captain1976

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Everything posted by captain1976

  1. captain1976
    Here is a good thread about brake lines coming off. Lots of questions answered but not about leaving brakes off completely. http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3666433;page=unread#unread Unless someone advises otherwise, I think the main reason we set them is to keep the canopy from surging on opening increasing the chance to fly into another jumper. There may also be a technical issue with it also but I would email PD with that question. Even though I jumped and packed the old rings & ropes deployment system years ago, I can't remember but I don't think we stowed the brakes. Maybe someone else can refresh my memory You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  2. captain1976
    I can see why you are frustrated with the answers you are getting. They haven't address your question. I can't answer it either, but why not email them, they responded to my questions immediately that way. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  3. captain1976
    19 Years? Thats great. As I have heard that goes way beyond the life expectancy of of a recipient. Anyway, I had a friend who had one in 1986 and he made it to 1992. He was very athletic and continued his lifestyle including flying until he got some illness. I guess the rejection drugs lower your immune system kind of like AIDS. Maybe they have gotten better lately. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  4. captain1976
    I don't think tasers are a joke. Over 300 people have died from being tased. Even a police officer has been charged with manslaughter for the death of a man he shot with a taser and charges are being considered in another incident. For those who have to get tased as a job requirement, I would tell their boss to shove it.Too much risk of cardiac arrest to be playing with it. I do believe in them for self defense, but cops should stick with the old night stick or get more backup and manhandle the suspect. What ever happened to the rubber bullet? You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  5. captain1976
    I think your insults accusing us of being good is out of order. I just think that a lot of us are jumping. The weather throughout the US has been pretty nice for the last couple of weeks and I personally have jumped the 10 out of the last 12 days.
  6. captain1976
    Yes, I am sorry. Here is a better choice of words; There sure are a lot of dumb fucks out there You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  7. captain1976
    Yes, there has been a sad decline in overall intellectual acumen among our population over the years. Evidence of teens' decreasing abilities when confronted with even the most basic intellectual tasks, from understanding simple history to working through moderately complex ideas to even being able to define the words "agriculture," or even "democracy show that this new generation is DUMB Only a small fraction of these people coming out of the public school system have a functioning understanding of written English. They do not know how to form a sentence. They cannot write an intelligible paragraph and most do not know how to use a ruler. I guess we can’t entirely blame the school system, since garbage begets garbage. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  8. captain1976
    Hi Steve, I was basically stating that at your weight the reserve would set you down similar to the spectre 230, which you are also over the recommended suspended weight on. They are right about the TSO. I guess I didn't catch your exit weight at the time but when they do the initial testing for the TSO, they are tested with 25% over on the weight and 30% over on the speed. They have to do several tests with no damage. I do agree that you should have a bigger reserve and possibly a bigger main. There is an outfit in Florida that has some nice MC5's which are pretty cheap. They are 260's and they also have a Ravin 240. Let me know if you are interested and I can tell you who has them. Blue Skies You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  9. captain1976
    Thanks for the memories Paul. Its been a long time since I did that and I think it was with the Strato Star. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  10. captain1976

    a couple of escorts

    captain1976 posted a gallery image in Canopy Flight

    a couple of escorts
  11. captain1976
    As I recall from the 80's is that the brake system was the same as the velcro system on todays larger risers. Mostly we jumped squares though the majority of reserves were still round. Further back, there was another method of brake stowing that we first used and it was some kind of knot or a series of knots which could only be undone by pulling on the toggle (maybe someone can enlighten me on that). l don't remember what it was called and I probably couldn't tie that knot today, but we all used it and I don't recall any mishaps. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  12. captain1976
    The 218 reserve should be fine. Since its made from materials different from the zero P, it will have less forward speed than your larger main and give you a similar landing. I consider a reserve ride an emergency and I do a PLF anyway. Blue Skies You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  13. captain1976
    Nice picture. Most recently he was clean shaven an got rid of the long hair. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  14. captain1976
    I think you would be happy with making the decision to jump again. Most of the fear on that first jump is basically a fear of the unknown. Now that you know what to expect, a lot of that fear diminishes making the jump a lot more fun. Additionally, a lot of us cannot distinguish between fear and excitement as they are very similar in the feelings they produce. Nobody likes to be afraid, but the excitement and thrill of it all makes me come back for more year after year. Actually, once you really get into it you will find it very relaxing and peaceful. Blue Skies You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  15. captain1976
    I had a discussion with Billy Weber today. Back in the 80’s when Billy and Jake Brake were running the rigger facility at Z Hills, they decided to start keeping stats on the malfunctions. Since any malfunction required them to inspect both the main and reserve after a cutaway there, they found that half of those chopped mains had 1 toggle out and 1 still set. They also briefed the jumper and got a statement. Though most of the jumpers didn’t admit to setting a brake wrong, most of their observations revealed they had. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  16. captain1976
    "Crash" was killed on Monday at DeLand. What a nice guy, he was always smiling and extremely friendly. He was very popular there. Most of the loads I jumped with him on he was doing videos. He also had a rigging business and just gave me some tips on toggle placement a couple of weeks ago. I never knew him to be abrasive, just the contrary. I spoke with a friend at DeLand this morning and apparently he landed hard on an off-field landing and had internal injuries of some kind. He landed on the median of 92 (International Speedway Blvd.) which is about 1/2 mile from the airport. He must have had some kind of malfunction or something since its not that close to the regular landing area where he always landed. We will miss him. Blue Skies Crash You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  17. captain1976
    The PDF sounds good and the fabric ones you mentioned should be elimintated. Anything that sets up a possible malfunction (an there are probably a shitload) is dangerous. Blue Skies You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  18. captain1976
    Glad to see someone actually wrote about him. Not much info otherwise on such a pioneer. I don't remember ever asking him if he jumped from an airplane, but I assume he did. Its interesting to hear about the dummy jumps and being born in 1905, I see why he declined to do it again. I imagine the parachute barely inflated in time. I need to dig his parachute out but its got the old white (I think Cotton) harness and the canopy is about 24 ft. I think I will dig it out of my hanger loft and see if the mice didn't get to it. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  19. captain1976
    To the best of my knowledge, the first indoor base jump was made by Carl Rupert of Prospect Height, Illinois. It was back in the 34 and he jumped from the rafters of the International Amphitheater Municipal Auditorium in Chicago. He was the founder of Rupert Parachute Company of Wheeling Illinois and they used Rupert chutes before and during the war. He continued to make seatbelts for light aircraft and racing cars up until the 1960’s. Just though I’d mention him as he is kind of unknown and I had the honor of knowing him. He passed away in 1972. I mowed his lawn regularly when I was 13 and since I would pound him with questions since I had an early interest in parachutes (Like from 5 years old), he gave me the parachute he used for his record breaking jump (I still have it). I wonder if the USPA Museum would be interested in it. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  20. captain1976
    Thanks for that. I think we all take our health for granted. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  21. captain1976
    Twice in the last 2 days I witnessed cutaways because a brake toggle let loose during the opening sequence setting up line twists on inflation so bad the canopies had to be ejected. I can’t imagine this happening to me since I my rig has the Velcro on the toggle and riser to keep it in place. But recently when I used a PD demo rig, it had the type of toggle where it slipped into the top pocket as well as a pocket at a lower level on the riser. I don’t know what the actual name is and maybe someone can enlighten me on that, but on 2 of the dozen or so demo jumps I noticed the toggle had slipped out of the bottom pocket. This didn’t cause any concern but thinking about it I can see where it can set up a premature release with it flying out in the breeze like that. Both canopies that were cut away had this same setup. This seems like a bad design. Has anyone else had problems like this? You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  22. captain1976
    I doubt that any prosecutor would file charges for something like that, however a formal complaint to the FAA requires that they investigate it. This would indeed lead to some kind of consequences. I would imagine a fine along with certificate action if the owner of the gear had any airman certificates. The penalty for making a false entry on aircraft logs is a felony punishable by up to 5 years for each false entry made. I haven't read the actual laws lately which are in the FAR's but I'm sure in keeping with their wording that it would apply in cases of any documentation that was fraudulent. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  23. captain1976
    They should just have taped it up and got him back out there You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  24. captain1976
    I Use to have the same problem. On several occasions I seriously considered cutting away to get some relief from the pain, even if it were for a short period. Anything to relieve the pain. It also made making more than 1 jump impossible as it took a few days to heal. I though it may have been the harness, but since I had it custom sized for me, I just figured everyone else was tougher than me. In earlier years I never had a problem but it was only after I started jumping again in 2001. The solution? I loosened my leg straps a bit. I guess they were too tight and would pinch my legs terribly. Every canopy ride since is painless and very comfortable, at least for the last 100 jumps. You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime
  25. captain1976
    There is an old saying; "You can't run away from your troubles". My answer to that is "BULL SHIT", you most certainly can! You live more in the few minutes of skydiving than many people live in their lifetime