nicknitro71

I jump a 150 and it is a great canopy. At Rantoul I demo lots of semi elliptical and 7 cell 150s and to be honest I like my Hornet best. And you are right, you can not beat the price. Memento Audere Semper 903

1. More money 2. My lady 3. Less pull-up chords, I found 20 of them! 4. A bike 5. Drugs and my cigars Memento Audere Semper 903

Got trained in the military in 1993. Then I took a leave of absence for two years. Got back into the sport in 1996 but from 1996 to last year I did not make many jumps due to lack of time. Now I’m back big time! 45 jumps in 5 days at Rantoul! Memento Audere Semper 903

Here is a e-mail I got from Heather @ Wings: Hi Nick, Lately, many riggers have been telling us that they could pack Tempos into smaller reserve trays than we've typically assigned them. (for instance a W-8 for a Tempo 150 and a 135 main, instead of a W-10) So in your case I would go with a W-8 container. I have a 135 main in my W-8 and would go with a W-7 if I planned on going down to a 120 anytime soon. If you plan on keeping the 135 for a long time (with the Tempo 150) stick with a W-8. If you want to go to a 120, choose the W-7. Memento Audere Semper 903

This was my first year at WFFC and it was a blast. Although I don't buy the jet crap. IMO they long had known it was not coming and they said it was to attract more people. Then at the very last moment they told us the Jet was not coming but we could use the ticket to jump out a fast C-130! I beg your pardon! So, not to refund all the jet plane tickets they came out with the fast C-130 horse crap. I still manage to do a 200+ mph jump out the CASA on Friday evening with the $ 18 ticket and got my money back from the jet ticket. Honestly, the Jet was not my priority but it is not right what they did. I hope next year they won't play those stupid games. Memento Audere Semper 903

I would go S/L. Canopy control is a must nowadays. Look at the accident report... Becoming more proficient under the canopy will take out, at least partially, one componet when you'll do FF. Beside S/Ls aren't all that bad either! You can have fun too. A nice glide under the canopy, getting familiar exiting the plane, landing, and getting familiar with the DZ. My girlfriend will start jumping next month and I'll put her through S/L. Memento Audere Semper 903

I saw a pic some time ago of a freeflyer wearing a football helmet and made me wander. How feasible is a football helmet for skydiving? Memento Audere Semper 903

I demoed a Lotus 150 at Rantoul. I jump a Hornet 150. The opening was so hard that I got brused and I also had a line twist. Of course at Big Air thay blamed my body position even though I got stable for 1500' and de-arched! The ride was bumpy, very, very bumpy. Air locks? Holly crap! This is by far the most unstable canopy I have ever jumped, ever. The toggles and risers pressure were similar to my Hornet with a bit more pressure on the rear. Plenty of flare during landing that in turn was the only fine part of the ride. Bottom line: save big bucks and get a Hornet.

Good posts. I do agree that it all comes down to education. If you think this problem does not apply only to canopies wing loading. You can get a motorcycle license and go and buy a R1 without any experience. If you have the maturity and "empirical" knowledge you might be OK. If not, you'll sooner or later hurt yourself. Ego is an evil beast at times. You don't want to be left out with a square canopy loaded 1:1. You too want to be the hot shot swooping for ever with the latest ultra performance, ultra loaded canopy. I do believe in a scaled motorcycle licensing as well as a skydiving one. First the D license requirement should be at least 500 jumps and not 200. Second, each license should have a max wing load not to be exceeded and checked periodically buy the DZO or instructors. Third, I agree that there is the need of more education when it comes to canopy control. Memento Audere Semper 903

Again I value all opinions but my canopy is not made by Atair. I think the most appropiate person to talk to is who actually made the canopy but then again I could be wrong. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

The answer my friend is Psycho Pack, the answer is Psycho Pack... Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

The fastest way to turn (let's say right) is to simultaneously turn your right arm in and your LEFT ankle in toward the right leg. For now though I would suggest to keep the legs in the basic freefall position and just use your arms. But again you'd better ask your instructor, he’s the one who’s been watching you and knows what you are doing wrong. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

I thought PISA was in the business of making canopies and containers not PCs! Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Ok guys, calm down! After my incident the first thing everybody agreed at my DZ was my PC being too small. Again it was a 24" Zero Po collapsible plugged to a Hornet 150. The exit altitude was 3000 and I must have pulled at 2200-2300, i.e. sub-terminal. My body position felt OK but then again what I know! Anyhow, all the very experienced jumpers agreed that I should have gotten a bigger PC in the order of 28”. Next thing I did was to write an e-mail to PISA, that by the way manufactures canopies and containers for quite a while now. With all the respect I trust more a canopy manufacture than someone with 200 jumps, although I listen and value everyone's opinion. I included the e-mail reply in my previous post. I understand that everybody has a different view point on things but the guys at PISA manufactured both my canopies and they make a living doing so. I don’t understand why you think they might have an interest saying that F-111 is a better fabric than Zero Po for PCs! Are these South African dudes conspiring against Zero Po? Again I went straight to the people who MADE my parachute to seek advice and I wanted to share with you so we can all learn from it. Yes it could have been body position but then again every malfunction is always body position! If I were jumping a radical heavily loaded elliptical canopy most likely I would have had to cut away. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

This is a reply I got from Ned Luker at PISA which by the way was very prompt: Hi Nick Yes a 24" Zero P Pilot Chute at sub terminal doesn't have much "snatch" so the deployment gets a little mushy and not much pull or control either. We'd say you should go up to a 32" F-111 / 0-3 CFM Pilot Chute for better results for sub terminal deployment or if that size is too large for your spandex B.O.C. pocket , go slightly smaller than 32.. Actually F-111 / 0-3 CFM is a much more solid stable pilot chute than Zero P. The problem is the Zero P doesn't let any airflow through the fabric with the result that they tend to oscillate like crazy as the air escapes much like an old Round Flat circular. F-111 / 0-3 are very stable and in fact have greater drag due to this fact. Funny but you'd have thought that Zero P makes a more efficient pilot chute but it isn't. Stay in touch and let me know how it works out for you. BLUE SKIES NED Memento Audere Semper 903

I had a line twist once before. It was just two line twists, not a biggie. I know that time was due to packing. My lines were not straight during packing and I just went ahead and close the bag. Anyhow, on that jump I had something like 10 or more line twists. All the lines were in a spiral from the slider up. It took a lot of kicking and spreading to untwist. They think that a small pilot chute does not have enough force to properly extract the bag at sub-terminal speeds. This is their rationale and the speed was definitely sub-terminal. Yes I was in a worry to open and most likely I did open too soon. My body position though felt pretty stable. The question is if a bigger, let say 30” chute, would have prevented or alleviated the problem. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Guys, pushing someone out it is just plain wrong. If you think otherwise you are just a moron. If it did happen to me the dude would smile with fewer theeth, as simple as that. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Yesterday I did a hopnpop from 3000. That resulted in a major line twist, from top to bottom! I was able to kick them off without cutting away. Everybody at my drop zone agreed that the problem was the pilot chute. I jump a Hornet 150 loaded 1.1 and the pilot chute is a 24” collapsible zero po. Should I change my pilot chute? If yes what diameter and material? Thanks Memento Audere Semper 903

Pardon my ignorance but how is this mod performed? thanks Memento Audere Semper 903

When your brain tells you to flare just wait! Remember that flaring is dynamic in nature. Flare just enough to reduce vertical speed at around 15'. As you re-gain vertical speed flare some more. Eventually you have close to zero vertical and horizontal speed and it's time to put your feet down. Don't be eager to put your feet down. If you are low and still have too much horizontal speed just lift your legs and flare some more. At times I slide my butt and still make a soft stand up landing. Also, every landing is different: air pressure, humidity, wind... It takes time. My landings still suck too! Good luck Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Being atheist at times pays off! Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Hornet. Memento Audere Semper 903

No, I'm atheist. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

I could not agree more with you guys. I weight 157 and jump a Hornet 150. Now my landings still suck but here is what I've learnt: Flare at 12-15' stick your legs in front of you and wait, wait and wait. Sometimes I flare a bit too low ~8 and slide my but still land on my feet; kinda cool actually. If this is your fist semi-high performance canopy just don’t be greedy to put your feet down. Yesterday I broke my big toe nail because of it. The hornet, although not being radical, swoops decently. Just enjoy the ride close to the ground. Cool Memento Audere Semper 903

Albert Einstein once said that god does not play dice with the universe. I can not rule out the idea of a creator even thought I think there is not one. If we thought assume there is a creator it will be outside the universe thus outside space and time. Being outside our limited dimensions makes it most likely any sort of communication impossible. Also the whole life span of the universe would seem like a split of a “second” for it. If you build a sealed box you are outside of it not inside. Again god as seen by virtually all religions is a delusional image. Praying for god is most definitely only tighten up with personal positive reinforcement. Moreover life after death is not feasible as the word itself imply, life and death are in some sense each other’s opposite. Yes all we are is a bunch of neurons connected in the most complex and beautiful network known the man that took four billions of years of evolution to master itself. By the way I broke my big toe nail during a not so splendid landing yesterday! Cool Memento Audere Semper 903