OldGregg

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Everything posted by OldGregg

  1. I checked where you were just in case you were in the US to tell you not to bother buying something overseas, but low and behold you're in MK, I've been there :) Anyway yeah in the US PayPal is solid, you do the goods and services transaction though and there is I think a 3% fee. But when it arrives, if something is wrong, first you have to try and sort it out with the seller, if that doesn't work you file a report with PayPal, in my experience they don't mess around, I've gotten a full refund before even though the seller vanished. They will even cover it if you never receive anything. But if the package is damaged, that is on shipping insurance, not PayPal. Anyhow, 50% up front and 50% after delivery is how I like to do things. Doesn't protect you from a 100% "you don't even receive a package" scam, but deters people from sending "not as advertised goods." I also like to call their home DZ and make sure they exist and that they haven't gotten a reputation for being sketchy. Just call manifest and say "hey, I'm buying a canopy from Mr. X, is he good for it?"
  2. Just as an FYI, some shops have "torque limiting extensions" aka "torque sticks" and the MO is indeed to hold the impact wrench on until it stops turning. (The torque stick flexes and won't allow torque beyond what it's specified for, at least with an impact wrench where there is a twist and release component; they don't work with a manual wrench; I mean, you can use them that way, but they just become a regular extension at that point).
  3. Hey, so yeah I don't think there would be much difference between the 280 and 260, not enough to matter anyway. But ask your instructors (and for the love of God don't tell them you got advice on here or I told you it would be ok, they will treat you like an idiot for a very long time if you do), they may want to err on the side of caution, which is fine, and if they want you to put 10-20 jumps on a 280, that doesn't change much for you. My memory of going from the 300 to the 260 was a "moderate" increase in speed (we didn't have a 280 so I've never jumped one). I'm not going to argue with anyone on here, but basically what you're experiencing with the slow reaction time of the 300 (which is correct, it takes a good little bit to respond) is probably a combination of 3 things, the Nav is a good student canopy, but it kinda flys like a dog, second the bigger the canopy (at least in the 150+ range) the longer the lines, meaning the greater the pendulum swing when you start the flare necessary to change the angle of attack (more distance to cover to change the angle of attack means it takes longer to happen), third, and contributing to both of the previous things, is the 300 is slooowww, which means all that stuff gets exaggerated even more. There are two big take aways here, 1- take a canopy course (best if from a professional group like Flight-1 or the Bartholomews (aka AlterEgo) but if you take one at your DZ that is better than nothing. 2- the biggest part of the flare is changing the angle of attack of the wing, it bites more air and generates more lift, but it can only do that temporarily before it starts to sink again (why timing is important), what happens when you pull the toggles is you increase drag on the canopy (it slows down), then your body starts to swing out in front of it, thus making it "pitch up" for lack of a better word, that is what is generating the majority of the lift. The harder and faster you pull the toggles, the faster the canopy slows down (oxymoron I know) in relation to your body, so the faster and the greater the change in AOA, thus a "stronger" flare. But on the 300, both you and the canopy are going pretty darn slow, so there isn't a lot of energy to work with. Play with it up high. Also, Google some basic fixed wing aerodynamics, just remember you don't have an engine so whenever you do something that makes you lose energy, the only way to get it back is to fly faster toward the ground (which the canopy does for you thanks to physics and geometry; that's the surge you feel when you flare and then release, up high of course ;) ).
  4. Being slow and flaoty isn't the best way to wingsuit. Power comes from speed. NOT TRUE if that's what you are looking to get out of WS flying. It is certainly not advised for terrain flying though. Cheers Craig Craig, I'll acknowledge your nearly 2,000 BASE jumps and 4 digit D license, but everything out there from any "authority" in WS BASE seems to state otherwise (referencing the links that birdynamnam posted in addition to the information the SQ has released on the subject that agrees with it). See "Myth 2" . Or is there a miscommunication somewhere?
  5. I know almost nothing about speed skydiving, but what about rigging a sport container like a tandem, PC as a drogue, then have a PC release? Or would that be a death trap?
  6. First of all, you'll be exceeding the 1:1 wing loading maximum generally recommended for
  7. I've seen a Ghost 1 over the shoulder zipper fail during a jump, the arm wing slid down the jumpers right arm are pretty considerably. He managed to pull ok and deal with it in flight, I don't remember if he pulled his arm through the shoulder or just unzipped it like normal after deployment though. I use these on my arms to make it easier to unzip, have had them for over 3 years now and still happy with them; doesn't do anything for a zipper failure though.
  8. Just as a btw, you may not be able to notice a big difference on your P3 (don't get discouraged), when I was learning I couldn't. The effect seems to be a lot more substantial above the "intermediate range." So like the next step up from a Havok/Funk/R-Bird. In the big suit range the effect is extreme by comparison (for me it feels absolutely demonstratively different). And for me anyway, I can't make max glide immediately after exit, it takes 10-15 seconds of flying steeper to build up speed. I'm not versed enough in aerodynamics to explain it (or even properly understand it) but my impression is there is a IAS barrier that has to be exceeded to achieve max glide, and that is faster than a good cut on exit, so you have to accelerate before you can glide maximally; or maybe I'm just a crappy wingsuiter.
  9. Everyone's anatomy is a little different, how a helmet and earplugs fit will vary (and some folks can clear their ears very easily while others struggle with it a lot). Wearing a helmet that covers the ears without ear plugs is better than nothing at all, and depending on the helmet, might be almost as good. I wear disposable earplugs on the way up, then stuff them in my empty audible pocket when I put my helmet on (G3 so 2 pockets) during the transition you can really appreciate how loud the plane is, uncomfortably so to me at least, especially door rattle (roll up type like on caravans and otters at least). If I'm just doing a hop and pop, I wear my helmet with no ear plugs for the whole plane ride. The difference between helmet alone, and earplugs alone is noticeable, but doesn't seem significant. I've tried wearing earplugs with my helmet up and down and it is too muffled for my taste (I can't hear anything in the plane, even if someone yells at me), and then my audible becomes hard to hear in freefall too.
  10. Think about it like this (imagine the necessary leaf and paper airplane to make it work), a leaf falls more slowly (spends more time in the air) than a paper airplane, but the paper airplane travels much further along the ground. Speed = lift, which = glide ratio; but speed is always going to mean you're going down fast too since we don't have an engine. From personal experience, in a big suit, my max glide is about 60mph vertical, minimum sink is about 30mph vertical.
  11. One tip I learned from a tiling friend. When you start, square it from the center, start there and work out (Like chalk the middle + then run to a wall and work out with whole pieces, then go back and do the edges (lots of cutting) if the junction with the walls aren't square, it is hard to notice and can be covered with trim, but if they are crooked in the middle of the floor it is hard to miss. i.e. if the wall isn't square you can get the lines and pattern slanted in relation to the room, makes it look weird. Probably a lot of YouTube videos about it.
  12. I can't speak to static-line/round, but I did break my fibula and dislocate my ankle requiring open reduction and fixation. Getting back to jumping took about 6 months. I PT'd very hard but avoided running due to the impact (hello elliptical machine). Lots of other stuff you can do too, pronation/supination and dorsiflexion/plantar flexion with resistance bands or weights, also Bosu ball and ladder drills to get the strength and stability back. Anyway, I practiced PLFs by running off of a picnic table, when I was ok with that I decided to jump again. The stiffness I experienced too, it continued to improve for 2-3 years and now seems to have stabilized (it use to be every morning for more than a year). I don't even notice it most days now, but after a long hike I pay for it the next day. My only other lasting effect (unless I develop arthritis early) is reduced range of motion, climbing up a steep grade I have to hike on the balls of my feet, I can't make my heel touch the ground. I won't say don't jump, but from everything I've seen and heard, static-line/round is brutal, especially for bigger guys. I've had the opportunity but after watching a 150lb girl land like a bag of rocks decided it probably wasn't a good idea. Airborne has destroyed a lot of knees and ankles, and the VA isn't the best once you get out; so take the long term implications into account in your decision to continue static line jumping with a round or (square T11). Also, the implications for another break are not good, then the docs start talking about fixing the ankle, which means zero movement, I've known one person who had it and he talked, not jokingly, about having his foot amputated; he said everything but a stroll was painful and awkward. And everything I've read online from people who say they've had an ankle fixed is not good. If you want to chat about recovery and whatnot feel free to send me a PM.
  13. I've had mixed results with my A6300 (some of it may be user error) but lots of little things play a part like SD write speed for the 4k stuff and autofocus vs manual focus. But for the money, you can get something comparable in quality for a lot less money. 4k is cute, but few displays can show it adequately, and it is a pain to edit. 1080p is plenty good for almost all applications.
  14. A British (BPA) rating system for wingsuiting, has steps, like how many people you should fly with, what type of flying you are capable of etc. They require 500 jumps to WS I think because... lol who knows. Anyway, as was hinted at before, if you plan on jumping big suits, speed is the new hotness. It offers you a lot more energy to play with and speed=lift, at least with bigger suits (you probably won't feel it as much on your P3). The P3 is freakin fantastic though, it is an awesome platform to learn a lot on. The biggest things to focus on to pay off in the future are basic aerobatics like rolls and stable back flying, getting comfortable flying unstable, and then of course, going steep and fast. Slow and floaty is kinda on the outs unless you just like it or if it's for a competition. But to answer you question, learning to fly slow and floaty is a worthwhile skill, and you should be able to approach 120 seconds in a P3 at that weight, but don't fixate on time (I remember being pumped when I could break 2 min consistently, but it isn't something worth putting a lot of effort into).