beezyshaw

Yes, I saw the pics. Back when JYRO was first perfecting the fx and Charlie Mullins and me were involved in lots of testing, we talked about that project and we kept trying to convice JYRO to build one for us. Never happened for another 7 years or so, but it did finally happen. I would really like to put some jumps on that canopy, but I seriously doubt that it's the perfect tandem canopy. But who knows, in another few years with some design tweaking and such it just might be we look back thinking "remember when we were afraid to jump tandems with a cross brace?"

First off, I'll bet that with more jumps your infatuation with doing spirals with a canopy tapers off; you'll become addicted to other aspects of your jump. And I'm sure you already know that your first canopy purchase will be a far cry from a cross braced wing, for the simple reason that the largest cross braces are in the 120'ish size range.

I got you there, Eric, I'd been jumping for about 25 years before I broke down and got a D license; I was forced to because of some FAI requirement thing for some event. Back in the day, there wasn't anything you needed a D for that you couldn't do with a C, so I never bothered. A 3393 C 8694 D 18327 (not much bragging rights with a number like that, huh? )

Talk about making you feel like an old-timer...I like to sign logbooks with my A license number, just for fun; it makes people walk away looking at their logbook going "wow, he only has an A license?". "Beezy Shaw, A 3393"

Sometimes it's better if a boy hears it at a young age...

Speaking of the stages of life...

Off the subject, but if you make contact with your tandems, it should be with the passenger, not the tandem pilot. I'm surprised that hasn't been mentioned to you after such a jump. Now, back to your regularly scheduled program: When starting out, as in first camera flying from an intermediate level jumper, I would recommend something like a .6 lens, as you can fill the frame well without flying too close. Perfect for zooming around the sky with your buddies or learning to shoot FS like 4 way. Then, for those same type jumps about a .45 or .4 is a good lens as you gain experience and are able to fly closer to your subjects with no safety concerns. This lens range is also a good choice for tandems. There are lots of camera flyers that opt for a .3 for tandems, but I strongly feel that you must really get "too" close with a .3 I don't generally want camera people that close to my student's face, it can sort of freak them out. They have a much better time looking at the camera from a few feet back like a .45 would require. And the safety concerns of proximity during deployment are another reason not to be too close to your tandem you're shooting. If, like another poster suggested, you're talking about a hand-cam glove and not meaning "handycam" (as in Sony brand cameras) then the .3 is the longest lens you should consider (I have hundreds of jumps with a Diamond .3 and love that lens) but more and more are now using the .25 for wider field of view than you can get with a .3 lens. Edit: I see that the original poster has a bunch of jumps, so you're obviously meaning "handcam" not "handycam", so see my comments above. Oh, and since I see "apf" in your profile, now I get it; why do the ausie's insist on saying "handycam"? Oh well, them fellers down yonder just sorta talk funny But I'm going to leave all the first part of my post up there for those low-timers that might read it.

No, no, no. I can tell you from many years of experience in environments of both controlled testing as well as real-world skydiving, that you can leave a canopy (either zp or 0-3 type fabric) packed for a long, long time without any adverse (or even noticeable) differences in opening characteristics. I've seen reserves deployed completely normally that have been packed for 6 or 7 years, and I've seen pilot emergency rigs tested that opened just fine that were packed for much longer than that. Even though when you remove a new zp canopy from the d bag and it seems to "stick together" when you shake it around, it will open completely normally. There is a world of difference in holding a canopy by the lines standing on the ground and taking that canopy out of its deployment bag at 120 mph. To the poster that said that the "brick effect" was concerning zp canopies, that is not true. That term originated years ago from some concerns about certain fabric that was used in the manufacture of reserve canopies. The company I was with at the time replaced many of those reserves, as they literally were stuck together like a brick when removed from the freebag and riggers refused to pack them. But upon test drops on the very worst of those canopies, it was found that deployments were completely normal. So, not trying to be a hard-ass, BUT...when you guys without any more than just a "hunch" make statements as if they were fact, PLEASE give your opinions, but don't act like you have some sort of empirical data to support what you say. Again, not picking on this poster in particular, but there is just way too much mis-information shared on dz.com.

If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as to sway juries and make people think clearly. The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday, 12/18/05. CHARLES OSGOOD, host: We all have our own thoughts about the holidays. Here's Ben Stein with his. BEN STEIN: Here at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart. I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I'm buying my dog biscuits. I still don't know. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores who they are. They don't know who Nick and Jessica are, either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they've broken up? Why are they so darned important? I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I don't care at all about Tom Cruise's baby. Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I'm a subversive? Maybe. But I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are. Is this what it means to be no longer young? Hm, not so bad. Next confession: I am a Jew and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish, and it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautifully lit-up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are — Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they're slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. I shows that we're all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me one bit that there's a manger scene on display at a key intersection at my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, fine. The menorah a few hundred yards away is fine, too. I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way. Where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and aren't allowed to worship God as we understand him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we used to know went to.

Lisun heah now, I'm uh gunna meet y'all back thar buhind that thar hangar down thar tuh thuh farm then me in sum uh the boyz iz gunna whup that smart-mouthed ass uh yern till ye learn a little more respect fer ye elders, yoo got dat, boy?

Why don't you just turn the hands on the clock back a few years and I'll meet you behind the hangar at the farm and we'll just have us a good 'ole ass whupin'? But let me demonstrate my point, if Skinny could talk right, maybe he'd be doin' something besides mowing lawns

Scenario: Jack pulls into school parking lot with rifle in gun rack. 1973 Vice Principal comes over, takes a look at Jack's rifle, goes to his car and gets his to show Jack. 2006 School goes into lockdown, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers. ++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fist fight after school. 1973 Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up best friends. Nobody goes to jail, nobody arrested, nobody expelled. 2006 Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students. 1973 Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by Principal. Sits still in class. 2006 Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his father's car and his Dad gives him a whipping. 1973 Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman. 2006 Billy's Dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. Billy's sister is told by state psychologist that she remembers being abused herself and their Dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some headache medicine to school. 1973 Mark shares headache medicine with Principal out on the smoking dock. 2006 Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Mary turns up pregnant. 1973 5 High School Boys leave town. Mary does her senior year at a special school for expectant mothers. 2006 Middle School Counselor calls Planned Parenthood, who notifies the ACLU. Mary is driven to the next state over and gets an abortion without her parent's consent or knowledge. Mary given condoms and told to be more careful next time. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Pedro fails high school English. 1973 Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college. 2006: Pedro's cause is taken up by state democratic party. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he can't speak English. +++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed. 1973 Ants die. 2006 BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again. +++++++++++++++++++++ Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary, hugs him to comfort him. 1973 - In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing. 2006 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison.

I strongly feel that allowing the student to pull, steer, and flair the tandem canopy does give the student (notice I said "student" not "passenger") an increased sense of accomplishment over the more "non-instructional" type of tandems. And the end result of this is clear...your dz will have a much higher return rate for AFF if you actually treat tandem jumping as a method of instruction. I've done tandems for several drop zones, and at the one dz in particular that was adamant about using tandem as instruction, the numbers of returning students was very noticeable. So for dz's that want tandems, tandems, tandems, just throw 'em in the plane and toss drogues; if you want to keep this sport growing (or I should say to once again START growing), then treat every first jumper as a real student and you'll soon be holding AFF courses at your dz to keep up with demand.

I went to the Precision website and took my information from the only documents concerning the R-Max that I could find. Same thing with the Icarus website. If those canopies are certified to the required weights, they failed to document those facts on any of their web content. So if Icarus and Precision's reserves are all max'd at at least 220 lbs, I stand corrected. I stick by my second point, that I doubt if any of the small reserves can actually pass the requirements concerning rate of decent and total velocity, and people like Manley Butler would strongly agree with me on that. Edit: The attached documents were all I found on Icarus' and Precision's websites as far as specs of their reserve go.

I was just doing some reading concerning certification and required testing and documentation of reserve canopies manufactured under TSO-C23d. I have been involved in manufacturing canopies for many years, but as many know I am now only involved with the mfr/distribution of main canopies. Anyway, as I was reading the documents for TSO approval, I came across a very interesting requirement that started me digging a little bit into just how "legal" certain reserve canopies may actually be... So, according to that statement, these tiny reserves on the market today MUST be certified to no less than 220 lbs, yet on some documentation I see maximum weights of far less than that number. It seems that PD and Aerodyne's canopies comply with the requirement, but looking at the Icarus reserve and the Precision R-Max, they show maximum weights for their smaller sizes less than the required 220 lbs. While PD and Aerodyne "recommend" maximum weights far less than 220 for their smaller canopies, they do actually state that the canopies have maximums that meet the TSO requirement. Now, I'm familiar with the argument that these lower weights are to keep these canopies in compliance with the canopy velocity/rate of decent limitations, but that argument is not valid; the way I interpret the requirements, these reserves must meet rate of decent and total velocity limits at no less than 220 lbs, not some arbitrary number the manufacturer assigns. And the above TSO requirement brings me to my next point. I have my doubts about the ability of ANY these companies' smallest reserve canopies to meet the above criteria. Even though the documentation and required placards indicate that a PD and Aerodyne 99 are "legal" reserves, I cannot believe those canopies can have slow enough decent rate and total velocity at a suspended weight of 220 lbs. http://www.precision.aero/OrderForms/QGZ%20Order%20Form%20r-Max.pdf http://www.performancedesigns.com/docs/Reserve-Flight-Char-v3.pdf http://www.icaruscanopies.aero/canopies/Reserve/index.htm http://www.flyaerodyne.com/fly/products/smartSelector.asp

Many skydivers who've been around a long time will remember the late Bill Younger. As I remember the story about his name, he was born Bill Older, then legally changed his name, and the quote above is very close to what he told the court as why he wanted to change is name.

On a Nitro or Blade, there are 36 suspension lines, 8 upper control lines, and of course 2 lower control lines, for a total of 94 finger-trapped sections and 94 passes under a sewing machine. So, considering the entire process, start to finish (including installing on the canopy), one person can do 2 canopies in an 8-hour work day. Now, in a more assembly-line fashion of a factory that would split the tasks among more people and such, it would probably be more like an average of 4 canopies per day per person involved. But productivity is much less when you "multi-task" like a typical rigger would do.

The psycho pack IS packing, not some lame substitute for packing. It is, for those that learn and use the method properly, a great tool to aid in keeping everything where it is supposed to be during packing; and it helps in bagging as well, of course. Your reasoning is a bit like me saying if you use a pull up cord you're a big woosy. Just pull the flaps like a man and get that loop fed through those grommets the tough way. Or why would you use a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom and dustpan? Since the development of psycho packing, I have packed countless thousands of demo canopies that way, shown hundreds of people how to do it (with many compliments and thanks from jumpers even years later), and I have packed my own sport and tandem mains without any malfunctions or canopy wear or damage. To the original poster, you don't need a bridle extension; simply pull the attachment point of your canopy out of the roll far enough to allow fully cocking the pilot chute. We originally thought the extension to be important, but time and experience have shown otherwise.

Hey Gus, I think I want to contract my lineset manufacturing to your loft!

The Nitro was designed by the late Klauss Schenk in Germany. Pascal worked closely with/for Klauss. After Klauss' death, Pascal and a couple of others in Germany continued on with sales of the Nitro and we formed a loose partnership, my company being HiPerUSA. The Nitro2 you have was an experiment; Pascal was interested in moving the production of our canopies to another sewing facility and adding a big design to the surface of the canopy, but the airfoil and line trim were identical. The design added so much pack volume that the idea was scrapped. Sewing was never moved to the trial company for verious reasons. So, the Nitro remains as it always has been, manufactured where it always was, and this "Nitro2" is a one-off prototype that you ended up with somehow.

THAT is a helluva video. I've always thought the NP expedition was kinda nutty, but after watching that, it looks like the experience and memory of a lifetime. Wow, that would be "cool" to do.

This explains the purpose of Tequila. Sorry I can't send it in sign language, Billy Maybe just turn your speakers up really loud http://www.hiperusa.com/Tequila.mp3

"Pull the other chute, pull the other chute,"... That line cracks me up TV is so freakin' wuffo

I searched but didn't find it already posted. So, EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!

I dunno, but I think it's really magic... http://www.hiperusa.com/MagicQuarter.wmv