relyon

I certainly wouldn't give up that easily! I'd be pulling out my hook knife and performing a real cutaway. A reserve malfunction is a risk we assume on every jump. If one doesn't trust their gear to work properly and the reserve to open under the best of breakaway circumstances, why trust it any other time? Bob

Regardless of the method, a student's main focus should be completing the skydive safely. Deploying and controlling the canopy clearly plays a critical primary role in achieving that. Everything else is secondary. Bob

Pull time for a CRW jumps is 2-5 seconds out the door so there's no real waveoff, though it's not uncommon to geek the camera and/or the rest of the load on exit. I've never looked back when dealing with a deployment problem; I've just reached back and cleared it. Bob

Not BS at all. The loop must be below the guide ring or it will rip the keeper in the manner described. Bob

I've been jumping tailpocketed Lightnings for quite a few jumps now and have never rolled the tail. As far as I can tell, the only thing that holds a Lightning slider up is the locking stow. Depending on how I treat the nose (very tightly rolled to wide open) I can get anything from a gentle snivel to a real slammer. Bob

Jump #234, a planned 25-way diamond that built to 24 before a grip was dropped and the thing funnelled. A total of four cutaways including mine. Bob

Yup, go with a little more toggle. If you add too much, you'll just end up on the other side. The coolest one of these I've ever seen was a 9-diamond with a dragging stinger. I don't have a pic handy but there is a large one at Kapowsin. I'll try and remember to take a shot and post it. Bob

44:36 Bob

Reserves aren't of unknown size and quality. They're generally sized similarly to the main and usually a little larger. The average reserve is going to be a low aspect 7-cell or something similarly docile. They're TSO'd, inspected every 120 days, and packed with much greater care than the average main. That's worth considerably more than nothing to me. Bob

These two have very different planforms and I'd expect correspondingly different turn and flare characteristics. My guess is that the 113 will be more docile. Bob

Started in 1993 by Chas Bunch and last held in 1996, I'm happy to report the 2003 Northwest Diamond Jamboree was a great success. There were 18 participants and numerous others to help make an enjoyable CRW boogie. It began on Thursday evening with the arrival of Russ and Ken. After a watching a beautiful sunset at the DZ, five of us moved over to Doug's house to kick off Diamond Jamboree. As you can imagine, the beer and Jack flowed and the bullshit flew. Safety was an important topic, with discussion centered around how to organize the load for the best effect. We talked about skydiving too. Friday saw the start of a warm front out of the southwest bringing an onshore marine flow. In short, increasingly shitty. Of course, the weather here in WA had been spectacular for days prior and had been forecasted several days earlier to be good, only to change at the last minute, but that's another story... Anyway, the winds started about 8 knots in the morning and got progressively worse throughout the day. Similar for the air conditions. All the same, we got 2 jumps off before it got too bad (a later freefall load had to land with the plane) and the lunch pizza hit the spot. Just after the second jump, Mike and Jeni rolled in. Unfortunately, the weather didn't get any better and they were unable to get on a load. I later found out they had to fly back early Saturday morning, so they never got to jump at all. Thanks very much for coming all the same - I'll try and have a word in with the big guy about the weather. About 6:00 pm most everyone packed (or stuffed, as the case may be) it in and drove over to nearby Clear Lake for Kapowsin's annual Lobster Feed gathering. Fresh live east coast lobster boiled to perfection with sides and fixin's - yum yum. Just before dinner, a Cessna dropped four jumpers in pretty stiff winds. The spotting and the wind checks needed to be good to avoid a lake landing and the LZ is reasonably tight to begin with. The first jumper (jumping a 9-cell something or other) misjudged things just enough he landed short by about 25'. Nothing some dry clothes and a few days air drying won't fix. Brett Thomas was next on a Strato Cloud and had no problem putting right where he wanted it: high and dry up on the bank. Third and fourth out were Luke Aikens jumping a PC and Andy Farrington on his Xaos (what else). Amazing to watch the Xaos run circles (more like the strafing passes) around the PC. Luke did a fine job with the PC, but splashed down about 20' shy of the shore. Andy ended the show by performing one of his trademark swoops to the delight of everyone present. Aside from a couple wet jumpers and gear, the only other casualty was that along the way to Clear Lake one of the out-of-towners got out of contact with the car they were following and wasn't able to find the site - sorry. Saturday morning we awoke (well, most of us) to low ceilings leftover from the night before. That was probably a good thing for some. The lunch sandwiches and a good supply of ibuprofen may have helped too. Things began to get better mid-afternoon and by 4:30 pm the first load was off: a 9-diamond + 2 stingers. On the second jump there were two groups: one did a 9-diamond with a pullout and the other did 4-way stack-to-stack (still photo by Brett Clark attached). It was all good, but we ran out of light and only got two jumps off total. That wasn't the end of things, though. Bill Mershon championed the idea of a DZ spaghetti feed and, with the help of some great volunteers, came through in grand style: spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, tortellini, veggies, and root beer floats! Fed an estimated 70-80 hungry skydivers, pilots, staff, family, friends, and a few others. Everyone was most appreciative. Sunday was a beautifully clear days after a few small morning puffies. Jumping got off to a slow start as the effects of the previous night wore off. For two (no names to protect the guilty) the effects never did wear off, so they watched the rest of us jump (once they finally got to the DZ) instead. Several renditions of wedges, diamonds, and boxes were built over the first four dives. One of the better was a 8-box + stinger, 9-diamond with pullout, and 8-frame + stinger. The fifth and last jump was a 6-way sequential dive that was a nice finish: 6-box, 6-kite, 6-stack, & 4-diamond before we ran out of altitude and time. We worked on the remaining party provisions and watched some video until one by one we all had to move on. My sincere thanks go out to all those who made this year's Diamond Jamboree a success, notably:My co-organizer (and the real brains behind the operation): Bill Mershon - thanks man. (HIM!!!...) Video: Brett Clark & Andy Farrington Pilots: Dave Kaiser & Paul Stoddard DZ: Kapowsin Air Sports and the Farrington's Spaghetti Feed volunteers:Tracy Mershon Linda Lyon Kim Ryan Roger McClelland Jessie FarringtonParticipants:Bill Mershon Pat Ryan Dave Basinger Chas Bunch Roger McClelland Doug Scofield Russ Pinney Ken Oka Shahin Mahmoudzadeh Brett Clark Vic Johnson Frank Lupica Vern Bates Jeni Gordon Mike Trudell Terrina Mershon Pat Marcanio Bob LyonThanks a million everyone. Let's do it again next year! 'skies, Bob

It's all relative. I paid 22.50 euro (over $26 US) at Teuge in the Netherlands last weeked (thanks again Saskia!). Bob

So why don't we see lot's of these scenarios being played out with RSLs, Skyhooks (admittedly a new device), or SOSs? Bob

My scariest ride was in a Mi-8 heli during a practice jump in Finland. The Mi-8 has a clamshell rear door, but that had been removed for jumping, so the rear was open. Think CASA with the tailgate open all the time. There were 19 jumpers on board (US and Russian 8-way teams, cameras, and the Finnish jumpmaster) plus 4 crew. We're almost to altitude when there is a muffled pop/thud. I hear one of my teammates say "oh shit" and turn white. It's a disloged pin and now we've got an open container with a freepacked main (no bag). Since he's sitting back to the wall, the two guys on either side of him tighten up and a third sits on his lap. Aside from a serious adreneline rush, the situation is relatively under control. Then the Russians decide their going to jump anyway. "We go! We go!" Even that wouldn't have been too much of a problem except they plan on exiting the front left side door as they've been doing all along. Realizing that as soon as they open that door, the venturi effect is going to put everyone on board in mortal danger, I have an anurism. I scream "Thor!" (our pet name for the Finnish jumpmaster - a gentle giant of a man who's real name is Marrku). I have never seen someone literally toss people aside so fast. Thor grabbed 3 or 4 or these guys and threw them down on his way to the door. "NO!" he yells, and that is that. We land, fix the problem, climb back to altitude, and make our jump. In retrospect it all seems funny now, but at the time it was definitely no joke and could have been an major incident. Bob

I've done it twice (both on video) with no ill effects. The effect of gravity (ie. falling clear of the main) was much faster than the reserve pilot chute deployment. Absolutely no chance of one fouling the other. If there were, RSLs (which I don't have because I do CRW) would cause a lot of main/reserve entanglements. Bob

The standard Lightning tailpocket is somewhat overbuilt and uses full rubber band stows similar to a bag. The consensus amongst CRWdogs is that it should only have a closing stow and a freestow pouch (similar to a reserve freebag) and could be built a bit lighter (cotton would be great). This has been addressed by Rusty Vest of PD and a re-specification is in the works (see here). If I were purchasing a new Lightning today, I'd make sure it conforms to the new configuration. Drop a line to Rusty at ([email protected]) to find out on the status of the engineering change. Bob

Work the problem and don't panic. Try to get out the way you went in and use your hook knife if necessary. If it's really that bad, dump your reserve into the mess. I know of at least one person who is alive today because they did just that. Kissing your ass goodbye or tying your shoes is a waste of time when your handles are still stowed... Bob

So essentially you're saying everyone should get PRO rated before before downsizing. That's ridiculous. Bob

A few months ago Rusty Vest of PD sent an e-mail to the CRW community about the standard Lightning configuration. With Rusty's permission I've reposted his e-mail here: OK Dogs, here's the deal. After spending the last year talking with the canopy formation community as well as the committee for the record attempts I've submitted an Engineering Change Request to change some things about the PS Lightning. The idea is to reconfigure some of the current standard configuration and add some options. Since the largest group of users today are the canopy flyers doing non competitive formation flying we want the canopy to fit your basic needs first. It has shown that the more we get the canopy line lengths and trim uniform the better we can perform in large formations. The actual engineering change will take a bit of time to be completely instituted (lots of paperwork and document changes) so I am providing the CF community with the information. Enclosed is the basics of the request and then ordering instructions (in blue & red) when ordering a new canopy or reline. My next phase will be to get a revised order form to post on the web www.performancedesigns.com along with a document that will explain all the options. PD has also authorized Chris Gay and Mark Gregory to sell Lightnings. This was established to afford new crew dogs that attend beginner camps a knowledgeable path for ordering canopies. They will also be a good source for experienced crew dogs. Here is the basic Engineering Change Request: 1. Make the Poly/Cotton Buffer Panels around the bridle rings optional instead of standard. 2. Make the Mesh Slider standard. 3. Make Stainless Steel grommets standard. 4. Make 9 1/2 foot lines available for the PS-160, 10 1/2 foot lines available for the PS-193. Then make the following chart standard: PS-113 - 8 ft. PS-126 - 8 1/2 ft. PS-143 - 9 ft. PS-160 - 9 1/2 ft. PS-176 - 10 ft. PS-193 - 10 1/2 ft. 5. Change trim designations as follows: Sequential becomes Trim A. Rotation becomes Trim B. Demo becomes Trim C. 6. Make standard the two inboard continuous A Lines and the two outboard continuous A lines Red. When anyone is ordering a Lightning for non competitive Canopy Formation Flying we will advise the following configuration: Trim A. (Sequential until the change is signed off) Line lengths according to the following: 113 - 8 ft. 126 - 8 1/2 ft. 143 - 9 ft. 160 - 9 1/2 ft. 176 - 10 ft. 193 - 10 1/2 ft. Mesh slider. Standard Leading Edge Reinforcement. No cotton buffer patch around bridle rings. I'm also changing the tail pocket to a less beefy/bulky tail pocket for those who prefer tail pockets. If you want to send your canopy to PD for a reline Please Do The Following: 1. go to the web site www.performancedesigns.com and download a maintenance repair form 2. fill it out completely 3. call or write Donna Wagner 386 738 2224 [email protected] let her know what size canopy you have and that you want to send it to PD for a reline with the appropriate line length and trim. 4. send us your canopy at the address on the form. Donna will have the line set ordered ahead in order for us to give you the best turnaround possible. The cost for the reline is still only $130.00 plus $15.00 for inspection. (There is going to be a price increase for relines soon, but we will keep this price as long as possible.) note: if your canopy has damage you will be advised of the damage found in order to determine any repairs you want done. If you want to reline your canopy yourself you can also order the line set from Donna. $90.00 I hope I've covered everything here. If you have any questions drop me a simple e-mail. I'm difficult to reach by phone and my schedule doesn't allow for real quick return calls. Blue skies, Rusty Vest Performance Designs, Inc.Rusty can be contacted at [email protected] Bob

That's an Mi-8 or Mi-17. I'd much rather exit the rear than the side door though. Bob

When CRW was judged using ground to air video the jumprun was almost always downwind anywhere from 3-7 miles upwind of the DZ. The idea was to get as shallow of a camera angle as possible. Bob

CRWdogs don't need no stinkin' booties or grippers Bob

I think you're referring to 2:1 or 3:1 mechanicals. (Trim tabs are similar but are "set" and require a separate action to release them - I've not seen them used in years). For 2:1s, a length of reinforcement tape (often 1" Type IV, but it varies) or brake line is sewn/attached to the bottom (3-ring) end of the forward side of the front riser that extends up to and through a guide ring (often the same as the middle ring in a Type XVII riser setup) or rapide link and is terminated with a loop or toggle. 3:1s start at the top and have an additional ring/link at the bottom of the riser. The pic of the mini risers I referred to in a previous post shows the top guide ring (same size as the brake guide ring) and the lower attachment point (harder to see - just a loop of Type IV held with a couple horizontal baratcks). In any case, I'll have to defer to Wendy or someone else for a detailed pic. I'm one of those that feels less is more and I don't have or use mechanicals. Bob (edited to add info re: my mini risers)

Here's a few randow pics of CRW risers with and without Vetrap. Bob

Yup, what Wendy said. See this Word document for details. Remember to specify red inside and outside A-lines on the order as well - the person you dock on will appreciate it. You'll also want self-opening toggles so you're not fumbling when reaching for a toggle. Aerotech Products (http://www.aerotechproducts.com/) has both CRW risers and toggles available. Similarly, some of us have short arms so we get shorter risers in order to be able to grip up near the links or grab individual lines if need by. My risers are 19". Bob