ianmdrennan

Hey Angela, Thanks for the info. We'll just be up there for a day so I'm not sure if my father-in-law would do a 100 mile drive. If so we'll go there but otherwise we'll check out some of the closer dz's you mentioned. Hope he's up for a drive though. Always wanted to check out the Pahokee area. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi All, Can anyone recommend a dropzone in the Cape Coral area in FL? My father-in-law wants to take his wife for a skydive but I don't know the area well at all. My wife and I would do a jump or 2 there as well so one that caters to experienced divers as well would be appreciated. Thanks for your help. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I've jumped an FX for a while and currently jump a Velo. I found that the FX openings were softer (not much), but searched more. Also I found the front riser pressure uncomfortably high on the FX versus the Velocity. As for VX vs XAOS vs VELOCITY. They're all winning. There is NO major competitive performance advantage (I believe) that any of the manufacturers have at this point. I think it's a matter of taste. Personally, I prefer the Velocity, but the others are just as competitive. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

hmmm when attractive women want to use me I never complain

Both

I don't know a thing about dust devils but they happen low to the ground right? If so I'd assume the pilot would be trying to soften the impact in this scenario by going to half brakes. Dunno - anyone with dust devil experience know any other reason why the XAOS pilot would say this? Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

You're right - it is pretty bold. Justified though I think. There are plenty of people running canopy schools (I can name a few) that still teach some of these canopy myths. My vote goes with the manufacturers, they understand this stuff waaay better than any of us. I'm not saying you have bad sources, I'm just saying that given inconsistencies in data that I'd err on the manufacturers side. Dude - that reason in itself is a great one. No doubt there's a lot of bad information out there - in fact that's something we're trying to put to rest now

I don't think you are a stupid person but your sources are misinformed, if you remember what they said correctly. This is an "old school" thought that appears to make perfect sense but simply doesn't. Like I said call up Scott Miller (if you don't know who he is - he was/is PD's chief test pilot) as he understands far more about canopies and how they fly than your sources. He's a great guy and will be able to explain the concept to you in terms that you can relate to. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Don't feel bad if you struggle to grasp the concept right away - it's a hard one to visualize (and I don't mean this sarcastically - I've seen a lot of people struggle with it), but understand that you are incorrect. I'd highly recommend chatting to Scott Miller if he's ever in your area - he's a great teacher and is doing a lot to debunk these kinds of canopy myths. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

That is a spectacular quote. Accurate and to the point. Nice. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I know Dave Brown uses the watch alti. Says it's useful when going to different dropzones where visual references change. I also noticed the PD team wearing them at the SKNE Red Bull swoop meet. I KNOW these guys dont rely on them, but when moving off the home turf when the visual references change, I find it a very useful tool for the first few jumps. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

HooknSwoop has posted some good stuff on checking break line length but basically after you open get everything ready (including clear airspace) and pull on the front riser. While you are doing this look at the canopy tail and break lines - there should be NO pulling down (deflection) of the tail. If there is the lines need to be lengthened. It may take a couple of jumps to get it figured out but it's worth it. Also remember that your sweet spot flare point will get lower accordingly. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I can only see that happen through improper usage of dive loops (i.e sticking your whole hand in) - thats hardly a problem with dive loops, that's operator error. Blue skies ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I use C# extensively at my current job and while I don't have much Java experience I can say that syntax wise there is very little difference. As for the market, it is growing steadily as MS shops are now moving away from vb'esque applications and generally doing them in .NET (C# or VB.NET). A few Java coders I know who use .NET now find the libraries are better organized and generally find it much easier to find what they're looking for. I can't compare it to Java because of my inexperience in that environment but I do find it quite easy to find what I need to. Execution in .NET is significantly faster than java to IMO and creating UI is a breeze in the VS IDE. Web service consumption and testing is very easy as well, as well as XML usage (considering the framework is built on XML), not to mention that ADO.NET is SERIOUSLY nice to use. Far better than the recordset structure that was the old ADO way. There's a ton more, so PM me if you have any specific questions. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

You don't. Just basic skills are sufficient. HOWEVER check out this posted by Chrissky and my response: Chrissky My response: Those are valid reasons, but don't require that the individual have any sort of "airspeed" belly skills. It's more a matter of learning to spot shitty situations in their infancy and making sure you aren't caught in the cross fire. This requires awareness (built over time) and experience (once again time is necessary). If a person is at that level I can't see any reason to try and discourage them from FF'ing early. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Thanks for explaining that clearly Derek. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Would you describe how you grab the block in detail please? Are you making a fist around the dive block? If so think about the motion your hand goes through when closing around and releasing the riser. There is a period where your hand is not gripping the toggle and it's held in place by the pressure on your hand, yes it's resting on your hand, but it's quite easy to lose it (believe it or not) at the worst possible time. Up high this is no biggie but low it can, and has been, fatal. I'm sure SkymonkeyOne or HooknSwoop could explain this a little better than I, but that's the best I can do

roger that - sorry for the misunderstanding. Yep what you say makes sense. I think I'd still exercise caution when using the technique you described though. God, if your hands are that big, just how damned big are you? Blues skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

First of all - I wasn't calling you names - I refered to your and another posters screen name. 2nd it's quite simple. To grab a dive block you need to open your WHOLE hand and to release it your need to open your WHOLE hand. This means it's quite easy to drop a toggle. With dive loops, assume you're not using your more than your 2 or 3 fiunger approach your have the toggle secured with at LEAST one finger. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Gmac and meatbomb, The problem with dive blocks is not hanging onto them, its that you have to use your whole hand to pull them down and that SIGNIFICANTLY increases the risk of dropping a toggle on landing. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

besides the low cutaway? No reasons I can think of. In fact if traffic wasn't a concern I'd probably be doing it. I try and do all the techniques I can to keep my toggles in my hand, but I've had one slip before and I tell ya....it scared the crap outta me. I can only imagine being a little too deep in the corner, having to bail to toggles and dropping one....it's not a scenario I wish to find myself in. I think if I was doing a lot of hop and pops practising swooping I'd use the toggle over the wrist technique if I was the only one in the air. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I said that I didn't like the technique and used the "normal" 2 or 3 finger approach with the toggle in my hand. I was commenting on the pro swoopers who are now using the toggle on the wrist technique. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

A lot of the swoopers are putting their hands through their toggles to the wrist (will prevent toggle drops). Of course now you're attached to your canopy so cutting away low for whatever reason, just got a lot more complicated. I'm not sure I like it, and will stick to the 2 or 3 finger dive loop approach for now. As for the topic of what kills - I'd guess complacency. The more we do something, the more comfortable we get, and just as we get super comfy, a big hand from the sky squishes us into the dirt. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

That would not make the canopy turn - just crab along the ground. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

A fair concern, but could be applied to any high performance marketing. They're not trying to appeal to the novice jumper, but that very fact makes it quite alluring to them. Like kids (and me) when they're told not to touch something. Either way we can't fault the manufacturer for trying to appeal to their target audience. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team