aeroflyer

This thread has been very informative and given me enough information to make my own decision on jumping there. I don't like that people don't wear seatbelts on takeoff (regardless of the type, having them on is better than not), I've also jumped at places where nobody make an effort to put on seatbelts (I'd say I wear them more than 90% of the time now, I'm trying for 100, but sometimes they're jammed under the seat etc). I will be checking out Davis for sure and at least stopping to see Lodi, and will make a decision about jumping there at that time. Thanks for the luck on my trip and I'm sure it will be great

That makes sense, and I thought it would be fine, but I masked the harness off anyway to avoid getting it on the metal. When my rig was getting packed, the reserve pin popped out twice during closing, so one thing that scotch guard may do is make metal surfaces like grommets more slick. Could also be because the rigger wasn't feeling 100%. That report on harness wear with runway damage is very informative, I did see the one where there was runway rash. Reminds me of jumping in Australia where I saw someone whose chest strap looked like one big piece of fuzz; they thought it was fine. I think only engineers consider these details, seems like for the most part things in skydiving are overbuilt.

Nobody has an answer about this? You just spray it on everything? I was going to at least cover up the metal and take out the cables...

True the report says pilot shut down the wrong engine possibly because of confusing gauge placement, by human factors I mean the lack of inspection as well. I will definitely be looking at dz's across CA.. I have heard legendary things about Elsinore!

I will definitely have to check them out, in fact, what are the other main DZ's in Cali? I'm going all the way to LA so can stop pretty much anywhere. edit: driving south through CA

That is a good point about looking out for yourself, I've been told that before, probably one of the reasons I haven't considered making the trip before now. I've also been told not to cross the highway on windy days, for fear of being spiked on the vineyards around there. When I jumped at Picton (sydney skydivers) they were near a freeway, but I think this one is quite a bit closer to the landing area. I'll have to make my own judgement of these unspoken rules, having not been there and not met the people, I would like not to make preconceptions beforehand. Whether I go there I think depends more on how it fits into my trip, I was thinking about doing Lodi and Perris and want to fit both of those in there. The attraction to lodi for someone who hasn't been there is the price and it's hard not to want. For the maintenance, I don't think it can be set aside, however I'm not sure I'll get any reliable information other than the have had issues before. I read the FAA report about the Pitt meadows aircraft, which did seem to have human factors contributing to the crash. However, I have not reason to believe the other planes I've jumped out of were well maintainted, in fact, the Skyvan in Australia was leaking kerosene and they were still jumping it a couple of times I was there (I took the beaver instead :) ) Any more experiences appreciated!

Interesting, well from what I've read many people are divided on going there. I don't particularly like places that don't offer / use seatbelts, just because of the horror stories I've been told, some from people I know, and having seen a couple of leftover wreckages from crashes past.

I'm planning a trip to California including stopping at Lodi. I've jumped at dropzones in Canada and Australia, so I have some experience traveling. For jumping at Lodi, there were a couple of things I thought I should pay attention to. 1) Increased number of canopies during landing 2) Aircraft maintenance. I understand there is a lot of controversy about number 2), however as someone who hasn't been there before any accounts of recent information would be helpful. For 1), is the landing area a good size? I think I would be doing most jumping mid-week so maybe not so busy.

I have heard about the maintenance issues, I think I will ask this question in a separate thread.

I'm not sure how the square1 mount is attached, it might be screws or adhesive. But 100 pounds to take off an adhesive mount? I think that's dangerous.. if the PC got its bridle caught, it wouldn't be pulling that off anytime soon. Most of the go-pro mounts i've seen are not snag-free (or resistant), but the square1 mount is heading in the right direction. Is it that skydivers just don't care? I have seen many of those extendable go-pro mounts around a foot long, dangling off the wearer's helmet.

Hi All, I am planning to make a trip to Lodi in the next couple of weeks, and was hoping to get some up-to-date information about the place. Is it cool to camp there or do most people stay elsewhere? How busy is it on the weekday/weekend? How many jumps should I expect to reasonably do in 4-5 days? What's the best deal on tickets (own gear)? Are there coaches for freefly available? First time down there, any info appreciated!

N/A

I am thinking about getting a go-pro or similar camera in the future, and was wondering if there are any snag-free mounts available. I saw this one at square1 which I think is the best I have come across so far: http://www.square1.com/manufacturers/square1/p522.asp#GoProMounts Although it still looks like a line could go underneath the edge of the mount? And catch on the screw? Anyway, I would like to use the camera for longboarding at the moment, I am a bit hesitant to use it skydiving till I get more experience, based on the horror stories I've read.

I have the right stuff, the fabric/upholstry protector, I don't mean to drag this out but it is a technical point, does the scotchgard degrade the harness webbing and therefore should it only be used on the container (not webbing)?

Ok, I think I understand now. My guess is that even though I'm pre-cocking it, after I bag the canopy I usually cock it again, and that's when the material probably gets pinched. Using a rubber band on the canopy's quick link to gather up the excess bridle beside the kill line might help, I will see what my rigger says and probably try that. I also think that my kill line is a lot shorter than what I have seen in those pictures, probably closer to the first one (too short)... I have a spare PC I can try. The burns on my canopy definitely look kill-line sized not bridle sized. Thanks all for the info!

That's very interesting, I never thought about the bridle acting as a spring like that. I usually cock the pc before bagging the canopy, so I guess I'm doing everything right. Is there any trick to making sure no canopy gets in there, besides cocking before you bag it?

So its safe to use on the webbing? The stuff I got is the fabric and upholstery kind, with a red lid.

I don't mean to revive an old thread, but I've been looking for more complete information on scotchguarding. Does anyone know which of the scotchguard sprays is best to use? And do you scotchguard the whole container + harness webbing or just the container? If anyone has scotchguarded a wings with success, let me know :)

Hi all, I've been having a problem with burns on the top of my canopy, which seem to be caused by the kill-line. I have a wings container, and the kill line and bridle are separate inside the D-bag, so I think canopy is getting trapped in there and pulled out rapidly on deployment. I've seen some containers that have a completely enclosed kill-line inside the D-bag which I think would solve this problem, is there any way to adapt my setup or other steps I can take to prevent burns? I've tried clearing the canopy out between the kill-line and bridle each jump, but it doesn't seem to make a big difference. Is this a common problem on these type of kill lines?

Ditto, bought mine in person, I highly recommend

Great post with the webbing damage tests. Since the time of the original post, I probably made another 30 jumps.. and it is looking worse than it did then. It's like a minor version of the "runway rash", but only on the edges where it curls under itself to go around the ring. Either way, I need the harness resized anyhow, so kill 2 birds with one stone.

Update: head apf rigger in australia said it was fine at the moment.. but not a good thing to have happening (over time). I found a similar SB from the relative workshop where this type of damage was caused by jumpers putting a rubber band on their hip rings to secure their t-shirt http://web.archive.org/web/20060311215657/http://www.relativeworkshop.com/pdf_files/09122.pdf So basically, back to the factory to get fixed before it gets too bad to jump

I think it's normal.. do people actually get surging adrenaline like when you're about to fall backwards off a ladder? I find it's more like your blood pressure is higher and you're a little more on edge before/during/after jumping. Skydiving the ground's a long way off and ladder you know you're gona hit

I got paper tickets at the abbotsford boogie.. annoying because you can loose them, I like the accounts thing better

Go to the forum on www.skysurfer.com.au and ask those guys, thats kind of the aussie equivalent of dropzone.com