wilcox

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Posts posted by wilcox

  1. Does anyone know what I would need to do to get an American skydiving license?

    I've had a license for many years in Europe, but now I'm moving to the US. I don't currently have a license though, so I don't know have an active license to convert.

    I could renew a license here, but it seems a bit unnecessary when I don't intend to use it here. So I'd rather get an American license right away.

    What would you say if I showed up at your dropzone with this question? Do you have any suggestions for web pages with information?

  4. Forget about the numbers and just prepare yourself to get hurt if you start base jumping.

    After my base accident, many people have asked me: How much did it hurt? Could you stand the pain?

    But I think that is a meaningless question. The extreme pain directly after a accident, and the first months after the accident is so easy it can't even be compared to the hard work of living with pain. The interesting question is "For how long will it hurt".

    Living with pain and injuries is hard, and there is no other cure than to harden up. Prepare mentally for that and get into hobbies you could continue even if you'd get hurt. Have a good insurance and make sure you got the money to deal with i.e. loss of income.

  5. I'm small. I have had some problems with big rigs and big canopies.

    big canopy

    My experience is that the canopy can take longer to get pressurized again after a partial collapse, Say no to jumping when the wind is gusty.

    Other jumpers might not be aware about how far/short you can get because you have much lower wingloading than most jumpers. Learn about spotting to make sure you get off where you want.

    big harness
    The first rig I got was slightly to big. Once when I was practicing transitions from head-up to head-down the rig slipped over my shoulders down to my elbows. My arms got stuck and it would have been very difficult to pull the reserve and impossible to pull main canopy. I went to belly, but my rig just got stuck harder in that position. I went back to head up which was not very easy since I was just learning and had no arms to keep balance. But in that position I manage to get the rig back on my shoulders.

    You need to be aware that many instructors have never had problems with to big rigs, and might not be aware of how easy things that can go wrong. Their advise might not always be well suited for you if they are not aware of the risks. So if you feel uncomfortable, trust yourself.

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    The deployment method shown in your picture is sometimes used in crw, called russian pullout: the pilot chute is packed in the BOC but you pull the pin before you release the pilot chute.


    Interesting! I've never heard of this (among the whole lot of other things, I am sure :)


    Compared to throw out?
    More consistent openings in low airspeed.

    For freefall there are no big advantages (if any at all) and there are more risks than using a throw-out.

  11. I enjoy sitting in a pub, drinkning a glass of whiskey and listen to live blues music. But I don't have a single blues song on my playlist at home. Can you inspire me:

    Which is your favorite blues song?

  12. Quote

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    -Is this the standard opening sequence in most parachutes? Do students use this type of deployment?
    Please see Pictures:

    http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/1225/openingsequence1uh7.png

    http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/957/openingsequence2ts5.png



    What's shown on the second picture (top part of it) is a good chance of getting a horseshoe malfunction... :o You got the main idea right, but the pin shouldn't get pulled from the closing loop until the PC is in the airstream, inflated and at the bridle stretch. Your pic shows it being pulled by the bridle while the PC is still in your hand -- BAD thing...



    Damn really? I always thought that was the most popular way of deployment, it took me 20mins to draw that picture, so you mean the only difference is that the pilot chute is the one who pulls the pin out thanks to the airstream?

    I dont know man but from a newbie perspective, if you pull the pilot chute to the air in a lazy way it might not inflate(PC in tow) and not have enough force to take the pin out resulting in a total malfunction.

    Anyway the way I drew the picture is the way I always thought the parachutes were deployed, you have 2 oppotunities, you can pull with enough strength to take the pin out, if that fails, just pray that the airstream does it for you.



    The deployment method shown in your picture is sometimes used in crw, called russian pullout: the pilot chute is packed in the BOC but you pull the pin before you release the pilot chute.

    You can also do a search on "Pull out" to learn more about regular pull out when you have the pilot chute packed inside the container. For this system you have a pud attachted to a line, this line is attached to both the pin and the pilot chute.

    Attachment shows how the different pull out pilot chutes and their handles looks like (pic #1-3) compared to a throw out (pic #4)

  13. -Canopies are measured by square feet.

    -There is not very big difference in price between different rigs. Which rig is best? Different people prefer different rigs. You will get many different opinions when you ask which rig is best.

    -The reserve and main canopy are usually about the same size. Sometimes the reserve is bigger, sometimes the main canopy is bigger.

    -There are some variations on the details in the deployment methods, but these are the most common for students:

    aff students and freefalling s/l students:
    1. You pull the pilot chute out of the boc and throw it into clean air. It catches air and pulls the pin, the container opens. The bag is pulled out of the container.

    2. You pull a ripcord and the container opens. A spring loaded pilot chute that was packed inside the container jumps out and catches air. The bag is pulled out of the container.

    s/l students on their first jumps:
    3. The jumpmaster assists the deployment, JAD/IAD. The jumpmaster takes the pilot chute ouf of the boc inside the airplane. At the same time the student leaves the door the jumpmaster throws the pilot chute out in the air. The pilot chute catches air and pulls the bag.

    4. A static line is a attached to the airplane and in the other end to the pin. When the student jumps out of the airplane, the pin is pulled, the container opens. The spring loaded pilot chute jumps out. It is usually attached with velcro to the static line, so the pilot chute gets some extra help to start pulling the bag out of the container.

  15. I'm looking for a link to a note + picture of a cypres loop that is threaded through the cutter as usually but then also looped around the cutter by mistake while closing the container.

    Does anyone remember reading about this? I think I read it here but I couldn't find it when I searched.

  16. I forgot to change the last sentence when I edited my first post... and if someone would prefer an ordinary rsl is an other debate. Just to make my question it a bit more clear:

    How about removing the red line only, is there anything that makes this method not recommended?

  17. I know these ways to pack a skyhook is common:
    *properly installed skyhook (if jumper wants skyhook)
    *properly installed skyhook that is disconnected from the riser (if jumper doesn't want skyhook)

    But how about
    *removing the red line only (if jumper wants an ordinary rsl or if jumper doesn't want to use rsl at all)

    Is there anything that makes these two methods not recommended?

  18. What is your plan for water landings when it comes to which direction to land?

    Which factors have you considered? Wind? Moving water? Other things?
    Which landing directions give the smallest risk of entanglement with the main in different scenarios that you have thought of?

  20. Has anyone collected data: done some jumps with a dacron-lined canopy and written down the opening shock forces and then done the same with a micro-lined canopy of same type, and then noticed how big the difference in opening shock was?

  21. Why does soft-links increase the life of a line set? How big increase are we talking about here?

    From Icarus Canopies
    "We totally recommend the use of soft links, not only will they make your slider easier to drop down they will be easier to pack with and increase the life of your line set"

  25. 1. Do you replace your risers after x numbers of jumps?

    2. I've got a pair of risers that are a little worn at the places where the softlinks are attached, is this a place where risers are known to break?