skydived19006 4 #1 April 18, 2006 I’m a tandem instructor with right at 1000 tandems, and no reserve rides. I’m interested in hearing from those who’ve had the fun of flying a Tandem Raven 375’ on a nice warm humid day with 450+ lbs suspended. Anyone? We have a 240 student limit, and I weigh in at about 220 so we’re hauling 500 lbs or so, our Icarus mains fly and land fine with the load. The thought of having 500 lbs under a TR 375 carries a bit more pucker factor! Martin AC/DZExperience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
councilman24 36 #2 April 18, 2006 QuoteI’m a tandem instructor with right at 1000 tandems, and no reserve rides. You must be the only one!!!!I'm old for my age. Terry Urban D-8631 FAA DPRE Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riggerrob 558 #3 April 18, 2006 He must be a really neat packer. ... and he probably missed the whole F-111 era. My experience has been that hanging more than 400 pounds of meat under Strong 425 canopies results in hard landings. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #4 April 18, 2006 Up until this year we (my partner and I) were doing 99% of our own packing, and we're also the gear owners. I don't know that I'm all that neat, but I know what I'm looking at while doing the packing. Mark has about the same number of tandems, with one line over malfunction. I've heard/saw arguments for flat packing tandems, we throw it over a hook, and pro pack, also tie the steering lines into the center D line attachment point with a rubber band, it's obviously working for us! Yes, I did miss the "old days" of F111 tandem canopies. Didn't start doing tandems till 1999. With Icarus 365s, landing a 500 lb tandem compares with landing a sport canopy loaded to 1.3 or 1.4. 500 lbs under a 375sf F11 reserve makes me a bit nervous. We have a couple of shallow ponds on the property, I'd rather put it in the water than breaking my ass if I know that would be the outcome!Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
divnswoop 0 #5 April 19, 2006 QuoteQuoteI’m a tandem instructor with right at 1000 tandems, and no reserve rides. You must be the only one!!!! There are a few others..... I have a little over 2100 and Art the owner of Palatka has over 3500 without one.... I guess we are there to even out the couple people I know who have 4-6 cutaways with only 200 tandems!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #6 April 19, 2006 Apparently not many TIs here with experience on the Raven reserves. Maybe I should just ask George Galloway?Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
justchrisdsp 0 #7 April 19, 2006 i had my first(and only so far) tandem cutaway during my phase 2 jumps. the reserve was a strong reserve, landed just fine, The only bad skydive is your last! chris "sonic wookie" harwell Piedra-belluda-roja Rodriguez Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #8 April 19, 2006 I'm not concerned about it except for the extreme case. Were you loaded over 500 lbs, on a nice 110 degree, 90% humidity, day with a density altitude of 5,000 feet or so? That's what I'm talk'n bout! I know, I know, best answer to the above mentioned scenario is 'don't do that!'Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diablopilot 2 #9 April 20, 2006 QuoteQuoteI’m a tandem instructor with right at 1000 tandems, and no reserve rides. You must be the only one!!!! Or two.---------------------------------------------- You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chutingstar 1 #10 April 29, 2006 QuoteI’m a tandem instructor with right at 1000 tandems, and no reserve rides. I’m interested in hearing from those who’ve had the fun of flying a Tandem Raven 375’ on a nice warm humid day with 450+ lbs suspended. Anyone? We have a 240 student limit, and I weigh in at about 220 so we’re hauling 500 lbs or so, our Icarus mains fly and land fine with the load. The thought of having 500 lbs under a TR 375 carries a bit more pucker factor! Martin AC/DZ I have 2 or 3 rides wih the 375 Precision reserve. I remember it flaring fine with a better-than-expected bottom end. The only surprise was how long it took to complete a turn under canopy. It turns extremely slow, even loaded up. As far as packing, love the Vectran lines...very easy to keep neat, clear and orderly. MikeChutingStar.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skysurfcam 0 #11 May 1, 2006 Jinx... Brother Wayward's rule of the day... "Never ever ever go skydiving without going parachuting immediately afterwards." 100% PURE ADRENALENS Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #12 May 1, 2006 I hesitate to post this because I didn’t ask permission, but I can’t imagine it being an issue. We jump Eclipse tandem rigs at my DZ, and when we purchased the first one we flew Mark “Shoobi” Knutson (founder of Stunts Adventure Equipment/Eclipse, but no longer involved in the company) out to get myself and one other certified (also got an existing RWS IE certified as an IE for Eclipse). Anyway, I emailed Shoobi with the same question, and this was his response. I think its valuable experience/advice. Martin “1000 tandems and no cutaways! You should have done one just for giggles already! The Raven 375 flies and lands like docile 7 cell. Although landing it head on into the wind is nice, I prefer to fly a low landing pattern over my chosen target like and airplane. Downwind leg, base leg and final turn @ 150 feet or so. This allows a little extra airspeed to work with at flare. Also, and this might hurt, wrap a turn or two of the lower control line around your hands to shorten up the distance between the tail attach points and your hands. The reserves are "detuned" to prevent low stalls, so without the wrap, you won't get a maximum flare. Do your wrap prior to entering the above "pattern". I know, it'll hurt a little bit and may even leave some marks in your hands for a few minutes after landing. But it sure beats a hard landing for you and the person who just paid you for the ride. Shoobi”Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
beezyshaw 0 #13 May 10, 2006 I made all the test jumps on the Precision TR375 during its development and certification. First, it is not a Raven, it is a nine-cell canopy. The airfoil is actually a scaled-up Falcon, which as you may know is also certified for use as a reserve, one of the very few 9 cell canopies tso'd for reserve use. The TR375 has very good bottom end flair, but of course after any 0-3 cfm canopy gets older the fabric becomes more porous and its performance degrades somewhat. I have also made many jumps on the canopy at tandem terminal at about 475 lbs and it was tolerable, though something you wouldn't want to do for fun on a regular basis. I've made jumps on tandem reserves from other mfrs., and by comparison I prefer the Precision canopy hands-down. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydived19006 4 #14 May 10, 2006 Great! I guess I'd always just assumed that the "TR" was "Tandem Raven". Thanks for the insight! MartinExperience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else. AC DZ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
