lowhook

Hinckley (Chicagoland Skydiving) got a beautiful new PAC750XL that started flying jumpers Saturday morning. There may be pictures at www.skydivecsc.com. They flew it from New Zealand and had a web site where you could track it as it was ferried and in one of the pictures they had it parked in California next to their Otter. I believe the Otter comes back in May but the Pac will still be around a lot for two plane shot weekends and to keep wait time low. That thing climbs fast! Come check it out.

I think you mean "loosening" the chest strap as opposed to "releasing" the chest strap. At your 50 jump level I would just worry about safely entering the pattern and landing. The loosened chest strap allows one to alter their center of gravity in the harness and affect the steering and recovery of the canopy with body movements.

I find the spacer foam so comfortable that I had a second rig refitted with it at considerable expense. Go and find one of the top-of-the-line Swiss Army backpacks and check out how soft they are. That is similar in feel to the Javelin backpad with spacer foam.

Chicagoland Skydiving has one as well (PAC 750XL) in addition to their Twin Otter. Nice plane. http://www.skydivecsc.com/dropzone/skydiving_aircraft.php

According to the official US Air Force website. AF.MIL: "Colonel Joe Kittinger Jr. In freefall for four and a half minutes, Kittinger fell at speeds up to 714 mph, exceeding the speed of sound.... " -AND- "The jump set records that still stand today: the highest ascent in a balloon, the highest parachute jump, the longest freefall, and the fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere.... In freefall for 4.5 minutes at speeds up to 714 mph and temperatures as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit, Colonel Kittinger opened his parachute at 18,000 feet.... "

Rich Madsen, John Pickert, myself and Kevin doing video. Should be a fun year.

We are looking to build a team for the 2005 season and need a 4th. We currently have 3 RW flyers and dedicated video for the season. We have trained at Hinckley in the past but can travel around to local DZs if that helps. We are planning on competing in the AAA class of the NSL and then picking an appropriate class for nationals based on our success. We would like to get in a couple hundred training jumps. Perhaps every Saturday or every other weekend (Sat & Sun). Our schedule is flexible. Drop me an email or message if interested.

this is lowhook's profile... lol..... sorry but look at the profile! im not defending... lol... sorry... just pointing somthing out.....

Here was a call I just had with them: (skydivingarizona.com) *67 (block caller id) 1-800-641-3483 Them: Hello, adventure skydiving Me: Sorry, I thought this was Skydive Arizona. Them: Oh, we are their booking office Me: Ok, I wanted to check on team rates. My 4-way team would like to check the rate on 500 jump tickets. We will be there in Eloy on Jan 15-30 and will make at least 100 jumps as a team. Them: Please hold........ Them: OK, are you an experienced skydiver? Me: Well YES! That is the reason I want to buy at least 500 slots. Them: Please hold........ Them: OK, would you be wanting to make a tandem skydive? Me: Is this really Skydive Arizona, I just want to buy 500 jump tickets and arrange for some coaching with Airspeed. Them: Well actually Sir, we are a booking agency for over 400 dropzones around the country and... Me: So you're not Skydive Arizona...why did you try to act like them? Well this is certainly confusing. Goodbye What a joke that place is!

I own 2 Katanas. At one point I owned a Jedei and got rid of it in short order due to hard openings, off heading openings and a broken back from one side folding under on a swoop. The Katana does seem very ground hungry at first if you are used to flying something like a Stiletto. With a little experience my love affair with the Katana grew. It may be ground hungry in full flight but once you get in the brakes or rear risers you can make it back from just about any bad spot. My proof was the day I swooped the landing near the peas after the spot from hell (on a Katana at 1.8) while the Stilettos at 1.3 were landing 1/3 of a mile out. (all started around the same altitude) I can barely find the stall point on my Katana. The brakes and rear risers seem to go forever. The only drawback I found to the Katana is that the deep brake setting makes it work to transition from rear risers to toggles during a swoop. You have to be very quick. This is not just a baseless opinion. It is derived from experience. Though your experience may be much different.

Thanks. I glanced for a thread that might have covered it but did not see any. Guess I should have looked harder. Thanks for the link.

I have now heard from 2 people that a plane landed in the middle of the night at a DZ last week without any lights and was following by some black helicopters (feds). Have I been fed a line or does anyone know this to be true? I am not mentioning the DZ in case it is a bogus rumor.

A reserve must open in the lesser of 300 feet or 3 seconds. My main takes about 700 feet to open. The math makes the choice easy.

Maybe they can wear the rig and their jumpsuit, altimeter and a factory diver helmet so the TSA will know they are skydivers. Be sure to leave the hook knife behind. Sheesh. How many times can this be talked about. Just make a new forum called "Traveling with Rigs - FAQ".

For those interested, this is from the Daily Herald. Services are Wednesday and Thursday. Eduardo "Lalo" Acosta of West Chicago for 20 years Funeral services for Eduardo "Lalo" Acosta, 43, will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, at West Chicago Bible Church, 209 S. Oakwood, West Chicago. Born April 2, 1961, in Michoacan, Mexico, he died Saturday, June 19, 2004. Interment will be in Glen Oak Cemetery, West Chicago. Lalo moved to the United States in 1976 at the age of 15, with nothing but the shirt on his back. In 1979, he lived and worked on farmland with his uncle and aunt in Magnolia, and while he was there he began to teach himself English. He moved to West Chicago in the mid-1980s. Lalo first worked in a junkyard and moved on to working construction. While working hard in the daytime he put himself through night school, taking English and architecture courses at the College of DuPage. Lalo met and fell in love with Esther Diaz of Corpus Christi, Texas, and married her in 1987. On Oct. 16, 1988, Andres Eduardo Acosta was born and blessed their home. Lalo, a humble man rich in love and life, started with a dream from scratch and began his own construction company, Acosta Builds and Son. He quickly moved from roofing and remodeling to creating his own blueprints and constructing lavish homes. Always the first one there for his family and friends, Lalo reserved positions in his company for his brothers, cousins and nephews to help give them opportunities to start a new life in the United States. Once comfortable in his business, he acted on one of his passions and took up aviation courses. After receiving his pilot's license, Lalo purchased his own airplane and began to travel. He was a man of strong faith who was active in his church and community. He lived life to the fullest every single day. He took an interest in skydiving, which was his stress release, liberating and freeing. While in his plane, Lalo felt at peace and closer to God. His life was cut short, but Lalo will always live on in the memories of those who were blessed by his friendship and love. His beautiful smile, kind heart, strong faith and love of life will always be remembered. He was the beloved husband of Esther (nee Diaz); loving father of Andres Acosta; dearest son of Eduardo S. and Gloria; fond brother of Salomon, Agustin, Cristina, Isabel, John, Alejandro and Victor; dear grandson of Pomposa Cervante and Maria Silva; and a devoted uncle, cousin and friend to many. He was preceded in death by his two grandfathers. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, at Williams-Woodward Funeral Home, Route 59 and Pine St., West Chicago, and from 10 a.m. until the time of services Thursday, at the church. Friends may visit www.dailyherald.com/obits to express condolences and sign the guest book. For funeral information, (630) 231-1300. Published in the Chicago Suburban Daily Herald on 6/22/2004.

Heck, there are teams in intermediate with world class player coaches. That is messed up.

Hi Eiley, that'd be me. You took great care of our team that year. Sure do miss ya!

I'd ask Aggie Dave to address this. He knows everything and likes to talk a lot.

If your cogs are sucking too it sounds like poor eye contact between subgroups. Going vert will make this even worse. Unless you are averaging over 13 I would be trying to cog zirc>zirc. The catch is easier, the block has a nice feel, eye contact is easier and you are often left with a very nice build to lead into the random move that will follow. Snow>Off is a lot easier to do 3D than zirc>zirc. How is your stardian move?

Pack jobs. Most of my jumps are free or nearly free.

I've never tried 180 or 360 carves but I do a double 90 a lot now. I'll hook hard left and hold the left front riser a little longer than usual to enter my plane-out already banked. From there I throw a lot of body english into the saddle and finess the toggle for a bit more input. With good speed remaining I'll bank hard right to get a second 90 degree turn in (usually finishing into the wind because I'm too old to run). I think the blade running guys are doing this stuff in a much bigger way and using more controls.

Zero. I quit wearing one because it just got in the way.

The Vengeance I jumped loaded at 2.0 would stay nicely in a dive until bumped out of it by rear risers or toggles. Recovery arc was very similar to my old Jedei.

Michele, Depending on your experience level you may not want to bother with the chest strap loosening. It is just one more distraction when you should be flying you canopy. I collapse my slider, pull it down to neck level, roll it tight, stow it to my collar, loosen my cheststrap and take off my booties in about 5 seconds. During this my head is on a swivel and I am steering with harness input. When I do an occasional big-way I just collapse my slider and fly my canopy in the pattern. Only do what you are comfortable with and what you can do safely. JMO

A nicely staged opening requires good stows. The bag has to be accelerated to the speed of the jumper in order to create sufficient air pressure to keep the slider up during canopy extraction. Good stows allow for snatch, snivel, and inflation to each play their appropriate role in creating a nice soft opening. If you don't believe this try increasing the size of your pilot chute and see what happens.