ianmdrennan

Well I said I'd let you know how the course went. Quite simply - awesome. I am flying more efficiently than ever before and after some vertical accuracy tips I was consistantly blowing through the gate at the same place every time. Additionally some canopy myths were put to rest for a number of us (including the instructors) so that was great. Unless you're a naturally spectacular pilot I can't see how nothing can be gained from attending his courses. Once again sorry it didn't work out. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I just spent a weekend with Scott Miller (who did a spectacular course at the local DZ) discussing these types of scenarios. A really good piece of advice I got (and spent time practicing) was a high speed carving turn. He felt all swoopers should know this maneuver so that if they needed to complete a turn to avoid obstacles, but were already in a high speed approach, they could use it without losing altitude. He showed some video of Rickster doing the maneuver to prove it's validity. It's something I'll continue to practice so I can keep doing the sweeping turns and still have a mechanism for bailing if I need it. Snappy hooks are fun, but once you throw those bad boys out, you are really committed to the altitude loss significantly more than if you were carving. Either way be safe. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Correction to the post I made previously where I mentioned I thought it did become more porous over time. I spoke to Scott Miller this weekend and asked about the porosity issue. His response was that the material is zp (at least what they're using now) for life and that the reason people think it becomes more porous is two fold. 1) As previously mentioned the stitch holes allow air to pass through more easily as they pull apart. 2) The canopy, after a few pack jobs, doesn't try to return to a particular shape. As it gets packed, sweat and oil help soften the hand (I think thats what he called it) of the canopy so it doesn't try to return to any particular shape, which is what originally gives us the impression that the canopy is "sucking" in air when it's new, and porous when it's been packed a bit. Not sure if I described that correctly (text can be hard sometimes), but thats straight from Scott. Hope this helps, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I believe that it is actually coating over the material (not 100% positive). And yes...it most definately does get porus over time/jumps. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi, Firstly, thanks for posting and not just running out and buying. I know the 116 seems like a cool possiblity, please please consider the following: 1) Theres a huge difference in flight characteristics between the turbo and the batwing. 2) That is a massive downsize - it's never a good idea to downsize so dramatically (and change flight characteristics). I suggest working your way down to that size and type. 3) Have you asked any of the instructors or knowledgable canopy pilots at the DZ if they think you are ready for this type of canopy, or if there is something else out there that will give you what you're looking for and keep it in your skill range? 4) Think you can land a 116 in a backyard, downwind with trees all around it? There a million other questions, but I think most appropriately is the question "Why?". What are you looking to gain over your current canopy? What about switching to something like a Crossfire2, sabre2, etc in the 150 range then moving down from there? I know you're asking about the canopy itself, but no-one here can give you the answers you are looking for until we know what it is that you are trying to accopmplish under canopy. If you're interested. please feel free to PM me to discuss this in detail. ----- Edit ----- FYI - Straight from Precisions website ----- Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

whoops - the hurricane and heatwave were 120's. Forgot to put that in and edit time has passed. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

wow - they sure went up from the last time I bought one. Thanks for the info. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

nice tip - I think I'll try that this weekend :) Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Progression 1. Skymaster - 32 jumps 2. 210 Cruiselite 1 jump 3. 150 ZP (Sabre equiv) 66 jumps 4. Heatwave 135 - Hooked it in before I even did 30 jumps on it - 121 jumps. 5. Heatwave - about 50 to 100 ditched the because of the short recovery arc. 7. Hurricane - 300 to 350 - much longer recovery arc. 6. Velocity 96 - all the rest. Personally I think downsizing so fast HURT my skills initially. I came from a DZ where no-one knew any better and there was no-one to learn from (up to the end of my 135 stage) - not that it makes it OK but we learn from our mistakes, if we're lucky and don't die. I was headed for distaster before one of the local dz pilots took me under his wing and put me on the right path - making sure I learned flight characteristics I should have learnt on the bigger canopies. If you want to learn to swoop, speak to KNOWLEDGABLE swoopers at your DZ, ask them how your flying is, and for the recommended steps you need to take to downsize - hell, contact Scott Miller, Team extreme, or any one of those people and attend a canopy class. Remember buy a canopy for WORST case scenario. Most people don't think "can I land this in any scenario safely" and instead consider the average day of jumping - big mistake - don't make it when you consider your purchase options. Also PD's education center have articles on their website about chosing the right canopy part 1 and part 2 Hooknswoop (and others) have some interesting comments on learning to swoop on canopies with longer dive arcs, look around the forums, they're on top of their game. Sooooo....in a nutshell - I say master each canopy - it'll make you a more efficient and safer swooper, at least I believe so. My 0.02c. Be careful. Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

No problem, Glad I could help. I've been happy with my Vortex, but unhappy with Chute Shops service. That is made even more difficult by the fact that I no longer live in SA so if I lose stuff it makes it very difficult to get it replaced. Out of curiousity, what are the vortex II prices now anyway? Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Linux, Try contacting Laurence Wichers at E.P. Skydivers in Grahamstown (My old DZ). www.epskydivers.com has contact info. Last I knew they had a couple of vortex rigs they were trying to sell (I could be wrong). Just let him know I sent you his way. To the others - I'd bet the reason he is considering a vortex II is price. Compared to other rigs they are significantly cheaper in South african rands (about R4500) whereas something like a javelin would cost R12000 + so it's not really worth it if you earn Rands. Blue skies Ian Drennan Performance Designs Factory Team

Umm... learning in shorts is actually pretty difficult. Try get some bag on the legs so you can feel where your feet are. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Greetings Mr Agard. Congrats on the 10 years

Everyone, please...this thread has caused enough discord. Just let it die down. There's no need for all this hostility all round. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Doesn't it make you depressed and happy at the same time. Depressed cause we realize how little we know. Happy cause we're just waiting to learn more and the end doesn't appear to be in sight

Battlefield rocks. See you on the field. Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Some really REALLY impressive vids (See Heaths Big Carve) on the PD website Enjoy and don't try this at home folks !!!! Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi, Not really sure which article you are referring to but I'd say that you should be using legs and torso for fallrate and movement (not sure if this is what you're asking) and not sweeping the arms up. Sure it may be necessary in very high speed dives to do something like that but that indicates other issues with the dive so we'll assume that for this conversation we're talking about a "normal" speed sit jump. The fact that you are able to move your arms about without losing stability is a really good thing, so just focus on pressing those feet down and keeping the torso straight. Never seen you fly, but it's worth noting that oftentimes people who have their feet down and are still experiencing slower fallrates normally are leaning forward (or backward, but mostly forward looking down at the group) and slowing themselves down with their torso unintentionally - not to mention the resulting drive changing the distance from the group. Hope this helps in some way. Good luck and blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

longest.copymaking.ever. Performance Designs Factory Team

HA! So whats the bushes excuse - Sorry Gary I couldn't resist. Sorry I can't be out swooping the pond with ya at SKNE this weekend, but I'll be there in july with ya

The increased leg stance will give you more horizontal stability with less reliance on arms and give you more freedom to take grips, etc with your arms. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi, Well there are a couple of things to consider. I personally think chatting to a dealer like Firefly (who I highly recommend by the way) can go a long way to help you figure out what material and style are most appropriate for your body type. They see a ton of suits for all sorts of flyers go through their doors and can probably give you some really good advice (Sherry really helped me out with that and my suit has a wonderul range and feel). Knee/butt pads....personal choice - I don't have 'em and don't really see a need for them but thats up to you. As for whether or not you need one....well...my experiences have varied on that. I've had people who try the tight pants and have nothing but problems feeling where their legs are, only to slap a decent suit on them and have their sit fly improve dramatically (albet slow down until they get the lazy legs down more), but certainly more stable. Of course there are those who have endless problems getting their feet down....normally due to excessive bag I think. If you have the money now, I'd get one, assuming you can get good advice from the dealer on the stylings and material. If you intend to continue freeflying you're going to need it at some point anyway so you may as well start flying it now. It's not going to be easy with or without the suit so don't let it get you down in the beginning. A side note and I know this topic is often heatedly debated. Try get a little more RW under your belt - experiment with FF but I think building the understanding and awareness of when things are going wrong are better learnt at lower speeds - it may help make the difference on deciding to bail on an approach instead of burning through the middle of a group. Once other thing....when you start the 3 most common problems I see are high knees, leaning forward and feet together. If you focus on keeping your legs wide you'll give yourself more horizontal stability and less reliance on your arms. Lower knees (90 degress) will help keep the fallrate solid and making sure you'renot leaning forward will prevent backsliding (of course you could go the other way and drive like a mofo

I've never attended it, but I can't see how, if you're going to try and learn something, that you could come away from a course like that without getting anything from it. I'd say go for it. There's always something to learn and there's little question that the instructors are among the top available. Let us know if you go and how it turns out. blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hey Conor, I'm not sure anyone here is saying that you're doing anything incorrectly (harness or packing) but rather that our own experiences with the canopy have caused some "unusual" openings due to ourselves causing these errors - may apply, may not - not really sure though

I'm still fairly new to my velocity and have noticed similar issues. However, since I've tried adopting a "I'll go where it goes" and relaxing and concentrating on going with the canopy as opposed to steering the opening as much as I did my hurricane, the openings have been noticably better. I also noticed that if the slider came down fast it was more likely to do this as opposed to a slower opening. Keep us posted please, cause I'm still trying to get that part of the canopy figured out. Blue skies and safe swoops Ian Performance Designs Factory Team