jeiber

You're exactly right, it isn't made for skydiving. I believe there's even a warning on the mount that says it's for cameras under something like 8 lbs, or so.

The 'ol Force = Mass x Acceleration, (well, deceleration in this case
They sure are convenient mounts though!.

J

With winds at 20+ (not that often), the canopy seems to react totally different in a dive. As I said before, this could be an illusion, I'm not sure. That's why I'm asking....

The other 95% of the time, when winds are 15 or less, the canopy *seems* to recover normally. Unfortunately, try as I might, I can't control the weather, so my experience with high wind approaches is limited to what mother nature provides. Forgive the 'EVERY' exaggeration, I wanted to emphasize the point that I feel it's more than a coincidence. Don't take this too literally....

To answer your question, yes, I did discuss two completely different situations in one message.

My question is NOT, 'Why do I continue to dive while holding my risers on a windy day?' Duh... When I let off the risers, the canopy doesn't seem to recover as fast with a strong headwinds. As a result, I'm going to toggles at a point where I normally don't need to.

My ideas are this:
1) My airspeed is still high, compared to a much lower groundspeed. The lack of groundspeed is creating an illusion, and I'm holding my risers a little longer than I should.

2) The headwind is pushing against the top of the canopy, slowing the natural recovery.

3) It's pure coincidence that I've had bad approaches in the higher wind, and there's no relevance to wind and the canopy's flight characteristics.

DiabloPilot, I'm curious to hear your perspective.

J

I use a laser pointer as well. I stole the idea from someone else...

It works well, particularly because I use the paper doughnut on the goggles method.

Not very professional, but it works for me.

J

Well, let me start off by saying that I'm very much a newbie as well. Take what I'm saying with extreme caution, and hopefully someone will quickly correct me if I say something wrong...

I was having the same problem with my Sabre2 (loaded at 1.5) until recently. My problem was that I was pulling a front riser down too slow, then slowly pulling the other front until both risers were even, to lose altitute - front riser pressure was too much to hold, and I would usually end up overshooting my target.

Mentors told me to pull my front riser faster and harder , which brought me more horizontal with the canopy, and I've found that I can make adjustments with the other riser before pressure builds up. The more horizontal I am with the canopy, the easier it is to make dive angle and heading adjustments. If I'm high, I pull the opposite riser to lose alti as soon as possible. Once my canopy enters it's recovery arc, there's no fighting the riser pressure, so I've learned to make adjustments early on, and let the canopy plane itself out.

This may not be guidance for an 'efficient' swoop, but it's how I've dealt with poor setups as I'm learning. Comments and criticism welcome.

Just out of curiousity, does you're Sabre2 seem to dive faster/longer on days with stronger winds? I find myself digging out of dives EVERY time it's windy... my friends say they've never noticed it on their Velocity's, but that could be due to a number of design differences. Dunno, maybe it's an illusion...

J

So where is SoBe at anyway? I can guess FL, but specifically, what part?

Jeff

There's just something unique about that sickeningly empty feeling in your stomach at the moment you realize something is going very wrong!

J

I have a Kurupee suit and overall I like it. My original suit wasn't nearly baggy enough (yes, I specified a baggy fit), so I returned it after putting some jumps on it. A few weeks later, I received a completely new suit, with added fabric on the arms and legs. Quality of the fabric was improved on the new suit as well.
Unfortunately the sewing machine seemed to stray at times, leaving sections of open fabric, and velcro that is coming loose. AFter ~150 jumps the teeth on the zipper began falling out, so I had to have this replaced as well.

Although I've had problems, I get lots of compliments on the design, and I didn't pay a fortune for a nice looking suit.

Two friends bought freefly pants from Kurupee, and they love them. The free t-shirt and stickers were a nice touch too!
Keep in mind my comments are based on a suit that's a year old. Kurupee may have fixed the problems I have.

Jeff

Actually, the only difference between a linear polarizer and a circular polarizer is that the circular has two layers, a circular behind a linear layer (I think that's the order, I forget).

In any case, the circular should be used on AF cameras to ensure focusing and light metering are correct. Although I tried both on my F100 and didn't see a difference, linears can potentially cause focusing and metering problems on AF cameras. Looking at both filters, they are visually indistinguishable.

A very common misconception is that the 'circular' characteristic eliminates the need to adjust the ring in relation to the suns position. Not true - they don't put the rotating ring on there for fun!

Jeff

No, I don't use my F100 for skydiving. IMHO, there's no need to risk an expensive camera with tons of functionality, when none of the features are usefull for skydiving. I use an old N2000, manual focus as a skydiving camera. With a relatively small aperature, everything is in focus anyway, so the AF isn't any issue.

The lens is the piece of equipment that most influences the quality of the picture. Personally, I use a Nikkor 28mm f2.8 AF lens.

In regards to the polarizing filter, I would suggest orienting it on the ground, noting where the sun is, then positioning yourself in the same position in freefall.

If you don't use a polarizing filter, I highly recommend using a UV filter, just to protect the lens itself. Most of today's film doesn't react to UV light, so don't expect colors to look any different.

Good luck!
Jeff

ps- sorry for the delay, been busy!

Hmmm. You might want to check on this. Circular polarizers are actually 'two layer' polarizers. One linear, with a circular behind it (or other way around.... I forget).

I'm pretty sure most, if not all, circular polarizers still require orientation. Circular polarizers help out with metering and focusing TTL on AF cameras. I used a linear on my F100 for a while without problem, but changed to a circular so Murphy wouldn't strike in that once in a lifetime photo.

I imagine it helps ensure accuracy on 'D' lenses as well, but I'm just speculating now.

Jeff

Read up on DVD info at www.dvdrhelp.com. There's really good info here regarding compatibility.

I have a Pioneer 106D and love it.

Jeff

I've got a Sabre2 loaded at 1.45. Do your comments apply to the Sabre2 as well?

Any other comments on swooping with the above canopy? My straight on front riser dives have gone very well, so i'm moving on to 90 degree front riser turns next, as well as getting on my rear risers for a little extra distance. Suggestions?