swoopfly

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Posts posted by swoopfly

  2. ghost47

    Quote

    The guy got a lot of negative reaction for his prank. But when I consider skydiving history, I would have thought it would be regarded as a real hoot, a good prank on a buddy, even if not something I'm really inclined to do (Given that pilots & jumpers were informed.)


    A month or two ago, I think at the farm, on a jumper's 500th jump, one friend decided to fruit-loop her just as another friend decided to prematurely deploy her. (I believe the story was that the fruit-looping friend had no idea that the other intended to prematurely deploy.) Heart contusion, bruised sternum, spinal injury. Not so funny after all.




    i was going to bring this incident up. could have came out alot worse than it did. could have also been a fatality. especially on a big way as this one. I also believe you have to have an AFF rating to even be able to deploy someone? in which the person in this case didnt.

  5. why not just demo them when you get your container? you can see what characteristics you like best and also what fits your container best. If your aiming towards learning to swoop i suggest the katana, good transition for the velo. and for some reason when you tell people you want to learn to swoop they will not give you advice thinking they will be leading you to get hurt, so dont count on someone giving you the benefit of the doubt that you know how to fly a canopy. just demo them and decide for yourself, afterall you know what you want out of a canopy most right?

  6. Quote

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    50 pounds of shit on your back, 200 pounds of stupid on the front, 5 handles and a pilot chute in tow.

    What could possibly go wrong?



    you forgot having a different wing loading on any every jump.


    As for the OP. Man up and try it and you might find the answer.



    I am a tandem I with 750+ tandems so i think i can say i have maned up and tried it. I have made 24 tandems in a day, in all weather conditions(gotta eat). i dont think i forgot the fact that the wing loading changes. For some reason After i became a Ti i didnt like most feel the need to strut around telling B liscence holders what to do and listen to me because i am a glorified skydiver now that i take 260 pound men on tandems in high wind.

  9. Quote

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    I know a few who bought there own tandem rig. I'm contemplating buying one myself and with good reasons. A big reason is knowing your own gear and knowing what's coming out the bag every time. As a traveling instructor I jump all types of gear, brand new to worn out. Also you get at average $15 extra per tandem jump towards your own equipment used. So after the first thousand tandems your new rig just paid for itself, after the next thousand you just profited 15 thousand. The downside to this tho is I can already show up to the dz and make money with no investment using their gear. And as far as taking friends, all up to the Dzo.


    you haven't factored in service and costs into your little money making scenario;)


    Your right, i figured maintenance is a known. So what would you add the maintence cost at for 2000 jumps? Subtract that from 15000. Even after cost if you only made 5000 and a tandem rig, i think thats a good outcome considering you were making those 2000 tandem jumps regardless. So make 2000 tandems on dz gear and make average pay, or make those same 2000 tandems and have an extra 5000 and your own personal tandem rig at the end along with your average pay. To some people who skydive as a career , it makes sense. Now add in that you bought a vigil and are your own rigger and you can come out pretty good.

  10. I agree, ....if you got a rating only to take your 5 friends you could actually talk into jumping, buying a rig would be ridiculous. now if you bought a rig because you got your rating and will be doing 1000 tandems a year, might could work in your favor.

  11. I know a few who bought there own tandem rig. I'm contemplating buying one myself and with good reasons. A big reason is knowing your own gear and knowing what's coming out the bag every time. As a traveling instructor I jump all types of gear, brand new to worn out. Also you get at average $15 extra per tandem jump towards your own equipment used. So after the first thousand tandems your new rig just paid for itself, after the next thousand you just profited 15 thousand. The downside to this tho is I can already show up to the dz and make money with no investment using their gear. And as far as taking friends, all up to the Dzo.

  12. Quote

    Nope, you still have to do at least 25. It can easily be more than that -- I did 5 hop and pops for a canopy class while on coach jumps, and ended up with 33 jumps before did my checkout jump.

    If you fail AFF levels, those can still count toward your A license, though.



    I made three tandems and 4 aff jumps to complete the aff course. Where are you getting your info from : /

  13. I can usually get a decent rough average by feel of the zp fabric.
    Even in good jump atmosphere the zp wears after every jump, just a little. The crossports and center cell also give you an idea like mentioned. Also how a canopy packs can give you an idea. They start getting broke in around 200 jumps. Add all these aspects together and i think you can come up with a close average.

  14. Had about 5 chops this year total at our Dz, all but one were due to toggle lock on sigmas. I have 3000 pack jobs, only have packed one cutaway that was you guessed it a toggle lock. I have 700 tandems, no cutaway. I always jumped the icarus for the main reason that it can't toggle lock. My instincts were right as I watched the rest of the guys cutaway all season due to toggle locks on the sigmas. While it is packing error or even toggle slip slightly past the grommet. It is an issue I think the manufacturers should address.

  16. So if I get this correctly, everyone's problem is the deceptive websites?
    Are there any laws being broken here? If so take action and do something about it! But from a marketing aspect can't anyone legally post as many websites on the web as they like? Yea it might suck for u that they take away your potential customers. But in a fair world should all Burger kings be shut down who are in close proximity to a McDonald's? Well maybe McDonald's thinks so but this is America right?

  21. One of the scariest loads i have been on was when a twin otter lost an engine. Same scenario the pilot never gave us a go to get out. So all in all we stayed packed in the otter and landed with one engine......scary situation. I myself wanted out , aftewards the pilot said "i guess i coulda let you guys out". And yes it would have made it probably easier on the landing. If i was ever in that situation again, i would ask the pilot and tell him i want out.. Now if both engines were not working i would in no way stick around!!

  22. Quote

    I witnessed a Cypres fire that the jumper claimed to have deliberately waited for the AAD to fire. It was winter and she was just a few jumps off student status. She said that because of the cold she was unable to grip her hacky to deploy her pilot chute. She claims she decided to wait for the AAD to fire. I wonder if in these situations they decide it is better to say they made a conscious decision to let the AAD do it’s job than to say “I panicked and froze up”. In their mind it is the lesser of two evils.

    She got the “talk” and we never saw her again.



    I do remember one jump on a cold day, went for hacky pulled and wouldent come out, i always pull at 4000 and after the first attempt to pull my left hand went straight to my reserve handle. I then realized i am still at 3500, i am not pulling my reserve just yet, so reached back again and pulled with all i had (i do see how the cold can slow up your muscles) and got it out. I did know while in freefall that like i was trained if i didnt get it the second try go straight for my reserve next. On that jump i was very close to a reserve ride, im glad it happened as it proved to myself that i can stay calm and relaxed in freefall with issues and the thought of pulling my reserve when i needed it wasent a concern, when i need it!

  23. i have heard this old story time and time again from many different sources. In this months parachutist, again i have read this story.
    For whatever reason jumper cannot deploy main parachute, so instead of going straight for the reserve they sit there and wait for their cypres to activate. In this months atricle it said the jumper didnt want to deploy their reserve for fear of "disturbing something" in their reserve activation.

    My question is.. Are these jumpers that undertrained and actually still putting a rig on and jumping it or are they informed and that stupid to come up with this idea in freefall?

    When i was a student and had no idea about gear i wanted to learn everything possible and how everything worked, to make the best informed decision possible. when i hear this story i always wonder what in the hell were they thinking. But yet still i see this story over and over again, what gives?

  24. Quote

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    I started noticing one day that my container was not as tight as normal. After looking my rig over i figured out that while my closing loop had no damage, as i pull the cord out on the underside of the pin. The closing loop itself had stretch out over time. The actual loop itself had more than doubled in length from all the tension over time, while there were no visible signs of wear.




    The loop stretched not the whole cord. you know the loop is under an inch long, well my loop now was about an inch and a half, almost two inches. which made the container not as tight, something people should watch out for!!! and i just thought my packing was getting that much better
    I find that hard to believe. a closing loop streaching to double in length?? What material is is made of bungee?

  25. I started noticing one day that my container was not as tight as normal. After looking my rig over i figured out that while my closing loop had no damage, as i pull the cord out on the underside of the pin. The closing loop itself had stretch out over time. The actual loop itself had more than doubled in length from all the tension over time, while there were no visible signs of wear.