Poczynek

Hi All, I just wanted to thank all of those brothers and sisters that I have jumped with, party(d) with, and all in all shared some great skydiving moments with over the last 5 years. I won't go into all of the names but you know who you are from Saudi, UAE, Kenya, and others. Thanks and Blue Skys. If in the US you will be able to find me at either Spaceland, or Skydive Houston. Cheers All - And Thanks phat, dumb & happy

Congrats, Jim, Conway and all the others. Sorry I missed it. Also thanks for the jumps and coaching tips during my visit (vacation) at Spaceland. Back in Saudi again - hopefully will get some airtime in Dubai in a couple weeks. Congrats again - see you all next time around. David phat, dumb & happy

Redshift, Several months ago I watched a Discovery channel show about taking risks. They specifically used skydiving as the test platform. The gist of the show is that there are both chemical and physiological elements that greatly influence the amount of risk different people can handle. It was very interesting - I wish I would have thought about getting a transcript. My wife of 20 years gets white knuckles on the mall escalator - and thinks that I am whacko - watched me do a military demo once and has never been to a DZ since. We have a deal - I don't ask her to go to the DZ, and she doesn't nag me too much go to art musuems. lol phat, dumb & happy

Hi Dreamsville, Billvon is right I think it is Davis that offers the 30,000 ft jumps - I believe it also requires a Class 1A Flight Physical, and it is not cheap. Some years ago - I won't name the DZ to protect the innocent we use to make our final jump of the day a HAHO - high altitude high opening from about 16,000 ft with a 3 second delay before opening. We would then fly under canopy to our favorit watering hole several miles away to catch Happy Hour - the last one in bought the beer (lol). Knowing the wind speed & direction at every 1,000 ft interval and armed with a compass and Alt and a little map reading skill (plot your exit point, and directions turns (on the ground) - you would be surprised how far you can travel. Of coarse the canopy's were a little larger back then also. For a real pucker factor treat you can't beat a night HAHO Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Howdy, Been there - got that T-Shirt, how can I be of assistance? Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Our Regional (local) DZ at Um, Al Qwain in UAE is shut down till further notice - as well as a civilian aviation - bummer. Good news is only 11 more days unitl I'm back in the good old US of A - if I can get a flight out. Skydive Houston & SKydive Spaceland Here I come. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Hi All, Recently recieved my custom ordered Odysee container - looks, feels great

Hi Squeak, I have had several Hornets - they substantially increased the slider size a couple of years ago to address Hornet opening issues - tended to smack ya. CheersQuote phat, dumb & happy

I am all for gear checks and don't mean to downplay their importance - I always intend to get one, but have gotten my self in situations where they have been skipped - and I don't think I am alone - but what I am trying to get at is the performance factor of a collapsible pilot chute over a non collapsible so that one can make an informed decision regarding using one or not. For instance on my 170 Spectre - am I getting 1.5 knot increase in forward airspeed or 4? Are there any published charts / data that provides this information. If for instance the performance factor is so low - why add the additional possibility of equipment / operator malfunction? phat, dumb & happy

Riddler, From what I have seen it is running at about 50/50, half the time the non-inflated pilot chute can pull the pin, the other times it doesn't. I suspect that there are several factors - how much drag size & material, how tight the main closing pin, and perhaps others. And your point is about canopy size is well taken, the impact (performance) on my 170 is probabably minimal when compared to significantly smaller canopys. phat, dumb & happy

Hi All, yet another incident (failure to cock Pilot chute) over the weekend at my DZ that resulted in a reserve ride. I suspect that this happening more then we all know. I personnaly am beginning to believe that the majority of skydivers - who are not hard core swoopers - are better off not uutilizing the kill-line. The performance trade off for non-swoopers is not significant verses the potential for trouble. David phat, dumb & happy

Slink2, Jumped a Reflex for a couple of years with the catapolt system, never had any problems with the harness / container - never had a reserve ride with it though - oh but the grief I would get from riggers - everything from get rid of it, I won't pack it, needs special tools, funky closing loop, and on and on - finaly broke down and went with an Odysee - bye the way anyone looking for a very inexpensive Reflex? phat, dumb & happy

Jimbo99, our break off altitude was a 4,000, I normaly track to 3,000 then set up for deployment (wave & slight sit up) before pilot shute throw out, usually resulting in an under canopy altitude of between 2,400 - 2,200 depending on my snivel. In this particular situation both myself and Heads-up were several hundred feet below that - opening at 1,800 to 1,600 due to a second or so spent assessing the situation. This lower then optimal (normal) opening atitude was one of my primary reasons for posting this under safety and training. In this situation altitude was traded for clear airspace. A situation that should be avoided. In this case our actions worked out OK, and several lessons learned with no injuries. I totally agree with you - good safe skydiving does need to be recognized - and yes Mr. Heads-Up was and will be treated to a liquid lunch anytime the opportunity presents itself. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Hi All, Just recieved my new Spectre in the mail - have been jumping a Hornet for some time - and really noticed a difference in the ZP material - Does any one know what the 3 disignates in ZP3. Several mates have told me the Spectre zp3 material is a much higher quality (longer life) then the material used on the - man I got to tell you though packing the Spectre is a nightmare compared to the Hornet - hopefully the Spectre will get easier when I got some jumps on it but right now I feel like I am in a greased pig match up. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

During this past weekend enjoying my favorite escape, I found myself breaking off and tracking away from a five way that went bad close to our planned 4,000 ft break-off. The group scattered and I found myself tracking too close to the jumper on my right at about the same altitude - so I adjusted my track to the left, and near pull noticed a wave off below me and slightly to my left - I was most likely about to eat a pilot chute for lunch - when to my most appreciative surprise and gratitude the jumper looked up - saw me - smiled and waited for me to deploy first. It was some of the most heads up skydiving I have seen - and from this day forward will encorporate the wave off - that look and smile before the pull. Thanks heads-up. phat, dumb & happy

Iam, I picked up an Icarus RW Bootie suit last year, and I am extremely pleased with the suit. Material used is good, booties well constructed and fit excellant. Best of all the price was way beyond competitive. The year prior I purchased a Bev suit - great suit but at close to 3 bills. I paid less then 100 for the Icarus - watch the US / Rand exchange rate though - it do make a difference. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Hi SkydiveMonkey - I also fly a Hornet, and your comment about having the slider out interests me - can you explain exactly what you mean? I run the slider up to the attachment points - at least the A&B lines, then split the slider in half pushing the right & left ends into the #2 stablizers - this leaves still a little slider material in the back and front, I then fold the stablizers over the remianing slider material towards the front after I push the nose up into the center, just before I bring the tail around to wrap it up. I have also been getting nice snivel opening lasting 700 to 1,000 ft. Thanks - David phat, dumb & happy

GPS and instruments are great but not infallable (spelling), I remember a couple of military Talon jumps that ended up a klick or more off target, so even on a new DZ I try to have a couple of mental check points for the approach and release point. Check air space then the ground - if it doesn't look right - go around. A few words from an a-hole on the ground is a lot easier to take then the potential hazards from a really bad spot. I personnaly think from my observations that we (in the sport) take the responsibility of spotting to lightly too often. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

MiataDRM, Why settle for pictures when you can get your ass in the blast and knees in the breeze. Don't exactly know what your situation is but if you get a weekend (Thursday & Friday) off head to Dubai, U.A.E. it's only a 50 min flight away - for about 40 Dinars. Head for Um Al- Quawain. Visa's at the airport, we got a Caravan and a very active multi-national group jumping on most weekends. A mini boogie is happening starting on Feb 6 - through the 14th. Also a large boogie (Pete Marsdin) begins on the 19th until the 28th. If interested contact me via email. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Enough, Enough you all, only a couple of more weeks before mine is shipped - it has been a very long wait - all your pictures are driving me crazy - ah sweet revenge - when I can post my pics and let some other poor waiting soul stew in his anticipation juices. Cheers phat, dumb & happy

Hi Rick, here is my 2 cents worth, I make no recommedations but offer this to make your own conclusions: when I first started jumping (military free fall) we flat packed. During initial training the instructors would check your pack at each stage. It was a great opportunity to understand how the canopy was put together, the A,B,C& D lines, importance of clearing the stabilizers, a clear line channel, and all the other little details that I found over whelming at the time, but know truly appreciate. After my military days I continued jumping, still flat packing, then into the pro-pack, and now I do a slightly modified combination of pro / phsycho using steps that have become my standard operating procedure (SOP) based on results and what I feel comfortable with. I continue to review what I do to see if there is a faster / better way - I don't mean to imply that faster is better, but only trying to find steps that gives me a good / reliable opening pack job in the least amount of time. Throughout the process I always think about the early lessons that I learned back in the flat pack days and knowledge of the canopy. I keep my critical checks in place and roll the canopy - with very good results. Know thy canopy - standardize your packing steps - doing it the same way every time, and adjust based on results. Cheers - David phat, dumb & happy

Hi All, Timely question for me - for a while now I have been experimenting with different jump suit combinations to see what impact it has on my fall rate range. I have several suits - a BEV suit with no booties, an Icarus with booties and freefly pants with sweat shirt. Wearing the Icarus gives me a very fast fall rate with lots of leg power, but really diminishes my low range ending up with a 118 - 132+, the BEV suit gives me about a 115 - 130+ with a noticiable decrease in leg power, and the freefly pants with sweat shirt gets me down to 112 - 128+. However, like SKYMAMA I get concerned with the sweat shirt interfering with my cut away and rip cord handles. One thing I haven't tried are the removable sleaves. I am hoping that I can use sleaves on my Icarus to get a fall rate range of 113 - 130+. I weigh in at about 185 and fall fast, ballooning to stay from going low on formation dives takes too much flying control away from me. This past weekend I did a half dozen 2-way jumps with a buddy who wieghs in at about 150, and wears weight belt (12lbs). Using the free fly pants we were able to pull off an average 7/8 points per jump - we still had to really work at adjusting, and I would have liked to have had my booties. Does any one have any input regarding sleaves and where to purchase them? Sorry about getting out on a tangent with this thread. phat, dumb & happy

Hi skreamer, I attended the boogie during the first week, the incident happened during the second. However, according to a friend who was there a a jumper collided with a small child as he was attempting to land on the beach. (locals on the beach during jumps was a common obstacle - this especially became became a hazard during high tide, with the LZ shrinking to a postage stamp) The child 4 or 5 years old) was struck in the head, by the jumpers knee I believe as he tried to manuever around him, the child later died. The jumper was just making a strait in approach - no swooping involved as I understand it. David phat, dumb & happy

Hi Tallies, No prob on the extension - good news on the Caravan - but I have already renamed the DZ to Um Al NOPLANE. Missed you in UAE over the EID. I linked up with David M though, and he gave me a very thorough tour of the Dubai clubs / night life. I will be in the US for a couple of weeks for the holidays - plan on getting some airtime while I am there. Fergbird is planning another mini boogie for Feb - hope to see you then. Cheers - David phat, dumb & happy

Thanks Brian, I've psycho packed my Hornet for a couple a hundred jumps and have never noticed any significant difference between that and the pro pack. My bud flies a Specter and swears by the psycho pack - very experienced jumper / rigger. I guess I was just a little surprised by the responce I received - the psycho pack has been around for a while now. In PD's case do you know if in their testing program that they actually tested the psyco pack and if it was documented - and if so are the reports available to the public? Thansk again David phat, dumb & happy