jacketsdb23

Beer is ready! If you are in the Bay Area this Thursday, you can try it at Masses sports bar. Thanks again everyone who voted! Drink some beer Thursday night, off to Nationals the following day. Not the best training program ever. Cheers! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Fun photo from two weeks ago. Cat E2...that was interesting. Super challenging chasing them around the sky doing backflips, Frontflips and barrel rolls...especially at the bottom end when the student is more focused on performance than altitude Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I had a pair of mx pants shipped to my door for like $23 bucks when I first started getting into competitive swooping...still wearing them. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Hey pilots out there familiar with the 777...can something like a fire fit all of the facts we have to date? http://www.airtrafficmanagement.net/2014/03/exclusive-mh370-crew-succumbed-to-fire-catastrophe/ Systematic shut down of communication systems, erratic flying (initially). We've been told 45,000' was based on radar and might not be completely accurate. Anyway...i read this and it made a whole bunch of sense to a non-pilot like me. Whats more likely, a fire with visibility issues and lack of communications or shadowing another 777? Anyway, I hope the families of those on board get some answers. I think the Malaysian government has botched this whole investigation. Another article: http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/ And i just noticed it was already mentioned above. Doh! Anyway makes sense to me. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I've put everything from a xfire 119 to a Velo 96,84,79, and a Petra 79 (all sail) in my G3 MT. I don't like the fact that is says "requires very skilled rigger" for the optimum 143 reserve (MT), so I go with the 126. I don't know why you'd want a smaller reserve than that. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Ian, thats been my experience too. I don't use the snaps either. But I didn't see a difference with my Velo openings and my Comp Velo openings with the RDS. Both about the same. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Are you using the 4 buttons for the slider? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

The Competition Velocity was made for the competition swooper, and in part is more expensive because the RDS was/is standard on it. The lines are smaller and its targeted to a select group of jumpers. I know you know this, but the pricing is partially marketing. I jumped a Velo 96, 90, and then went to a Comp Velo 84 and competed for two seasons on it. I never really had a problem with any of them on opening, and in fact, I didn't even use the buttons. It sounds odd, but I actually never really got comfortable with the comp velo, compared to the "regular" velo and have gone back to the "regular" velo 79. With the stock slider it opened pretty terrible. I put my PD 84 RDS on it, and instantly my openings were perfect. I also have jumped HMA lines on all my Velo's. There may not be much video of the openings because 1) Most folks on a comp velo that I know have an RDS, and 2) at least for me, looking at the opening makes it worse. I start guessing what it wants to do too much. I wasn't even aware you could buy the comp velo without an RDS. I have about 1000 jumps total on the velo's mentioned above, and in my experience, the RDS improved the opening of regular velo's, while I never jumped the comp with a standard slider. PS. this was a long winded response to say that maybe the improved openings are strictly a function of the RDS, which can be used on a standard velo. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Super happy for the league up there. Hope its a great season for you guys. I know Brad has been very involved in the CA league and his passion for canopy piloting is clear. He's going to need lots of support - not just canopy pilots, but judging, course setups, materials, logistics, etc. etc. Hopefully I can make a few and support this new league. Good luck guys! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Super happy to hear that. Not everyone figures it out. Hop n' pops are a great way to learn. Hope to see you breaking records one day. Thanks for the update!

You really have no idea what you are getting into then. Anything below a 150 is a HP canopy by definition. You've only jumped HP canopies. You are missing steps, by passing experience, and the fact that you don't think you are pushing anything tells us everything we need to know. At least recognize that you are pushing the limits and understand the consequences. Then tell us you are only doing hop n' pops so that if you fuck up you are only hurting yourself. You'll probably be fine, but seriously, understand that in fact you ARE pushing it. Jumping a HP canopy, especially a velo, takes experience, competence, and accountability. Competence and accountability start with a good and realistic attitude. Good luck and Blue skies. Cheers. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

^ Agreed. Can we kill this thread mods? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Well, first thing, you need to have the right mindset to do it. Its not just another jump or swoop for that matter. The folks at Elsinore have more experience with this, but we did it last year up in Lincoln. We set up a huge construction light the lit the entire pond. Each swooper put on a bright beacon and we limited each pass to two or three people. We proceeded to swoop the pond. I think logistically, its easy to do, just need a lighted area (as with any night jump). The hard part is have the right mindset, judgement, and decision making abilities. Night time can really fuck with your perception, especially if you are also trying to make gates or swoop a pond. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Thanks for all the support everyone. Got my ticket friday night, going in december. If past camps are any indication, the beer will be on tap in walnut creek when its ready in 2014! Thanks again!

That sounds about as reasonable as a four year old crying because his friend took his Thomas the Train for a spin around the living room. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I don't know, you'd have to ask those that choose to use them :) If the rig manufacturer hasn't said no, why not? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

sass, how close did he come to getting his ass kicked when you all landed? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Not all, and we have many at our DZ. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Having a tough time understanding this on any level....way to fuck himself from any future record attempt, ever. wow! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

I'll take my chances turning the AAD off. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Sounds easy right? An Argus is extremely difficult to turn off if you are not very accustomed to doing so. If you have easy access to the AAD units, I like the idea of having them off during the plane ride down. Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Your mileage may vary. If I have the option, and I did, I chose to turn the AAD's off and informed the pilot we had AAD's on board. Why would turning them off be a bad thing? Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Most of us get very proficient turning our own AAD model's on and off. Even most AFF instructors get very good at turning AAD's on for student gear, but turning it off doesn't happen often. Found myself in a rare situation this weekend where we took off in very calm winds, but on jump run we got the call from manifest that wind gusts were hitting 20+. We had three AFF students in the plane (Two Cat A's and one Cat D). All students and every instructor and one camera guy, stayed and landed with the plane. We had every type of AAD you could imagine on the plane. Some are easier than others to turn off. Learn them all, so you can be prepared to help your buddy who has an AAD that you may not be familiar with. We got all 10 AAD's off and landed successfully. Oh, and I hate landing with the plane. Cheers! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Well that 200 votes came fast! Thanks. This is some weird experiment in social media power...you guys rule. #8 - voting ends at midnight. Top 10 are in! Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.

Thank you everyone! I really appreciate the help, less than 200 votes to get back in the top ten! Marcel Losers make excuses, Winners make it happen God is Good Beer is Great Swoopers are crazy.