davelepka

A couple thoughts, the Cruise Lite is a 7 cell, F-111 canopy. Your first canopy will most likey be ZP, and I'd reccomend a 9 cell. You'll get much better performance by making those two changes. Next, you'll need to step down a bit. Demo a 190 something. I'd suggest the Sabre2 from PD. It's a nine cell ZP, and should treat you well. The Pilot from Aerodyne is also a popular choice. After that demo your intended purchase in a 170, provided all went well with the 190 demo. The Triathalon is a ZP 7 cell canopy. If you want a Triathalon, I'd suggest the 175 as opposed to the 160. Overall though, I would steer away from the Triathalon. Remember that what you'll be buying will be much different that what you are used to. Be fair to yourself in the demo process. If the 190 feels good, get one of those for awhile, unitl you are comfortable with it, then step down. Canopies in that size should be easy to locate in on the used market, and easy to sell when you're done with it.

It also dumb because the price difference between what most 17 year olds drive, and a Ferrari is huge. Canopies are all about the same price, and even then, the most expensive is within financial reach of almost everyone.

I think ESPN was doing this 8 or 9 years ago with the SSI Pro tour. I remember the requirments for video flyers was for digital video (not so common then) and you had to mount the transmitter on your helemt. It looked like an oil filter for a car. Of course ESPN has pretty deep pockets, and I'm sure used the system for a million other events as well. As long as the system is built into the camera, I'm all for it. Anything more turns into a pain in the ass. The DZ I'm at now used to mike tandem students, and had a reciver that plugged into the mic jack on your camera. I was a cool idea, that worked out OK. They used to dump just before the tandems, and fly within range to get audio under canopy. I guess there were technical troubles, as well as making sure you and your subject had the correct mics/recivers. Thank god they gave it up the year before I started working there.

This wasn't an idea that anyone had, this was a situation that developed. Not too long ago, there were no dangerous canopies and regulation in that area wasn't needed. Canopies have evolved, training and regulation (in the US) has not. Thats the reason. The situation still sucks. Pretty much the same situation as the canopy thing. Skydiving itself has evolved. You can progress faster,a nd do more sooner then you used to be able to. Lets go way back to SL. You had 5 or so SL jumps, then who knows how many short delays leading up to a full skydive. Mix that with Cessnas, rounds, and the like, and you're moving at a slow pace. Now a student can go from zero to A license in two weeks, provided the time and money. Beyond that they can rack up the jumps with back to backs, and a packer. It doesn't suck, but it does present problems with inexperienced jumpers who think otherwise, and no real soluttio in sight. The botom line is this: This is not the weekend club sport it was 20 years ago. I can be, but it can also be a fast paced, high performance, intense sport. Jumpers seem to want the best of both worlds. They want the easy going attitude when it comes to training and regualtion, and then they want to turn around and spin points like Shannon Pilcher, or build big HD stuff like Mike Swanson, and then out swoop the both of them. It doesn't work that way. If a guy wants to do SL at a Cessna DZ, and then do nothing bigger than a four way (remember it's a Cessna) and jump at 1.1 or less, then by all means, give them as much freedom as they want. But all the jumpers who want to go big, they need to understand that skydiving isn't a game. Scrabble is a game, and think of how much fun Scrabble is. Now think of how much more fun skydiving is. Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and if you want big fun, it takes big effort.

Thats bad timing. You'll downsize, and then quit jumping for six months. Look to the middle fo the season. get your skills together, and your currency up, then downsize. Use the rest of the summer to learn your new canopy, then you'll be ready for the start of the next season when your currency is low. Stay away from the Stiletto at this point. Are you jumping a Sabre or Sabre2? Either way the Sabre2 150 would be a great canopy to try. Start calling PD for demos once you have 30 or 40 jumps this season. You may get put an a waiting list, so don't drag your feet. Demo the Sabre2 150, see what you think, and go from there.

The other thing is, altitude loss in a turn doesn't increase mathmaticaly along with the increase in degree of turn. if this were true, you'd have to start a 1080 at 2000ft. In reality, it's less than half of that. I'm not saying it's not possible to double the alti loss from a 90 with a 180, but the turns would have to be radically different. If you used similar techniques for both turns, something is off. I would guess if I was at 1.1:1, and wanted to do a 180, I'd be looking at turning a 200ft. Maybe.

That sounds like alot of altitude on a canopy at 1.1:1. How high were you? You'll lose more alti the higher you are. Or, how high were you? You'll misread your alti if you are too stoned.

Technically, who gives a crap what you want to call it, it's fuckin cool. That dude strapped little jets to his feet and flew. It's like James Bond, minus the special effects. Give him some time to perfect his technique, and maybe modify the suit a little, and he'll be going back up again. Get some more power behind him, and nice dive to build some airspeed, and he'll loop himself. Sweet.

Sorry, my mistake. Actually blame the livestock, they didn't move as per your instructions. That's probably why they'll end up as dinner soon.

If you open up, and are far-ish from the DZ, choose a landing area between yourself and the DZ that you are sure you can make by pattern altitude (the altitude you normally enter the pattern). This may be right below you depending on conditions. If you do not see any clear areas between yourself and the DZ, turn around and find a suitable landing area, and forget about the DZ. Being last out will generally have you upwind of the DZ, in which case try flying in half brakes, this will help your glide (only with the wind at your back, such as when you are upwind, and flying toward the DZ). Once you are over your chosen field, check your altitude. If you are above your pattern altitude, look again inbetween yourself and the DZ to see if there is another field you are sure you can make by pattern altitude. if so, proceed toward that field. Keep up the 'stepping stone' method unitl you reach the DZ or you hit your pattern altitude. The idea is to always have a clear field within your reach, and give up on making it closer to the DZ when you reach your pattern altitude. This is the point where you procced with your landing as you planned, just in a different location. All of your altitudes (downwind, base and final) will be the same, as will the direction of all your turns (N,S,E,W). This is why you need to know the wind direction, jump run direction, and the relation of several landmarks in refernce to the DZ. Simply knowing to 'land toward the hanger' doesn't help if you cannot see the hanger. Yes, it is complicated, and there is some info you need going in to help you make desicoins while in the air. This is where a written flight plan, including wind direction and speed, jump run direction, DZ and landmarks will help to illustrate the situation before you go up. Sooner of later this will become second nature. A few tips: - A suitable landing area is one that allows you to fly your intended pattern. A field with an irruglar shape may not allow this, and should be lower on your list of places to land. - Keep in mind that you have to get out of where ever you land. Animals, lakes, rivers, ditches, highways and such will make this harder. The best choice may not be the closest to the DZ. If you have the choice, land closer to a road for your own convienence (this porvided you have a safe suitable possible landing area near a road). - Plan ahead, plan ahead, plan ahead. The wriiten flight plan will help you to see the big picture. Where you'll be jumping, where you'll need to fly, and how the wind will play into this. You only need to do this before your first jump each day (unless there are significant changes to the wind speed or direction, in which case make up another plan). Soon enough you will understand the mechanics of it all, and you won't need to write it down to understand you course of action. Take advanatge of some canopy coaching as soon as possible. Ask specific questions about off field landings, and ideas for making the most out of them. As you saw, you are open to landing off on any jump, should be ready to do so every time you leave the airplane. Good job not running into a tree, or a cow, like many others seem to do.

Very little. The newness of the canopies will play a role. If one was brand new, and the other was well worn, the new one would be all slippery and hard to pack in comparison to the old one. They will both ultimately fit into the same containers.

Keep in mind that jumping at a DZ involves more than you may relaize. There are DZOs, pilots, instructors, and experienced jumpers on hand to oversee jump operations, and keep things moving in the right direction. If you remove all of those safeguards, you open yourself up to possible trouble. An in-experinced jump pilot (possibly in-experienced as a pilot in general or with low hours in-type), a non-traditional jump ship, not set up for jumping, and an in-experienced jumper sounds like a bad combination to me.

Don't forget about the conversion factor for Canon digital SLRs. Multiply the focal length by 1.6 to get the digital equivilant. I'm currently shooting a fixed 24mm on a film body, and found that I need at least a 15mm on a digital to match the 24mm, and am considering a Sigma 10-20 (about $450) so I'll have some room to go super wide on some jumps. Theres also a Sigma 15-30 (about $325) that would work as well. The zooms are heavier, but the any fixed lens at 15mm or less would be over $600, and I don't want to see that much lens burn in if my lid comes off on opening one day. If you really watch the weight on the rest of the helmet, drill a bunch of holes in everything, and use tiny batteries on the video, you can make up for some of the weight penalty. Also, mount the still as close to your head as possible. The further it is from the base of your skull, the more your neck will feel it swinging around up there.

There's a couple factors at work here. A bigger canopy (for this discussion - bigger aka lightly loaded) in full flight is much closer, percentage wise, to its drag induced terminal velocity. This is due to the larger area presented to the wind, as well as the relatively smaller payload (aka jumper). The jumper (aka provider of thrust) has less influence on the bigger wing, resulting in a lower DITV. The other factor is the smaller jumpers influence on the risers. The bigger canopy will produce what is essentially too much lift too soon. As the speed builds, the low pressure area above the wing will pull the riser out of the jumpers hand, followed by pulling the canopy itself up into it (aka lift). As a reference, for canopies not built and trimmed to dive, my Stiletto 107 @ 2.0, would begin to build significant riser pressure at around 270, it would be borderline unmanagable at 360, and a 450 required strong lats, and perfect technique. For this reason, I used the 270 for the most part. Keep in mind that this was at 2.0, and I had 2500+ jumps on Stiletto 107s. Which brings me to the the other factor which is more circumstantial than scientific, the pilot. On a bigger canopy, going much beyond 180 or 270 will take strength and proper technique. A jumper with that technique, and the desire to use it, would simply be on a more appropriate wing for the task. There may be shit hot, experienced swoopers going big on 150's, and I guess I have no problem with that. It's unlikely, but possible. Here's an illustration of what I'm saying. Ever fly up behind to a student or similar sky barge without the other pilot seeing you? Sooner or later they'll do a little toggle whipping, and you'll notice you have to go from deep brakes to a lesser brake postiton to saty with them through their turn. The relevant point is that as the bigger canopy banks into the turn, you'll let begin to let your toggles up, but you only have to ease them up throught the first 90 or 120 degrees of the big canopies turn. Once they get that far around, their descent rate satbilizes, and will saty that way through several rotations. To make this example more appropriate than a student canopy, I often find myself in close proximity to one of other camera flyers as we had back to the DZ. He jumps a Spectre 135 loaded around 1.4 or 1.5. He's a little toggle happy, and likes to do big toggle turns (1080 and up) to dump altitude and get down faster. I notice that after the 270, he's not diving any faster at all. I can fly beside him in full flight, and know that we are realtive, but he's spinning like a top. The biggger canopy offers VERY little return ona turn past 180, and thats reserved for those who really know how to extract the last 5% from the canopy, which brings me back to my poin that aguy who can get the last 5%, would just downsize anyway, and work on the last 5% of a faster canopy.

I'd say it's a pretty hard scientific fact that the lighter you load a canopy, the less altitude it will use up in a turn. As such, to do a turn, and have the canopy plane out at ground level, you will have to enter and exit your turn at a lower altitude than with a smaller canopy. I guess my opinoin is that at that lower altitude, the smaller degree of turn is easier, less complex, and less prone to need aborting, which you won't really have time (altitude) to do anyway.

I may have grazed over a point or two there. The idea is that if a jumper had sufficient experience, and was so inclined to swoop hard (as in big turns), they would jump a wing that would give them a margin for error. A wing such, that they would get through the turn, and complete their rotation with a good chunk of altitude to spare. We all know that a Velo will dive in a straight line for a good two ro three hundred feet after the turn is completed. We also know that this dive can be aborted with plenty of room to sapre. This is the margin for error. A guy loaded at 1.3 or 1.4, who is just learning to swoop, is a bad cantidate for setting up the big turn without that margin for error. A guy with the experience, but who jumps a bigger wing, would do so because they don;t want to go that fast, and would make due with the 90 or 180 that would max out the wing. I'm not suggesting or implying anything except what I said. I think a bigger canopy at a lower loading is a bad way to go if you want to do big turns. The end result of this should be that if such a canopy if appropriate for you, the big turn is not. I guess a guy could go the other way, and see it as they just need a smaller wing and they are in big-turn town, but that would be stupid.

Shenanigans on what? Big turns on bigger, lightly loaded canopies are a waste of time? Due to the canopies terminal velocity? Even if the terminal velocity part isn't true, it's still not the best idea to do big turns on a bigger canopy. Just based on the altitude you have to turn a big canopy, settign up a more complex, bigger turn close to the ground is a shitty game to play. Only adding to that is the concept that a guy who is both A) jumping a bigger canopy, and B) wanting to do big turns indicates a lower experience level. If a guy with a ton of jumps wants to do big turns, they'll use a smaller, more divey canopy, and be done with their rotation with several hundered feet to spare. In any case, the terminal velocity thing is dead nuts on. A big canopy will 'hit the wall' after a pretty brief time-in-turn.

Well that really sucks for you. Either way, the camera flyer should be off the plane BEFORE or AFTER the tandem. Either of these situations will result in the drouge going right past the camer flyer, not into them. If the drouge had become stuck on the camera flyer, that would have been a problem. If the tandem had been mis-rigged, or a drougne release handle pulled in the climbout, that would be a bigger problem. Anyway you look at it, a camera flyer cannot stop others from making mistakes. They can however, do their job, and stay clear of the action, as opposed to adding to the trouble.

If you're talking about the exit, I'd either get off on time, which would have been earlier than what we saw, or I'd recognize that I missed the exit, and trail the tandem. The only time you should be downstream of the tandem is on the step. This why you leave before them, it clears their airspace to throw the drouge. It's the only way to get under them to get pictures with the plane in the shot. TM's should be free to conduct their skydive as if there was no video.

It's not you in that case, it's the other guy, who has a high speed object appear in his field of view when he's on short final. Canopies moving at the same speed don't catch your eye like one moving much faster than you. Welcome to the world of the swooper. Pull higher, or start doing hop-n-pops. It's a bitch, but it's what you have to do. As far as your decsent rate, a Vengeance 150 at 1.8 should be floaty as hell.

I'm sorry, we had a miscommunication. I was hoping your request to hold the drouge was the joke. It's your job not to be downstream on the relative wind. Always. The TM's should be able to get the drouge as soon as safely possible. If there was a way to staic line the drouges, for the sake of the TM, I'd be all for it. Your influence on the dive flow of anything you're filming should be zero.

With a speed differential of 30 mph, and no prior planning between the two jumpers? It's probably not the best idea. Alot of swoopers will wait unitl the LZ is clear before swooping, or land in a dedicated high speed area. Some swoopers do pick their way through traffic, myself included from time to time. IF you are going to do this, you better be damn sure that: -your airspace is clear -THEIR airspace is clear -you know the other jumper well enough to have a 90% sure idea of what they're going to do -you have a plan B in reagrds to the other jumper interfering in your swoop, in addition to the plan B for the swoop iteself. It's a tricky proposition at best, and I reserve it for my home DZ, on canopies I've got a good number of jumps on. Doing it right is alot of work mentally, and can subtract from your attention to your swoop. Not good for learning, not good for anything really.

It's too much crap. There's more things to break, and I can't see it being any better than a stiched riser, which is simple, and even if the stiching fails, you still have a regular riser to fall back on.

It's directly analogous in the sense that if we set a precedent, sooner or later it will become the accepted standard practice. Those who haven't begun jumping yet will begin the sport with the understanding that things are done a certain way. Experienced jumpers who bitch about the change will, in time, either get over it, gain enough experince to no be affected by it, or simply stop jumping. Either way, the end result is a new standard, and a lack of bitching. When was the last time you heard a jumper complaining that 2000' is too high to pull and not been joking, or on drugs?

I know that was a joke, but remember that not every open canopy incident is the result of a jumper being too aggressive with a canopy. Many times it's just jumpers who don't know any better, and who would be more than happy to abide by a WL chart, and take CC courses.