hokierower

Yikes, 9-cell zp main to a 7-cell F-111 reserve while downsizing 70sf, all in 3 seconds...that makes me shudder just thinking about it. I only thought that containers were made for similar sized main/reserve canopies, besides the Wings EXT. Heed the wisdom of the experienced jumpers.

It's happened. Guy at my DZ walked up to a friend of his and pulled his reserve handle because the friend was being a dumbass and was going to execute a jump that would have most likely killed him. Pretty sure the guy paid for the repack but he saved the guy from his own stupidity. I think his wording was, "I'd rather you be alive and pissed off at me than you dead and me pissed off at myself."

I agree with this 100%. An extension ladder, roof, or edge scares the living shit out of me. Flying (cessna or airline) jumping, or roller coasters don't scare me. I too get laughs when I say that I'm scared of heights but jump out of planes.

Ah, thanks for the correction. In that case, I'd definitely go someplace else if the OP is seriously considering going AFF after he does a tandem jump. And I agree, why jump from 10k when you can do it from 13.5k for the same amount of money?

Looks kind of sketchy to me. If you go to the website, under dropzone there's no pictures with names, there's no information on what plane they fly, there's no pictures of the dropzone or the brand new hanger they built. Something just feels off. If you go to Skydive Suffolk, Skydive the Point, or Skydive Orange's websites there's a lot more detail. Whatever you decide to do, enjoy your freefall and canopy flight, but beware, it's really addicting!

I still don't understand what she got tangled up in that would have cause her to crash and burn. Was it another skydivers gear who had landed before her? Was she taking part in a swoop accuracy competition and got tangled up in the boundary lines? All you're saying is that she didn't wear closed toe shoes and due to that she broke multiple bones, but you haven't explained how it happened. That's like saying, "Don't eat fish. Why not? Because someone I know got sick from eating fish. How? Was it undercooked, was it not prepared correctly? No, she ate fish, she got sick, therefore you should never eat fish."

What did her shoe choice have to do with her impact with the earth? From the way you're telling the story, she came in too hot and hit hard, but you mentioned about her feet getting tangled in something...?

But everything is supposed to bigger/better in Texas You make good points and you're right, it's a calculated risk on my part.

There's a lot of good advice that's been given in this thread, but you must remember that you, and only you, are responsible at the end of the freefall for deploying your parachute and landing it safely. With that said I'm sure that everyone who's posted in this thread checks their gear multiple times during the course of the day. Me personally: -When I pull it out of my gear bag at the beginning of the day and turn on the AAD (at the DZ). -Whenever it's left my sight and I'm getting read for a load but not yet putting it on. -Prior to putting it on for a load. -Have someone I'm jumping with do a once over. -Check of 3's a minimum of 3 times in the aircraft. -Pin check on the main and reserve prior to the door opening. -Once over after packing -At the end of the day when I turn the AAD off. It's the only thing that's gonna save my scrawny ass once I leave the plane and I'm gonna make damn sure that everything works the way it's supposed to. P.S. - check of threes is... 1. Three handles - in deployment order (PC, Cutaway, Reserve) 2. Three straps - your chest both legs, looking for improper routing and tightness (don't know what happened to you previously, but this might have helped you out) 3. Three rings - proper routing of the three ring system (I always think poppa bear, momma bear, baby bear), rings rotate freely, proper routing of the cutaway cables, and RSL properly routed and connected.

Please share. I asked people a similar question when I started jumping (the thread is here somewhere) and due to the responses I received I didn't jump in them while I was in Texas.

My main concern with the tunnel is that when I cork out I see the chance of something happening skyrocket since I'm out of control. My main concern with skydiving in them is landing which is why I didn't wear them when I was jumping in Texas. The ground sucked and I was more likely to land on something sharp that could puncture through the sole. Now I'm jumping in Wisconsin and the LZ is beautiful and the outs aren't that much worse. It's a calculated risk that changes depending on where I'm jumping and I assess the situation as it changes.

Sunrise Manufacturing Wings Container Performance Designs Spectre Canopy Love the canopy, will most likely stick with the model when I downsize.

I bought a cheap $30 pair of closed toe trail shoes for jumps 1-50, but since then I've worn my Vibram Five Fingers. Just got a pair of Komodo Sports which I've worn for the last 15 and wore my Sprints for the 6 before that. They're great, but I'm gonna have to pick up some actual shoes for the tunnel this weekend since it would suck to get a toe ripped off by the net. I'll go take a look at chucks.

Another thing to consider is that as a new jumper, depending on your exit weight, there might be a bit of a markup on a main or reserve that you want because of its size and model and the constant influx of new people to the sport who jump a canopy like that. I bought my Spectre 190 w/ 350 jumps on it for $1200 (it was in really good condition) and will probably be able to sell it after 200 jumps for not a whole lot less ($900-1k) because there will always be another beginner who needs a canopy like that.

1. I'm sorry, I misworded that statement. I have done a full toggle stall on my canopy multiple times, for example, in order for me to collapse my canopy in a flare I need to fully extend my arms and then roll my shoulders forward to get an additional inch and after a second or two of fluttering it'll fold back on itself pretty as you like. In fact, the last time I did it I came out with my left end deflated and had to pump the brakes to pressurize the cells. I'm about 99% sure that happened because I let the toggles up too quickly but haven't replicated the act since then. What I meant to say is that there is a little bit of extra brake line that could be made available, and I was thinking that once I hit 100 jumps (30 from now) that I'd ask a rigger to help me adjust the lines to try and see if it will reduce the bucking by testing it out up high. 2. Thanks for the heads up on the slip and the warning. I'll try it up high next jump.

1. Parachute & its Pilot? 2. Didn't think about the body. Thanks. 3. Roger that. I'll think about talking to a rigger for the brake lines at around 100 and play with them a little bit at a time. 4. Roger that. 5. That's what I've gleaned talking to people and the reading material and have been making a effort to learn and practice these now. Accuracy is getting better and I've landed it a couple of times in >1/2 brakes to put something that I read into physical experience. Haven't had a big chance to do crosswind landings due to a lack of wind or being in the middle of a pattern and wanting to fly it safely. Thanks for the advice. I love flying my canopy and it gets more fun as I understand how to fly it better but I keep learning new things each jump. Oh, and I'll be picking up a digital alti ASAP.

I have a couple of questions after reading the BPA Canopy Handling & a little of the Canopy Piloting manuals and practicing some of the exercises mentioned. My canopy progression thus far has been: Sabre 1 230 - 1 jump Spectre 230 - 14 jumps - .9:1 Spectre 210 - 5 jumps - 1:1 Spectre 190 - 51 jumps - 1.1:1 1. I have to haul down on my front risers to sustain a turn and can only hold it for maybe a max of 360 degrees before the force starts becoming a little extreme. I believe that's due to the size of the canopy and the combination of drag and lift as the canopy reaches its maximum speed, but I'm not sure. Can someone possibly confirm or correct my suspicions? 2. After smoothly letting the riser return to its normal position the speed quickly dies off and it feels like the canopy starts to climb as the extra speed is converted to lift and altitude, however I only have a Galaxy altimeter and can't tell for certain. Is that feeling correct or is the canopy flying level and it just feels like a "climb" since I'm used to the canopy descending in a glide? 3. I don't have a lot of slack with my brake lines, which is causing the canopy to buck a bit when using front risers. I understand that this is caused by the canopy diving at the same time a smallish amount of left/right brake is being applied which is disrupting the air flowing over the wing. Since I'm not experimenting anywhere near the ground and like to keep the flare where it currently is, does the bucking create any sort of a hazardous condition? Does the small amount of applied brakes increase the turning radius of the canopy? 4. Pulling down on the front risers doesn't seem to do anything because of the brakes being pulled down at the same time. It seems that while the canopy is trying to dive, the brakes are acting like flaps and the canopy is either flying level or in a very small dive, something equivalent to a plane on jump run with the flaps down and the nose pointed down but maintaining altitude. 5. Not so much about canopy control, but more dealing with canopy progression, is there a link or article with a recommended canopy model progression when downsizing? I won't be thinking of downsizing from my 190 until at least my C license which is a minimum 130 jumps away, but while I love my Spectre and can see myself flying a 170 and 150, anything smaller than that I get a little confused as far as what canopy models are meant for what. I understand that a Velo, JVX, & Xaos are currently the end of the line, but where do the Crossfire, Katana, Stiletto, Cobalt come into play? EDIT: 6. Is it possible to perform a forward-slip with a canopy? Back when I was still gunning for my pilots license (before paying for school got in the way) I had a bad habit of coming in to approach too high and forward slipping the plane (C-172) to the correct altitude, to the point where I scared my solo check ride instructor and was told to never do that with him again. The principle sounds like it would work, a little front riser and a little opposite toggle to decrease altitude without increasing airspeed if you found yourself too high on final, but it also sounds like a HORRIBLE idea because you're screwing with a bunch of different inputs on landing. I'll try it up high the next time I'm in the air because I just thought about this, but I searched and couldn't find anything out there besides a topic on a side-slip.

Hahaha, nope.

That was pretty good. Thanks for the laugh. When I bought my first rig all of the components were used and I told my parents that I'd bought a rig. My mom looks at me and asks me "You bought a USED parachute?" I looked back at her and said, "Yea, they aren't like rubbers, you can use them more than once!" My whole family still cracks up over that, especially when they ask me what I'm doing this weekend and I respond by saying that I'm gonna go jump my used parachute.

.... coming from the guy that doesn't want to be an engineer anymore. Engineering is so stagnant, I wish someone would break ranks and think of something awesome...alright kids, I'm counting on you, make me proud in 10-20 years! I'll sit back in the meantime and just wait for something awesome to happen.

So you're an engineer that teaches, but not at a university...hmm, interesting. I agree with Lost N' Confuzed

No, the BOC is in a pretty good location and the rig sits on my body pretty well.

I'm about the same size as you (5'11, 180#) and managed to find all of my components within 3 weeks of beginning my search for gear. I knew what size & type of main I wanted (colors didn't matter) and I had a used cypres, so the only thing which was needed was a container and a reserve. These I picked up as a combo unit and then had everything shipped to a local rigger for inspection and assembly. Not one single color matches . The only thing that doesn't quite fit is the lower part of the harness because the hip rings sit about 2" high but as soon as I figured out how to move the balls out of the way that ceased to be a problem. I bought my entire setup for $3k. I'll fly the canopy for another 150 jumps minimum, the Cypres has 2 more repacks on it, and the container and reserve are in great condition, especially the container assuming it has over 2000 jumps in 5 years. Go used and save your pennies for new.

My flare really depends on what the winds are doing and how crowded the LZ is. If I am landing into the wind and it's blowing at a good and consistent 10+ mph then I'm going to perform a smooth flare in "1-stage". If I am landing on a no wind day then I adjust accordingly and switch over to a 2-stage flare because like it was mentioned earlier, chances are pretty good that a single flaring motion will cause the parachute to "climb" because of the additional lift. Part one of the 2-stage allows my canopy to level out to a fair degree and a hard but smooth part two will put my feet on the ground without having to run out the landing. My AFF 1-5 landings were pretty nasty but after that something clicked and since #5 the two times I haven't landed on my feet are when I had a downwind landing which I slid in on and a braked accuracy approach where I PLF'd to preserve my knees & feet. Please understand that this is my personal experience and that I only have 61 jumps. I've only jumped a Spectre (in various sizes) and I feel that it's an awesome canopy. Please be sure to talk to a very experienced local canopy pilot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225 $2 million might pay for a tank or two of gas :)