matt3sa

N/A

My dzo just bought two icarus tandems. Either 360 or 365 don't remember the size. We have always jumped sigmas, but they were ready to retire so the used Icarus canopies will replace the old sigmas. Never jumped one of these before. My question is related to the brake settings. I've searched dz.com, but the information is limited. Everyone that I've heard of jumping these stows the brakes with bands or something. This is fine, but from what I've read icarus decided that the canopies open best when in a little to no brake setting. Just a little confused as to why everyone is stowing the the brakes when Icarus test jumpers got the best results without any brake setting. Thoughts? Anyone jump these regularly with no brake stow? What do the rest of you TI's think? Thanks.

I wonder about your initiation altitude. You seem to plane out just a little to high. I think if you work on Ian's suggestions that approach and initiation altitude will be good for you. Probably get more dive and speed out of it. But like I said, it seems like you have recovered from the dive a bit too high (which could be a direct result of not getting the full speed/dive potential according to Ian's suggestions). Looks pretty good though. Smooth. Keep working at it.

Hey my rig is much smaller, but i recently went to Hawaii with three total flights. Took mine as a carry- on in my gear bag. I would NEVER check it if you have multiple flights. I've had plenty of experiences with airlines where they loose bags and they only cover up to 3000.00 (typically). I had no problems with it. If it doesn't fit in the overhead it will probably fit under the seat in front of you. If it doesn't, the airline will tag it and put it with the other baggage that is being checked as a carry-on. When the plane arrives at the destination they will remove it from the cargo area. I wouldn't sweat it. Gear bag for sure though. They know that they shouldn't open the reserve and they've never asked me to open the main.

Just wanted to stir up the Sensei topic again. I've browsed through all of the posts on it and found brief discussions dating as recent as last month. I just put in for a demo request. I've gathered that nothing official has been put out about the canopy flight characteristics. I would like to ask the small group of people that have jumped the Sensei to comment on it's flight characteristics compared to a Velocity (if you folks are familiar with the velocity). If you aren't at will to comment that's understandable. More specifically I wonder about riser pressures, turn rate, and dive. Thanks.

Oh yea couldn't leave out a reply to the brilliant "Reginald". The two conversations with the dealer and UPT in person had no mention of me asking about the smallest container that would fit those or me mentioning that I would be downsizing and wanted room. Perhaps if you had read my original post you would understand that i spoke to both parties and received the same response cut and dry. It was quite clear and simple. Here are my canopies... what do you recommend for a container size? The dealer "researched" and recommended the 304. When speaking with UPT over the phone I said " my dealer suggested a 304 would you concur?". The person I spoke with paused and pulled up their chart and confirmed. I apologize to anyone who reads this pointless post but since "Reginald" decided to make false assumptions about my situation I felt it necessary to provide clarity.

Wow that's amazing. I'm in awe that you could push that in with your thumb like that. Both compartments on mine are bricks. Theres no pushing them in at all. Hopefully after they repack the reserve and make the "adjustments" they say they are making at UPT things will work out that nicely for me. My velo also has a logo but it's not as big as the one you describe on yours. Mine carries the same nice shape, but it's just so rock hard. I also have the louie loops. Thanks for sharing.

And also for the record UPT also insisted that the reason it is tight is due to there being to much bulk in the ears of the reserve pack job by viewing photos I sent. I still don't agree that this will compensate for the improper container size given the canopy information I provided at the time of the order in OCT 08 (Just got it at the end of FEB).

At the time of the transaction my dealer consulted UPT about what canopies I wanted to put into the container. UPT recommended the "proper container size" to aerostore and to me on the phone. Guess I just thought I could count on them to properly recommend a container for my canopy combo.

This is hilarious. I just got my new Micron V304 S#48577. I wanted to put a Velocity 96 and an Optimum 113 in it. My rigger took 2 days to finally come to the conclusion that the closing loop had to be extended 15/16 from what their records showed. He was breaking closing loops as we incresed it's length by 1/8 each attempt. The freakin thing is a ridiculous brick. It may also be why my harness is ridiculously tight. Upt has been half way decent about making corrections to the harness. They paid for shipping on the way back to them. Unfortunately I have to wait 2-3 weeks and I won't have a rig to jump. Not to mention that I don't believe that container is designed for that reserve. Love their products but hope they figure this one out.

I can tell you this. My new Micron will arrive monday, and my old container was a vector 3 v348. I started with a 170 main 160 Reserve combo. I put the following parachutes in with the 160 reserve. Sabre1 170 Stiletto 170 Stiletto 150 Crossfire 139 Cobalt 135 Velocity 120 Velocity 111 This is quite a range as you can see. It was a brick with the 170's in it. 150 was starting to get easier to pack and everything else just got better actually (as far as packing goes). As you downsize your main, that main continues to go into the same 170 sized d-bag. So as you can picture if you put a smaller canopy in a bigger bag it expands more inside the bag and isn't quite so compressed. My velocity 111 was quite small for that d bag, but it expanded to fill the bag. Everyone will have their own opinions about how much you push the limit but my experiences were all good. If you plan to experiment with different canopies 7 cell 9 cell, or with different sizes and types (Student, eliptical, crossbraced) it really saves you from having to keep switching containers. Matt

My first vector 3 was a V348m. Great container. It was sized for a 170zp and 160 reserve. I weigh around 170-180. This is where wingload should be at least considered. A V350 or V352 would both more than likely put you on the "conservative side" (as far as wingload goes). This is assuming that you're not 265 pounds without gear or something. I've jumped various sizes of containers. I'll be receiving my new Micron 304 within a week. A 350 range container won't visually look strange on you (given your physical size). I'm only 5'6 and the V348m wasn't huge looking. I will say that smaller rigs are more comfortable to me but the difference between those two containers probably wan't be extremely significant given the UPT measurements. Matt

You're right. Is there any way to move this?

Cookie's quality is flawless. Have the mxv camera set up with the flat lock and the box for my video cam. The only thing that i hate about the helmet is the way the cutaway system is configured. One side is a ringed setup and because of that the helmet will flex on that side only and move around a bit. It makes it tough to get the same consistent site picture. The ring setup/position is adjustable, but I've never been able to get it right. On one side of the chin strap it's solid and consistent and the other side where the cutaway setup is placed is all loose and wiggly. Still tight on my head, but it's very easy to get different site pictures with the way the cutaway system is set up.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Ok someone needs to explain how the f*** you don't get line dump from this......

I would definately make some jumps on an eliptical before you go to a katana. Don't know if you've ever flown a stiletto, but there is an extreme difference in input sensitivity in comparison to your sabre. Most notably on turn rate and oversteer. It's nothing too crazy, but combining the dive rate of a katana with the eliptical characteristics could be dangerous if you aren't careful. Stilettos are fun. You'll probably like a stiletto. Short recovery arc, but based on your wing load you can get a nice swoop out of it.

Tandem- 30.00 Tandem w/ handcam 50.00 Video- 35.00 if video is edited 30.00 if you don't edit Aff not offered Coaching is free slot or whatever you negotiate with the student.

If you're looking for an eliptical, you may consider trying out a cobalt 150. I had a cobalt 135 at one point after owning a stiletto and I felt like the cobalt outperformed the stiletto in every way. Extremely light riser pressure by comparison. Better dive. Faster turn rate. Really a joy to fly. The thing I didn't like about the cobalt were the openings. really searchy and unpredictable. No chops on it after 150 jumps or so though. Also I've had horrendous luck dealing with atair corp for anything I've ever needed. Their service sucks in my opinion. I wouldn't recommend buying new, but if you could get your hands on a demo or borrow a buddies you may like it.

To all of you that have thousands of skydives and tandem experience that are tearing this guy a new on in the video I would like to share my thoughts. I just finished my first season doing tandems and all though I may have never wrapped myself in the drogue I certainly had some closer than comfort scenerios especially being a smaller person (5'6) like the person in the video. I think some of you tandem masters should consider what you say before you speak. Maybe try to think back to what it was like after your 10 practice course tandems and then going into the real world fighting a duffus that doesn't follow and of your body position instructions on exit. I think it's harsh to suggest that his rating should be pulled. I would have gone for the reserve earlier but ultimately the job got done and the videographer did a hell of a job staying in contact and in communication with him. Again, reserve deployment after a couple quick tries to clear would have been my choice after signaling for the videographer to clear, however calling him a "dumbass" and stating that he should have had a better exit and deployed the drogue better is ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that you folks haven't ever had any close calls that could have been just like this during your first 1 or 2 seasons. To the people that make these comments, do you really think he didn't WANT and TRY for a smooth exit? I mean, he tucked his arms for a flip maneuver, but I'm sure he didn't plan for the things that happened next.

4 years ago I bought my first freefly suit through Tony Suits. I used it for freeflying and video. Doubled layered arms and legs. All poly cotton. Awesome suit and I still love it but I no longer need the excessive drag for control. It is now my tandem suit. I can freefly halfway decent. I'm ready to get a different suit. My concern is my fall rate. I fall pretty fast due to my build. I'm 5'6 175. I don't want to become a brick because I'm ditching all the material and ouragon claims that the hybrid suit gives you excellent fall rate range. They state something about how it's great for freeflying with slow falling tandems and what not. Anyone have any experience with these "hybrid" suits? I was under the impression that all of ouragons suits are built from a much faster material. I'm just trying to figure out how much of a difference it will really make by going to a less baggy and different material suit. I don't want to shell out 500.00 and end up with a suit that won't satisfy my needs. I would love to get a leaned back sitfly posture for my videos. I'd not a huge fan of wings.

4 years ago I bought my first freefly suit through Tony Suits. Doubled layered arms and legs. All poly cotton. Awesome suit and I still love it but I no longer need the excessive drag for control. It is now my tandem suit. I can freefly halfway decent. I'm ready to get a different suit. My concern is my fall rate. I fall pretty fast due to my build. I'm 5'6 175. I don't want to become a brick because I'm ditching all the material and ouragon claims that the hybrid suit gives you excellent fall rate range. They state something about how it's great for freeflying with slow falling tandems and what not. Anyone have any experience with these "hybrid" suits? I was under the impression that all of ouragons suits are built from a much faster material. I'm just trying to figure out how much of a difference it will really make by going to a less baggy and different material suit. I don't want to shell out 500.00 and end up with a suit that won't satisfy my needs.

Haven't even checked that possibility. We'll check it out first before an exchange. Thanks for the help though Trunk. We may be in touch soon.

My friend just bought a hypeye for his sony handcam. He started noticing that his videos were all blurry/fuzzy. He thought it was the camera (being old) and bought a brand new sony handcam. Same problem. We've found that the whole tandem video is clear, until he uses the hypeye. This typically happens after a brief interview in the plane half way up. He then puts the camera into the glove and uses the hypeye to activate the camera before exiting. Blurry video from that point on. It doesn't really make any sense to me at all. I don't even see how that would effect the video, but the fact is... it does. Anyone else experience this with the hypeye? FYI- we both use the same glove and cameras. The glove has no effect on the issue. We've tested this on the ground in the glove without the hypeye.

Ok I'll specifically focus on that approach. See if I can get it to work over my next 4-5 jumps.