ianmdrennan

We have plenty of Sabre2's at our DZ. None of them show any signs of reacting worse to turbulence than any other canopy at the dz. As for front riser input, the brake lines are normally set shorter for "regular" jumpers which causes the poor front riser performance. Simply lengthen the brakes until there is no buckling when pulling down a front riser. Scott Miller actually competed and didn't do too badly at all under a Sabre2 at the Ranch pond swooping (2 years ago I believe). Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Nig rig - shitty company. I have the Vortex II and have been jumping it for a couple of years now. Only complaint is that it's extremely tight to close and the above mentioned service. If you can handle the poor customer service it'll treat you well. That said I hear that the Vortex II prices have gotten so high that the rig price is comparable to US gear....in which case I'd chose something along those lines, better manufactured and better service (depending on who of course). As for the reserve - I had an absolute BANGER on my terminal ride but it held up great so no complaints there. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Well in that case I'd say either will do. They're both good canopies (although the xfire got a bad name from a bad batch of canopies) and Canuck pretty much summed up the differences between them, but I'd add that the stiletto is more sensitive to body position on opening. Jump them both if you can and make up your mind which suits your flying style better. Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

what would you like to do with the canopy? Performance Designs Factory Team

I agree 100% - he gave some very good advice that translated well to canopy pilots of all levels. Cost was $25 a jump I believe - can't really beat that. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I'd recommend pumping the rear risers (gently), as I do on my velocity who's slider is always taking it's time to come down, instead of pumping the brakes because it gets a lot harder (and things get much faster) with the canopy in full flight to get the slider. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

My wife jumped one for her first 100+ jumps off student status (170) and was very happy with it. The only complaint was the harder openings, which we're told, is not a normal thing. She flew a sabre 150 for a while afterwards and felt the ZP.exe 170 was a better performer than the sabre 150. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Couple of things to think about with fronts: 1) The faster you're going the harder it is to pull down so pulling them after turns usually doesn't work well

Scott Millers answer: Start at about twice your height. Speed and style of flaring depends on the canopy type. Flare to the "sweet spot" then continue flare as needed (ie speed up or slow down flair). Smaller canopies this does not apply (like my 96) and flare should start higher. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

awesome - thx Performance Designs Factory Team

I'd suggest contacting J.C or the others and asking them. I believe there was a thread not too long ago about a similar topic and it was suggested (Can't remember when though). Have fun, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

heh - hopefully I'm that lucky - but I'm expecting to meet the princess

So if it's a 2 day comp I can dry it out at the end of the 2nd day? How long before mildew starts to develop? Thanks and blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Yep - there's a preview up @ Out Of The Blue Vid Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Do you know how many feet it displays in canopy mode and how accurate they expect it to be? Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi All, I'm thinking of trying out the Redbull swoop contest in SKNE for sh*ts and giggles this july and I'm concerned about water damage to my gear - particularly the reserve. To those of you who do this regularly, are there any particular things I should know about keeping my gear in good shape with water landings (except taking the cypress out

i'd be happy if they'd just release that damn Out Of the Blue DVD. S.L.A.C.K.E.R.S

broke @ 5000 - went flat - dumped @ 3500 - bag lock - went for reserve and was in the saddle by 2500. No headdown reserve deployment :) Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Yeah sounds like mine was unusually hard. I ended up with 2 bruises in the shape of my leg straps under my legs and my back was so sore I was out for 2 weeks from jumping! Ouch.... Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Trust me.....it's a very big ouch

Could be any number of things, but I often find that when this happens it's because the knees are high and not as far apart as they could be so when you lean forward it causes you to "Cannon ball" down. Forward motion - well there are a ton of ways to do this. Th emost effective I've found requires you to push your pelvis slightly forward. This presents your back to the wind more and "automatically" adjusts your legs to the correct position. The last thing to do is then press the legs down slightly to maintain fallrate as the pelvis motion causes your back and legs to grab more air (Motion is somewhat hard to explain in text). Good luck, Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

The video out yet? Performance Designs Factory Team

I'm coming up on 800, have 600 HP landings on a 135 or less and still found Scotts class very informative. Sometimes I had to ask more advanced questions, but he was always willing and able to answer them all. I'd guess the problem with the course is trying to cater to a variety of skill levels at one time, which invariably leads to catering for the lowest common denominator. I can understand the biffing in part - you can't tell everything about a canopy pilot in 5 jumps - I hardly think that's Scotts fault. I'd bet that someone who didn't have good landings for the course learnt more (Not saying you should biff in of course - but rather that if the landing was good there's not a whole lot more someone can say.) Either way at this point you seem to be one of few who didn't benefit, so I'd still recommend the class - regardless of whether someone has 50 jumps or more. It's a pity that it worked out that way, but these things are bound to happen. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Sure, I'll give it a shot. In the meantime check out PD's videos where Heath Richardson does a much more extreme version of the same maneuver. It's hard to see what he is doing but the concept is identical. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I wish. It was on his laptop though and I'm kicking myself for not getting it. I'm sure if you emailed him though asking about it, he'd be happy to email it to you. Sorry .... Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team