hillson

Not to get up in anybody's business but...as a future fun jumper (yay!), unless there is a serious difference in drive times I'd suggest heading to Clewiston instead. Among other things there will be a greater number of people to jump with (both instructional and licensed jumpers) and the STP program is pretty top notch. Just a suggestion.

Check the attached file. I had (have) a set of these risers on my old rig. I don't swoop but I wanted a set of OEM risers with proper dive loops...came with top rings. Pretty simple...doesn't add any time to brake stowing.

The fact that people are concerned about downtime and +/- $250 in 2025 is preposterous. Even the Cypres, with a more aggressive maintenance schedule, worrying about a few hundred bucks in 2019 if purchased new today is rather silly. Over 10 years you're looking at about $.27 a day versus $.41 cents a day...less because I'm leap year lazy. Not really directed at the quoted user...just a convenient jump off point. [edit] purchase price today is different issue, I suppose.

Check Lake Wales this time of year.

Pick any one of the "Big 3" DZs in FL...you can drive to any of the other two in about 2.5 hours max. Make a trip of it. The Fitz boogie is pretty much the exact same drive time from either ZHills or Deland. Add another 1.5 hrs to get to Sebastian. Deland is definitely the most "efficient" of the three. Some find it unfriendly but I think that is silly. Great DZ. Love it. Definitely more of an after hours at ZHills and you'll find belly fliers. If you primarily free fly Sebastian is the best bet in FL. And the best view. All have turbines. Canadian 40ish ways and German 120ish ways are at ZHill in March so there will be a plane or two... I live in Tampa so ZHills is home so I'm biased. But all three have something to offer and are relatively close. We are pretty spoiled here...

Are you still in the Tampa area? If so we can find you some rookie 4-way at ZHills. Not this weekend, though...too fucking cold. lol Shoot me a PM.

Get the jumpsuit.

Dude, you can bet she is already reading every post. Even the donkey stuff. Hell, maybe *especially* the donkey stuff. Is she married to the the man from Nantucket? Might explain some things.

I just looked at your profile and realized you're not in the US...so the PD demo program probably won't work. Lol. Go to the performance designs website and look at the product page for both the sabre2 and the pulse. They both have documents that say something like "sabre2/pulse flight characteristics." The sabre2 is close enough to the Safire that it will fly similar. Read both documents and they really detail some of the important stuff and you might get a better sense of how they fly differently. And then talk to your locals about it.

Since adults get to play by Big Boy Rules I'll answer your question. I'd heed, however, the advice of our betters who have more experience (both time in sport and jumps). So, on to marginal decisions. I suspect you're on a *Safire2* 189 unless there is a custom 190 around out there. If you're on a Safire1 it really is a 180. Check your data panel and be a bit more precise, please. At any rate, a Safire (10-20 sqft smaller) 169 will be: a little smaller (duh), will turn a bit quicker, will dive a bit longer and flare just as nice as your current Safire. It will also come in a bit quicker. Margins for error will be reduced. Some people say that 20 sqft will produce a massively different level of performance. I, personally, found the difference negligible at about the same wingloadings you're talking about. YMMV, I guess. If you do get a new wing for whatever reason...fly predictable and not stupid. On to the comparison: OPENING Pulse: short, fast and very positive. Safire: long and soft (in comparison) FULL FLIGHT GLIDE Pulse: glides forever. Much flatter than the Safire. Bring a book on a long spot Safire: still excellent just not as flat as the Pulse TOGGLES / TURNS Pulse: very light toggle pressure. Initiation and rate of turn faster than the Safire. Fun to fly / toggle whip Safire: a bit heavier pressure, turn *rate* not as fast DIVE / RECOVERY ARC Pulse: short and shallow. Recovers quick Safire: longer and slightly deeper. RISER PRESSURE Pulse: heavy Safire: lighter for sure FLARE Pulse: a bit mushier. Can feel a bit like it runs out of "oomph". Shorter toggle stroke. But it is a parachute and it isn't rocket science to land Safire: more in the bottom end and the stroke is deeper. The first parachute I owned was a Pulse 170 and I thought it was a brilliant parachute to learn on...fun to fly and did everything I wanted it to at the time. I just got tired of the openings. Too fast and too firm for my taste - especially when compared to other options on the market. The other options (Safire / Sabre) have more all around performance and are aimed at a slightly different segment, I think. Both open a hell of a lot better (with respect to what I was looking for out of a parachute). Ceterius paribus, the smaller Safire will fly similar to what you have as the parachute is basically the same but smaller. The Pulse will fly open and land a bit different. PD has a demo program that is cheap and easy and worth your time. I've seen two people die this year. One under a crossfire at ~1.5 and the other under a pulse at barely 1.2...thr crossfire was dumb low turn and the pulse was a garden variety mal that ended up getting out of hand. The Pulse jumper had close to 2k jumps, was current and was safe. Think about what you're doing.

PD addresses, somewhat, the control line length in this document: http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/StormCFStormFAQFlightCharacteristics.PDF TL;DR - designed that way for a reason and PD recommends keeping them that way without a real issue (ie: more than a handful of jumps on the canopy). At 1:1 you're going to be climbing the risers to get the thing to harness turn. I put a few hundred on a Storm and, like most, just learned to live with the long lines.

Get in touch with Ben Liston or Ari Perelman. They'll both be at the Skyventure tunnel meet in January. Anything you need to learn you can learn from them...plus I'm sure that they can give you a bunch of other people to contact that are local to the Nashua area.

Normiss Skymama promise5 Rick Bunky Jon Wayneflorida Florida wingsuit crew Trafficdiver mwolfe Tisket Thomas Crowe Hillson

Not done yet, I'd assume

Deland is great...you'll love it. despite the (undeserved) rep it is a pretty friendly place with some real no shit skilled jumpers. As folks have said, seek out the LOs etc. not really a place for wallflowers (like any dz, I suppose) but ask and you'll receive. People are going to jump regardless so just ask the staff to point you in the right direction and you'll jump much as mr MasterCard can handle (within your comfort level, of course). I think (though I could be lying at this point) that pretty much everyone is landing in the "student" area while the construction is going on. On the google maps it is the area directly under the "Deland" on the taxiway thing. It is very large. As always, get a good brief when you arrive. The winds in FL during the winter can howl on the roof (while it is fine on the ground). 1-1.5 miles+ of freefall drift is not uncommon. FL's non-redeeming feature is endless fucking trees you don't want to land on...so inquire about the spot and exit separation. You'll love it...bring good weather. Last weekend sucked.

that last one is under 4 years and under 400 jumps

Now I know why Vigil bumped the arming altitude above 150ft AGL...lol. Good stuff. Secret projects are cool.

Awesome...thanks (all). It never occurred that I should have asked Ski or Donna (I seem them almost every weekend)...I bet that it where the mugs are from as a bunch of their stuff hangs in the bar. Matter of fact I will this weekend if I end up going to ZHills.

Of course the Valkyries chose half of those slain in battle and carried them off to Valhalla. Interesting choice. Lol

how much? nvmd, found it...$250 so at least it is competitive.

I'm not sure why people toss out the line that those of us use digital get them because "we can tell our exact altitude in freefall." I don't know anyone that uses them that way. Learning to swoop is different, of course. Likewise, the old saw that they are "hard to read" is rather silly...people make it sound like you need a PhD in Ancient Greek to figure out what the screen is saying. Should (if?) you bother to look at the thing in freefall...does anyone really care if it says 8.37 or are they just looking for the 8, or the 6, or 4, 3 etc. I've had both the "old school" analog and "new school" digital and have had them both fail in funny ways. Had a needle just pop off the spindle in freefall (alti was two or three months old), have had the needle get truly stuck and no amount of tapping would free it...have had the digital read negative feet on jump run etc. All good times. It *may* be easier for students in the first few jumps - particularly if you do the lock on at X, wave etc at Y. Then again, it may just be what we are all used to. There was an article in Blue Skies a year or two back talking about how Voss had switched to VisoII for all student jumps - including the first one. No real reports of students not doing their chores at the assigned times etc.

It says PD at the bottom of the page...plus their little skull thing. Probably their new Leiagrine for joe sixpack.

Well, it doesn't enter active mode until 1k instead of 150 ft for the old ones...and the new manual clarifies how you can use the activation height offset should you desire.

"Trust me, it will fly"

Right now you have enough disposable income to fund your habit and your rating - a very nice position to be in. You're also young and full of piss and vinegar. These are all very good "problems" to have. You have a house and presumably a nest egg / emergency fund. Again, all very good things to have. Also, a situation that may not be the norm for most instructors, divemasters and high "fun" (allegedly) jobs that come with some income security issues. Pick up your rating. Become the weekend guy. Every day, every weekend, every week, every month. Sit on the deck waiting for the student that never shows up while your friends fun jump and you don't get paid. The above is a bit dramatic, of course. If you want to quit tomorrow, more power to you. I'm always happy to see people get joy out of teaching their craft to new people and creating more skydivers. But you don't have to please me. There are many, many threads like this on the forum. In almost all cases it is very rewarding...but just be aware of the reality and don't get stars in your eyes about it. At the end of the day it is about the student...if teaching them gives you joy and you can deal with the other issues - go for it. Just make sure you make an informed decision.