sriddy

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Everything posted by sriddy

  1. You should have gotten into a bad motorcycle wreck before you started AFF. "Hey mom, I started skydiving." "Well that's gotta be safer than that damn sport bike of yours." Worked for me...
  2. I was on a 10-way speedstar team that had 8 guys and 2 girls. I called it "Two Holes Short."
  3. A 6'4" 250 lb jumper like myself loads a Katana 170 at around 1.6. I wouldn't consider it a lightly loaded high performance canopy in this case. Although I don't consider it loaded super heavy either. Big guys want sporty canopies too, without having to make extreme jumps in wing loading.
  4. I think she was half joking at the time. But I didn't start dating her until she was half way through the student program and I was pretty sure she'd stick to skydiving.
  5. About a year ago I started working with a personal trainer at a local gym. I had previously talked to her about jumping and after hours shenanigans that the dropzone provides. I show up one Monday and she tells me this: "You're 5 min late. I thought you had died!" To her credit, she now has 75 jumps and just applied for her B license.
  6. We haven't gotten far enough in the planning stages to announce any dates yet, but stay tuned!
  7. I don't really see how the exposure could be a bad thing. More people coming out for a first jump ultimately more people to play with in the sky later. (When the few that make it get their license) But also, in the times of youtube, I don't see how the Transformers 3 movie would create a huge influx of new students like Point Break did. Anyone can pull up proximity BASE videos at any time, so I think the 'WOW' factor in seeing wingsuits over Chicago is less than it would be if there was no internet videos. But all this is a total guess on my part. ;)
  8. Hey Cam, I'll be out at WP Sat morning. I can take a look at your PC and bag if you'd like. I also have an idea to test this 'HMA through the grommet' theory. Steve
  9. http://ireport.cnn.com/ir-topic-stories.jspa?secondarySortBy=lastweek&sortBy=shared&sortOrder=2&numResults=12&topicId=503822 Anybody gonna put one up that was taken from freefall?
  10. Interesting! Thanks for posting about it. When the window was opened and the AADs fired, was the plane still descending, or flying level? If it was level, how long had it been level? Was there a response from Airtec? I don't really remember how long the plane was level, but I don't think aircraft decent was the cause. The window that the pilot opened was a side window in the cockpit, but it is slightly angled forward. So when he opened it, it caused a slight ram air effect. (kinda like the nose of a canopy). This caused a sharp increase in cabin pressure. The only thing an AAD senses is pressure. It records how fast that pressure changes to get decent rate. It has no way of knowing if it is in freefall or if a pilot opened a window. In this case, the pressure increase from opening the window was high enough to and fast enough to trigger the student cypreses, but not fast enough to trigger other AADs. I believe that the consensus of dropzone people involved was that the student AADs performed as designed. The problem was with the pilot (a newer one if I recall) that should have known better than to open that window. Because nobody blamed the AAD, I don't know if Airtec was notified or if they sent a response. As far as filtering goes, the more data filtering you add to smooth out the pressure spikes, the more lag is added to the measurement, which slows down the unit's reaction time. If you add more logic so the measurement has to meet more criteria, there will probably be a skydiver out there who will eventually be in some situation that doesn't meet all the criteria, but really needs an AAD fire to save his ass. (In other words, better to use the KISS approach) Or at least, that's the way I see it...
  11. I suspect there is more than just the arming altitude at play. If the plane had ascended above the CYPRES arming altitude, then descended back to the altitude at which the incident occurred, do you think the CYPRES would have fired? Or do you think it has data filtering and/or algorithms that would have prevented a firing due to a physically impossible event? I know of two student cypreses that fired on the same load under these exact circumstances. The pilot went above 1500 ft. Then descended to about 1000 ft. to quickly look for a cutaway canopy when he flew over the suspected location. He opened the cockpit window for a better view, and POP, two pilot chutes in the face. The pressure onset wasn't fast enough to trigger any other AAD, but it was for the student version. (Student versions trigger at a lower sensed airspeed and higher altitude) So from this, I gather that there are aren't any cypres algorithms that perform in the way you are suggesting.
  12. http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=223&Itemid=42
  13. The way I see it, as a lowly nobody senior rigger, is like this: In two incidents, a problem was found with the Argus cutter not completely severing the closing loop. Aviacom acknowledged the problem and attempted to solve it by recalling all cutters made before April(ish) 2007. A third incident uncovered the same problem with a newer cutter. This implies that Aviacom hasn't fixed the problem. Now the issue is known to the public, including lawyers. So the manufacturers are disallowing Argus use until Aviacom gets their shit straight. Like it has been said above, all AAD manufacturers have had issues to solve, so I'm not trying to badmouth Aviacom. But I can see the point of view of the container manufacturers that don't want to be sued out of existence.
  14. I liked, "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Doesn't have the rhyme but... And: In the line up just before the count to the person in front of you, "Did you know this about your reserve? Oh well, it'll probably be OK fot this jump." I heard something similar on the ride to altitude last weekend. After fixing something on the rig in front of her, the jumper said, "It's ok. I hid the problem, so it doesn't bother me any more."
  15. I won't mention her age, but Carol Clay passed the 17,000 jump mark this year. I'm not sure how much time she spent in freefall, but you would measure it with a calender. I haven't personally witnessed anything from her that would qualify as really BOLD. But I have heard stories...
  16. The main benefit of using slinks on the pc bridle is for wear. During deployments the bridle rubs against the barrel on the rapide link. With repeated deployments, it will eventually wear through. I have personally seen this on both the bridle-to-canopy connection and the bridle-to-dbag location. Granted, regularly inspecting your gear should identify this issue long before it becomes a problem, but not everybody does that. I have seen someone let it go to the point where he lost his dbag and pc on deployment. (turned his dbag into a freebag) Other fixes to this problem include wrapping the barrel of the rapide link with duct tape or gaffers tape. Edited to add: I believe Mike G from Chuting Star came up with the idea of using slinks in these locations. He explains his reasoning here: http://www.chutingstar.com/expertadvice_en/rigging.html Its in the PD slinks wear and uses video.
  17. Mike, I think the only way it really makes sense to own your own rig is in John's case. He's Sigma rated and the DZ only has Strongs.
  18. I feel your pain. I'm 6'4" and 250. I haven't arched since AFF. When I first got my A, I ordered a fairly baggy Bev suit with swoop chords and 'afterburners' (pockets that catch air) on the booties. It worked pretty well to slow me down. Although, with more experience I found that I didn't need the swoop chords. If I had to do it over, I'd consider the vented suit mentioned a few posts above.
  19. There was that one time when I learned that I need to be within 15 minutes of a toilet after eating Hooters wings. Unfortunately, I was 45 min away from one and in desperate need of more than just a tissue...
  20. If the plywood thing doesn't make it firm enough, place it on top of the mattress. Much more firm that way. ;)
  21. Haven't started shooting stills yet, but this is a frame grab off the video of my buddy releasing his daughter in freefall.
  22. Look through the mesh of your pilot chute. You should see two tapes and a kill line running from the bridle attachment point, through the center of the pilot chute to the handle (hackey, monkey's fist, whatever). The kill line is usually made of Spectra and can shrink over time. Next time you cock the pilot chute, continue to hold tension on the handle and observe the kill line and tapes. If there is tension in the tapes and the kill line is slack, it should be ok as far as 'trim' is concerned. If there is tension in the kill line and slack in the tapes, the kill line has shrunk too much and the pilot chute should be replaced or repaired by a rigger. That is what comes to mind when someone mentions "trim" on a pilot chute. That's one thing to check. How have your openings been? Are they unpredictable as far as time from pitch out to snatch force (say, when you get enough pull on the risers to seat you upright)? Are you getting intermittent hesitation or a lot of hesitation? If so, then I'd prolly replace the pilot chute. If your openings are predictable and the kill line is long enough, I personally wouldn't replace the pilot chute just because it twists up occasionally after deployment. Also, one almost related thing to check is the stitching on the pilot chute, handle and bridle. A buddy of mine pitched the chute, then watched his hackey fall away after deployment. It separated from the pilot chute after he pitched. Luckily his main deployed anyway, but it could have been worse. He wrote an article about it in Parachutist. (Ask a rigger section, early 2008 I believe) One last thing to check is where the bridle attaches to the main. Sometimes the rapide link can saw through the bridle, then you land and find yourself without a d-bag or pilot chute. Anything else you didn't really ask about? lol
  23. I just finished setting up mine last week. It's the CX-100 box mounted to the side of an MXV helmet. There isn't much room in the box. I found that the camera with the biggest extended battery (from B&H) won't fit. But with the way I set up my hypeye, it ate up more of that space, so I don't think anything but the standard battery will fit now. I mounted the hypeye in the rear of the box, on the inside, so only the button sticks out. It's super clean looking, but I did give up battery space for it. Laterally, the box is pretty small too, so it took me a couple tries to get the wires of the hypeye to fit right. That being said, the cam can prolly rotate about the mounting screw a couple degrees if needed for adjustment. Bottom line, I love it. But this is my first cam helmet, so take it for what its worth.
  24. I also have a motorcycle wreck -> broken clavicle -> surgery expericence as well. I wrecked August 25th of last year, had surgery Sept 4th, and was cleared by the surgeon on Oct 24th. First jump course was Oct 27th. Still got the plate and 6 screws, so if I push my shoulder forward, the plate can be seen pressed through the skin. So now I have a party trick... Hope the timeline above helps.
  25. If he never got back with you, then he did you a favor. He tried to bend me over the table a few months ago. I ordered a complete system from him that included a 2001 Javelin container. I even specifically asked if it had the extra flap that protects the bridle. Then, it was 2-3 months of "its on the table ready to be assembled" and "I don't have the Hornet, how about a Skymaster for the same price" Finally, I received a '94 Javelin that didn't fit, didn't have the bridle flap mod, and didn't even have pockets on the risers for the toggle tabs (just had the guide ring and Velcro) And yes, the main did have the infamous "Call Ralph" patch instead of the Hornet one on the stabilizers. When I shipped it back at my own expense, He refunded the purchase price, but not his shipping charge or Visa fee. I had to file a claim with my credit card company to get that back. When talking to my rigger about the deal, his response was "Ralph is a jackass that doesn't deserve any fucking business from any skydiver. Sorry you had to deal with him." So, apparently my deal wasn't a one-time occurrence. Wish I would have asked him about Ralph before making a purchase. Granted, if you know exactly what you want and what its worth, he might give you a good deal. But if you come across as a new jumper like I did, then you're in for a fuckin'. Personally, someone that tries to screw new jumpers doesn't deserve my business. Fuck him. Seriously.