BMAC615

@chuckakers Has the USPA Safety committee or board ever voted on an initiative to require all jumpers below a C-License to jump a maximum WL of 1?

Most BASE jumpers are stand-up PRO packing now.

I’ve been giving thought to the idea of a battery swap system similar to the Tesla Battery Swap System demonstrated nine years ago. An eCaravan with belly storage and the ability to do battery swap in under five minutes could potentially make two flights per hour a reality with charging an extra battery while the plane is in flight.

I saw that Harbor Air story - $6 of electricity per 20 minutes looks promising. I haven’t found any recent news about the eCaravan. It seems to me that a converted eCaravan with enough batteries in the cabin to provide a 15 minute flight could allow 9 skydivers to climb to 13k and exit. The batteries could be stored in the cabin to make bench seating. With regen on descent and fast charging only to 80%, it could make two flights per hour possible.

Mine ships in two weeks. Most of the guys with any substantial number of flights on one are the sponsored guys and they will be a bit biased. I have an Epicene Pro and love it. I expect the Omicron to be pretty much the same but with longer recovery arc and more flare power.

AeroMarine is developing an interesting electric airplane. Here’s a video about it.

That’s fair :)

@Deimian, this one screams, “I’m teaching myself to fly a canopy outside my ability and don’t have a coach.”

This is a question for your canopy pilot coach/mentor. If you don’t have one, pay the best one you can find as much as you can afford - your life depends on it.

Probably a T-10.

I have an Odyssey with Dynamic corners and an Aurora that also has dynamic corners and have flown my WS with both containers without incident. There are no issues with having the dynamic corners and packing isn’t an issue. I believe it is a significant benefit over not having them - especially if you are at the top of the range with the canopy size/deployment bag. Sun Path only makes semi-stow less bags for the J2K and smaller (ZP 150 main canopy). Anecdotally, I’ve found the incidence rate of line twists on my Epicene 190 to be a little higher with my J4K Odyssey with standard deployment bag/rubber bands (1:10) compared to my Aurora with semi-stowless (1:50). None of the line twists were major and clear quickly.

Lilium and Joby are making progress toward certification.

An electric aircraft just completed a journey of 1,403 miles The plane from Beta Technologies began its travels in New York and flew all the way to Arkansas, making seven stops along the way and spanning six states. https://www-popsci-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.popsci.com/technology/alia-electric-aircraft-completes-journey/?amp

Interesting he didn’t reach out to you. Here’s the website: https://www.baseunited.org Any other current access initiatives? I tried to search the database and found some info, but nothing recent.

Does anyone know anything about Chet Boyce and BASE United? I’ve been reading the history of the barriers to access throughout the US and there is limited info about him and his initiative on the website.

Using jump numbers instead of demonstrable skills as an indicator of readiness is a flawed metric. Minimum flights as well as Successfully demonstrating a specific set of skills as outlined by @billvon is the only way to know.

Matt Gerdes wrote the paper with input from many people including Will Kitto. You can reach out to them directly if you have questions.

Great work!

I talked to the guy with the Outlaw who had the slider off tension knot. It’s extremely rare and has yet to be recreated. The other factor of the incident is the Outlaw was packed for 6+ months before that jump. Here’s the paper I mentioned.

The thought that the Hayduke had a disproportionate number of tension knots led to a survey and year long study that resulted in a change in brake line design for the Hayduke, the Hayduke 2 and a 6-grommet slider to reduce the propensity of tension knots. A fairly comprehensive white paper should be released, soon, that outlines the work and findings.

It’s all about risk analysis. Luke knew the consequences of ignoring the FAA denial and figured a fine and suspension will cost less than cancelling the live event.

Textron acquires Pipistrel https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2022/march/17/textron-buys-electric-aviation-pioneer-pipistrel

USPA recommends standard equipment until licensed and/or trained for transition. Check with your local S&TA for their policy.

Same owners of both DZs. I’m at SDTN most weekends and we will have a Twin Otter for the rest of the season. This could make it difficult to get jumps in during the week. The AFF instructors are competent and professional. Unfortunately, onsite camping is not an option. There is an SDTN discount at the local Holiday Inn. I’ve never been to SDGA, but, some people speak very highly of it. I’d recommend whichever is closest to you.

It’s pretty narrow at the top.