SkymonkeyONE

My wife, Kris, and I got there about midnight on Thursday and there were still about 30 people around the fire whooping it up. We had an easy time finding an electrical hookup for our Winnie, "the mystery machine", right next to Alan Davis' and J. Porter's trailers so all was well. We finally crashed about 3am, then got up at 7:15 and started looking for coffee. Hooked up with Mike Tremen right away and did all but one of the big way jumps over the weekend. Smallest was a seven-point 12 way, biggest a 41 way, favorite probably a two-point 28 way. Mike and Cliff, plus Lyle Presse, did a good job of organizing. I made 11 of the "big ways" total over the weekend. It was good running into some old friends.
To "slot perfect", who I believe is John Hawke: The ATV drops were pretty interesting. The one I watched on Friday landed off DZ due to a shit spot, but landed on it's wheels and drove off. Sorry you missed it. It oscillated pretty bad under drogue; would have been neat to see in FF.
My canopy sponsor, Dan Preston of Atair, was there with a bunch of demos. Everyone seemed pleased with the Cobalt. We only had one kid chop one (premature brake release that he did not notice before pulling his handle) and one other have a near miss with a parked C-182 on Sunday (it was windy).
There will be lots of video shots of the boogie on the next Mad Track video magazine. Chris shot tons of footage of jumps, plus of all the gear vendors on site. He also dubbed lots of footage from many of the other vidiots on site.
Speaking of gear vendors: Thanks to Jari and Kim for hooking me and Dan up with BirdMan jumps. If any of you have yet to do this, GET ON IT! I had a complete blast and had a two-minute-plus freefall. "White with Orange wings, please!"
Bottom line: $17 to 14,500 (or better!), great organizing, good vibes, whacky Saturday night happenings. If you were there; great! See you next time.
Chuck Blue
D-12501
Atair Factory Pilot

I agree that SkyKat is an outstanding gear shop. Tony and Kate bend over backwards to accomodate me. Their website, which I gather you have already accessed, is updated daily. Of particular note is their guarantee program.
Chuck

I have done both the bathtub and the washing machine methods and have gotten good results with both. One step I give a little extra attention to is ensuring the cutaway and reserve ripcord housings are completely dry, inside and out, just as soon as I am done washing the container. I also check all the tacking; this especially if you machine wash.
Chuck

The Atair Viper, which is no longer produced, flew almost exactly like a Stiletto. I had a 150 for a while in my demo rig and loved it. It is a fully eliptical nine cell parachute. They came stock with kill-line sliders and pilot chutes. They are very easy to pack as they are made out of the non-slippery Gelvenor Textiles zero-p, just like a Triathalon, Cobalt, etc. Openings are sweet and on heading. Landings are every bit as sweet as a Stil. Like previously posted, you can get them for quite a bargain on the internet classifieds. Like the ones here, and at www.enclave.com
Good luck!
Chuck

I have owned two Atair canopies: an Alpha 84 and my current Cobalt 85. Both are outstanding parachutes. I have also test-jumped the Icarus Crossfire and owned an Icarus Extreme VX-74. The Crossfire is a very nice parachute. To me, the difference in the flight characteristics between it and the Cobalt is negligible. I think the Cobalt opens ever-so-slightly better, and certainly is easier to pack, but besides that I really think they are about dead equal in the air. I think you would be able to get a Cobalt for slightly cheaper if you look around. You can CERTAINLY get one MUCH faster. Custom color Cobalts are available in around three weeks. I got mine in just over two weeks. On the other hand: while I really did love my Icarus VX, it took three months to get to me. Either way, both of the canopies you inquired about kick ass and I am sure you will enjoy yourself with whichever you choose.
Chuck