linestretch

it looks cooler and everyone's doing it. Not too mention what's been stated above. my pics & stuff!

Not sure what sorta canopy this is, can anyone elaborate? my pics & stuff!

oh yeah, another thing, not a square. These guys are old and just fly. thanx though. my pics & stuff!

I was asked to purchase a new pilot rig for the DZ and would like some advice. I'm leaning towards a Softie ONLY because I have packed a few of them before. If you could help with; 1. preference of rig and why 2. a good source for purchasing one thanx. my pics & stuff!

Furthermore about ISO certification*** ISO is for quality assurance purposes, and from working in the field where the company had ISO privileges, it was a pain in the ass. BUT, with a company having ISO, they "should" have a much better and thorough QA process, therefore, not letting screwups get out the door, or less likely anyway. my pics & stuff!

You need to add Infinity to the poll. Otherwise, it would have to be a vector, or mirage. I'm VERY happy with my infinity. The mfg is right up the road from where I (normaly) jump, and they have been very good with any problems I've had with the rig. To me, that a HUGE bonus...not too mention the price and delivery time. my pics & stuff!

who's in the picture? my pics & stuff!

Triathalon-160. Perfect starter canopy in my opinion. Not too fast forward speed, and sporty enough, I thought it was the bomb-diggity. But, I'll probably never jump a 7-cel again..unless it's cross braced. my pics & stuff!

Well put RTB. I also look at this way. Instead of bashing others work, I focus on making mine look steller. And hope that others will take this into account and come back to me. my pics & stuff!

ditto here. That scares the shit outa me. What about the S&TA? Where is this person on this issue? I've tried to talk to several people at my DZ about the same situation, downsizing too soon, and they didn't listen. One specific person, after he skipped very hard, I let him have it. He was still limping, and didn't like to hear it. But I was pissed, and he still didn't get it. Oh well, you can only let them know how you feel I guess. my pics & stuff!

I think your poll is rigged. As for Sony being a popular choice, my experience with them has been ease of use, location of buttons (that'a big one), and quality. Not too mention, they may have been the first digital video camera's on the market. As for a still 35mm, I'd say the rebel is a good starter. No need to go big and dump a ton of money in something you may not like, or have it fall off your head (had it happen to a buddy). my pics & stuff!

300's. Actually, we have both here, but are jumping the 300's while the winds are high. The 330's are very nice canopies too. I was laughing at the thought of a collapsable slider on a tandem too, but it is nice. Quiet, and no buffeting. Plus (knock on wood) I haven't landed going backwards on the 300's, even with a student that weighs 80lbs, and I'm only 175lbs. As for the sliders, we were modifying them on the 330's, but the 300's came from icarus that way. As for packing, we pack all of our own. And even though it's possible to forget to un-collapse the slider (I know of a gal that did it on her own sport rig), I really don't see it happening. That would be a roockie mistake that you wouldn't forget though. my pics & stuff!

[ icarus 300's. Very nice canopies. No brake settings, bitchen openings, and friggin long ass swoops. Granted most of our students weigh about 100-150lbs.(Japanese) but I've taken several well over 200lbs. It's like a sport rig, but tandem style. I've been tieing the kill lines together after collapsing it. my pics & stuff!

ummmmm, I don't think sun path makes the vector. my pics & stuff!

that's a thought, but I don't think the velcro would hold it closed, or at least, wouldn't last all that long. Plus, it's a little tough reaching the slider as it is. With the kill lines, I can just grab a corner, then work my way to the kill lines and yank. It sucks having short arms. I don't think I could ever do this on a strong. my pics & stuff!

Wondering if anyone has ever had this problem. It's never been a problem on my sport rig, but our tandem canopies have collapsible sliders, and some of the guys have had issues where the kill line has tangled in one way or another with one of the toggles. Making for a pretty sketchy situation. I've started tying them together after collapsing it. I know it sound's funny on a tandem, but we jump 300's in high winds, and it does make a difference in drive, and landing. anyone? my pics & stuff!

Yeah, I use both. It has kept the helmet on my melon 3 times from the ratchet deal popping loose from my own 3 rings, and getting kicked in the chin on exit. And once, the ratchet broke in the plane before exiting for a tandem vid, but having the strap saved me from NOT being able to jump. BUT, the reality is that if I ever an issue, I'm doomed. I'm pretty sure my kneck would be broken if anything ever hung up anyway, so I'm willing to live (die) with the way it is right now. A quick cut-away system is the way to go, but I don't have one. my pics & stuff!

to tighten these links, you need an open end wrench, and I've never seen an open end wrench that's a torgue wrench. Maybe I've been on the couch too long. Anybody ever seen one? my pics & stuff!

I've done a ton of buying from "Camera World". You can look online at cameraworld.com, or even cheaper (I don't know why) 1-800-camera1 They are outa Oregon so there are no taxes. I'm an oregon resident, so that may be just for residents. Also, B&H is pretty friggin cheap too. I've done business with them too, but would prefer CameraWorld only because they are close, but sometimes not as cheap. If you get a quote from one, go to the other and let them know the quote, and you may get even a better price. good luck. my pics & stuff!

I gotta agree with the "I don't think so" philosophy too. I'm with the Dr. my pics & stuff!

chin cup all the way dude. my pics & stuff!

I was curious of what some of you thought about the handy cam. I've only been doing them for a little over 3 months, and like some of it, and don't care for the rest. Not to mention, it can be pretty friggin sketchy. For those of you that don't know what handy cam is, it's where the small mini-DV camera is in a glove on your left hand, and it's used for filming tandems. Attatched are a few stills. One is where the drogue stayed with us, and of course, I filmed it. You can get some really awesome ugly face shots too. my pics & stuff!

yes, both were optiks. The guy who lost the camera was pretty experienced, not a slacker. The other was a gal that was pretty new. my pics & stuff!

just to add a little bit to this. I know of 2 jumpers that lost their boneheads (one with a camera, one without) and they both said that it always seem to fit very snug at altitude, but under canopy, it was always really loose. Both were lost in freefall. my pics & stuff!

---ummm, somewhere between the newer brass-free bags, and the older non rubber banded bags, they did have brass grommets for the 2 locking stows, that did use rubber bands. I just packed my boss's, and it's nasty looking. The old pack job sat for about 2 months past the end of the last pack date, and the rubber bands on the locking stows had broken when I pulled the bag out, and some parts of the rubber band stuck to the brass. Yeah, I packed it, but didn't like it. my pics & stuff!