Kirils

Have you considered a used Jav or Mirage? They can be had for the cost of a new Dolphin. The Dolphin is a good container, but the useful life is short compared to other top-'o-the-line containers. Try before you buy anything. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Before I bought my Xaos 21, I thought my wife and I might share the canopy. I called PA and asked the same question. I was told the lighter loading (.9) would not be enough to experience the performance potential of the canopy, but landings would be very nice. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Shit... you should feel the the drive of a 426 '68 'Cuda. Blown to 580 ponies. they don't make em like that anymore. Screw the environment, Mother Nature is the ultimate bitch and WILL destroy human life if given a chance. Radical conservation won't work dude! Drive that gas pig...drive it fast! "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Even the most experienced jumpers get the jitters now and then. It's just your brain doing a reality check. The most dangerous thing you will do on the day you jump is to drive to the DZ. So stress out over the car ride and ENJOY the jump. It WILL edify your life beyond your wildest dreams! Blue Skys "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I picked up a used Centarus 2 years ago. I never jumped it and passed it along. It was a generic container that really didn't impress me. It was well made, but I did not like the appearence or fit at all. No matter how I packed it it was lumpy looking. I'm not aware of the the cost of a Centarus, but if it is close to the cost of a Jav, Mirage, Voodoo or Vector, I would recommend you stick with those big names. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Good point Rob. Thanks! "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I just moved, and a canopy, and a gear bag with some misc gear and my log book came up missing, What do you do when you lose a log book? How do you re-establish the validity of a reconstructed log? Thanks! "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Hello! With 120 jumps under your belt you should have some experience with straight-in front riser approaches. Anything more than than that should be done progressively under the guidence of an experienced instructor. There is a tendency to develop bad and potentially dangerous habits when "learning -on -your-own" Don't waste time or your money and risk getting hurt...get some instruction. ( I wish I had, it would have saved me time, monet and grief) Good Luck!! "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Hmmm...I might have to give your thoughts some credibility. I remember the PR stunt pulled with the Space and Alpha. Same canopy different loadings. New name. The Colbalt has a lot live up to and I think it's falling short. I have 4 jumps on a friends Cobalt, I liked the thing but it really was not that innovative in technology. Not much different than the Alpha. BUT don't all the manfacturers pump up their products? Look at the hype over the PD Sabre II... Is it really as good as they say? No way.... "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Has anyone jumped the ParaTec X-Wing canopy?? It is of German origin. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I heard some good things about the Parr-Avis Stealth canopy. After an inquiry to the company here is the response: I'm a designer of Stealth. By development of this canopy we used experience of firms: P.D. (Stiletto) , Icarus (Crossfire-I), Parachute de Franse (Springo) Aspect Ratio is 2,68. It is similar to Stiletto both in the plane form and in the ellipse. The design of inlets is similar to Crossfire. The opening of the canopy is twostepped because of the slider looks like a canopy, but it's not so long as at Crossfire-II. At usual flight the horizontal speed is up to 16,5 m/s. At piloting the canopy looks like Stiletto. Members of Russian National Representative Team 8-WEY took part in its tests. Max. recommended wingloading factor is 2,0. The materials used at manufacture of Stealth are similar to the same Stiletto and Icarus. Best regards, Serguei Kirichenko Paraavis Company The canopy sells for about a grand + shipping (US) "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

It was my first mal. I cracked the side of the container with my elbow and the bag popped out spinning with a partial canopy deployment.. I chopped and had a main/reserve entanglement. NEXT TIME... I will spread my legs and do a forward flip and catch the PC between my legs. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Sounds like the black discoloration is from brass grommets. You won't see it with the SS grommets. Have a rigger look at it just to be on the safe side. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I tried the Mfg. site. Info is minimal, with no e-mail reponse. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Keep an eye on E-bay. It's the #1 place to fence stolen skydive gear. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Has anyone had flight experience with the Paar Avis Stealth canopy. It is supposed to be a high performance 9 cell elipitical comparable to the Crossfire II. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I have inquired to various manufactures in the past about chemical degradation of nylon. Sadly, there was no data about the affect on the calandered coatings on the parachute fabric. I'm suprised PIA hasn't done a study, it's really overdue. I also recently made an inquiry to DuPont and 3M on the affect ScotchGuard would have on Solarmax nylon fabric. 3M says it would not be harmful and would not effect porosity. No response from DuPont. It's a crapshoot. Do your own testing. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

I had a Pro Dytter and gave it to my wife because I couldn't hear it go off. My Time Out went bad the 2nd month I used it and the company would not even respond to my many letters. money wasted. I now have a Skytronic, the service sucks, but the thing is LOUD and has worked for 2 years now. By all means get a Pro-track if you can afford it and you arn't hard of hearing. The service provided is awesome. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Anti-vortrex winglets is what I believe he called them. I recently saw a guy jumping one of these Geman Vipers and there was a rigid triangle on the edge of the top side. They look pretty cheesy. Is it a gimmic or do they offer a performance advantage? Thanks! "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

This forum has lured me back to considering BASE. I jumped the WVa bridge in '86 and a 1200' TV tower a year ago. It scared the crap out if me. The injury and fatality references here also terrify me. On top of it all, I have a fear of heights (below ~600') If it wern't for this forum I'd never consider BASE again. My confidence is building because of the excellent equipment info here, and I have learned what an idiot I am and how ignorant I am about the sport. Hey, to this forum, I just might buy a rig soon for next summer and get some real training. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

You can freefly just about all of the latest containers. I think the VortexII is a good freefly container, I jump one. It also has a decent price and I think the the quality and comfort is far superior to th Dolphin. I bought a Dolphin new and had seams coming apart in less than 100 jumps. The Vortex has about 250 jumps and looks great. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

You probably could jump a Tri 160 now without a hitch. With the SabreII, it's a completely different ride. It's a much flatter angle of decent. It takes a to get used to it and fly safe. The advise to get a few in on a 190 SabreII should be taken. Once you get used to the different landings you shouldn't have any problems with a 170 SabreII. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

At first I thought I was the only one getting door terror. I worried like you are now. Years later, I still get the same feelings off and on. There's no pattern. I'll come back after a winter layoff and on my first jump I'll experience no anxiety, but then on a jump weeks later after I done many jumps I'll get terrified. Someone explained it to me that our brain is just doing a reality check. I worry about those who say they never have experienced it... "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Yes, it's you can do it. BUT it's quite a bit of change from the canopy you are used to. A move to a 170 Stiletto would be a more logical step. A lot depends on your loading. You need the advice of a rigger or your instructor to make a safe, informed decision. The Stiletto is a lot more skittish and unpredictable than your generic PD. Depending on the loading, you could be moving up from riding a bicycle to driving a Formula 1 race car. I takes time to learn to fly it. Push the learning curve and it will kill you. Talk to an expert who knows you jumping skills first. "Slow down! You are too young to be moving that fast!" Old Man Crawfish

Thanks you. Or I should say my wife thanks you!