wildcard451

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Posts posted by wildcard451

  6. LuckyMcSwervy

    Is the diving any good there?

    I can't remember if Brandon dives or not but that's a great couples activity! Lifelong dive buddy!! B|



    We don't - but a ex-skydiver friend of mine has been harassing me for a long time. NO better reason to take a class and learn.

  8. Nataly

    ***Someone mentioned free shipping... how is that any different to asking the company to cover the cost of a reserve pack?



    Perception.


    Quote

    judging by the logic in this thread we're now saying it's okay for the UPS guy not to get paid. But we wouldn't think that because we assume he will still get paid and that it is the shop that swallows the cost of the shipping.



    Judging by you responses it seems you still do not get it. People reacted to your question exactly the same way as the store did... This should tell you that you are: a) dealing with a bunch of morons, or b) not asking the question in the right way. I think "b" is more likely.


    HAHAHAHA - on this website he is also dealing with a bunch of morons that like to talk for the sake of hearing themselves talk.

    Skymama actually had one of the more well reasoned posts on this topic a page or so back.

    The one thing I am not sure if people mentioned was whether or not the rigging loft at this DZ is a part of the store or not or a separate company. If they are two separate entities I can see the company rep's indignation.

    SO a recap
    - a lot of people are calling you an idiot
    - I personally think that most of them are overreacting, and that your request wasn't unreasonable, however, you made errors:
    - You should make any negotiations when you have not spent any money yet, when you still have buying power and leverage
    - You probably got screwed by paying full MSRP since no one pays full retail, unless it is one or two canopies that you don't seem to have the sport experience to purchase


    Take this as a lesson.

    Also another lesson - you can't post anything on dz.com without a bunch of whining mother fuckers rushing to put you down just to make themselves feel better.

  9. quade

    ***For everyone telling him it's unreasonable, give me a fucking break. When I go car shopping, negotiations are perfectly fine and if I'm paying cash or what not, you can be damn certain I am going to ask them to toss in something to sweeten the deal. It's great negotiation tactics.



    Except I don't think he said it was part of the negotiations. I think he said it was AFTER he had spent the money. See first word in thread topic.

    I agree. It's still not unreasonable to ask. Though after they have your money they are much less likely to help you at all.

    Please name this gear store. Does not sound like people I want to give money to anyways.

  10. If you were going to do it you should have talked about a free assembly at the time you placed the order. And I would not call it unreasonable to work that into the original purchase deal when you dropped the cash.

    For everyone telling him it's unreasonable, give me a fucking break. When I go car shopping, negotiations are perfectly fine and if I'm paying cash or what not, you can be damn certain I am going to ask them to toss in something to sweeten the deal. It's great negotiation tactics.

    Asking a rigger to repack for free? Poor form.
    Dealing your way to a free assembly on the store's dime after you drop a ton of cash with them, not unreasonable at all.

    And on that note - why in the hell were you paying full MSRP on anything in the skydiving world? That should be your biggest complaint... (unless you were buying a select set of canopies that do not get any mark down)

  12. kallend


    Let's not forget that the data placard says "Maximum exit weight", not "Maximum exit weight for someone with 80 jumps".

    So while his WL is high for someone with 80 jumps, it doesn't really address the question he asked.



    It depends on canopy type as far as performance goes.

    Competitors routinely jump cross-braced canopies well over placarded maximums. There does come a point of diminishing returns north of 2.8-2.9 or so where performance falls off dramatically (so I've been told, 2.72 has been my max WL on a Velo, and it flies wonderfully)

  13. jacketsdb23

    So its no secret that some of us had to drop our turn initiation point in Florida during the recent FLCPA/Nationals competition. For me it was significant, about 100' lower than I usually turn.

    My home DZ and Zhills are both roughly 80' - 90' MSL. Water vapor was much higher in Florida, which would suggest less dense air. Temperature was fairly high in FL, but we get 90ºF - 100ºF days frequently here as well.

    Something else was definitely a factor here and I'm trying to wrap my head around it. There is usually a lot of talk about density altitude tied to temperature and LZ elevation, but I'm wondering what other factors might be in play.



    I was seeing density altitudes of -200 to -250ft consistently during FLCPA and Nationals. I was also turning comfortably 100' lower than normal (VA/NC).

    Also, we were routinely diving through thermal areas that are unfortunately due to the placement of the pond relative to the hangars and trailers at Zhills.

  18. I hesitate to post much to this site anymore due to the signal often getting lost in the noise, however I feel this may save at least one person some grief, and I know I have seen at least one bounce video relating to this issue.

    My last jumps at the end of April were at the Farm, which has between a 110-130' LOWER offset, depending on who you ask. B|

    Weeeellll, I showed up at Raeford the other day for a canopy training camp. I got there late, rushed, etc. There happened to be a load going in 5 minutes that would beat the upcoming military TFR out of Ft Bragg. I threw my gear on right out of the bag, ran to meet the load, and we took off.

    I use an N2 on my mudlfap and an N3 on my arm as a backup. One of my procedures that I do on every jump is to verify that both altimeters are "nearly" the same. Well, they weren't and my primary(N2) was reading about 120' higher than actual...."oh yeah dumbass, you forgot to reset that one" (The N3 has died completely and I charged it on the ride down, so I am guessing it reset itself)

    I ingrained in my head that I must use my arm altimeter on this jump. Well, habits being habits and all, I flew my pattern using the N2 on the mudflap[:/]. As I ran in on base, things didn't look quite right, and I usually turn from around 820-850'. I was a smidge low anyways (790'). As I hit my bump and started the turn, it all clicked back together that the alti is reading 120' high, and that's why this setup feels unusually low.

    Knowing that I was still within the envelope of my turn, I brought the turn around fast based on the visual and really didn't even have to dig out low.

    Lessons:
    1) Don't rush.
    2) Make sure your equipment is set for the area that you are jumping. (Altis, AADs, etc)
    3) Always having a defined procedure can help identify errors/discrepancies
    4) Swooping by beeps/altimeter only is never a good idea. You must correlate the data with the visual inputs that you are seeing.
    5) Know your gear inside and out. I was pretty sure that I could not reset the DZ offset once on a jump. Even reading the manual it does not seem clear, but it says that it brings you back to the ground screen, so I would assume that the program logic assumes you are on the ground when you hit "Zero DZ offset"

    Side note: Drug all the water and stood up in Zone 6. Maybe I should fuck up more often. B|

  22. Doug_Davis

    ***I was thinking if a safety back system could be invented that make the losing a toggle not be fatal event. Something like a custom brake line that had an extra line that would come down and connect to the back of a glove or something. Something that would be hooked up after opening and during housekeeping of the slider.Thoughts?



    Would a double loop system work?

    Place you entire hand through the first loop, so that its on your wrist. And you grab the second loop, as we normally do with your hand.
    This way even if your hand accidently lets go of the first loop (dropped toggle) the second loop is still over your wrist?

    I'm not fond of being attached to a main by a loop around my wrist. I learned that lesson on a 25sqft kite that drug me by my face across Xkeys landing area when I had 150 jumps.

    If nothing else you can sew your toggles down a little to make them snug. You should not be swooping with toggles that are super loose on your hand.

    Always whole hand in the toggle. Two fingers in the dive loops.

  24. 12 years in and I have never bought new anything except one canopy that i hated and put 80 jumps on it.

    get some good cheapo gear to start. Let people with money to burn buy brand new and then you get well cared for older gear and better prices.