gunsmokex

I'm looking into buying my first rig and came across a great deal on an old '94 Vector II container. Doing my research on this rig I found out that it has small 3 ring risers (Type 17). I found the old Vector II manual and according to a product recall having Type 17 risers with an RSL is NOT recommended in fact it says in the product recall/service bulletin that it should not be jumped with the RSL attached and that the Type 17's should be replaced with Type 8 Risers. The manual can be found here for the Vector II container http://parachutemanuals.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=39&func=startdown&id=139 and the product recall service bulletin is on page 73. Maybe I'm just being overly careful but after reading that I'm just a little leary on buying the container. I only weigh 155 so my exit weight would be around 175 lbs but I do want an RSL. Perhaps my best option would be to just have the Type 8 risers put onto the container? I was thinking of shipping it directly to United Parachute Technologies even though he is a rigger as an outside opinion and they could do any work on it that would be needed. My question is that is it even worth it? I mean should I invest this much time and money on an old rig that needs new risers to get into compliance. Or should I just keep looking? I was originally looking at complete rigs with 170 main/reserve but then came across this deal. Limitation is that the container is in Europe. What are your opinions?

Wow! That's some great research peek, thanks!! Can't wait to read it actually. The science behind skydiving interests me a lot, I feel like the more I know the more safe I am and any edge I can use I'll take it. Yeah I don't recall exactly why a 'neutral' neck is stronger but I suppose if one has their neck already tensed all the way forward or back and you go and apply say 12Gs to it I could see where tendons and ligaments would tear, maybe that's the reasoning. If I ever find the article I'll post it, I believe it was some aeronautic article though. I really wish I could find it now though cause I don't want someone thinking that their chin tucked to the chest or all the way back is safer and then have their damn neck snap or something like that. To the OP please check with your doc as I'm sure that they actually did do a body of research on this to find the MOST stable and strongest neck position and from what I gather that is the neutral position. Neutral not being relaxed but able to have give one way or the other. I don't think anyones neck is truly 'relaxed' in a skydive anyway. But just check with you chiropractor, PT or surgeon and I'm sure they will confirm this. When you neck is all the way forward or back it is very vulnerable. I'm definitely going to start on the neck strengthening exercises though Rob and am gonna try yoga lol. Here is a short article we wrote, which was referenced in a recent Parachutist article: http://www.pcprg.com/g-forces.htm (A link to this article is on the Skydivers page: http://www.pcprg.com/skydive.htm) My chiropractor confirmed this while we were discussing hard openings. .

I'd talk to your doc about getting a physical therapy consult once you are done and they can help you get your strength back in your neck and they might be able to give you some exercises to do for neck strengthening based upon your injury. I found these suggested by a flight surgeon in the USAF, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCQQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.f-16.net%2Fforum%2Fdownload%2Ffile.php%3Fid%3D17656&ei=OGPUVJ-6N4fYoATTqYHQBw&usg=AFQjCNErXl3anN_aggj29qafbzRrJWDLpg I don't know how many G's are pulled in a hard opening but any strengtheing would help...."The bottom line is that your job requires a highly stable neck. Stretching and exercise provide optimum physiologic performance. Weak neck muscles cause neck fatigue, stiffness and pain, and higher risk of injury. Strong neck muscles mean less frequent and less critical neck injuries." I thought I had read somewhere out there that the neck is at its strongest and most protected in the neutral position but I can't find it now. Anyways good luck and thanks for the discussion.

I'm just curious if all Racer are like this or if its only certain years.

Just curious if anyone out there uses an Icaro helmet. I'm planning on purchasing a Nerv http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/Nerv/Nerv.htm or a Fly http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/Fly/Fly.htm and there isn't hardly any reviews out there at all since its a European helmet. Just was wondering if you had one what you think of it or if know someone that jumps with one. Obviously I'm skipping the visor option, I don't plan on using an audible or jumping with a camera anytime soon and just wanted a good sound helmet that gives me the absolute best option for head protection that money can buy and weighing just in over a pound and around $150 these seem like a pretty solid option along the lines of the Bennys and Protecs. They have a full face helmet as well but that comes later as well, the 4fight http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/SkyDive/SkyDive.htm Thanks

Great post. I'm in a similar situation myself. I've been trying to brainstorm about different marketing strategies as recently I volunteered to help out our club on marketing our dropzone. Our dropzone is small Cessna operation, we really don't have much of a problem filling up the tandem slots that isn't really the problem. We are looking to increase our student numbers for our static line jump course. Basically just get out name out there to let people know that we exist, to let them know what is available. I'm really enjoying reading this post though and I will definitely bring up a few of these at our next meeting. Here's what I've come up with so far, I'm just going to stick with simple for now which with a smaller market for us might be a little easier to do. Radio Stations- I plan on talking with a few of the local radio stations to try to get a slot in their morning show and have a member or two come in to kind of explain to the general public what skydiving and our DZ is about. Flyers- I plan on putting them up anywhere and everywhere really. I guess I'll mainly be focusing on the places where you might find adventure seekers gyms, sports stores, the local college intramural sports dept the trendy bars, clubs, etc. And the bucket list people golf courses, country clubs. Pretty much though I plan on putting them up everywhere and checking every few week to monitor if #'s have been taken to keep track which ones are effective and which ones aren't. Otherwise I was thinking of find the right events to possibly sponsor/trade for demo jump?, poker run that kind of thing. There is a cycle club outside of town and a few race tracks I may have to go have a talk with them as well about a billoboard of something along that lines. Was also thinking about the local fairs, ball games that kind of thing. But yeah in our market/situation a mall booth really wouldn't work but if you guys are big enough and think you will get the exposure I say go for it. Typically here though its mostly Jr high kids and then the a whole schmere of different types of peeps I guess but the majority are women obvioiusly.

I just paid $1.68 yesterday for gas. I don't think I've seen that since I graduated high school 20yrs ago. Sure this might hurt Wall St but in the end they are the ones that were partly responsible for creating this whole mess in first place. The OPEC nations might be screwed but they still have China to export to. Hell eventually maybe the US will export, who knows! For the American middle class this is better than any "stimulus package" or "cash for clunkers" those two programs were a joke. I just hope it stays this way for a while, an RV, my Jeep and maybe my boat in tandem and I'm set. Travel nursing for 4-6 wk contracts, park the RV at the DZ, drive the Jeep to work and on days off JUMP, windy days fish. So yeah how in heck could this not be good? Tourism will be up. Sure big Oil might lose but those cats have been getting fat for a long time. I honestly do not see any way oil will back up to where it was. In the upper midwest the Keystone pipeline looks like it will go through bringing Candaian oil to the Texas refineries and there is another one that is proposed from North Dakota to Indiana. Not to mention that they tried to go through with a new refinery up here, it failed but there will be other refineries coming. Hell why not Detroit? Maybe that would save them up and bring them back to the greatness they once were. I don't exactly know what will happen to the US economy but I know mine is doing well and I'm very close to being able to buy my 1st rig with the money I'm saving on gas :)

Catfish is right, sounds like Dave had quit after his kid was born. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09jcMitUBzU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA6bPRtLAXg Not sure if they all did tandems though but they definitely jumped at Perris, from what I'm gathering Friedman, Ellofson and Mustaine jumped and Menza the drummer jumped only once on a tandem. The rest sound like they did it a few times. Man I miss old MTV when they had meaningful shit on instead of the crap thats on there now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJQCiYeVsco Sounds like Dave had bet the band to go skydiving once their album "Countdown to Extinction" had went platinum. I found a later interview and he says he did about 20 jumps. Anyways sorry about the hijacked post, don't be "that guy" Well long as I'm at it here's a cool promo involving MegeDeth and their Cryptic Writings album it really is too bad Mustaine doesn't jump anymore. Oh well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVFlvIzOUxk Now can we please get some pics of that guys hot girlfriend please?

+1 Craigbey I never listened to much Megadeth although I did see them live twice but I have uber respect for them now after watching this video, thanks for the lyrics I guess I never came across that song before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mka9O0jGAw4 Does Mustaine, Friedman or Ellofsen skydive or used to?

This post is interesting but it'd be way more interesting if you had at at least gotten a pic of his hot girlfriend! Don't you at least have gopro footage to show us so we can judge for ourselves the hotness factor? But on a serious note I'd never in my life consider jumping with music blaring in my ears or for that matter snow ski, snowmobile or anything else that requires my full attention since if I didn't give my full attention there would a higher chance of dying or injuring myself. If I were to jump with music though it'd definitely be Fear Factory or Pantera, I'd probably explode from all the adrenaline rushing through my veins and die of a heart attack. Heavy metal while skydiving isn't a good mixture. Hmm maybe Gravity Kills?

I'm very curious about this company now though does anyone jump with or know anyone that jumps with the Nerv http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/Nerv/Nerv.htm or the Fly? http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/Fly/Fly.htm These two models look like they way work, very light weight and great protection with a slim profile. I mssg'd Floormonkey who uses the Fly but it looks like he hasn't posted since Nov 2013 Thanks

Not from Minneapolis but for fun in the cold north where I'm at in SW Minnesota and can answer #3. Here are my top 4 thngs :) 1. Ice Fish 2. Shoot deer 3. Drive around on snowmobiles 4. Snow ski .....keep in mind if you buy the right place you can do 1-3 in your backyard but you can always get crazy and combine 3 and 4 and then imagine its summer while you are tearing across the frozen lake! Hmm now that I think about it you could combine 2 3 and 4, just don't get caught!! Or there is the alternate version of that: -tell stories on how the biggest fish you'd seen in your life had gotten away because the damn thing couldn't fit through the hole -tell stories on how the 30 pt buck got away because your buddy next to you farted right as you were about to squeeze one off and the monster heard or smelt it from 500 yds away but he'd have been dead for sure -fix and repair the snowmobile, run it till it breaks or you wreck it, fix it again, or junk it and buy a different and usually fix that one, run that one till it too breaks or you wreck it, fix and repeat until winter is over -sit in the lodge drink beer and do shots of Jagermeister and go all out on your last run of the day making sure you face plant every mogul and you better straight line that jump and hit massive air time to wow the ski bunnies Lol nah seriously Minneapolis is a great place, I don't live there but I love to visit a few times a year. Lots to do in the cities and you are never far away from nature. I don't know the jump scene because our dropzone is pretty much shutdown for the year unless it miraculously heats up somehow (high of 8 today low of -6 and 100% chance of snow with 5" expected today and another 2" tonight. I do plan on visiting every dropzone there very soon though. Ok I'm going to go work on my snowmobile now and get ready for a banzai run to the bar after all of the beautiful snow piles up!! Woot!!

I guess I was mostly looking at the occasional head to head bump in mid air. Or say a head to step, foot, arm, leg, etc. As long as it does the best job possible to keep me from losing consciousness. I just was surprised I guess is all. I don't expect some super helmet that can protect my head at terminal to zero or something like that. I don't think the materials exist right now nor would I want to pay NASA prices to have it designed. You are right though anything with the FAA would be expensive. Thanks for the info Chapman I was looking at the tests they do for the EN966 certification and it was pretty interesting. The puncture test looked pretty brutal. http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/Safety/About-safety.htm Here's the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq0BrxVgjEM Looking around tonight I just found the helmet that I will probably be getting when it comes the time for a full face. Has anyone ever used the 4fight by Icaro? http://www.icaro2000.com/Products/Helmets/SkyDive/SkyDive.htm $329! Looks like a very decent helmet. edit: I found a link for the EN966 for the 4fight skydive helmet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl8pyFdoNQ8

I'll just visit a skate shop and see what they have and what fits best. I'll probably grab a Benny or Protec, I might see how the Bern helmet fits too. I just find it a little odd and aggravating that there are no ratings at all but I hear ya that its a specialty sport with very few numbers for the manufacturers. Here is the rating system for snowsports http://www.astm.org/Standards/F2040.htm What's funny is ski helmets didn't even become all that popular until the late 90's and yet they have their own rating system. We have the FAA and they don't require any type of rating on the helmets? Oh well, but yeah I can't jump a full face helmet yet anyways and I don't plan a getting an audible so a basic helmet will do me just fine, I just want the absolute best one to actually protect my melon

I'm curious as to if there any standards or ratings in skydive helmets like the snell rating in motorcycle helmets. I'm looking to purchase my first helmet, open face as I am a new jumper. I was looking at a basic Benny however helmets are one of those things that I feel are best tried on in person as I'd imagine its much the same as for when I was buying my snowmobile helmet in that each manufacturer fits a little different on my head. Anyways I was curious as to if say a skiing/snowboard helmet or skating helmet could/would be able to be substituted in for a skydiving helmet as at least here there are a few skate/ski shops around. Of course it'd have to be easily cutaway for any entanglement and be lightweight. Just wondering what your thoughts on the topic are or if anyone could point me in the right direction. Thanks edited to add: I don't plan on using an audible altimeter at least for now.

Its alright I know my posts are screwed up and I screwed up the proper terminology to convey what I actually meant. Sorry for the misunderstanding. And yes I have been reviewing the RSL and how it functions. I know one doesn't simply 'activate' the RSL its activated by the means of cutting away and is an aid to help deploy the reserve usually quicker than someone can cut away and get their hand to pull on their own reserve handle (of course you'd still pull the reserve handle). Anyways I actually found a great video on it here that I had watched previously. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZbHg1QZZPs Yeah *facepalm* I was getting the RSL and the Skyhook mixed up.

I think you need to sit down with a competent instructor and/or rigger to learn exactly how all the parts of your gear work. And to understand how that relates to EPs. (Preferably before you do another jump.) Missed that part in my edit..ugh I friggin hate the internet and message boards. The RSL cuts away the 3 rings there by pulling out your reserve by using your main. Yes I know what an RSL does thanks for the info I just missed that in my edit. Thanks for taking one part of my post and basically ignoring the rest though.

Sorry guys I forgot to add a few things to my post don't mean to worry you all. Yes the '1000 scenario is hypothetical, say if you find yourself below '1000 and another jumper tags your chute making it inoperable/collapsing it or a thermal/dust devil comes along and collaspses your chute. I get that you'd probably have one chance and one chance only to pull. In that case I'd go straight for my reserve. Sorry to talk about the RSL lanyard but basically we were just in a discussion on what exactly it is and its purpose. So yes it was nothing more than a hypothetical scenario. From what I understand pulling the RSL lanyard would cut away and deploy the reserve at the same time, its a moot point now (FYI as someone mentioned---yes one can simply disconnect it obviously that wasn't what I intended, pulling on it would cut your 3 rings and if your main were out it'd pull out your reserve) As for the comment "letting my RSL do it job" of course my next step after cutting away would be to pull my reserve. From my understanding most RSL's beat pulling the reserve to the punch anyways but yes I'd still go through the motions and pull the reserve as well. I didn't say it but that was what I meant. At '1000 though I wouldn't be cutting away. These forums blow for discussion though as crap gets taken out of context stuff, sorry its a lot different than face to face. What it boils down to is I guess I'm just a person that likes to know how shit works especially if my life depends on it.

Most definitely below '1000 I'd be pulling my reserve, no question about that! At '2000-'3000 though I probably wouldn't go straight for the reserve. The RSL lanyard that I am talking about would be the little brass ring and shackle with the red webbing attached to it. The reserve cable would just be the free floating cable on the reserve handle. However I've changed my mind after reading this article "RSL, Skyhook or Faith?" by Dan Brodsky-Chenfeld. http://www.blincmagazine.com/forum/content.php?r=361-RSL-Skyhook-or-Faith&language=af I'll just cut away and let my RSL do its job. Watching the videos definitely convinced me...I'm definitely going to look for a rig with a skyhook or at the very least an RSL.

Ok I'm new but after discussing with my ST&A about what I would do if found myself below '1000 with an unusable main above me.... I would just simply go right for my RSL lanyard directly http://skydiveschool.org/pu-eq-RSL#/container/ However I would ONLY do that in a last ditch effort to save my ass below '1000. In your scenario I would cut away and pull the reserve. We also discussed another option below '1000 is to just leave the reserve handle in place and pull the cable itself directly. Not quite sure what I think about that yet, but I guess if the handle is stuck its an option. I just don't know how much more time it'd gain you pulling on the cable as opposed to the handle. And as someone was discussing earlier about going for the reserve directly it you are past your deployment altitude, I guess I don't like that idea and would at least go for my main 1st, I guess I'd like to save my reserve in case I truly need it. I figure why bypass a perfectly good usable canopy and go for the reserve? What the hell would you do if your reserve malfunctioned? Anyways my two cents. I'm open to criticism so if my thinking is wrong please let me know.

Pretty insane that the community would allow the police to do this and shut down a great a event. Do they fingerprint ever driver of every car and truck that goes over that bridge. I mean a bomb would be much easier carried in a base than a base rig anyways. And if thats what they are worried about why not just have a bombsniffing dog? I mean do the same thing they do at the airport as when you bring your rig on the plane. Fingerprints is just a way to get a base jumper database or stomp out the event, pure and simple.

Hmm I haven't had any probs with my alti yet and I have a Viplo FT50/FT60 I bought from chutingstar as well. http://www.chutingstar.com/skydive/ft50-ft60-black-glow-altimeter I'd just grab a second alti for you next jump that way you can compare and if its off that bad again I'd just send it back.

Well next weekend will definitely be interesting. I get to go from the slowest skydiving planes, a C182 and C206 to Mullins King Air! Haha can't wait. Happy early Halloween! I've already been warned about farting on the plane. Somehow that reduces horsepower. See ya by the bonfire!

Thanks for all the responses. The legs are starting to feel a little better. I think I might look into the yoga thing sounds like its not been too bad for some of you. I start on some of the planks and have been practicing lots on arching into the wall, arching on the ground, arching in my hot tub I arch every damn chance I get lol. Now if I could just get some tunnel time haha I just want to be able to do this sport for as long as I can and hopefully minimize any chances of any injuries because of course everyone at work thinks I'm going to die or get severely hurt. Little do they know that skydiving is quite simply one of the greatest experiences on earth and the sense of accomplishment is unreal. If any of you are headed to the West TN boogie on Halloween shoot me a message and I'll have a cold one with ya by the bonfire.