frost

That is quite far from the truth. A removable slider can be beneficial for non-competitive swoopers as well as for non-swoopers in some cases. Not at 300 jumps, but, of course, the original poster will only hear what he wants to hear.

Before there were front loops or velos-vxs... awesome! Thanks for posting!!

"There is a thin line between a hot dog and a wiener." Pull it off - you're a hero. Beef it in - you're a zero. Beef it in real good - back to hero.

Yes. Our instructors do as much as possible to teach those who want to learn. For example, John Kieran runs FREE canopy seminars quarterly(?) for anyone interested. https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/SkydivingDoesntHaveToHurt

yawn... another one. i think it's time to lock this up and ban the OP for a couple of weeks for repeated personal attacks.

So i guess now i have to be constructive too? Or all the politically correct joy-joy nazis will get on my case? Let me try. 1. First understand that "terminal velocity" for us is not a mathematical constant or an absolute measurement. We can increase or decrease it and it will also depend on the skills. Once we agree on that and given your constraints (no speed measuring devices)- my advice is to use the sound of the relative wind as it rushes over your helmet and ears. When you dont hear the wind increase, you know that you are at the maximum speed you are capable of generating at that moment. Then work on breaking that. 2. Think of the water in the toilet bowl going faster as it goes further down the spiral. Or the figure skater doing the rotation - she increases the speed by pulling arms and legs in tightly. It reduces the rotational inertia helping to spin faster. Or another thought - after you slowly built up the energy in the early stages of the turn, snapping (speeding up the final rotation) is like focusing all that energy in one point and channeling it to forward movement. 3. see above. You can, but it might be tricky to maintain all that energy through the turn if you dont continue to consistently build it.

it's possible, but whether you have or have not, not much, if anything of what you've said makes sense or is true - forget the language barrier, i am talking about the concepts. I am wondering where and how you learned all of that?

you dont have a clue what you're talking about, do you?

At this point, vast majority of the people would be downsizing. Then increasing the turn. You are currently on a pretty "docile" wingloading, well within your experience level. Dropping a size and figuring things out, then repeating the process two more times is not a bad idea. By then you'll be in the "fun to fly" category and still be on the safe side as far as recommended jump experience. Then figure out what you want to do with the new skills. It ain't all about gates and competition, trust me.

The way i see it is: a scared pilot on a large canopy doing a small turn. HTFU, Mr. Ghost! If you want to win, you'll have to be ready and willing to do all of the above, there's no other way! Except for asking advice from your local canopy coaches - you should scratch that, they wont tell you anything productive and will only try to hold you back. P.S. if you were hoping for some serious advice - fill in your profile

Those mythical concepts will never die.

http://gopro.com/hd-hero-accessories/3d-hero-system/

Agreed. Creating performance parachutes may already be at a point where each new step is just a small enhancement to an already extremely efficient design and the further we go the harder it is to come up with a new "true" enhancement... He is an Am/measured on 10 footers due to qualifications restrictions, but he is flying and hitting five footers... He is definitely at a Pro level.

Sure does seem to be a capable wing. It has shown some excellent results in the last few months. And the wing has only been out there for less than a year... Sergei's distance run from the last comp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEvq-g_xyjk

Can you post some pics of the line wear? Would be good to see how you pack it if you do anything different from what Greg does in his video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owTptLiwjKc

I described this process on a Russian forum years ago... Dont worry about understanding the text, click on the photo links here: http://www.skycentre.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=2363&view=findpost&p=23852 and here: http://www.skycentre.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=2363&view=findpost&p=23868 Hopefully that will give you some idea how to pack a full RDS until someone makes a youtube video on the subject :) Be careful!

Tehcnora is just a brand name for the type of fiber the lines are made of, which is Aramid. More precisely - High-Molecular Aramid or HMA. Color has nothing to do with it.

In general, as the record proves, there are plenty of great products out there that cost less, are made in other countries and also perform as well or better than most of the US equivalents. Skylark has been around for many years, they have a proven record with successful line of canopies and gear and are one of the largest companies in that part of the world, if not #1. I experienced first hand the quality of their workmanship and design with a 9-cell Magellan-120 - it is just excellent. Funny, a good friend of mine and an excellent swooper was very skeptical and nervous to try the Scirocco. His used to say "Velocity forever!". Until he actually did try it. Now he is all about it. If you take anything away from this discussion, take this: don't automatically dismiss a product just because "it's not made in the US". If you get an opportunity to test jump a different/new canopy [in your experience range] - dont ever miss it!!

Turbulence is bad no matter what flight mode. I know at least one VERY experienced video dude who was unable to recover his velo and had to cutaway after catching the tandem burble. It was a lot more violent though. Bigger canopies, bigger burble.

Him and dozens if not hundreds of others like him. Having said that, who am I to hold them back?? Not to mention that the SoFPiDaRF page has been somewhat empty without more brave new pilots and their contributions. Castro, do you feel you have been mistreated by the DZ personnel that did not allow you to jump that wing? Do you feel that nobody wants to listen to you or take you seriously? Are people holding you back? Then you should join the School of Fast Progress in Downsizing and Radical Flying! Why? Because you are a grown ass man and can make your own decisions! SoFPiDaRF is the ultimate modern day canopy piloting school comprised of like-minded individuals, who will NOT hold you back like the anchors of progress here on dz.com. SoFPiDaRF instructors will tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear. They will encourage you to push the limits, assist you in finding that ultimate edge of canopy performance and help you step over it, gently guiding you towards the light of canopy greatness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ZodAzECeU

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/25/contourgps-helmet-cam-review/

I disagree. $2600 vs $3250 is a good chunk of money, yes, but when you consider that you are getting a $350 RDS slider it becomes $2600 vs $2900. Then a 300 dollar difference (especially considering that you're already spending nearly three grand as is) doesn't seem like a deal breaker. VC does have stronger rears and bottom end, which makes it a "better" canopy compared to VE. Plus it will have a better resale value due to the extra hype :)

I think Swooping err, sorry, the Competitive Sport of Canopy Piloting has grown into that ugly beast in the last few years... I wish there were putting up prize money to run something cool and fun like the Ranch Pond Swoop meets used to be. That's what swooping has been about - style, fun and water. I miss those days...

That's not really true. Anyone could get a full sail JVX, you dont have to be "sponsored". Comp Velo is NOT a "competition-only" canopy, even though the name may suggest it. It IS geared towards a competitive pilot, but the truth is - it's a great canopy that you can order with HMA500 and enjoy it on any type of jump with a good line life span. To OP: you're way ahead of yourself choosing a 75 sq ft canopy@ almost 2.7 wl downsizing from a [email protected] with 650 jumps and you will probably get hurt under it. But that's OK, you are a grown ass man and can certainly make your own decisions. I suggest you contact Icarus NZ directly to see if they can make you what you want. They have been really good with their service.

If it's not a violation - it should be.