hillson

That was the going rate when one of them was around my neck of the woods last year. As fun as it would have been...I can buy 20 tickets for that amount and have 20 times the fun.

I'd advise rethinking the bolded part. At many dropzones - particularly larger operations - there can exist an area of converging traffic as groups setup for proper pattern entry...a cone of airspace sort of like a "holding area." A lot of times you can find this between 1200-1500 feet... Perhaps it wasn't an issue on *this* jump...182 load, first out, whatever...but still bad practice. I expect the "guys above me" to aviate and navigate appropriately. In turn, I expect people to assume that I'll pilot like a good citizen especially at the altitudes you mentioned. We can't control everybody...but we can do our part, keep our heads on a swivel, and not just hang there under the canopy like a side of beef. At a light wingloading and aforementioned "non aggressive" canopy you could be looking at up to 540-720 degrees of rotation to lose that much altitude. That is a lot of time and altitude - down low - where you're not seeing all you should be seeing. Anyhoo...be safe and add a little bit more to the knowledge bucket.

Define behaves...both land fine. The SA does have more "grunt" in the bottom end if you're constantly digging out, I suppose. The PL is a breeze to land. Trims a bit higher and the stroke is a bit shallower but you can still pop it up. Both very easy to land. I'm assuming a standard approach. If you add speed and whatnot on landing you'll be much, much, much happier with a SA2. If you're looking at the very large sizes they have revised the geometry on the PL to give it more flare. 170 and below were already setup to deflect more of the tail anyway. Openings are shorter and generally more on heading with the PL. Fairly brisk and positive. Fucker glides forever. Long spot? Toggles up and bring a book to read. IMHO, the PL initiates turns faster than a SA but doesn't really dive compared to the SA and the PL recovers on a dime. The front riser pressure is way lower on the SA. Given the real flat trim of the PL you don't get much out of the rears when compared to a SA. Both generally well behaved in stalls on the yonkles and rears, the PL being a bit more docile. Both well behaved in slow fight All in all I felt like there was a much greater range of control in all flight regimes on the SA. In my (limited, comparatively) experience the PL runs out of gas in the flare department when you begin to load it above 1.4 if you're doing straight in approaches. It does a bit better, higher, if you add some speed. I generally double front and not hook. Itnbecame a bit of a chore on the PL. There is a lot more than simply how so something "behaves" on landing (still not sure what that means). Jumpers from students to many thousands of jumps use both canopies everyday with no real drama. If a demo is not possible...ask around and see what people do and don't like about the canopies. Read the flight characteristics docs on PD's website. If you want a Sabre2 that opens better...get a Safire2. :) Anyhoo...just one low-time asshole's long-winded opinion that owned a Pulse 170 and put jumps on both canopies from sizes 150-210.

The next time that you are in FL (I actually have no idea where you are) please let me know. As long as you're telling "no shit, there I was" stories I'm buying the beer.

A bunch of folks from your neck of the woods (and Iceland) had a large number of problems with a batch of Pilots within the last year or so (I understand they are fairly popular in Norway for a vareity of reasons). Slider grommets were absolutely shredding the suspension / steering lines (way more than normal wear - particularly for the number of jumps on the linesets) and leaving a bunch of pinholes in the canopy skin. Perhaps bad QC on the grommets...who knows. Took an enormous amount of asspain to get the problem corrected last I heard. Happened both in Norway and in FL. I *think* some of the folks are back at Voss, if you get up that way - though it looks to be a bit of a hike per googlemaps. Hopefully the incident was an isolated thing. I had a Storm 150 (jumped all sizes 210-150 Storms) for a while that I liked for what it was...enjoyed it more than a Spectre but it wasn't *that* much different, certainly not "sit up and take notice" different. Shorter openings (more *PD positive* feeling), much better flare. A bit steeper trim. Turned and dove like the low-aspect ratio 7-cell boat that it was - not fast. *Excellent* flight characteristics in a variety of slow-flight configurations - probably the canopy's best feature in my opinion. Very easy to land. Demo anything you can get your hands on. I, too, liked the Safire 2. Flies similar to a Sabre 2 but with better openings. Opens somewhat similar (nicer imho) to a Pilot but with much better flare in *my* experience. All three glide a hell of a lot better than Spectre / Storm.

They can also beep low by a few hundred feet. Use your eyeballs and pay attention to the skydive, I guess. 2, 3, 4.5ish. I tend to do very similar types of skydives so the top rarely changes.

Dunno where you jump but beyond fit (which has been covered) I'd recommend a helmet that has a way to flip up the visor under canopy (I don't even know if there are any good helmets these days that are closed only...?). I've seen and experienced weird fogging issues around deployment time and it has been nice to get the visor out of the way (both during the cold in winter and sometimes on humid days in the summer). Mainly seemed to be on sky systems products but I remember folks having a hell of a time. That being said, like everyone else, I have a G3...

Never. I have an older solo 2 that goes in the other ear that eats batteries. Replaced the batteries in both last weekend since I was doing it anyway for one. The Optima 2 still had two bars and it had just lost "full status" a few weeks ago. 14 months on one set with plenty if juice left

yep, 3rd exit from a 182 after training at a turbine dz. totally did not ask anyone how to get out of a 182...relied on youtube vids At least you watched the vid that showed you how to open your riser covers...might want to watch the one that shows how not to scrape your pins all over the door frame...or just ask someone.

He's talking about tucking your PC back into the BOC after you'd begun the deployment sequence, not the wearing of two altis.

Had you recently replaced the batteries? Mine did that a month or so ago right after some new juice. Turned itself off in freefall at some point and turned itself back on towards the bottom end. Read about 400 feet. One of those days...went all nuts under canopy, too, alti bouncing between negative whatever and about 700 feet. I just cycled the power on the ground and it has worked fine since. Good times. Had a friend with a brand new Alti II...needle would stick in freefall. Really stick. Sent it in and they couldn't figure it out. Sent him a new one. Needle simply popped off in freefall about 20 jumps later. That one went back, too. New one again. He's put a few hundred jumps on his new new one. Seems to work fine. Somewhat related...I too, sometimes, wear polarized sunglasses while jumping. Several different brands. Never once had a problem reading the Viso.

FWIW, this is what is recommended in my container's manual... Chewing gum Freeze with ice cube/scrape/ solvent/blot/ detergent/blot/ water/blot Detergent One teaspoon neutral powder detergent (e.g. Tide or All) in 1 pint warm water. Solvent Dry cleaning fluid - preferably 1.1.1 trichlorethane

Hey bud...I buried this in the other thread on the same topic ref AFFIs:

This was also hinted at, somewhat, at the 2013 AFF Standardization mtg (I believe). http://parachutistonline.com/safety_training/rating_corner/aff-standardization-meeting The group also discussed in detail the bottom-end-sequence altitudes for evaluation jumps. In the past, candidates have experienced very low main-canopy inflations after simulating the evaluator deployment at 3,500 feet and then tracking to 2,000 feet to create adequate horizontal separation before initiating their own main deployments. Recognizing the changes in main-canopy inflation times due to today’s canopy designs, the majority of the group felt that it was time to raise the bottom-end-sequence minimum deployment altitude for evaluators from 3,500 feet to 4,000 feet to help prevent dangerously low main-canopy deployments by candidates whose canopies take a lot of time to fully inflate. This change will need the approval of the USPA Board at its July meeting before it can take effect. I'm sure they could have just changed the sequence with the BSR change but I'm guessing this just makes it a bit easier. Though entirely possible that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Just glad they kept the night jump requirement for the D, though that would have been a much more entertaining thread. Kinda lonely down at 2K anyway, at least for me...just burning extra altitude that, for me, could be put to better use.

200lbs on a 149/150 is about 1.34/35 not 1.2. At any rate the Icarus will open much better than the PD, on balance (in my experience).

Same in my neck of the woods, pretty much. During an adult activity if people act like adults they are generally treated like adults, in my experience.

Further info than just the quick blurb on PD's site: http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/Pulse_Flight_Characteristics.PDF An appropriately loaded and sized Pulse shouldn't be a problem for a novice jumper. Less aggressive than a Sabre2 or Storm, for instance. Loved mine.

I assume there is at least *one* sub 200 out ther using a G2/G3. What cutaway system is being used (a link would be nice, too).

I think that those two statements are somewhat, er, mutually exclusive. Do you get all huffy, too, when they ask what happens if your "shoot" doesn't open? I'm sure that most non-skydivers - who do not know someone that jumps - can sum up their knowledge about the sport in about three cases: 1) they or someone they know did a tandem...saw pictures on FB or something 2) saw on the news when someone craters in 3) saw a demo at an airshow / football game / whatever. Most of the Great American Public (or Great Canadian Public, as it were) probably thinks skydiving is 1) frightening 2) dumb and 3) a waste of money. Don't get all butthurt because they have no idea the time, money and other (yes) sacrifices it can take to turn one's self from unguided meat missile to an upjumper. Either that or you've worn your super-cool skydiving shirt to the local bar one too many times and you're tired of hearing of hearing the local tandem pax call themselves "skydivers." I don't know anything about rock climbing or motorcycle racing so I'm guessing I'd make some pretty ignorant statements about those activities. Betcha those groups have a insider-y nickname for the ignorant, too...just like whuffo.

Don't discount, too, the value of upjumper money *right now*. Dunno how many tandems pre-pay the entire thing but I'm willing to bet a fair number of the $25 seat warmers keep money on account / buy blocks of tickets / etc. It might take me a month to burn through $1000 in tickets but you got my money today and you can use it however you want now or in the future to pay bills/salaries, fund current ops, invest etc. The $25 ticket from March that I found floating around in my gear bag this weekend was like free money to me...though the DZ had spent my ducats months ago. And then I was out of tickets to time to go spend more $$! Plus in the intervening month or whatever that it took me to spend the ticket money I was spending scads of cash elsewhere on other essentials - like beer.

Generally tried to stay within a nine iron of BG's WL chart coupled with ensuring that I can can perform all of the stuff out there on the various canopy flight / downsizing checklists. Also take a canopy course at least every 6 months and any time I get a new wing. In all honesty I've sort of "caught up" to the recommended advancement of ".1 per 100" as I was always a little over the "middle of the range" number but not really anything outrageous (.05 to .1, depending). As such, my next change will be something different at the same size. I'm ~1.38-1.4+ depending on lead, beer weight, mid-30s random weight changes etc and am fairly happy with the WL.

Those are quite nice indeed

Lighten up, Francis. Outside of the cutaway cables, he's asking how to remove the line groups from the risers and the toggles from the steering lines etc. Likewise, unless the OP demos a lot of canopies there is probably little experience with removing / reattaching dbag, bridle etc. Pretty sure that isn't covered in the standard assemble three rings / clean cable / replace closing loop stuff required for the A license.

Contact Margaret Vermeulen at RI. They're cooking up something similar for me on my Talon FX. Likewise, I believe that she's working on a one-off skytie type of keeper for a Voodoo, currently. I get the impression that this is one of those "in her spare time" type of projects but she's answered all of my questions and has been very responsive via email.

Not just 500 but a USPA D equivalent - ie you've demonstrated the accuracy requirements contained in the lower licenses. There were rumors that you could "test out" if you had a C but that seems like wishful thinking as I've heard no concrete news. But what do I know...