Titanman2789

This, except I thought the VK only opened slightly better compared to the VC I went from VC79 to a VK71. The 71 was loaded at 2.8 (3.0 if I had to wear weight with the big boy tandems) so that may have something to do with my experience with the openings. 71 VK definitely had more shut down power than the VC79.

I routed my chest strap this way but I primarily did hop n pops and tandem videos. So practically 0 chance of anyone grabbing it. I would say don't take it in freefall with groups. Ultimately it is up to the DZ and your own personal risk. Hop n pops are for swooping. I think I would route it normal if going all the way up to freefly and what not. Just pull a bit higher in case you have to deal with that excess fold getting hung up on the chest strap hardware.

Well, the risk aspect has already been touched on. Insurance, etc. Then there's money, but if you can control yourself and are already living within your means it's not that big of a deal. My opinion, and my situation - time is the biggest factor. For me, the DZ is 1.5 hours away. That may not seem like much but that turns into 3 hours of only DRIVING for that day. Then, it's usually an hour wait just to get on a load at my dz. So there's 4 hours of my day gone right there for just one jump. And I don't want to do 1 jump if I go out there, I want to do 10. But it all depends on you and your family situation. I want to get out there and swoop my comp velo. But I have no business flying that canopy if I can only get in a couple jumps a month, which isn't worth it to me. If your family's cool with you spending each weekend or a day a week at the dz then go for it. But there are much more important things in life than skydiving. Now that I have a young family I don't know how some people spent every weekend with kids

sudafed.

I have witnessed it.

For what it's worth, terminal openings with full RDS have been better for me than with just the removable slider. VK 71 loaded at 2.8

Have an AAD in one rig, not in the other. I've jumped with it turned on, I've jumped with it turned off. I've seen them save people, I've seen them misfire, I've seen them fire during a swoop. I use it more for my family than for me. I don't believe they should be mandatory. We are all big boys and girls and can make our own decisions. Some people have canopies so fast they would rather not risk a speed cypres even. There are certain jumps I would not jump without it on such as tracking dives. For a hop n pop I'm not worried about which rig I have on whether I have an AAD or not. Now that I have a speed cypres I always have it on for a jump If they were mandatory, I would suggest a way out of needing it such as having S&TA approval at your dz so that every case is heard individually.

You really don't need those

Trash pack it. I was having opening issues with the removable slider. Now I just clear brake lines and clip the snaps together. Been working beautifully lately.

You say you don't get involved in politics now, but just wait. Work in skydiving long enough and politics will affect you in some way. At 400 jumps you can't ever imagine being sick of it. Wait until you have 1000, 2000, or 3000 work jumps. It's not the same once you start working in it

I don't think it's the best idea. At some point you will grow sick of skydiving if you do it as your main job. It may take some time, but you'll eventually run into DZ politics, a crap month where you don't make any money...and winter if that happens where you live. Best way to do it would be to work weekends and keep your regular job. Yes, the skydive itself will always be fun, but if you make skydiving your job you'll eventually find yourself dreading being at the dz except for those 3-4 minutes you spend in the sky making money one jump at a time.

I check my main pin myself if I feel I've been bumped in the airplane. Just reach back and feel under my main flap. Reserve I check as I'm putting gear on, and then I don't let anybody touch my reserve flap. Even coaching students that are supposed to learn to perform gear checks, I will only have them look at my main.

When I spoke with Vigil America about ordering the Xtreme unit today, they said it's not for sale. It's only available to their sponsored athletes. They may offer for it sale in the future...but not right now. Mike This is what they are telling my dealer too. Doesn't sound like good business. So anyone that wants or needs a higher activation speed must go with the speed cypres unless they're Vigil sponsored?

I emailed Vigil to ask about this. The website lists the Xtreme mode. This is the response I got "The vigil 2+ will be available with the Xtreme mode. This means not a multimode unit but only with the Xtreme mode and the only differences are: activation speed with 43m/s instead of the 35m/s in Pro mode and does not activate anymore below the 300ft instead of 150ft. We stay at your disposal. Best regards, Edwin Bollaerts Project Manager [email protected]"

Velo 96 - which packs bigger than a katana 107 - fits very nice in an MX.

I'd go with the MX. I've packed a velo 103 in an MX and seen my buddy jump a katana 120 in an MX. Both were tight but you can do it. I own an MX and have jumped a velo 84 in it. Wouldn't say it's too loose. A 79 would probably start to feel pretty loose but you could probably make that work as well.

I have a standard slider on my comp velo 90. It opens way better than my regular velo 96. Switched out the removable slider so that I never run into a situation where a packer has to put it on. I don't trust other people to put on a removable slider. I don't watch my openings so I can't really show you what it's like

Mirage freefly hackey

If you specifically want an audible, go for the L&B Optima2. If you want both visual and audible, my vote is for N3. I can hear my N3 canopy alarms when it's on my wrist

I've got probably over 1000 jumps on a Vengeance - most of them video jumps at 1.8 WL with Vectran lines. Opens a bit quicker than a Sabre2 or Katana but it's soft. Occasionally it would do a 180-360 turn on opening due to uneven inflation. I can't remember ever being slammed on the Vengeance and never had to chop it. The rigid wing is awesome, but the rears feel less responsive than the Katana. That doesn't mean you don't get nice swoops on it. It's not a pain to gather up in high winds either if you know how to do it.

I know I'm not the only one that has had terrible experiences with this. Let's not get into them but any ideas why customer service is so terrible in our sport?

No, you should not spend more than fair market value. By the time I need another new one, I could see them costing well over 2 grand, maybe even 3. And by that time jump tickets will probably be $40, in which case I'll only be jumping if I'm being paid for it. $100 for 2 jumps and 2 pack jobs will be a little ridiculous, but that's the way it goes. So most likely I'll never have to buy a new AAD again

Funny how comments are disabled on those 'noise assault' videos

Take the 35k job. I've worked in skydiving the last 6 years, starting as a packer and then doing video. Obviously you know that as a skydiver you have to live inexpensively, blah blah blah. It's just not worth it to be honest. Sure the paychecks are good when the weather is good AND the place is busy. When you don't have either one of those - weather or business - the paychecks suck, but you're still spending all your time at the freakin dz. At least with a real job, it will boost your resume for grad school and you will have the same check every 2 weeks. Plus, you'll be lucky to make 35k as a skydiver. Most I made in a season was about 25k, and the least I made was around 8-10k. It all comes down to what your time is worth to you I guess. When you work at the DZ, you have to be there, so it's a lot longer days, for a lot less pay. Your girlfriend will probably not like it either that you will hardly be able to spend any time with her and you're a broke ass skydiver. You have your college degree. Go use it. Sure 35k doesn't sound like much, but can you get promoted or apply from within where you would be working at after a few months? In skydiving there is not really any opportunity for advancement. You get whatever you get per jump, and you don't ever get a raise, even as the value of the dollar plummets. Hell, the dz I was working at started charging customers more and paying the staff less. Then that brings up politics, and I could go on and on and on. If you want to work in skydiving the best way is to do it part time for jumps/fun. When you do it full time...well once you figure out how much time you spend there vs. your take home you might be lucky to make minimum wage

Best DZ to pack at? A busy one