blakeman

I'm curious about the Infinity issues myself: having managed two dropzones that used Infinities exclusively for their student and rental operations, I wasn't aware of any significant problems. Having put a few thousand jumps (personally) on my two infinities, I just received my third one and I cannot possibly be happier with it. As for the customer service, I find it peerless. I have been skydiving professionally since the mid-90's, and I can tell you that skydiving companies are extremely hard-pressed to deliver the customer service that Americans expect in the whuffo world. Without exception, Kelly and his people are the only skydiving-industry personnel I have never had a problem with. If you are considering a rig purchase, you would not regret doing business with those guys at VSE. Having sent them tens and tens of thousands of dollars, I don't regret a single penny.

Skydive San Diego is hosting a Cinco De Mayo Boogie on May 5-7! Skydives are only $13/jump, and we will be having two Super Otters, 1 Caravan, and an A-Star for lift. (the helicopter jumps are not $13, though!) The usual boogie antics will apply, of course - load organizers, beer and bbq, etc. but you can also WIN 100 FREE JUMPS TOO! Registration is $25 if you pre-register with an email at [email protected], otherwise its $50 on the day of the boogie - so let us know early! Check out www.skydivingboogies.com for our slick new ad!

What? Saturday Night Sunset BBQ When? Feb 25 Where? Skydive San Diego Why? 'Cause you're hungry when you're done jumping. How much? FREE - just bring your own libations.

They make an insert that slips between the tire and tube that is guaranteed against punctures - its called Green Slime or something. I rode for two months in Baja and never had a leak, and trust me, there are freaking millions of thorns there. It's good shit. I got 'em from REI.

I had a guy come up from Australia a few years ago to do tandems for me. He looked older than dirt. Jesus, but he was old. Must have been 200, at least. He gave me hope, let me tell ya... He was a pro. His name was Des, and last I heard he was still doing tandems in Singapore. Then again, being from Australia, he could have been a sundried 25 year old... Still, I'm pretty sure he was 200.

Yeah baby! Cabo! Surf the west side, kite the east side, and jump the middle! Count me in. I'll see you in a couple weeks!

I have jumped a Stiletto 97 for years now, and the C99 is a very comparable canopy. The first thing I noticed, when packing, was that it has a differential line set. Each line group has different line lengths, as opposed to all of them being the same. Instead of the parachute being arced over your head, it is fairly flat with only the wingtips being drooped for more lift. I trimmed my Stiletto like that over a year ago and noticed a radical inprovement in the lift and glide. Openings are great of course. They are a little more progressive than the ST97. The Stiletto tends to snivel for a while and then whack! the slider comes down fast. The Crossfire snivels for at least as long, but the slider comes down slowly - three cheers from a cameraflyer! The glide is flat and shouldn't be too stressful on long spots. The input range is longer than the Stiletto - it requires significantly more input to get the same response, but the trade off is obvious when you flare. Mine is trimmed to manufacturer brake settings which allow me to flare all the way to full arm extension - this puts me hovering at a stall (the Stiletto stalls when the toggles hit the chest strap, and wickedly at that.) Stall recovery on the Crossfire was nice, without too much line slack, but be careful anyway! The stock brake setting makes the flare feel way deeper than you Stiletto pilots might be used to, but in a full-on deep front riser turn, the brake lines are taut, but the canopy is flat and unencumbered by any tail deflection. When swooping, don't be afraid to keep flaring - it flares really deep and really slows down! When you set your brakes, make sure the mark is on the canopy side of the knot! The Crossfire dives more than the Stiletto with a longer recovery arc. Front riser pressure is moderate and the speed builds nicely. The canopy carves down as opposed to the quick snap-around of a Stiletto, so you won't get the instant directional change, but you do build some groovy speed. Toggle turns are not as sharp, so if you are up dog-fighting a Stiletto guy, you may want to take a wrap for the close combat stuff. Stiletto pilots will miss that quick recovery, but will learn to love the build-up more. The Crossfire was not as sensitive to harness input as the Stiletto, but at higher loading it might be, I am loaded at 1.9. All in all, an excellent canopy. Buy one, you'll dig it.