chopchop

I think it was just his ACL. Same on as last time.. he was all happy that they didn't have to drill new holes.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Thanks sweetie.. and everyone.. 42.. kinda feels like 41.. plus a morning.

Lany is the packee.. and she gets more than just the tip.. but this is the wrong forum for that! chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Tandem instructors at my DZ get tipped pretty regularly, and they split it with us videots. Sometimes the student tips each of us separately. AFF is a whole different story. I seldom get tipped when I do AFF. I think it is because AFF jumps and instruction is more of a relationship and less like a service. (Tandem instructors don't beat me up for that one.) I always tip my packer.. even when I get a spanker or two.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Anyway, I really do love my gear. My Icons now have about 350 jumps apiece on them and are 18 months old.. They still look and perform like new. My SMART reserves are tested and work great. My Pilot 140s were very nice canopies and the Mambas just flat out rock! I got this gear because of my sponsorship. I jump this gear cuz I trust it! chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Sheesh! It's been almost 2 years.. Don't ya read my t-shirts? chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

I reviewed this canopy shortly after receiving my demo. I now have 100 jumps on my pair of Mambas loaded at almost 2:1 and I have nothing but praise for this canopy. Within the first 20 jumps, any of the previously mentioned "over-sensitivity" to harness input had disappeared. I guess I just got better at flying the openings.. Regardless, 90% of the time, the openings are soft and on-heading with the occasional 90° turn which is easy to fix with a little harness input. They are easy to fly around with the brakes still stowed with either harness input or risers.. (maybe while enjoying a tasty beverage on a cross country) Getting back from a long spot has not been an issue. With a strong tailwind, I have just hung in brakes. With little wind or a headwind, hanging on the rear risers has worked quite well.. Either way, I am getting back from those "last one out tandem vids" and AFF jumps without any problem. The real fun comes at about 650' when it's time to land this wing.. Front riser pressure is reasonable and the canopy goes into a nice long dive which is easy to keep going. When it's time to start planing out, the canopy responds very well to rear risers and makes for nice long swoops. There is a ton of flare at the end. Overall, I am having a blast flying my Mambas and very much look forward to competing in the 9-cell division of the NorCal Classic. disclaimer - I have not tried the Crossfire or Katana and i am an Aerodyne sponsored instructor. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

I did AFF.. I liked it.. i still like doing AFF jumps.. I've got no experience with S/L. Either way you go, you end up a skydiver. Have fun! chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Dude.. I have weekends when i think the same thing.. and then the next weekend, I fly my ass off.. Sounds like you are having a few bad days.. don't get hung up on it. Things will turn around for you.. Just keep doing what you do. And don't forget to have fun doing it. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

I think you are on to something!!! Explain yourself ChopChop! Can't we all just get along? Everyone skydives better than me anyway what do I care what color their skin is? Hey!!! I only broke one.. it was the language barrier.. I said "Feet and knees together" He heard "Flare".. Deuce is helping me with my ebonics so I can be a better instructor to the next one that comes along.. if ever.. they are a rare breed.. black skydivers.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Out of curiosity, Why PD 1st and SMART 2nd? Isn't the SMART the newest design? Using knowledge unavailable when the PD was designed? chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Same as Bill, i have not jumped the R-Max. I can tell you that my 2 jumps on the SMART 135 loaded at 2:1 ended in very gentle standup landings off the dz.. near my mains.. Excellent reserve..

Hi there.. I have about 600 jumps on Pilot 140s loaded about 1.9:1. Forward speed is going to be different depending on wingloading. I very much enjoyed my Pilots and think they are a fantastic beginner / intermediate canopy. Jump one and I'm sure you'll agree. As far as the SMART reserve. I had 2 reserve rides on my 135s and they flew great and landed softly. I have had 3 previous reserve rides all on PDs. Both reserves, in my limited experience, work fine.

Great! cuz now they are the same day. Speedo day is now the 15th as well. I wonder if we'll have a Speedo tracking contest.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

And I believe the 8th is Speedo Day.. this is a can't miss event.. Join us flabby middle aged men in modeling Speedo's finest wares.. I promise I'll groom this year. That's 2 weekends in July you just have to be in Byron! chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

I've got about 30 jumps on my mamba 132s now.. loaded at a little under 2:1. This is one responsive canopy. Toggle response is sharp and immediate and the flare is huge. It is just as easy to fly this canopy around using harness input as it is to use toggles or risers. The front riser pressure is very manageable and the rears feel nice and solid giving you excellent control. The canopy has a fairly steep angle of attack but will float pretty well in brakes and I have used the rears to get back from some long spots already. The openings are decent if you are attentive. I am having so much fun with these canopies that I find myself leaving my funjumps early so I can open high!

I look like this.. plus or minus 35 years.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Not to mention organizing getting the Pac for the day, buying the pizza and managing to get the jump prices back down!! Clay is proving himself to be one rocking DZO! chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Well.. today was the big day at Byron.. We had our King Air and the Pac750. We had tons of people, we had some tandems and AFF.. We were running both planes.. things were starting to look great.. except for the Byron winds.. kinda hanging at 12-18 for most of the morning.. Around noon, AFF got called off so Mad John put together a little 10 way "S" jump which went pretty well but that wasn't the main event. At 3:40 we had a fighter jet demo team coming to do a missing man formation, then we had a 26 way formation load planned with 3 videos.. At 3:40, the jets flew a beautiful formation over the landing area witha at least a hundred of us standing out there raising a toast to Shannon.. most of us with water or other non-alcoholic beverages. After the air show, we made a big round in the landing area, then a left-hand doughnut, right hand doughnut.. and a cheer for Shannon.. Some had already decided that their jumping day was over as the last load had landed in 36 mph winds and figured it wasn't coming down.. unfortunately, they were right.. the winds kept blowing and we started drinking.. and although the formation load never got off the ground, we had plenty of beer and pizza and good friends.. and we had a great Shannon Dean Memorial Day at Byron. I'm sure Lany will put pictures up soon.

ASteele to dropzone manager when sitting behind him on the plane Saturday night on sunset load.. "Do you know the difference between a Ferrari and a hard-on?" DZM thinks for a minute and says no.. ASteele: "I don't have a Ferrari.." chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

To me, just the sensitivity issue is enough. I have watched enough of my students stab the flare, flare unevenly and reach for the ground to know that I don't want them flying any canopy with the kind of sensitivity that means if they flare unevenly, try to adjust to miss something or get turned into the wind at the last second, it will turn them hard into the ground. Obviously, openings are another issue. On Cat A and Cat B and usually on Cat C, we are holding onto their harnesses when they pull, until they are pulled away from us.. If their body position isn't enough, us giving them a little spin can't make matters any better.. Don't get me wrong, the Stiletto is a wonderful parachute.. for experienced jumpers. I'll leave the students on wings that are alot more forgiving. One final note.. Let's not forget Paul Cousins chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Hey Peter.. when you get all this sorted out, put me down for a few.. Thanks, Roy chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

We are a little more expensive but you will have a great time at Bay Area Skydiving.. It's not real scenic on the ground but from the air, it's beautiful. Also, if you get the photo package, you'll get about a hundred digital photos on a cd. You can print these up to a 20 x 30 poster size or email them to your friends! We will also sing the Happy Birthday song to your boyfriend on the ride up at no extra charge! Come see us! Bay Area Skydiving chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Agreed. To the original poster: Read up on "hyperfocal distance" The only times I have shot in AF is when I was using a "longer than normal" lens on my camera (50mm / 80mm / 100mm) With wide angle lenses, you should be able to work with the hyperfocal distance of the lens. For me.. 400 F8, ISO 100 on my Sigma 15mm, set the focus to about 4 / 5 ft out and all my shots are razor sharp. Tandems, Belly formation, FF formation, birdman.. Iwan Me three.. I played with AF for a while and every once in a while, I'd lose a shot or two to major blurriness.. When I lost 2 in a day that were "keeper" shots.. I went back to MF and haven't looked back since. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures

Hey Bill, I've put a little over 20 jumps on my Mamba 132 loaded at just under 2:1 that last couple of weekends. Mathias had warned me that in brakes it is about the most sensitive canopy he had ever jumped. I concur with this and I guess balancing on a beach ball is one way to put it. However, I fly camera on about 70% of my jumps and quickly got used to it and now have no problem unhooking my wings, loosening my cheststrap, turning off cameras, etc.. Openings at first were a little interesting.. some just awesome and on-heading others would have a snap at the end and a dive in one direction or the other. Rolling the nose on the outer 4 cells seems to control this resulting in pretty consistent on-heading openings without the *snap* at the end. Other possibilities that probably have helped change it's behaviour. It was brand new when i received it and now it has 20 jumps so it's a little easier to pack and I'm used to the sensitivity so I might be doing something subconsciously. whatever is fixing it, it's better. I have not experienced it trying to take off and needing to pull a riser down to stop it. Harness input has fixed any turn from opening. Once the brakes are unstowed, I find it a magnificent wing with a lot of speed, sharp and immediate response to toggle input and very little need for front risers once my initial 180° turn to land is started. It reacts so well to harness that I simply use harness input to keep it going and counter to straighten it out. I too am quite happy with the amount of lift generated by the flare.. I am sure I will be getting some pretty long swoops out of these canopies as the summer wears on.. chopchop gotta go... Plaything needs a spanking.. Lotsa Pictures