for some strange reason i am interested in jumping a dual keel dactyl. If any one out there has one for sale and some performance info i would appriciate hearing from you
Re: [mcGowan] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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I don't have one, but I just found another picture of one. It's the cover shot on a 1979 Dutch magazine. To the best of my limited ability to figure out Dutch, the cover note says technical data will be published in the next issue (which I don't have and couldn't read anyway.)
Re: [mcGowan] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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for some strange reason i am interested in jumping a dual keel dactyl. If any one out there has one for sale and some performance info i would appriciate hearing from you
Dont have one but got to jump one. Ted Strong was throwing a July 4th (2004 I believe)party in his back yard. He has a lake so I dediced to grab my water rig and I borrowed the old red white and blue canopy. Took it home and realized that I hadnt packed one since I was ten years old, 37 at the time. So i flat packed it like a square, got out over universal studios (nothing but parking lott below) at 3,000' it streamered, I looked up and said to my self, yup thats exactly how I packed it. It was fun to fly but I noticed that keeping a bit of toggle pressure made me feel better. The nose tended to try and flip under in full flight. I landed in the lake for my first water jump. Ted see's me getting out of the boat and helps me unload. ( I believe the percentage rate to openings was like 70%?) He said J I cant believe you jumped that damn thing (Ted never cusses). I said "what? Ted you guys were the ones to fly it all the time", he said :"Yeah and we threw the f%$%^g things in the closet" I said "OH, yeah I guess you did"
I have a bad ankle so there was no way I would land it, well maybe if there are some peas, but would love to jump one again.
Go for it! Its a great one to log.
Try John Story not sure if his is double keel but you might give him a shout, I think his is orange.
(This post was edited by upndownshop on Oct 31, 2007, 7:17 PM)
Re: [upndownshop] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Try John Story not sure if his is double keel but you might give him a shout, I think his is orange.
Jay, if its a single keel and orange, it most likey used to be mine. I gave it to John Stanford when I quit then when Story took over his rigging business he ended up with all that stuff. Oh yeah and Mike, you taught me how to pack that same canopy at Decatur.
Re: [usedtajump] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Try John Story not sure if his is double keel but you might give him a shout, I think his is orange.
Jay, if its a single keel and orange, it most likey used to be mine. I gave it to John Stanford when I quit then when Story took over his rigging business he ended up with all that stuff. Oh yeah and Mike, you taught me how to pack that same canopy at Decatur.
I am glad you told me that, I have wanted to buy that thing from John for a few years, now I know what he has in it
Re: [upndownshop] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Naah. You guys are confusing two very different canopies. The SINGLE Keel 'Dactyl was the most amazingly small & lightweight canopy of it's day. Unfortunately, it occasionally demonstrated some real "blue skies, black-freekin'-death" weirdness. (Like collapsing in turbulence.)
But the DOUBLE Keel 'Dactyl was fabulous! With about 1/2 the bulk and weight of a PC, it had far better performance, especially on landings. It was a delight to fly, docile, super-light on the controls, and amazingly reliable.
For several years, my New Dimensions Flite School at Perris used double-keels for all of our AFF students, right from the first jump,
IMHO the DOUBLE-keels were the very best student canopy of the day. (Just my .02 worth.)
Re: [swovelin] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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That is freaky, I rememebr a landing I witnessed as a kid (again I was just a kid) where the jumper pulled left and the darn thing went right and he smacked right into Buddy Craig's van, not pretty, must have been a single Keel.
Were they not used as reserves at one point? Was it the Russians who did that?
Re: [upndownshop] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Yeah, you're right; that was probably a single-keel 'dactyl. (They could get 'twitchy' in turbulence on hot days.)
And, you're also correct that the single-keel was used as a reserve. I remember Jim Handbury jumping his custom-built rig at Elsinore, way back when. It was absolutely the lightest, smallest skydiving rig in the world, with single-keel 'dactyls for both main & reserve and numerous creative weight-saving improvements.
Re: [swovelin] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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For several years, my New Dimensions Flite School at Perris used double-keels for all of our AFF students, right from the first jump,
IMHO the DOUBLE-keels were the very best student canopy of the day. (Just my .02 worth.)
That's right! I remember jumping your student rigs a handfull of times when I was out there doing AFF eval jumps in the early 1980's. They flew great and seemed docile and safe. Very good for that time. And the best thing was I didn't know how to pack them so you had to!!!
Re: [upndownshop] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Try John Story not sure if his is double keel but you might give him a shout, I think his is orange.
Jay, if its a single keel and orange, it most likey used to be mine. I gave it to John Stanford when I quit then when Story took over his rigging business he ended up with all that stuff. Oh yeah and Mike, you taught me how to pack that same canopy at Decatur.
I am glad you told me that, I have wanted to buy that thing from John for a few years, now I know what he has in it
Well I paid $25.00 for it in 1983 so at least you have a starting point for negotiations,
Re: [swovelin] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Naah. You guys are confusing two very different canopies. The SINGLE Keel 'Dactyl was the most amazingly small & lightweight canopy of it's day. Unfortunately, it occasionally demonstrated some real "blue skies, black-freekin'-death" weirdness. (Like collapsing in turbulence.)
But the DOUBLE Keel 'Dactyl was fabulous! With about 1/2 the bulk and weight of a PC, it had far better performance, especially on landings. It was a delight to fly, docile, super-light on the controls, and amazingly reliable.
For several years, my New Dimensions Flite School at Perris used double-keels for all of our AFF students, right from the first jump,
IMHO the DOUBLE-keels were the very best student canopy of the day. (Just my .02 worth.)
Never jumped one, but I remember seeing the Visions 8 Way and 10 Way team jump them at Perris in 1980. Visions (who later became the Coors team) went on to win National and World championships in the 8 Way, though not just yet in 1980. But they were training hard and jumping all day long and I can only remember occasional cutaways from their Double Keel Dactyls, nothing unusual or frequent. They only jumped them for one year, then in 1981 they switched to squares from Pioneer (Merlins and Viking Superlite II's) in SST Racers. But in 1980 they jumped Double Keel Dac's in Hanbury rigs, with Hanbury's Preserve round reserve.
(This post was edited by tbrown on Nov 2, 2007, 9:46 PM)
Re: [swovelin] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Yeah, you're right; that was probably a single-keel 'dactyl. (They could get 'twitchy' in turbulence on hot days.)
And, you're also correct that the single-keel was used as a reserve. I remember Jim Handbury jumping his custom-built rig at Elsinore, way back when. It was absolutely the lightest, smallest skydiving rig in the world, with single-keel 'dactyls for both main & reserve and numerous creative weight-saving improvements.
Re: [swovelin] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Yeah, you're right; that was probably a single-keel 'dactyl. (They could get 'twitchy' in turbulence on hot days.)
And, you're also correct that the single-keel was used as a reserve. I remember Jim Handbury jumping his custom-built rig at Elsinore, way back when. It was absolutely the lightest, smallest skydiving rig in the world, with single-keel 'dactyls for both main & reserve and numerous creative weight-saving improvements.
I don't know about any 'commie' dactyls 'though.
Everyone keeps referring to the 80's do I not rememebr them in the mid 70's or even earlier? I seem to remember they started dissapearing after Snyders square came out which would have been what 72? Hell, my first jump was a static lined square in 1984, heck I might have been the first student to jump a square in Texas. Did a one foot stand up in the peas, of course Bob Chaffin talked me in with the radio strapped to the top of my helmet, dad threw me out of the 182 (they didnt trust him to bring me back to the dz)
Re: [upndownshop] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Everyone keeps referring to the 80's do I not rememebr them in the mid 70's or even earlier? I seem to remember they started dissapearing after Snyders square came out which would have been what 72? Hell, my first jump was a static lined square in 1984, heck I might have been the first student to jump a square in Texas. Did a one foot stand up in the peas, of course Bob Chaffin talked me in with the radio strapped to the top of my helmet, dad threw me out of the 182 (they didnt trust him to bring me back to the dz)
Re: [usedtajump] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Everyone keeps referring to the 80's do I not rememebr them in the mid 70's or even earlier? I seem to remember they started dissapearing after Snyders square came out which would have been what 72? Hell, my first jump was a static lined square in 1984, heck I might have been the first student to jump a square in Texas. Did a one foot stand up in the peas, of course Bob Chaffin talked me in with the radio strapped to the top of my helmet, dad threw me out of the 182 (they didnt trust him to bring me back to the dz)
Jay, that's why it only cost $25.00 in 1983.
I sort of figured that. damn just turned 40, this getting stuff is for the birds. Can you believe that jerry Im 40! Hey figure I go to share the "wonderful" feeling of "maturing" lol!
Re: [mcGowan] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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for some strange reason i am interested in jumping a dual keel dactyl. If any one out there has one for sale and some performance info i would appriciate hearing from you
\
Well Mike it was a single keel that I jumped. Sorry cant help. Good luck and have a safe jump. J
Re: [usedtajump] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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Everyone keeps referring to the 80's do I not remember them in the mid 70's or even earlier? I seem to remember they started dissappearing after Snyders square came out which would have been what 72?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You are probably thinking of an Irvin Delta II. Delta IIs looked like Paradactyls from a distance, but they packed a lot bigger and opened a lot harder. Hint: I have done four hop-and-pops on a Delta II and three of those openings hurt! My Delta II had an Opening Shock Inhibitor, a jessly big cotton strap - lined with Teflon that wrapped around the lines below the "skirt."
My Delta II also came with a slider, but I never tried it before selling the canopy to a guy on the Prairies.
Similarly, my Russian-made PZ-81 reserve came with a slider, but it is a pilot chute-controlled slider with only two rings.
In comparison, I only have one jump on a Paradactyl, but found it to be a pleasant experience.
Re: [riggerrob] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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My Delta II also came with a slider, but I never tried it before selling the canopy to a guy on the Prairies.
Some guy on the prairies, come on Rob. Here is a picture of it jumped and not too long ago. That Thunderbow I got off your boss is more of a show stopper then the Delta II.
That slider is a paradactyl slider. It also had half a nose slider for a paradactyl in the bag.
Re: [Beatnik] Looking for a Dual keel dactyl
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My Delta II also came with a slider, but I never tried it before selling the canopy to a guy on the Prairies.
Some guy on the prairies, come on Rob. Here is a picture of it jumped and not too long ago. That Thunderbow I got off your boss is more of a show stopper then the Delta II.
That slider is a paradactyl slider. It also had half a nose slider for a paradactyl in the bag.
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DoubleKeelDactyl.jpg
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