Zlew

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Everything posted by Zlew

  1. Zlew
    I know a guy who had it done a few years ago. The weight came off very quickly, and a year later he lost around 200lbs. Fast Fwd. 2 more years and he's obese again. He was probably around 400, and got down to 175 or so (looked like a different person). Now I would guess he's back around 300. You still have to do your part...it's not a silver bullet and you can put weight back on.
  2. Zlew
    Safe to say I was jumping right around noon....
  3. Zlew
    I would think it is worth it to try to sell the FX (reline or buyer beware). Have you seen the prices of new gear these days? Seems like the new gear prices are keeping the used gear prices much higher than they used to be. Hell, in the classifieds section of this site, there is gear in there that is used, selling for about what I paid for it 10 years ago (tempo 150 for 500 bucks for example). I couldn't tell you what your fx is worth, but I bet it is worth more than you think if in good shape.
  4. Zlew
    0086 is a fantastic photo!
  5. Zlew
    There is something about message boards and forums that make people talk and treat people differently (worse) than they would in person. Lots of egos, attitudes, and opinions get amplified over the web. The skydiving community is full of great people, but a forum isn't always the best place to be able to experience that. I think you probably get the bottom line from the replies: it is possible, but not easy (or cost effective). Hoping you are not a troll, best of luck to you in whatever you decide.
  6. Zlew
    I have lived in this area most of my life...and of all the months, the very worst to camp would be august. Hot...no wind. August is usually our most brutal month for heat.
  7. Zlew
    We are glad you didn't!
  8. Zlew
    I will give it a try. Most of the vid's I have uploaded with music end up having the audio track deleted due to copyright. Maybe it's not so bad now.
  9. Zlew
    Also, I just got my cypres back last month. It only took 2 weeks.
  10. Zlew
    The cypres has over a year left on it... if you don't want it I bet you could sell it pretty quickly. For 300 bucks you could use it for the rest of this season,* next season, and have a few months left on it (paper work on mine, in a similar situation says 12 years +- 3 months). Otherwise you would need to spend over a grand few a new one (not sure what the going rate is right now). Might be worth it. My situation is real similar to yours. I just got back after a few years off. My cypres is good until early 2013, so for me it was worth it for the 8 year and batteries so that I could get back in with an AAD, and not be out 1200 bucks (give or take). edited...twice to replace pesky vouls
  11. Zlew
    The very first song I looked for on there I found right away... and I'm like 0 for 20 since then. Any suggestions as to good jump music/artists available on AudioSwap?
  12. Zlew
    Yea, that wouldn't be pretty. I guess that's a time when an F-111 7 cell square has an advantage over the zippy modern gear. Any guesses on the gear? PD7's? I couldn't make out a logo on either canopy he jumps in the video.
  13. Zlew
    At least 10, maybe even 15. As I remember he had another harness on under what you saw, and for the opening and "hanging" piece he was connected to the rig via something that ran through his sleeve. A stunt...but still pretty cool.
  14. Zlew
    and they have a good view of pullout too: http://www.miragesys.com/products/?loc=detail&id=1&iid=1072
  15. Zlew
    Yea, that makes it a little harder than it used to be. A "pud" for a main used to be a giveaway that they were jumping a pullout, but now the freefly handle throwout systems look very similar but are still throwouts. Mirage has a good pic of that http://www.miragesys.com/products/?loc=detail&id=1&iid=1073
  16. Zlew
    Some things that usually can help tell the difference between pullout and throw out: Pull out has a straight closing pin (not curved). The hacky/handle/PVC for a throw out is at the apex of the PC, and is not *on a pullout. Didn't have much luck on google finding pics of the pin/pud etc... sorry.
  17. Zlew
    Getting a hair off topic, but I had a ride on an MZ120 (loaded 1.5 to 1 or so at the time). It landed great, but I pulled double fronts to pick up speed on that little SOB because my friend broke his hand the week before folding up his similar reserve. I did some practice landings up high, and it stalled hard/fast.... so I figured a little speed would be a good idea. Not sure I'd recommend it as a general practice, but it worked like a charm for me.
  18. Zlew
    The "Struggle Struggle Thump" nickname was before my time, but from what I remember....floating puds were where that nickname came from.
  19. Zlew
    Concerning those reserves folding up, I've seen them do that too...but in their defense they were wingloaded way over what the recommended max was. Within TSO of course, but the ones I saw fold up fast/hard were loaded 1.6 to 1 and higher. Wasnt the rec. like 1.2 or 1.3?
  20. Zlew
    I thought SST stood for "Struggle Struggle Thump"
  21. Zlew
    I also recommend trying out canopies before you buy. If you have a container you can put it in, most manufactures will send you demos for a few bucks. Things to keep in mind: There a lots of great canopies out there these days that will fit your needs. Even between great canopies, given the chance to try them you will probably have one (size and/or make) that you like more than the others. The manufactures descriptions can offer good info, but remember the source. They are trying to sell gear, and they will tend to make everything sound fantastic. If you ask someone who just bought canopy X, they are going to tell you that canopy X is the best thing ever because they will love it and just spent $$$ on it. "The best parachute made is the one you just spent $1800 on." Flabby Looks like you are doing a good job of doing your research. Try a few out if you get the chance and see what you like.
  22. Zlew
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4XT-l-_3y0
  23. Zlew
    If you don't jump often, or travel around, I would get another jumper/instructor/etc. to sign. If you are working on your awards/licenses I would also make sure to do the same. Many DZ's won't let you jump or trust your currency if the jumps are not signed by another person. Some will even call the DZ that you last jumped at to make sure you are current. When I was full time, jumping at one DZ, and making 100 jumps or more per month in the summer... I only got my book signed every few weeks (and logged a full days jumps on one page). For me it didn't matter... the DZ I jumped at knew I was current, and could verify numbers for awards and such via the manifest program. Start traveling around to other DZ's, or not jump very often...and it is much better to have a jumper's sig. on your logbook.
  24. Zlew
    For a long time PD has been the Juggernaut in the canopy game, and a premium brand. I think that has added to putting a target on their backs for a long time. I love that guys like Rusty are still around doing what they do best. I remember being 19 years old and getting demo canopies from Rusty/Kolla (Sandy too I think) and friends. I remember asking him some questions about this new canopy they had coming out, and his reply was "check your mail in a week or so". He sent me a Sabre 2 before they were released to the public to try out. As I remember, it didn't even have the name on the stabilizer (maybe it did?...story sounds better if it didn't). I've always had great experiences with PD and owned many of their canopies (Sabre 150, stiletto 135,107 and 97). I've never had a bad experience with any other makers, but I have always been impressed with PD.
  25. Zlew
    There are lots of different ideas as to exactly what that means, but I think the basic idea is pretty simple. With high speed, elliptical and or higher wingloaded canopies, your can't just be along for the ride when you toss your PC. On student-ish canopies you can just be along for the ride from PC pitch until slider down and you will most likely be just fine. High performance canopies are very sensitive to body position, harness, riser, and almost any other type of input. Just like you need to fly your landing until the canopy is no longer flying (not just when your feet touch the ground), you might want/need to be aware of what you are doing as soon as you toss your PC. On my canopy, if I open and one side has more pressure than the other, it absolutely will turn (sometimes violently) in the direction that is more loaded. Usually just getting even or putting pressure on the other side can keep it from doing that, and/or stop the turn/spin during the deployment.