ryan_d_sucks

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!

I have to disagree with that aspect of your post.. Don't you think that jumpers involved with different types of skydiving have different needs for pin protection? The guy doing large group, head down dives has a different need than the CReW dog, has a different need than the wingsuiter, has a different need than the accuracy jumper, and so on. For instance, IF I had enough balls to do CReW, I wouldn't mind using my old shitty dolphin with the velcro, downwards pointing main flap, however, I certainly wouldn't take that rig on a sitfly jump. But again, I would take it on an RW jump. ALL pins are exposed to SOME hazards. Not ALL hazards are exposed to SOME pins. Pete's preferences and the reason behind them, bogus or not, don't nullify that fact.

How old are you? You know you must be at least 18 to skydive at most dropzones, right?

You'll like the Cullman DZ. Also, the county recently voted to go "wet", so beer will be readily available close by! That's the best news I have heard in a long time!

Awesome man, I'm gonna check this place out once my new rig gets finished. Can't wait!

Awesome! How many people is enough to get it in the air?

I've been trying to get in touch with the folks at liquid sky for a couple weeks now regarding a suit that I ordered. I've gotten no response from emails since 10/14, and the phone number on my invoice goes straight to an inbox that is full without ringing. Does anyone know if they are offline for a while or something? I wish I could ask someone local rather than posting here, but I don't know anyone who is currently in the process of ordering. Is there anyone else who has a pending order who is having trouble making contact?

At a boogie last year I got SkyMama to sign my logbook. It remains one of my most prized posessions. Unfortunately later that night I left my logbook laying out and some Muff Brothers got ahold of it. They took the liberty of logging about three pages of blowjobs, gay group sex, and weed smoking in there... Hahaha I guess that's what you get when you leave your shit laying around

I agree that the cover sucks. Not in any way discrediting what the team has done, or their abilities as skydivers... I just think the shot is kind of lame looking. The picture makes the dude in the front look like he takes himself wayyyy too seriously. Again, that is just the picture, I don't know the guy, and I'm sure their team is great. So good job skydiving. Bad job posing for the photo. That is all.

So to get back on subject... Are these DVD's actually good? It seems like they would have to be really in depth to be any use, since there is no actual jumping, and feedback from the jump included in watching a DVD series. Obviously the goal should be to go apply what you learn in the DVDs. It seems like the more cost effective way would be to go make some jumps with people who can teach you, the individual. So who's watched them, and what do you think?

Good .. Lurn two spoke inglish already So , you can;t explain what most in this country take as a racist comment?, and maybe inlighten us as to what you really meant?, the pictures are of our military...How (in your mind) is that "Right Crackers"? Most Americans read that to mean "Honky racist" Which country? You realize these are photographs of British troops, right?

I noticed Liquid Sky jumpsuits do not have a section under the gear area of the site.

Semantics aside.... Get real man. When you say "I am a spine surgeon," by title you imply something much more than assisting with surgery, if in fact you are a first assist in the OR. I'm not debating that you are or aren't qualified to give these people insight into back surgery, but you did mislead them. In fact, I would venture to say that you ARE competent to give insight on such procedures, if you work with orthopedic surgeons and/or neurosurgeons. But again, to say "I am a spine surgeon" is misleading at best. You would not introduce yourself that way in the hospital, and you know it. No disrespect meant, but seriously... Ryan Daniels RN BSN CCRN PS- And to say you'd be running the code... Huh? Did the actual surgeon happen to step out for a smoke during the case? "Run" the code just like you "run" the OR? Hah! I'm no Doc worshiper, I just think you ought to be honest when you introduce yourself as a medical professional, whether online or in person.

I mix bags of levophed from the code cart.... I am a pharmacist? ... Just sayin'.

Hi, I am a spine surgeon and perform these procedures weekly. I thought you were a PA?

I ordered through them, it was a good transaction. Quick replies to all of my emails, kept me informed on my order's status. No complaints. Give em a call.

I use a Rawa box. I cut the strap off with scissors. It took about 10 seconds.

More so a link to the main page for that product under the gear section. For instance, say I was looking at a Crossfire 2 main canopy in the classifieds-- I might not know that the Crossfire 2 is manufactured by Icarus canopies. Then when I go to the gear page I have to click through different manufacturers until I find the Crossfire 2 listed under Icarus's page. This is especially true for helmets and accessories. I might not be aware that Cookie Composites produces the Ozone helmet. My idea is that if I were looking at a classifieds ad for an Ozone, there would be a link on that page to the main page for the Ozone under the gear section. From there I could read the manufacturer's description of the product, and access reviews if I so desired.

My first rig was a dolphin. It was an air-worthy rig. Nothing special. No extras, no bells and whistles whatsoever. Lots of velcro, lots of exposed bridle. I was scared shitless of being in any orientation other than belly to earth in that rig. It was also quite uncomfortable. I did a horny gorilla in that rig ONCE and had the fear of a premie in the back of my mind the whole time. If you added the tucktabs to the rig it would certainly be _better_ for freeflying, but still not _good_ for freeflying. As far as I know modified dolphins still have no secondary riser protection like most rigs on the market, the main pin protection would be like that of an older javelin which is not very impressive, especially in a sit. The reserve flap might be OK once modified.. But, one has to wonder-- what quality of materials is Altico going to use to modify your rig for only $250 dollars? Will the tabs have stiffeners that will hold, or ones that will warp and take shape after a few jumps? After a while I got sick of jumping a rig that really limited what kinds of jumps I could safely try and bought a vector3. When I got the V3 I was amazed at the difference in quality between it and my old Dolphin. The two are incomparable. The good thing about the dolphin was that it got me in the air CHEAP when I got off student status, and it was perfectly fine for hop and pops and bellyflying-- which is really all that I (me, not anyone else) needed to be doing during that time anyway. Maybe Altico could supply you with some pictures of modified Dolphins so that we all would have a better idea of how much and in what areas it is strengthened.

That's an excellent point. Anyone with rigging experience care to expand on that subject? When I have a nice total mal on my overstuffed G3, will my reserve extraction be impeded?

Hey, I'm about to order a new Mirage G4, and I'm trying to figure out which size to get, either M4 or M3. Currently I'm jumping a 9cell 170, but I would like to eventually downsize to a 150 after about 100 more jumps or so. I would like to keep this container for a long time once I've bought it.. I'm talking next 1000 jumps or so. And since I'm pouring so much money into it, I would really like for it to look nice too. So both the M3 and M4 will take the 160 reserve that I have. So no problems there. The M4 holds a 170 main, and the M3 a 150 main. I like the looks of the M3 better than the M4. I spoke with someone at the DZ who stuffed a 170 into his M3 for a while before downsizing to a 150. Said it was a bitch to close, but certainly doable. I didn't see his M3 container while it had a 170 in it.. So I'm wondering if it looked overstuffed and shitty. I'm also wondering if it damaged and stretched the container. Anyone have experience doing this? My gut tells me I should get the M4, but it just seems like I won't need such a large container a year or so down the road, and I want to keep this new container that I'm buying for a LONG time.

I have seen where the TM tells the passenger "Ok, when we are under canopy I'm going to ask you three trivia questions." Once the canopy is out TM reminds the passenger of the questions, and asks something ludicrously difficult to answer. When the passenger gets it wrong TM replies "Strike 1" and loosens the lowers. Obviously it takes a certain kind of passenger to find this funny.

Hey I have been dealing a lot with the classifieds section recently, which is just an incredible feature of this site. But I do have one suggestion-- It would be really cool and convenient if there was some way to embed a link within an ad to the gear review section of the site for that item (if it has one). So if I'm looking at an ad for a Crossfire2, I can click a link in that ad and read all the reviews for the Crossfire 2 in a new window, without leaving the ad. I know there could be some difficulty in doing so, seeing as not everyone fills out the manufacturer and model in the dropdown menus, but maybe something like this could be done for the ads that do have those filled out. I think it would be very convenient.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ryandsucks#p/a My video from summerfest, plus a few other random skydiving videos.

Where is all the summerfest hype????? Nobody else going?