sundevil777

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Posts posted by sundevil777

  1. On 8/20/2005 at 9:15 AM, sundevil777 said:

     


    Quite right. You ought to be able to identify the guy in the red rig - Don Bentley. Erling Olsen is on Jessie's right barely retaining his shoe, and Rob Jackson at 6 o'clock (sure wish I knew how to get a hold of him), and Rob Ritchie at 7 o'clock are the others that haven't been identified already.

    Cliff

     

     

    People are sick and tired of being told that ordinary and decent people are fed up in this country with being sick and tired. I’m certainly not, and I’m sick and tired of being told that I am

     

    Rob Jackson finally came out of hiding (he contacted me)!  Hasn't jumped since the old Kapowsin days, but he's still going strong.

  3. On 10/31/2023 at 2:23 PM, Woody Russell said:

    What are the latest and greatest improvements to avoid Toggle Fires?

    Slider stops.  I do not remember anyone having premature brake releases back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and sliders stayed where they were supposed to stay.  Does the slider being able to interact with the toggles on opening cause releases?  Along with mini-risers/3-rings, allowing the slider to come down past the links is a fad in which I quite intentionally do not participate.  

    A bit of a tangent - regarding the use of "snap toggles" such as Racers have, the 3M company makes a product called "Dual-Lock" which is a great alternative for velcro.  Instead of hook and loop (velcro), the dual lock has little mushroom cap molded shapes that mate together and de-mate in a very orderly and secure way, with none of the fabric damage of hook velcro.

    Some people are big fans of the "tru-lock" pin style toggle keeper design, but I don't see the advantage over other designs.

     

  4. 18 hours ago, Cold_Hard_Ash said:

    Currently on a storm 150 at a 1.43 approx wing loading.

    I am already looking to upsize to a 170 putting me at 1.26....

    But I want to know your thoughts. What canopy is the best for a beginner pilot? I am on a swift 3 but have an atc in the works. 

    Also does longer riser lengths increase line twists? I have 22" now.... But I'm 5 11 so I do have a great reach. 

     

     

    My understanding was that the wingsuiters had concluded the Storm was lousy for wingsuiting, despite it being a 7 cell.

  5. · Edited by sundevil777

    43 minutes ago, MickPatch said:

    Tempo did not put a life limit in their canopies so technically there is no official retirement age for them.

     

    If I am doing a repack on a canopy over 25 years old though I will expect to perform a tensile test on it, if it hasn't had one in the previous two years.

    Didn't PD stop doing tensile tests when a reserve is sent in for recertification?  My understanding was that within the rigging community (of which I am not a member) there was agreement about too much risk for unintended damage or whatever.

  6. 20 hours ago, Dive68 said:

    I bought the new sonalte 3v speaking altimeter and it totally rocks. It has exceeded my expectations . It's a game changer and was worth the wait to be released, and worth every penny, highly recommend it. Fast shipping got it in two days!

    https://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/altimeters/audible-altimeters/sonoalti-3v-speaking-audible-altimeter

    Great competition to the VOG, less expensive, small size, and it is available!

  7. On 7/20/2023 at 7:18 PM, GrumpyM4 said:

    Yes, the flat pack is specified.   

    I was warned that MC4's will always have a somewhat hard open, which is why i'm interested in seeing if a pro pack is possible as there are ways to increase the snivel. 

    I'd like to have this as an occasional play rig, and i also don't want a crap opening when i use it.

    Should be mentioned that a "flat pack" is a vague description.  The method called "factory pack" back in the day is very close to the reserve packing method - not propacking.  The "roll pack" as it was called back in the day is much different.

     

  8. · Edited by sundevil777

    3 hours ago, JumpRu said:

    Look, it is just like any other activity, take reloading for example... There are all kinds of people getting into this every year and unfortunately every year some people get in trouble (youtube has all sorts of videos about it) but with minimal effort one can easily develop safe round... It may not be super accurate at first, but just getting the book and general understanding of the process is enough not to get hurt. What happens here with swooping is like u just go to the store, get whatever components and mix them the way u like. That is what happens to beginners... Accomplished pilots makes tiny percentage of all but in every single case (if we want to be completely honest) one can easily find root cause of any particular incident. Would that be flying absolutely smallest canopy for person experience  level (why?) Or flying it in unsafe manner (who u trying to impress?) It is easy to pinpoint the cause most of the time. There are some freak accidents but even then you can probably see that winds were doing something strange... Those always will be there. Statements lile "swooping is dangerous" they really about nothing - it is like saying driving is dangerous ... and then we learn that it was super bike and it was night and rain or speed was over 200.

    How will you get the greatest risk takers to not push the envelope?  Of course results would be much better.  

    The canopy coaching market should survive on its own, without the subsidy of the current USPA B license requirement.  Nobody has talked about that.  I'm very skeptical of the overall benefit of the current canopy course requirement.

  9. On 5/27/2023 at 10:48 AM, skybytch said:

    Fifteen years ago, this was the argument used to keep the dreaded regulation of wing loading and canopy types from limiting the freedoms of jumpers in the US. You remember that, right? Education,  not regulation! 

    Fifteen years to prove that point and yet it seems to be the same argument today. Educate, educate, educate... and still die.

    Perhaps a point has been proven.

    What exactly has USPA done in the past 15 years to educate jumpers to swoop in a way that limits the obvious dangers?

    According to the report in the May Parachutist, 58% of nonfatal incidents were landing related In 2022. Is this better or worse than when they started the B license canopy course requirements a decade or so ago?

     

     

    The canopy course requirement should be reconsidered.

     

  11. That stuff is such a smelly mess when putting it on, and not easy to make an even thickness.  I decided to not use it and see the wear that would result.  After approx 700 jumps on the suit they are in great condition, hardly worn.  I minimize the walking around with the booties on.  The shoe goo is awful.

    • Like 1

  12. · Edited by sundevil777

    On 5/14/2023 at 12:50 PM, sfzombie13 said:

    just wondering, can you install the tracker and just not pay the subscription until you need to use it?  like have it in the rig for as long as you need but only pay the monthly fee when you cutaway and need to use it.  that would make it worth it.

    Perhaps an apple watch fits this description.  Mine isn't set up with my carrier to enable it to act as a phone away from home, but I can add that to my plan/account, perhaps without having my watch in hand?  An old apple watch version 3 cell capable or later is good enough to be used with the "find my" app.

  13. Several hundred jumps since I've been doing this, and the loop still looks like it did 2 years ago in the earlier post.  Midwest grass landing areas of course help it stay clean, but the loop looks to be in great condition, just darkened and slick.  I still lay it with the loop facing down on packing carpets, so this is a reasonable test of whether my idea will wear out my risers - myth busted in my opinion.

    The question of whether my idea actually reduces the cutaway pull forces more than what is normally done to lube the cables isn't answered, but I do know I've done no harm.  It would be interesting to know how the cutaway pull forces are distributed - how much is due to housing friction, how not pulling straight in line with the housing contributes, and how much is due to the loop friction.  

    I also know there was VERY little drag when cutting away a spinning line-over a month ago.  Big 3-rings and a well lubed system yields good results.  You kids with your mini 3-rings can keep it.  Especially for those pushing 200 pounds without gear.  The graph I posted earlier in this thread should get some jumpers to consider the choice. 

  14. 22 hours ago, Led Santos said:

    I'm now using the ALTI-2 for a while, and man, I regret spending that much money on it.

    First: there's no option to turn the unit off. It means that, even thought the battery is rechargable, you may find yourself without juice if you only jump on week-ends (like I do), and forget to charge it on Friday night.

    Also, the good diferential for logbook options is crap as there's no way to add/edit the DropZones and Aircrafts. Also, no way to export the logbook from the ALTI-2 to my PC (unless you pay extra for Paralog software, which, as I read, it's not guaranted to work to upload data into ALTI-2).

    Also, tried to contact Atlas a few times, without any reply..... :-(

    No need to recharge it so often, especially when new.  Might get better long term battery life also.

    I've had them return emails about a couple different questions, but they took a day or two.  

    The price is nuts, but an Ares does so much less.  Deals can still be had on the used market if you're patient and consider the N3 or Neptune 2.  The Skylife Vega/Sirius/Orion available from Rockskymart sure looks like an attractive option.  

  17. 3 hours ago, faulknerwn said:

    Really?  Holy cow!  I have been jumping for 30 years and have never heard of that happening.  Definitely on opening or a worn line braking occasionally later but never a canopy ripping in half not during opening shock..

     

    Likely similar to reports of lines breaking during a high g swoop load. 

    • Like 1

  19. On 1/22/2023 at 10:13 AM, lyosha said:

    I would hope by the time people are trying to swoop ponds they are not seeking altimeter advice from an Internet forum :rofl:

    Whether it is an AAD, camera, altimeter or whatever, I appreciate knowing if it is not reliably water resistant as claimed by the mfg. 

  21. · Edited by sundevil777

    On 1/1/2023 at 5:40 AM, olofscience said:

    You'll have to remember, there's a crippling chip shortage that's still going on since from the pandemic. It affects not just supplies of existing products (see what happened to Dekunu) but also impacts the ability to develop new ones.

    I've been trying to find a Raspberry Pi for some personal projects and they're still impossible to find (and no, I will not pay scalpers) - the Raspberry Pi foundation has said that things will only improve in the second half of 2023.

    Most of the VOG website seems to be working, but not if you try to buy it. One wonders if the company is in trouble when you can't buy something. 

    The extra features of the premium version are of very little value to me.  Is it a teaser? If a person orders a basic version, does it get delayed until you upgrade to the more expensive version they want you to buy?  Never have I spotted a basic version in the wild, and wondering if they exist.  Maybe it takes twice as long to get one, and I don't expect the manufacturer to admit it if true.  

    Wishing for more competition in the talking altimeter market.  There is the SonoAlti (and old N3A), but it requires earbuds.  The VOG is the only new alti on the market worth buying new in my opinion.  They don't show up available used, likely because of their popularity.  The large number of Altitracks on the used market indicates the opposite.  IMO none of the new visual/digital altis offer substantial advantages over getting a used N3, or even N2.

  23. · Edited by sundevil777

    14 minutes ago, Grumpy said:

    I prefer the display on the Atlas which changes automatically from aircraft mode (lots of detail) to freefall mode (thousands and hundreds of feet only - super simple and clear) and then to canopy mode (adds tens of feet) providing an appropriate level of detail for each phase of the jump.

    Quite right! Even the earliest Neptune behaves that way.  How could L&B invest money into a new and more expensive model without getting rid of the useless blur of a tens digit in freefall?  As you mention, even the earliest Neptune could show extra details such as climb rate, and the user interface is great compared to L&B products.

  24. · Edited by sundevil777

    Alti-2 shouldn't be telling us/implying in their ads their batteries will last 10 years.  They use this number in their marketing about how you'll be enviro friendly and save a certain amount of money, and that all consumer type lithium batteries are good for 10 years as long as you don't recharge them so dang much...Very flawed marketing in my opinion. 

    Don't tell people you're doing the environment a favor and then predict the disposal of the whole darn thing after 10 years, that's not consistent.  The battery for the Neptune 2 is $4 and available everywhere (opposite of the L&B batteries).  Disposable batteries can be considered an advantage if the batteries are cheap and available.  If you could get months of use from a $20 or whatever cost battery for your gopro, but you couldn't recharge it, I think many would consider that at some cost/time combination, a disposable battery is a plus.  

    Perhaps Alti-2 is admitting the truth about batteries losing capacity over their lifetime, and the 10 year figure is where some certain % remains.  It might mean the battery indicator gets low after half the time or number of jumps, whatever, it is still likely going to be quite usable for many years, and is dependent on overall charging habits. They shouldn't be implying a 10 year lifetime.

  25.  

    1 hour ago, wolfriverjoe said:

    More recent studies have shown that it's dependent on what you have used the most (what you 'grew up with').

    I think jumpers tend not to "glance" at their analog altimeters, they stare at them for a long time.  I think their brain uses that time to process the image into a number before looking away.  Just a theory of mine.