FrogNog

Do you mean the harness part or the hanger part? Because a cheap old harness/container assembly is really good for the harness part. The hanger part I can see you'd want some blueprints. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

The good news about certain-death problems that don't develop until 100 feet AGL is you don't have to worry about them for very long. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

What brand/model rigs do they have? Some rigs have yokes that are supposed to fit like that. Also, I don't know if that is abnormal for chest-ring rigs, either. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

What was the GPS accuracy in 1967? I know, I know, the same human radar error that led them to think they were in a good place is the same human GPS error that could do the same again today. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

You need someone to go with you who can tell what your problem really is. Then we can all opine on how to work on it. I remember when I used to have strut-arm. And when my barrel rolls would sometimes turn into head-down corkscrews. That would only ever happen below 6k, of course. I think in one revolution I got as much terror / disorientation as you got from all your turning on the way down. When I was still busy failing my 15 second delay repeatedly, a couple times I chipped or flipped enough that I gave up and pulled to make it quit. I'm so glad my studenthood was entertaining. I wouldn't want to be a super-boring student. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I had a similar experience, except basically all the contributing factors were my own fault, and I had 150 more jumps, and I broke my fibular instead of just bruising myself. So after I was healed I went back to my first canopy size, jumped a lot more, and now I'm downsizing just...one...size. Some of my friends are asking why I'm going to a 170 when, given my weight (I lost weight) and jump numbers I should be fine on a 150. (The size I broke my leg on.) I think the biggest sin I committed (and paid for) was downsizing two sizes. 5 or 10 jumps on the intermediate size just weren't enough to do anything to my skills and perception of flight on a two-sizes-smaller, .2 lbs / sf higher wingloaded canopy. I even had a couple of "whoa, this seems too fast!" landings on the 150 that should have scared some sense into me but they didn't. Now anytime I jump and I'm really comfortable under canopy, I'm worried. I'm worried that everything is _not_ hunky-dory, I'm just allowing the "critical concern" portion of my brain to be lazy. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Am I in the U.S.? Do I ever want to jump at that DZ again? Is the pilot my friend? Can I visualize a perfectly round 2-mile hole? Is everyone shouting at me? Do I have video? -=-=-=-=- Pull.

The pictures of canopies should be while they're flying. And high-quality pictures, too, not screen captures from a wide-angle digital video camera where the canopy is 1/20th of the screen height / width. Why? Because these pictures are sexy. Sex sells. Now, all that stuff about people wanting detailed pictures of specific parts, well, that's a pain in the butt. It's a used car thing. Little signals indicate other, bigger things. And there's a continuum of condition that's hard to describe. e.g. How dirty is the yellow center cell? How frayed are the crossports? -=-=-=-=- Pull.

At some point I noticed that under an inflated canopy my handles move upward. My rig fits so they're not in a bad place, they're just not where I practice all my handle-pulls on the ground before every jump. So now when I practice my EPs on the ground (and in the plane, space permitting), I do them in a paired set: "look, reach, pull, pull, arch" with my hands on my handles, and then the same thing with my hands on my chest just higher than my handles - where the handles always seem to be under canopy. I also added a "handle, handle" visual and touch check to my post-opening, post-traffic/direction checks. But, then, when I practice my EPs I try to look at the handles and get a good feel on them, too. I am another person very interested in not failing to detach my main when I mean to. (But for myself, I prefer the one-hand-each-handle thing because I have a lot of faith in my right hand and arm and once I pull "go", I really want to know where "stop" is.) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I cared what my first one looked like but now I'm a whore. I'll jump anything. Thankfully used Infinitys are sufficiently plentiful that I don't have to jump scary stuff. But ugly stuff? Sure, I'd jump a faded neon pink and lemon rig with blue piping and camouflage legstraps. Hey, it's less likely to get stolen, right? -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I get them in the bag with skill (from practice) and determination. You can strengthen your packing skills by giving free pack jobs to all your friends. That's what I do / did. Technique is good but when I was a noob packer I couldn't implement a technique worth anything. I just had to keep packing whatever I could until I got the mad packing skeelz. (I'm still not lightning-fast, though, like a real pimp pro packer.) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Have you tested your "stab" theory to keep the wing in the window? Now, I'm sure all of us (including me) think you _have_ tested this, but I thought I'd ask because you mention that you've never experienced any kind of collapse on any canopy you've ever flown before. That could certainly be due to superior pilot skill, but since you tend to sew your own parachutes it could just as well be superior design and manufacturing. Or maybe it's superior flight planner judgement, and you just stay out of crappy air really well*. But I would like to know if you've tested the "stab theory" and how that worked out for you.

Is fatal incident #3 already a thread here on dropzone.com? It is an interesting one. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

(Emphasis is mine.) Which brake fires are you talking about? Clearly not the ones you haven't had. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

How about green outside with pink ribs? Watermelon.

I really liked the Spectre more than the Triathlon. I was actually surprised at the difference, seeing as they are both 7-cell canopies. I think it's always good to try before buying so you have an idea what it's like, vs. having something you want to sell. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

QuoteYou must be a really motivated tandem passenger to exit like that... reply] That's what riding crops are for. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

You could compute density altitude and compare it to your home DZ, then decide if you're still jumping the right size canopy. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Are you suggesting that the fee they are charging is justified? Why does everyone complain about people overcharging? Just don't go, and don't pay. And you don't kiss the cow after milking, you dip the teats in balm. Everyone knows that. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Big rain drops hurt more than little ones. The faster a raindrop hits, the harder it hurts. In my jumping career so far, all the ice I've encountered has been very small, and I think this is why it hasn't hurt, just like very small rain droplets wouldn't hurt. (At some point that's fog, and it's not painful on its own.) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I think RSLs are bad because they cause an unending stream of new posts on the same subject. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

There are really only two problems with jumping in the rain: 1. rain clouds are generally very low clouds, at least where I live. Only occasionally through the Summer is this rule excepted. 2. skydivers are wussies in a lot of ways that, summed up, make most of them not want to jump in the rain. Gear gets wet, canopies have to be dried after the last jump of the day, clothes get wet, it's dark and gloomy, and the air stings. For some reason this puts jumpers off. (It doesn't seem to bother the pilots, though; they're pretty buff. ) -=-=-=-=- Pull.

Does the PAC blow more or less half-burnt jet fuel out its exhaust and onto the jumpers than the Twin Otter's left engine while they're standing around outside the door trying to negotiate loading/exit order with the engine idling? I know this is a problem that can be 99% solved by policy (i.e. figure exit order out _before_ the plane lands and everyone starts to get in) but I am still curious. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

I laughed until I cried. I am totally doing that on video this year. -=-=-=-=- Pull.

This happens in my dreams frequently. It's great in there. Then I wake up and realize I need to pack and ride a plane to altitude, on the weekend when the DZ is open in the Winter and assuming we have the weather. I should just go back to sleep and flap my arms. -=-=-=-=- Pull.