Westerly

L&B says their small is 14cm and their medium is 16cm. They say to size the band 1-2 cm below your wrist size for max comfort. My wrist is 17cm. I am worried that if the medium is 16cm when completely slack, 17cm is going to be too large and it will rotate. Any suggestions? Is going down 3cm to a small going to be uncomfortable? "SIZING: Here are the inside measurements when the band is slack. NOTE: All measurements are measured when the elastic is slack. - Small - 14 cm circumference - Medium - 16 cm circumference - Large - 18 cm circumference - X-Large - 19 cm circumference - XX-Large - 21 cm circumference L&B recommend that it is stretched no more than 1-2 cm for a comfortable fit."

Because it's something that's taught in middle school? Seriously, I took a health class that discussed sex, STDs, pregnancy and the like in 8th grade. Anyone who made it even partway through high school should know the basics about STDs. It's just common knowledge. Not knowing the basic difference between two STDs is like not knowing the difference between a passenger car and an SUV.

Sorry, I misread. Caravan. It was just something I saw them post online and I dident read the whole article.

Perris and Bay Area Skydiving have Skyvans.

Not exactly surprising. iFly doesent exactly have the reputation of being an upstanding business. I've heard a few sorties from former employees...

No, on the contrary, I'm saying that without jobs you can't work. If that's changed over the last two years then great. And maybe, just maybe, it's why places like Ferguson haven't been in the news lately. But despite my being cautiously optimistic it's hard to imagine the manufacturing industry to spring back that quickly. But I won't complain.Currently the US unemployment rate is as low as it has been since around 1968. A few states are posting unemployment numbers so low it's literally a record and they have the lowest unemployment rate in the entire state's recorded history. Whether Trump has much to do with any of this is debatable, but for sure the workforce is doing well at the moment.

Rig for sure.

You might be, it doesent mean the other guy is. I've heard tons of people say 'blah takes about 500' to open' and then when I ask them how they would actually measure that, I have gotten everything from it's just a wild guess based on feeling (whatever that means) to a wide variety of more specific measurement techniques. Point being, it's not standardized and so I am always curious how people measure that. So how do you measure how long the canopy snivels accurately? I dont know of any reliable or easy way to do it. Looking at your altimeter is difficult as the canopy might start sniveling before you know it and then there is a reaction time from when you know it's sniveling to when you look at and process the information on your altimeter. That could take 200' by itself. Altimeters themselves can measure this information, but I've viewed the information on my altimeter for the last 50 jumps or so and it doesn't match what I experience on the jump and so I question the accuracy of the data.

Where I jump wind and turbulence is a legitimate problem. Enough that everyone from the S&TA to master riggers appear to condone higher WLs and suggest downsizing when any jumper is ready. However, I have to ask whether a smaller wing is truly safer in heavy winds. Is a 150 or 135 really that much more resistant to collapse than a 170? Also one has to take into consideration the risks that come with flying a smaller wing against any advantages gained in the wind and look at a holistic view to determine which option is the safest. I fly an airlocked 170 canopy and so I feel like downsizing to a 150 without airlocks is probably less safe than a 170 with airlocks in the wind, but I'm just guessing.

Sounds about right. Before you do any type of solo jump you need to go through the ground school which takes a few hours, but it's not an all day thing. The EPs are the same for most malfunctions. The only malfunctions that have different EPs are horseshoe and two-out malfunctions as well as possibly pilot chute in tow depending on whether you want to go straight for the reserve or cut away first (both are technically acceptable according to the SIM).

Yes there is risk, yes skydiving is dangerous, yes you can be killed or injured even if you do everything right. However, that said the chances of you getting killed skydiving is not very high if you take the training seriously. In the end only you can weigh the risk and reward and make a decision for yourself. A good play is to read the entire SIM and fully understand the information in there. Safety wise, almost all of the basic info you need to know is contained in the SIM. Skydiving will get less scary after you do a few jumps.

Curious what people really mean by that. How do you measure this? Is this the total distance you are falling while the canopy is out of the bag and sniveling, or does this include the time for the PC to inflate, the container to open, bag to lift off, stows to come off, canopy to inflate and then the full distance of the sniveling? Also, I presume you use a digital to measure. An analog wouldent be accurate enough.

It's a damn fine canopy. Very responsive when you want it to be (toggle,front, rear, harness), but if you want to hang out while the others jostle for position in the pattern, it'll do that quite happily. Only had nice openings so far (OK, one line twist but that was my fault). Medium-ish recovery arc (more towards the shorter side of medium). IMO it handles better in turbulent conditions (compared to the Safire 2 and Sabre 2 which I've flown). Not sure if that's down to that "powerband" spanning the nose, but I'm definitely more comfortable with this canopy when it gets bumpy than the others mentioned. I like it, I think if you have the chance to demo one, go for it. thanks for that

And I love the classic look of current Dropzone.com. Could stay like that, for me. I am so used to it. .Yes, many people say that about a lot of things but if we went with that opinion then Windows 95 would still be the latest operating system and we would all be operating on 56k dial-up modems. Tech needs to advance and websites need to get refreshed whether someone likes it or not because it moves us forward as a whole. Many of the websites you enjoy today exist because someone ignored the opinion to leave things alone and they updated it anyway. If you look at other modern BBs, they are a lot more than just a forum. They are an interactive website that serves as a full resource for whatever topic they serve (e.g. automobiles repair or whatever). Legacy bullion boards that just serve as forums are mostly gone now. The only major one I can think of is Redit and to a lesser extent Craigslist. Pretty much every other one has been updated and it's far better now than it was long before.

When is the new website to come online? I love the knowledge on the site and I appreciate that it's online, but the BB code on this website absurdly outdated.

I dont think anyone goes online to build a rig and expects what they get in the mail is going to be absolutely identical in every measurable metric to what they saw online. However, being able to view the rig in a general sense online is huge. Otherwise I am trying to theorize what something might look like in my head and that's not going to be even close to accurate. Like you said, anyone with no skill can build a website. So if a manufacturer can’t even build a reasonable website, how the hell can I trust them to build a parachute system intended to save my life? It's a matter of simple professionalism here. These guys are not selling smoothies. They are selling gear that saves lives and when you operate at that level the expectations are very high and the customers are going to expect that their gear manufacturers are professional in every way.

It's a damn fine canopy. Very responsive when you want it to be (toggle,front, rear, harness), but if you want to hang out while the others jostle for position in the pattern, it'll do that quite happily. Only had nice openings so far (OK, one line twist but that was my fault). Medium-ish recovery arc (more towards the shorter side of medium). IMO it handles better in turbulent conditions (compared to the Safire 2 and Sabre 2 which I've flown). Not sure if that's down to that "powerband" spanning the nose, but I'm definitely more comfortable with this canopy when it gets bumpy than the others mentioned. I like it, I think if you have the chance to demo one, go for it. thanks for that

Some of the resources you list are not available to many skydivers. There are no gear shops anywhere close to where I live. The best I can do is see what other people at the DZ have, and that is exactly what I do. I bought my first rig based in part on what I saw at my DZ. However, even if I am jumping at the largest DZ in the world during the largest event in the world, I will never find the exact color/ fit combination I want in person which is why it's important to have a website that allows you to build and view what your completed rig will look like.

For a company who almost exclusively sells product through online sales, an obsolete website would be a horrible choice. In this day, a professional looking online presence is an absolute must, and for a company who's front-line presence is their website (such as all rig manufacturers), it's absolutely critical. Companies who do not embrace and utilize tech die. Any first year freshmen of any business school can tell you this. Building a solid website is not half as expensive as you think it is and the profit made on a few dozen rigs would be more than sufficient to cover the costs. I agree with the other guy, if I cant build my rig online and see how well it looks, I am out. For someone as expensive as a container, I want to know what it's going to look like and with modern tech in 2018 there is absolutely no reason to expect anything less. I chose my last rig manufacture in part because of how professional looking their website, user manual and everything else was and because their customer service seemed a bit better than the other guys. It was not the main factor, but it added influence. It shows attention to detail and a higher level of professionalism than the other guys which is something I expect from a product that saves my life.

I am not sure this accurately replicates a toggle fire. I have unstowed one toggle while leaving the other stowed and the canopy barely even turned at all. This was with a 170 with a WL of 1.05. At worst, it was a slight spin that wasent even the slightest disorientating. I dont know how a smaller canopy on a higher WL would react, but on large canopies it doesent seem to do much. The OP said he was on a 190 and the toggle fire was enough to cause a hard spin. I was on a smaller canopy than the OP when I tried and it was pretty boring. As such, I suspect a toggle popping off while the canopy is sniveling is not the same as popping one once the slider is down and the canopy is slow.

I would follow whatever the preset DZ landing pattern is. If you are following the rules and they are not by failing to execute a proper pattern, that's on them. I have on occasion extended my downwind leg because I was a bit high, and then circled back for my final. I would not be pissed at the guy behind me for cutting in at the proper distance if I decided to extend my downwind leg. The main thing is just make sure you look over your shoulder before making any turn to ensure you're not about to run into someone. Avoiding a canopy collision is very important.

I am starting to get into basic 4-way. So far I've just worked on turning basic points. I hear some of the more experienced people talking about turning points, blocks and pieces. What is the difference between the three?

It sounds like you did fine, especially for a first cutaway at 66 jumps. Do you have the video you're talking about? I find it helps if I put my hands up on the lines (since that's what I am grabbing anyway to try to fix most problems), that way the altimeter is straight in line visually with the parachute and I can interchangeably look between the main and the altimeter since they are both in the same field of view. Also, FYI you said you opened at 5k and you were under your reserve by 3k. You also said that you normally pull at 3k. If you had pulled at your normal altitude of 3k, you wouldn't be under your reserve until 1k, and if you troubleshoot the issue longer you would be even lower. You might want to take that into consideration and pull at 3.5k or 4k. I never really understood 3k pull altitudes. They can be safe, but if you open in any malfunction you're going to have to cut away. USPA decision altitudes is 2500' for students and A license holders and 1800' for B and above. From physically grabbing my PC handle to fully open, slider fully down, my parachute takes 1200'. That means if I throw the PC at 3k, I am opening at my decision altitude, which means ANY malfunctions, even line twists, needs to get cut immediately. I feel like that's one way to get in a situation where you're cutting too low. You open at 3k, parachute fully open with a low speed malfunction at 2k or slightly lower, you figure it's just line twists so you can handle it, spend a bit of time trying to fix it and now you're at 1500' and you still dont have a good parachute overhead. Now you cut away and you're open under reserve at 800' and too far from the DZ to land. You should already be executing your pattern at this point but you haven't even figured out where you are yet let alone where you're going to land, how you're going to land, ect, ect... It's just a chain of bad events all leading from a low pull altitude. Something to consider.

They look like my Icarus soft links on my main, except mine are white. That's about all I can tell you. I am not sure what's on my Nano as I have not used it, but I would be surprised if they are not soft links.

It looks to me as though the laws he broke put in the slammer. Good; this what we need to do with these scofflaws that think they do not need to comply. Other than that, I do not know what you are trying to say. Jerry Baumchen Enforcement of existing laws is a joke. Depends on where you live. It's not all lackadaisical everywhere. I've seen some very ridiculous sentences handed down for rather minor offenses. People have gotten prison time for stuff that wouldn't even be worth bringing up charges in some areas. In some cases, they have gotten prison time for something that is not even illegal in the next state over. That happens all of the time. For profit prisoning has lead to over sentencing of relatively minor offenses, and took substance and mental health abuse and turned it into a criminal matter so now instead of sending addicts to doctors we send them to prison so they can become career criminals and visitors of the system for life. So yea, you are right, it is a bit of a joke. Just not quite how you think it is.