darkwing

I am not willing to trade the potential comfort of a cut-in for the extra hazard I believe it provides. When I first heard of this design "feature" I pretty much decided that it wasn't worth it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

There are several extra hazards here. One of the biggest is the opening itself. A clear and pull should be fine, but any significant delay can result in so much speed that you and the canopy can get hammered by the opening. Don't forget things such as: 1) malfunctions suck more than at low altitude a) find your canopy? b) Playing with a malfunction can result in a LOT of speed at cutaway time 2) Oxygen problems can kill you 3) Spotting is trickier I wouldn't worry about the flight characteristics. The canopy will do fine, although it will be faster in the thinner air. My bottom line here is that this is seriously major stuff, and you should only approach it with professional, experienced help. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I don't think you have many options 1) track, but make your flare and wave off faster, then pull higher 2) break off higher, etc. personally I prefer to break off higher. Even my 4-way team breaks off at 4500. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Ask Les Nessman (that's an obscure reference). I'm betting that chickens wouldn't make it, and I hope nobody actuallyt tries it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Two items: #1) We had a hot dog pilot. I used to bitch at him regularly for being too acrobatic. On a cross-country to another DZ in our old Beech D-18 he pretty much flew on the deck most of the way. He had to go up to avoid fences. I just layed down in the back because I was sure I was going to die and I didn't want to see it coming. Returning from the trip at night he did two full barrel rolls with a full load on board. It was pretty, but I still didn't like it. ... By the way, he's dead now. #2) A similar hot-dog pilot did some zero-g and floated an observer up against the handle on the in-flight door on the C-182 on descent. The passenger fell out. She actually found the ripcord and had about a 2 second canopy ride. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I'm astonished. I've been jumping 30 years and have never seen nor heard a serious allegation of it. Am I naive or do you jumps with mutants? Just who do you hang out with? My logbooks are precious to me, and I can't imagine making up something to put in them, let alone inventing jumps I never did. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I have had a Havok for over a year now. I had a Z1 before. I much prefer the Havok. I believe the Havok to be a fair price for the value, and given the prices of helmets in general. If I lost it I'd buy another just like it. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I am convinced that there is no slam-proof canopy. Sure, you can find lots of people who say "I've got XXX jumps on my canopy and I have never been slammed." But that certainly doesn't mean it never happens. Some canopies have a repuation (and don't confuse reportation with actuality) for having more frequent slammers than others, which I think is likely true. A canopy with a reputation for mellow openings is the PC Spectre, but it is certainly capable of a slammer. Also, I firmly believe that there is NO packing technique which can give a perfect anti-slamming guarantee. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I've been jumping for 30 years, and have seen many cases of people with serious problems, and they still jumped. I remember a guy in Oregon who had no legs below the hip joint, and many other varieties of physical difficulties. Just check around and I bet you can get him in the air. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Yes, sadly it is true. It was my home DZ. We are all heartbroken. It was completely sudden and unanticipated. Just last weekend we built a new Otter door mockup, and some jumpers moved their new camper on site. Now my team is faced with long drives to practice. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

hmmm.... I don't think that the 444 in^3 and the 1224 cm^3 are consistent with one another. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

BSA's web site is not broken, it just has a new URL http://www.skydivebsa.com/ clicky

for us prescription types they look pretty interesting. I'm thinking of taking my face lens out of my Havok for the summer and just jumping something like these. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I watched a guy fly in to a 10-way speed star with his shoe in his mouth. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

It isn't the age that decreases the porosity, it is the packing and jumping that does it. I'd bet that if your reserve was put in a sealed container when it was new it would test just fine, in both strength and porosity 50 years later. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I have a tentative notion to drive from the east coast to Lost Prairie, MT for their boogie, 19-28 July. Anyone interested in a road trip? I live in Charleston, SC. My dates are flexible. I will consider your car or my car. If we drive yours I will contribute generously to expenses (for gas, etc, but I won't fix your car if it breaks). -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I agree with the comments above and will add that the major thing to focus on is that they said it is fine. They are extremely conscientious, and their stamp of approval would be good enough for me. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Unfortunately a cloud will hang over him. Sometime dropped charges means not enough evidence, and sometimes it means he really didn't do it. The article is fairly ambiguous. I bet the atmosphere around the unit will be fairly harsh for him, and we don't know if he deserves it or not. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Not all canopies are created equal, even if the same square footage. I recommend a not-too-zoomie canopy such as a small Spectre. They are relatively mellow to handle compared to other canopies of the same size. I think they make them down to about 120 or so. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

Congrats. Better update your jump numbers, etc., in your profile. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

This is an old situation, and I bet USPA can provide major assistance. As others said above, skydiving is a legitimate activity, well recognized by the FAA. I recommend that the approach to the local authorities be as non-hostile as possible, to keep things smooth after the FAA tells them that they must allow it. (based on the assumption that federal funds are used.... etc.) -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I believe you should have cut it away. Having to hold breaks to keep it from collapsing may be comforting, but it isn't very solid insurance. It could easily have succumed to minor turbulence near the ground causing it to fold up at 50 feet. How old was this canopy? Sure the number of jumps was low (probably), but if it spent too much time in the sun (maybe a couple of days in a tree after a cutaway) it would be seriously weakened. Did the damage follow a seam? Was there any previous damage? Ordinalrily my first guess would be some bridle-related problem with the top skin, which may or may not be clear on inspection. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

we also have two fairly new Michigans, both with loose booties, so we installed another snap in them to snug them up. The owners are very pleased. As I said before. I don't own a Michigan, but I will next. -- Jeff My Skydiving History

I thought only whuffos used the phrase "shroud lines" -- Jeff My Skydiving History

It is fun. It is poetic. It is beautiful. -- Jeff My Skydiving History