drudchen

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Posts posted by drudchen

  1. Quote

    I think more like 4 to 5 feet when people reach behind and thread a seatbelt thru their main lift web when sitting on Caravan floors.



    I was wondering the same thing:
    Why are the seatbelts set up so that you have to reach behind and take the seatbelt. There's a much higher risk an airplane will encounter a sudden stop comparing to sudden acceleration. In a sudden stop scenario, you'll travel towards the nose of the airplane the length of the seatbelt, and then another length until it's tight. If seatbelts were attached a bit forward (instead of reaching back for them), wouldn't that be better? (referring to standard sit-on-the-floor Caravan/etc seatbelt setup)

  3. Just a thought - I was wondering - why don't rigs have a transparent window (similar to cypres one) in the reserve tray, accessible only behind the rigger's seal, that would have repack date written on it? It would solve pencil packing issue. To change it, seal needs to be broken (as opposed to current way of signing the packing card), but can be viewed through a transparent window any time

  4. This feedback might not be too useful based on your question / desired loading, but my Spectre 97 works great for me. For wingsuiting I load around 1.5 (no weight belt), and 4way at around 1.7:1 (20lbs weight belt). Opens and lands great. I'm not sure I'd load it much higher - we're usually landing crosswind at my dropzone, and it's sometimes a little bit of a run at touchdown. My Katana has a bit more bottom end power but I wouldn't wingsuit with it :)

  9. What I really want from my tablet is to have USB so that I can connect my GoPro/stills camera at the dropzone during a day of jumping - watch videos/debrief, backup stuff.. You need Itunes and a real computer to get anything on ipad, and that defeats the purpose

    I'll wait till Windiws 8 arm tablets come out

  13. From the site:
    "A Solo Skydiving Rig costs $7,500 and is also good for approximately 500 jumps before it starts needing repair work. $7,500/500 jumps = $15 per jump."

    Seriously?? So after 500 jumps it'll need more than 7500 in repairs (so you're better off buying new again)?
    I must have been doing something wrong...

  14. Quote

    I know in the past it said on dz.com that the still picture quality was not so good on the cx100 while shooting video, the specs say it will be a 2.7mp still on dual record. Now on the 550 it says the still picture on dual record would be 8.3mpix. Anyone try this on the 550 vs the 100? Is the still picture even at 8.3 still crap cause its doing it from video? And i think that you will only get that if you shoot in HD?



    I thought cx550 had optical stabilization and would be no good for skydiving?...
    Not sure if extra megapixels in still mode would matter if the video itself isn't up to par comparing to cheaper cx100/105/150 counterpart.

  16. Quote

    I think it looks like a great light weight free fall camera . Looks like the frame rate is a bit slow at 0.7 frames per second, but it's light weight. I see it doesn't have ttl viewer. But you wouldn't need it for free fall anyways.



    For the record, I wouldn't call G10 lightweight. Small size, compact - sure. But it's quite a brick ;)

    I have since switched to a Canon XS dslr. Yes, mostly for the frame rate. Also, high-ISO performance is much better (less noise).

    On not-so important jumps, I still take my casio z770 (now that thing is lightweight - 110g!)

    So, based on my experience, I wouldn't recommend the g10 as a great skydiving camera.
    Pros: Small, snag-free, stereo plug for biteswitch, good battery life, lots of manual settings, fairly wide angle stock lens.
    Cons: low framerate, bad noise problem at ISO 400 and more, not much cheaper than XS/i.

  18. Quote

    Based on your statements I am guessing you are doing a single instructor jump. If that is the case then the legs on your butt are causing you to backslide around the instructor (your pivot point).



    Man, those AFFIs! Too lazy to side-slide in the direction of student's backslide :S:)

  20. Since you've only paid $950, I think you'll be able to sell it for almost just as much without false advertising, telling the truth about each item and its condition. Even only the 8yo cypres should be worth a few hundred.

    I think you got screwed only in a sense that you didn't get such an amazing killer deal you thought you were. Otherwise, it seems the price is reasonable.

    But yeah, false advertising is never justified. Sorry it worked out so bad for you

  21. Quote


    A Sabre 150 with 800 jumps has had a lot of use. These retail for around $1600. Half of that is 800, and you should subtract another 200 for the lines. $600.

    Same thing for the 170, but a hundred bucks more since it's got a hundred jumps less. $700.



    Since the original poster didn't say it was a Sabre2, I would assume it's an original Sabre, and those don't retail for $1600... i.e. I wouldn't pay $700 for original Sabre 170 with 750 jumps and nearly destroyed lineset

  22. Quote

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    So how about it - have anybody tried the Pulse ? How is it compared to ie. a Sabre2 ?



    Sure, Ask the PD test pilots;).


    Sorry I thought someone might have had a chance to demo it - I'm trying to decide between a Pulse 170 and a Storm 170 to replace my Sabre 170 (my back cant take the abuse from the openings anymore :S)


    I thought Pulse was designed to have a little quicker openings than others. So if you're worried about your back Storm might be a wiser choice. (Again, not many people have jumped it so far, so I'm just going by what I've heared about it). It would probably be good for a bigway jumper that doesn't have the altitude to watch the canopy snivel for a few hundred feet at the end of the track

  24. Quote

    i certainly won't try it without doing a lot more jumps or without personal instruction from a qualified person.


    You can't just 'try' swooping. It's something you have to work towards gradually. It's a journey (and pretty exciting for that matter).

    Quote

    for the time being, i'm only interested in knowing the mechanics of the actual execution of the technique on a sort of academic basis if you will.


    Knowing the mechanics of what riser to pull isn't that useful - it's recognizing what kind of input is needed in a given situation and all the way until you're safely on the ground.

    That said, If you're still interested to get a head start on the theoretical side, Brian Germain wrote an excellent book (Parachute and it's pilot) that could be just what you're looking for:
    http://www.bigairsportz.com/publishing.php#parachute

  25. Just my personal opinion - If you're looking for a light front riser pressure, I dont think stiletto is what you want. I've made about 200 jumps on ST97 loaded lightly, and FR pressure builds up very quickly during a high performance turn and its recovery arc is very quick. I'm not saying that it's not a good canopy - it's great, very fun to fly and turns quick. Just maybe not the best choice for swooping for most common and modern flying techniques. Have you considered a slightly smaller Sabre2 or again a Pilot? (they might be harder to find a good deal on though, as stilettos seem to be dime a dozen nowadays)