kosanke

i have the optic with D-box and cameye with pc-350. i don't use a ring sight because it's another thing to worry about. snags. try without sight first. after a few jumps, you should have found the center unless you use a video camera set to telephoto. then again, telephoto might be needed if you freefly like me. i also have a top mounted canon 20d with 10-22. i have found i don't need a sight, just hold down on the tongue swt and go through 45 shots in 45 sec. then i dump the ones with nobody in the frame. good luck. Tom

as my good friend andy dufrain says: get busy living or get busy dying. at least we know that when all else fails, pull out the pd 260 in 5 mph winds with a hop and pop and no front riser turns below 50 feet. it's still flying. thanks for the info. hope your health improves.

sorry to hear about that. did surgery help? other therapy? what was the progression? i was just wondering how long i might have. i know that everyone has a different case but, some have had luck with surgery, others haven't. how about hop and pops.

thanks for the reply. i'm 56 and had to retire from flying in 1998. i flew B-747's for many years as captain and had been flying since 1968. i started jumping when i lost my medical. going to see a neurosurgeon on the 5th dec. don't think much can be done to reverse problems, only delay my decision to stop jumping. most non jumpers don't understand what i would be giving up and don't know what loads apply to the body. they think we still use jump boots and t-10 canopies with crashing results. bare feet, shorts and a velocity 120.anyway, my concerns are possible fracture of spine and affects it will have. i fly camera and thinking of putting it off for awhile.i've changed my deployment position to lessen any bad opening it might cause. maybe hop and pops. just wanted to see if anyone has continued to jump and at what point they took up bowling, only with a light ball. thanks and have a happy thanksgiving. Tom

just dx'd with moderate osteoarthritis in L2thruL4. grade 1 spondylosthesis(slippage) L2-3 andL3-4. moderate lumbar spondylosis with multilevel disc height loss.osteophytic spurring most notable T12, L1 and L3 levels. been on prednisone 10mg or more for since 1972. low back pain and if more than 2 jumps, i have to take the next day to lay around and regroup. don't want to stop jumping. what are the risks and is anyone out there with the same problem. dx'd 1998 moderate osteoporosis hip areas.

i'm looking at PD's manual and no where do i see a mandatory pull checks once a year. on page 11 there is a list of requirements that must be performed if the following events occur. water, 25 jumps, 40 repacks, unknown history, substandard flight or belief fabric exceeds factory specs. am i missing something?

i have a 20d and remote swt. i noticed the post are older. my question. has there been anything new in the connections and the use of a swt? what is the best swt to go with now, bite, blow, tongue? any new pictures on how to make the connections. thanks, Tom

the camera comes with everything you need to get your video into the computer

you're right. i don't like sony's video version either. if you had windows xp as i do, you might try the movie maker program that is built in. bring the program onto your desktop and start it up.when the camera is plugged in,with the viewfinder on the camera set to play/edit, start and just click start capturefor the program. i have a sony pc350 that works great with it. once it's downloaded, you can edit and email. a sony rep told me to use windows instead of their program. hope this helps. Tom

sarcastic? the first step is to realize that i do have a problem. i've hit bottom. all sarcasim aside, i do feel that the FAA has not done all it could to correct and update to current standards.

looking back, i think you will find that the CAA,the FAA of the time, made the wright brothers go back and seek approval from the bike manufacture on the use of chain in a manner it was not designed. they would have been flying 2 years earlier had not the government stepped in to give some help.

my 2 cents. i jumped a spectre 170 for a year and then downsized to a spectre 150. i currently jump a stitello 150. exit weight 200lbs. the spectre is a great canopy. the opening should be the same, depending on how you pack. you will find that coming out of brakes, a more pronounced decent rate. turns will be quicker because of the increased wing loading. standup landings need a little more attention. trying to swoop a spectre with low jump #'s is not recommended, in my opinion. you will have to gain speed, which requires a low turn, high sink rate and the canopy will lose speed rather quickly when flattened out. a sabre 2 with 9 cells will have a flatter approach angle and you should not have to go to great lenghts to build up speed for a swoop. spectre is a great canopy. soft on heading openings, quick turns, soft landings but at a steeper glide angle. you will never see someone on the stage recording a win with a 350ft swoop. if you do, i'll buy the dz free beer for a year. hope this helps. Tom

and don't pack your hackey handle inside the pouch.i don't believe there is anyone out there with 16500 jumps on rental gear with no malfunctions, even with good body position.

i noticed your home dz is tenn skydiving center. talk to mike mullins. loads of experience and he'll get you there in less than 8 mins. 7 mins if you don't talk. i believe he will be at WFFC this year.

it takes time getting used to RW formations, even with both eyes working. i freefly and am cautious about the # of people and my closure rate. i don't usually jump with more than one. now for the landings. next time you fly commercial, ask the pilot to overload the aircraft, and on entering downwind, don't bother with the flaps. at 4 hundred feet, do a 360 turn to increase the rate of descent, increase the speed and shorten the runway. he'll ask if you're crazy. reply: no, i'm a skydiver, we do things that way. now for something different. don't overload the canopy. follow the manufacturer recommended loading. use ZP material. fly a 9 cell. on entering the traffic pattern, call for flaps 5, flaps 10 on base and flaps up for final to pick up needed speed for the flare. entering the landing area in brakes slows things down so you can have longer to observe the area. a 9 cell canopy will have a flatter approach angle than a 7 cell. ZP will give you extra time and a lower stall speed. if the canopy is not overloaded, you should have plenty of flare and time to play at the slower speeds. hope this helps. keep your one eye open. Tom

i would like to get on that. I'm blind in my left eye so i make all my turns to the left. i also have mounted my camera on my good side so i don't cut out the camera hogs and film the background. i'm missing a finger, but i don't think that i can get in the group" pieces of eight".

i am looking to purchase a singer 111W153 from my neighbor. it is in good shape.will it work with canopies and webbing? what is a good price? i haven't seen any posting on the 111. thanks< Tom

have you discussed this issue with the FAA? what's their reply?

( but, we're going for a new recertification). it requires an stc. i've worked for boeing in engineering and have gone through this before. having certified original engines for certain A/C, a change in that type of engine which it is certified, does not trigger a recertification. it does require further paperwork and consultation.

having delt with the FAA many time on certification issues, i'll try my 2 cents worth. certifying aircraft, the faa issues type certificates. they certify engine types, ie: P&W, GE, CFM 56. the FAA does not go through the recertification of the aircraft for an engine difference. mirage might have done the certification using a pd 210r. that does not mean that the manufacture has to go back to the FAA for each reserve size it uses.

Thanks for all the help. I think I'll give a demo a try. dropzone.com is great for getting answers. Tom

i have a stiletto 150 and out the door at 200lbs. i am waiting for a 135 katana. how does it compare with the stiletto?openings, straight in approach. flare and toggle pressure? in your opinion, is it worth switching. thanks< Tom

as a retired airline pilot i have had many dealings with the FAA. the faa has certified aircraft with different engines. some have to be derated. in this case, the container would be the limiting factor. the manufacture received the blessings through tso and has shipped with pd's reserve. if folks choose to go outside the limitations ie: overloaded, that is the individuals issue. if a pilot chooses to exceed the derated HP, faa does not fault the manufacture or mechanic, they fault the pilot. hope this helps. Tom

i have put a mark on the location for easy reference. make sure what you mark it with will not cause further damage. the manufacture's have put out repair info on how to make patches, but i still have yet to see in writing, if it's more than 3-4 boxes, it requires a patch.

thanks for all your replys. i did'nt think i would hear back so fast. it's friday night. i felt that the patch repair was a bit early. i was looking for factory standards and guidelines. could'nt find any and poynter's manual doesn't give a specific # of boxes damaged. i'm so glad that dropzone exist. thanks again. Tom