SethInMI

I got a brand new Triathlon at 50 jumps, slippery and crinkly as hell. Psycho-packing was the only way I got it in the bag. Still using the method. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

15 DZs: Hastings, MI Fremont, MI Twin Cities (in WI) Plainwell, MI Adrenaline Air Sports, Western NC Perris, CA Skydive Alabama? (south of Huntsville) Hinckley, IL PCV Schaafen, Belgium PCV Zwaartburg, Belguim Lodi, CA ZHills Deland The Farm, GA Midwest Freefall, Romeo, MI I like the small DZs. The ones where the DZO brings you a beer at the end of the day and thanks you for coming out. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Search, this has been asked before. Find the one where the guy wore one under his shirt, then the shirt got lifted up accidentally and the next thing he knew he was pinned by security. Someone saw his belt and thought it was a bomb. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

bill weighs in: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1483959#1483959 It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

BillVon's checklist says: If and when you do try it out low, start at lesser angles (i.e. try a 15 degree turn first) make sure the pattern is clear and make sure conditions are good (soft ground, good winds.) Work up gradually to a full 90 degree turn. 15 degrees is not alot. Start at 100ft and work down if you want, you should be able to see that you are back under the canopy well before you have to flare. Take it slow. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I just missed the presentation about the crash, but I made notes from the summary. If I got stuff wrong or when the actual text is released I will edit it. 1. No way to tell why turbine blades fractured causing the engine to fail. 2. Pilot failed to maintain airspeed with one engine. 3. Autofeather system was broken for 5 years, and if operative this may have helped, although there was evidence the pilot feathered the failed engine. There was no MEL filed for the broken system, although it was placarded. 4. Pilot used only 1700 ft of runway, if he had taken off from one end, he may have been able to set the plane back down on the runway after the engine failed. 5. Greater FAA oversight may have prevented problem. 6. Fatal injuries for parachutists caused by restraints (not wearing?? single point??) 7. ?? 8. Testing for dual point restraints are needed. The chief reason for the crash: Pilot's failure to maintain airspeed after engine failure. Safety recommendations from NTSB: 1. FAA should research with USPA for best dual point restraints. 2. Revise 105-C? for guidance about these systems. 3. USPA should work with FAA for dual point systems? 4. USPA should educate members and encourage members to use developed dual point systems. This was me typing up what the chairman was reading, so I may have got something wrong. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I think it might have more effect on the recovery of the canopy. Please explain it in details. How is a different riser would change the stall point if the guide ring is about the same distance from the connector links? I think he means if you are used to flying deep brakes or finishing your flare with your arms and hands in a certain position relative to your head and shoulders, longer risers will make that position deeper in brakes and you may accidentally stall. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

The course I took from Lugi was not marketed as essential or advanced, so I guess it was essential, but we had some HP guys getting coaching so I learned alot about HP landings too. Lugi tried to gear his instructions and debrief to what ever the pilot needed. Regarding his video and debrief style, I have not taken any other courses to compare him with, but I thought he did a good job of mixing praise with constructive criticism. We had about 11 people in the class and I would say ~60-70% of classroom time was spent watching debriefs, and I learned something from watching and listening to each landing, HP or straight in. And watching him land the 37 was a nice bonus. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I took Lugi's course earlier this summer. It sounds like what you want. Light on theory, emphasis on jumping and debriefing. Lugi uses Scott's materials, and he started the course by asking each person what there goals were and then worked on those, although on most of the jumps everyone was doing the same things, Flaring, Stall point, etc. We had several HP pilots and they spoke highly of the tips he gave out. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I took Lugi's class last month, and based on what I learned, I would suggest buying or borrowing Brian Germain's book, The parachute and its pilot, and then talking about the book with someone who understands canopy flight and has taken a canopy course. Then do some jumps and have them video your landings and analyze them. Things to focus on: 1. Flaring. Lugi teaches a 2-stage flare, planeout and then finish. 2. Braked turns. 3. Get back from bad spots. Rear Risers and Deep Brakes. 4. Pattern Flying and accuracy. 5. Stall Point and recovery. 6. Understanding turbulence. I would think a good instructor videoing your landings would be a great help, it was to me. The one thing you would miss in a class is watching everyone else land and get debriefed. I learned just listening to Lugi analyze eveyone's jumps. Just my 2c. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Thanks for the ideas and advice. I am going to just push the whole video evidence thing till next year. Then I can practice what I want to do well in advance, get hands-on advice, do some dry runs, see how it looks, etc. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Thanks for the comments. I suppose I will save the flag for next year; with a fundraiser you always have to be prepared to move the goal forward a bit. The jumps are over two days. The streamer idea is tempting, perhaps add a 4ft section with each jump. What are the safety risks in that? Get tangled in the legs or around handles? Be prepared with a hook knife? I see an advantage to starting with a short streamer and slowly making it longer. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I didn't know what subject to put for this post, but here is my issue: I am participating in a fundraiser this weekend, getting per jump donations. I hope to do between 10-15 hop-n-pop jumps, and I thought it would be fun if I had my landings videoed so I could prove I did all the jumps. Edit the video to make it just a few seconds per each landing. So I wanted to be able show each jump number on my person in some way that would be visible from someone 50 ft away or so. Don't want a lot of hassle. So my ideas are: 1. I have some cotton fabric I could make a small flag out of perhaps 1.5ft high by 2 ft long, somehow affix it to me (my leg?) and deploy after opening. The flag would have the jump number on it (1-15). 2. Wear a white tshirt and put number on it. 3. Put stripes on legs 4. Deploy a streamer that got longer with each jump 5. ??? Anyone have any easy safe ways to deploy a small flag or any other ideas? Thanks, Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

That is so cool. Reading that book growing up was one of many inspirations to go into engineering. I still remember one light fore and one aft set so the intersection indicated the correct height. So simple, so effective. Brilliant! It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

A few years ago I wondered about 190 7 cell vs. 170 9 cell packing, and I checked Aerodyne's web site and found (and is still there today): Pack volume for 168 Pilot: 416 cu. Pack volume for 190 Triathlon: 420 cu. (which is a difference of about 1%). Now same manufacterer so same methodology...1% shoud be barely noticeable. But the I5 is listed for 416cu. max, and the manufacturer said don't do it, and I have packed a 190 Tri and a 170 Sabre 2 into a J3 and found the 170 to pack smaller, more than 1% IMHO (Sabre 2 not being a Pilot of course). Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Thanks for the responses. I will just move them back to factory and try it. I have relatively long arms, 73" wingspan, so I think I could still get a good flare out of it, but I see the benefit of having them shorter. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I just got a Sabre 2 canopy with about 140 jumps on it. My rigger and I hooked it up using the brake settings (existing loops) of the previous owner. I jumped it, it flew like the brake lines were too short (bucked alot on front riser turns). I measured the brake lines according to PD instructions and they were about 3.75" too short, chart says 18" for a 170. The line trim chart has an note "Due to development methodology, the finished BK-TOG dimensions may not scale" What does this mean? Can I just move the break line settings to the suggested 18" length, or should I step it out more slowly? Thanks, Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Yeah, Chris is just curious. I am too sometimes, its just as if I asked Peter Solberg how to slide a rally car down a gravel road at some ungodly speed. I am not going to do it, just want some idea of what is involved. Dave said something that backs up what Chris said about larger swooping canopies being better for distance, he said he swoops a slightly larger canopy which is slower but flies farther. Why is that? And what would a 115lbs person have to do to be a competition swooper, and why? Quote from Dave: It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Click for Google Map of Jumpin Jans LZ Great story! It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Anyone remember watching "Alf Tales" on Saturday mornings back in the 80's? It was full of puns and stuff that was probably over the heads of most kids. I remember one show that IIRC featured a villian building these chopping robots called K-Arts. I think the whole show was a setup so the villian could call out "Attention K-Art Choppers!"...back when Kmart was still a big chain. I remember spoofs of Rapunzel and some other fairy tales too. Let's see, what other kids cartoons did I watch? "Gummi Bears" anyone? "Thunder Cats", Smurfs, He-man, X-men. Alot of those were horrible. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

How high is the concepted ramp height? I'm not a base jumper, but I would think that with a base rig and with a fast or no slider and a high enough ramp, he could potentially deploy a parachute at the ramp height, if he missed it. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

This is not a pubic message. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I know what you are sayin', and I'm sayin' give the bad guys a better set of wheels, like a Z06 or something! But it was an old-school moment, just like when the General Lee could never get away from Rosco until it reached that "under construction" bridge. That car horn blowing Dixie, the Knight Rider theme, and Jan Hammer's Miami Vice theme all reside in my head connected to the cars of the shows, the Charger, the TransAm and the Testarossa. That's a sweet sounding motor. I don't see those rear tires lasting long if I could get behind the wheel of that thing. Seth It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

I am of the generation that watched the original as a kid (35 now), and so I watched this for nostalgia sake. It was terrible. I think they wanted to match the campy sillyness of the original, but I guess I can't watch that level anymore. The first 5-10 seconds of the opening theme was the best part of the show. I can tell I am a car nut because I really had to shake my head when KITT, a Mustang GT500KR with ungodly amounts of horsepower and a perfect robotic driver, could not escape from the bad guys in a Ford Edge crossover. Sigh. I did like Val Kilmer as the voice of KITT. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".

Has anyone else every seen that question "Have you ever skydived?" on a life insurance form? Although I am getting to middle age, I have no need for more life insurance than my work provides. What would the purpose of a such a question be? Is it, as the Rabbi surmised, really asking "Are you an above-average risk taker who has a higher likelyhood of dieing in some risky activity, being it skydiving or motorcycle riding or climbing a 20 ft ladder to repaint your roof trim?" And what would the change in premiums be for checking yes on such a box? It is a shame that someone who did a jump now thinks of it as a "cheap thrill" that detracts from an appreciation of the subtle and hard won pleasures of life. This guy sounds like a real killjoy. No amusement parks or bicycle rides for his family, its "appreciating the beauty of watching paint dry, the paint you applied". Sheesh. Someone needs to find a Talmud equivalent quote to "Live a little". Btw, it sounds like the good Rabbi did a Static Line jump, not a tandem. It's flare not flair, brakes not breaks, bridle not bridal, "could NOT care less" not "could care less".