JohanW

Still jumping the preowned Atom 0 (170/155) I bought 10 years ago. It will *still* hold the canopies I'm jumping now. One of these days, the RSL is going back on (I have it lieing (sp?) around, but keep forgetting to include it with the repack). Wouldn't change a thing.

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Anyone jumped a Triathlon with a WS? I can get a good deal on one.

Yes. [email protected]. Works great for me. Opens like you expect from a square 7-cell. Flies like you expect from a 1.8 wingload.

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as far as I know. long risers are not needed or recommended on the jvx. at least that is what I was told at one point in time. I will bet it is the same with the comp velo?

You're on. What were you betting? I'll PM you where to send the money (or goods, or services, or packing servants^W^Wmother-in-law).

Never, never, ever heard that one before, and a canopy on longer risers will always have a longer recovery arc than the same one on shorter risers. Generally, this is seen as a feature, not a bug.

Opinions vary on harness articulation (rings). In my unhumble opinion, rings absorb some of the harness input one might otherwise give.

Risers are the major customisation for swoopers. Longer (as long as possible while still able to reach the slider); diveloops attached as high as possible and possibly the guide ring for the steering toggles not sewn to the riser but attached to the connector link.

Then a longer chest strap and some extra length (below the half break setting) on the steering lines.

RDS on the canopy, but that's not strictly on the rig.

You asked what, not why, so I'll leave it at that.

Ground effect can be a beautiful thing ..

My advice would be a Silhouette, loaded about 0.9:1.

You may rapidly outgrow this, to the point of wanting to fly 1.0:1 or maybe 1.1:1 (depending on style, age, weight and a lot of other things), so if at all possible, rent at first, a whole rig or just the main canopy.

But it would help if we knew more about you - so you may want to ask someone who has seen you jump and land and who knows what's possible in your circumstances and surroundings, and what's not, like your local instructor.

One of these days, I should really jump a Sabre 2 at a wingload around 1.0; it may be an option but right now, I lack first-hand knowledge and am too conservative to recommend that one. But it may be an option in your immediate future (I hesitate to say now, at 73 jumps).

Making jumps ~100-~600 on a Silhouette never hurt me, and kept me alive when I made my one bad mistake so far.

Sure. Mains over about 240, Foils and Mantas mostly. Just as fast as propacking them.

One of the clubs I call home teaches flatpacks for student mains, though you don't have to if you're not a student. The other one has packers and doesn't really teach packing student gear.

Yes, I have a password list. It's on the home computer even, but with "standard light password" and "standard heavy password" in a lot of places. In the safe is a USB stick with those passwords written out, and my family knows it's in there. That's family as in my parents and twin brother, because I live alone.

It's not to let anyone know I'm dead, it's for access to e-mail and banking stuff. And full access to my own computer, which my twin brother would know what to do with.

And yes, I take backups too. Daily. And my parents do as well, over the internet, to my server. My twin brother has his own backup server, also for daily backups. One of these days we're going to replicate to each other, apart from the tapes we have from each other and the catalogs we keep at each other's servers.

You mean not everybody does this?

270, initiated with fronts and finished on harness. Nothing fancy, if and when I decide to buy a crossbraced canopy is early enough to start working on maximising speed and dive (and therefore time) in the turn. For now, they're loaners, demos.

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That's why the top skin is regular ZP. No, hybrid canopies are not affected that way.

I have heard different views on this. Wish I knew for sure. I really like the pulse but it the characteristics I like( fast openings and good flare) are going to deteriorate over time what's the point? anyone out there with 400 jumps on a pulse that can chime in?

JohanW does have a couple hundred jumps on a silhouette, and that canopy is still flying around fine AFAIK.

474 On various sizes, to be exact. Of which around 450 on my own 170. And it wasn't new when I bought it, it had an estimated 100-200 jumps on it.

It could do with a reline, which I had done before selling it to someone for whom it was perfect. Last I heard, it was for sale because the new owner had a child and stopped jumping. But until then, it served her just fine. I borrowed it back to do a demo shortly after I sold it and downsized and jumped it with the new lineset. Just like always and ever (which was the whole point of borrowing it for the demo).

If anyone is looking for a Silhouette 170 in good shape, I know one that could do with some air. I'd love to see it fly again.

I have recently jumped both a Sensei 111 and a Velo 111 and found the recovery arc on the Sensei to be shorter by a *lot*. Front riser pressure is higher, too, though the Velo is not a pack of butter either.

The difference might partially result from the turn technique I use, but that will never explain the whole difference between ~500' and ~900'.

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"pay" .. expressed in other than monetary considerations.

I would not say you did free demos, even if they were pro bono.

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Would you consider the Vision or Mamba to be intermediate canopies?

No.

As I said, the Vision has all the playfulness of a Stiletto. This includes the openings. The Vision is a step beyond intermediate.

The Mamba is roughly in the same class as the Katana, though the recovery arc on it is probably shorter. I like the Mamba almost as much as the Katana, and better than most anything else short of something crossbraced. The Mamba is a step beyond advanced.

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I just wonder where Vision would be placed.

I jumped a Vision once and felt it was was the Stiletto should have been. With hindsight, that is, the design is a lot newer of course.

It had all the playfulness of the Stiletto but with a lot longer recovery arc. Feels longer than the Pilot, probably somewhere around the Safire. Can't comment on the openings really, did not jump it enough for that.

But it's a lovely canopy (in my opinion and with my frame of reference). I liked the Mamba even better, but anyone considering a Stiletto who thinks the Mamba is a step too far, I'd advise to demo a Vision.

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Canuck, no offence intended. Your 1.6 jumped at me, I thought it was 1.9, and then I started reading.

I guess my memory is not as good as I hoped it would be. Personally I would choose a different tool if my wingloading was approaching 2.0 or higher. I still stand by my original words that say Crossfire2 is a good canopy to transition in order to learn advanced canopy flying techniques once someone has proved themselves as an intermediate. Plus it is possible for someone (assuming they are mature and have some mentoring/coaching) to skip the Crossfire2 and jump into something like a Katana. But neither one of these canopies should be considered intermediate canopies.

I guess it hinges on the definition of an intermediate canopy pilot. We fully agree on the Crossfire and the Katana not being intermediate canopies; I guess a canopy pilot that has proven himself as an intermediate and is learning advanced canopy flying techniques is really an advanced pilot, especially when mature (and you had better be with canopies like that

Actually, Icarus rate wingloads, not canopies. There is a significant difference between a Safire2 loaded 1.5 and a Crossfire2 loaded 1.5.

And even if you're jumping a Crossfire loaded 1.4, you want to be ahead of your canopy at all times. Would you drive a Ferrari as an intermediate driver when a gust of wind could put the pedal to the metal for you? Canopies don't have brakes like cars do, you cannot let go of the gas pedal, you can only apply so much brakes, the more you brake the less you can steer (and flare!), and you may have to correct for wind, obstacles, turbulence, dogs, kids or other people's manoeuvres.

So even if jumping a Crossfire2 at "just" a High Performance wingload (even more so than when flying a Safire2 at a High Performance wingload), you want to be a High Performance canopy pilot with a little extra. Call it an Extreme Performance canopy pilot. That's what I meant.

I think drinking beer is more dangerous. Especially if you still have to drive home afterwards.

Swooping requires great skill but can be done relatively safe. BASE jumping requires great skill but can be done relatively safe. Neither will be as safe as staying in bed, but arguing with the wife is arguably even less safe than either swooping or BASE jumping.

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The minimum recommended loading for the XF2 is 1.4 due (I'm told) to the partially closed nose, that kind of puts it in the more advanced intermediate anyway doesn't it?

IMHO ... the Crossfire2 is a canopy one transitions to once they are accomplished as intermediate canopy pilots and wanting to explore more advance canopy flying techniques. If memory serves me correct the wing loading should be in the 1.4 to 1.6 range. There was a fellow loading it higher a fews years back and without a doubt an advanced canopy pilot could likely handle the higher loading. But not too high. Use the right tool for the right job.

http://www.nzaerosports.com/icarusCrossfire.php: We recommend wing loadings from 1.4psf to 2.1psf

http://www.nzaerosports.com/choosingACanopy.php (click on Wing Loadings):

Class 5 - Extreme 1.65 to 2.00 Lbs/SqFt

Not for the faint hearted. If you are one of the few people that want to fly a class 5 canopy consider every aspect of what you are doing very carefully. On the up side there is very exhilarating airspeed, quick response times and powerful maneuverability. On the down side our margin for error has reduced to almost nothing (!), compounded by the fact that if we do make an error we are almost certainly traveling at speeds that can maim. If you have or are considering a class 5 canopy we can't tell you how to fly it in this overview, we must assume you know what you are doing.

Most people I watch flying class 5 canopies don't fly them to the limits of the canopy and the performance they achieve from their canopy could be achieved from a class 4 canopy flown to its limits with a far greater safety margin. These canopies generally have to be run out on landing. They must be fitted with a collapsible pilot chute. Lowering and collapsing the slider and loosening the chest strap is recommended. Canopy recovery arcs can be over 400 Ft radius. The step from a class 4 canopy to a class 5 canopy can be quite large i.e. for a 80 kg jumper with gear and weights the difference between a 105 and a 95 feels similar to the difference between a 130 and a 105.

Class 6 - BALLISTIC 2.0 to 2.4 Lbs/SqFt

If you are considering this, you don't need an explanation.

I wouldn't class a Crossfire2 as advanced intermediate, and neither would the manufacturer, if I read the above correctly. The least they would classify it as would be the upper half of high performance.

If you want to fly a Crossfire2, you want to be not just a high performance canopy pilot, you want to be an extreme performance canopy pilot. You are taking your life in your own hands, and you can break yourself significantly on the slightest error. Accomplished intermediate canopy pilot my rear end. You're jumping a powerhouse and you had better have the skills to match. Fortunately, it's quite possible to build those skills.

Put in your jumps, put in your time, learn humility, and take no shortcuts.

(Canuck, no offence intended. Your 1.6 jumped at me, I thought it was 1.9, and then I started reading. I remembered those lovely quotes and simply could not resist reproducing them. And then I got carried away ranting again ..

Then again, raising my price fourfold isn't going to make *me* any better. Actually, I *am* not doing this for a living, and in this country, I never could. The market is simply too small to support full pro demo jumpers, even if some professional skydivers (ie freelance tandem instructors) also do demos.

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Tell me Dave what response did I get? I've been base jumping for about a year and have a lot of very experienced and qualified mentors. I didn't teach myself that and I'm not teaching myself rigging or swooping. Shut your fucking mouth since you don't know what the fuck your talking about and quit trying to stalk me.

I thought you had been banned already, you were much too quiet. This should do though.

According to the meteorology we have to learn for our C license, if there was hail, there were CBs. CBs can project gusts over unexpectedly large distances. (I really don't know any better than hail unequivocally implies CB. Willing to be corrected on this point.)

CB: turbulence, icing, updrafts. Keep well clear. *Very* well. They don't just look scary, they are scary.

In short, you were lucky. Try not to depend on being lucky in future ..

But, in my ever unhumble opinion, you don't need to build that experience on any particular canopy.

In my, personal, experience, it is quite possible to fly Stilettos for a thousand jumps and switch in relative safety to a Katana. You have something new to learn, definitely, but it's not a recipe for disaster either.

But there can be no cutting corners - you will need that experience, and you will need to learn those new tricks.

Yes, they know, I just told them when I came back from a week's vacation. No big deal.

They sometimes stop by the DZ to see if I'm there and will sit and watch and talk for some time if I am, it's one town over from my grandmother's.

When my ex and I started bike lessons (in her case, again, after her accident), my Dad took some lessons with us. (He already had his license, but hadn't ridden in 40 years or so.)

Some things are just not problems.

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I have never been paid. We just do them for cost.

The Demos we do around here are not typically big events and its hard to ask for too much more than the cost to do the demo.

Until something goes wrong and someone cuts away a $2000 main never to be seen again. Every time you do a demo for “nothing” you are telling the client that is what you feel your services are worth. Two of the hardest things to learn as a demo jumper are to charge fees that reflect the value of services offered and when to say no. And the no can be for safety, financial reasons or a combination of both.

The demos our club (mentioned above) does are not typically big events either. Like I said, the event pays handsomely for the demo. For certain charitable events, we do provide free demos, but as a rule, demos cost. As they should. We might do more demos if we gave them away, but we still do a fair number of them. Events are prepared to pay, they may try to get you on the cheap but mostly, they will pay if you simply set a price and stick to it.

Our club is paid for demos, handsomely. We have a number of qualified people (as measured in experience and skills, there is no Pro Rating in Holland) who end up doing most of them. We do not get paid, period. We actually used to get paid and just donated the money back into the club; later it was decided there would simply be no pay (to the individual jumpers). It's a way of paying back, and forward, and of making the club money it *needs* because of no tandems (it's a long, and continuing, story).

My other home DZ pays one free jump for every demo jumper. But they are not a club.

The highest profile demo jump in the Netherlands, we actually *pay for*. The DoD provides a Fokker or Herc and we jump into the stadium for the opening ceremony of the Vierdaagse van Nijmegen (silly people getting up before dawn to walk 30 miles. for four days). We pay the demo jump organisation 5 bucks for the organising; they use that money to buy the aircraft crew booze. Everybody is happy about this way of doing this, including the aircraft crew.

In general, jumping demos means you "just" have to jump (and not f*ck up); organisation is taken care of. And "pay" is expressed in other than monetary considerations.

I love doing demos. I will take time off work, run the risk of having to cut away or be injured (though I am insured for that!), and travel on my own dime (within the country - never more than ~100 miles) to do demos. But it's a hobby, I'm not a professional, if it costs money that's OK. As I said, I get something other than money out of it. All of the above does not mean any demo is my jump; it's always always always the audience's. But it's just about the only way of performing before an audience short of competitive swooping or accuracy. If you *like* to hold 10 000 (stadium) or 100 000 (airfield) people in awe, this is my way to do it. And they get to look at *what I do*, not at *me*. I prefer it that way, I don't want my head on television.