angryelf

True. Lot of variables in Swooping. Case in point, had to turn my "new" 96 at a lower alt to get it moving (vs my 103). It was fast, but had zero distance. Took a World Champ and Record Holder to watch me fly it, tell me "you're brakes are too short" to figure out the problem. Learning from people on the interwebs is great, but it doesn't replace real live humans with life experience watching real time to REALLY set you straight. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

you registered the day you posted. GFYYFT. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Jay did 641 (He doesn't count the off DZ landing due to a bad spot) so the record is 640 in a 24 hr period. 500-1000 jumps per year is hitting it hard. If you stop to consider most people with that kind of volume are doing non stop Tandem/Vid/AFF or Coaching jumps-they're working. As a part time AFFI/TANI/regular dude who doesn't want to burn out-I've found that 250-400/year is a pretty good pace. If I weren't doing a real job 7 days/week and loving it-stepping that up to 400-800/year would be feasible. 5000 jumps in one year would be way too many. Edited to add: Jay did it on his 50th birthday, BTW. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Removable sliders are good stuff. I have them on my Velos, and on my Pilot 140 (Wingsuit rig). The one on my Pilot I built myself (prolly something Aerodyne would hate to hear, but oh well). Much safer, bigger FOV and no more tying your slider into your reserve flap like some folks do. Rob Wordahl at Raeford builds a very nice removable for a fair price. He can build it with rings you supply or use grommets sunk into webbing. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

I have a pilot 140 zpx for WS. It fit in a Mirage MT sized for a Spectre 120 or a Velo 103 just fine. "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

That was awesome! New event at the swoop comps, screw zone acc. Call it duck-slamming... "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

I have personally had an issue with a ball and bungee (AAD fire which led to a canopy transfer at -700ft). As a result of having to manually pull the device off of my reserve flap, I don't jump these things anymore. What's really scary is that I had one sewn to my jumpsuit collar for a while (Old School-but not with velcro) and that would have been a bit sportier with the same malfunction... As a jumper who wants to open every canopy I jump up (by loosening the chest strap and spreading the risers, which the slider impedes, not to mention loss of situational awareness with a slider obstructing vision) Here's my fix: Removable slider (Not full RDS) with slider blocks on the risers. I have one on my Velo, and on my Pilot (WS rig). If I don't have time to get the slider off, I pull it down over the blocks and get to the ground safely. It works, admittedly adds some complication and opens me up for the possibility of a miss-rigged slider. It's my system, not for everybody-but I like it. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Have made a few jumps there over the years and had a mostly positive experience. Lot of people in the Bay Area talk down about the place, mostly because the landing area is separated from the airport and the bus ride sucks (And diehard Hollister types keep saying they will be landing at the airport "soon")... A good friend of mine/former student worked there for a long time and developed into a hell of a good vidiot and freeflyer. It's like any dz, it is run by someone who operates an amusement park for "adults" who themselves are ADD children with grown up urges and desires. You spend some time pandering a product to crazy people and you'll wind up that way yourself. Hollister has ups and downs and has had it's share of issues. Things can be loose and fast there, but that goes anywhere. Go check it out, if you like it stay. If not you can choose from 4-6 other DZ's in the Bay/San Joaquin Valley Area. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Gonzalez' book is legit. He goes into the psychology of risk takers and how they succeed or fail in their pursuit of an emotionally pleasing activity. In one instance what he suggests is that participants who have done things many times in high risk environments have a mental image of what "should" happen. Call it complacency or whatever you like-he just lays it out in a long winded manner. There are many examples in the book that definitely apply to the sky, some don't. in any case it's a worthwhile read. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

How about a "No appreciable change" in the overall numbers option? I personally like the Skyhook. It is a good system that works for a lot of different disciplines. That being said, people are dumb. A good theory that demonstrates this phenomena (of people being dumb) is "risk homeostasis". Put seat belts in a car and people will drive faster. Add airbags and they go even harder. Skydiving is dangerous, people will continue to die doing it. Out of 6 reserve rides in the past 8 years, 2 were on Skyhooks, both involved a crossbraced canopy, spinning malfunction at a WL of over 2:1. I was really happy to have my reserve out quickly. That being said, I regularly jump other gear with standard RSL's, no AAD's/ and no RSL, etc. The bottom line is this: 1. Personal Responsibility. (YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND THE SITUATION YOU PUT YOURSELF INTO!!!) 2. Know what you have (gear and inherent limitations of that gear), rely on YOUR TRAINING/SKILLS to save yourself when things go bad and if you land under a reserve (Conscious/Arms intact) with cutaway or reserve handles still stowed because of an AAD or RSL consider golf or bowling. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Tips for making landing off a good deal: DO: 1Land at beach/lake/pond/pool parties, picnics, side of busy road. You should pick these out weeks/months prior on the way to alt. (I recommend swooping the pond/lake/pool. I scored a nice pond swoop, was given a burger, beer and a ride back to the dz on one jump). ;) 2DON'T PACK!!! You will not get a ride back to the dz in a jumpsuit and a funny looking back pack. You MAY get one with an unpacked parachute. 3Offer to pay for gas-you never will, driving you back to the dz is the coolest thing that driver has done all day, but offering to pay your way earns you credibility in the rural areas that dz's operate near and will help out. 4Invite the driver to stay, make a jump or chill at the bonfire. 5Carry your cellphone/cash on each jump. Call manifest (with the cell) and let em know you had a great landing, have a ride back with some cool new friends and will be back as soon as you get done buying beer (with the $ in your suit) at the gas station ;) DON'T: Land in tall corn, powerlines, urban neighborhoods, water treatment facilities or prisons. OR get hurt. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Is that the same trailer you had at Thomaston in '05? "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Try Blade Tec's IWB. They're about $60. Cut the sweat flap to fit so it doesn't dig into your hip. Awesome way to go. I'm a thin guy, can conceal a glock or 1911 comfortably with this. "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

half mooning I was referring to is a poorly packed reserve PC that prints the #3/#4 (side) closing flaps of the reserve. It can happen on exposed PC's (Such as the Javelin, Dolphin, Wings and Racer) in which case it becomes a hazard whereas with a Vector it is a cosmetic problem not a line snag problem or exposed reserve componetry problem. Mr. Sherman has presented his arguments for the Racer, it is a safe enough rig, if one understands some aspects that are different about it. As I stated before, everyone has their opinions. As far as a Vector folding in freefall-any piggy back rig on the market will have some flex at the main/reserve junction. This is minimized by proper fit, and in my experience the Vector has less than most rigs due to it's "brickishness". -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Racer owners are all members of a very special cult. Racers are known for being comfortable and also for being a rigger's nightmare. The only riggers I know who like them owned one before they were riggers. I have a whopping 2 jumps on one, was mentored by a guy who worked at jumpshack for years (he didn't jump a racer, btw) and have repacked the reserve on one cursing the whole way through. John Sherman has done some great things for the sport, and a few people are pretty die hard fans of his rig. As I said earlier, opinions are pretty widespread on rigs, just like on cars or trucks or anything else. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

At the end of the day: it's personal preference, and it sounds like your old man might know a thing about the sport and rigs in general if he's on a velo. But here are some things to think about... Vector: been around a long time. Well engineered, very safe, extremely well designed. Skyhook is a very good way to go. Reserve PC has one of the most positive springs on the market (my opinion). Magnet riser covers are the only way to go. cons: not the most comfortable rig on the market (people refer to it as "brick like"), a lot of people say they are ugly, the reserve PC requires a good rigger to keep it from "half mooning". Lastly, the shipping time is way long for now (if you're buying new). Wings: cheaper, shorter delivery time. If fitted right it can be a very comfortable rig. Things I don't like about the wings (lot of this is personal opinion and is just that...): The wings reserve PC spring is very light. The way the PC material is supposed to be inserted between the spring is a bit odd. I have seen the reserve PC hesitate to launch (pin was cleared, rig on the floor) could have been packing error, etc (who knows???)the reserve pin cover is goofy, the freefly friendly main deployment handle is not my favorite and the whole rig feels soft and mushy. Now all that being said-if you're just starting out, anything will prolly be better than the student gear you're jumping now and will make you happy. Big fan of Vector's, Mirage's and Javelin's. But that's just my opinion... Good luck with your search, -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Saw a clip on a Freefly vid a while ago that showed some early (2004) 4 way VRW. Story that was told to me was that it was a belly 4 way team that wasn't going to win so they opted to do the dive during competition head up/down. (jumpers were rocking RW suits W BOOTIES, as I recall) Anybody know where I can find this on the interwebs? Been looking a little bit, no dice on google or the search key here on dorkzone. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

nothing special was done to the jacket. "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Do this: go to Target. Buy a pair of reasonably well constructed rain/windbreaker pants (buy at least 2 sizes larger than what you would wear). replace the drawstring with a piece of 550 cord. hem the bottoms, creating a channel to put ankle drawstrings in, add more 550 cord. Use a wood burner (or cigarettes, like the old school dudes did) to burn 30-40 holes in the groin area. sew all the pockets shut. put on over your legstraps, ensuring they are tight enough to not fall down, (drawstring tight). Close ankle drawstrings. Jump. Realize a tracking suit is not that cool for skydiving, learn it for $200-$300 less than what it would cost to buy one. If you get into BASE, use it there. I spent 3 weeks spanking dudes in Italy, Suisse and Norway in my home made pants and a hardshell Arcteryx top. They spent way more money than I did... (I made mine from a pair of old Wild Things pants, sewed mesh into the groin, didn't burn "smoke pants"). DISCLAIMER: If your pants wind up on your ankles b/c you didn't tighten the drawstring enough and pull head low-that's your fault. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Just guessing: maybe they are referencing the tendency of the DH to flex a great deal at the main/reserve packtray junction due to the drogue pulling the two up and away from the TI's back? "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Starting to get way off track from what this thread was about, and now we're into canopy/flight/aerodynamic theory. Which is awesome. My responses at this point are pretty much theory based as I'm not an engineer type with a 100 lb brain. TOTALLY not trying to argue, hoping that maybe the 100 lb brains will chime in and we'll all learn something. Front Riser vs Rear Riser pressure: The A lines, B lines are definitely carrying a bit more weight. Angle of attack, wing loading, lineset lay out and overall design (I think) are all going to affect front riser pressure. Front riser pressure will almost always be higher due to more of the weight/loaded surface area being pulled on. Rear risers are affecting a smaller area of real estate, that has less confined space resulting in lower felt pressure (think of the wing space from top to bottom). Damage to the brake settings on BASE gear: My theory is that the A lines, B lines are soaking up a lot of energy during opening but that it is INLINE with the normal air channel/inflation direction of normal cell pressurization. The brake settings are in conflict with that and get loaded rather substantially. The tail is also pulled down at an angle, which is a big stopping surface that totally goes against the direction of travel-forward and down, resulting in more even more force being generated to the lower brake/control lines. (think of the tail "cupping" all of the air speed being generated from the falling load, with no slider to retard it. (On Skygear: The first things to blow on a very HARD opening are the line attachment points at the tail, or the brake settings. The tail gets ROCKED during a hard/slider down opening. This is FACT. Why I think it happens is above, what the complete/right answer is I'm unsure of). As far as the tailgate slowing things down/helping the brakes out: I believe it has zero effect in slowing anything down in the tail region inflation sequence. It's purpose is to KEEP THE LINES IN THE MIDDLE, FABRIC OUT for the duration of canopy placement in the container and during linestretch. If it were to impede/ "retard" tail inflation it would have to be miss-rigged horribly and would lead to the jumper "backing" into the object he/she just jumped. (This has happened [supposedly], due to an overly ambitious tailgate combined with light jumper and 0 delay). Any science-based corrections on the above are welcomed. I'm making this up as I go based off of what makes sense from experience. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

long (3-5 sec) slider down openings can be harder on the whole system as there is no reefing happenng. occasionally this can manifest in the brake settings as they absorb a lot of the energy (and can be torn up). This can be exacerbated by poor toggle stowing. as far as the slider shrinking the outer lines-I don't have enough jumps on a single canopy to notice massive changes at a .80:1 wingloading. (Particularly after stepping of something low and dirty). -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Getting that from personal experience tearing shit up with rough landings on building tops, trees, brush, scree in the Alps, being run over by over exuberant getaway drivers, etc. Maybe my experience isn't typical... ;) (I did cram a lot into a couple of short years of BASE). It is very possible for this to not be the case if you aren't pushing it, I suppose. I went through two sets of control lines on my first canopy, one on my second in 136 Jumps + a couple of skydives using those canopies as mains. Also replaced two of my buddies control lines that were totally shot after 80 or so jumps, again-those guys were hitting it hard. I don't want to jump a BASE canopy with 450 jumps on it. Ever. Sounds painful. Edited to ADD: Just noticed your profile says Germany. In my (very limited) experience in Europe, most jumps are slider up, post jump gear cleanup can be done carefully and the gear doesn't see as much abuse. Slider down in the US has the potential to cause more wear and tear, especially to your deep brake settings which may get blasted from hard openings slider down. In the end you prolly have way more experience than I do in this area with a sub 300 #. Hope I meet you out there when I get a chance to get back into BASE in a few years time. Cheers! -Harry #1415 "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Talk to Jerry McDonald at Start. You'll be driving up there to jump anyway. Wouldn't take my gear to Etown for rigging, but that's just me. "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."

Sounds to me like you are trying to set up line release toggles on BASE gear which is why you don't want the knot. Jump Shack's technique is tough to do in 900lb dacron and may or may not slide out of the grommet/guide ring. Eric is right to bring up knotting the toggles but you are rigging for a different discipline (I based this off the fact that old school CRW dogs, BASE jumpers are about the only one's using heavy dacron now and you have speedgliding and BASE stuff in your profile). I fixed several of these in Europe last year for guys who had always done slider down stuff, had line release toggles and hadn't thought through the fact that they had to untie the knot to get the line through the guide ring (therefore negating the whole purpose of WLO's). Use heavy bartacking thread and a carpet needle (braided black stuff, some rigs use it to hold cable housings in place, etc.) sew at least 4 stitches into your finger trap, about an inch from where it enters the line. You should wind up with an inch long stitch that goes up the line, comes back to fill in the gaps and then both ends should be finished with a surgeons knot. Needle get at walmart, thread get from a rigger or Paragear. Dacron does stretch. Bartacking will stretch with it (better than a machine bar tack will, I'll wager). If it is BASE gear, you will be replacing your control lines after 50-100 jumps anyway. That being said, INSPECT, INSPECT and INSPECT it for wear. Get it to a Rigger with bar tack machine asap to have it done properly. Disclaimer: If you have to land on your rears because the tacking fell out and you didn't catch it-that's on you. -Harry "Sometimes you eat the bar, and well-sometimes the bar eats you..."