linestretch

I still flat pack reserves....though it ends up like a pro pack all stacked on the nose. my pics & stuff!

I totally agree with all what was said above. In addition, the front riser turning I don't see happening. Any front riser input like will cause the canopy to frontal...they just fly totally different. I'm sure that's due to a combination of the lighter wing loading and the angle of attack being much different than skydiving canopies. Pulling those outer A's like in the video will put give you what's called big ears...or something similar to it. There goes all your lift. my pics & stuff!

Anyone have an easy (free) fix for this? I have a couple of videos on my hero4 that are corrupt and I'd really like to have them. When I landed the gopro gave me the 'SD ERROR'....not sure what that means. But the file size leads me to believe that there's something there. my pics & stuff!

looks pretty similar to mine but I was prepared with the tripod and monster lens on a cropped body. Pretty stoked over this. my pics & stuff!

It's my understanding that you ONLY need this if you yourself are looking at the sun, or you're using a telephoto lens. With the a wide angle lens we often get the sun in the shot and as long as the camera isn't just staring at the eclipse it's not an issue. If you're going to put the camera on a tripod and get shots of the sun then yes...you probably should have the filter regardless of the lens. The filter is so friggin dark that nothing else will come thru so having the filter will really make it useless for anything else in the shot. The 2 attached are from last night trying out the filter on a 500mm lens on a cropped sensor camera. And someone already stated, once in totality you can remove the filter (and should) to view it. my pics & stuff!

Thanks for the info....all makes sense to me. my pics & stuff!

Mick, I have a couple of questions about the rig as well...hopefully you don't mind answering; - did the fatality surrounding the grommet impact the business and decision to wrap it up? - and the extra pilot chute (catapult)...to me it seemed like a good idea but I've heard people bad talk it and if I recall correctly there's a SB that allowed it to be removed (I'm going off of memory on that last part...). Can you shed some light on that as well? I always thought of it similar to the 'pockets' on some of the rigging innovation rigs. I never had a problem with the rig, in fact I liked packing them. But half assed rigging really made the rig look so much worse and didn't help the attitude towards pop-top rigs. my pics & stuff!

On a teeny wings where the reserve PC cap has the same diameter as the width of the reserve tray - a small wrinkle in one of the ears would hardly be considered a shitty pack job. I think the problem is when the reserve PC rises up and exposes the Pc material or coils. Just last month a customer of mine bought a brand new Wings and AF114 reserve - looked beautiful going out but he came back 3 weeks later with a significant gap that had developed. I ended up taking 10mm off the closing loop and putting more bulk in the ears. This weekend I'll get a picture of it after the adjustment and post it here for fun and see how it is settling in. These discussions are always circular largely because 'easy' and 'hard' are opinions. I find Small wings challenging but a certain 2-pin pop top (no names, I don't want to hijack this thread) about the 'easiest' thing in skydiving to pack. the rising PC cap is mainly what I was referring too as well. I've found that when the knot isn't set solid it will creep...and along w/ the pack settling this will occur. Then you have a rig that's already tight as can be it's really hard to keep that thing seated. And as a side note to your side note...yes the 2 pin not-to-be-named rigs are pretty easy....even the small ones. my pics & stuff!

Agreed...they can look like crap pretty easy which makes it more of a pain in the ass. Javelin's can be similar but I find that the wings are more needy...for sure with the smaller ones. They aren't my favorites by any means (and I think they're chic rigs). For those that are saying it's gravy...please post the pics of the finished product so we can see what you consider 'looks good'. Without a doubt some will find they are not a problem while others fight with them. But I've seen a lot of very shitty pack jobs on these rigs out there and I'm sure the rigger thought they looked just fine. my pics & stuff!

I find myself thinking of him from time to time and wish he was still around. I have a lot of old video of him.... my pics & stuff!

I've done shots w/ a 105mm before but the purpose was for the perspective of the mountain behind the subject. It works pretty good but your aim has to be spot on (ring site). If that guy has a 60mm on a cropped sensor...well that's pretty tough to work with. my pics & stuff!

It really depends on what you're shooting & what you want to see. I did some night jumps saturday night and used 1/125th a second (and have used 1/60th as well). Typically I'll run around 1/350 to 1/500 during the day. I want my ISO as low as possible and I'd like the aperture in the sweet spot. The quality of the image is typically at it's best in this range....plus I don't want a very narrow depth of field. But...if you're aiming for that then maybe you'll want to use the aperture value mode and lock the lens wide open and let the camera choose your shutter (which will be pretty high). There's really no right answer...it's what you like to see. And with that said...I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of different responses to what people like. my pics & stuff!

The last time I did this was on a rig with a red harness. The dye worked it's way onto the spectra lines and they turned pink. Of course I just spray painted the lines to hide the evidence. Even with the risers hanging out of the tub the water wicked it's way up the risers and eventually discolored the lines. my pics & stuff!

I agree on the cheap price. I've washed a LOT of rigs and have slowly increased the price due to the amount of work involved. It's pretty irritating when you have the rig all dry and see an area that you needed to scrub more since you can't really tell when it's all wet so I've been putting in the extra time up front while it's soaking (something i learned the hard way....take pictures of the really bad areas prior to it being wet so you know where they are once it is wet). I've been charging 35ish bucks...and that includes removing all the components...washing and scrubbing by hand....and reassembly. I have in the past (out of laziness) left the reserve attached & bagged and washed the container that way but I don't recommend it. It's more of a pain in the ass. my pics & stuff!

PNW (pacific northwest skydiving center) in Oregon is in the path and they're planning on making a special load for this event. And they currently have a blackhawk grand caravan! They're at the extreme top end of the coverage and the duration is only 31 seconds but it's still a complete obscuration & a pretty cool opportunity. my pics & stuff!

I hate to be a debbi downer but I'm predicting there will be an uptick in spinal injuries with these. With the typical skydiving rig the femur seems to be the break that happens the most. Now with the pilot more reclined the ass will most likely pound in first thus creating spinal injuries. These have been used for a long ass time in paragliding and it's taught to get out of the harness (the reclining position) when getting close to landing. The reason being is if you take a collapse (and that shit happens) you'll want your feet below you to attempt to make a PLF. Spinal injuries seems pretty common in paragliding similar to femurs in skydiving. Just my 2 cents....I hope I'm wrong.

got it now...and makes sense. Looking at mine I was thinking the lever would just rotate around the base but I honestly haven't removed the base from the helmet in years. But you're right...you'd have to remove the pin which looks like way too much work. And now looking back on it I was trying to do the same (wanted that arm swinging the other way) and just gave up on it. And those quick release mounts aren't cheap either (assuming it's the RRS brand). my pics & stuff!

can you post a picture of what you're talking about? I have the same style of quick release as well but am not grasping your question. Is the quick release w/ the lever?...or the knob to tighten it down? Also, you can find older versions of these on ebay if that helps. my pics & stuff!

That is all true, with the addition that if you choose NOT to send the Cypres for this optional check, you will loose the warranty. Does it specifically say this? ....I haven't read anything other than this thread on the matter. my pics & stuff!

This should help you out. my pics & stuff!

This has been a topic on here so do a search and you should find something (FYI...the search has always been a pain in the ass for me and never really helped...probably user error). So with that said, I have a tony suit jacket, with the big wings (C I think) and it's seen a TON of use. Had to re-bartack the swoop cords a couple of times but otherwise it's still in great shape. The jacket is about 12 years old and breaths so-so. It's not ZP, just nylon jump suit material. I don't think I would change anything on it...it totally works for me. my pics & stuff!

I bought it used but it had sat on the shelf (packed) in the rigging loft for several years before I got it in 2001. All 5 rides were by me. I can't verify this but I would guess that half the pack jobs or more were penciled (only a theory...don't take me to court). So the argument that 'pulling' the lines does it just doesn't make sense. And I agree...the line trim chart is very cryptic...I can't understand it at all. It passed the porosity and pull check which honestly I thought was the biggest thing PD would be doing. my pics & stuff!

Here's what I was given. my pics & stuff!

Exactly! That was my thinking too and I had no issues with that. When I was told it needs a new line set I kinda felt like a bait & switch was pulled. my pics & stuff!

You're exactly right with this...I don't have a leg to stand on. And someone already argued this to me as well. But with that said...if I told someone they needed this work done and they called bullshit on it they have every right to investigate right? That's all I'm doing since I had never heard of it. Not saying it isn't possible or isn't ever done...I've just never heard of it. I like what I'm seeing from everyone...arguments going both ways. my pics & stuff!