likestojump

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content

    2,468

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

Posts posted by likestojump

  2. gb1

    I was part of the design and introduction of the SST in about 1974. It was designed to be a simple, minimal hardware, fast to build rig, and incorporated Dan Poynters' Pop Top reserve. The first one that I built was from a Pop Top supplied from Ted Strong and a container I built and attached to the Pop Top. John designed the very comfortable harness. I assembled it. After that I built 11 red/white rigs for the Beechnut team. At this point, we built our own Pop Top containers with permission. This was, at that point, a batch of "cowboy" rigs to be tested by the Beechnuts. At the time, we had some of the best rigs, although they were prototypes needing testing. They got on the market too quickly to compete with Wonderhogs and others. For various reasons the brains of the shop jumped ship and the rig development coasted for many many years. Seems like when an incident happened, a change might happen. After too many years, the right people got into the shop and the rig came much closer to up to speed with the market. There are not many people jumping it because it is not being marketed properly, as well as all of the questionable things of the rig. That many people complaining can't be all wrong. I love Dan Poynters design of the external pilot chute. I would jump a new Racer, but I would have to disassemble it, add a few things, and remove a few things and change a few more things to update it. Remember, it does not take much to work and it doesn't take much to not work.



    ++

    I applaud you for not letting pride get the best of you, and for using common sense.

    The manufacturer can scream RTFM until the cows come home, but there's just no way that's going to get them the market share or increase buyer confidence.

    Reassess the market, come up with a (more) functional and (more) desirable proposition. Otherwise you'll dwindle into obscurity.

  4. skow

    Hello,

    I recently (finally!) obtained an original Sabre 1 canopy. I absolutely love it. However to make it even more perfect I'd like a vectran lineset for it. However that is impossible.

    Has anybody tried a Sabre2 lineset on the original sabre? How's the difference?



    Not impossible.

    Have you contacted to see if PD is willing to make you a vectran lineset for the original Sabre ?

    Have you contact Pete Swan to see if he is ?
    http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=PeteS;

  5. Westerly

    Well the list of crap they need to fix on the G3 is a mile long so it's not like there is no room for improvement.



    What experience do you have with other skydiving full face helmets ?

    List the "mile long list of crap they need to fix on the G3". Please.

    What do YOU look for in a helmet ?

    Do you realize that no product out there is 100% perfect per everyone's expectations ?

    Are a you by chance a millennial ?

  7. HPC

    Just curious as to what vintage things you want to jump. I myself would like to jump some older (but well kept) mains, so long as the rig and reserve are relatively current.



    if you just want to jump a vintage main, then you can put it in a large modern(ish) container.

    I have a few Javelin J7's and Dolphin D6's that I use for that. Reserves are SuperRavenIII's (249 sq ft)

  9. IJskonijn

    Ok, since I am no good with anything really technical and metal, I will rather search for a machine that already has a servo on it.



    Stop being a whiny little bitch.
    Putting a servo motor is a 15 minute job, and everything fits like a glove.
    It solves your slow speed problems, and unless you are punching through 5 layers of leather, this will work excellent in 99.9% of parachute work.

    More than one person told you to get a servo, there's probably a very good reason.

    So :
    Stop being a little girl
    Get a servo
    Be happy

  10. I also really like "I put 100 jumps on this <3 paragraphs of useless text>. total jumps unknown". Asking 10% under retail for a 15 year old ragged out wing.

  11. Unstable

    ***There still are people selling (well, trying to sell) old velcro laden containers (original Talons, Vector2's) with 1980's reserves and crappy old F111 mains for $2500 saying it's good beginner gear



    And people buy them. :|


    Only to be disappointed within a week of delivery. I really, really hope that people would wise up and start asking their trusted riggers/experienced friends before making knee jerk decisions.

    Unstable

    ***
    There are also people selling new Vortex setups for $4K.



    I wonder how long that can last or if Parachute Systems is lowballing to break into the market.

    Does't matter for the sake of this thread. PA makes good gear, and while it ain't no Micron, the vast difference in price definitely makes them a choice, and a consideration for someone looking for new gear.

    The point that I really wanted to make is response to OP : finding patterns in a niche, volatile market may not be possible. You are trying to define chaos, across way too many moving variables.
    I can tell you that all the regular caveats apply : Good deal is a state of mind, always account for morons and liers, etc.
    The "deduct $1 per jump and $100 per year of age" rule sounds nice and simple, but based on that rule my DOM 2001 Spectre with 400 jumps is a useless piece of shit that I have to pay people to take off my hands.

  12. gowlerk

    You may be confusing asking price on a FB page with actual selling price. Many people ask too much and either don't sell or end up taking less. It's a jungle out there.



    spot on.

    There still are people selling (well, trying to sell) old velcro laden containers (original Talons, Vector2's) with 1980's reserves and crappy old F111 mains for $2500 saying it's good beginner gear. There are also people selling new Vortex setups for $4K.

    Bottom line is the market will sort itself out, and just because seller tells you "it's a great deal", you should not immediately buy the gear.

    Yeah, I have bias, but I don't sell old crappy outdated stuff to newbies.

  18. Your credibility is shattered by having single post and by praising a single brand.

    Most skydivers praise whichever brand there are currently jumping.
    I've owned most major brand containers out there and my statement is "they all have their quirks".

  20. SkydCanada

    Funny you say that, I had it about twice as long and people told me it was to technical so I hacked it down.

    I guess I need to find the middle ground



    At the very least, you should back your recommendations up with facts. For Main Parachute, your recommendation is "While we recommend a new canopy, we understand that budget is a reality. New or used is fine, but be picky, get advice from coaches and have it looked at by a rigger.", which essentially translates into "buy whatever your rigger won't consider trash".

    how about talking about age, varying levels of square vs tapered vs elliptical, wing loading, various manufacturer considerations, whether it was a desert canopy all of it's life, etc ?

    PD has plenty of articles, as does PIA, as does Brian Germain. I'd say all of these are pretty damn trustworthy and very informative.

    :(

  23. DougH

    Was the UT-15 what I hear sometimes referred to as a Jumbo PC?



    Jumbo PC = Pioneer manufactured 28ft PC
    Packs humongous

    UT 15 is a 24ftish Russian manufactured very steerable Lemoigne canopy that Pioneer tried to reproduce on 27ft and 23ft "Russian PC" versions.