Jul 5, 2011, 7:22 PM
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CRW question
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Please dont flame me for this question but - what CRW formations can be done relatively safely with 9 cell microlined canopies? CRW is rarely done at my dropzone so I jump at any chance to learn it. Unfortunately that means using what is available, which are not CRW canopies (there are only about 3 other jumpers willing to do any CRW with me). Travel is out of the question as I am doing good to get 4 jumps a month right now due to financial considerations. One friend of mine is in the process of setting up a couple of CRW canopies (OLD canopies, a Fury 220 and an Interceptor 200 I believe) but has hit a snag as he needs to find a spider/PC setup for the Interceptor. SO - are there any formations we can do "safely" other than stacks with our 9 cell canopies? I know off center docks are out, but what about trying some side by sides? The canopies we are using are a Safire, a Sabre1, a Sabre2 and a Nitron all loaded about 1.3.
Guess you are just living up to your DZ.com name instead of being helpful <sigh>. I WISH I had video as a Safire 189 and a Nitron 135 fly remarkably well together in a stack (I docked on the Nitron if that matters). I am well aware that I am not using the best (or safest) tool for the task. I wish I had unlimited $$$ or some sugardaddy would hook me up, but thats just unrealistic. Anyone ELSE have anything constructive to offer?
Get the right tools for the job. Every formation you can build will build better with the proper canopies, and the risk of entanglements will be lower. Line burns from dacron still hurts, but at least it doesn't slice you like microlines does.
I think many people find themselves in your situation, I know I did. Drop zones with airspace restrictions, no gear, no one to learn from or jump with. But getting the right gear and finding the right people is worth it. There's three of us here now, and jumping has never been better.
What kind of CRW experience levels do these buddies have? Not a whole lot if I was to guess. It sounds like a CRW camp or some training would be beneficial.
One has a lot of experience (a lot being relative, maybe a few hundred CRW jumps), the rest of us (all 3 LOL) are learning. There are Tris and Spectres around my DZ but none I know of that I would not be loading at 1.5 or higher...
Other than stacks or downplanes, not much more can be done with those canopies..
I'm surprised you can't come up with any Triathlons or Spectres. Those work for both freefall and CRW..
What she said. I have a couple hundred crw jumps on my Triathlons, and stacks or planes are the only formations I'll do with mine. I even had one of my Triathlons lined with non-cascaded red dacron center lines for a while.
I won't do diamonds with anything but a Lightning, but that's just me.
Well dammit Billy, if you would ever come back to WTS and bring a couple Lightnings with you you could teach me something! Seriously, I am gonna try and get down to Culman later this year if I can come up with the money and if you would be willing to do some CRW jumps with me. You probably dont remember me but we met when I was just off AFF at one of the Halloween boogies at WTS.
Well dammit Billy, if you would ever come back to WTS and bring a couple Lightnings with you you could teach me something! Seriously, I am gonna try and get down to Culman later this year if I can come up with the money and if you would be willing to do some CRW jumps with me. You probably dont remember me but we met when I was just off AFF at one of the Halloween boogies at WTS.
I barely remember you. It has been too long! I need to hear Mike Mullins ask me "are you still fucking deaf?"
I sold my Lightning several years back, but I'm sure I could scrounge up a couple if I needed to borrow them. I'll need to get my reserves repacked as well. We can try for a weekend in the fall.
I highly recommend saving up for and attending a Mike Lewis or Jim Rasmussen CRW camp. Or jump with Wendy. This investment will not only quickly improve your skills exponentially, but will help you to survive your transition to the dark side.
