ernokaikkonen

>Sharpies are reputed to hurt climbing ropes (similar to Dacron lines) I thought climbing ropes were made with a two-part construction method, as better explained at http://www.adventuresports.com/climb/equipment.htm: Not too similar to Dacron-line to me... Unless you meant the material of the sheath, which might be pretty close. So, supposedly, the ink in Sharpies damages the rope. Are there a documented cases, or is it just a "well known fact"? To repeat one of the questions in my first post: Are there documented cases of magic markers/sharpies/etc damaging canopy fabric or lines? Erno

You're supposed to type: {url "http://www.dropzone.com"}www.dropzone.com{/url} replace { with [ and } with ] Erno

I just got my reserve-packers ticket, and I'm now looking into other areas of rigging as well. I've been told that I should only use a ball-point pen when making markings on lines or canopy-fabric, because "There's no way of knowing what the chemicals in the marker might do to the fabric/line." It seems reasonable to be careful with these kind of things, but marking ZP or microline with a ball-point pen can be a pain; it just doesn't stick. So I'm asking the riggers out there: Do any of you use felt-tip markers(permanent or water-soluble?) when making markings on fabric or lines, or are there documented cases of some ink damaging fabric or lines? Erno

Makes me wonder how many of us there _really_ are. As we know, some people have multiple accounts, and a lot of UID's are just anonymous throw-away identities... Erno

At my DZ it seems that about 5-8% of people on the FJC continue in the sport. Why? I think for most people skydiving is "something I always wanted to do", and now matter how excited they are after their first few jumps, it's just that. "Something I always wanted to do". Now they've done it. No reason to go on. Another thing, it's not the first jump that scares the most. Usually not even the second, but somewhere around jump #5 people really realize what they are doing, and ask themselves "What the hell am I doing?". For some, it just gets too scary. Some don't think it's worth the risk. I had a very similar experience two years ago, when I jumped my first(and sofar the only one) BASE-jump off exit#7 at Kjerag. The feeling was simply unbelieveable. But it just seemed that if I went up there again, for another jump, I'd be hooked for life. Knowing the fact that BASE-jumping is extremely dangerous, I didn't want to do it again. And at the same time, I did want to. I'm still undecided on whether or not I should do another one someday... The point being, most people are just too sensible to keep on skydiving.

>Texans are no longer permitted to participate in religious debates. > I think you'll agree this is a good rule after you read this Now this is just natures way of saying "See? Evolution is still around!" Excellent material for a Darwin Award. Erno

>is this woman american? My first thought exactly(apologies to all the level-headed americans). But no, I understand she's british. Erno

See the posts at Blinc Magazine Erno

>I am been trying for ages to put together a CD/ Song book for >skydivers......please let me have your songs etc etc etc Then you should visit [url "http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Faulkner/songs/songs.html"]Wendy Faulkner's site[url]. Erno

Try the "Dropzones"-link at the top of the page. Loads of dropzones listed there from all around the globe. And welcome to our sky... Erno

132MPH is fast... very fast. Most recreational FS on my DZ tends to fall at about 180KPH(112MPH), and my team falls about 190-200KPH (119-125MPH). I have to wear 7kg(15lbs) of lead to keep up with my team... Erno

>Cobalts are not crossbraced (meaning not with closed nose). These two things are not necessarily related. The competition cobalt has a very closed nose, and no crossbraces. Icarus EXTreme FX has crossbraces but a relatively open nose. >I'd be slightly worried of a canopy with x-brace (or with otherwise >closed nose) AND no- crossports. That's the Comp-Cobalt then. Have there been problems with those collapsing? Erno

>Could be, jumbo (I don't know) is 6 foot 10 inches, 310 pounds, > and less than 10 percent body fat, and in better physical condition > than anyone posting here. So very true. However, weighing 300lbs, being in peak physical condition is the only way he can do a relatively safe skydive. Even if he finds equipment suitable for his size, he will still have a greater risk of injury. A 300lbs person will have three times the momentum a 100lbs person will have, assuming the speed is same... Erno

>but still keep one of my mains on number 4 Rapides because > I switch it out fairly regularly. Wouldn't it be easier to just buy another set of risers? Erno

>Oh, gosh. I'm becoming the BASE Nazi of DZ.com. I hereby name you DZcom Base Nazi #1. Seriously, I think it's great to have you on the forums, there aren't too many basejumpers here handing out proper information on the discipline. Erno

> I have had Tempo reserves in my last three rigs and see no >reason whatsoever to replace them. They pack small, are well built, > you don't hear about them blowing up, and they are reasonably > priced. ...And, if it matters to anyone, PISA is the only parachute manufacturer to be ISO 9001 quality certified.(AFAIK) Erno

> I'm thinking of changing it to "I fart in your general direction" but >that's kinda long, too. "Zilly English kinights!"

My home-DZ is surrounded by woods. Lots of trees. Really. A couple of lakes, but mostly trees. The trick I was taught to know what was the point directly below the plane was "If you can see the trunks of the trees, it's not directly below". Won't be much help in Arizona though...

Info sent in a PM.

>and you backed that up with > > > >so, which is it? will airlocks help prevent collapsing or not? I think Dan meant that it's difficult to get the air out of the canopy _after_ landing. Carrying a king-size balloon back from the landing area on a windy day isn't my idea of a good time...

>HGowever, I *believe* that the reason the back of the neck on >helmets is cutaway is to prevent neck injuries if the head is knocked > backwards by an impact. There was a discussion on this topic on rec.dot a while back. Erno

> Although I have heard >that I might want #5 links because the #3.5s fail more readily. >Does anybody care to comment about this? I don't think you should worry too much about that. Properly tightened 3.5's will be durable enough. However, I have personally noticed that the silicone bumpers used on 3.5-rapide links are not very durable. They wear out much faster than the bumpers on large rapide-links. And after they wear out, the rapide-link is exposed, and that'll damage the slider grommets which will damage the lines and so on.... > I know I shouldn't put money before safety, but I've searched >the forums and couldn't find a convincing argument as to why I >should use slinks instead of rapide links. The small 3.5-rapide-links will be exposed if the silicone bumpers fail. That's not good. If you don't mind buying new bumpers every now and then it's not a problem. The bigger rapide-links are fine, but they are big. They might not fit in your container as nicely. And the soft-links? No hassle. Except that on some rigs I've heard the slider can come all the way during opening, knocking a brake loose... But personally, I'd go for the soft links. Erno

>As some of you may know i will be buying a custom jumpsuit in > the next week or so. Please help me to understand the purpose >of booties. As some of the people have stated here, booties will improve your tracking. However, the way you start your track changes a bit. With booties, if you just kick your legs straight the way you do without them, you'll end up diving, and that's not tracking. With booties, I myself have to de-arch first, then slowly bring my arms back, and slowly extend my legs. Another thing is that the booties can be a bit of a pain on jumps you don't really need them, like hop'n'pops and such. I'm going to get a FF-suit so I don't have to mess with the booties when I don't need them. And the Pro's were stated: They are a must for serious 4-way. Erno

>ahahahahaha...a stopwatch..how reliable! > >"how high are we??? exactly 28 seconds"..lol Actually, the stopwatch was used in the old days because people didn't think an altimeter would be reliable enough! The line of thinking was something like: "This altimeter was designed to be used in a plane, so it might not work in freefall." Erno

> It just came to me as a shock that this thing was such a big deal >so I wanted to share it and ask some opinions. It could be a big deal. The safety managers have to consider the worst-case-scenarios, which in this case would be: 1. loosen chest strap 2. fly the canopy (Sabre, as you mentioned) 3. Induce line twists by hard toggle input. Induced line twists can and will be unrecoverable, resulting in a cut-way. 4. Cut-away the spinning main, deploy reserve unstable(with or without the RSL) 5. Fall out of the harness because of the loosened chest strap I know this is a bit far fetched, but it could happen... The instructors are responsible for the students, and they don't need the additional hassle of students doing "experimental" things under canopy... Judging by your jump numbers, you won't have to jump student gear much longer... With your C-license you can do pretty much whatever you want, but don't make half-informed decisions. You obviously didn't have enough information on the effects of loosening the chest strap if you tried it on a Sabre190(I'm assuming the size). Ask for advice from the more experienced jumpers before trying something new, and try to bare with the Navigator for a few more jumps... Erno