andyturner

An excellent point and very well made. That would be very cool. Imagine just rocking up to the DZ and doing spontaneous CRW like FF/FS!!! The only down side I see is the track record for the Spectre. I bought one for all the good reasons of buying a Storm but hardly anyone does CF and certainly not on Spectres Regards Andy

Hi Jamie, this is exactly what I mean. I have talked to both Ian & Steve about other canopies (e.g. AR7, Tri’s, Rubis, Spectre, Storm etc) but they staunchly believe in the principle of only one God, “The Lightning”, and will be only to happy to push you in that direction, but a couple of other things to consider are.... a. Steve & Ian have literally dozens of Lightning’s for Team Outcasts. At about £1000 a time, to swap over would cost them tens of thousands of pounds. b. Their flying techniques have been refined over the decades and thousands of jumps based on the Lightning. Swapping over would mean developing new skills and techniques based on the new canopy, which will cost in terms of time and money and I’m not sure how many years they have left before they get their free buss passes as pensioners!!! IMHO, for team Outcasts it makes perfect sense to stick with Lightning’s, at least until such time that they see a “significant” performance improvement in other teams using Storms to the extent that it precludes them from being competitive. For me, unless I find a good used 176, I think I'll stick on the 193 and use lots of lead until we see how other teams get on with the Storm or any other CRW canopy for that matter. Best regards, Andy PS. Good luck for this weekend mate. PM me and let me know how everyone got on

Hi, Most people in the UK jump Lightnings so I've been looking for a used Lighting 176 but have had no luck as yet. Please PM me if you have one to sell. I'm reluctant to buy a new Lightning because I can see people swapping over to the Storm in the near future - Then people will want you to jump Storms!!! My main question is "Has anyone tryed flying a Storm with a Lightning" ??? If it works ok then I may just get a new Storm and wait for everyone else to swap over. Cheers, Andy

Hi everyone & thank you for all the information. Quick question.... Why not use an average wind speed & direction instead of the highest? Is this just for a little saftey margin? Thanks again, Andy

Hi, Ok so nothing is cast in stone ...yet! From your responses it seems that turbulence is the issue that is related to wind strength. I’m assuming that turbulence is an issue because it could collapse your canopy at an inopportune moment, which could be both tedious and embarrassing, i.e. resulting in a wrap? With a WL of approx 1.21 lbs/ft², if the wind below 1000ft is within spec, i.e.

What are the wind limits for CRW? On the ground and at 1kft it could be blowing 18kts but higher up the wind can be doing 40kts. Providing you budget that into the spot is there anything wrong with being blown backwards over the ground while doing CRW? Cheers, Andy

1. Maybe some shaped grips may be in order, i.e. Angled or curved. That way material would just bounce off? 2. YES PLEASE. If you could send me some photos I would be very greatfull. My email is [email protected] Kind regards Andy

Hi, thanks for that. I'm going to think about it but I would be concerned that someone might get a foot / hand / brake toggle caught in it. I therefore vote that FS grips would be safer. I haven't actually done much CF, only 15 jumps, but they,ve all been done in a very basic FS suit and never had any probs with line snag. How do the knife covers work? Are they just velcro flaps with a tab on? Cheers Andy

Cool, so I should extend the Kevlar around the front of the shin as well then? Thanks, Andy

Hi, I’m in the process of specifying a CF/CRW/CReW specific jumpsuit for my suffering wife to design and make I’ve thought of some features but I would welcome any ideas that you have? Features so far include, 1. Built in gaiters on the legs. I’ve noted that some people put gaffer tape from ankles to mid shin. I’m guessing that this makes it easy for Judges to spot “leg takes” and note points scored. 2. A bit of padding on the knees. Ok I’m old & fat but would be a bit of light relief while packing. 3. Pilot type transparent map pocket for spotting. 4. Kevlar reinforcement patches, on the inside, from ankles to knees to prevent lines from burning though the suit. 5. A two-piece suit instead of one-piece, for convenience. Just like two-piece motorbike leathers with a full wrap around zip. 6. A couple of vertical chest pockets either side of the main zip. Zip closes downwards. 7. A mobile phone pocket, zipper down closes, on the arm for those off landing days. 8. Zipped vents under the arms & from knee to crouch for ventilation in the summer. 9. Single FS type grips on the arms & legs to make it easier for people grabbing during setup for Downplanes & BiPlanes. Any more ideas? Cheers Andy

...i know a man! Well sort of a man, more half bird really. Alister McCartney - he jumps at Netheravon in the UK. I doubt they've modified them but they have been using them for CF. He post about it here. http://www.thepdblog.com/pdblog/pd_canopies/ ...may be it is worth starting a new thread about various canopies, that are available secondhand, that could be used to get people into CF with out having to buy a new canopy. I mean, Lightnings are the muts nuts but can I find a 176??? No, but I did find the holy grail and few hens teeth! Cheers & Regards Andy

Excellent. Good informative, intelligent & comprehensive answers. Thank you & sorry about calling you an ignorant girl

1. Is that because you are a girl or because you are ignorant? 2. Dacron & Retractable pilot chute is a given. 3. Its not that I'm not that hard up, but I just don't like being considered an idiot. When I asked the "Rusty" what the Spectre/Storm difference was - he said it was too hard to explain. I’ll post the original email if you like? Given that the tech specs are virtually identical and there is nothing published to discriminate between the two canopies, I find that hard to believe. Regards Andy PS. There are tonnes of used Spectres out there and not many Lightings. If we could convert them then that's an easy way into CF! PPS. The old school boys all have Lightning’s and do not want to change because of expense and relearning how to fly new canopies. PPPs. Who said I didn't want to get competitive?

Hi, I'm looking to mod my Specter for CRW. How does the deployment system work on the CF Storm, i.e. Tail pocket / DBag / Something else? Is it good for Terminal? Cheers Andy

Guys, As I've said I've got a Spectre. I’ve also just done a CF training camp and want to do more CRW. I also know another guy who has just got into CRW and got a Spectre. Really... Can you deploy a Spectre, using a tail pocket, free packed at Terminal? Because following discussion with the instructors I still believe that "Free packing a rig" and using a "Tail pocket" was reserve of sub terminal openings for CRW or BASE jumping. PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong because I want to mod my Spectre because finding a second hand Lightning is really hard work. Cheers Andy

Hi Stinger, I was jumping with it in NZ with lots of gaffer tape when it came off!!! In the end, I made a mount from the ground up & posted them a video. http://vholdr.com/node/22830. The plans are on the vid if you want to make your own. I'm working on a second prototye with a saftey catch instead of screws and an anti line snag/riser slap feature Thanks & best regards, Andy

Hi, I'm looking for team "Outcasts website". Does anyone know the web address? Cheers Andy

Can anyone recommend the perfect helmet fo CF? Cheers Andy

Hi, I found this on the web today & thought I’d share with anyone else learning about CF. I especially love the way he talks about wraps in the wrap section http://www.vorosmeteor.hu/downloads/irodalom/83CRW.PDF If your at Hibalstow next weekend then I look forward to jumping with you & drinking lots of beer! Regards, Andy

Hi chap, Can you make the Friday for some practice? Regards Andy

All, I’ll bet my life savings that he’s got Mary by the ankles and screaming in a “Drag plane” with a perturbed novice Jesus on top piloting the Stack and wearing a 143 Lightning without a Cypres! For Pat’s family, Although Pat has left a significant hole in the world of CRW, I’m sure that this is hole is relatively insignificant in terms of magnitude in compared with the hole that he has left in your lives. You have my sincerest condolences, Andrew Turner PS. Pat, if you could have a word with “The Big Cheese” and secure us a good weather slot for the forthcoming CF road show weekend at Hibaldstow then that would be great. I look forward to jumping with you

Hi, Is anyone doing the CRW/CF road show at Hibaldstow 2-4th of May? I'm turning up on the Friday and looking someone to jump with Regards Andy

Having made dozens of skydives with a tail pocket on a free packed main I'd say it works fine. Dammit, what's wrong with you. I was waiting for a really good response. Ooohhps! It seems I stand corrected. I just thought tail pockets were there to speed up deployment for CRW specific rigs. regards Andy

Hi Dude, Your right, vid qual is poor compared to propper camcorder but I just want to have fun with mates etc. Used it skiing and crashed a few times. Velcro'ed it to the motorbike. All OK. But if I mount it to my lid and give it a quick jerk it just flys off which is crap for a purpose build helmet cam. I suppose I could use gaffer tape but I'm just pissed at spending £300 and using sodding gaffer tape!!! Another quick question: I've got it side mounted and intend to use it for CRW. I was going to make some sort of "Anti Line snag" thing, but running low on time. Realistically, what is the probability of snagging lines, riser slap etc. I.e. is it worth the time and hastle? cheers Andy

Hi, I've just bought my first camera, a VHOLDR! I'm looking at the mounts and thinking to myself that they are just not man enough for hard deployment. Has anyone else used one of these for skydiving? cheers, Andy