Zlew

Moderation and drunk don't go well in the same phrase...... point is understood... but we need to re word it. hehe Z

Heading out today, should be there tomorrow. :) Think i'm going to have a drunk day.....at least one day to get sloppy at breakfast and watch the pretty parachutes instead of fly one. whoohoooo Z

With modern camera set ups, it's not as critical to have a really soft canopy. If you are using mini DV cameras, and or using a side mount set up the forces of your openning are not nearly what they used to be on your head. My batrack with side mount pc5 and canon rebel xs on top weighs 6 lbs loaded, and most of the weight is low on my head. As long as it's not a canopy that smacks you all the time you will be ok. I have 2 stilettos, and they have always treated me well. If you don't like 7 cells...don't get one just for camera. Get a canopy that you like to fly, and with the right set up you will be fine. I love the 9 cell eliptical platform, and there is no way you could ever talk me into anything less based on opennings and camera. Things just are not like they used to be. For the most part you don't see 10 to 15 lb. cameras with all of the weight on top any more. Z

Hummm..... Well, I've taken pics before when my switch broke ( a few times actually) just by reaching up and using my finger as normal. It works, but doesn't work well if the skydive is anything but normal (moving around the sky etc.).... Not the best thing in the world, but you can get a few pics. If you want it to be a real still camera for jumping you really need to find one that has a external shutter relase avalible. I've never seen a canon SLR that didn't....but have never heard of yoru camera. Z

Can I barrow the vice grips? I"ll give um back to you at eloy if you tell me what I'm missing...... if not just smake me over the head with the 1/2 wrench for not getting the joke.... Z

I hope that what they claim is true, and if it is it will be the next big thing and take over the market. However.... I"ll belive it when I see it. I"ve never heard a canopy manufac. be realistic about the performance of their canopy. Hell, read the ad. for the Falcon and you will think it would out fly a stiletto. 3:1 to a stop in no wind, and no sliding.... Sabre class canopies can't do that at 1.3:1. If it's true it will be great, but seems pretty out there. Z

The sabre will do it's job at that wing loading just fine. I've jumped sabres at about 1:7 and they flew very well... (notice i didn't say anything about the opennings......). That seems like a pretty big step to go from a 185 to a 135. It just depends on you man, you might be find, or you might wish you took things a little bit more progressivly. The canopy will do it's part, make sure you do yours. As you increase wing loding everything gets faster and margin for error gets smaller. Don't let murphy (of murphy's law) kick your ass. but as far as the canopy goes, 1.5 is not at all more than the wing can handle for normal (or any) approaches/ landings. Z

Looks like a 9 cell platform by the lines (5 A's per side). I'll call it an 18 cell platform if it makes anyone feel better. Does anyone else find that funny? Sabre, stiletto, crossfire, safire....have always been nine cells with the undertanding there are 2 cells per cell.... and diablo, triathalon, spectre, omega etc have always been just 7 cells. But an FX is a 21 cell (7 cell) and a VX is a 27 cell (same for hte percision canopies). More means better right? hehe whatever. looks interesting. If there are 4 cells per cell.....seems like the pack vol (exp with X brace) would be pretty big. Looks squatty though (lower aspect ratio) might just be the lense. Z

I agree with you My point is that it seems that a lot of people want a quick fix....and there is a lot more to performance than the wing...infact the wing should be secondary...a complement so to speak to the pilot. Another point is that you increase your risk factor and narrow your margin of error when you try to force performance by getting a more aggressive wing than by learning the basics and sharpening your skills. I'm NOT saying people should not go agressive. I just think the focus should be on skills first, and as the skills get there, then let the wings get more aggressive. Do you see what I mean? Z

Last year, they opened Manifest late (and told us all they would)... I think it was 9 or 10 when they openned....... We left that day, but as we were getting the trailer hooked up around noon there were 3 or 4 planes in the air................ Z

Yes and no.... I see a lot of people here with the same mindset as people who like fast stock cars. I'll buy a TransAm because it is .2sec's faster than a mustang in the 0-60.... Many of them don't understand that that is what teh CAR can do, it doesn't mean that is what the driver can make the car do. Put a good driver in a car that is 2 sec's slower the the 1/4 mile next to a novice in the faster car...... guess who wins? People want to have the baddest thing out there and love to be able to think that they have the most high speed shit out there. Which is fine, but the best way to make things high speed in canopies....is to have a skilled pilot. It is true that the BEST canopy BY FAR is the one that you just paid 1400 buck for (in some cases 2300 bucks for.......). there are LOTS of great high performance wings out there. The corssfire is a great canopy (as is the cross2). Did scare the shit out of me once when one tried to fold up on me....... but that's another discussion all together. Z

The origional Poster smells like a lawyer to me... but anyway, a big LZ isn't a requirement. It's nice..but not required. There are things that are requried for tandems....but thats not one of them. Z

F-111 still has a place in the sport...but that place is REALLY small. For someone wanting to get sport gear who isn't into the Tuffett or major demos (i'd still go zp for most demos..) i'd say there is no real good reason to get F-111 anymore. It used to be good for new jumpers because there was TONS of used gear out there for cheap..but ZP has been around so long that you can get plenty of good ZP gear for not much $. Z

I've read a lot of posts in here asking what canopy swoops better...... the Xaos vs. Velocity or VX..... Stiletto vs. Crossfire, etc. etc. etc. In scientific conditions, I'm sure that specific wings will perform better than ohters. However, for %99 of the jumping population I think that the pilot is MUCH more important than the canopy. You have to know how to fly and make a canopy perform if you want it to work. If you surf is screwd up by say...hooking to low, or over inputting your canopy, you are not going to magically get another %20 out of your surf by going from a stiletto to a VX. Surfing is %80 pilot, and 20% canopy. Put me and JC up against each other in a comp. Put him under a Stiletto 150, and me under a VX46 (shudder)...... Pick any combo of canopies you like, and with in reason, I WILL LOSE EVER FUCKING TIME no matter how much better the wing I have is. I would argue that once you get to the point where Wing A, is really going to make a difference in your swoop over Wing B.... You will know it and not have to ask people on a message board. Until then learn how to fly your canopy well and make it perform for you. Most pilots don't get even half of the performance out of their wings.....so getting a wing that has a %3 better swoop potential really isn't the best place to get your performance. just something to think about Z

I don't think you should have to do any "crazy" ((and no a big slider from the manufac isn't a crazy mod)mods to a canopy to make it open well. I sugest buying another canopy before you have someone put pockets on your slider. I'm with Dave.... you shouldn't have to do that sort of stuff. I had a friend who had a "test" Viper that had velcro, yes, velcro to shut the nose for softer openings. If you feel like you have to try shit like that to make a canopy work for you.........I say FUGH DAT! It's true...the video of the Viper openning so hard that it knocked his shoes off....or the one where his helmet came off (caught it upside down) are pretty bad.... but I'd use the thing for a car cover or to start a fire with before I had the Manufac. send me one with velcro on the nose! Jaime, I hope it is just out of trim. and uh....I'll jump it a little later.... hop n pop maybe.........hehe Z

I"ve found the swoops to be very smilar, and in toggle (any kind realy) turns the cross fire flies about 2 sizes biger compared to a Stiletto. I'ts pretty trucky until you really load it up. Z

E L O Y Z

No flame taken. I didn't think that was his problem, just pointing out that I screwed up badly with a simple setting once. If you shoot with night shot durring the day, you dont' get any real image at all.... total white/green-out. Only seen one PC 7 (and it was from Hong Kong...no english on it). Camera was a little before my time Plastic lense? that kinda sucks. Oh well Z

I've never heard of or seen a dcr pc8. Z

make sure your backlight isn't on, or that you accidently messed with some of the exposure settings. Does it look bad only on your camera, or on a TV too? (could just be the screen contrast/bright setting). I shot a tandem video with nightshot on once (durring the day)...... bad things man..........bad things..... Z

I knew I could count on you Dave (even though you are an aggie ) We will have to have a beer together at Eloy at some point. Z

well.... not really. there are 2 basic ways to hit when you don't mean to by being deep in the corner. If you are almost planed out, then you just "skip" with most of your movement still being forward, but you pop up a few feet. If you are real deap and you smack, you bounce up, and almost all of your fwd speed is gone. You will land very close to where you hit most of the times. All that energy was spent breaking bones and shooting femurs out of your ass. Bounce...skip,....the same but differnt i guess. haha Z

To see a practial demo of how unloading works, and how you can manage or screw up the ratio of lift from a canopy and weight put upon the canopy (vs the ground),.... think about this. Have you ever seen someone who was deep in the corner on landing and hit the ground, but they were not so deep in the corner that they femured? You know, when they "skip" by hitting the ground when they didn't mean to but their angle of attack was flat enough to keep them from really gettin hurt and the canopy takes them back up in the air a few feet...and then come back down. Their wing is hauling ass and has a ton of airspeed (airspeed=lift..thus is producing a lot of lift), then when they hit they put a big portion of their weight on the ground...too much weight on the ground. Now the canopy is making tons of lift, but has no weight on the wing (all on the ground)...so the canopy goes UP until it re-equilizes, planes out, and comes back down (usually into a nasty spill). Z

I think I am following you here... and the answer is a BIG YES!!! I really need a few beers to talk about all of this, but the basics behind unloading a canopy is this: Lift=weight when you are surfing level. As you slow, your lift decreases (airspeed=lift) so you give more input (usually toggles) to change the wing to convert more airspeed into lift and keep sufring. Most people keep doing this until they are at full input. HOwever, on any canopy that is even moderatly loaded, it can not produce enough lift to keep you level at slow speed (even say 5/6mph)...thus you can't STOP the canopy, you have to take a few steps. On smaller canopies it will stop generating enough lift to keep you level (in no wind condition) at a high enough speed that you have to RUN like hell at the end of your landing(in most cases) . I"m sure you have seen this plenty of times. So what if while you are surfing and the canopy starts to slow down to the point where it has to decend, you put some weight on the ground with your feet (knees, whatever). Now the canopy doesn't have to produce as much lift to keep flying level. To make a long story short, if you gradually ad weight to the ground as you slide, you can keep the canopy flying until there is no speed left...and come to a total (or at least most of the time DAMN near) stop. It takes some time to learn how to do, and you need a good landing area. I will drag a toe sometimes at the begining of a surf, but I never start to unload until near the end. When you start putting a large % of your body weight on the ground at real high speed....bad things can happen: anything from blown knees and ankles if u hit a bump/hole, to poping your ass back up in the air if you unload too much. Did that answer your question? Z

in my experiance on both canopies the Diablo can't come close to the turn rate of a stiletto on toggles, risers, or harness. Two tottally different canopeis. The Diablo is a beefed up 7 Cell. It does all the things a Triathalon/spectore/omega do well, but just a little bit faster. They will surf (but so will a specture), and if you ask me they land like shit surfing or straight in. However, I have never jumped a seven cell that I thought landed well....what can i say, i love the eliptical high aspect ratio wing. You really are looking at apples and oranges when u compare these canopies. The diablo is more in the league of Sabre/Sabre2 Safire/ ....not in the stietto/crossfire cobalt etc . Z