NiteQwill

If Sergio is on here somewhere he can tell you his experience with ZPX. I jumped with someone overseas for a bit that was able to stuff a Pilot 168 in a container made for a 190-210, if that tells you anything. YMMV. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

This is not meant as a flame but just an observation on my part. At 32 jumps, if your profile is correct, you should be working on perfecting you basic RW skills, i.e. belly fling. And at 32 jumps you should not be giving advice to other jumpers on how to do any type of flying. Particularly when your advice is wrong. As I said, not a flame just my opinion. Sparky You never know, some folks may be tunnel rats. I would give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Someone at my DZ has hundreds (if not thousands) of tunnel time and can can freefly with the best of them. With that said, he's also an excellent belly flyer. They only have 40-50 jumps. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

I wouldn't miss this! Helo jumpssssss! "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Check out the videos on YouTube with Niklas Daniel. He does a great explanation of learning how to backfly. If you have access to tunnel time, it may save you $$$ on jump tickets in the long run. I agree with the dip your shoulder technique, it's how I learned. Eventually, you'll be able to use your limbs too. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

I guess we're both wrong... Pull, pull at correct altitude, and pull stable. SIM Section 4 Cat. C (I was confusing reserve priorities I guess, which is pull regardless of getting stable or not) "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Just remember pull priorities: Pull, Pull on time, Pull at the right altitude. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Never used them, but from what riggers have told me, don't double stow a tube stow or you can cause a bag lock. True or not, I'm sure someone more experienced will chime in. I figure milspec bands are so plentiful and cheap that I just use them exclusively. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Are you kidding? You should be thinking you'll have a gear malfunction on every jump. Complacency kills. +1 Practice EP before every jump. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Like diablopilot says, Lodi doesn't really care. Just show up with your rig and money in hand to manifest and you can jump. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

A Spectre is great as a first canopy. It treated me very well. Opens nicely, on-heading, and provided great landings. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Thanks for the reply. Yea, I had the same problem with my Spectre while it was still in new condition. Damn that slippery fabric! I guess more practice and I should be golden "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Picked up a recently relined [by Brian Germain] Lotus Max from Serg, and with a little help from some riggers, got it attached and flying. First, this canopy is great in flight! Over my last canopy, Spectre, this canopy just brought smiles to my face the whole 4 minutes after a hop-n-pop. My question: Any tips on packing an airlocked canopy? I've been packing since I was a student and other than the usual packing-blues on a hot day, it has been noneventlful. For the first time ever, I had to ask a packer to help me out! I just couldn't get the damn thing in the bag without it inflating on me. Tips? Help? Thanks to Serg for the service, the riggers/packers at Elsinore for the help with attachment for a totally clueless jumper, and Brian for making a great canopy! "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Haven't people died "waiting" to pull their reserve? The sooner, the better, especially if you are at/near/below your hard deck. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

FWIW, I had about 5-6 lines twists on my first jump today. I tried the method of squeezing vs. pulling and I seemed to be out of the twists pretty quickly and without kicking. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Talking to your packer after/during the malfunction just made me laugh. I wish to be that calm. My first 8-10 line twists I was more along the lines of, "WTF?!? Ok, (alti) I got time. DAMNIT! Untwist bitch!!" Great video! "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Falling out of a plane/balloon/helo/whatever is always the first and easiest to master. If you don't master that, the sport isn't for you! "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

1800" "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Woohoo! Congrats! I jump at Elsinore, too! Great DZ. Maybe I'll see you there. Planning to jump next Monday & weekend. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

I know a lot of folks who jump with oakley minutemen, square fives, etc. I've never heard of any problems unless you wear contacts. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Have you ever seen a band break at the attachment point? Generally, the band is pulled so tight against the attachment point from multiple packings that it tends to lose the stretch at at the point. Now pack multiple times (double or single stowing), friction and wear from the lines and packing weaken the the band to the point where the band actually breaks away from the attachment point. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Because a band tends to break above the attachment point, not AT the attachment point. With that said, I double stow all my locking stows and other stows. I too use Spectra line. Most people I've jumped with do the same, as well as the packers at my DZ (unless they use the black bands). When I run out, I will probably buy smaller mil-spec bands and single stow and see how it works from there. "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

What? You haven't been on a bikini dive yet? "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Bravo to the both of you and your quick thinking. Superb! But, serious question... So who buys the beer? "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett

Just keep doing it. I was frustrated as hell when I started packing. I have now packed every chute since I was a student, including my own gear. I went from taking almost an hour packing to about a few minutes. The worst part was getting it into the D-bag but after learning some tricks from packers and riggers, I have no issues. Just wait until you start packing a brand NEW canopy... you'll be cursing to high hell.... "Fail, fail again. Fail better." -Samuel Beckett