davelepka

Now it's my mistake, I see you edited the original post. This is where we go back to waiting for some of the smart people to figure out the answer.

Ooops! Of course you realize you have once again left out the needed info.

You need the altitude of the plane to do the math

Now John, lets be fair here. Ripcord/spring loaded PCs and hand deployed PCs both have their pros and cons. I learned on a chest mount ripcord, and then spent 7 years at that DZ packing and filming those same rigs. I have seen them packed correctly and incorrectly, and subsequently seen them work as designed and also have various problems. After 20 jumps I transitioned to hand deploy, and have seen the same range of correct and incorrect packing and use through the years. There is no difference between the two. I have never had any problems with my hand deploy, and I can imagine that if I was still on a ripcord system, and I gave it the same care and maintainence as I do my hand deploy, that I would have the same to report about that deployment system. The hand deploy is certainly easier to pack, and provides much lower drag under canopy. In my opinion, it is a better system for the modern sport skydiver. The defense that your 'last chance' is a ripcord/spring loaded PC, and therefore must be the best, is misleading at best. The reserve system is desinged to be deployed under a wider range of circumstances than your main. Ease or packing or turn-around time is also not a factor in the design of your reserve deployment system. Your choice of deployment system is a personal choice each jumper makes. There is no right or wrong answer, either system will work fine provided it is used and maintianed correctly.

I miss that easy going Irish air. Skydiving is always so much easier in Ireland, I can see why you're hell bent on getting a camera helemt together. In addition to the other thoughts, a community camera helemt sucks because it won't fit everyone properly. Without a properly fitting helmet, you can't count on everyone shooting crappy video, and being frustrated at the time they waste doing it. You can also count on the need to adjust the sight for each individual user. It can take several jumps for one person to accurately sight in a camera, and you intend to have several people jump. Yeah, that should work out well. This is a bad idea all around. You need to take that money and spend it some new gear, or a handful of audible altimeters. Stuff that a group of low jump number college students could actually use.

Get him a gift certificate for a local shop, or an online store. I would bet that he's got a good idea of what he wants (and doesn't want). It would be like somebody trying to order a rig for you. The odds of getting the exact model, options and colors that you would pick are slim to none. Either way, he's a lucky kid.

Well then, that guy flies like a retard too. I never said it was not possible, what I said was that it would take a deliberate effort to spin yourself into linetwists, and that it was easy to avoid the situation all together.

So what you're saying is, your buddy flies a square (and this borrowed canopy) like a retard. If you are smooth on the controls, and enter and exit turns in a controlled fashion, you won't ever spin your self into line twists. If you honk down on a toggle like it was a fishing pole, and you're trying to set a hook into a swordfish, then yeah, your stuff will spin up. Why anyone would do this at any altitude is beyond me. Why anyone would do this at an alittude where they (and the other canopies in the sky) should be entering the pattern is just plain unsafe. As far as what to do? Who knows, each situation is different. Do something, and try not to get hurt.

Get in touch with PD regarding that issue. That sounds like a mistake on their part.

Nope. If your drawstrings used to be shorter, the tabs on the ends would have gotten sucked into the channel when the slider spreads out during opening. Tying knots in the drawstring is a bad idea. The shorter lines will get pulled into the channels, and the knots will just make it harder to get the lines back out. But really dude, PD changes every line on your canopy, and you look to the slider drawstrings to explain the difference in openings? Really?

No, you have an ass backwards approach to this. Here's how it works- you don't bump, or wiggle, or shake it out. You're not trying to get the dust out of a rug, you're trying to open a canopy. The slider isn't 'stuck' on soemthing that needs to be freed, it's just pinned there by air pressure. You need to pull the rears down a bit, and hold them there. The idea is to simulate a deeper brake setting, which will make the canopy open quicker. Pumping the toggles is the extreme extension of this idea. In the future I would highly reccomend against unstowing your brakes until your slider is all the way down (unless you have a tension knot or line over you are trying to clear, but really at 2.0+ on a Velo, maybe just cut away in those cases). Yeah, the slider is supposed to be huge, and trust me you need every square inch of that thing. Wait until you find out how hard a Velo can open, even with the big slider, and you see what I mean. I get the shit knocked out of me about once every 200 jumps or so, and it takes a few weeks for my body to 'forget' about it each time.

They do offer a smaller slider if you like a faster opening. I think this is just a coincidence, but the only one I've jumped with a small slider was a 111. The WL has nothing to do with it. How about you take your hands off of your handles, and give the rear risers a tug, the slider will come down. Openings don't have to be a spectator sport, get involved and make it happen.

A custom made shirt is one thing, a jumpsuit is another. A custim shirt is made of one material, and designed to withstand the rigors of hand washing and pressing. A jumpsuit is made from a combination of materials, using construction techniques that allow for durability and functionality. Lets keep in mind that a jumpsuit is not worn for looks, it's expected to function as a control surface for flying. It's also expected to survive being worn in the plane, while packing, and through all of your landings, good and bad. Sewing a good suit isn't easy, and you want the years of experience that you get going with an established manufacturer.

Are you serious? Do you really think you'll get a quality product that will fit properly and work as intended? Check out the websites for Tony suits, Flite suit, Bev etc to see what a real jumpsuit mfr. looks like. Have a look at their order forms, and the detail they go into in order to provide you with a quality suit. Do yourself a favor, and ask the instructional staff at your DZ where they get their suits from. Ask them for some suggestions as far as what options/materials to get, then order from that company. You'll be much happier in the long run.

..blah, blah, blah. Jesus guys, how about we get the newbies out of the tunnel, and into reality where they can gain experience under canopy, and sharing the sky with others; developing skills that will keep them safe in the years to come. When was the last fatality or incident due to poor arm position? Now lets consider the last incident due to poor canopy control or traffic management. It was stated earlier that the tunnel, minute for minute, is a better value than actual skydives. That may be true if you never want to leave the tunnel. If you do intend to actually skydive, than the tunnel is close to worthless from 'save your ass' standpoint.

No, it's the same as every other canopy on earth. Pull on a front riser- airspeed and riser pressure will build, a.ka. become harder to hold on to. Pull on the back risers- airspeed and riser pressure will decrease, a.k.a. become easier to hold on to.

Even if you did pull straight down on your rears, is there really that much pressure that you can't swing it without grippy tape? It's not like a front riser that builds airspeed and pressure as you apply input, the rears just get softer and softer as you go.

\ If a driver turns left across your path and forces you to jump a curb and ride across a treelawn, it can be quite an irritant. I say this because I've experienced it. Take your pick.

You do understand that he's talking about riding during the daytime, right? The high beam won't blind anyone in daytime conditions. Another factor is riding in So Cal. I spent year in LA with a bike being my only transportation. Day or night, rain or shine I rode if I needed to get somewhere, and ten years later, I'm still amazed that I made it out alive. I've ridden in cities all across the US, and LA is far and above the craziest place to spend time in the saddle.

I have used just a tripod screw for years. I would just make sure that you use a good sized washer inside the helmet (or under the mounting plate) to spread the load out over a bigger area.

This is where I'll disagree with you. I came up at a non-turbine DZ, and we did a healthy staic line business. Before I did video, I was a packer and could always find time to jump first thing in the morning. The first loads to fly were the in the 182 to 3500 ft with the return static line students working on their practice pulls. I'd fit in two or three hop n pops each morning, and would practice exiting in different positions on each one. I'd go up with a plan, then dive the plan. It made no difference that the skydive was only 10 seconds long. I flew the exit, and down the hill in the sub-terminal air. After that I worked on canopy control. You can do a lot with a little if you put your mind to it.

What's interesting is that you seem to have an (although somewhat misguided) answer for every question that has been posed to you, but the fact remains that you started this thread with a question about your inability to consistantly exit stable from a 182. Does that mean anything to you? Can you see how you're putting the cart before the horse here? How about the fact that the average jump numbers of the people telling you this is a bad idea is upwards of 2000, with a couple in excess of 5000. Does that register at all with you? You do realize the consequences for being wrong on this case, don't you? If it turns you that the people who have been jumping longer than you have been jerking off are correct, the outcome will mean injury or death to yourself and possiblly others, right? Is that a chance you're willing to take? Do you also realize that if you follow the advice you're given, you'll be a stronger, more awesome flyer sooner than later? And when you do strap on a camera, you be a stronger, more awesome camera flyer sonner than later? Hello? Anything?

These aren't camera flying questions, these are body flying questions. First learn to fly your body then learn to fly a camera. Trying to do both at the same will only slow your progress on both fronts and possibly endanger yourself and others. Being distracted by a camera, and not being in full control of your body has caused many freefall collisions, and low pulls in the past. As far as jumping with tandems goes, I highly reccomend you stop. You're exiting on your back, down the hill from the tandem, are you ready for the student to roll them over on their back, and delay the drouge toss? Do have any idea how quickly they will pick up speed, and which direction they go when they do? Do have any idea what sort of action you need to take? The bottom line is that beyond the drouge toss, a tandem will fly at a given speed, in a given place in the sky. You can practice your proximity flying with an RW jumper, and gain the same amount of skill as doing with a tandem, without the risk of the exit, and pre-drouge free fall, and without risking the life of an innocent passenger (do you really think the passneger knew that you had 1/5 of the mfgr reccomended experience for lurking a tandem?). Once you have more experience, then move into jumping with tandems, and figure out the exit, and flying the hill.

'About' ten jumps per weekend? If you want to be good, plan on doing more like ten jumps per day over the weekend, with another ten spread out across the weekdays. Wingsuits and swooping? If you can find a DZ that will allow you, good luck. BASE? IF you can figure out how to pack a base rig, and get yourself to an exit point, good luck. Freeflying? There really is no good reason not to start freeflying right away, provided your rig is safe.

Exactly