matt3sa

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Everything posted by matt3sa

  1. Loving the VK. Still learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhH5c4wx0zE&feature=youtu.be
  2. Time to retire a couple of 370's. Anyone using 340's in the standard size sigma container? If so, are you using the same or different d-bags?
  3. Zsombi, First and foremost, the best thing you can do is sift through the information and identify what pertains to your question. No one here can truly tell you if you're qualified to jump the canopy you are on. The only people that are qualified to do that are experienced HP canopy pilots that you are (hopefully) surrounded with at your DZ. I'm not going to lie, a Katana is not a typical canopy that we see people on with your jump numbers. That being said, I was flying Velo's around 250-300 jumps. Also, over the years I have known a small handful of people that I too thought were making overly aggressive canopy choices given their jump numbers (even though they were doing quite well on those HP canopies). I am certainly not here to encourage or support your choice to fly that canopy given your experience and my total lack of knowledge with regard to your skill level. One of my chops was on a Katana. The Katana I was jumping was loaded at 1.54. At the time I was jumping a Velo 96, but borrowed my buddies Katana 120 to turn a load. Same deal, line twists. Personally, my experience with both Katana's and Velo's is that you can definitely influence the opening to be better, but that they all have a mind of their own at times. I've had Velo's of various sizes where some were awesome and some seemed to just be terrible. One of my 90's just absolutely would not consistently open on heading and/or without line twists. I jumped that particular Katana 3 to 5 times and I had line twists on it twice. One was a chop. In fact my buddy had a chop on that canopy shortly after that same year and then almost again and I believe he sold that canopy shortly after. I guess what I'm saying is welcome to the world of HP canopies. These things happen. Packing and body position on opening are very important and it only takes one deviation from perfect in either process to create a chop. The best advice I can give you is to keep your feet and knees together on opening and relax. On the Katana you are going to have longer snivels and you'll probably feel a pulsing in your leg pads. Relax your legs and only provide minimal harness correction if the canopy starts to take a turn in a certain direction. Another important question you may ask yourself is if you noticed if the twists were there immediately as you looked up? Or did the canopy start to inflate and then twist up after? The first might indicate a packing issue. The second may indicate poor body positioning, too aggressive harness/riser input during opening, or a canopy with a mind of it's own ;)
  4. Do NOT do this. My Optimum 113 is a brick in my 306. Trust me, a couple inches in length isn't worth it for you or your rigger. This is the second container I've stuffed to the max and it's pointless. Get a 308 or the next size up.
  5. I'm really surprised you compare the Stiletto so closely to the Cobalt. I've been on small Comp Velo's for a while but I spent a lot of time on a Cobalt 135 when I was learning. I'm waiting for a Valkyrie so I've been jumping bigger canopies for the last couple weekends. I've done the Sabre2 150, Stiletto 150 and Cobalt 150. I have to say man, the Cobalt is pretty much what I remember and not much like a stiletto. The front and rear riser pressure is so light and I feel like it dives better. The openings are hit or miss. I remember some wierd ones on my 135. The 150 I jumped this weekend opened GREAT. It does have a wierd thing built in where the left side sometimes folds under but it comes out of it with a deep flare.
  6. We have a guy at our DZ who is looking for something a bit different and possibly more high performance than a Stiletto. He's loading a 150 at about 1.4 to 1.6. I personally loved my time on my Cobalt 135 so I encouraged him to try a Cobalt 150 that another local jumper owns. As I expected, he fell in love. The problem is that Atair is out of business. The chances of finding a decent used Cobalt are pretty slim. I'm having a difficult time giving him advice on other products that might give him a little more kick. This guy will never be a Katana or Xbrace person. What's out there that you folks would compare to a Cobalt? My personal opinion is that the cobalt absolutely destroys xfires in every way and I honestly can't think of anything in PD's lineup that might be a bit more exciting for him without stepping into the Katana world. Thoughts?
  7. I think the theory that the coaches and instructors that people jump with can in fact be better judges of skill than a blanket guideline can, but I come from a 182 dropzone. With 10 to 15 skydivers. Nothing is missed. Every jump is discussed. There are instructors on almost every 4 way or 2 way load that goes up. This discussion is bringing me memories of my trip to z-hills in 2013. I recall a 20 way tracking dive where they were allowing people with less than 50 jumps in on the action. Two of the participants were asking g me for advice on how to aim their new gopros and how to adjust settings. It was extremely unsettling. I feel like some of the bigger dz's need blanket rules and need to actually enforce them for reasons like this. Z hills felt like a circus. Several times I had to speak up and do some of the most simple yet critical tasks like organizing how groups entered the otter based on size and discipline. I had to practically beg for a dropzone briefIng. I remember we arrived the day after those two foreigners went in. I think it was March.
  8. Haha! top skin is red, bottom lime green with black xbrace and ribs/tail ribs. Looks sick. I bet it looks better when it isn't overcast.
  9. What are your top and bottom skin colors?
  10. Another example on the 96 .... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE57AO_gyuQ
  11. This was how my Velo 90 opened often..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98O9eqPxF9c
  12. Ok so just for example, here is a video of what typical Velo jumps are for me..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze1M8rXknBY They are "searchy". I've read and read about different techniques (not looking up, feet and knees together, relaxing, flying the opening etc). But the fact remains that most of my standard Velo jumps are "searchy". Not really a deal breaker but I would love to find a Velo that is reliable for formation skydiving. I hate doing freefly or rw jumps and being that guy that wants to track away at a higher altitude than everyone else would prefer. They break away at 3500 or so and I want to track off at around 4500/5000 (not sure if part of this is the fact that I'm tandem guy :) Not every opening is as searchy as these, but I would say that about 75% are. I have thought about the opening process in extensive detail. I have experimented with opening body positions. I have examined my deployment procedure and yet I can't figure it out. Some search left, some search right... maybe some of this is due to buying used Velo's......I can only conclude that the standard Velo with a regular slider opens like mine does. Every Velo I ever owned opened quite frequently like the video I posted above.
  13. I believe the RDS slider is also smaller than a standard slider.
  14. Pd told me that the orange vectran lines make for quicker openings. They told me that the coating makes the slider come down quicker. Thanks for posting your video. I'm looking forward to April when it shows up...
  15. As the title says, please post any Comp Velo terminal openings that you may have on video. I would love to see openings that do not include an RDS. The rumor is that they open better than regular velos. I have a comp velo 96 on order and I am crossing my fingers that they do actually open better. After extensive research on dz.com and the web (in general) I have come to the conclusion that there simply aren't enough people jumping them to give a conclusive opinion. Ian Drennan stated that they open better than a regular Velo but I am yet to see anyone else post a detailed opinion on the Comp Velo with a standard every day jumper setup (500 HMA/Standard slider). It's a ridiculously expensive price tag (3300 for a comp velo with a standard slider and the standard 500 hma), but if the openings are really more predictable and controllable than the regular velo..... my opinion.... well worth it..... I've been jumping velos for about 6 years now. I started on a 111, then moved to a 103, then a 96, then a 90, and now personally I prefer the 96 (which I just ordered a comp velo 96). Honestly if this "Comp" version is better for openings than a standard Velo, then why the heck shouldn't every Velo jumper be using it? They should rename it the "Velocity 2". I agree with compensation for research and development.... don't get me wrong.... I just feel as though the Comp version is being marketed and targeted only at competition swoopers. Look guys... have you ever read the flight characteristics sheet on the "Comp" version of the Velo? Essentially it flies just like a regular Velo with some slight variances to the regular Velo platform. Am I going to swoop an additional 250 yards? No. Am I going to start competing on the pro swoop tour? No. But you know what, It does state that the openings have less searching and additional "refinement" to the opening characteristics. I really could care less if I swoop further.... But look guys, I have literally searched the internet until I reached the end of the earth as we know it. Video of the Comp Velo in action under terminal opening conditions is extremely scarce ( especially with your regular jumper configuration.... no RDS). It almost doesn't exist. It is rare. I want to establish a larger opinion base than what is currently available on the web. I have not yet been satisfied with what I have read. Honestly the only reason I actually put my order through is due to the fact that PD has never steered me wrong, and the fact that I have NEVER had any problem reselling any PD canopy. Based on my chats with Performance Designs, and my research on DZ.com and the web in general, I feel as though any proficient Velo pilot would appreciate the "Comp" version of the Velo. I am only basing my opinion on professionals that have gone on record on DZ.com such as Ian Drennan. Tell me why I am right or why I am wrong.... thanks.
  16. As the title says, please post any Comp Velo terminal openings that you may have on video. I would love to see openings that do not include an RDS. The rumor is that they open better than regular velos. I have a comp velo 96 on order and I am crossing my fingers that they do actually open better. After extensive research on dz.com and the web (in general) I have come to the conclusion that there simply aren't enough people jumping them to give a conclusive opinion. Ian Drennan stated that they open better than a regular Velo but I am yet to see anyone else post a detailed opinion on the Comp Velo with a standard every day jumper setup (500 HMA/Standard slider). It's a ridiculously expensive price tag (3300 for a comp velo with a standard slider and the standard 500 hma), but if the openings are really more predictable and controllable than the regular velo..... my opinion.... well worth it..... I've been jumping velos for about 6 years now. I started on a 111, then moved to a 103, then a 96, then a 90, and now personally I prefer the 96 (which I just ordered a comp velo 96). Honestly if this "Comp" version is better for openings than a standard Velo, then why the heck shouldn't every Velo jumper be using it? They should rename it the "Velocity 2". I agree with compensation for research and development.... don't get me wrong.... I just feel as though the Comp version is being marketed and targeted only at competition swoopers. Look guys... have you ever read the flight characteristics sheet on the "Comp" version of the Velo? Essentially it flies just like a regular Velo with some slight variances to the regular Velo platform. Am I going to swoop an additional 250 yards? No. Am I going to start competing on the pro swoop tour? No. But you know what, It does state that the openings have less searching and additional "refinement" to the opening characteristics. I really could care less if I swoop further.... But look guys, I have literally searched the internet until I reached the end of the earth as we know it. Video of the Comp Velo in action under terminal opening conditions is extremely scarce ( especially with your regular jumper configuration.... no RDS). It almost doesn't exist. It is rare. I want to establish a larger opinion base than what is currently available on the web. I have not yet been satisfied with what I have read. Honestly the only reason I actually put my order through is due to the fact that PD has never steered me wrong, and the fact that I have NEVER had any problem reselling any PD canopy. Based on my chats with Performance Designs, and my research on DZ.com and the web in general, I feel as though any proficient Velo pilot would appreciate the "Comp" version of the Velo. I am only basing my opinion on professionals that have gone on record on DZ.com such as Ian Drennan. Tell me why I am right or why I am wrong.... thanks.
  17. Absolutely not. I mean unless you have some sort of stake or ownership in the DZ. I won't mention the DZ, but I was recently talking to a friend about where he works and this particular DZ frequently gives away free jumps for advertising where the TI's don't get paid. You wouldn't see me working at a place like that.
  18. I just remember saying "shit where are the flare toggles.....?" I'm 5'6 175 and my student was about 200. I thought it flared surprisingly well. No complaints here. Go to the gym.
  19. Just downsized from a 96 to a 90. I am having a problem where every single opening spins me at a minimum of 180 degrees left and sometimes as much as 360 degrees. It is always to the left. I have never had this problem with any of the other Velocities I owned. Supposedly the canopy has less than 100 jumps on it and it is a 2012. I had the lines specs checked by a rigger. I have even experimented with providing significant right side harness pressure to compensate but to no avail. When I watch my openings in slow motion it inflates seemingly normally (center cells first with your typical snivel) but as it begins to inflate, the left side is always opening first. Anyone else had troubles like this? I would say that this happens 8 out of every 10 jumps. Any suggestions?
  20. I've searched thouroughly and I still haven't found a diffinitive answer about how increased wing loads effect riser pressure on a Velocity. I just went from a 96 to a 90 and holy crap the front and rear riser pressure increased substancially. This particular velo also has extended brake lines ( not sure if this plays a part). I went from about a 1.85 w/l to a 2.0 by doing this. Loving the speed increase but I swear its like wrestling a bear even with a deep brake surge prior to my riser dive and even on the swoop on the rears. Thoughts? Significant front and rear riser pressure increase. Is this a normal characteristic?
  21. I left it very open ended so that I could hear some suggestions. I don't want to know specifics about canopy flight characteristics. It was pretty straight forward. What canopies have you liked most aside from the Velocity and why? I'm trying to decide where I want to spend my next 100 dollars for a 2 week demo. And guys I know it's extremely complex to reply to an open ended question like the one that I asked..... lol.... but if you don't care for the topic or lack the intelligence or maturity to interpret the English language then do the moderators and the community a favor and don't waste your time replying.
  22. The bottom line is this..... regardless of capture setting quality, once you convert to DVD format you lose the benefit of super high resolution. Furthermore, rendering takes longer if you shoot in a high fps. As far as a resolution, I would say it depends on how long your arms are. I am 5'6 and I have fairly short arms. 960 unquestionably gets the most in the picture. It has a further away perspective and lets you see more. If you arms are longer, 720 is the way to roll. Once it converts to DVD that will be your ultimate ending resolution anyway.
  23. I've thoroughly explored my Velocity. I love it. I can't help but wonder what other x-braced swooping canopies I am missing out on. For those of you that are versed in a variety of different high performance x-braced canopies, tell me what I should check out and why. I miss the enjoyment of exploring a new canopy.
  24. Cloud9..... Check out this recent incident http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=4175431;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread It's an example of why I say you are correct about the flight characteristics, but yet why the general consensus doesn't support people flying smaller/harder diving canopies.