julius

E X A C T L Y !

do you ever answer your phone, Phildo?

I just made 17 jumps on a Safire 3 119 at Perris, it was hot and had many no wind landings. The Safire3 119 has a nice plane out followed by a Strong flare. I easily stood up with little effort. Wing loading about 1.6

There are a lot of experienced jumpers (say >1000 jumps, competition experience...) who would be happy to coach newbies. Many even have bona-fide teaching credentials. However, because they haven't paid to take USPA's coach course they aren't allowed to do this. However, someone with 200 jumps who can barely dock on a 16-way but spent a weekend learning how to "teach" is considered well qualified. Yup, I agree (uspa coach rating = well qualified)!

You definitely have a good point here. I have deduced that many people will not stall their canopy and by not doing so, they have no idea whether they can actually perform a landing flare. Also, i have found that people will just jump the canopy and "assume" the steering lines are set properly at the factory. Key point here is piloting, if the stall point is unknown, the flare point is also unknown. Unfortunately, this gives some canopies a bad reputation. I have 5 or 6 jumps on a Safire3 119, it has a strong easy flare

glide angle is steeper than a spinetto, and flatter than a sabre2. recovery arc... it doesnt "pop up" like a stiletto when the front riser(s) is let up. I dont know much about canopy swooping but I enjoy front riser 90's and the occasional 180.

I have about 400+ jumps on my 122 and love it! A bit of rear riser will get you back from a long spot, the flare is deep but strong.

http://www.yawstring.com/images/Photos/yawstring_photo.jpg a simple piece of yarn taped to tour visor would work.

the relative wind at exit comes from the relative generator.

I've participated in several tracking contests at Lodi, and won a couple. The jumprun was south to north, 1/2 mile east of hwy99. judges were positioned 1/2 mile west of hwy99. trackers exited about a second apart and tracked west. one load, one pass. open and intermediate trackers were on different loads. judging was per honor system and visual by judges. never were there any issues as the difference in tracking styles creates ample separation. the winners were obvious.

forced to use a dirtalert? by whom?

If you've NEVER jumped there, how do you KNOW about the seat belts?! I DO jump there; Motiv8 wears their seat belts, people near us wear their seat belts, my 4way team wear their seat belts.

check your stow bands! are they the same type and size on both sides of the deployment bag? are you double-stowing some or all of the lines? Are the stows even? when I get line twist on opening, that's the first place I look. I do not double-stow any lines. I do prefer tube stows as they always have even tension and seldom break. Review your emergency procedures! Know where your hard deck is and stick to it. From deployment to land-able canopy, 2000' is far too long! You had a low speed malfunction that you cleared, had it been a smaller, higher performance canopy, you may have died! My personal hard deck is a factor of time - from the time I release my pilotchute, the canopy has 3 seconds to open; spinning with line twist - cutaway, bag lock - gone in 2 seconds. Time is NOT your friend when you have a mal!

The Rockwell Aerocommander is not a prototype.

As you have said Billvon, my reserve is loaded at 1.5. My last cutaway, I chopped the spinner at 1500', got stable and pulled at 1100'... plenty high

"4 of the US fatalites were low cutaways"... see the problem? It is poor decision making, a sad truth. In this sport, one must be completely confident that they can pull ALL of the handles in a timely manner, if not, they should reevaluate their participation in skydiving. Airtwardo, you are spot on! I too have attained stability after cutaway to give my reserve its optimum opportunity to open cleanly. It IS the last chance -

I just cutaway a spinner last weekend. I knew my altitude at the time of cutaway (1500') therefore taking the time to ensure my reserve all chances to open without line twist. I would much rather open lower than to fight reserve line twist.

I much prefer the no flap exits from a Twin Otter as this gives an exit speed of at least 90kts. This airspeed makes it easier to start flying immediately upon exit. I have exited an Otter with full flaps and its like a balloon jump, needless to say, many more funneled exits. There is safety in airspeed for the pilot and the for jumpers.

opens nice and quick, easy to steer via legs during opening, not as twitchy but faster than a stiletto. good power in the flare. I cant compare it to a crossfire as I haven't jumped one.

I just put 20 jumps on a Zulu 122!

I have 1500+ jumps on a Sabre2 135 loaded at 1.4 and the openings are quick but comfortable. I do not tolerate snivels! I pro-pack and do not roll the nose as it is only covered by the tail. I use tubestows for consistent tension of the line stows. Pulling at 2500' and having a 1000' snivel is a problem! Call PD.

"drama on opening"? Not on a Sabre2! My Sabre2 120 (loaded at 1.5) opens on heading with no snivel.

I think people use AAD's for a variety of reasons. This being one of them.... sometimes they don't think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b90EzNNrQ2M A simple, complete gear check was not done. this is a perfect example of "gene pool cleansing" gone wrong. technology has enabled a substandard set of genes to survive.

During the Pachanga Boogie in Puerto Vallarta, I made 3 jumps on the 132 loaded at 1.5. * Openings are as I like, brisk ( I HATE snivels). * The canopy is very responsive, predictable, smooth, and has a great flare. * on one landing there were people walking on the beach IN the landing area. During the flare, the canopy had enough lift to allow me to maneuver through and around them!