ianmdrennan

No worries, glad you got something good out of the post. I wish I could give you more useful info on the cobalt, but I've never jumped one (Something I plan to change as soon as someone at the dz gets one). You may want to private message, or address them in the topic header, Ramon(Sponsored now by them I believe) or CobaltDan (Works for Altair) for Cobalt specific questions. Have fun. Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hey Chris, The other gentleman was Andy Anderson and was taken at the New England Red Bull swoop contest in Lebanon Maine. It's still unclear as to what he was thinking/doing but from 2nd hand accounts he says he missed his rear risers. Also looks like there was target fixation, but it's easy to be a critic when we aren't in the situation so I can't really say for sure. Hopefully he'll shed some light (He posts here too) on the situation for us in the future. It's really quite something that he walked away from that. Moral of the story - Don't try this at home :) Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Well any elliptical will "cross steer". A lot of the oversteer a pilot feels in due to shifting in the harness. This shifting can either exagerate or dull the oversteer. At 1.5 to 1 you should be able to easily do some harness turns which you can use to counteract the over steer on any canopy. Here's the blurb from the Velocity manual: Hope this helps. Be safe and take it slow. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Chris, Thanks for the concern but he's fine. That happened almost 2 years ago now - Just rattled around what was already loose in his noodle :) Brian was jumping a sabre 120 at the time and had one of the local packers pack it for him (A regular occurance). Guess it was just his unlucky day. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Dunno about the "I'd prefer a bag lock". My reserve opened about, if not harder, than you described. I couldn't walk properly for 2 weeks and my back was seriously screwed up. But hey - gotta look at the bright side - at least something opened...right :) Sorry to hear you had a cracker, in fact heres a link to someone who had one and got it on video :) It's called Sabre Smackdown http://www.freekfly.com/video/. They guy involved took a huge chip outta his Hawkeye chin piece from slamming it into his j-suit zipper - ZOINKS! Blue skies and heal up. Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Wish I had an answer for you. I spoke to Lyle about 2-3 weeks ago and he said it was supposed to be released mid march.......well.....I haven't heard anything yet either. To tell you the truth, I'm not impressed so far. Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Couldn't have said it better myself. Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Just about any canopy is unstable in turbulence. Any ram air parachute will become unstable when the air is disturbed, it's just a matter of how much (type of disturbance and how dramatic it was). I really don't believe underloading a stilletto will make it more prone to the effects of turbulence, but I'd just chat to someone from PD if you have concerns about it - they'll be able to give a better answer than most of us here. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

I don't own a spectre but like to jump as many canopies as possible so I can give "somewhat" intellegent advise when asked about them. A friend of mine has 2 spectre 120's so I took one for a flip at the end of last season....interestingly enough it surged like no other on opening - almost like I'd put the canopy on the edge of a stall and then let go of both toggles (but more violent than I could accomplish on toggles)...no turn, not hard just weird. He assured me this has never happened to him before so I took it for another jump - no issues this time. Go figure, but at least you know you're not alone :) Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hook, While I'm sure Andy is the most aware of what was going on (and I'd be interested to hear what he says about the incident), my thoughts, after watching the actual video multiple times including set up, lead towards target fixation. Not sure if you can see it clearly in the web vid but he hangs on the fronts till just above the tree line and then appears to get on the rears right before impact. It's almost as though he just wasn't aware of how low he was and was still going throught the "normal" routine. Thoughts? Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Re: Andy Anderson...this was shot at the Lebanon ME swoop meet last year. http://www.freekfly.com/video/ be warned...it's not pretty. Blue skies and safe swoops Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Stay away from shoes/boots with those hooks on them too :) Performance Designs Factory Team

Well, Here goes the good, the bad and the ugly. You can take a horse to the water but you can't make it drink. Make sure you have medical insurance and I sure hope I never have to read about you in parachutist. Whomever sold you that canopy....well....I certainly hope that your actions under a canopy they sold you never have to weigh on their mind. It's their responsibility as well to make sure they aren't selling something totally inappropriate. I've seen NUMEROUS cases of people hurting themselves under gear they bought before they were ready cause "it was a good deal" - don't be another! ASK people at the dz (who actually know what they're talking about) to watch you fly the canopy when you begin to use it. LISTEN to what they have to say - if someones says you're going to hurt yourself...well you probably are so don't go all gung-ho. REMEMBER landing into the wind isn't worth dying for. If you're ever faced with that decision make SURE you have enough altitude to complete the turn, otherwise prepare appropriately. PRACTISE flat turns, toggle turns, harness turns, riser turns so you can apply that knowledge appropriately and instinctively if you're ever in trouble. FLY your canopy until you have completely stopped. Just cause you can put your feet down doesn't mean you should (Most people stop flying their canopy the second their feet touch the ground). SET yourself goals for progressions. I.e. Accuracy, consistency, etc PFL if you have to....it could save a lot more than you realize. Can't jump for a while if you break your legs (or worse) Good luck and be careful. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Had a Michigan, flite suite and firefly. So far I like the firefly best. Not the mention the customer service is outstanding. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Orange did 2 loads that I know of yesterday. Me...well...I'll wait for it to warm up a bit. See you @ safety day. Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Tim, Come out to Orange, MA this year. Most of us old BP people are migrating there. Twin otter :).......much jumpy jumpy.... Hope to see you there, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

awesome fellas - thx for the info. Well I've pre-ordered it....just need something to get me through the last bit of this crappy N.E winter :) Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Anyone have "out of the blue"? I see a link on the website for the DVD and was wondering if it's up for grabs or if it's pre-order? Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

It's ok to disagree. Debate is generally what helps us find the correct answer. In response the to 50-75 range....well....all I'm trying to say is that while, yes, they will "probably be ok", is it worth the probably? Maybe I'm getting to conservative but I'd rather people err on the side of caution. That is all. Thanks for your input. Blue skies and safe swoops, Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Ummm yeah - those fatality statistics don't mean a thing. I mean almost none of the fatalities in 2002 year were in the 300-500 jump range and under small canopies..... Riiiiiiiiight. I enjoy not being regulated. To keep that freedom, we "experienced" jumpers have a RESPONSIBILITY to guide those working their way up, otherwise it'll just end up being another freedom that is stripped away because of peoples irresponsibility. Blue skies Ian Fly your canopy....don't let you canopy fly you Performance Designs Factory Team

Agreed. Can't agree with you there. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that they might not be fine, instead I'm saying why take that chance. There's no reason that someone with 28 or even 50 (more in most cases) jumps should be on a 135. Of course I have no idea on how well the person in question may fly their canopy. I only have my own experience around the dz and otherwise to draw on. But, really, why even consider that size canopy unless they're going to be going for high(er) performance landings, and even then they should hold off for quite some time before venturing into that realm - there's just so much that people don't know about their canopy that they could learn on safe(er) larger gear. Buying gear just cause it's a good deal is almost certainly a recipe for disaster. Figuring out that maybe you should have gotten the bigger canopy just as you're about to hit the side of a house in someones backyard is not the time to come to that realization. When I bought my velocity I really wanted a 90. I know I could land it just fine....what I don't KNOW is if I could put it down in someones backyard - in any condition that I'd jump in....pretty sure, but not positive, and that's enough for me to go bigger and eat the cost of downsizing later if I decide to. Personally I've never seen such a good skydiving gear deal that it's worth killing myself over. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Implying it's a good choice, intentionally or not. Yes 1:1 on a 160 not a 135 - Big difference there and that is my point. Maybe I just feel more strongly about jumpers who haven't the skills being on small canopies - Personally I'm tired of watching people frap in unnecessarily, especially when I see smaller people downsizing to get the 1:1 ratio when they can hardly land their 150. Any 135 canopy is a HP canopy - it may have different characteristics to other canopies out there but it's still going to dive, and fast, when you turn. Rental gear.....well once the cost of rental gear starts to add up it wouldn't surprise me if the temptation to jump the 135 took over, but who knows. I'm just saying remove the temptation factor. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

umm no. 8 jumps and a 135 is not a good choice - not matter what the wingloading. Check out PD's website of loading charts and comparisions that 1:1 fails to apply with small canopies. My wife (115 pounds) made her first 100 + jumps on a 170 then move to a 150 for a few and then finally to her 135 Sabre2....ALL closely supervised. The rules were simple - Land safely. Follow a landing pattern. Make 25 landings in a ROW in various conditions standing up - falling over meant starting again. Learn the canopy, practise (up high) flat turns, riser turns on so on. Land accurately. At the time she complained that her friends were "progressing" to smaller canopies before her. Almost all have hurt themselves in one way or another (at least one seriously) and now she's a better pilot and handles conditions far better than the "advanced" friends. Now I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but it worked for her. You need to ask the staff at the dropzone who know, far better than any of us, your canopy skills. I don't believe for a second that any jumper out there with 8 jumps could land a 135 (or bigger for that matter) safely in all directions, conditions and in someones back yard. Ask RESPECTED staff but remember to take all advice with a grain of salt. This is no game, get it wrong and you could very well end up dead. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

Hi All, Although the question above has already been answered I was wondering if I'm the only one out there who gets really pissed when the "if it's loaded 1:1 it's ok" gets brought up? We had a 100 pound woman, with about 100 jumps or less, at our dropzone be told by various "well respected" staff and jumpers that buying a 120 would be ok cause it was less than 1:1. Personally I think the 1:1 wingloading argument loses validity as the canopy gets smaller...a 120 is still a 120, and remember not too long ago a 107 was one of the smallest canopies on the market...anyway I digress. After many heated arguments with them (and some quiet time with her on the side), she was convinced to get the 120, against my better judgement. 3 weeks later she was in hospital and a fair bit shorter, after jumping on a windy day with a bad spot and hammered herself into the ground trying to do a 180 into the wind (why people are so scared of a plf I'll never know). Doc's recon she'll limp for the rest of her life and skydivers on hand recon she's damn lucky to be alive. So, my question/point, am I off my rocker or are people just becoming desensitized by smaller canopies? I guess I think I'm just starting to see a mindset of a 120/135 isn't considered small cause of the pocket rockets out there. Something else too.....why get a 120/135 if a 150 is working just fine for you and you don't swoop, it just doesn't make any sense to me. O well, enough of that rant....just wanted to get it out of my system. Blue skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team

A buddy of mine and I recently bought 3 velocities from Pier Ltd because we'd both had great purchasing experiences with them before. Personally I've tried buying some stuff through other dealers but have never been as happy with the service and promtness that Pier Ltd has given me. Blue Skies Ian Performance Designs Factory Team