jerm

And yet this past summer i got to do a main assembly and continuity check for someone with 1600 jumps cause they had NO clue what to do. It was a teacher, no less. Aren't they usually the ones who are all about pursuit of knowledge? Goes back to my peeve about people knowing dick about their equipment...... then again that's what keeps riggers in business. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

isn't it the ONLY excuse for going to iowa for a few days? Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

From what i read it's supposed to go into a new recreation complex in Trenton with a motocross park/ skatepark and some other stuff. Last i heard they were nailing down a location and trying to finalize the funding for the whole project.. that was probably 6-8 months ago. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

i don't think there are regs on this. But why teach you to reach for your chest to deploy, then have you re-learn later on? Are you really saying that freefall stability is more important than knowing emergency procedures? As a student your first priority should be saving your life. Once you deploy you don't have that instructor with you anymore to help out, and it's up to you to do so. After pulling, the next step in saving your life is dealing with a malfunction. What do you think is more confusing, teaching them the proper way from the beginning (more to remember but they don't know that), or drilling one way into their head for 10 jumps only to then tell them later on: "sorry, ok forget all that stuff we pounded into you and learn this NEW way. Oh and don't revert back to the first way (natural reaction in a crisis) cause it will kill you" If someone is going to revert back to their roots, i want their roots to be the right ones. SOS is wrong because it's not how real-life equipment works You always have to worry about falling. You always have to worry about other things. That's why the FJC is so long... repetition, repetition, repetition. Building habit and muscle memory, so that you don't have to think about them all the time, but you'll remember (or your body may if not your brain) when the time comes. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Hmm, ours were $5 Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Actually i think this has been changed.. AFAIK ALL instructional ratings now begin with the coach rating. No, but you were talking about static line instruction. Why would AFF-level flying skills matter for an SL instructor? You've already conceded that they can do the knowledge part of it, the rest is getting them out the door. A freefall instructor, yes. And there are such tests. A coach, no. The coach rating is designed to help people just off instruction hone their flying skills. They are NOT aff instructors and NOT supposed to be stabilizing/chasing students. When a coach gets someone, they should already know how to get stable and save their lives at pull-time. If not, then the instructors haven't done their job. my 3 cents Blue skies, soft landings, and cold beer. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Well, it's not obvious to me.... let me provide my spin on it

I still fail to see the logic in SOS. Why teach someone them the WRONG way to do it? IF you're scared of someone not chopping in a mal then you drill it into them until they don't have to think about it anymore... more repetition, build the muscle memory, you're only going to have to through it again later and try to UN-program what you just got done teaching them a few jumps ago. Sorry, one of MY pet peeves. edit: Oh yeah, you say no BOC... why is this? you can put a ripcord in the BOC location and still not have whatever issues you have with a throwout. Again, teach them the right way the first time. (even if you prefer PUD, BoC is a lot closer then a bell-mounted ripcord.) Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

I managed it once.... though i've only needed it 2 or 3 times ever....... referring to my earlier post: Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

I'm glad this worked out ok for you, and that you had the presence of mind to NOT keep both toggles level in your flare... good job. I would like to remind everyone, though, that i guy died last year thinking he could handle this. And he did, up until about 400 ft. From there he spiralled into the ground, either because the other toggle slipped, or he forgot to keep them even, or something (anyone who knows this incident better want to comment, did he ever get to tell anyone what happened?) I'd rather see someone re-stow the other brake and prepare to PLF and try and land this way. Either way you're going to be flying in half-brakes, and one way has much less chance of something going wrong in the last few seconds. Glad you're ok, but please be careful with this. -jerm Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

couple of times. And i supposed it could be a lot of pull depending on the canopy. I wouldn't want to try it on a tandem rig or under an excalibur 260 (LOTS of toggle pressure), but on my sabre and viper 170s loaded 1.3-1.4 it was doable. ***NOTE*** Please please please PLEASE, make sure to have the altitude to play with this stuff. If you're at 3k with a stuck toggle and you think you can deal with it, cool. If you're at 1500, just chop the thing. I'd rather see someone chop from something that was fixable then someone not xhop from something that wasn't. This is actually a real pain-in-the-ass to do. Basically wither the line is pulled too tight to get the toggle through the eyelet, or the line is too loose to get the toggle through the eyelet... it's a very gentle balance of where you grab the line in relation to the eyelet to as to have even a modicum of control over both pieces -- but it can be done. You can use biting here too (lets you control the tension from above and below), but the problem is that you'll be turning the OTHER way, since you need to pull more line down to be able to reach it to bite, so you could end up stalling depending on your canopy and brake settings.... be careful. -jerm Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

I don't see how... with secondary riser covers that run the length of the reserve container my rig would have had to have been open. Unless i didn't tuck them under, i doubt it, but i had only had the rig for a month.... still doubt it, though. My theory is that it happened on the way to line-stretch, as the first frames i have are with them tangled. I figure the canopy had goofy juju... that happened twice on the same canopy with different risers and toggles, to 2 different people, with 2 different types of rigs, and i've never had it happen again on any other canopy. Nor have i heard about it from anyone else i know. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

*grin* got out of it, though.... Really freaky thing was that the EXACT same thing happened to the guy who i bought it from. Different risers, different toggles.. *shrug* he chopped it. Was a swell way to start WFFC that year Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

wuss!! put -34's in the thing! (see: franenotter, Crosskeys otter .... FAST) Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

PD told me it wasn't even their choice -- that Dupont just wans't going to make it anymore. IIRC they said it was like a demand thing... they sold so little of it it wasn't worth making. This happened a while ago, though, as I bought my canopy last year around this time and it was already gone. Maybe they ran across some extra stock? hmmmmm. -jerm Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Use 2 hands, it goes quicker

PROs: One suit gives you A freefly top for strictly sit-fly jumps , think sit-suit w/o wings (or i'm sure you can them with wings if you ask nicely). It gives you Freefly pants for doing primarily Headdown stuff- especially nice on really hot days, you can go in pants a tshirt or just skin, even. OR you can put both on and have a whole freefly suit. It's about flexibility, really. Along with the reasons for using one piece/vs another stated above, you also gain more fine-grained fall-rate control... need a faster headdown? cool, leave off your top and loose all the arm drag. Another swell point is that if you mess up one piece, you can wash/replace/repair one piece while still using the other. Cons: i guess you can lose one piece more easily, leave one behind, etc... I also imagine that certain setups may have issues with riding up or riding down on the jumper.. but i'm sure there are ways around that. Anyone else wanna fill in any blanks? Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Slowly but surely on my way. Unfortunately i've been too poor to hit DeWolf's course, but i plan on stepping up my apprenticing this year and get it. Why? I just can't know enough about how the stuff works. I'm naturally curious about how stuff works, i take most everything apart, and I really like know what's going on with my equipment.... It also really bugs me how many people know so very little about their gear. Most i can hope for is to know all i can so that i can pass info on in whatever little bites people are willing to accept. I've also been mistaken for a rigger before -- had another rigger refer someone to me -- and although it was flattering it really sucked having to admit that i wasn't one. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

From you, that's quite an endorsement! I'm slowly becoming a member of the Wings lovefest on this site.

The long version can be found Here. The short version: USPA D license over 500 jumps on a ram-air d. make ten pre-declared jumps into a circle ten meters in diameter (landing within five meters of the center point) using the same canopy and must: e. score at least 75% on the PRO Rating exam 4) have the PRO Rating Proficiency card signed off by an I/E, S&TA, or PRO Rating holder indicating that the PRO Rating applicant has received training in the following areas: (i) ground crew-and served as a ground crew member on at least one Level 1 or Level 2 demo jump (ii) flag rigging-and made at least one jump with a flag (iii) smoke rigging-and made at least one jump with smoke (iv) NOTAM filing and certificates of authorization (v) crowd control (vi) post-jump procedures Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

you're right... I've stepped outside.... and have thusly chilled (it's 16F outside) Anyway, It's all good.. no hard feelings,... i could nitpick some of the editorializing, but there's no need, as i think we understand eachother's points better then when i wrote me last post ps. do you jump at orange Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

no, he's telling me my way is inherently dangerous because the diagram in the manual shows it a different way. I contend that it doesn't matter which way the pin points as far as proper extraction is concerned. THAT is my point... i don't care which way he points it, i'm saying my way is just as valid/safe/proper/etc as what he considers 'right' again, exactly my point. Thanks

i routinely dump in a full-on track under my Samurai150 with a top-mounted camera and it opens nice & soft every time.... Spectres are great on openings for camera as well, but see below. 7cells aren't built for glide.. it's an aspect ratio thing -- elliptical 9+cells are tough to beat (depending on trim, yada yada). That being said, 7cells are generally less prone to trouble on opening (heading, spinning, etc), so that's another factor to consider with a camera on your head. I'm in love with 9cell landings and i have one that opens great, so that's fine for me. probably want a 9cell, or a lighter-loaded 7cell... but hey, if you can try before you buy, do so and see how you like it. A Spectre should treat you well, though also consider you'll be flying 2 very different types of canopies, and they'll probably require quite different flare styles -- something else to pay attention to.. would suck to be flying your 7cell and flare it like your 9cell... good luck! Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

Wings definitely out-shines all of the dolphins i've seen in terms of overall quality, both in workmanship and rig design. Also your wings will most likely retain its resale value much better than a dolphin. I also think wings look nicer, and if i wanted a rig with a pop-top, i'd probably own one. Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time

The issue isn't snagging, it's getting pushed out from below.. this HAS happened, there's a reason why people started making an issue of pointing it up, it wasn't just some wacky theory. Even if it is SLIGHTLY higher (which you have yet to give compelling evidence of), the pull-force of a PC is SEVERAL TIMES the necessary force to extract the closing pin. So even if it IS "slightly higher", the pin is still coming out. Umm.. KellyF IS the bloody manufacturer, and he just said it wasn't an issue. I now consider how i do it to be within the manufacturer's instructions. Is that good enough for you? Landing without injury is not necessarily evidence that you didn't fuck up... it just means you got away with it this time