chuckakers

Because if it was legal, too many men would be broke. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

LOFL BIGTIME!! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

My Pit Special has fianlly had it after 12 years and a buttload of jumps. I love Tony Suit products and have owned many of them, but I notice they are getting damned expensive. Can I get a few opinions on RW suits? I'm also looking at Bev's suits. I know a lot of folks that have been very happy with her stuff and her RW suit is noticably less expensive than Tony's. Your thouhgt???? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Met mine in the jump plane 21 years ago. Still got her today - uh....cuz she ain't kicked me out yet. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

uh...he's from Switzerland. I agree, though. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I try to keep it simple. When you can land what you jump 10 for 10 in a no-wind condition, standing up, with reasonable accuracy, you can downsize if you like. If you can't do that, you probably shouldn't. Most people downsize without even realizing all the performance their current canopy actually has to offer. The fact that you have taken some instruction is a big plus there. Hook 'em hard, land 'em soft Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

The idea is the same as the idea that different guide ring placement would effect the deployment. The guide ring would alter the brake setting - a higher guide ring would produce a slower opening. A lower guide ring, creating a deeper brake setting, would cause a faster opening. You can replicate this phenomenon using the rear risers. Pull them both down a touch during the snivel, and the canopy will pop open. It's like using a deeper brake setting. I agree with your deeper brake setting statement, but I don't know that I would call it a phenomenon. Lets say your 18" front risers had stretched 1/4 more than the rears. This would pitch the nose up, and cause a faster opening (pull down in the back or stretch out the front - same difference). Not sure what would cause risers to stretch at different rates front vs rear. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

That's a fairly standard measurement. I'd bet they are going to be the same. A more likely idea is that your old risers weren't 'square'. If they had worn and stretched at different rates, then you'd have a little funky-ness in the trim department. Your new risers may just be new and of the correct lengths (relative to each other). I don't see how square or out of square would make much difference in deployment times. Another thought is that the longer risers will allow the slider to spread a little more during deployment. If the distance between your 3-rings is less than the width of your slider, then the lines will be making a 'V' as they spread out to accomodate the slider. How they can spread depend on two things- the distance between the 3-rings, and how far up the 'V' the slider is. Longer risers will have the slider further up the 'V' where it can spread out a little more. Keeping in mind that the Velo slider is huge, there's a fair chance that the distance between your 3-rings is less than the width of the slider. The difference in opening time is primarily while it streamers. On these openings, the canopy just sniveled with the slider all the way up. I doubt the geometry change from longer risers would have much affect when everything is pretty much a straight line. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I didn't mention the 18s were a three riser set-up. I could reach the slider on the 21s, but maybe not anything longer. Thanks for the input on the openings. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Hadn't thought about that . I guess if the brakeline rings are at a different position relative to the end of the riser, that could definitely affect the opening characteristics. I'll measure that and post the results. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I just put a new set of 21' risers on my rig, replacing an 18' set. I made two jumps on the new risers yesterday and had noticably slower openings on my Velocity. Coincidence? Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Nice job, TK. Everybody here in Texas says "YEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW!!!!!!!! Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

You're still seeing what you want to see. No one said the reserve would make it safer, the fact that it's a BASE rig makes it safer. I see the entire situation. My point isn't that a base rig is or is not safer than a skydiving rig. My point is that no matter what kind of rig you use, you don't have time to get a reserve out if you begin a main deployment at 400 feet. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

I don't put on any gear unless I put it on all the way. If I put on my rig, I fasten all the straps. If I put on my helmet, I fasten it. It's a pretty sure-fire way to never forget to fasten anything. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Using a TSO'd base rig merely means that the rig has a certificated (the FAA's word, not mine) reserve. If you have almost any kind of mal at 400 feet, the reserve would be useless. Having a reserve doesn't make all stupid shit safe. ya know, you see what you want to see. I see "BASE RIG". You see "TSO'd" BASE canopies freepacked properly into a proper BASE container cannot be matched by a dbaged canopy for opening speed and heading. 400ft opening from a 2000ft WS exit is done ALL THE TIME, just go to Switzerland and you'll see it dozen times a day during the season, hell even in the winter. It's all a matter of proper gear useage and configuration and CURRENCY in the discipline. on a final note, stop being narrow minded. I'm not being narrow-minded. Pitching a pilot chute at 400 feet doesn't leave enough time to use a reserve if needed, regardless of how the main was packed or what kind of container it's put in. Simply adding a reserve to a rig to get it legal doesn't make 400 foot openings any safer than doing 400 foot openings without a reserve. I'm not kicking base jumpers that want to squeeze in all the freefall possible. My point is that adding a reserve to a rig and then dumping so low that you can't use it to save your life is the same as not having a reserve to begin with. My comment about "stupid shit" was relative to skydiving, not base jumping. It is generally accepted in skydiving that deploying too low to use a reserve if needed is "stupid shit". On a final note, base jumping is more dangerous than skydiving ALL THE TIME, even in the winter. That's not narrow-minded, it's true. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Using a TSO'd base rig merely means that the rig has a certificated (the FAA's word, not mine) reserve. If you have almost any kind of mal at 400 feet, the reserve would be useless. Having a reserve doesn't make all stupid shit safe. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

hell yea! either skydiving is getting more dangerous or more jumps were made. Either way is fine with me. All those tandems that whacked in didnt help the number stay low. A tandem is often two fatalities for the price of one. Had quite a few no pulls and terminal impacts this year too. At least the extra fatalities were in dramatic fasion. Thats Style points for the 2008 fatalities. 2009 has started with a bang too. Already some one fell out of a rig. Style points!Thats going to be hard to beat. Oh well I guess thats why skydiving is cool. Lets be honest if it were safe it would be nothing more than a game of checkers, you wouldnt brag to your friends about it, your family wouldnt think you were the "wild"one, and guys wouldnt be able to use it to pick up girls. Now ask yourself. "Do I want to live in a world where skydiving is safe?" or do you want to say " thirty dudes whacked in skydiving this year and I wasnt one of them"? And hey if you are one of them, then you didnt die for nothing. You helped carry on the tradition of skydiving being dangerous and badass. Therefore making the rest of us look awesome. Rest in peace knowing that some guy is getting sweet loving because of your sacrifice. Spoken like a true...................fucking idiot. You're welcome. Style points to you.

Gotta love those strippers. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

If those "kids" had won, it would have changed USPA. The sport itself is going to (eventually) change any way skydivers force it to. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Great question In no particular order.... Ferris Buehlers Day Off Caddyshack Animal House Cutaway...ok, not Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

OK, now that's freakin' cool. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

In more ways than one. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Are you always this positive? I don't know about fun jumping being down, but I do think tandems are a big reason for our lack of rubust growth. We (the industry) have succeeded in turning skydiving into a carnival ride. I think tandems are a big growth opportunity for our sport. BUT, we need to treat them special, and not just like living parts in a commercial sausage machine. The time sport divers spend chatting with tandems before and after their first leap of faith is unpaid, but can make a big difference. The tandems see everyone else having fun and being enthusiastic, and it rubs off. Then they take a FCJ, jump lots, and hopefully go on to get gear and become long-term members of the sport. I have brought 2 tandems to our dz in the last couple of months that have continued. That's what all the DZOs said about tandems when it first became the most popular first jump method. It seemed to work for a while, probably because of the general increase in volume that tandems brought to the sport (using the "more first jump students equals more experienced jumpers" theory). Unfortunately, the use of tandem to introduce people to skydiving eventually created the "tandem and a t-shirt" mentality. Very few first-timers doing tandems today see the sport as much more than a thrill ride - something they want to do for a birthday, graduation, before getting married or having kids, or to satisfy their "bucket list". If you really want to grow the sport, it can be done. 1. Make the AFF first jump cheaper and promote the shit out of it. ($189 for a tandem?? C'mon Johnny, you can do AFF for $220!!). It is well established that people who do AFF as a first jump method have a much greater probability of going on to make a second jump (even those who say they weren't planning on it). 2. Find ways to get people to stay for the party. Whether a big shindig or just beers around the fire, there's no question that the people who stay for the party are much more likely to come back. Hell, sometimes they just spend the night! If we want the sport to grow, we gotta get more people to shift from carnival ride to skydiving lessons - and give them a way to get to know the community that comes with it. 5 left and cut. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

Are you always this positive? I don't know about fun jumping being down, but I do think tandems are a big reason for our lack of rubust growth. We (the industry) have succeeded in turning skydiving into a carnival ride. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX

She needs to be hot. If you ever hear her sing without the help of production room magic, you'll want to puke. I'm talkin' baaaaad. She should take her cues from Ashley Simpson and just lip sync. Chuck Akers D-10855 Houston, TX