alan

Yes, especially if the nose is rolled and tucked into the center cell during packing to help control the openings. His profile says a Turbo ZX and that canopy had a reputation for brisk openings and the occassional slammer, so like the old Sabre, many people rolled the nose and tucked it in. That can put a lot of stress on the fabric around the nose where the outside cells are tucked during the inflation. alan

I'd call it more of a design issue than a packing issue. The Sabre was aleading edge canopy that set the standard for performance for many years after it was first introduced and the fact that it is still a popular canopy and in production is a testament to that. Times have changed though because ten years ago few experienced skydivers would have suggested the Sabre as a good student/novice canopy, yet aside from wing loading issues, today that is fairly commonplace. All of that aside though, the Sabre design has over time proven to be inconsistent by todays standards with respect to opening characteristics. Some people have put in hundreds and hundreds of jumps on them and no complaints. Others have had very bad experiences and then there are the vast majority who have had the occassional slammer. All are valid. Any canopy that requires a modification to the slider to tame the openings has more than packing issues. The Sabre was a great canopy in its' heyday, but the more modern models available today have set a new standard, with many that stay in the "snivel" phase of the opening sequence longer than is really necessary. My guess is that we would see more of the newer designs open in the 400' to 600' that was typical of the Sabre design but the 600' to 800' foot openings on newer designs have motivated us to start opening a little higher, reinforcing a trend in the saftey and training recommendations. With the right balance of snatch force, snivel, and inflation, 600' openings can be soft enough to satisfy even the most wary of camera/video jumpers. The Sabre did that, just not with enough consistency and besides, we are always striving to improve. alan

The manufacturer absolutely recommends Do Not do this. It can cause off heading openings and damage the nose of the center cell. That is an old trick passed around by a lot of well meaning jumpers who just didn't know any better. Some of them are even very experienced. alan

Hehe! You had me right up to the sly wink. Yes, HH probably puts his judgement about the site ahead of your feelings alright. He'll do what he thinks is the PC thing to keep building the community. In this case, that would be letting you do your thing. My opinion, yours will vary. That is a shame because he still posts often and they are always as good as ever. I agree and there seem to be several regulars who would do well at it. That has always been apparent and never an issue as you are a good community builder and have made the time to keep up. My observations have been that you only gave advice on topics you were well versed in, gave good advice when you gave it, and stayed away/referred things you weren't sure about. Yes, and I think it is a nice followup to my comments above. Yes, but in my opinion choosing gear is an issue and choosing color schemes is campfire talk. I make a distiction between gear and colors. You choose to blend them together......good community building. You win, I lose. alan

I don't always have time to follow every thread, so I do miss somethings and when I do have time I don't go back and catch up on evrything. I try to pick up where things are at. Thanks, I didn't know he had stopped jumping. He still seems to post quite often and his posts are just as good as they always have been. With his experience and expertise I would think that he could have continued to be what I considered to be the best moderator on DZ.com. Derek is the best. IMHO he still could be if he so chose, it would be a while before he really got out of touch and there is no law requiring him to comment on something he is not sure about. I consider that a trademark of his, he knows what he is talking about and if he is not sure, he finds out. I guess that is your idea of a personal dig that can squeek by without falling into the "attack" classification. In answer to the "question" you posed though, no, I would not delete it, I would move it to the GSD Forum. I can recall when I was a moderator and pretty inexperienced at it, I deleted a couple of threads in haste and later regretted the mistake becuase even though they didn't belong here, in retrospect they would have been good exchanges in other forums. Hey, Pat Handel was visiting in Texas last Fall and told me the word around your DZ is that you write posts/reviews on canopies you hadn't jumped at the time you posted, he said it's a bit of a joke around the DZ. Was he BSing me? alan

Inquiring minds........... Why is the bridle shorter? Is it possible that it has something to do with risk of entanglement or delay in pin extraction in the event you grab the bridle instead of the pud for deployment? I have a pullout pc here and the bridle is les than 5 feet long. They are not popular in my area so I never gave it much thought or had any motivation to question it before. alan

Maybe you missed it in my other post: "It would be PI for HH to do anything but back you up so........ " Again, I don't have an issue with how this forum is moderated in general. We disagree on the pic of my rig threads. I did prefer Dereks style much more but that is not so much a comment on your ability as it is my preferences. I asked about why he is not moderating and you seem to have chose not to comment, even after I left the door open for you to direct me to him personnally. Must be a private issue. alan

Thanks again. Seems like a nice option and worth the sacrifice in appearance/packing to improve bag extraction into the low pressure the BM suit creats. Function over style. alan

First, my intent has not been to "badmouth anyone". I don't feel I did. Second, if I have something to say, I say it in the open where I can be held accountable. Fine, but look at the first post. No question or issue there and I haven't seen a lot of requests here for help in choosing rig colors. It is bonfire talk and should be done in the General Skydiving Discussions Forum. Very fair assesment and it could be accomplished in the GSD Forum which is not defined as gear related issues or questions. I come to this forum expecting to find information about rigging and issues about rigging and the gear we use, not to see posts of people admiring each others color selections. If I want to discuss color selection I would expect to do that in the GSD Forum. Again, I would point out that there have been no posts here requesting help in color selection of rigs or anyone stating a problem with it. This is really the bottom line. It would be PI for HH to do anything but back you up so........ A little off topic, but any idea why Derek is not green, or is that a private issue for Derek? No, I would not paint it with that wide of a brush. In general this is my favorite forum and I try to follow it is much as I can. I come here looking for more serious "issues" than rig colors and hope that readers looking for that kind of conversation can find it in the general discussions. At the risk of being redundant, my posts have been intended to be more along the line of keeping things in check, like when someone posts advertising and promotion here. I am sorry for being such a pain in the ass about it. Don't worry, I offend everbody offen enough so that they barely notice when you do it. alan

Thanks, I haven't seen that yet. Is the BM mod to allow for the fit of the suit, as in make it more compatible? alan

Well, you may be a little tongue in cheek, but good question anyway. As rigger I've also noticed this but it did not concern me as much as the catch on the reserve PC bridle. When packed according to the manual, with the S folds under the side flaps at the bottom of the reserve pack tray, I've found on several occassions that the tension that the flaps put on the bridle traps it and inhibits the PC launch. alan

The red one looks a little pregnant on the bottom. Is the canopy bigger than what it is designed for? alan

What exactly constitutes "badmouthing"? These gear photo threads are pure BS and all the rationalization in the world won't change it. Someone posts advertising some gear for sale and it is quickly pointed out by some one that this is not the right forum for that and it stops. But somebody decides to promote Infinity and Wings by posting a pic (with a little more than vanity and a desire for bonfire talk as motive) of their rig and requests for posts of pics of others with comments about how great the rig looks and it is OK. Then a couple of moderators jump on the band wagon and won't admit a mistake. We get a rationalization that it is gear and it helps people make color choices. BS. Where was that? Hey, Newby question, would you all post pics of your gear so I can use them to choose my colors? Ya, right!!! Or, Hey, I can't decide what colors to choose, would all of you post pics to help me decide? Uhhh huh. If I have a public issue, I discuss it in public. alan

I don't have any pics to post, but I have packed a lot of them. they sure do have nice lines. alan

I expected as much when the moderators are participating. The forum is for gear related issues and questions. At least that is what the header still says. Hey, look at my pretty rig is not an issue or question. I suppose then it is OK if I post a bunch of photos of my pilot chutes.......and helmets, gosh there must be 20 or 30 around the DZ with lots of pretty colors. Mostly Pro-Tecs, but there are some Factory Divers, Oxygens and Z-1s along with a few Freefly types. Maybe someone will add on photos of their custom painted helmets. Jumpsuit pics too, yes, lots of pretty ones. And shoes. We had a thread about what kind of shoes do people wear (which is actually relavent and appropriate), maybe some pics would be helpful and interesting there. I've stated my case......I'll let it go. alan

Cool thread of pics. "The Dropzone Gear and Rigging forum is where you can discuss any gear related questions and issues. Ask about gear before you buy it and find out what others are using and how. " I wonder what the question or issue is that brings it into the Gear and Rigging Forum. alan

You guys gotta remember, when one of you says your at around 500', that could actually very easily be closer to 600' and when the other guy says at around 600', that could actually be closer to 500' in reality, unless most of us have started using those digital things accurate to 10'. At least according to some very knowledgeable people here. Hey, now that I think of it, are they actually "accurate" to 10' or do they just give a reading that gives that impression? alan

Too late to edit I guess............ Should have said "silicone" lubricant, Food grade silicone lubricant. The industrial variant, I believe has a higher silicone content. Treat rubber bands with it, for much longer life and better pliability. Treat your main closing loop with it, especially if you use a Spectra loop, for longer life and smooth extraction. (Cypres loop is treated with silicone gel.) Clean/lubricate your cables with it as it attracts less dirt than oil or WD-40. A light coating on suspension lines will reduce wear on them. Treat the kill-line in your collapsible pc with it, for longer life and less shrinkage. alan

Just get a box of brown mil spec rubber bands and treat them with a food grade industrial lubricant(obtained at most ACE Hardware stores). I use the small size except if the locking stowes are very time, then I use the larger ones the. Spray it on and rub it in. Dries in a few minuites. Seems to give the bands more elscticity, they sure last longer, no need to double wrap and the lines are held firmly enough for an ordely deployment. Even works on Technora lines. I have found that bags with the last locking stowe centered in the D-bag are less prone to spinning and bags that have the stowes centerd on the top are nice as well. Keep the bites even for a balance mass distribution and it will help reduce spin. alan

I'm probably all wrong on this because I've only had to deal with a pc hesitation on a student a few dozen times, but in those times, just dipping the students legs a little always cleared the pc for a normal deployment. "Picking the bag off" while a pc and bridle are flopping around seems a bit extreme and in my opinion, adds an increased element of risk, especially of entanglement. Maybe it sounded pretty cool during the debrief though: "Ya, you had a pc hesitation, so I had to pick the bag off your back." Very heroic as opposed to just tipping your body a little. At any rate, you surely received some remedial instruction on deployment procedures and now know how to identify a pc hesitation and clear it on your own. alan

It is an instructors job to ensure that the student has been adequately prepared. Based on your narrative there appear to be several instances where they must have failed in their obligation to you, one of the more serious, allowing you to use a rig that was unfamiliar. One of the most difficult tasks of an instructor is also to teach the student that they, the student, are responsible for making the decision to skydive. If you are not prepared, don't agree to go. The tough part is, how as a student, are you qualified to make that decision. Start by using common sense. The details are important, more important than your desire to get in the air again. Exactly where the line of reponsibility for a student's skydive is drawn between the student and instructor can be debated endlessly and I will leave that to others. You need more resonsible instructors and you should have learned a lesson. Take more reponsibility yourself and don't jump if you are not prepared. That is a lesson that needs to follow you as long as you jump. A good example can be found in the thread on night jumps. If you are inexperienced at night jumps, you might not want to go to a large resort DZ and get on an Otter with 20 or so other people whom you probably don't don't know just because it is being done. When you do have some experience, you will know how dangerous it can be. When you find yourself shouting "fuck you" at someone, maybe you should be asking yourself why you were on the load with that person in the first place. I hope you can see my point. I'm not trying to pick on anyone here, just trying to point out that we need to start learning more about reponsibility and we need to do that starting with the first jump. A good instructor makes that part of each and every lesson, at laest in my opinion. alan

Seven Hills Skydivers 15 miles from Madison (608)244-5252 www.sevenhillsskydivers.org Club DZ, grass strip, C182's, beautiful park setting, beautiful scenery, beer, bonfires, cookouts and from the times I've visited it is a fun, friendly place to jump. Reasonable jump prices and the clubhouse has clean toilets with showers. They may have their internal problems/politics as most clubs do, I don't know because I'm not there enough to see it. I do know it is a wonderful place to visit from my perspective. I am a Sr. Rigger. I have talked to and observed their riggers. They are experienced and competent, again in my opinion. alan

Thanks. I guess it is obvious why. FWIW, I used a two harness system. I had a TSO'd harness with an old canopy on the main rings and a standard cutaway handle. The main to be cut away was set for a S/L, direct bag deployment. My standard sport rig was worn over the top. Webbing between the MLW's of the cut-away rig provided a place to mount the pillow in the center of my chest, unobstructed by the other harness. The same webbing was used to keep the shoulders and three ring release on the cut-away rig inside of and clear of the harness of the standard rig. I think the set-up was very similar to the one that Rob Harris killed himself with during the filming of a Pepsi commercial. It is imprtant to pull the correct cut-away handle first, or at least allow enough time/altitude to pull them both and get to the reserve. I suppose if the canopy to be cut-away intentionally is not malfunctioned and you pull the wrong cut-away handle, it could be an option to just abort the cut-away and land with it. alan

I've been out of the tandem game for several years now so my memory may be off, but at the time I got my rating (Strong), I thought a pre-requisite by both RWS and Strong was at least one cut-away, either an actual emergency or simulated on a rig with a tertiary reserve. Was this ever the case or am I wrong? If it was a pre-requisite, is it still? If so, why? alan

Before doing a cold weather jump talk to an experienced instructor, if you are at X-Keys, Mark Kruse is from WI and can give you good advice. If you have a full face helmet, the shield can frost up on you so you better have a plan for that and not let it panic you. Mobility may be a problem if you bundle up, so put the rig on and get suspended (RT trainer) and review procedures. Be careful with gloves, you need to have a comfortable (for you) level of feel of all of your handles and be able to use your steering toggles. Again, try things out on the ground, even if it means pulling your canopy out to try out the toggles with gloves on. Cold can slow you down mentally and physically, so be prepared, allow time and altitude. About altitude, don't go overboard on allowing a little extra. Poor circulation really shows its' effects under canopy in cold weather. Legs and feet get cold because of legs straps. Hands and arms get cold because you have them above your heart most of the time. If there is any snow on the ground, things may look very different under canopy from what you may remember in the summer or fall. Make sure you can recognize the DZ from the air. I live in WI and jumping in the winter can be fun, beautiful, and exhilirating...........just take a few common sense precautions to account for what is to you, a new environment. alan