mattjw916

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Gear

  • Container Other
    Javelin
  • Main Canopy Size
    96
  • Main Canopy Other
    JFX
  • Reserve Canopy Size
    126
  • Reserve Canopy Other
    Optimum
  • AAD
    Cypres 2

Jump Profile

  • Home DZ
    Perris or Eloy
  • License
    D
  • License Number
    35134
  • Licensing Organization
    USPA
  • Number of Jumps
    2300
  • Tunnel Hours
    50
  • Years in Sport
    14
  • First Choice Discipline
    Formation Skydiving
  • Second Choice Discipline
    Wing Suit Flying
  • Freefall Photographer
    Yes

Ratings and Rigging

  • USPA Coach
    No
  • Pro Rating
    No
  • Wingsuit Instructor
    No

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  1. Yeup, did them at Perris a couple years ago. No moon, very dark at exit. It was definitely more difficult to find the DZ initially after deployment but once you do it's just another night jump. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  2. Toggles are for quitters! NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  3. Updated because I was bored and because I own(ed) too many canopies: Sabre 2, Spectre, PD 9-cell - 210 (a little under 1:1, didn't like the light loading at all plus they were all rentals and lol F111) Sabre 2, Spectre, Silhouette 190 (only the Sabre 2 was a keeper IMO, still getting molested by light breezes) Safire 1 189 (first canopy I owned, it was more like a 175 due to measuring variations, lots of jumps on this) Stiletto 150 (didn't like it at the time, I'd probably think a small one was more fun now) Nitron 170 (probably around 1.2 loading, tons of jumps, loved it!) Nitron, Nitro, Jedei 150 (tried some other stuff, went back to Nitron, lost weight, lots of jumps) Pulse 170 (got recurrent, dozens of jumps, didn't really like it but I can see how some people would love it) Nitron 150 (use this for wingsuiting still) Nitron 135 (best all-purpose canopy I've jumped) Samurai 120 (twitchy, light riser pressure, nice swoops) JFX 96 (stable, high riser pressure, good swoops if you trust your rears ) I put hundreds of jumps on the Nitrons, Samurai, and JFX... after a lot more x-brace experience I'll try the VK out. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  4. Lightly loaded Sabre2s will frequently have closed end cells. Packing changes will not affect it at all. After over a decade of listening to people complain about closed end cells and/or slider hang-ups on Sabre2s the best option is to just change canopies or learn to live with it. Getting good separation is mandatory regardless. Even if you have a nice opening under a fancy new 190, your friend might not, and hitting another canopy on deployment is about as pleasant as running a bicycle into a park-bench. Downsizing because you don't want closed end cells really isn't a good reason, if you just want to go faster, that's a good reason. While 1.3 under a 190 isn't tremendously aggressive, it's really pushing it at sub-100 jumps IMO. Especially on a hot no-wind day or landing out. Plus, even if you think you're being whipped or diving under a 230, it's really just a slow turn that recovers fast to level flight. When that 190 whips a 180 degree turn the first time you're going to get a whole new perspective on it. BTW, people often want larger canopies for bigger formation jumps, not smaller. It gives you more time to find a safe place to land. Just something to think about. Have fun, be safe. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  5. The Pulse is just a better canopy than the Silhouette but the super-flat glide does lend itself to over-shooting (done it a couple times myself with that wing). If I was trying to be very accurate with it I'd tend to set up very far and stretch my final on rears if needed especially since a big one will float along seemingly forever. The biggest I've flown was a 170 at 1.2 or so and getting caught in thermals off the runway basically stopped my descent nearly completely a few times. I wouldn't recommend trying to "sink-in" a Pulse, that sounds like a broken tailbone waiting to happen. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  6. I haven't tried it, but I really haven't heard anything really positive about it from those that have relative to the Velo performance wise. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  7. Visual altimeters aren't very useful when doing more complicated jumps and aren't the end-all-be-all of altitude awareness. Even a Viso high on your forearm can become twisted around so you can't see it. Arm pockets on jumpsuits also wear out and crack pretty quickly. Glare from the sun can also make them unreadable at times. An audible (or two), other jumpers, or looking down can give you good clues when it's time to leave. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  8. It doesn't look like anyone has touched the plane in years... I wouldn't hold my breath. It would be cool to see it fly again but since it's been sitting for around 10 years or so the probability seems low without a huge influx of time and money to get it legal again. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  9. lol, "mandatory" cell phone... kids today personally I enjoy NOT having my cell phone with me while I'm jumping NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  10. The Xaos has been around for ages... if it was a design issue it would have come up a long time ago. There's even a vid on Teem of someone doing a Mr Bill with one. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  11. Plus, there are different methods of measuring on top of that as well... Then factor in that certain designs are WAY more aggressive than others and nit-picking over size becomes less of a concern IMO. People who know what they're looking for won't care if it's an "off-size". Back in the day I believe Icarus (?) would make you nearly any size you asked for, i.e 166, 152, 121, etc. It's been a while but I'm sure some of those 1-off canopies are still circulating the DZs or in closets somewhere. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  12. mattjw916

    pd pulse

    The Pulse has a low porosity bottom skin and a ZP top skin... generally you don't want to load canopies of that nature as high. Most canopies in general will be more responsive if you load them higher, up to a point, like was said previously. Some designs aren't as effective as you scale them too far up or down in size. Loading up a Pulse would be like trying to do hot laps of your favorite racetrack in a family car. Sure, you can drive it "fast" but that's not how it's intended to be used. Accordingly, you don't want to be sitting in a Ferrari in stop and go traffic. Use the right tool for the job. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  13. Terms like "flies small" or "flies big" are highly subjective. Who knows what canopies the people that said that have flown, their experience level, or if they're just parroting comments to make themselves sound insightful. PD's charts are very old and very conservative. Not to say that's bad, it's just a fact. People regularly greatly exceed even the "MAX" weight listed. I've even flown a Silhouette 150 with an exit weight over the MAX... I even swooped it and managed a decent surf while wearing/dragging a wingsuit behind me. To me, a Silhouette doesn't "fly small", it feels like a boat because of the range of canopies and loadings I normally fly. It just feels like a normal "square" canopy that opens a bit sharply and has a mediocre flare with not much on the bottom-end. If you're landing it safely and you have an instructor (who knows you) that recommended it, you're probably fine. It's a very conservative design which is not much different than the Navigator you were using. You'd probably enjoy flying something like a Sabre2 190 more though if you can find one to try out, it's just a better overall canopy. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  14. Yeup, my Phantom Edge showed up quickly and fit perfectly as well... just over a month from order to doorstep IIRC. Zero complaints here. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080
  15. I have the Chutingstar slider keeper mod on one set of risers; it works great. NSCR-2376, SCR-15080