TracyS

Thanks all for the input. I really appreciate the feedback. I'll post back here after going through the canopy classes this weekend. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Nope, did not know this. Thanks for the heads up. I am starting to work a little more with front risers so this is very valuable info at the right moment in time. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

I've already discussed that as feedback with Warren, the rigger who did the adjustment. There is the slightest deflection of the tail at this point, and I do mean slightest. Given the fact that I still, just barely, get to the edge of the stall point by pulling the toggles all the way down and have to really dig deep and stretch a little more to get the canopy to actually stall; I like the results. I do understand that ANY deflection of the tail is, in effect, not allowing absolute full speed flight, but this has gotten me to the point of being able to perform skills that I have read and been told I should be working on. I don't know, maybe my arms are a little shorter than what the canopy was designed for. The nice thing is that I'll be attending a canopy class this coming Saturday and Sunday. Ian Drennan will be the instructor and will be evaluating our landings. If I understand the curriculum correctly, one of the first things that will be looked at is brake line length and, I assume, whether it needs to be adjusted. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Well, got the brake lines adjusted. Big Steve was busier than a one legend man in an ass kickin' contest this past Saturday, so he told me if I'd leave it with him he would get it done and have it back to me next weekend. I was really wanting to get it done sooner, if possible, so I could jump it and evaluate the change in stall/flare characteristics before next Saturday. I'll be taking the Flight-1 101 & 102 canopy courses this coming weekend and didn't want to start jumping the course with changes to the brake lines that I hadn't had a chance to jump. Long story short; I talked to Warren and explained my rationale for wanting to adjust my brake lines. I asked him if he thought he might have time to adjust them for me. He said he had time right then to do it. I was able to get a couple of jumps on it after the adjustment and I am happy to say I like the results. Now, when I try to stall at altitude, the canopy will get just to the edge of stalling with the toggles pulled all the way down. If I stretch my arms and hands to push the toggles down "just a little farther", the canopy will fold back and stall. Now, on my landings, I can bring the toggles down to my shoulders when I am ready to stop my descent and transition to horizontal flight to continue bleeding off airspeed. As my speed bleeds off and I begin to fall through the horizontal flight, I can bring the toggles steadily down to add more lift and finish the flare with a stand up landing. Depending on the speed with which I bring the toggles down, in the second stage of the flare, I'll get enough lift to "pop" back up a little. So, I've got to work on the finesse with which I bring the toggles down in the second stage to get it dialed in just the way I want. This seems to match everything I've read about moving away from the "student stab" and into a two stage flare. Since beginning this experiment by taking a wrap on my brakes lines at altitude, and then keeping it wrapped all the way down to landing, every landing has been a nice, easy on the body, stand up landing. Here are two landings done after the brake line adjustment. Please feel free to criticize. I'm learning and appreciate any and all input. http://youtu.be/CALlkQifx2w http://youtu.be/jhWsQ7s83dw Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Hate to be on the negative side of something but I'm not at all impressed with their customer support. I went to their website to register my ALTITRACK. While there, I had a question and clicked on their "CONTACT" button. I chose to use the email option on their contact page and left the "TO" choice at the default setting of "Larsen & Brusgaard (General)" choice. It has been at least 2 weeks, probably closer to 3, and I have yet to receive a response of any kind from them for a simple question. I LOVE the ALTITRACK, it is absolutely my favorite altimeter and I'm glad you guys have had a better experience with the company. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

I'm one of the last people that will ever like the PC nature the world has fallen for. That being said, I'm also a fan of both sides of an encounter getting to say whatever they want, no matter where they came from. I'm also a fan of private business being allowed to operate more or less as they see fit. I doubt I know anymore about this guy's true character than anyone else. I can only go by what's been said and done. I did spend a few years in the Corps. 96-99. I had hoped to fly for them, but a broken ankle ended that dream and my service (honorable medical). My service was pretty unremarkable, though I did enjoy it. You ask where I would draw the line, and this is IMHO, why I think the DZ was in the right to at least try and mediate some sort of peace between the two. The tattoo in question is intentionally a big middle finger to a very large group of people. A cross, US flag, star of David, etc. is not an "Eff you" statement. As such, I don't like the take that tries to portray the LW dz as a place that is intolerant and unpatriotic because they were trying to keep the peace (especially since I know the everyone over there, and they're a great group). Had LW on the other hand told a guy to cover up a t-shirt / tattoo with a flag, star, or cross (something that is not intentionally provocative), I'd not be siding with them at all on their call, but I'd certainly stand up for their right to run their business as they see fit (but I doubt I'd jump there anymore). Hope that clears up where I'm coming from. I absolutely love when people can discuss something without it turning into a flame war. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

I'm one of the last people that will ever like the PC nature the world has fallen for. That being said, I'm also a fan of both sides of an encounter getting to say whatever they want, no matter where they came from. I'm also a fan of private business being allowed to operate more or less as they see fit. I doubt I know anymore about this guy's true character than anyone else. I can only go by what's been said and done. I did spend a few years in the Corps. 96-99. I had hoped to fly for them, but a broken ankle ended that dream and my service (honorable medical). My service was pretty unremarkable, though I did enjoy it. You ask where I would draw the line, and this is IMHO, why I think the DZ was in the right to at least try and mediate some sort of peace between the two. The tattoo in question is intentionally a big middle finger to a very large group of people. A cross, US flag, star of David, etc. is not an "Eff you" statement. As such, I don't like the take that tries to portray the LW dz as a place that is intolerant and unpatriotic because they were trying to keep the peace (especially since I know the everyone over there, and they're a great group). Had LW on the other hand told a guy to cover up a t-shirt / tattoo with a flag, star, or cross (something that is not intentionally provocative), I'd not be siding with them at all on their call, but I'd certainly stand up for their right to run their business as they see fit (but I doubt I'd jump there anymore). Hope that clears up where I'm coming from. Again, well said. I see your point. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

They don't have a right not to be offended. But they certainly have the right to speak their mind by saying, "I find that deeply offensive." This is not about one group forcing others to accept their beliefs anymore than a black guy is forcing others to accept his when he's sitting in a restaurant, sees a white guy with a shirt that says "Eff N*s" and complains to management. And as far as I can tell, the only one with fragile feelings is the guy that didn't try and work something out, talk to the other party, or anything else other than pick up and leave. That's what my 4 year old does when she doesn't get her way. That's not what a grown man does. Well said devildog, I guess this just kind of chaps my backside as one more instance of people coming to this country and demanding that we be tolerant of their views and yet not being tolerant of ours. The group from Qatar did not have to associate with or be on any load with the gentleman in question if they did not like his tattoo. Nor did they have to continue to look at his calf, if I remember correctly where the tattoo is located. You seem to know the individual involved in this situation and I will defer to your assessment of his character. I can only assume with the name devildog that you must have spent some time in the Corps. If so, Thank You for your service. Where would you draw the line on their request that something be removed or covered? Had the tattoo been symbolic of Christianity ( a cross for example ), or an American Flag, would they have been "reasonable" if they had requested that it be covered to avoid offending them? Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Devildog, I appreciate reading this from your perspective but the fact remains that the DZO asked him to cover his tattoo to appease a bunch of Muslims that are visiting the USA. This is just one more instance of Muslims using our f'ing political correctness to make us accept their views and suppress ours. Please explain to me where they have a right not to be offended. I would bet that the DZO would be willing to accommodate almost any request these Muslims make simply because of the dollars that they bring to the table. I can absolutely guarantee that I will never waste any of my money at Lake Wales DZ and if the group from Qatar ever sees fit to visit my DZ, I can assure you I won't cover anything pro American or anti Muslim that I might have with or on me. I'll also boycott any load that they are on if they start trying to shove their religion down people's throats. If they show up and want to jump, and can do so without getting their fragile feeling hurt over other people expressing themselves, cool; let's go jump. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

popsjumper, A very emphatic YES!, I agree that Big Steve will not steer me wrong. He's a great guy with a ton of knowledge and a desire to share it. When I got my rig, I took it over to the Marietta location of ChutingStar so he could do the inspection. I got to hang out for a couple of hours while he did some of the inspection and did some work on other rigs. Just spent time picking his brain and watching. Great learning experience and having a chance to get an inspection done made me feel a lot better about buying a used rig. As for the brake line question; I know that, as a general rule, learning to stall is only a training tool to help you learn to fly the canopy to it limits and, OOPS!, now that you've exceeded those limits, here's how it feels and what to do about it. That part is really not different than why fixed wing and helicopter pilots are taught to stall. I know that there is little possibility for me to ever NEED to stall my canopy but, length of brake lines and the ability to stall the canopy are directly linked to flaring for landing, it seems to me that the inability to perform a recommended training action, i.e. stalls also suggests that my ability to properly flare the canopy is lacking as well and therefore affecting my landings. Prior to taking a wrap and experimenting at higher altitude what its effects would be on my ability to stall and flare; my landings were the typical "student stab". I would go from full flight to full brakes to get the deceleration necessary for me to get back on the ground safely. Stand up landings; some, but not consistent. I'm a big boy and, even on the big student rigs, I know I had a wing loading that was not exactly what would be desired. On the canopy that I am flying, Silhouette 230, I would still come in pretty hot and fast. A two stage flare just wasn't happening. As soon as I tried taking the wrap, it was like everything fell into place with everything I had read and heard about improving my landings. Now when I'm ready to flare, I bring the brakes down to shoulder level and the flight path levels out. As the speed bleeds off and I feel the canopy is ready to settle, I begin a quick, steady application of brakes the rest of the way down and the landing is a gentle, smooth stand up with just a little bit of lift up if I bring the brakes down fast enough. All of this seems to fit the profile of what I've read I should be striving for. I assume you're concern about my taking a wrap is the added risk of being "tied" in a line if an emergency occurred. I see all kinds of bad scenarios there, none of which end with Tracy having a happy skydiving day. I definitely know that taking a wrap is not the way I want to become accustomed to flying as the norm. That's why I posed the question to begin with, to see if the results from this experiment were an indication/confirmation that shortening the brake lines might be in order. You're better safe than sorry mentality is spot on.

Too funny. Great video, but not fair to compare this guy to Flores. Yeah, he blacks out but, when it's all over, he sacks up and is ready to go again

Can't answer the question as to my first tandem jump experience. Didn't go that route. I knew before I ever made my first jump that I did not want to do it as a tandem. If I was going to jump at all; I wanted it to be with full commitment. Me making the decision to jump from that plane and then taking the responsibility pilot the canopy back to the ground. After that, if I didn't like it, then skydiving wasn't for me. I LOVED IT! you couldn't have knocked the smile off my face with a baseball bat. I was certainly glad to have the two instructors along to be sure I didn't do anything stupid or freeze up, but I got to execute the skydive. Since you've already done a tandem and weren't as impressed as you hoped for; why don't you go ahead and sit through the AFF first jump course and then go make a jump where you will be controlling your own jump and canopy flight. I think that the cost of your first jump course and your first AFF jump is comparable to a tandem jump, but I'm not certain about that detail. You'll still have your two instructors with you for observation, guidance and safety, but you will be executing the skydive and piloting the canopy back to the ground. After that, if you're still unimpressed with skydiving, then maybe it's just not for you. Another thought would be to pay attention to what kind of skydiving videos you tend to gravitate to. There are different disciplines in skydiving such as Swooping, Wingsuiting, Canopy Relative Work and Relative Work. If you find that there is a particular style of skydiving that you find yourself watching more than any other, then maybe that is where you would want to steer your skydiving training. Unfortunately, any of the skydiving disciplines that you do realize you may be interested in moreso than any others will all take time and training to get to. As with any other activity or skill, you must first learn the basics. Everything else you will do builds off of the basic skills and there is a progression you have to go through to get there. It takes time, demonstration and documentation of improved skills to your instructors to be able to move along your skydiving "career". If you feel like people are holding you back in your advancement along a particular path, Swooping for example, you need to understand that experience has demonstrated, time after time, that failure to build the basic skills and trying to do things too far beyond your skill level can have life changing or fatal consequences. Your instructors want to see you get to whatever discipline you want to be in, but they want to help you get there without hurting yourself. Hope you are able to figure out what aspect of skydiving it is that interest you. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

You're right, the rig was owned by someone else prior to my purchase. I'll get with my rigger and see if we can do some tweaking this weekend. Thanks for your input. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Let me begin with saying that I will discuss this with my S&TA who is also my rigger. I just want to see what I am thinking seems to be correct. In everything I've read about getting to understand how my canopy handles; one of the topics discussed is getting a feel for stalling the canopy. I have only made 6 jumps on this canopy and I've tried to stall it on each jump. My results have been that when I go into deep brakes and let the canopy slow down, it will come close to the stall point. I can see the canopy just barely start to "fold" back but won't quite get into the stall. In full flight, if I look up at the steering lines, there is enough slack in the them that they are bowed back when my arms are in the full up position. If I take one wrap of the brake line around each hand and attempt the stall again; the canopy will slow nicely and finally go into a stall. When I take that one wrap around each hand, the bowing of the brake lines is significantly reduced and there is no change in flight with my arms in the full up position. I have also noticed that while I have that wrap around my hands, that there is a noticeable improvement in executing a two stage flare by bringing the brakes down to shoulder level and having the glide slope level off and then begin to settle again as speed bleeds off. As that leveled off flight begins to settle from speed bleeding off, then bringing the brakes quickly and steadily down induces more lift to the point of landing. Yesterday I was able to execute the nicest zero step, stand up landing I have had yet ( in my vast experience of 33 jumps ). I believe that the technical answer would be to have the brake line lengths measured and compared to the manufacturer specs as a starting point. I also know that just like any other equipment, you can roll any two of them off the showroom floor and there will be subtle differences in how they "feel". All that said, this would seem to indicate to me that shortening my brake lines by approximately the length of what it takes to put one wrap around my hands would be in order, and then more evaluation jumps. Possibly even adjusting the length by half that required to put a wrap around my hands first and evaluating before proceeding to the full length of a wrap around my hands. Just wanted to get some feedback from the more experienced folks here that can tell me if I'm on the right track, or save me from the results of my wrong interpretation. Thanks Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

I would second thrillstalker's suggestion of Skydive The Farm. I did my first jump course and my first jump at a DZ that was not too far away from Skydive The Farm. After deciding that the other place was not the place for me; I drove over to Skydive The Farm. Talked with Hans, the DZO, and ended up finishing my AFF progression at The Farm. Everyone there welcomed my non-jumping wife and I and made us feel very comfortable that this was the place we wanted to call home. I've had the opportunity to jump with many of the instructors and coaches and every one of them has been very willing to share their knowledge and time with a new jumper such as myself. They've given me a lot of great feedback to help me improve my skills. Often times, they will video the jump so that I can not only hear the feedback but see it from their perspective as well. I can't say enough good things about the men and women at The Farm. Hope to see you come out and jump with us. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

If you're looking for a dealer in North Carolina or South Carolina; haven't you already expressed a desire to go through a "middle man"? If you want to deal straight with Sunrise Manufacturing, then you should call 1-813-780-7369 Or go to their website http://www.skydivewings.com/index.php?page=main_page Or plan a road trip to 6520 Fort King Rd Zephyrhills, Fl 33542 Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Here's mine. Got it from the classifieds here. Previous owner shipped it for inspection. S&TA, also a rigger, did pre-purchase inspection and 180day repack on it. Got my A license stamp on 9 Mar ( Safety Day ) and was able to make my first A licensed jump, on my first rig, on my first Safety Day. Not as colorful as many of the ones I see here, but I'm thrilled to have my own gear to use instead of student rigs. The harness fits well and the canopies are a decent size for me. Also got an Alti-Track, gear bag and stand in the deal as well. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

No doubt, I'm proud of it. Hell, I've got my own rig to fly now. No more jumping between different student rigs. My own gear, I'll know how it's been treated, how it flies, etc... Matchy-matchy, maybe later on. But then again, I ain't out there for a beauty contest. No amount of matchy-matchy is gonna dress up my old ass. I'm out here to fulfill a lifetime desire to fly. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

By the way, here's the rig I'm doing my practice packing on. Just got my "A" license stamp on March 9, safety day, and was able to make my first jump on my A license my first jump on my own rig on my first safety day. I know, big whoop, but I'm really happy about it. The rig is not as colorful as some of the other Wings rigs I've seen, but that's ok. I got a good deal on it. My S&TA, also a rigger, did the inspection and repack on it prior to purchase. Had only about 100 jumps on it prior to my purchase and everything is in excellent shape. AAD is a Vigil II with only 10 jumps on it. Wing loading is a little on the high side for my experience level but I'm not an indestructible 20 something. I'm old enough to realize my mortality and I don't heal as fast as I used to. That said, I'm going to take a lot of time, up high to get to know this canopy so we can have a long happy flying career together. I'm also taking the Flight-1 101 & 102 canopy courses next month to improve my skills in the air and on landing. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

By the way JohnMitchell, I'd love to see a video showing the technique and tips you're describing. No, seriously, I haven't seen a clicky yet. Have you started? I'm not gettin any younger you know. Just sayin ..... might be helpful to myself and other inexperienced jumpers out there. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

JohnMitchell & Yoink, Thanks to you and everyone else that has responded to my questions with such positive supporting answers. I was kind of reluctant to even post the question with some of the nasty replies that I see posted by the old timers with a billion jumps who seem to have forgotten what it's like to be new at this. Sometimes people forget what it's like to be new and inexperienced at something and yet enthusiastic and wanting to "play with the big kids" You've all been great with sharing your knowledge. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Great line! I may use that as a sig line. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

JohnMitchell, Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try. I do have a question. Do you truly mean that your LEFT and RIGHT lines are on separate shoulders or is it your FRONT and REAR lines? The reason I'm asking is that it seems that having the LEFT and RIGHT lines on separate shoulders would make flaking the nose end up wrong because the nose would still be facing you and not turned a 1/4 turn to get it to one side. I'm not questioning your technique, just trying to be sure I understand what you are describing correctly. I've set a goal to open and repack my main everyday until next weekend when I'll be jumping again. Like any other task, repetition will build the skill. I'm only going to open and repack it once a day. That way, I don't allow myself to get frustrated with it. I do ok flaking between A & B and between B & C. It gets kind of wonky when I try to flake between C & D. It just seems like I struggle to reach the fabric and get it to flake without messing up everything I've already done. Then it starts to go to hell in a hand basket when I start folding the canopy prior to putting it into the D-bag. After watching the videos on PD's website, things went smoother and I did have a better pack job last night than I had been having. So, practice, practice, practice is my mantra until next weekend. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Quagmirian, Thanks, that's how I "thought" it should be but the info in the first column seemed to contradict what I was thinking. I took the A1-B1, A1-C1, A1-D1, etc... too literally and read them as math formulas. The "nose high" interpretation went against everything that makes sense. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.

Thanks to all of you for the info. The videos on PD's website are certainly helpful. I found the videos where it showed the view from over the shoulder. Good stuff. I was able to get my best pack job yet after having watched those videos. Now I just need repetition, LOTS OF REPETITION, to get better at it. The chart, good info to help me visualize the canopy layout better, certainly got my analytical brain working to visualize the line length info. While I'm not certain what all of the info in the first column ( LST, UST, etc... ) means, does help me better visualize the line layout. If I understand correctly, using a 230 sq ft canopy as an example; the chart is telling me that the A1 line is 159 3/4" long and that the B1 line, A1-B1, is 3" shorter than A1. The C1 line, A1-C1, 10 3/4" shorter than A1, etc, etc, etc... This seems to indicate to me that the line lengths would establish a "nose up" trim, since the line are getting progressively shorter as they move to the rear, unless the risers or the canopy design itself also play a part in establishing the trim. Interesting info here and probably more than I need to delve too deeply into for the purposes of packing. Glad to have it to use as a reference to check my lines to see if they are out of trim. Canopies must all be female. If I treat mine good, she gives me a good ride. If I slap her in the bag, she will dump me like a turd. Courtesy of PRE7117, love that line.