BenW

Many thanks for all the replies! I've decided to camp but am getting several sleeping bags.... The hire car has been booked, so lifts aren't going to be needed - many thanks for the offer Marc, I'll get you a couple of beers for that! Well, hopefully a load of us can get together and do some jumps in early late December/early January then - maybe set a new dropzone.com international all-comers record??!! Be a while before that one would be beaten! Hopefully I'll see most of you in December! Thanks B.

Nope. FLA here we come! B No MUFF to tough, we dive at five....

It's ok for me to tell her now, because you said "BASE is safer than people think" !! She'll be alright with that kind of logic.... B

3, you can tell my girlfriend that! She can't wait for her AFF in December but sure as eggs, she doesn't want me to BASE!! That'll put her off skydiving, but at least I get to BASE!! B.

Yeah, They protect us from the kind of shit you don't want but you get bad eggs everywhere - there seems to be a whole "out to get motorcyclists" agenda from the police here in the UK. If they spent their time catching rapists and murderers instead of checking to see if you've got a loud exhaust or not, then people would feel a whole lot better towards them! I appreciate the job they do, but I don't appreciate assholes with an axe to grind.... B.

Thanks for the info all! Wingi, see you at Sebastian! I'm probably gonna get a cheap tent from the Wal-Mart to try and save some costs - a couple of sleeping bags too, especially if it's going to be cold! B.

Hi all Florida Jumpers, Well, I've booked my flights and have been looking at hire car costs - for 18 days they want $800!!! AAARRRGGHH!!! That's expensive. I've tried Avis and Hertz by calling their local offices here in the UK but want to try some other companies preferably based in Florida. So, does anyone have any names or numbers of hirecare places that I can call to try and find a cheaper deal? I fly in to Orlando Int. on Dec 26th in the evening, need to drive down to Cape Coral to pick up my rig and then head over to Sebastian. If I can't get any cheaper deals, I'm gonna have to just get a car for the first 2 days and then for a day to get back to the airport at the end of the holiday. ALSO.... I'm looking at camping at the DZ to save some pennies (for my new rig). What is the weather like at this time of year? Where is the cheapest place to buy a tent? I've been looking on the wal-mart website, anyone name any others? Can anybody help? Many thanks Ben

Hello everybodypeeps! A question for those of you who have a heatwave or have jumped and packed one. I am waiting for delivery of a new heatwave and am interested to hear how you pack yours. What works what doesn't etc. I had a Sabre before this which I pro-packed by pushing the nose into the pack job, rolling the hell out of the tail and pulling the slider out over the nose. This gave pretty slow, nice openings. What's the opinion on packing a Heatwave? Ta B.

I've been talking with Kreamer and it looks like he might be coming along too! This has plenty of promise for a great New Year Boogie!!! Wingi, can you do some more t-shirts? Get me a large or XL for next time huh? Damn, that things tighter than my purple pimp suit! Got a new RW suit now - with booties and everything... You'll see just how crap I really can be! B.

Marc, Mike, Andrea, Phree, Wingi, We should get together and set another DZ.com record, have some chilled ones and have fun! Where we gonna meet? When? I pick my rig up from Rigs n Things on the 27th. My girlfriend is doing AFF at Sebastian for the holiday, so I'll be hanging around there mostly but will travel somewhere else for a bit of a mini-boogie! Remi; Fancy meeting up at Sebastian? We could get at least an 8 way going here - definately the new record! Kris, I'm definately stalking you... Nice choice of canopies huh!! You on a 150 too? Ben

Hi P! I've been here lurking, but there hasn't been much that I've cared to have an input on! Some interesting stuff to read, but nothing that I've had an opinion on - amazing huh? Glad to hear you and Big M are ok. B

Chuck, I'm going to be arriving in Florida on Dec 26th and staying for 18 days. Will mainly be jumping at Sebastian but will probably visit a few other places too. Anyone going to be around for jumps and then some beers? B

WOOHOO!! I've just sent in the order forms for my new rig! Gonna be picking it up at Christmas when I get to Florida! I've ordered an articulated Wings with a Heatwave 150 and a Tempo 170 reserve. Boy, am I going to be counting the days till then!!! B. p.s I'm loading it at 1.35 - this should keep all but the most hate spewing canopy nazis happy! j/k Lisa

Hey Winger, As they say "UP MY NOOOOOSE!" On an entirely different subject, as you and I will be in FL at New Year, why don't we have another DZ.com boogie in FL?? Sounds like a good idea to me! B.

Remi! How's things? The more I look into this subject the more it interests me! You jump Spinetto 150? What ring system do you have? I know you've had a reserve ride you didn't pull, but what about a self initiated one? Easy, difficult? Ta B

Sorry to bother you all again! I've been bandying a few more numbers around in my head, I won't bore you with the maths (I've taken into account what Dan said about the total load on one side being applied to the 3 rings on that side) but I've worked out the following: This is assuming a reduction ratio of 30:1 for the mini-ring set, rather than the 50:1 some talk of. Also assuming the opening shock is 75% asymmetrical between the two riser sides. Taking an arbitrary 6G (with a 210lb jumper) transient during the opening shock of a v.hard opening, approx 31.5lbs of force trys to pull the teflon cable through the grommet. Bearing in mind that this is a transient (very sharp) load, is this enough to kink the cable and make cutting away difficult, if not impossible on that side? Thanks Ben

Thanks for the replies everyone, Dan, you were talking about a transient load kinking the cutaway cable. I take it this is in the situation of a slamming opening where the transient could be much higher than 3G transmitted through the 3 ring to the cutaway cables. How much of a likelyhood is this? I understand that my previous scenario only covered a normal opening and a subsequent spinning mal which would produce the sustained load on the cable. Is no-one worried about their cutaway cables being damaged during a v.hard opening? Would this hard an opening leave you unconscious anyway? Does anybody know who has done any research on this? Many thanks Ben

Dan, You are right, a kink formed by a transient load may prevent a cutaway in this type of situation. So, does this mean that you advocate the larger ring mechanism? What type do you jump? Thanks Ben

Kev, The narrower risers allow for less drag, if you're a super swooper this might be of importance to you. I'm just wondering if everybody who uses mini-rings knows what the issues are for them... Before I buy, I want my ideas to be confirmed or denied! Someone got any reliable info on this? B.

Hi all, This has been asked before and I'm sure it will be again. I've also read through the previous posts on this subject. I am in the process of ordering a new container/harness system and am debating the pros and cons of the standard 3 ring release (Bill Booth type) vs the now ubiquitous mini-ring set. I understand the physics of it relating to the mechanical advantage differences (200:1 vs 30:1). The Relative Workshop and Jump Shack have written some informative articles on Type 17, Type 8 risers and the 3 ring system. The breaking point for Type 17 is neither here nor there in comparison to Type 8. What concerns me is the opportunity for a high speed spinning malfunction causing a no-pull/hard-pull situation. I've cutaway from a spinning mal on my previous rig which had Type 17 and mini-rings with no problem. That was my first rig (2nd hand), so didn't have a choice in what the rig came. Now I do. I'm interested in what the riggers or larger guys on the forum (I'm 210lbs out the door), who HAVE cutaway from a spinning mal with the mini-rings, have to say about them. Would you go for the standard 3 rings next time? Here are the figures I've been pushing around in my head: 210lb jumper in a 3G spin = 630lbs of force being exerted on risers. Assume 75% of that force is being exerted on one side of the harness due to the spin. Also assume that the weight distribution between front and rear is 50/50. This gives a force on the highest loaded front riser of (630*0.75)/2=236.25lbs. So, 236lbs of force at the riser will equate to a load on the smallest ring of 236/200=1.181lbs for the large ring set. Using the same figures for the mini-rings @ 30:1 gives 7.86lbs. This force is acting upon the teflon cable. The load on the other riser is going to be 78.75lbs. At the cable we're going to see 0.39lbs for Large and 2.625 for mini. A load of 10.485lbs (mini) on the teflon cables doesn't seem that large. Granted, I've worked this out in a very simple way and to get the teflon cables moving you will require a force significantly greater than the 10.485lbs, plus you need to add in friction for the rest of the system. Maybe we're looking at 25 or so lbs (arbitrary figure). Is 25lbs a reasonable figure to expect? So, to finalise (I've bored loads of you shitless), has anyone been in a situation where they couldn't cutaway from a spinning mal using mini-rings? Thanks for bearing with me..... Ben.

Hey PP! Glad to hear you're both in the air again! GO BIG M!!! Happy to hear that we aren't going to lose the both of you from the sport too! Blue skies to you kids! B.

If there's a 400 jump limit, I don't wanna be jumping anyway! Jumping with a camera before 200 jumps - ooh you BAD boy.... Glad to hear you're having fun! Tube jumps are fun aren't they!!! stay safe, B.

Is this a troll?? If not, have you done your AFF or static line progression course? I suggest you talk to your instructors who can explain what everything is whilst showing the items in question to you.... B.

YOU NEVER DO ANY WORK. BA$TARD. I WANNA JUMP SOME BALLOONS TOO. B.

Kreamer, You can't even get faiwynut right!!! B,