rmcvey

The crossfire is an excellent canopy and you will love it but unlike the sabre its elliptical/HP and may disagree with skysurfing deployments/malfuntions. The safire is a nine cell semi-elliptical (??) i think. but have never jumped one so can't comment on how it performs. I also no nothing about skysurfing apart from i wouldnt want to jump a crossfire at the wingloading you suggest on a board jump, but you need to speak to someone more expierenced in skysurfing about this.

Like you say, peolple just don't have any idea of a safe progression when it comes to swoop landings. 99% of dzs have no formal instruction on even the basics how a canopy flies, both the theory of and the practical aspects. But I cant see this lasting for many more years. If I had never been to the States, or had DZ.com for a wealth of knowledge, i wouldnt have a clue what would happen if i pulled down my front riser/s. When you talked about practicing up high, definatelly and i would also say that on my first 10 front riser approaches i didnt even do a 90, just a straight in to get used to the feel of things. Another good thing i would often practice is while up high, go through your landing and practice an "emergency stop" a various stages of the swoop, by banging out of the turn with toggles, again, to get the "feel" of how your canopy reacts. Also about 3 or 4 times now ive purposeely not used any front risers and just landed normally, straigt in with a normal flare, even when i could have safely started a front riser approach, this is because i found i would get into the habit of front riser landings, and then feel kinda "let down" if for whatever reason I had to land normally. This "i must swoop" kind of state of mind was what got me worried. So i learnt not to swoop and not feel bad!! Even when i could of! Learn to call it off in a heartbeat if things aren't perfect. Im still a novice myself and am enjoying learning but have like many seen ones gone wrong so go steady, respect your canopy and always expect someone else to f*ck up Coz they always do!!!!!

He He, know the feeling. I learnt to jump at a one cessna dz and to me its my "home dz". Everybody knows everbody, everyone does their bit for the dz etc. great beer sessions, partys, etc.... But if i wanna do some serious jumping i go elsewhere, because i NEED serious jumping once in a while..... But ive found you never quite get the same "tight-knit" social scene goiing on at bigger dz's, but hey thats just me. Regarding students loads, i know what you mean! it can be a bit frustrating when you wanna jump but i enjoy seeing the students having a good time and progressing, which is to me what a dz is about. Hope you learn to love the place...or trust me, you'll go craaaaazee

www.original-lizard.com Anyone bought from here??

why were the ninjas grounded?

Yes it will go in and be perfectlly safe to jump as long as your closing loop retains the pin tight enough, which may be tricky (im presuming the container was also for a 220) It won't look too good though, and to get the loop tight enough at the pin you will have to squash the d bag into an awful mess, ruining your nice pack job. If you imagine a 220 in the bag, the bag will be full and nice and ridgid. The flaps on the rig were desined to fit round this. If you knock off 50sqft then the bag will be very soft and spongy, so when your pulling the pull up through the grommets the bag will squash as the loop comes through. My advice would be to buy the right size container it will look alot better and be easier to pack. But if your stuck with this rig for whatever reason, try it but be sure you can get the closing loop tight enough. Thats the only problem. Oh, also the pilotchute size may be an issue (as the bag will weigh alot less) You may need a smaller one. Not sure on an exact size though...anyone????

Has anyone got this yet and if so what are the requiremements for each "grade" (A,B,C etc). I heard soon if you want to jumpp in countries not affiliated to your own countries organization (BPA, USPA etc...) you will need an international licience. Is this a good idea or just pants??

The theoritical max speed (presuming it took place on this planet) would be around 1000mph. All you need is some sort of aerial craft (balloons seem the favourite at the moment) to take you up to about 150,000 feet then just get out. Obviouslly your lungs would explode and your blood would be at serious risk of boiling, so a a big cosy space suit would probably be a good idea. Then you need a rig which you can still use after such extreme conditions and balls the size of a family car. Also other factors would include things like your mass vs surface area ratio which i think relates to your terminal velocity, air density/pressure , temperature, gravity etc etc. If you really want to go wild go to Jupiter and you'd probably smoke up to about 20,000 mph. But i think the current record from "normal altitude" is 354mph.

ok .. i'll practice on a few solos to get the feel of it but ive been trying without luck for a while. Also while your here... whats the fastest way to scrub off speed if i need to (say i get reeeal good) and come flying in towards someone?? For slight backwards movement from my neutral ive been leaning forward slightly and bringing my feet back, towards below my butt, and also bringing my arms slightly forward to. ????anything?

With my legs in the position chris was originally teaching me i find small adjustments to my fallrate are easier and think i have more "range" as in i find i only have to push down alittle to speed up quite alot. At the moment im struggling with controlled forwards motion. I can move forward in relation to someone, but i have to really push down with the feet and lean back. The pushing the feet down bit causes me to speed up, which is frustrating. Im not sure if this is related to the way i have my legs (about shoulder width,..i only get them wide when im trying to go real slow, virtually on my back) When i try forwards motion from a neutral, focusing on not pushing down too much, getting my hips forward, i tend to slow down in relation to who im with. I realise forward movement causes a loss of fallrate but im struggling to find the body position where i can maintain fallrate and move forward in a controlled way. Any tips for my next few jumps?

Earlier this year i did some coaching with a certain teammate of yours at elsinore ...(Cfiala) We worked on my head up stuff. During the coaching he was insistant about the position of my legs, in particular how wide my legs were. He had me flying with my legs quite close together (about 6 inches between the knees). Now for whatever reason (i was on holiday, beer, late nights etc) i cant recall the reason for this. Since then i have done coaching with other people who immediatley picked me up on how close together my legs were, saying id be more stable and have more range with them nice and wide. Im under the impression you guys have done tons of jumps together so would be interested to know the physics/theory behind his "legs close" flying and whether or not you also teach this to student funksters. Rob

On the sizing guide for the wings the w5 says it will fit the tempo 120 raven 120 and then pd 126 (tight) I have a Pd 126 R and was looking for advice on just how difficult this will be to pack. (with a cypress as well) How tight is "tight" (if you see what im getting at?) Any riggers packed this combination??

Speaking of pack volumes, i may be a halfwit but my cobalt 135 seems to pack bigger than a spectre 150. Is this because of the number of cells? Ok heres another question, how is the area of a canopy determined, is it by the area of material used in making it or the chord times span? (i think i know the answer but im having an argument with someone at the dz about this and want to be sure before i look an idiot)

So one size bigger/smaller doesnt work too well with this? Hmmm. Was hoping by getting the V0 id have the option of 105, 120 and 135 for some of the reasons you said, may want to go smaller, or bigger etc.

Oooh Laughlin, I went out there this year (we borrowed an otter from Elsinore...thanks karl !) tooooooo hot for wimpy brits like me! Which dz will you be jumping at? the little airfield with that dodgy "alfalfa" stuff growing in the landing area which comes up tour waist? Awesome views of the rockies. have fun. Where you staying, Harrahs? Dont forget Losers Lounge.

can you fit a pd126 R (with cypress)and a 135 cobalt in a voodoo V0 The sizing guide says it will fit 120main/120reserve. But i heard the voodoo doesnt "size up" well? what does this mean? Anyone tried this combo?? Reason is i will probably be on a 120 if not a 105 by the end of next year but am getting a brand new container. Want to keep my current canopies for the meantime, until ready and was wondering if they will squeeze in?

did you do the mr bill and if so how ?

48 miles. you yanks have it sweet, in the uk fuel is nearly 80p a litre (about $1.30 a litre) Yes i know its scandalous, thats why no one drives hum Vs or big ass "sports utility vechiles" (or whatever you call them.) o

I was told these photo's were fake. I heard he was wearing a harness under his jumpsuit and had a steel cable through his sleeve connected at the leg straps. Anyone heard this/heard otherwise?? Either way they are excellent photos.

i met someone who had an "FB" number. when i asked them what it stood for the they said freakbrother. Someone explain????

Hahahaha! nice one dude, yes, harsh, but that cheered me up no end.

I might do a bit of tworking myself this weekend!

Theres a good article by patrickl passe on http://www.bpa.org.uk/skydive/pages/articles/jun02/ontrack.htm about body positions exit order/seperation etc. cool pics as well. might help.

You guys have obviously never jumped in england. We land in the cowfield, pitch our next to the cows share beer with the cows and some even have names. Most dz's are on farmland which means cow cows and more cows, (sometimes sheep as well!) So when you set up your landing think cows/cowshit. Also impacting a cow while mid-swoop is not good. (but can strangely be funny to see happen) Moo.

does cow crap have acid in it which damages zp? hhhm i think someone may be hanking my chain