panzwami

Didn't get the orange A card signed until I had 95 jumps. Never got an A number, since I went straight to B. The only reason that I bothered to get a license was that I had to have one to jump at collegiates. If not for that, I probably would have gone a lot longer. Matt

Until recently I had been having some real trouble with extremely hard openings under my Nitron 150. I tried everything I could think of in terms of different packing methods, tighter stows, etc. Nothing really worked, and things continued badly until I had a couple in a row that were so hard, they ripped my slider apart. Right now it resembles a piece of swiss cheese. Out of ideas, I finally called Precision and learned that some of the early Nitrons (one of which I own) had some problems with rough openings. They had since redesigned the slider, including making it larger, which seemes to address the problem. They shipped one out that day, no charge (props to Precision, by the way). I've got my fingers crossed that it will solve the problem. Matt

Anyone know of a rigger in the Northern VA area? Thanks, Matt

All, I recently moved back to the DC area and I'm trying to find a carpool to one of the nearby DZ's. Is there anyone from around that area with whom I can catch a ride? Thanks, Matt

Love my Nitron 150. Nice and nimble, very responsive. It's true what everyone else is saying about the short recovery arc. You can get it out of the corner in a big hurry if you need to (not that you ever want to be in that position). The drawback is that it's harder to sustain your dive if you lay it over too high. It will slow way down when you fly in brakes, so you can hang out with almost anything. Landings are great, with more than enough flare all the way to the bottom. The only gripe that I've had is the openings, which were initially very hard. I changed my packing procedures somewhat to compensate (psycho not PRO, tight line stows), and now it opens nicely. Still somewhat brisk, but by no means painful. Those HMA lines can be slippery, so it helps to make sure they are stowed tight. Matt

The Skydiving Club at Georgia Tech has a couple Pro 170's that are used as the upper rung of the student canopy progression. The Manta 260's come first, then the Fury 220's, and then down to the Pro. A number of people have started off on club gear to learn good canopy techniques, and then moved on to other personal gear after they got some experience. In that capacity, I thought the Pro's worked great. It opens softly without jumping around. It's easy to pack, fly, and land, and is forgiving when trying to learn. You won't win any swoop competitions with it, but it's a great all-around canopy. Matt

-~##~- Matt ----- Wicked.

Whatever, we (Georgia Tech) would have totally owned Vick and the rest of them. Seeing Lee Corso's car blow up was pretty funny, tho. Seriously, I love seeing Miami and VT in the ACC now. Maybe that will finally give us some incentive to get our football program out of the crapper (51-7 against U(sic)GA on national TV?) Matt ----- Wicked.

The next time you see him, comment that you're surprised he wasn't killed in his car on the way to work this morning. After all, since he likes statistics, he should know that driving is *statistically* much more dangerous than skydiving. Make sure to tell him to be safe on his way home that evening, and that his work will be taken care of should something happen. Just my 27890 Turkish Lira. Matt ----- Wicked.

well, the term "squeezing" was only used insofar as it recognizes that the J1 is not specifically sized for a reserve that large. and yes, of course I would sit down and talk with my rigger in person before just trying to shove it in there. I'm more concerned with whether anyone has any direct experience with putting a larger reserve in a container designed for a smaller one, and how it turned out. Matt ----- Wicked.

Quick question... Anyone ever tried squeezing a 170 reserve (Tempo) into a Javelin J1? Successes/failures? Matt ----- Wicked.

Glad everything worked out ok for you... Still, it could have been worse. Last year, one of our club jumpers had to chop it at 7,000 in high winds. Of course, he didn't think it was necessary to chase the canopy, or even look to see where it went. By the way, if anyone ever comes across a blue and yellow Fury 200 in the forest somewhere in southern Georgia, let me know. --- Matt Whitcomb