webracer

Most chest strap hardware is rated at 500lbs load. Your chest strap should not cause a premature deployment if your rig fits right and has the proper reserve ripcord. You shouldn't use the chest strap to buckle into the plane (500lb load max), use your harness (my pet peeve). Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I have seen some jumpers (on video) wearing what seems to be armored pants (knee pads and such built in). Does anyone have any info, seems easier than knee pads, and less bulky. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I don't really read the waiver anymore. I accept responsibility for my own actions excepting very extreme cases of dishonesty, assault, or gross neglegence. I accept that I can die due to no fault of my own, the nature of the beast. Neat thing about BASE, there are no waivers! Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Sorry to pipe back in, but the bad press actually helped SDC, as the tandems went up. Funny how people flock to danger. This is the perception, since there was no way to actually guage the damage, and the economy was failing, but the tandem business continued fairly strong. This comment reflects my opinion. Sorry also to get off topic, but that's the way the thread is going. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Really the skydiver rarely sues anyhow, it is the family. The family doesn't understand, they didn't sign the waiver (and per the courts, the deceased cannot sign away a child or family rights). Just bantering, I think we all pretty much agree, some more extreme than others. The waiver gives the DZ everything and the skydiver nothing. Actually, almost all contracts start one-sided. The waiver says they can be negligent, the law says they can't. Guess who'll win. My money's on the most pitiful one (the dead one). No more arguments from me, I've said my PEACE. I can see suing, but I cannot guarantee my family won't. You can blame me when I'm gone. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

billvon, you are right, 100%, technically. What I am talking about is the real world. I dated a young law student (who became a lawyer while we were dating) for some time (some time ago), and we argued (for fun) on quite few occasions about the law and reality. She knew the law, by the book, better than I could ever hope (or want) to. I knew the world, what really happens, despite what the book (or waiver) says. Bottom line is that we sign the waivers so we can jump. If you disagree with the waiver, you can't jump. My family has strict instructions not to sue, I cannot ever forsee suing, but never say never. I don't believe in holding others responsible for my own mistakes (although sometimes I do blame them verbally). If, however, I was lied to or intentionally misled, the case changes. skybytch states that she feels responsible to know whether the plane is airworthy or not. My problem is expertise in that area. I am pretty much on the ball with lots of things, but turbines and many things to do with aircraft I do not know, nor should I expect to know. The DZs put the language in the waiver because they can, that doesn't mean it will be upheld. It is just slightly a better investment for them than a lottery ticket. Something is better than nothing. That waiver will be upheld if the DZ did it's part to prevent the incident. Even though they say they don't have to, the courts will likely find differently. Someone else made the comment that they don't want a jury deciding their case, but the jury is your best bet, they will be quite sympathetic. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

These waivers do hold up well in court, relatively. The problem is that you cannot sign away your rights if gross negligence is involved. The waivers mostly ensure that if all other things are normal, you cannot sue. If the DZO neglects the plane, and hides that fact from the skydivers (also the FAA), you can sue, and will probably win. Problem is that you can't get blood out of a turnip, and most DZOs have the business (actually conglomerate of businesses) set up like a turnip. I'd only sue if they misled me unfairly or lied to me in order to make a profit. In these cases, the waiver might as well be toilet paper. You can put whatever you want in the waiver but that doesn't mean a judge has to uphold it. It still follows precedent and general rules (and practices) of law. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I don't feel the Velocity is an "occasional" canopy. The airspeed guys, and others that do lots of jumps, may consider occasional as 4-500 jumps/year of their 2000+ Otherwise, either commit to the Velo for most of your skydiving needs, or give up the idea. I have chosen crossbraced, and I want to jump them whenever possible to be current and comfortable. I do want big landing areas though. Keep jumping your Velo, you will like it more and more, but get ready for some seeking. Also, stalling is a bad idea, if you have to push that envelope, do it high, it may yield it unrecoverable in line twists. Also, just let it rock a bit, not fold. It is deceiving, as it does not fold as quickly as a normal canopy, so you feel you can induce the stall a bit longer. Then once you realize your error, you may be landing under F111 (hopefully) Good luck Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

You don't have to fire up the battery to prolong it's life. Don't worry. Just make sure it is on prior to your jumps. On the old cypres the battery voltage would drop if stored for a while, but then after a few cycles on/off, the battery voltage would return. Your cypres2 doesn't show voltage (to my knowledge), but if the voltage is low, you will get an error, or it will shut off. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I'm planning on it, and am registered. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Followup: I got ahold of Jim, explained my needs and he suggested the Quest http://www.proswoopingtour.com/Questpage.html Check it out, I decided to do it. One week of training from PD and Icarus' factory team pilots. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Go with the latest. Used cypres 1 units are quite expensive (the cypres 2 bumped up the used prices). I just put one up on the classifieds and it went in hours (should have priced it higher...ugh!) I'm putting a cypres 2 in my new rig. Bottom line is if you have a cypres, keep it, but if you're buying, get the new one. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I have decided to spend my annual training budget on canopy training instead of my usual tunnelcamp. I cannot find info on Slaton's camp run out of Perris. Couldn't find it on Perris's website either. Any help is appreciated. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Ask Manifest. There should be a low-time organizer at Perris. I know we have them at SDC. I also often just get on loads and find a jumping partner at the ramp (usually a quite inexperienced jumper). Also, make friends with another low-timer, and do some jumps with him/her. Regular Load organizers really come at a more experienced level. You should be looking for four-way or less. If you don't have any luck at Perris, go to Elsinore. Otherwise, come to SDC, I'll do some jumps with you (basically free coaching), I do it all the time. Good luck Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

One of the biggest reasons that higher performance canopies are not recommended for lesser-experienced persons is not that they are not landable, it is that they react very quickly and with little forgiveness. This means that even a moderate turn done low can lose twice the altitude that a square can. 1.6:1 is a high wingloading, which greatly increases this characteristic. I could put an AFP grad of ours on a Velocity and if they follow the flight skills and flight plan we have taught them, they can land it without injury. The problem is when they encounter any type of hazard, or start modifying the flight plan in the sky. If they drift off course, then make a correction that is too extreme, they can be on the ground before they know it. Another thing that they would not expect is harness control. Harness shift has little if any effect on lightly loaded square or tapered canopies. On highly loaded canopies, it can be significant, and could contribute to CFIG if the operator doesn't realize it. (ie: My toggles were both up but I still turned into the ground) Many new users explain this characteristic as the canopy having a built-in turn, which is not the case. Hope this helps... my advice, keep him off the Katana. If you want to take it further, call PD and tell them of your case, they will not sell him the Katana if his experience level is not comesurate. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I had similar openings on my VX and other crossbraced. The end cells would fly toward each other, leaving the center cells without airflow to inflate. Eventually it would inflate, but all the time the p/c was dancing on the topskin, waiting to go over the nose, bowtying the canopy. My fix was to pull the center cells out a couple inches prior to wrapping the tail. I felt due to the short cord, when the tail was wrapped, the end cells were pulled out infront of the center nose. I still use this technique on my Xaos/Velocity. I quit using the VX due to the pack volume. Maybe I'll go back if I lose some weight (probably won't happen) so I can jump a smaller VX that will fit in my containers. The VX was a blast to fly. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Most skydivers are independently wealthy, or have wealthy parents. Seriously though, lots have quite sufficient means, many more learn quite young, and probably steal the funds from their college finances (provided by mom&dad in most cases). It really isn't that expensive to learn and get gear. $2500 will get you your license in most places, and another $3000 will get you some good used gear. It used to cost me more than that for one weekend racing (luckily my sponsors covered most of that). It also used to be even cheaper for women. Two reasons contributing: 1. They actually listen and jump without ego, thus learning faster, and 2. After the 7 jump AFF program they had people lining up to jump with them (most of them anyway), which provided coaching that men had to pay for, or do more jumps to learn. Life's so tough Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Other: During a base camp run by a fellow skydiving instructor with 750 or so BASE jumps. The course was at a bridge in ID, and myself and another skydiver did around 30 jumps each in a week. Price: $850 for instruction and gear usage Extra: Travel, hotel, food Total: $1500 and I left with 29 jumps under my belt, doing some stowed from 486, and 3.5s delays (ouch, but fun). Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Just got back last night. What a great boogie. Mostly SDC folks there, but I know next year will bring many representing other DZs. The beach was fab! Great landing area, great views, great place to spend a week in the dead of winter. Now I'm tan, but freezing! Look for a parachutist article (not guaranteed), and stuff on www.skydivechicago.com soon. You won't want to miss it next year, I know I wont miss it! Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

in general you are right. I have the option of 4 or 6 pin on desktop, but on my laptop, I only have 4 pin. I buy Sony brand (or JVC, sony makes their cables) cables, but I buy them in Japan, HongKong, or Seoul for about $12 each, instead of the $40 they want here or in Europe. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

They were playing that in bars frequently when I was in England and France the past 3 weeks. Pretty funny. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I had a VX 114 in a Mirage M1. I also had a 136 Samurai in that container. Your 109 should fit in any container that will fit a 135sqft 9 cell zp. It will be tough to pack at first though, all that fabric makes it very slippery. Good luck. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I read that in the CSC newsletter. What great news. Farmer is a great rigger and will be quite an asset to the DZ and the Chicagoland community. Welcome back Jim! I'm sure I'll see you this summer. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

Jen, Should have asked earlier. I have both manuals, and I'd loan them to you. Unfortunately I'm on my way to Europe today for a month. If you can wait till I return, I'll loan them to you for shipping costs. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.

I have two merlin RW suits (one comp, one Procomp)and one Merlin FF suit. I have just ordered another Merling RW suit. I have lots of jumps on the suits, and they are still in great condition. The FF suit is getting a bit worn due to contact with the velcro at the ankles, and the procomp suit (newest RW suit) has a couple holes that just developed in one bootie sole (I'll fix it soon). My past experience with them is so-so. The RW suits were quite late, and I heard lots of excuses. They did get to me by my final deadline, and Christine went quite out of the way on the FF suit to make up for the RW suit delays. I wish the other purchases were a better experience, but the suits are tops, and I just ordered a new procomp from her. customer service in skydiving generally sucks, get used to it. Troy I am now free to exercise my downward mobility.