voilsb

Interesting calculator. I haven't jumped in 9 months. It says I'm "average risk" under my Storm 150 @1.4, but "high risk" under my Silhouette 210 at 1:1. I'm still going to jump the 210 for my recurrency.

Thanks for pointing that out. I picked the brake cascades because they were the most different between the two canopies, and the difference in cascades likely makes a difference in the flare. I also noticed the non-cascaded A lines on the Casual-CF Storm, at least on the 150, look the same as on the actual CF Storm. I was too lazy to compare them in great detail across the board though, because of the 3 different linesets to compare. Brian

They are not, but they are similar. Anecdotally, I've seen numerous reports/questions on "how to land a CF Storm" and numerous reports/comments on "how easy/wonderful it is to land a (freefall) Storm" Objectively, a CF Storm 150 cascades are 4-3/8, 3, 5-3/4, and 15-3/4 inches. On a freefall Storm 150 they are 3-1/2, 2, 4-3/4, and 14-7/8 inches. Otherewise the trim is pretty similar, at least for a 150. They have separate line trim charts for the CF Storm vs the freefall version, but I'm not going to compare every size. Brian

I plan to do something like this in the spring. Demo a handful of resesrves (PD, OP, maybe Nano or Smart) and put a bunch of jumps on them, keep detailed notes, and write up an article for DZ/Parachutist/BlueSkies talking about how they pack, open, fly, and land. I can't perfectly duplicate a reserve opening, but I can free pack it like a reserve or base canopy to simulate it. Brian

Ok, your point makes more sense now. Without me being careful to check the pin tension and pack it such-and-such a way, and ensure the closing loop got shortened enough, etc, there was definitely room for problems. Definitely not a "here just swap this in. You'll be good!" situation. Brian

That’s a 28% difference.....something had to be on dangerous side. I would tend to with what the people that make them says fits. Sparky The "people that make them" only say "up to ZP 190" which isn't terribly specific and leaves a lot of room for the jumper or local rigger to decide what fits. The pilot required a very short closing loop, and I wouldn't keep it as a regular canopy in that rig ... but I never saw it as dangerous. Everything packed up, the pin was tight enough it had to actually be pulled, and the flaps all overlapped properly. It was definitely soft, though. The 150 in that rig fit much nicer, and I would define it as the minimum canopy for the container. But the point was to illustrate that containers can hold more than just the one or two sizes they advertise. Brian

It's pretty well assumed that most rigs can hold three sizes of gear: the "ideal" size, one up, and one down. I have an old Javelin J4 that held a Silhouette 210, Sabre2 190, Triathlon 175, Storm 150, and Pilot 140. The Pilot was a little loose, but not dangerously so. I also have an Infinity I33 made for a 150, and I'm confident I could put a Sil 170 in it, DEFINITELY a Pulse 170, easily an anything-135, probably a good chunk of larger 120s (like a Pilot 117 or Sabre2 120, especially if they have dacron lines), and I'm pretty sure it would be happy with a Velo 111 or similar. Brian

I can't speak for the R-bird (haven't flown one in years), but for your listed goals I'd say the P3 is a better choice than the G3. I'm your same size and weight, and I found the P3 to be much more responsive and agile than the G3 with no problems keeping up with 95% of the flocks out there. I haven't jumped one yet, but I've heard really good things about the Havok. Brian

I put about 750 jumps on a Storm 150 loaded at 1.6, most of them wingsuit jumps. I love it, and I've heard they're great at 1.8 as well (from talking to friends loaded like that). Landings are nice and easy in wind from 0-30 mph, straight-in toggles up to 270 front risers. Dunno about more than that. I think in those 750 jumps I've had one instance of line twists, which were easily cleared. Brian

Also report it stolen in the USPA Stolen Gear database: http://www.uspa.org/NewsEvents/StolenGear/tabid/127/Default.aspx Brian

I don't know the situations you've seen, but based on my experience: Most people giving this advice have seen the rookie land and have observed him not finishing the flare. Most rookies aren't jumping canopies that stall so suddenly they can't be flared completely. Those who *are* jumping such canopies might just be DGITs and tend to ignore sensible advice. Even moderately loaded (1.5+) canopies I've seen seem to continue flying for a bit when flared all the way or held in deep brakes. To address your other bit, stalling a canopy can be quite useful on a moderately breezy day and you want to collapse your canopy once you're fully stopped on the ground. Much easier than fighting the wind. Brian

I'd be interested in pictures of the cutaway setup when you get the chance. Brian

I had about 650 jumps on my P2 when I upgraded to a P3. I thought it was a pretty significant jump in performance. Brian

I'm definitely curious how the swift flies compared to a phantom3 ... belly, flocks, performance, float, speed, acro, flips and shit, barrel rolls, backfly, transitions, hand docks, foot docks, rodeos, power, acceleration, agility, etc. Brian

If you changed the main order, why not change the container order? "Hey , I changed my main to a Spectre 190 with 550 dacron lines. Do I need to go one size up for my container too, or will that work?" and then either go one size up on your container (since it's new, not used, and you therefore have this option) or not, if it'll still fit. Brian

Agreed. I'm kinda curious why this isn't shown more often to struggling new packers. Brian

Hang out *AFTER* jumping and talk to the packers, fun jumpers, instructors, and riggers about packing. Brian

If you e-mail VSE, they may just send you the dimensions. I know they've sent me the CAD drawing for one of their D-Bags one time. Brian

If your profile's correct, I'm sure there's *SOMEONE* close-ish to your size at one of the numerous DZs there who wingsuits and might be able to help you borrow. And if that doesn't work out, by all means try renting something. Brian

I feel almost the same way, only I upgraded from a P2 to a P3 last year and LOVED it. Brian

Probably because it doesn't work that way. A 100lb person in a P3 is flying a smaller suit than a 200lb person in a P3. A 100lb person in an X3 might have a smaller suit than a 200lb person in an R-bird. You don't get to say Colugo = 15 sq ft, Swift = 8 sq ft like you can with canopies. A more equivalent comparison is Petra vs Storm vs Triathlon rather than wingloading. Even though a 100lb jumper can load a Velo 120 at 1:1 doesn't make it an appropriate first canopy. Likewise a 220lb novice wingsuiter shouldn't be in an S-bird. Brian

Do you mean something like this: http://www.phoenix-fly.com/products/product_overview? Granted, that's Phoenix Fly specific, but it sounds like exactly what you ask. Click on the suit's "Product Details" link to get a description of what they recommend as bare minimums. Brian

This is where I'll jump in. I had a 240 mile drive to the DZ. I made over 200 jumps last year. As for your comments about the coach ... nothing prevents you from talking to the coach and asking about just doing a 2-way with you, or giving the coach your plan for the jump and asking him to observe and debrief you on it after the jump. Brian

Thanks! I couldn't get Icarus' website to load earlier. Now what I'm curious about, is to compare similar pack volume (since there's no "the same") reserves for airspeed with brakes stowed. Example: PR143, OP160, NANO160?, Speed 170?, all with a 200lb suspended weight ... what are their relative airpseeds? Which one will pound you in hardest unconscious? Which one will pound you in least hard? Brian

Icarus announced a release date of Sept 1st. Any had an opportunity to handle one of these or have information on them? Brian