topdocker

I hear it was awesome! I stayed home and kept the local BevMo happy. Work and life just too much for me to take some time off for the meet. top Jump more, post less!

Hilton at best, Holiday Inn at worst. top Jump more, post less!

Dacron all the way around on our JFX's. We initially thought we would have issues with stretching and the canopies getting out of trim, but after putting over a thousand jumps on some canopies, we only noticed a slight change in performance. Granted it is difficult to tell because not only are the lines older, but the canopy itself is way older. But our orginal 96's are still quite compatible with anything we fly today at a similar wingloading. top Jump more, post less!

two cells??!! I found (on limited test jumps of the 5 cell) that the 7 cell was more responsive and twitchier than the 5 cell, which is expected. Really, what are YOU looking to do with these canopies? top Jump more, post less!

It has a normal tailpocket, although its really small! There just isn's a need for a large one, there isn't much line to stuff in there. The retract system is a two-piece slider that retracts and inverts the pilot chute as it comes down. Since it's two-pieces, it is split so there is almost nothing between you and the canopy after opening except a few retraction lines. The lines are slightly shorter than stock, but that doesn't effect the landing charectersitics at all as far as we can tell. top Jump more, post less!

We have been using these canopies for about four years now and absolutely love them! Nice openings, great flying, easy to handle, and awesome landings. Finally, a CF canopy that lands like every other canopy, not like you have been thrown of the back of a moving truck. NZA has also developed a 5-cell canopy for CF. Both the JFX and the 5-cell (can't remember the name of the top of my head) competed in Dubai at the World Championships. Seventh and second in two-way. top edit to add; results are not final, CF isn't done yet. Jump more, post less!

There is a private strip up that way and one of the houses is a jumper. I know he does a few demos into it a year, maybe he just converted it to a dropzone to save paperwork. I will ask him when I see him. top Jump more, post less!

And Mara has approved this commercial. top Jump more, post less!

"This jumper was flying an ultra-high performance, cross-braced canopy with a wing loading of 2:1 or greater and failed to negotiate a large planet that moved into his vertical path resulting in planetary contact at an impact angle greater than zero. The combination of the jumper's airspeed and angle of contact proved great enough to cause significant injury, but not great enough to cause death. Post incident conversations with this jumper also proved the planetary contact was not of great enough force to cause a significant change in attitude, which will likely result in this jumper providing future lessons to others." "Immovable attitude met immovable object." top Jump more, post less!

Which one??!! That's the point of this thread. (and the advice...) top ^ That one. See Incidents Forum: Hi-performance canopy, low performance human top Jump more, post less!

Once a dickhead always a dickhead. Ah well, yes - that's true. So, back to my original point - do we have any info on this guy's accident? Which one??!! That's the point of this thread. (and the advice...) top Jump more, post less!

Look Familiar? Awwww! So good to see! top Hey Top... Here's another of a Pup doing his first Down Plane over Skydive Twin Cities. Sweet! Where were you guys when I was there at the beginning of the month??!! top Jump more, post less!

That right there is a indication of a problem! Hah! I watched a whole DC-3 load of "skygods" flail out the door at 5K trying to do H&P's for a commercial. We wanted to go out lower but too many weren't comfortable with less than 5. Perhaps students are having problems because lots of Instructors don't do them anymore. top Jump more, post less!

Look Familiar? Awwww! So good to see! top Jump more, post less!

Rigging Innovations has a neat system to add weight in the back pad area. We were able to add up to 20 lbs in the container which makes openings so much better, the weight is distributed onto the harness not onto your shoulders. It is a little different on landing with the weight being higher on your center. With the space foam to make the back more comfortable, we moved the weight pocket into the main packing tray. It reduced the amount of weight we could carry and means you have to plan for more space for your main to share with the weights, but the padding is awesome! Talk with RI about weight tray options. top PS. I like weights in the rig from a safety standpoint, its easier to dump your rig in the event of a water landing or some emergency, than to dig a weight belt/vest out from under your jumpsuit. The weights outside a jumpsuit I always feel are a drop hazard or cover handles too easily. Jump more, post less!

I had one that had the system set up on the top skin with a ring on the center line and the next cell over outside rib, each side. Also, the Fury CRW version had a centerline retraction system that was on the bottom side of the topskin. Both worked well. If you need some specific info, PM me you phone number and I will talk to you about what we had back in the day. PeteS (here on DZ) can do the set up, he's very familiar with what we used. top PS. Glad to know the old dog still had some fight in it! Jump more, post less!

bump. Jump more, post less!

Personally, I don't see why certain elements of flight couldn't be performed in a tunnel. Knowing how to turn and stop is something that can be taught much more easily in a tunnel than in the air. These skills still need to be transposed to the sky as anyone who's learnt something in the tunnel and then taken it to the air knows. One of the arguments I've seen in favor is that this is how the military has worked for years with a measurable improvement in results. This was posted on the Ranch facebook page by someone directly involved in army training so I'm just passing that idea along. I see it as similar to indoor rock climbing or learning to ride a motorcycle on a closed course. Those things are very helpful to the learning process but absolutely can't replace the actual activity (depending on what your intended activity is of course). To me, allowing someone to replace one hour of air time with one hour of tunnel time that has specific performance metrics to be met, actually doesn't make becoming an AFF/I easier at all, it means that you need to have demonstrated advanced flying skills in an easily observable and verifiable environment in addition to doing the same rating test that happens now. You guys say that the lack of air time will mean worse instructors in terms of the mental game and sure I can see that but I don't know what part of my first 500 jumps would prepare me mentally to bail on a student @ 2k. I don't know what part of my first 500 jumps would have prepared me to be kicked in the head and do spin stops at the same time. Yeah, I've had a cut away and a couple of pilot chute hesitations that really freaked me out. I got my pro rating right after my D, blah, blah. What part of all that makes me ready to hold someone's life in my hands and what part of that makes me ready to do the serious job of actually flying with a student who's all over the sky? Even if people did replace one hour, they still need to be signed off by an I/E as having the ability to do the job, that includes the estimation of their ability to handle the mental side of things, some idiot who can fly well doesn't fit the bill and never should have. If they do now, how will tunnel time substitution change anything? It works in the military because they control the tunnel, the tunnel instructors, who is selected as a candidate, the requirements for flying in the tunnel, the aircraft, the freefall instructors. All aspects.... With us civilians, USPA can make recommendations for what needs to be done in the tunnel, but has no control over what really goes on, nor any way to enforce someone screwing it up. Each tunnel can come up with its own "Tunnel AFFI Camp" and toss out logbooks like popcorn and USPA couldn't do anything but repeal the action once it's too late. Still not convinced. top Jump more, post less!

I'm not really sure this has much support at the BOD, but since members brought it up, the responsible thing to due is to gather input from the community. I think it's great to check with those in the field. top Jump more, post less!

We already have a severe problem with up jumpers showing a lack of skill and decision-making with regard to canopy control, and we want to make it easier for potential AFFI's to SKIP actual skydives!!?? How about: do the six hours and STFU about your awesome backflying skills because you can barely fly a canopy to save your own life, let alone teach someone else how to do it. Skydiving is not just about how well you can bore a hole in space in freefall, there are aircraft procedures, emergency aircraft procedures, spotting, exits, opening, canopy control, landing, field stowing gear, packing, debriefing, gearing up, gear check, buddy gear check..... none of that is covered with "tunnel time." I wonder if all my freefall time will allow me to automatically become a tunnel coach? top Disclaimer: not an official USPA opinion, just my own. Jump more, post less!

Blood makes everything slippery. The line is drawn by the DZO whose legal butt is on that line. S/he may allow/encourage/discourage/prohibit whatever s/he sees fit. That is how private enterprise works. Perris led the way as one of the early proponents of swooping as organized activity and competition. It is now leading the way away from it. Many DZs followed its initial lead; hopefully at least as many will follow it now. The owners and managers of Perris are among the world's most experienced and long-running operators, and their decision was not made rashly. That they chose to make the decision they did should serve as a big flashing warning light to everyone else. 44 Yes, but DZO's will never ban tandems, regardless of how many accidents/fatalities there are. Risk to reward ratio. top Jump more, post less!

What, because some one is accidentally going to slip and pull a 180 or 270 instead of stopping their turn at 90 degrees? I don't think so. It's not like eschewing high performance landings completely leaving people with no experience landing at faster than trim speeds which happens when they fail to turn flat enough at low altitudes and 90 degrees still yields enough energy for low-altitude and post-plane out carves. If one has only ever been allowed to make 90 degree approaches, if put into a situation where they need to turn more than 90... It's sort of like when people were told "no low turns" and either panic turned at the last minute or had collisions with easily avoidable objects. This is not an issue per se for swoopers as they tend to know their canopy. Just another example of misguided attempts to protect people from swooping putting them at risk in other ways. Can you indicate a situation where a front riser 180 down low would be necessary? Does that scenario outweigh the hundreds and hundreds of injuries and fatalities we have seen over the years? And not just to the jumpers involved, but the jumpers they have collided with, spectators hit on the ground, etc. top Jump more, post less!

The dropzone sent a nice bumpersticker to the people that have been fighting their very operation. They did not send them feces, enroll them in the sex-toy-of-the-month club, or sign them up for Jehovah's Witnesses to come by and discuss their personal relationship with God.... they sent them little stickers that the person could toss in the trash. Not exactly what I would call a huge prank or hurtful. And given past experiences with what skydivers are known to do this was a blip on the radar. I would have sent them all industrial earplugs..... top Jump more, post less!

Wait.....what's wrong with that!?!? top Jump more, post less!

Just show up with an FXC Model 12000, there are a bunch laying around in lofts all over the states. top Jump more, post less!