ryanl2006

Hey! I think that's my old rig! Did you buy it from likestojump? The tabs on the risers gave it away.

I am probably in the minority with this opinion, but I do not like the spacer foam. I have jumped rigs with and without, and for me it added minimal comfort. The spacer foam material adds a fair amount of bulk to your rig (maybe 1/2 or 3/4 inch thick). It is also covered in a mesh like material that would seem to me to be easier to get dirty and harder to clean. For me the tiny bit more comfort of the foam just did not make it worth it. For what its worth, I have ordered two custom rigs with all the bells and whistles, but left off spacer foam each time.

Of the canopies that are appropriate for a new jumper, you might want to check out the Pilot by Aerodyne. It is known as having a fairly good glide ratio. As a rule of thumb, 9-cell canopies have a better glide ratio than 7-cell canopies, but some of the new 7cell canopies that have been coming out lately have pretty flat glides as well. Unfortunately, most skydiving parachutes do not have all that great of glide ratios (upper limit seems to be about 3 to 1). It is also not a published figure by most if not all manufactures because it varies depending on wingloading, and because many skydivers are not concerned with glide ratio as long as they make it back to the dropzone. Basically any responses you will get are largely opinion because there have been few quantitative measurements of skydiving canopy glide ratios.

The Storm will pack smaller. A standard ZP pilot will pack bigger, but a ZPX pilot will pack a bit smaller. I don't know about the safire 2.

Thanks for the reply. I was hoping there would be somewhere closer, but I guess an hour and half is not too terribly far. I will definitely be going up to Start sometimes too for the turbines. I will be out looking for a place to live on the 22-26th of this month, and will try and head out to Skydive KY that weekend. Do many people from the University of Kentucky go out there? I would be interested in meeting some fellow college students.

Does anyone know if Kentucky Skydiving Center is still in business? I will be moving to Lexington soon and they are the closest dropzone. Their dropzone listing on this site links to a dead site and a dead email address. In one of the reviews it says they are not actually in their advertised location. Seems fishy but I am hopeful because the next closest dropzone is an hour and a half away from Lexington.

I am looking at a W-5 with a Sabre 2 135 in it sitting in my bedroom right now. Yes it packs a bit tight, but not tight enough to worry me. That sizing chart you linked is not 'official' so all the numbers are not correct.

So if I get a faster machine the videos will definitely build faster, but will the video be smooth as well? Is that a byproduct of my slow computer or am I doing something else wrong as well?

I am a beginner at video editing. I am trying to just make simple videos using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. I do not really know what any of the settings should be on, so I have been just leaving them on the default (anamorphic 1080i, etc.). The video is coming from a CX100 and is the .MTS or whatever file type. When I export the video it takes a very long time, like 6 hours long to render a 10 minute video. My computer is a few years old, but it has a 2ghz processor and 2gb of ram so I feel like it should not take this long. I am exporting to .wmv file type. When the video finally renders it is pretty choppy, not smooth at all like when viewing from the camera. My question is, are there better settings I can set on either the import or export settings in premiere to make better quality video? I would normally just play around with it but with 6 hours to export, that is just not an option. Is there a way to get this to export faster? Thanks for your help, Ryan

I jump a W-5 with an Optimum 126 and a Sabre 2 135 in it. The 135 is pretty tight but doable. I know the storm packs smaller then an equivalent 9 cell, but I imagine it would still be pretty tight being one size bigger and all. I would call Sunrise and ask them.

Another think that hasn't been discussed here is what about a tendency of the canopy to open in specific direction relative to the wind? I would argue that due to a difference in upper winds to winds at deployment altitude, the relative wind will not be from directly straight ahead for seconds after opening. In this case would the wind tend to blow the canopy to face upwind or downwind for an unconcious jumper shortly after opening? Discuss... [For what its worth I'm a senior in mechanical engineering who has taken several upper level fluid dynamics classes]

Both my dad and I jump, and my sister has done a tandem.

When I went there I worked with Chad Henderson. He is the only tunnel coach I have worked with, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I had a really good experience with him. I think he did a great job.

I was in basically the same boat as you recently, I wanted a container that would last a while because I decided to buy new. I recommend calling the manufacture and just talking to them. I bought wings and before I bought I called them and they said my pilot 168 would be a tight but reasonable fit in their W-9 container. That way it will really optimally fit a 150 when I go to that, and fit a 135 without being unsafe. So basically just call them and ask, whichever container company you choose should be very helpful, a lot of people do this because no one likes buying a new container every time they get a new canopy.

Just got 34.613 ...and an hour of my life is now gone.