Swanee

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Everything posted by Swanee

  1. Swanee

    Wonderhog?

    My first Wonderhog was bought second hand in Australia in the 70s. If I recall it was Serial Number 14. It was pre 3 ring, and featured a reserve blast handle located on the left hip! Not sure if that was original but I did change it to a more conventional location. Don't think I have any pictures of it.
  2. I always thought those pockets were just for show. I have video of a reserve deployment of mine (fairly violent mal) a couple of years ago that clearly shows those pockets fully inflating and helping things along--it was a clean deployment though, not a horseshoe
  3. I have purchased two new 2k3 racers in the past year--the first one I got with a high chest strap and the second was with a low one. At first the high strap felt a bit strange because it was higher than on my previous rig but now that I am used to it, I am happy with either. Both harnesses fit great. cheers John
  4. Can I also give a thumbs up to Conceptus? They are at [email protected] Outstanding response and product support for their switches--I'm not in the USA but I still get first class service from them! John
  5. Try Pinnacle HD studio. Works seamlessly for me and seems to handle the GoPro HD files very well.
  6. The latest I have is 3817 El Alisal Street, Bakersfield CA 93304 I am about to send off an application John
  7. Still getting the same funky web site instead of the proper one. Tried to send an email to Bill but it bounced John
  8. My Safire 1 manual says to psycho pack it which I have done since it was new. 1700 jumps later never a hint of a hard opening and one chop, which was not packing related. hope this helps.
  9. When I bought my Safire in 2001 the manual recommended psycho packing so that's what I have done for the last 1,500 jumps on it. I see the manual now recommends pro packing for all their canopies--I have no plans to change.
  10. I like to put the shoe goo not just on the bottoms, but also in the seam and about 1 inch up the sides. Really protects the booties.
  11. My rigger has made an adjustable cushion (velcro closed and adjusted by adding and removing pieces of foam) that is sewn to the bottom of the pack tray. Works great, and allows me to use a smaller canopy in a bigger rig. Easily removed if needed. Hope this helps.
  12. I have heard the term used in Australia in the 1970's. I had my Paracommander in one. If I recall it was kind of like a cross between a sleeve and a bag. I was also told then that P.O.D. stood for Parachute Opening Device.
  13. Ah yes--I remember the spider slider. My foil still has the grommet in the top although it now has the D-Ring lip slider. I only use the canopy for accuracy and hop 'n pops. Currently the brakes are set well before the stall point (i.e. under canopy I can pull the toggles down to the "mark" and I'm nowhere near stalling).
  14. I would be interested in the brake settings for an old 252 Foil from the manual if anyone has a copy. It may help my openings. Yesterday I had a cutaway casued by the pilot chute and bridle coming over the front of the canopy during inflation and wrapping around some of the lines in the back. The result looked like a line over.
  15. re Melbourne My home DZ is at Tooradin which is quite a scenic spot on the coast less than an hour from Melbourne city. That's a good place to start.
  16. I've just had a new (longer) kill line fitted after many hundreds of jumps with a shorter one. (and no spin ups) My pilot chute is now spinning up on nearly every jump, so I'm guessing it can be related to kill line length.
  17. My rigger tacked a velcro closed "pouch" to the base of my pack tray. He gave me a number of sheets of high density foam that I can insert in the pocket to vary the size. Works very well, for many hundreds of jumps.
  18. I got one in Australia--and it appeared to be posted in France
  19. Swanee

    goggles

    I have dealt with the company (Pacific Coast Sunglasses) and have bought two pairs of goggles (not overgoggles) from them. No problems with service, quality or price Swanee
  20. Just had my Safire relined by Para Concepts. I was really impressed by their attention to detail and quick response to emails. Canopy was back when it was promised, at the cost that was quoted. Hope this helps.
  21. Well, the new slider from NAA has arrived, and it's a monster! It's actually not rectangular, but trapeziodal. It's aprox 25" wide at the non lipped end and approx 30" wide at the lipped end. The lip is pocketed and is 3 feet long! Just checking, how should this all be oriented when installing? Also, the Foil currently has reefing rings on the stabilzers to act as slider stops. The D rings on the new slider will not stop at the reefing rings. Is this going to be a problem? Swanee
  22. I would have to say, out of nearly 1600 jumps, that my one balloon jump ranks near the top in pure enjoyability. Things that made an impression on me. The quietness--you can hear things on the ground--i.e. a train passing Falling into dead air--there is no airspeed, then you can feel it building up. I did about a 10 sec delay from 4 grand. I left stable and stayed stable. Whether that was good luck or skill I don't know.
  23. My Safire 1 169 was made in New Zealand and as far as I know is the same as all the others. It better be. It's currently bring re-lined by Para Concepts in Chicago, and it's being treated the same as those made elsewhere.
  24. Got me thinking about the releases I've actually had chops on in the past 1 1/2 shots something called sport life wells R2 R3 3 ring we need to remember that we didn't always know something better was going to happen in the future, so I often had the best available at the time.