allow me to say: If the Cobalt has as slow of opening as the Crossfire, then I will not like the opening. However from all the feedback I have gotten from you nice folks, I think the Cobalt will be superior and I plan on getting a demo sent to me as soon as the weather breaks here in Chicago. JJ

This months Safety Check in Parachutist deals with canopies of different sizes and speed. Mr. Duran did a good job of thinking it out. There are many ideas on exit orders and the logic behind them are all based of what people believe to be sound. I've been to DZ'z where belly flyers go out first and where freeflyers exit first. Now we look at complicating the exit order due to canopy speed, so as to not make a zoo out of the landing area? Well when somebody gets the exit and landing order down to an exact science, I'll follow that. But in the mean time, I am responsible for my own safety. No matter what DZ I'm at, I go for the least used area of landing area. My head is on swivel looking for anyone that don't see me. Awareness is the key to survival. No matter what skill I may be working on, I need to be prepared to change my plans. I have done my share of hosing people and have had my share of being cutoff. Live and learn. If I do something stupid I expect some polite ass-chewing to remind me of it. And I will politely explain my perception to someone else if I feel they are unsafe. You would be suprised at how many people cannot take any criticsism, feel they are above being told anything and think you are a total As#$*hole if you mention it to them. A person I know firmly believes that everyone NOT jumping a canopy as small as his should be prepared to get out of his way, or at least everyone on the load is supposed to be aware of him. Of course he like to land dead center for proper audience approval. I hate to sound like I'm raving, I'm not. My personal well being is up to me. I have to be prepared to take whatever measures required to ensure it. JJ

I demoed a Crossfire for a few months while waiting for my Safire, which came from Spain. I have had jumps where I threw out the pilot chute at 4K and was in the saddle by 2K. This was the worst example. I varied the pack job to where I would get a 6 second opening, but with the snivel I was still going through 1200 to 1500 feet by the time I was in the saddle. I loved the canopy, it was a blast to fly. I weigh 165 without gear and the Crossfire was a 119, so that gives you a good idea of the wingloading. If I had kept that canopy, or ordered one with the sme type of openings I was seriously considering taking a soup can to the slider, or a smaller slider to speed it up a touch. JJ

I figured the Sabre 2 was about the same performance wise to the Safire, equally loaded. I was looking to get into the truly elliptical without going to the Tri-braced cutting edge monster. I'm all for progression, not perfection. I am really leaning towards the Cobalt, but I am unfamiliar with the company and product. So I guess my concern is what it's flight characteristics are compared to the Nitron or say a Stilleto. If anyone has experience with Atair's quality and service.

I am looking at going to bit more performance of a canopy. Currently I jump a Safire 129. I'm not ready for the ultimate pocket rocket, but my considerations thus far are: Saber 2 which is probably damn close to what I have now, Niton which I know next to nothing about, Crossfire which I have jumped and do like except for what seems to be an cronic sniveling opening, and the Cobalt. Any heads up on which canopy you all enjoy and why will be greatly appreciated. Opening to me is important. It needs to be consistent, on heading, and not burn more than 1000 feet. Performance is important.......not twitchy, stable in front riser input, not ground hungry, great flare even in straight approach. Front riser inputs should not require doing pull ups on the dive loops. Am I describing the perfect canopy yet? JJ

I bought one of the first VooDoos and I had a real problem with the left hand riser cover coming open during freefall. R.I. came up with the design change to the 2.0 version. My rig was changed over at no charge and Sandy Reid delivered it to me at the Lost Prairie Boogie, two weeks after I sent it in. Great customer service. The rig is the best damn looking rig on the market, easily as comfortable as my Racer. More comfortable than any Javelin I have tried on or any Mirage for that matter. My next rig will be another VooDoo. JJ