katzurki

Is there anything outstanding about the (French) Zak harness that I should know? What's good and what's bad about it?

Come on, what sensible being wouldn't? It's a cheetah, the perfection of excellence, the embodiment of grace, the pure manifestation of things sleek and sexy. I.e. something much unlike the physical me.

Don't worry, I'm sticking to cheetahs.

http://www.atmogear.com/ArtQuest/index.html Click the XAOC button, and it gives you a random container design. Some turn out very pretty, and may be quite the inspiration. Not particularly Javelin, Wings or Racer friendly, but will work for Vectors, Infinities, and Mirages

Helas...it's going to be "this cold" for at least another 4 months. That thing nearby is an asphalt mixing factory as far as we can tell Some more pictures in which you can, if only barely, see the way the bridle is routed.

360 ft, plus I only have 10 jumps :)

That is, naturally, understood. I was wondering what could be the probable cause, and how to avoid it in the future. I was not holding or throwing the PC any different than I was on previous jumps. My mentor always checks my PC and grip before the jump.

Handheld. I routinely s-fold the bridle, then route it under my thumb to prevent the bridle from going underarm on throw.

I had a sorta scary experience on today's jump. See the pic attached. As I threw the PC, I felt it tug at my gloved thumb, and it took two jerks of my right hand to get it to come loose. This is probably one more argument as to why you should throw the PC up; I am sticking to what has worked (i.e. the mushroomed and to-the-side method) simply until I develop a little more confidence in my launch skills (and overall). Would this be classified as a "shit happens" thing, or is it something that happens now and then and can be prevented? Jumping in strong crosswind coming from the right.

Haha, Faber, no. It's the only legal object in Moscow, I believe. (Legal as in no one cares about it except us crazy folks.) It's just that the video itself is hosted on some sketchy site that would draw attention should it get downloaded too much, and it's much too uninteresting to post on skydivingmovies.com. Responded to PM's, thanks guys :)

Hi, Would anyone care to point me in the direction of a classic handheld video, say a 1.5-2 sec delay, with the perfect proverbial upward throw and a properly folded PC? After reviewing some of my jumps, we came to the conclusion that I am doing lots of things in a possibly dangerous manner, but I've got to see them done right before I can do them right, right? Thanks!

From Rusty Vest, October 18 2005

http://www.atmogear.com/Eng/indexE.htm Great rig at a great price.

When I was shopping for containers, I outlined a triangle of price (Spirit), safety (Vector 3), and comfort (Racer) -- not saying that one option eliminates the other, but each is the trademark of the container, its best-known selling point. Went with Racer. Would have gone with Vector if I had the funds. Have not been sorry so far, except for the fact that about a month after I got my Racer, a new company sprang into existence with a pretty impressive and cheap container (no, you can't order it...no TSO

Out of curiosity, can anyone here share practical knowledge on what your experience has been freefalling with big canopies (in the 300 ft range) using a 46" AV vs a 42" AV? Hesitations? Heading performance? Opening time?

That 1st vid is a repost So do I get to pick the repost police officer to do my spanking?

http://koti.mbnet.fi/jukjuv/tumblinkia90/ http://krisz.3gteam.hu/video/LoopsInstruction-lq.wmv

What is the canopy in the attachment picture?

The Optima doesn't log your jumps. Mads said ProTrack stays as the audible freefall computer until it is replaced with yet another new product in a few years, and ProDytter stays as the cheapest audible ever. I can't wait to get my hands on an Altitrack

Been there. Landed, looked at my blue fingernails, curled up in the grass and cried out for ten minutes Woh. Takes a lot of cold to make a Russian man cry out from it. I'll shamefully admit I've actually lived the better part of 21 years in Siberia, so... it was cold. :) That ranks as my most memorable jump to date, anyway: a botched Mr Bill (could not hold on) on a sunset load over clouds raging aflame, some semblance of no-contact amateur CRW, and actually making it back to the DZ when the DZO placed a bet we wouldn't!

Been there. Landed, looked at my blue fingernails, curled up in the grass and cried out for ten minutes

Ah! My first flawless freefall, just the right launch and delay, was jump #7. I went back for #8 a couple days later, climbed the A up, did the gear check, looked down, then handed my rig to somebody who would otherwise have had to climb down (he was grateful ) and climbed down for no reason, thus ruining any chances of scoring with a present BASE girl and getting any pictures shot by Helxen who says he's not going to climb that thing up AGAIN until it's at least spring. Poo! For the record, the packjob I'd have had to jump opened flawlessly.

There's usually a deposit of 50% or less (e.g., Jumpshack only required me to put a $400 downpayment for a $1700 H/C, but Aerodyne wanted exactly 50%), and you pay the rest when the finished product is ready to ship. That's been the practice on virtually all new-gear orders I've placed.

As superstitious as it sounds, when you got injured on a BASE jump, do you recall feeling any presentiments that something bad would happen prior to the jump? Were the presentiments (and the resulting injury) connected with the unfavorable conditions, or were they pure intuition?

Some pictures from Will's first jump. Mine didn't turn out half as good (we tried a different shooting point; it sucked), so I'll skip them for now. We owe Helxen for climbing that thing up, then down, then up again, and down again Here that thing is. Cool visuals. Model launch. It opened - he survived