mollusc

I am 5'11 and ordered the 316. My old mirage without other comparison is 18 inches and fits great. Send a mail to one of the RWS staff and state your vital measures, they should know. I did and got the answers I needed.

Norway has now introduced the 12 month repack cycle on private gear. Student, drop zone owned and tandem gear still have 6 month repack cycle and gear checks every 3rd month.

Would this combination fit? Does anyone use this combo? The techno reserve is supposed to pack small, but most reserve manufacturers claim this. Regrettably, most american rig manufacturers lack reference to techno reserves in their compatibility charts. thanks

Put it in a plastic bag, suck out the air with a vacuum cleaner, put it in a bucket of water and see how much water it replaces. Just a thought though, never done it, and never even heard of it.

Toggles and risers usually come with the container and not the canopy.

Hi you seems to be one of the gear gurus here. What can you tell me about putting a cf2 134 (250 jumps on it and 375 cu in according to Icarus) in a micron 319? I kind of like the shape better than of the 308. Narrower and longer. thanks dag

How would the mirage sizing (actual measures) compare to the more cryptic e.g. c-17 Javelin, or small, medium, large Wings, and whatever sizing used by other manufacturers? It would be nice to know if you are going to buy in stock or used? bs

Have anyone heard about those? Information on their web page is next to minimal. [/url]http://www.jumpearthbound.com/ bs

Not very conservative but anyway, here is my list: I am 175-180 out the door PD and Drakkar 260 /280 - ~25 Navigator 240 - ~10 Sabre 190 - 2 Silhouette 170 - ~130 Safire2 145 - ~30 Sabre2 150 - 3 Crossfire2 134 - 2 I was actually planning on buying the safire2, and I was able to try it in almost all kinds of conditions without any problems. So I went to the little bit more extreme. I think the transition from Silhouette-170 to Safire2-145 was far less pronounced than the leap from the Safire2-145 to the Xfire2-134. The sabre2 was only flown in high winds, so I just couldn't get much ground speed and "swoops" out of it with my loading. I preferred the Safire2 openings though. I did not know that the elliptical shape of the Xfire2 had such a distinct effect on the flying characteristics (I obviously downsized as well). But still opens as nice as the safire2. Even though I have just done straight in landings so far, and I just love the response I get from it. So I just bought it Sorry that this turned out to be more a review than an answer to the question. It is my history of downsizing though. bs

Hi It is actually a relieve to hear there are more like me. I have never tried to hide when injecting insulin, and more than once people have been given me strange looks.But I really don't mind. I don't think people in general know much about diabetes. I know I didn't before I got it myself. Sometimes people come to ask what it's all about, 'cause most people know it's not strictly by the book. Even a tandem master, who did not quite know what to do about a diabetic passenger. I think maybe me being there was the reasons he was allowed to jump.I try to enlighten as many as I can by being totally open. One of the first things I did when diagnosed with type 1 was calling an aviation medic, who also happened to be a specialist in internal medicine. He told me to go for it, but wait six months. Before traveling to DZ's abroad, I'll ask him to give it to me in written. Yes, telling your buddies is important, totally agree there. Of course on jump run, but also when drinking alcohol. I usually forget taking my humulin when drinking (a lot), and that works just fine on me. I try to get high before jumping. 8-10 mmol/l (144-180 mg/dl?) makes me feel comfortable. I have an AAD, and that gives me some more comfort. I used one before I got diabetes as well. I've been thinking of getting a pump, but I am pretty active and thought there might be problems. I know see you can just take it off, excellent . Now I need to do some serious thinking. dag

Hi About a year ago I was diagnosed with diabetes 1. I was then told that this was not compatible with skydiving, so I would not have been allowed start jumping. Since i already had about 100 jumps at the time I was allowed to continue. However, I was told to lay off 6 months or so to get familiar with my condition. I only managed 3 weeks though. I am the only skydiver I know of with diabetes, but I am sure there must be more? Matters I would like to know about is what rules other countries have, and what I can expect visiting other countries? Will I be grounded? Also all kinds of other experiences are of interest. dag

It also seems like that Pdr reserves are about 10% larger than the numbers. A 176 is actually 189 sqft. Saw that in an earlier thread, don't remember which. (In a list with several main and reserve canopies).

Long risers gives you the possibility of a longer toggle stroke thus deeper brakes. This can be an advantage for those having problems with getting max out of their flare. Like on safires e.c. steering lines are rather long to prevent tail inflection. The same as most icarus by the way. Could someone comment if I'm on thin ice here? This is what i've heard though.

This, specifically, is one of the forums where guys like you can ask questions and listen to the truly educated answers.*** You never know where the next good idea comes from. Sometimes the best answers come from people with little or no time in the field at all. People with a different angle of attack. Keep your minds open. As for those that already are educated, I guess you are able to separate good from bad answers. As for us being a little less educated, always be critical to what you read here. Even experts do not agree sometimes. We just have to listen to all of it and finally trust ourselves to make sound decisions based on all information accessible. This was not meant for this thread alone, but the fora in general.

Can you elaborate a bit .. I assume any canopy can hurt you if you are doing something really wrong. Is there a specific fault in the Silhouette ? You are right, any canopy can hurt you. Nothing wrong with the silhouette. It was just meant as a warning to anyone coming from student status and big 260's. People like me, that have heard something about frontrisers and decided to try this out a little bit close to the ground on his fifth or something jump with the silhouette ending up twisting his ankle.

I used to jump a silhouette 170 loaded ~1.1:1. It is a great first canopy. Easy to pack if you are used to f-111. The Silhouette performs nothing less than its competitors (sabre, electra, triathlon) in my opinion. It is a responsive still easy handling and forgiving canopy. But if you are doing something complitely wrong it can hurt you badly. And you can get pretty long surfs under the right conditions (no-wind or slightly down-wind).

Do anyone know if it is possible to change to non-cascading lines on a canopy that originally has cascaded lines?

Hi I just e-mailed PD to ask the same question regarding my silhouette. Here is their answer: "You can have your local rigger measure your lines to see if they are still in trim. If your lines are out of trim, a new linset will take 4-5 days to make and will cost $125." He also attached the trim specifications for my canopy.

*** "And I did read some things on PD's website. They implied that you NEVER go a lb over the max weight." If this is what freaked you out I think you don't need to be worried. You will be far from the max weight. Another thing though is your wingload and canopy size vs control and experience. It is important to listen to your instructors. But you too have to feel comfortable and safe. If you don't feel safe on the 120 yet, wait. If you feel you can handle it, then go for it. Have fun and bee safe

I was just wondering. How do you know if a safire is american or european made? If I have understood correctly they differ in size hence the wingload and will affect my decision when buying used. When I am still here, do anyone know the main differences between the safire 1 and 2 besides the size issue? Have also noticed this line mod available for the safire 1. Will this make it more like the 2?

I had the same problem on my javelin j-1 with a silhouette 170 in it. I just put two rubber bands around the flap to increase friction. Works like sugar. And they stay there during deployment so you will not burst your rubber band budget either. :-)

Now as the new canopies from Aerodyne have been out for a while. Are there anyone who could give an objective review on their characteristics and performance?

I saw that Aerodyne research has launched a new value for measuring canopy ellipticity, namely the planform factor or Pf, by using this formula: Pf=(1-(end cell chord/center cell chord))x(#tapered cells/#total cells)x100 In my opinion this does not give any new understanding of the canopy at all. What I would like is a value for canopy flying characteristics, performance or radicallity, not the planform. I know that planform is one of many variables regarding flying characteristics. Pf is actually misleading in some cases if you believe it would help you make a sound decision regarding flying characteristics (as they claim). Some examples: Crossfire2 21.6 Safire2 16.4 Stiletto 13.3 Sabre2 5.4 Anyway, the idea trying to find a way to calculate flying characteristics is good. Using this formula though.....I would give it an E.

Hi all. It seems like the threads here gather quite many experienced and helpful soles, therefore I would like to get your opinion before deciding what to buy. I've got this offer on a Mindwrap with Pro Track for $570. Brand new. What I had in mind in the first place was a Z1 EVO with skytronic FX priced $435. This is in Norway so prices may be somewhat higher than you are used to. What are the pros and cons exept price??

My javelin j-1 (max 150) fits the silhouette 170 very easily. It is a hybrid, hence packs smaller than a 9-cell ZP. Still, I guess it would fit almost any 170 ZP or even a 190 hybrid or F-111.