DBTECH

DOM; March 1998; Ser# SP-170 000945 Here are the stats as of 4-8-01 292 jumps, with all packed on carpet with few packed on my long packing mat. (much TLC) Color pattern: *The top is white *The outside end ribs are yellow with the rest of the ribs alternating from yel-blue-yel-blue-yel etc. The center rib is Navy with adjacent ribs, yellow. *The stabilizers are light blue *The bottom is> --turquoise--blue--royal blue--NAVY--royal blue--blue--turquoise– There are three other details about this canopy I would rather talk to you about via telcom. (no, not damage, but positive additive factors) Note: Check out the short article and photos in the April issue of Skydiving. (New Slider design) Asking $1000.00 Skies, Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

Creation Science: The creation is "NOW" Man's perception/creation of time is just that; man's perception/creation of time. This infinite universe never had a beginning, therefore it could never have an end. On the infinite number of "ideal planets" in the universe, the "range" of initial formation of organic compounds/molecules into a single cell life form into intelligent life is also infinite. By definition, an infinite universe implies that everything that "can happen by design," is happening NOW in an infinite number of parallel sequences. Yes indeed, this creation is based on a "simple plan of free choice" by a creator of infinite love and compassion. A perfect plan couldn't be any other way. David B. Brownell Mesa Arizona January 2001

Finger trapping tool: Make a "good" finger trapping tool. BTW: I hate Fids. I would recommend getting a piece of 20 gauge stainless steel music wire, eighteen inches long. Bring the ends together/parallel and clamp very tight with a pair of vice grips. You should now have a loop with no defined other end. (as yet) Place a 12 penny nail or equivalent into a secured vice. Now place the wire loop over this nail/pin. Pull on the vice-grips to straighten out the wire. The end goal here, is to end up with an eye at the nail/pin end with the wires close together below that. When this is complete, then fold over the two free ends 180* about 1/2", and then wrap with friction tape, to form a handle. You should now have a finger trapping tool eight+ inches long. The tool will enter and exit the line side, braid. Dave Brownell

I had a 27' Russian PC in the early eighties that I put about 75 jumps on. I cut it away once---a ball of garbage. After I cut away I went into a sit fly position, then fired my chest mounted reserve. I saw the reserve pilot leave followed by a flash/blur of canopy/lines, followed by a mildly brisk opening on my 26' Strong Lo-PO lite. Dave Brownell

I received my new Atair Cobalt 135 this morning via Fed X. The quality/workmanship is beyond very good----will be jumping it at Eloy on Saturday. Dave Brownell db

Monday AM--4-9-01 I just got an E-mail from Dan at Atair that my custom color 135 Cobalt is in NY. The custom order was sent to the factory in Solvenia (Europe) four weeks ago, exactly! Dave Brownell

I recommend no less than three "good" rinses. Dave Brownell

And then of course, there is the "claimed" higher malfunction rate for rounds, but that's a whole other issue. Dave Brownell

Read the thread> Whats a good inexpensive beginner helmet?? RE: My first post> Helmet info: (Skydiving) (was on earlier forum) Dave Brownell

Maybe Hi-Tech and more Cool in this area has gone beyond good sense. (Really not Hi-Tech because of the poor brain protection at impact as compared to racing helmets that are indeed Hi-Tech. Cool is not an issue here, staying alive is. Dave Brownell

Sangiro said: Dave, Here's what worries me about this helmet. The neck-line at the back of the head on this full-face is basically straight... How do I look forward and up to check my air space if the helmet pushes on my neck and back preventing me to do this? Most skydiving full face helmets are designed to allow that type of movement of the head. DB> The rear of my Carbon-Fire helmet is two inches above the "knob" at the back of my head, which in my mind is much more than is needed for upwards viewing. I visited a local speed shop today to check out your concern. They had a Voyager1 in stock that was my exact size. I put the helmet on, and found that there was absolutely no interference/restriction to looking up. As a matter of fact, at my maximum head up position there was plenty of helmet/neck/back clearance! Even without the thick foam there would be no problem. I will be calling Simpson tomorrow to find out if the Voyager1 is available in Carbon Fibre as is the VUDO. The Simpson catalogue at the speed shop indicated it was. (one+ lb lighter!) (less $ than VUDO) Dave Brownell

After using your inexpensive helmet, (Protec) you may want to consider the ultimate helmet! The VUDO is the lightest, high technology helmet ever manufactured by Simpson...with no performance compromise. COLORS: White, Unfinished (for custom painting), Black & Platinum (extra charge) Base MSRP $750.00 http://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/helmets/helmetset.html Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

Helmet info: (Skydiving) (was on earlier forum) So called modern skydiving helmets can help in preventing scull fractures, but do little in absorbing the energy from impact that is transferred to the brain. I base my conclusion here on the fact of very little foam thickness/quality/type/design in these helmet's. When you combine this fact with the fact that these company's have done little to none as far as research in this area, as compared to such companies as Simpson and Bell, you can understand my feeling here. A Pro-Tek has much more foam thickness than these helmets, but I would not consider a Pro-Tek a close second to a Simpson Voyager1 as far as absorbing energy from impact. Dave Brownell **************************************************************** Follow up: The Simpson model "Voyager1" would probably be my choice in a "non skydiving helmet" for skydiving. It has more than one inch of energy absorbing material. As required for energy absorption, this material has basically a zero memory, unlike most foams. After a crash the liners must be replaced because of possible measured compression. And yes, there is a hinged Lexan visor with two latches/snaps. As far as weight is concerned, your total head weight would be about 20% more than using a Carbon-Fire helmet. MSRP $300.00 http://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/ "Voyager1" MSRP $300.00 Dave Brownell ***************************************************************** Follow up #2: Consider the sometimes massive camera array that Norm Kent wears on his helmet/head. i.e., 35MM movie camera, with an anaphoric lens, video, and a 35 MM still camera! How's that for an aerodynamic factor! I've also heard weight numbers of well over twenty five pounds! I believe that the Simpson "Voyager 1" helmet is under four pounds. I've heard that the average human head is around twelve pounds, so this in not that great of a percentage increase. Also consider the slight increase in aerodynamic "lift" do to it's larger size over "so called" skydiving helmets. Be safe, have fun, Dave Brownell ****************************************************** Follow up #3 A Simpson Voyager1 helmet is three times heavier than a Carbon-Fire helmet. Simpson Voyager= 3.95 lbs. Carbon-Fire= 1.32 lbs. Human head with Carbon-Fire= 13.32 lbs Human head with Simpson Voyager1= 15.95 Increase in total head weight with Voyager1 over Carbon-Fire= 20% Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

I know of at least two people that have gone through Sandy Reid's rigging course, both Senior and Master. I believe that Sandy Reid's operation is top notch in all areas. As far as Tony Frost is concerned, I have heard that he is very tough in his practical exams. I say no more. Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

Before I started flying jumpers and jumping near Chicago in 1979, there were several local jumpers that occasionally engaged in low pull contests with round reserves. The lowest "reported opening" was one hundred feet, with a six second canopy ride! Dave Brownell

I sent an almost identical copy of my post to Chris Needels at USPA. Dave Brownell

USPA Legal Issue? I was at a Circle K this morning to get a refill of Hazelnut coffee, when I noticed two sizes of poster boards/sheets on the counter, of a new advertisement for Winston Cigarettes. (Reynolds Tobacco Co.) The smaller one measures 7" X 8", and the larger one measures 11" X 16". Both of these posters have a great shot of a tandem pair with big smiles with all thumbs up. The top of the posters have the word "Winston" with the words inside the letter O, "NO BULL." Below that in the field of the photo there is the statement, "BUY 2 PACKS--GET 1 FREE." Also in the field of the photo there is, "NO BULL--NO BOUNDARIES." On the reverse side of the larger poster there is the same add with the tandem, but also with a photo of a Nascar driver shot through the windshield. This side of the poster is horizontal, and the tandem only side is vertical. (vertical side, much larger tandem photo) The store let me have extras of these posters. My question is; Can a Company that sells products that are known to cause disease and death, associate any activity they desire to their products to promote sales of their deadly products, without any legal repercussions from said activities/people? We all know of course, that there will never be a "Winston Cup" of Skydiving. Clear Blue Skies, Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

My custom color order for a Cobalt 135 was sent to the factory in Slovenia on Monday. I was told six weeks delivery, but I'm hoping sooner. I recently put six jumps on a demo Cobalt 135, and was very happy with the total performance, and of course the price. Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

I started flying jumpers in 1979 at the Hinckley Parachute Center west of Chicago. I made my first jump at Hinckley that same year from a Beechcraft D-18. (it was a static line jump) I flew about 2600 loads at Hinckley before I moved to Arizona in late 95. I now have 1160 jumps. Dave Brownell

I will be at Coolidge on Saturday or Sunday. Dave Brownell Mesa, AZ

Post from Dave Brownell: The following is a series of letters regarding pull-out pilot chutes. Hello TK: (at the Relative Workshop) I don't know what your opinion is about pullout pilot chutes, but here is mine, in response to a question regarding rig conversion. I, personally, am against pull out's. (20+ years, jumper, pilot, rigger) As predicted, I have seen (watched) two near fatalities as the result of pullouts. Both were main-reserve entanglements. In both cases the PC's were held long enough to allow the bridle to half hitch around the pilot chute causing a PC malfunction. When I say long enough, I mean as short as maybe one half second or less! This may not seam very long, but consider the action/speed of the bridle being out next to the inflated PC. (perceived malfunction rate?) With a hand deploy PC you are holding the apex of the PC. There is only a horseshoe starting at your hand, and ending at the closing flap. When you release the PC the total horseshoe remains taught until pilot chute inflation. I have held on to my hand deploy for five seconds on several jumps with no problem. Would you want to do that with a pullout? As far as concern about the pin not being pulled? A 28" pilot chute has at least 80 lbs. of drag at 120 MPH. What's the likely hood of a misrouted bridle on a late-model rig? But the way, in both cases of near fatalities, both jumpers pulled their reserves around 1000 feet. In both cases there were entanglements with the main-bag that deployed at reserve pull. They both got reserve openings below 300 feet! On one, "garbage of the main" was pushed down to the jumper by the reserve slider, blinding the jumper! Sounds like fun time, HA! (bonus days included) I was witness to both of these jumps! Dave Brownell Mesa/Eloy AZ Dave, I'm with you on all counts. Here's a fact or two you can add to your list. We've done a lot of tests to determine the strength of the average jumper in the pull-out configuration. The strongest guys in our shop were not half as strong as the drag of a standard hand-deploy pilot chute. No contest there. In an ideal world, a hand-deploy is always thrown, and should not be held onto unless you discover someone over your back at that very moment. But when you must hold it, the worst that can happen is that the drag on the bridle pulls the pin. (which is what you get on every pull-out deployment!) If you're stable, the bagged canopy will stay on your back. (Dave, all of the maladies you mention are absolutely true.) With a pull-out pilot chute, you don't get the great, aggressive throw capability of the hand-deploy because you loose ½ of the throwing stroke just trying to pull the pin out of the locking loop. Without a good throw, the pilot chute could end up on your back in the burble. I personally have about 300 jumps on a pull-out system and on many of these jumps, I experienced pilot chute hesitations. I went back to hand-deploy and have not had a hesitation since. Dave, you're absolutely correct when it comes to two canopy entanglements. Here's how the scenario goes: They pull the handle and pin and then let go of the PC. The burble sucks the PC onto their back. They fail to look over their shoulder hard enough so the PC stays there. Eventually, and usually quite low, they decide to pull the reserve. Both canopies will usually deploy one after the other. And here's another problem. Most jumpers with pull-out systems loose their handle at least once during their career. Some don't ever find it on that given jump and end up pulling their reserve. Some don't pull anything. Before the days of AAD's, a significant number of jumpers bounced, Jeannie McCombs being one of the notables. I'm sure I could go on an on about the virtues of H/D over P/O. But life is short and so is the list of jumpers using the PULL-OUT System. Talk to you later, TK