ryan_d_sucks

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Posts posted by ryan_d_sucks

  2. Hey. I'm participating in a secret santa event, and am buying for someone residing across the country. He says he's adventurous, so I figured why not expose him to skydiving? Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any easy way of discerning the closest DZ's based on address (Why do we make it so hard to find legit DZ's yet so easy to find skyride type stuff??). Cali has a ton of dropzones, and I'm not familiar enough with the state to know what small airport town is near what other large city. Does anyone know what the closest ones are?

  3. Hey Folks--

    Newish to the Cincinnati area... Called my local DZ today, but no answer. Does anyone know a rigger in the Cincy area? I'd like to get my rig repacked ASAP and take advantage of some of the early spring weather happening here this week.. Feel free to PM, or whatever.

    Thanks,
    Ryan

  4. I'm from Franklin. There is no DZ in the immediate area. Closest options are Skydive Alabama (about 2.5 hours south) or Adventure Skydive Tennessee in Waverly, TN (about 1.5 hours northwest). I think Skydive Alabama is probably open on New years, not sure about AST.

  7. Take your whuffo bullshit sense of entitlement somewhere else. You're at a privately owned and operated business, and the rules that they have set forth to keep spectators safe apply even to you. Just because you occasionally fly airplanes doesn't make you a VIP on the dropzone, nor does it indicate that you have any working knowledge of safely navigating a parachute landing area.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-44fMWOoxg&feature=related

    http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/safety/detail_page.cgi?ID=223

    http://www.dropzone.com/fatalities/Detailed/462.shtml

    http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3658412;search_string=spectator%20injury;#3658412

    There are tons more examples around the web. People get hurt and killed messing around in and around the landing area. You don't deserve any special treatment.

  13. Quote

    If you encounter a situation where skyhook is absolutly needed, then you made some series of bad choice.



    But unfortunately, shit does happen. Whether it was a bad decision or not doesn't really matter to you in the moment, if you find yourself in that situation.

  14. I actually contacted PD a few months ago when I bought a used PDR 160. I weigh about 210, and I bought a PDR BECAUSE they are TSO'd to 254 lbs.. HOWEVER- when I received my 1993 PDR 160, it had a TSO to only 160 pounds or so.. So I called PD to get an answer..

    The answer: These canopies were all originally TSO'd to 254 lbs. However, in the early 90s people began flying square parachutes at wingloadings far too high for THEIR flying ability (not the canopy's ability). Often these flights resulted in landing injuries. So, PD elected to manually de-rate their canopies, and post a weight limit on them that would not exceed a wingloading of approx 1:1. Now that people regularly jump canopies at wingloads of 1.5 and up (with proper training), PD has returned their canopies to the TSO class that rates them for their actual weight limits. So, the PDR that was made in 1993 is exactly the same specifications as the PDR made today, and originally held the same TSO rating.

    This was the case for the PDR's. I would contact PD to see if something similar wasn't done for their main canopies.

  15. Hahahaha, piisfish-- there's canopies in it now. I don't have a good pic with canopies in there. I shot one outside, but you could hardly see the colors, so I posted the one from inside my beer trash-laden home.

    Ski-- If I'm not mistaken you helped Suzy pack and assemble it! Right?

  17. I too learned on the dope rope.. I don't think I hit "full altitude" (a mere 9500 feet) until jump 20-something! I got more scared the higher I went!! I remember the first time I went to a turbine DZ, getting out at 14.5 with 20 some other people in the plane behind me. I was scared as hell! To some extent, I am still more comfortable bailing at 3k solo than at 14.5 with multiple groups in front of and behind me, and a pilot that I don't know. I still do a lot of hop n pops. That's probably why I'm such a shitty skydiver, but an okay canopy pilot.

  18. Will do. I bought directly from the manufacturer, so I will get the thing assembled and re-evaluate & contact them if needed.

    Measurements:
    5'9, 205lbs
    Torso 19
    Leg Pad 36.5
    Inseam 31.5
    Chest 42.5
    Waist 40.5
    Long Girth 63

    Rig came: MLW17, Leg 21, +1

  19. Ronaldo- on a custom rig with the leg straps properly tightened, should there be a gap between the two leg pads? Also, where is the proper place for hip rings to sit? Mine are at the extreme top of my pelvic bone. It feels like they should be lower. I'll work on pics.

  20. I have never had the luxury of jumping a harness/container that was custom built to my specifications before. So, I've never really known how well a custom container "should" fit and feel. Yesterday my new custom built container came in the mail, and honestly it doesn't feel too comfortable. When I sinch down the legstraps as tight as they will go (like I would for a jump), it feels like the MLW is pulling down on the tops of my shoulders fairly hard. Also, there is a good 2.5 inches of space between the two leg pads when I have my legstraps tightened as far as they will go. I kind of feel like I'm going to bust out of the thing, and there aren't even any canopies in it yet. The hip rings sit about 2 inches above my hip (or atleast, where my belt would go around).

    Is stuff like that to be expected when ordering custom? Or should I contact the manufacturer? I guess I should get the container assembled and see where I'm really at with my canopies stuffed in there. I know that my last used rig fit me very well, and it felt quite loose without the canopies inside of it.

  21. Quote



    Please do inform me how exactly it is 'fun or creative' to take a picture of a half naked chick with a rig.

    Thats like the advertisement version of 'your mom' joke.

    In the civilized world (outside of US of A) there is nothing racy about a naked woman.

    However I personally do feel that it is demeaning towards me as male to think that you can sell, whatever it is that you're selling, by showing some female skin.

    If that makes me an uptight über serious person then so be it.

    Fact is I need to buy a new rig and I had considered Mirage as one option. After those two ads I won't buy one.



    1) I thought the ad was funny. It certainly has a less than serious tone about it.. Creative? No I'm in agreement with you there. But, a light-hearted, and fun ad nonetheless.

    2) I would argue that there is a difference between an anatomical "picture of a naked woman," and a picture of a woman taking off sexy panties with high heels on. Can't see the difference? Well, your loss.

    3) You must feel demeaned quite often. Advertising is bullshit, we all know it. Its all about trying to make you buy a product that you a) probably don't need, and b) could find elsewhere. But to feel demeaned by it? Get real. Again, I don't think the ad was seriously implying that girls will fuck you if you jump a Mirage. The only girls that might, almost (but probably not) care about your rig, are those that skydive.. And they make up what? Maybe 0.5% of the female population, if that? I also don't think the ad was trying to insinuate that you are so stupid as to think that girls will fuck you because you jump a mirage. I think, and I'm no expert here, that it was A JOKE. A crass joke? Sure, maybe. But I'm sure you've been, and will continue to be exposed to much worse at the dropzone, at the bar, on the internet, and maybe even in the grocery store when you accidentally look at the cover of a Maxim magazine.


    So, in summary-- You are undeniably entitled to your opinion, and I to mine. Don't buy a Mirage if you don't want one, I certainly don't give a shit. Would you be as upset if Mirage posted an ad of a man dropping his boxers with the caption "Nothing makes them drop faster than a woman in a Mirage!"? Or would you see that as an obvious attempt at humor?

  22. Haha, yes you should cancel it. Buying a girl drinks is more likely to result in intercourse, and far less expensive than a G4..

    What Mirage really should work on is getting their rigs out in a timely manner! My 9 week delivery is on week 14 and counting! :D

  23. Haha, did you receive some backlash for a similar statement? It must be buried somewhere within the _SIX_ pages of this thread. I couldn't bear to sift through any more of it! I'm seriously astounded by the fact that people can be so upset about this! :S

  24. I really don't understand what all the fuss is about... Its a fucking ad. The racy ones were pretty funny. I think anyone who is legitimately offended by them may be over analyzing, and looking at things a little too seriously. Obviously buying a Mirage is not going to get a model to have sex with you. It was, to me, funny in an absurd sense. To be so bothered by the ad that you come on DZ.com and post a bunch of crap about how it hurt your feelings is really lame. I think this crack at those select people is well deserved, and also funny.

    For those of you complaining that the ad doesn't say anything about the product's quality... How about the CYPRES ad? "Simply safer skydiving" set to the background of a persons shoes, presumably relaxing due to their relative "safety." It doesn't mention anything about computer algorithms, years of testing, number of saves, etc. All of that information is readily accessible other places, and any smart consumer does not need to find it in a magazine ad. I jump with a CYPRES because I have researched it on my own, and read the literature available on their website.

    My point? Anyone who is buying gear should be looking up the spec's of that gear on their own, and getting subjective opinions from people they know who have used it. A magazine ad for an established manufacturer merely serves to put the name out there, so why not do it in a fun or creative manner?

    Honestly, I can't believe the cry baby bullshit that is surrounding these ads.

  25. I agree with everyone else-- You should definitely demo a Spectre, since you've already flown the Sabre2. PD offers demos of all their canopies for a minimal fee... I think its like $30 or $40 and you get to keep the canopy for 2 weeks and put as many jumps as you want on it. I even got to keep the Sabre 2 that I demoed for 3 weeks because I got weathered out one weekend.

    Do you have a container that you can hook the mains up to? I know that can be a limiting factor in trying out new gear when you're first starting. That, and finding someone to help hook them up without spending a lot of cash, or feeling like a mooch. I know that it was for me.

    My first canopy was a Spectre 190 loaded at 1:1, and I loved it. Nice soft openings, it was responsive and fun to fly (compared to the mantas I was coming off of), and I thought the flare was great. I ran out my first few landings under it because I wasn't completing the flare, but once I got it dialed in, it was at most a step or two after touching down on most occasions. After I lost that main I went to Tri 190, and it was OK, but I liked the Spectre MUCH better. However, that may be an apples to oranges comparison, as the Spectre I had only had around 200 jumps on it, and the Triathlon I inherited was old and beat up.

    Contact PD and figure out a way to demo both of them, then you can make a better, more informed decision!