bigG

Sorry to hear about your lost canopy. I hope you find it soon. Well, I lost my main and the reserve pc on a cutaway last year. I looked for it for a week and then gave up on it. 3 weeks later I got a call from some one that they found my canopy in their tree house. I did think it would not be jump worthy after being out in the open for 3 weeks but I am surprised to find it is in very good condition. I was lucky my canopy landed in a tree house. Good luck with your search.

Yesterday, I was doing some HD jumps with a friend. My friend was talking grips on my harness. The exit went well and then I saw my friend point at me and track away. When I looked down..my silver D-Ring Reserve handel was dislodged from its housing and flopping freely. I held on to the silver and deployed..the rest of the dive was uneventful. After looking at the video it was apparent that my friend, let go of his right hand and when he tried to regrip my harness, he just held on to my reserve handel. It could have been much worse but this was a big eye opener for me. I was against getting pads for both cutaway and reserve handel but after this incident I will most certainly get pads for both handles. Be careful people when talking grips or while exiting the plane. Stay safe, G.

THE List '04 WFFC, Rantoul, IL August 6th - 15th BE THERE! Official Website, click here (attempting to keep the dz.commers screen names accurate) jceman and TLML (what a shock, huh?) Keepers of the tent Let's make sure we reserve our rightful place, in a tent on the grounds! Click Here to donate to the Dropzone.com tent and couch fund via PayPal. You may also PM jceman Here for non-electronic forms of donation. This baby costs around $500 minimum, and any extra goes toward seating, packing tarps, lights, ect. Please help out! Gotta be there Free Load organizers get top billing! flyangel2-LO/Gimp's mistress (if he comes) billvon-LO mustard-LO peek-LO SkyBytch-LO snowwhite-Public Relations streaker-The Voice of the WFFC, spectator area Grafico-Got a hand in alot of shite! Martinishotfilm-video mikemullins-Shit~Hot plane and pilot NightJumper-Jump Shack & the Racer Rum Runners PhreeZone-webcam -n- other geek stuff RevJim-Weddings SkymonkeyONE-Bird Man Instruction WFFC-Webmaster Gonna be there airdweller alanab AndyMan Antithesis with Don Julio BIGUN (nightjumps) bmcd308 bobsled92 (Grant G.) bozo craichead Dumpster dzdiva...there to party! eeneR Eiley FallingILweenie FallinWoman flygirl03 hmatousek ifics wOOt!! JnL jumpinjackflash Kai2ki and he will be jumping + the whuffo wife KatieBear21 kris McDuck & (his) Cora mirochristie + a bunch MyOwnWay Paige Rhino-crazy ass pond swooper RoadRash sarge sdgregory sheloopy skycutie skymedic Skyrose7 Sunshine ThighMan Unstable wingnut yardhippie Zeemax BigG Gonna try to be there, Hoping, Praying, and not planning that far ahead chaoskitty DaGimp w/ new outfit DShiznit (and his wife Kelly) freeflir29 indyz Kramer Lee03 markharju + brother n2skdvn taln1rigr tribaltalon turtlespeed Viking

November 2003 at Sebastian, FL...on a very windy day..lost both main and reserve p/c & freebag on cutaway. Looked for them for 3 weeks and then gave up and ordered replacements. Few weeks later some lady called that she found my canopy in her tree house. The canopy was in good condition and is jumpable but never found the reserve p/c. Cutaways can be painful..emotionally...

Try this site...http://www.dvunlimited.com/.

Just wanted to know if anyone jumps a highly loaded Spectre and how are the flight characteristics under such a high (1.4-1.6) wing loading? I am looking for a general all purpose canopy and have a choice of Stiletto 135, Spectre135 and Sabre (original) 135. Any comments appreciated. G.

Right..I have also got an offer on a used Specter 135 in good condition. Anyone have any experience with these during a BM flight. G. Edited to add: What I am thinking of is to get some more BM experience on this main and say within a year or so change over to a more aggressive canopy. Any feed-back would be much appreciated.

Just one more quick question, can any rigger do the dynamic corners mods ? If not, do you know of anyone near Sebastian who can? G.

Did you get any serious line twists or a spanning mal on any of those first 10 jumps?... Just curious to know.. G.

I can't afford two mains at the moment, so will have to stick with one of them. I like the Stiletto and the only reason I am considering a Sabre at this point is cause of the possibility of a spinning mal on the stiletto. Apart from good body position on deployment (with a BM suit), what else can minimize the chances of line twists on a Stiletto? Should I get the extra long bridle p/chute, will that help? G.

Hi, I did first BM jump last weekend at Sebastian with Asaf. Once again thanks a lot Asaf & Chuck for letting me use one of his demo suits. I need to get a main canopy soon (long story!). I am debating weather to get a Stiletto 135 or Sabre (original) 135. My wind loading would be 1.4 on both of these canopys. I have heard about the "spin-letto" effect on the Stiletto and at the same time im aware about the odd spanker of an opening on the Sabre. I plan on mainly doing BM jumps & FF with camera. As far as the landings are concerned I am not too keen on hooking but enjoy the odd swoop for time to time. Any feedback is much appreciated. Blue Skies, G.

Nope..no luck yet Mike. Thanks for the advise, I'll try and work on landing with the rears. G.

Right...how do I learn to land a canopy loaded at 1.4 with the rear risers? Somebody please let me know whats that best way to proceed towards this.... G.

Yeah...I am gona get insurance for sure now. Will they also cover my camera and camera helmet? ...cause that would be the last thing in this world I would ever want to cut away... thanks for info everyone... G. P.S. Any suggestions about which company to go with? State Farm is one..anyother?

I perfectly understand what flyangel is talking about. Any positive feed-back is always welcomed..I am always looking to learn... But sometime some remarks just dont make any sense, sometimes its just a senseless remark which does not really help. What do ya say to them? I don't think she is one. I understand what she is talking about...the senseless smart ass remarks which don't help any one.

Don't know yet James. Guess it will all depend on what I will get on selling my left kidney

Actual mistake #1 maybe, in the chain / sequence of events?? I don't have a problems landing in those winds under a perfectly controllable canopy. Actually my landing with the reserve was kinda sweet...IMHO. The question was with a broken steering line do I want to try landing the main with rear risers which I have not tried before and I decided this was not the time to find out if I can or can not.... I don't know may be I could have..may be not...thats why like I said before the odds were 50/50. The only problems with the wind was anything you chop will not land anywhere near the DZ... Again if this would have happened on a "better" wind day..I would still be in the same situation...Do I try something I have not tried before or why take the chance to find out other wise..... The only +side of low winds would have been my main would have landed on or close to the DZ.. But I see you point as well... P.S. I will get the insurance on my rig so in future I won't waste a sec thinking about the $ consequences.

Does anyone know what sort of Insurance will cover skydiving gear against theft, damage or in case you were to loose your main or reserve p/chute after a cut away? If it helps I live in Florida and rent my place. Thanks in advance. G. P.S. I tried searching the forums before posting this.

I guess I was not sure if I could have landed my canopy with the rear risers or not. Never thought of this situation before but I am glad I did not take the chance to find out at 10-20 feet that this is not entirely my cup of tea. This has been a good learning experience for me. Guess there is always something new to learn that you did not think about before! Thanks for your feed-back, I appreciate it. G.

You all are right and I know that I took the right decision.. I can still remember those few sec before cutaway. It was all so clear..there was absolutely no doubt in my mind...Why take any chance when you have a perfect reserve on your back. Its also not about the money..its that lately some people have been giving me their opinion. You know the type, "If I were you I would..........." and thats giving rise to these doubts in my mind. While we are on this topic, Is it worth chasing the main even if it means an off landing, which again may or may not be dangerous? Thanks everyone for helping me to put these senseless doubts to rest...

Just to add something to my previous post: I understand if the main is un-land-able..then you don't have a choice. But what if there is a 50-50 chance of trying to land it? I knew I could have attempted to land it but i though I could end up hurting myself on landing or could have screwed up the borrowed wing suit.

Last weekend, I had my first CutAway. I was trying out a Wing Suit on this jump. The jump went as per plan, I deployed..no problems. Then I spent some time un-zipping the wings and when I went to un-stow the toggles..my right steering line broke and wrapped around some other lines and started a turn. I took a few sec to think about trying to land with rear risers and decided against it due to several factor..(extremely windy conditions, turbulence, etc.) and chopped my main and landed my reserve safely. Due to the high winds that day, I lost my main and reserve free bag and P/chute. Now after adding up the cost of replacing my main & reserve p/chute, I am starting to question my decision to chop. Should one consider the fact that you could loose your main & reserve p/chute while chopping? If yes, then that would have changed my decision completely. I would like to know what you all think about this. G.

I think AFF is the best option for you. You need in-air assistance. AFF is indeed very expensive in UK but try to find out about other places like Empuribrava in Spain (www.skyrats.com) or Skydive Algarve in Portugal. They are less expensive and with the no.s of jumps you have they may put you straight to level 3. Talk to them and explain them your situation. IT IS DOABLE. John DeRosalia (from his book "Mental Training for Skydiving and life") says that when you think negatively, you are more likely to make the same mistake that you are trying so hard not to make!! Instead think and visualize positively and your body will mimic the same in freefall. Read the book if you can. Skydiving is a very "mind intensive" sport. It requires both your body and mind to work together...so you need to train both of them! The most important thing I could suggest is to trying to relax as much as possible before exit and visualize yourself doing a perfect jump...and it will happen. You must have seen other RW flyers close their eyes on the ride to altitude and do their "funny" moves. Guess what they are doing? Positive visualization! It works…try it. Don't give up… it so going to be worth it once you get your CAT 8! Relax and stay safe!! P.S. Talk to your instructors. They will tell you what you need to work on.

And Ray's supposed to be here too; that'll make 3 BM-I's in da house next weekend. Oh yeah. We will so not be sucking in Sebastian. Thats just SWEET Its seems like it will be raining BMIs next weekend. Great...there is a GOD after all!!! See you all next weekend then... G.