michael

Hi, More funky results. On the 'Classifieds' page, Select 'Classifieds' from the Search drop down box. Enter a search term a click 'Go' : Error! Must enter search engine Same result in IE8 and Chrome 21.0. Michael

It does, which is why coaches charge $200/hr.

Does anyone have specific pack volume figures for these canopies? My current reserve has a pack volume of about 270cu in., and Im curious to see how far up I can go with an Optimum.

Hey, check out Luke Oliver's Teaching and Learning Canopy Flight: Beyond The First Jump Course: http://www.lukeoliver.com/thesis/ mick

Except that those ideas persist when those same jumpers downsize and move to smaller, faster, parachutes. Teach the right way first, I reckon!

Dumping high is cool. I think the old-school idea of break off at 4, track till 3, pitch to be swinging by 2-2.5k is dangerous, particularly on these types of parachutes. I think a re-education of jumpers for a 5 grand break off, track and pitch to be swinging by 3500 is a great idea. After all, is that extra 3 to 5 seconds of freefall really worth finding yourself in a world of shit, in a spinning mal at 1500?

Ha..nice one! Still waiting on Dan's response to that question, though.

Hey Dan, The Onyx seems to have a really short line set. Just wondering what your reasoning was for this?

Also consider this, especially if you have anything top-mounted: If you leave your slider sitting above your head at the links and like to hook on risers, remember that when you pull a riser, you pull it down..along with the links and slider that are attached. During the turn, the slider that was sitting just above your head is now sitting on your top-mounted gear, whether it be a video or stills camera. It'd be a shock to release the riser after 180-ing to land and find that the slider had caught on a piece of your helmet. I prefer the behind-the-head method.

Hey airdrew, I have to disagree with the last few posters here about Stilettos and camera. I have about 600 on stilettos - 150, 135, 120 and 107 - with 500 of those being with a vid/stills setup. Each opening has been soft, and very easy on the neck. I had had two linetwist openings in that time, none resulting in a cutaway. And its fun to swoop. Remember though - maintain your gear. If you get consistent offheading or linetwist openings, get a reline. Same for any canopy. If youre coming from a square 160, remember that body position is very important during deployment. I couldnt recommend it more as a canopy, particularly for camera.

>Infact what exactly is carving Rendezvous, Carving is generally a speed-gaining turn where the wing (ie the parachute above your head) remains loaded (with your suspended weight) throughout the manuever. This is opposed to something like the 'snap hook' described earlier where your ability to recover from the turn is limited momentarily while you pendulum out from the wing. Carving is possible with toggles, front, and rear risers. Michael

Hey , Has anybody had any experiences with the Vapour helmet from SkySystems?

Hi there.. I have an EOS 500N. If the day is generally good (blue sky, reasonable light) I tend just to use the Sports pre-setting. I dont really get to creative when filming tandems or students, and Ive found its a pretty good 'all-round' setting. If I want to play with settings I'll let the camera select the aperture and Ill manually set shutter speed, or vice versa - its produced some interesting results. The best way to play, though, is to read the manual. I know, I know, nobody likes to, but i found it suprising what my camera would do!

>there's a reason your canopy doesn't have a collapsible >slider.. It's not a performance canopy and wont really benefit >from it. Yeah. A 747 isnt a jet fighter either, but Boeing still invest a considerable amount refining the design. Anything that minimises drag is beneficial. >Consider moving on to a Sabre(2) or Safire in the 190/170 >size. These will perform very differently from what you are >used to, and will begin to be in the performace range where >it actually makes a difference. Hmm..yeah your slider isnt collapsable, so instead of spending twenty bucks and having some drawstrings installed I recommend you go and buy another canopy, despite not knowing you, your skill level, or your proficiency in the air. Great idea.

If you have a Sony camera, use Sony tapes. After working alongside some guys who experimented with other brands (Panasonic noteably) in their camera, and seeing the rediculous amount of dropouts, Ive stuck with Sony. Nothings worse than having to re-dub a video when youre busy.