Sandro29

Mike 'Fudd' was one of the guys who packed into my car when we drove down to Zhills a few years ago. He was tall and had to sit in the front seat of my Focus, while 3 other guys were squished in the back...it was a tight fit for all us and not very confortable at all for a long drive to Zhills...but we managed to get a bunch of laughs the entire ride down. Hard to believe we wont have an opportunity to do things like that again with you Fudd. Blue skies my friend FEZ If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

- I'm using the same thing. Rings always stay up and they dont seem to bounce around, and I dont see any wear on the lines around that area. I'm wondering now if I should remove them and bring the rings all the way down...hmmmmm. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I still have a little picture of him up on my wall..so I still get to see that smiling mug of his regularly. And he is still missed...and always will be. Blue ones to our buddy Ahmed....Cheers If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I had a Vengence 107 with the same issue. Lengthened the brake lines by 2 inches....problem gone. That was after I asked a rigger to watch my canopy during my dive.... Enjoy the Xaos, I have one as well now, and I love it. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Just wondering if anyone knows how to create a template or custom theme in Pinnacle Studio 14...where you can have your intro, various fade effects and ending, all preset. All that is needed is to drag your clips into the time line and perhaps adjust the volumes and add music. Any advice would be helpful.. Thanks If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

i went there a few years ago with a group from our DZ....had a GREAT time. Liz took care of us big time...the people there were all super nice, they fed us, got us drunk, and even wanted to jump with us We should organize another Canadian Invasion again. I recommend that place to everyone!! Cheers FEZ If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I demo'd a Neos at Zhills last Xmas and didn't find it all that impressive. The one I had, steering lines were WAY to long. I had to wrap them once around my hand, otherwise the flare started around my hips....so there wasn't much range from my hips to full arms length. The front riser pressure was super high I found. I've been flying a 107 canopy for the past 3 years and found the pressure super high compared to mine. Once the speed built up, I couldn't let up or pull down to adjust the dive....was only able to lock it in place where I started. The openings were very soft, but not much on heading. I demo'd a Velo96 for about 30 jumps while I was there as well, and the openings were much more on heading, so I don't think it was my body position that was always out of wack. All in all, I didn't leave with an impression that I wanted to go out and get one. It wasn't a bad canopy, just not something that suits me. Although their customer service was fantastic...very nice, and very helpful. Hope this helps. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I purchased a DeepSeed Multi-Speed suit and I love it. I added the mini grips on the arms and legs and I havent had any issues with that suit at all. If I'm flying with a lighter weight person, I simply open the zippers on the arms and legs, and voila...plenty of extra baggyness to slow me down a little more. The only mod i made to it (and I've emailed them about it), was to stitch down the bottom side of the mini grips on the leg area. I've found that when you're sit flying, those grips were acting like mini parachutes by catching air. Since I stitched that side down, problem gone. I'll recomend them to anyone.... Cheers If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Ask the tunnel about which hotels they deal with. I know there is a discount for Skyventure clients, but I just cant remember the name of the hotel...it's just around the corner from the tunnel. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I believe one of the main reasons for having a single entrance as opposed to two....insurance premiums. I believe the rates are considerably lower when having only 1 entrance...and a tunnel is all about making $$.

Mina, Haven't seen any more of your postings since last month...what up girl! Keep them comming. I haven't been to PST much this season, but hopefully this weekend or next I'll head up there and we can go for wings with Daniel...now that we know how to take appart your chair. Blue ones "FEZ" If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

The Niagara tunnel is simply a tourist trap....thats all it was designed to be....it's crap for skydivers. I've only been to 3 Skyventure tunnels, and they are all amazing....even the original one in Orlando despite its 'old' technology in comparision to the new generation of tunnels they have. The staff just makes the experience that much better. See you in the tunnel some time.... If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Niagara is designed as a tourist attraction...and they do not particularly want skydivers there, and that came straight from the manager/owner's mouth. Don't waste your time or $ there if you're looking to get some 'skydiving experience' from a tunnel. Montreal is well worth the drive. You'll gain soooo much more there than you would in Niagara....it's just 2 different technologies. I can go on and on.... Thats my 2 cents worth.... Cheers If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

This past Saturday I spent some time in the Montreal wind tunnel, doing some sit flying. It brought back a memory of Ahmed and I trying to learn how to sitfly at 3am in Orlando. I'll never forget his smiling face or his patience. Every time I'd show up at the DZ when Ahmed was doing tandems, I'll always remember those same words he's always say as soon as he'd see me....with a big smile on his face, "Fez, am I happy to see you..." Here is a toast to a great person....cheers Ahmed! If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Hey Everyone, I've never had the chance to travel by plane with my rig. I've spoken to the airline people and they've said that I can check the rig at the counter and I can bring it that way. The idea of leaving it out of my site worries me...I'd rather check my laptop and bring my rig onboard with me. Has anyone had issues with leaving the gear at check-in? If anyone has taken their gear on-board with them recently, how did they go about doing it? Thanks all for any input/advice. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Thats what some of the other pilots at my DZ say as well, although those guys all have Xbraced canopies...so I was wondering if that difference would be more noticable on a high performance canopy than it would on a Vengence 107. To tell you the truth, I was going to have one of our riggers measure my slider on my next jump so he can make one (he's made a few of the other RDS's at our DZ)...I was also going to measure the slider of one of the HP canopies just to compare sizes. I was hoping that RDS could be used on another canopy in the future should I decide to move to a different canopy. Our season is almost over here, so most likely I'll be getting an RDS and start from there. Thanks for the feedback again! If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Thanks for the input Dave, I was hoping to try that one this summer, but it never happened....so this winter at the Zhill Xmas boogie, I'll give it a good try and land a little farther out where there is no traffic, so I can see what it can do. I'm not convinced I have to downsize, but based on the fact that the Xbraced canopies should be loaded higher, then its like buying a Porche and driving it around your street instead of on a fast, windy, country road or the open highway. For now I'm having a good time with my Vengence 107 and only after I get a bunch of jumps on a few of the higher performance canopies, will I consider what I really should get or not....maybe I'll just get a removable slider for my 107 and see how much that changes the characteristics. Cheers. If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Hey Dave, Thanks for the feedback. To be honest I'm not sure I want to jump a X-braced. I've always heard the openings are not so pleasant....and I'm too scared to be cool.

Hello everyone, I'd like to get some feed back on canopies. I'll be looking to demo a Xaos, a Katana and a Velo this Xmas, and I was wondering what anyone has to say about them....good or bad or technical. At the moment I'm flying a Vengence 107 with a wing loading of 1.7 to 1.8. I've been flying it for 2 years now and am very confortable under it. Openings are quick but not hard, and they are almost ALWAYS on heading. I've learned to steer the openings with rises and that works very well for me. Swoops are steady between 200-300+' on low or no wind days, and based on air traffic, I've been doing 180-270's with a slow progressive turn that builds up speed quite nicely as opposed to an aggressive dive. Upwind, downwind, crosswind landings are all comfortable to me as well as rear riser flares and landings. I've never tried a cross-braced canopy, but have demo'd the Katana 107 last year and was not terribly impressed. I'd like to have a little more performance, but noting too radical. I like swooping, but will probably never compete at the Pro level.....maybe with more experience, at the local level eventually. I have a camera on my head, so opening are somewhat of importance to me. I plan on demoing the canopies mentioned above, but I'd like some input so I can have an idea of what I'll be looking for or trying during the demos. Thanks everyone for their responses.! If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Ok, here is a thought...Although I haven't looked at my risers yet, wouldn't it be approx. 3 inches from the cat eye in the steering lines or the point where we stow our brakes, to the connector point on the risers? I'm wondering if the connector point on the risers (where the risers attach to the lines) can cause a weakness on the steering lines, even though many of us use Slinks as opposed the hard links? I'm going to open my gear tonight and look over that area just for curiosity. I'm thinking that just the fact that it sits in your container, the brake line may be constantly pushing or resting against that point, which could cause a weakness over time.... Thoughts anyone? Thanks again... If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Thanks everyone for the replies. I spoke to a number of jumpers around here and nobody seems to be aware of this potential issue/problem. I can tell from the responses that it has happend on a number of occasions. I'm surprised most jumpers (even the experienced ones) don't seem to be aware of this, or at least haven't considered this issue....as part of 'what would I do if it happend to me' I'm definately going to learn a little more about lines and line types for my own comfort. Please keep any additional comments comming....i'm learning here. Regards, FEZ If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Hello all, We had a strange incident that happened at our DZ last weekend. I didn't post in the incidents section because this particular one, I don't think there is anything to learn from it in terms of jumper error. Here are details. Jumper is very current...flies a Katana 120 with an approx wing load of about 1.7-1.8 I believe. He had a normal opening....flew araound as he normally would, no drastic spins and turns. Does a front riser 180 turn on final, just as he beging leveling off with his toggles....SNAP...break line snaps clean about 3 inches obove the the little loop in the line where you would stow your toggle through. His gear was in good condition. I've packed it myself a few times and no wear and tear was visible, and the lines did not show any fuzzy stuff arund them, etc. I'm not sure why type of lines they were.... As far as I know, there isn't alot of pressure on the flare to snap a line. I could understand if there was a hard opening that it could have damaged the lines and created a weakness, but he reports he hadn't had any hard openings. This jumper is in the hospital now with a broken Femur...could have been MUCH worse. So my question is, has anyone seen this happen before or has heard of this happening? What could cause it to snap like that? I haven't yet seen the line itself, but this weekend we'll be checking to see if there are any signs that the line was cut partially (knife, scissors, sharp object) that may have weakend the line and it went un-noticed, or if the line shows wear marks where it snapped...fuzzy stuff around the area where it snaped. Any suggestions or comments on this.... Thanks If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

I came accross a few low res pics, where it looks like the brakes are not stowed and the lines are tied to one of the D lines with a rubber band....like some Tandem mains. Is this the method that is recomended for packingn, and would it be the same for the 21 and the 27? I'm really curious... If anyone has any comments, please let me know. Thanks much! If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

Hey Skybrother, i met the boys from CrossKeys while i was in Zhills in Feb...and they are a great bunch! I'm hoping they are going to have their Canadian Invasion Boogie this summer. If they do, maybe we'll see you there this summer. Welcome to the Sky ! FEZ If at first you don't succeed....then Skydiving is not for you!

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