skydivah1

I can certainly relate to that. I totally favor RH turns. LH feels awkward and slightly unnatural. Nice 450's btw. Very patient turns. I'm just now starting to explore them myself. It's a whole different animal for sure. My internal buzzer starts going off to rollout and I still have another 180 degrees to go and the speed is significantly more. Trying to build a new sight picture for it. Finishing strictly with the harness is also something I'm getting used to but that turn forces you to utilize full harness input to finish the turn because the fronts pressure becomes too much. With a 270, I had enough dig on the fronts that harness input was only used in combination. Super scary but super fun!

I'm not in the competition scene so I'm just curious why you train left for comps? Are you required to fly a left hand pattern in a competition setting?

I appreciate the input. I made it to one of CK's comps last year but unfortunately it got weathered out. Brad was gracious enough to refund my reg fee. If the stars line up again, I'll be sure to register for one this year.

If by spoiled you mean a 12-14 hr drive one way, plus travel expenses, working out time off and praying that the weather cooperates then sure. Look, I agree that it is a monumental task to undertake which is why I know with my schedule and location that there's no way I could spearhead it. However, maybe there is somebody out there that does have the time to put into it and is willing to tackle it. If so, put it out there and I'm sure a lot of us would pitch in whether it's scouting locations, making phone calls, getting the necessary equipment, finding financial donors, training judges etc. The thread's only be up for 24 hours and already our Canadian brothers are showing interest. We can't let them down now! Let's go!

For years there have been leagues popping up around the country giving pilots a platform to learn, grow and compete but nothing has ever been established for CPs in New England. The closest league is the NECPL in NJ. Simply put, it's too far away for most of us to commit to the time, distance and financial aspects of getting to all the meets. Skydive New England has the only swoop pond in the area but it doesn't meet the requirements needed for a safe competition. Somebody must know of a perfect place to hold a competition - whether it's a farm pond, river, beach or sewer treatment plant . I just want to bring the discussion to the table in hopes that it will at least get people thinking and maybe get the ball rolling. Unfortunately for me, my schedule is extremely inflexible with a lot on my plate already and my location isn't ideal otherwise I would pursue it. I'll even give you a few name ideas for the league: CaPONE (Canopy Pilots of New England) NECaP (New England Canopy Pilots) Let's go!

Here's a vid from this past weekend. RH 270 on a Valkyrie 103. Slightly high on the roll out but that's my tendency these days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGaWG_6Oms4

Looks like the slider gets hung up quite often. Might want to try pulling down on the fronts instead of the rears. It was a suggestion Greg Windmiller made in a video recently and it works pretty well. Nice looking velo btw.

The last I knew, Frank from Lookma isn't selling in-air components to the U.S. because it's too much of a liability in a sue-happy country. I've been eyeballing fluid wings RDS slider which matches the dimensions of the VK/VE factory sliders. Anybody have an experience with these? http://www.fluidwings.com/#!Removable-Sliders/cifd/5665d8e60cf2a72d69b6e935

Could you define what that means? Most stiletto owners make use of the elliptical wing and enjoy the snappy turns with the toggles. Usually done up high and not as a speed inducing turn for swooping.

I was suggesting that PD needs to address the gap in their own line up of canopies. Some skydivers won't jump anything but a PD product because of PD's thorough R&D, quality of product, customer service, accessibility and so on.

Judging from the shape of the wing and how PD has confirmed that it was inspired by the peregrine and valkyrie projects, it's more than likely a step up from the Katana. I do agree with an earlier post, that making the jump from a sabre 2 to a katana presents a steep learning curve for the pilot. It seems that these companies are hyper-focusing on the outer edge of the high performance category in part due to competition but I'm hoping that a line between the sabre 2 and katana is available soon. On a side note, I think it would also be beneficial for PD to look into a better performing wing on the stiletto side of the branch for those jumpers who don't care about swooping but like a flat gliding, toggle whipping, strong flaring canopy. Maybe a stiletto 2?? Jumpers who have tapped out their stilettos basically have to downsize to a smaller one or find a completely different wing altogether that may not suit their style of flying.

That's a ridiculous statement and you know it. That's like saying that the only people who like nascar racing are other nascar drivers. I can't count how many times friends and family of a first time tandem jumper waiting in the spectator have stopped me on my way to the packing area and commented on a swoop landing in sheer amazement. The same has happened to my swooping friends. Somebody who witnesses a well executed swoop for the first time can fully appreciate the technicality, skill and danger of it all without being a skydiver themselves especially when they're comparing it to student and tandem landings coming in on the same load.

You mentioned that you're using the same setup altitude for both wings - just curious what that is? Did you have to bump it up from the Comp?

Find the spot in the dive where LIGHT pressure on the rears trims the canopy out to send you into your swoop just above the ground (aka powerband). Too much digging and you lose precious power in the corner and excessive digging could actually collapse your canopy. Bad news. It's all visual and comes with time. Just do it in baby steps. If you plane out a little high, let the canopy dive a little more on the next jump before applying the rears. If you try to do too much all at once, it's bouncy bounce time.

I'm sure the Excalibur patents have long since expired. An early and unrefined version of the crossbraced idea was design patented by Bill Coe and sold under the brand name Excalibur by Performance Designs, but the early F-111 crossbraced Excalibur never exhibited the opening and flying characteristics that were acceptable to skydivers. With Jyro's refinement to the idea designed as the Icarus Extreme, and Precision's manufacturing capability and distribution channels in the USA and around the world, an agreement was solidified by Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. to manufacture Jyro's Icarus Extreme design under a patent royalty agreement with Bill Coe of Performance Designs. During late 1998 and early 1999, Precision Aerodynamics, Inc. released the first 27-cell crossbraced design marketed as the Icarus Extreme VX. Source: http://www.precision.aero/about-precision.htm Can you reapply for your original patent? Seems a shame to invent something only to completely lose rights to it years down the road due to a technicality