bhale

Does rolling the nose increase the probability of off heading openings?

You can reassure him that the tandem instructor he will be jumping with is in love with himself, greatly increasing his odds of surviving uninjured!

Yes, we use them allot. They are really "super" tough to work with, however. It is extremely difficult opening them enough to get the lines in. For 525 and smaller, they are very good.

Newcastle!!!

That is my company!

That could leave a mark!

Pictures? :-)

I was taking a level 3 up and, right before we got set up for our exit, the girl in front us, very well built, flashed us. Needless to say, the student bombed the skydive, did terrible. We landed, I walked over to him, and he was grinning ear to ear. All he could say was, "Did you see the size of her hooters!!?" Not a care in the world that he was going to have to repeat the dive. What a spell you evil women have!

I can talk to both, as I have done toggle turns for many years, under high speed canopies. I have just recently, under Chuck Blue's recommendation, begun doing riser turns. With toggle turns, timing is more critical: you have to make the turn allowing enough time for your body to swing back under the canopy, providing the speed. Turn too low, and your body and canopy hit the ground at the same time-not good. I have found the riser turns to be much more dynamic, the turn makes for a much steeper rate of attack, while keeping your body better centered under the canopy. This does allow for more opportunity to dig out, if the turn is too low. Riser turns do provide much greater speed for longer swoops. As a reference, I was jumping Jedei 120's, and now jump Comp. Cobalt 95's. Riser turns are where it is.

Booties do take some getting used to. You really have to fly with legs up more, to prevent unwanted forward drive. Forward movement/tracking with booties is much more dymanic. Really watch the additional speed you'll have when approaching formations. I love the additional range they provide.

It is most comparable to a Stilletto, in the PD family. The great thing about the Cobalt is the ability to use ALL the flare range without fear of stalling. Plane it out, keep those feet up, and let it fly. Skymonkey one, give up the advice!

I can hardly wait for Dan to reply to this one. While the fabric is different, to say it is "cheaper" could make one question the quality. The fabric is fantastic, great to pack, and certainly as good as PD's. I have one Cobalt, jumping it now, and one on the way. Hey Dan, I getting anxious!! These canopies are the BEST!!!

Sounds like wasted time to me. If you are rushing to get on the next load, this extra step could prevent you from making it. After a few thousand pack jobs, you won't need that step.

That is interesting, wait/hope for the canopies to go back into a biplane. If the canopies are clear of entanglement, you are sure there are no lines, or any portion of the canopy entangled, my advice would be to cut away the main. What if the two never went back into a biplane? Have you ever witnessed a "ground plane"? Not pretty.

Any dropzone that doesn't welcome new jumpers, regardless of experience level, have issues. Unfortunately, there are plenty that have tight clics, and can make new/low time jumpers feel unwelcome. My advice, walk on the DZ confident, but honest. Have fun!!!

Poo Poo!! That is just plain hilarious!! Now I have a shitty outlook on the rest of the day.

I have over 1500 AFF jumps, and I would never discourage a student from arching. You may want to try relaxing a bit more, with being so flexible, you may be over-arching. Have you had your jumps video'd? I agree with the jumpsuit, more material. Certainly, don't change a good body position for the sake of a jumpmaster, who is having fall rate problems. Just remember the golden rule, pull at the correct altitude.

When I first started, many years ago, it was standard practice to, at the very least, give your buddy a pin check. It is sad that the sport has grown to such a quick pace, there is no time for safety checks that could save your life. I never get offended, at almost 3000 jumps, when someone offers to check my pin. Stay safe, live long!

I have jumped both Oxygen and, own a Z1. I found the Oxygen to be more sight restrictive. My field of vision with the Z1 is MUCH better. Certainly, the "boxed in" feeling does take some getting used to, but once you give it some time, it is great. Hope that helps.

It was that day that I knew, there is a greater power looking over you!! Can you say, "Twilight Zone"

There are a couple of noteable occasions, but I will share my favorite. MANY years ago, trying to pack, late at night, after too many brews, with too many "friends" helping. They would pull the canopy out of the bag, pull my cutaway handle, etc.... All the things that make you want to kill. After the last cutaway handle pull, I threw my hands in the air and walked away. The next morning, much to my surprise, my rig was packed. It was a cloudy day, so we were prepared to do hop and pops. I jumped at around 2,800. Did the usual canopy play-spirals, bow ties, etc... Flared for landing, feet touched the ground, canopy seperated from my container. Turns out, with all the horse play the night before, my three rings had never been hooked up. Definitely one for the books!!!

I have, almost, 3,000 jumps. 2000+ have been on "hot rods". I bought an h-mod 95 several weeks ago and love it so much, I ordered a comp. 95. Once you learn to stay away from the risers during deployment, the openings are fantastic! Cobalts are IT!!!

Is Todd going to have a bigger A/C for the event?

Skydive Temple, in Salado, TX., is right next door to a truck stop! We walk to the truck stop, multiple times a weekend for food, etc...

With parental consent, we take 16 year olds on Tandems and AFF. Come see us!