BrianM

I knew it was out of warranty and wasn't looking for a freebie. I would have been quite happy to pay for a repair. My concern was about them not being willing to repair it at all after a year. So if the one I bought to replace it dies in 13 months, I'm supposed to throw it in the garbage and buy a third one? I almost didn't buy the replacement because of that. If it happens again, I'll replace it with someone else's product. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

That wasn't my experience. I recently contacted them about my ProTrack which had stopped working and was told I was out of luck because it was over a year old. I was surprised given how often I hear about their legendary customer support. I ended up buying a new one. I almost bought something from a different manufacturer out of fear of getting stuck with another paperweight if it died again in 13 months, but in the end decided I liked the ProTrack better than the competition's products. I hope I didn't make the wrong choice. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I don't recall seeing a new canopy that didn't have the lines daisy chained. Edit: oh wait... did I just totally miss a sarcastic comment? Agreed. I also prefer them even with links. Daisy chaining doesn't keep the links from flipping through the lines, and connecting the links together doesn't tell me which one is which. I still do a full continuity check after hooking up the canopy - but the actual hook up is much faster, and I never find errors that need fixing. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

The graph on the last page needs to be fixed. The date is on the Y axis (would make more sense on the X axis), and the X axis is unlabelled. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Looks like drogue side up to me. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

My bad. I meant to say: Take this to the bank. There is NO general aviation in China. Period. 44 Ah, well that's a different statement! A quick google search for "general aviation china" suggests there is, in fact, some GA in China - but not very much. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Nonsense. ... or perhaps it's actually impossible to fly in and out of China on commercial airlines? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I posted some photos of tri-by-sides with the parabatics grip a few years ago here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=2498160#2498160 "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

How do I hear the other person's flappy-flappy slider over the sound of MY flappy-flappy slider, which is a mere couple feet or so from my ears? It might make it harder to hear things other than another slider, too - like a yell. I prefer to collapse mine. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

It isn't too difficult. I've done it many times, using the parabatics grip. You can do lots of other neat stuff with the parabatics grip. Check out this short video of the Plaid Jackets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1VMUZw8W0A "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Changing the reference altitude will affect arming altitude, no fly zones (see page 32 of the CYPRES 2 manual), and detection of having landed (though according to the manual, that last one will only happen if landing higher than the set DZ elevation). It may also affect other algorithms that none of us know about. Changing the activation altitude seems like a much better method than changing the reference altitude. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Yay!!!

Maybe I'm just confused, but those two statements seem contradictory. If the cutaway is just for high winds, how do you expect to deploy the second canopy like a skyhook? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I have seen a CYPRES with a fired cutter pass the self test. According to Airtec this can sometimes happen for a short time after the cutter is fired. Sure enough, after letting it sit for a bit, it no longer passed the self test. So, in the scenario of a fired cutter with an uncut loop or locked container, it would be possible to see the blank display, think you'd forgotten to turn it on or that it had powered off after 14 hours, turn it on, and be unaware that anything had happened, if it was soon enough after the firing. Here's the response from Airtec about why this can happen - I figured it was better than trying to paraphrase and getting something wrong: "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Cause swoopers on that canopy cut you up in the pattern and it sounds slightly better than "overtaker" That'll only make sense to people in the UK ("undertake" and "cut up" aren't used that way elsewhere). "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

[inline popcorn.gif] Edit: Odd - the inline image works when I preview the message, but not when I post it. Oh well - you'll just have to click on the attachment! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I don't know about old school, but it sounds like you have a double standard, since you commented on the woman's lack of self respect but said nothing about the man! "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I've found the opposite is often true - newer jumpers often have more gear fear, and will really, really want to have the gear looked at by someone they know and trust. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I voted to repack it - but I'm a rigger, so it doesn't cost me anything. If I wasn't a rigger? I'd probably get it repacked both to make sure it's airworthy, and to make sure that the equipment is as described - it's hard to complain to the seller about that six months after the transaction. I've done free I&R's for new jumpers buying their first rig when I knew they didn't have much money. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

I was going to say the same thing. An additional benefit is you get an extra chance at catching an uncocked PC. If I forget to cock it, I notice as soon as I start bagging the canopy because the bridle/kill line looks different than normal. I don't even need to remember to check, it's very obvious. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

You could try something like this: http://www.pacsafe.com/www/index.php?_room=3&_action=detail&id=11 "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Point taken as to preferred usage. But even the printed notes from my prof Dr. Vranesic calls it both assembler language and assembly language... back when learning to program the Motorola 6809! Lots of people call it assembler - it's just always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine for some reason. Pay me no heed! I haven't done much with the 6809 family, but have done a lot of assembly on the 68000 (plus a handful of non-Motorola microprocessors, mostly the 8052 family). "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Yes I believe that was a factor at the time. There was talk (on rec.skydiving) about how simple the processing seemed to be, from the little that had been heard about the internal logic. It just didn't sound like there had been much attempt even to design smart logic. Sounds a lot like the Vigil, to be honest. Those seem to be selling well. I'm not convinced that is the reason (or at least not the only reason) that the Astra didn't do well. I am. I wouldn't use a BASIC stamp in any production environment, even for non safety critical applications. It's like the Sears microscope I had as a kid: an suitable toy for the hobbyist who wants to learn a bit, but it's not a real tool. No scientist has a Sears microscope in their lab. Using a BASIC Stamp for an AAD blows my mind. It's impossible to code in assembler because there is no such language. You can code in assembly though, then use an assembler to convert it into machine code. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Two and a half years ago, a few dropzone.com posters reported this problem. Apparently AAD was aware of the problem then. Two years ago I removed a Vigil from a customer's rig with the same problem. AAD told her it was a known issue. Now we are being told that this is an isolated problem that they are just finding out about now? "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg

Had a dream years ago where I went in when nothing out, not even the PC. I got up and dusted myself off and, embarrassed, looked around quickly to see if anyone had noticed. Nobody had. Then, since I was packed and geared up, I got back on the plane for another jump. "It's amazing what you can learn while you're not talking." - Skydivesg