CrazyL

So what did you do for icarus when you worked for them?

Quote>"I support the 180 day cycle" without any reason as to why . . . I support it because: It results in less wear on gear, meaning that a given rig/reserve combination will be safe to jump for a longer time --------------Less wear on gear = less jumping and more time in gear bag. Wear on gear due to rigger = shitty rigger, choose another rigger.

Dude, you smacked the culvert, that's one of the narliest places to enter or exit the pond aside from the tree side. I think that's the highest point on that side of the pond. Surprised you made it through that one. That's so hardcore! Glad you are still with us. Video looks like you bounced, ouch. Nice approach and turn though.

I was wondering the same thing about the locomotive using the shitter. Must be a large restroom.

thanks for your response Bill. Gotta get to some rigging and repairs now, Later, Larry

I like your opinion of the riggers discretion of when the rig should be inspected again if the rigger thinks it should be done in less time than the FAA cycle. Fury is a good example, so is Koji. Now my next 'can'o worms' has to do with maintenance and repairs. Why is this gear not being repaired? better Q: How come gear that is in need of repair being allowed to be jumped? I do like the idea of manufacturers calling the shots on the time frame that the gear be inspected. I'd also like a listing of issues with gear that can be 'gotten away with' without repairing prior to jumping.

QuoteThe second one looks more like a gingerbread man to me.[/reply} wingsuit and gingerbreadman/woman not allowed as patrons? what the...

Flare before to impact. Visiting with your instructors should be first on your list. You probably have so now ill try to assist. Flare timing: is achieved with training from instructors, practice, time, and a good idea. Instructors: you know where to find them. Practice: up high in the sky after you open your parachute and do control checks or ep's. Analogy:compare a new car with good brakes to a car with bad brakes. For you both cars you'll need to figure out how much time and pressure it takes to apply the brakes. Time: is a learned thing, practice flare up high alot of times. How long does it take you to flare and feel like you pretty much have stopped and are hovering under canopy? A good idea: from visiting and gathering info about the gear your using. If you jump a 260 sq ft student canopy your 'instructors' should assist you in getting a 'good idea' on the 'timing' for the 'flare' and to 'practice' after you've opened. As you become a skydiver and jump other canopy sizes you should naturally be concerned with certain things about the canopy like 'how's good does it open' (soft/hard) how's the flare? Knowing the PLF and using it is also an asset to your a.. well, backside.

wassup crazy larry... yeah he actually hit dirt intially..kinda bounced up about 10 feet did a back flip..hit his risers..came back for a front flip..then landed in the pond... had he not hit that pond i fear his injuries would have been alot worse..fatal even... they left him in the pond so as not to move him..who knows whats broken in there...any movement could stab something with a sharp bone or something of that nature....better to keep him exactly where he was... however...as he was in the water waiting for the ambulance..he was overheard saying.. "hey billy..i landed in the water...do i at least get 1 point?" he came back the next day and put his FX up for sale... pun has some excellent action shots of the whole incident.. Good idea I guess to stay in the water, he sounds like a true sportsman ' Billy do I atleast get 1 point' hahahaha. cracks me up. I've thought about the whole dirt water dirt thing. Hitting dirt then going into the water is kinda comical but would really suck if done too hard. I've been skysurf team training as cameraman and surfing and working of course. What you been up too? Swoop? Record label yet?

So manifest needs to keep a database of manufacturer requirements? You'd need requirements from the container manufacturer, canopy manufacturer, AAD manufacturer, etc. What if my reserve canopy needs to be packed every 180 days and my freebag needs to be inspected every 200 jumps? I'm not a rigger or any kind of expert at how often these things need to be inspected or repacked. I'm just saying that any system that is based on something other than time would be really hard to implement. Also these rules kind of have to apply to pilot emergency rigs as well. A reserve that is going to malfunction because it got wet or was left in a hot trunk or whatever is going to have the same problem regardless of the repack cycle. If riggers in some areas are opening rigs that were last packed 6 months ago and finding major wear-related problems, maybe those jumpers need to get their rigs packed more often than the FAAs maximum allowable time between repacks. Maybe jumpers need to get their reserves repacked every time they get wet in a swoop pond. And maybe some rigs could easily go years without a repack and still be perfectly safe. One rule isn't going to possibly cover every imaginable scenario. But we need a rule (well, according to the FAA). So I'd like to see a simple rule that makes sense for most rigs. Dunno what that rule should be, but 120 days has worked (I think?) for years. 180 days seems to be doable and might reduce unnecessary wear and tear on gear. Dave 120 days has worked for many years, 60 days in the past also worked, 180 days could work fine, 2 years could also work. On another thread in 'gear and rigging' you may read about a riggers bit of experience with pilot rigs and issues he has found. The most common problem i've found on a basic inspection of a pilot rig is stow bands being tacky and/or fragile. I suspect due to heat and/or time. Q: If it wqas up to you, how long a time would you go without having your pilot rig inspected? How long would it take till you would be scared to use it?

That's more or less the current system in Germany, so it's not so far fetched. Mark AFAIK Germany has strict standards. I have a German friend who was not allowed to even have a certain main canopy in germany, was odd I thought. So manufacturer requirements more or less are used in the U.S. as well (cypres). I'd guess the majority of jumpers do not maintain manufacturer requirements for the 3 ring assembly (monthly) here in the U.S. How about germany?

A what?!!! did the operation remove his stutter?

Thanks. and true. Several skydiving helmets arent made for heavy impacts anyway. Glancing blows, and incidental hard spock dock with a foot, hitting your head in and on the airplane, landing in trees, headbutting a car door, hard landing. A good rule to follow for me anyway is ' don't hit your head'! Pretty much all helmets are brain buckets and will protect your noggin a good amount.

No way, I don't buy that for even a second! Do you know what I mean when I say 'competition anxiety'? And where was Mr. Innis with his non crossbraced super staller swooping gear? That guy has a good time and last place is all good with him!

Why would'nt we just go with manufacturer recommendations instead of pack cycle? Like we do for cypres batteries and service? I do think that a 180 day cycle would be good for some areas that have 6 months of season. Q: if 180 days will make us any more or less safe? Some rigs don't get wear for years. Some have wear and parts that should be repaired and have'nt within 6 months,some parachute owners don't realize and some don't care what happens when the reserve gets wet or left in a hot trunk till...

To suggest that wanting it to be longer than the current 120 day standard is the same thing as wanting to completely eliminate it all together is a rather absurd position Absurd, maybe so. Q: if you had the choice as to when to have your gear inspected when would that be and why?

Good to hear Mike. I was wondering about how he may have benefited by staying in the water. Back injury would be one. You really got last dude? Man you were making great progress last year, I was thinking you'd be rock'n this year, what happened?

ooooo sticky icky. No injury is good. I've seen some really hard hits on water and have had a couple myself that would have more than likely been fatal on hard ground but easily walked away from after swimming out of the pond.

How 'bout Sonic? he's pretty good swooping that pond. If he won would Billy let him take the cash this year? I thought it was a bit unfair last year that if he won he still could'nt collect he winnings. He still participated anyway which was cool I thought. I'd like to know a little more about the injured guys deal. Was he really in the pond till the ambulance got there 20 minutes later?

All true. i'm cameraman for skysurf team for sometime now, occasionally a jumper would like to lurk. Rarely will we allow it. Fall rate changes are drastic and horizontal movement happens. We allowed a lurker on 2 jumps this weekend, all was well. We had spent some time ( a few hours) the night before with the lurker hanging out and visiting about all things skydiving. We covered the bases as far as what we would expect of him if he were allowed to jump with us. He did as he was told and performed well. He was prepared for what could happen if he did end up in the danger zones and how he could injure or kill any one of us which in turn trained him on how to perform the dives without injuring or killing us. He dressed for success for the fall rate and did well. Lot's of training and preparedness went into these jumps. To have someone lurking a jump without a really good briefing is asking for trouble.

Nice pics, theres some really nice swoops and some hardcore chow! One of the chow's looks real hard, is that homie that people are saying 'went in' without much injury? Who was it? By the looks of the glassy water it was a great day for a no wind swoop meet. Appears Sonic's wingloading is a bit higher than last year, he got some nice carving going on in some of the pics. How 'bout them Russians, how did they do?

This is true. What makes sense to you for pack cycle? days/yrs/usage/owner discretion/none at all?

So NickDG, when the mesh problem existed, was there a 60 day pack cycle? If the pack cycle had been 180 days would some of parachutings pioneers still be here today? Or would there been more deaths due to lesser amounts of inspection per year? And yes, i understand the need to track fabrics, very glad that manufacturers do that.

Your opinion is respectable here Lee. I agree with you about if you can't take care of yourself in this sport than why are you in it. I mean, thanks to those types who need all the devices to save their ass for helping fill the loads and buying beer and stuff. So Lee i'd like your opinion on what you think we may find at 180 days that we don't find at 120 days, and if the majority of the time a rig is all good why not boost the pack cycle to 2 or 5 years.

Do your comp dates interfere with the skysurf comp, 'cause i'm interested but it absolutely cannot interfere with my skysurf game.